Alone In the Woods

Scarlett

I trailed behind Eden, Elena’s bear, with my head down as she walked into the forest. I hadn’t slept well in days, not since Osprey had attacked Elena. The rage in his eyes had terrified me, and it was all I saw when I closed my eyes. I had never been afraid of him before, and I never thought I would be. It was so different now when I went over to my brother’s house. I hid in Elena’s room to avoid Osprey at all costs. He had managed to corner me in a hallway the day before, and I had burst into tears, begging him to not hurt me.

My brother had ripped him away from me before taking me home. Elena had come over a little while later to talk to me, trying to explain that he hadn’t meant me any harm, and that he had just wanted to talk about what happened the other day. Before telling her to leave, I told her that I didn't want to talk about or to him. When I had woken up during the night, I could have sworn that someone had been laying beside me. My bed had been warmer than usual, and I finally felt relaxed after hours of crying. I was so confused.

When I finally woke up for good that morning, I found myself missing him. I had gone to my brother’s, wanting to see him, but at the same time scared of being close to him. I wanted to ask him why he hurt Elena, but I was afraid of the answer. I wanted to know why he said he didn’t have or want a mate, but I also didn’t. I didn't know whether I wanted to cry, hide, or be angry that the last week happened the way it did. My mother and Tasha had reassured me it was okay not to know how to feel, but all it did was confuse me more.

Why couldn’t they tell me what to do? Why couldn’t Elena? She always knew what to say and what to do. She embraced life, meeting every obstacle head on with a fearless attitude. Sometimes I wish I was like Elena, confident and always sure of myself, but I wasn’t. I was completely lost. I cried out when I walked into a tree. I glanced around frantically before groaning. Not only was I lost emotionally, I was also lost physically.

“ELENA?! EDEN?!” I yelled, hoping they would find me.

I turned in a circle. All the trees looked the same, with the markings on them looking like hieroglyphs to me. I couldn’t read them. Not like the bears could. I sighed as I stopped turning when a growl came from in front of me. I gulped as I took a step back.

“E-Eden?” I whispered. The growl came again, and it sent my heart thundering against my breastbone as I slowly backed up. “G-Godric?”

A whitish grey paw came out of the shadows as I let out a whimper. The wolf slowly walked out into the open with saliva dripping off his teeth as its black eyes trained solely on me. I took another step back before its growl made me freeze. I put my hand out.

“P-please. I’m sorry. D-don’t hurt me.”

It raised its lip higher as it started approaching me again. Every step it took forward, I took a step back. I glanced to the right in hopes that Eden would be there. Another growl, accompanied by the snapping of jaws, made my attention snap back to the wolf. It lunged at me and I cried out as I was thrown back by my shirt. I landed on my back hard and the air was knocked out of my lungs. Growls and whines came a few feet from me. A tuft of fur hit me in the face before I could move, and I uttered a small cry of panic when it was bear fur. Eden. I sat up before my mouth fell open when Godric was tearing into the wolf who was desperately trying to escape from his claws.

I scrambled to my feet, watching in awe as he took the wolf to the ground with his teeth buried deep in its neck. He bit down harder, and I flinched at the sound of bones crunching. The wolf went limp before Godric dropped it. He turned toward me, then nodded to his back. I hesitated, not moving. He grunted as he came to sit in front of me. He gently took the hem of my shirt in his bloody mouth to tug on it. I bit my lip before nodding. I carefully climbed on his back, making sure that I didn’t hit any of the open wounds he had.

He took off into the woods, carrying us over trees and fallen leaves. The longer he ran, the harder he breathed, and the slower he got. I started to get worried when he stumbled and couldn’t seem to stay upright. I tried to get him to stop and let me down, but he kept moving. He broke through the treeline by his house as he skidded to a stop. I immediately slid off of his back. He took four steps towards his house before collapsing on the ground. I rushed over to him with tears rolling down my face, screaming for Tasha and Raul. Within seconds, we were surrounded by multiple people and Elena pulled me away. I stood helplessly by while they loaded Godric into the back of a truck and zoomed off toward the hospital. Elena and Prsiscilla exchanged worried looks.

“What happened, Auntie?”

“I was attacked,” I sobbed. “Why did you leave me? You could have helped him.”

She put her arm over my shoulders as she guided me in the direction of the hospital. “I’m so sorry. I didn’t know. I was only supposed to lead you there and go home. I swear, I didn’t mean for him to get hurt.”

By the time we got to the hospital, my parents were already there, waiting for me. I immediately ran into my father’s arms while Elena repeated what I told her. My father sat me between him and my mother while Elena and Priscilla paced around the waiting room. I counted the seconds as they crept by. My mother kept handing me tissues as my tears continued to fall. Nothing anybody said could comfort me, not when the way he had protected me from the wolf kept passing through my head. I wiped my nose again before jumping to my feet when I saw Grandma Karen coming down the hall covered in blood. My heart sped up again when I took in her grim expression.

“Is he okay?” I asked when she got to us.

“He’s… Scarlett, may I talk to you?”

My heart stopped in my chest. “He’s not… he’s alive, right? Please, tell me he is,” I begged.

She took my hand as she pulled me away. She led me to a room where Falcon paced agitatedly. He spun toward me, his eyes searching my face.

“Scarlett, do you love Osprey?”

I stared at him. “I…” I lowered my head. “Yes.”

“Enough to let me try something to save him?” I nodded. “Good. Karen is going to take some of your blood. We need a lot so you will need to go to sleep after. Lay down.”

I immediately lay down on the bed in the room as Grandma Karen moved around me, hooking me up to a bag. I turn my head to watch my blood fill it.

“What are you going to use my blood for?”

I was curious about why they needed my blood. I wasn’t blood related to him, and Tasha had taught us about mixing blood types. I knew mine and Ospreys didn’t match, but mine and Elena’s did. He sat in the chair next to the small bed.

“I will tell you a story.” I fixed my eyes on his. “Around 15 years ago, I was shot. I was dying. I did die. Tim showed Tasha how to help me. He had her give me her blood. It took a moment, but I came back. There is something in your blood that I think might help keep Osprey alive. The same thing that kept me alive when Tasha gave me hers. I will always be grateful that she saved me that day, and if this works, so will he.”

I let my eyes close as I carefully rolled onto my side, keeping my arm straight. “I hope it does. He can’t die. He saved me. I want to save him back.”

Grandma Karen started unhooking me and brushed my hair back.

“We do, too.”

I yawned as I curled up to go to sleep. He had warned me I would be tired, but I hadn’t expected it to take effect so quickly. Must be because I was crying so much. I heard the door open and close as they left. After a while of listening to silence, I finally began to drift off. When I heard the door open, I tried to open my eyes, but they were too heavy.

“How is he? Did it work?”

The door opened again, and Falcon let out a chuckle.

“Already disobeying your mother, I see.”

Someone picked up my hand and squeezed it. “Thank you, Scarlett.”

I smiled softly as I weakly squeezed his hand back. “Thank you for saving me, too,” I whisper before falling into a deep sleep.