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He felt…
Wolfie’s body felt numb and heavy at the same time, his mind in a deep fog, unable to remember what happened in order for him to end up in such a position. Letting out a deep breath, he tried turning instead of opening his eyes. “You probably shouldn’t move, given the injuries from the night before.” A sigh escaped his mouth, recognizing the voice as that of his best friend – Hector. “Apparently, you’re lucky to be alive.”
The young werewolf lifted a hand to his forehead, letting out a groan; he didn’t open his eyes, fearing a headache might set in. “What happened?”
“I don’t…” Hector didn’t finish saying whatever he was going to say and instead shifted in his chair, almost as if looking at someone. “Stefan?”
Wolfie recognized the name – a young vampire Hector now hung out, reminding the young werewolf of the fact he and Hector stopped hanging out as they used to when Hector got into sports and Wolfie – he simply drifted, unsure of a lot of things given the fact he never felt like he quite fit in anywhere. His eyes opened, blinking back the light and the headache which threatened to set in. He turned his head, looking at the young vampire, who didn’t say anything regarding the matter.
Hector, on the other hand, spoke up. “Look. I don’t know what happened, beyond the fact you’re alive because of Stefan.”
“Oh.” Wolfie’s eyes opened and closed, a definite headache setting in; he suspected the doctors had him on some kind of painkiller which made his mind fuzzy. He turned his head so he could look at the young vampire again. “Thank you. Thank you for saving me.”
“I know what you did last summer. So, don’t thank me.”
Wolfie’s eyes blinked, his mind fuzzily going back to the summer before. He looked up at the ceiling, his fangs twisting into a smile. “Oh.”
“Wolfie – what happened last summer?”
“Nothing.”
…
The sound of water rushed into his ears, while air bubbles formed from jumping into the water formed around his body, floating up in the golden summer light up to the lake’s surface up above. His breath remained tightly in his chest, his eyes looking down into the depths of the lake where less light shown through, particularly with the evening sun starting to set.
Despite this, he still saw the figure sinking into the depths and he twisted so he might kick out towards the girl – a girl younger than him – sinking in the water. He held onto the breath, his eyes catching sight of the bubbles floating out of her mouth and he kicked harder, his hand reaching out while his fangs gritted together, attempting to keep the water from spilling into his own lungs.
…
Pain coursed through her entire body, his vision blurring. In the back of his mind, Wolfie couldn’t remember the reason for all of the pain; he did know all of his senses were going into overdrive which in turn made his ability to think clearly a complete fog. One eye swelled shut, but even without that eye, his vision blurred significantly as he attempted to get a grip on his surroundings.
He simply couldn’t beyond the fact in addition to the pain, he felt himself lying on the floor, perhaps ground, yet even this sensation remained foggy. He took a deep breath, only for a strangling cough to escape from his lungs, indicating he’d likely punctured a lung. He also attempted moving, his entire body screamed even more from the pain he felt. He opened his mouth, hoping to call out for help, yet the words didn’t come out.
He did, however, hear a voice nearby. “Don’t try to move or speak.”
Wolfie’s mouth closed, tracing his canines with his tongue, finding they seemed to be intact. He didn’t, however, want to remain still. Instinct told him to fight and to live, to move away from whatever caused the damage to his body. He moved slightly, frustrated with the fact he struggled in moving in any significant manner.
“Stop.” A hand gently touched his shoulder. “An ambulance is on its way. If you move, you may injure yourself even more.”
Wolfie let out a deep breath, his mouth attempting to open and say something regarding how he felt, not just physically but also mentally. Nothing came out.
“Seriously. Don’t speak. It’s pretty bad.” The voice certainly wasn’t familiar, which in a way brought relief. It wasn’t the voice of Emily or Winnie who would likely panic at the sight of whatever was going on. It wasn’t Hector – who went a more athletic route that Wolfie did, playing football while Wolfie preferred taking naps in the park or library depending on whatever fit his whim.
It wasn’t Wanda either telling him, “I told you so”, but a stranger who wasn’t at all familiar with who he was. Whether this meant they would be less judgemental of him, particularly since he didn’t remember how he’d found himself in his current predicament, and for some reason, his brain wanted to blame himself for what happened. The thoughts somehow put him at ease, making the anxiety lift although only somewhat.
…
That summer – last summer – involved nice warm weather which felt like a nice change from the usual weather they found themselves dealing within the small town filled with monsters – rain, clouds, and more rain. The warm weather, of course, led to heading to the lakeside so one might cool off with a nice swim or even a nice forest breeze, yet Wolfie also found the environment of the camping ground relaxing, a nice escape from the cacophony of the small town he lived which was only a few miles away.
Of course, it might seem odd he spent his time in a tent reading books until one realized he found the sounds of nature soothing compared to the sound of cars driving by on the street, particularly since more people started moving to the small town, including some non-monsters who didn’t have an issue with the tech non-monsters utilized. Plus, spending his time during the hottest weather during the day allowed him the chance of saving his energy for his evening walks when the sun started setting over the lake.
Checking his watch, Wolfie noticed the time and took a deep breath, setting the book down before heading towards the lakeside. Glancing up at the sky, he found himself wishing the moon was at his fullest as being forced into his werewolf form actually enhanced the natural sensations around him – the voluntary control was still unpredictable regarding when he’d come in and out of the different forms.
Placing the bookmark into his book, he got up and started out for his walk, walking towards the lake, enjoying the nice evening breeze which blended with the rising sun. Taking a deep breath, he smelled the fresh air around him, of the trees around him along with the air blowing right off the lake; the smells made him definitely feel refreshed.
Hiking down to the pier at the lake where often he might see someone out there swimming wasn’t a long walk. His hands jammed into his pockets and he found himself enjoying everything about that day, thinking nothing would go wrong.
That was until he saw the girl.
Of course, he didn’t feel as if anything would go wrong right away, given the fact nothing seemed amiss until he got close enough. She leaned over the lake, peering at the water, obviously enjoying the way the water changed color with the setting sun; he couldn’t blame her, to be honest, given the fact he’d stood at different spots around the lake observing the same thing.
It was when she fell in, over balancing that he realized something wasn’t quite right.
Specifically, his head turned so he might see if he was the only one around, not really wanting to be a hero as he preferred remaining in the shadows, yet nobody else was around. Nobody knew the young girl was in the lake.
Instinct kicked in then and he hurried forward, removing the red and black tartan button shirt he wore over his white tank top and kicked off his shoes, mentally thinking right before he dived in that these items would weight him down and prevent him from effectively helping the girl. He simply knew someone needed to save her, yet hoped nobody noticed.
…
A slight heat remained from the daytime sunlight which now faded with the sunset. While Wolfie sometimes spent his summer days out in the nearby forest, he sometimes remained in town hanging out at the library or the park, sometimes reading, sometimes walking around looking at the nature around him.
The events of the previous summer remained a far off thought in his head; he simply did what needed to be done since nobody else was around and thought nothing more regarding what happened, particularly since everything turned out all right – he simply wished to live his life and be let be, particularly with the number of changes occurring around the town, what with new people moving in every year.
There didn’t seem enough time to ever get to know any of them, particularly when his personal hobbies often didn’t overlap with that of others. Hector, for example, enjoyed playing football while he found the sport not to his liking – the only sport currently in the small town despite the growth. In fact, there wasn’t much to do around the town during the summer.
Today, he’d spent time in the library turning in books he already finished and picked up a new set of books to read, which he carried in his backpack while reading one of the books in his hands as he walked home. He knew the town well, so when he came to a point where he would cross a street, he lowered his book and looked both ways.
As such, when he crossed the particular road he didn’t see anything amiss, but then his ears picking up on the sound of wheels screeching. He felt something plow into him, sending him flying off his feet while the book in his hands that he’d stopped reading ended up leaving his hand. He hit the ground hard, his mind not quite getting what occurred beyond the fact he heard the car backing off and speeding away.
For a few minutes, he passed out, before he started coming too, still not remembering what happened. The fact she was in a lot of pain didn’t help.
…
He pulled her out from the water, his arms hooked under her armpits. Strong kicks brought them to the lakeshore and he pulled her out of the water. In the back of his mind, Wolfie wondered if he would have to do CPR, but then water cascaded out of her lungs. Breathing a sigh of relief, he reached for his cell phone so he might call an ambulance.
Of course, his cell phone didn’t want to work after going into the lake water, the one thing he conveniently didn’t think about.
Taking a deep breath, he stood up, touching her shoulder gently. “Look. My phone doesn’t work, so I’m going to head up to the entrance and use one of the public phones.”
The walk didn’t take long, though his feet hurt from not putting his shoes back on and he found himself peeling the socks off as he went. Nobody saw him, something he preferred, but he found himself watching from the distance as the ambulance arrived – of course, the siren was all to present by the time he’d gotten back, so he didn’t want to check in on her. Thanks to an acquaintance – Wanda, whose father was a doctor – he learned the girl, a young Vampire who really shouldn’t be anywhere near water – was actually okay.
He thought nothing of it, going to the dock to retrieve his shirt and shoes once everyone was gone, glad nobody took them.
…
“Nothing?” Stefan of course didn’t agree. “I wouldn’t say saving my sister from drowning is nothing.”
“Wait. Wolfie’s the one who…” Hector let out a deep breath. “He’s not into athletics.”
Wolfie let out a sigh, covering a hand over his face. “I’m not into football. There’s a difference.” His entire body felt fuzzy. “How’d you find out?”
“Wanda told me?”
“Wanda? Why would Wanda know? She’s always picking on Wolfie, calling him a wimpy werewolf.
“Apparently they’re neighbors and also…” Stefan took a deep breath. “Her father’s a doctor, so he asked her to find out if my sister was okay. When she found out I was looking for the person, she told me.”
“It’s really not anything anybody else would do.”
“Typical.” Hector sighed. “That is so typical of you.”
“Yeah. I don’t agree with you, but she said you’d not want a big deal made of it, and I now see why. But honestly, you don’t need to thank me. Just – get some rest. Visiting hours are almost done, so we’ll see you tomorrow.”
“Yeah. Tomorrow.”
What he wouldn’t give to possibly sneak out of there before tomorrow happened.