Chapter 5: Arrow

When Rieka told me Mam Yolanda was the one that passed away, I was shocked beyond words. I had initially thought it was Josefina that died since she was the one Mrs. Haley went to check on. 

What happened to Mam Yolanda was a mystery, according to her daughter she went out to chop down woods when she heard her mother scream. Upon returning to the cabin, she found the middle-aged woman laying lifeless on the ground with her mouth filled with foam. 

When asked if her mother had been sick or not, she told Mrs. Haley the woman was perfectly fine. Thus, some pack members began wondering if she was killed 'spiritually' by her extremism while others talked about the possibility of a security breach.  

That evening, my dad and the council members had a meeting in the conference building. And after the meeting, he ordered Mrs. Haley to carry out an autopsy on Mam Yolanda's corpse. "We could be facing a very big problem," he said.  

Throughout the night I couldn't sleep properly. I was so angry, and at the same time sad. Angry because Mam Yolanda was my only hope of finding out the truth about myself and sad because her daughter, Clara was yet to be welcomed back into our pack.  

That means, Clara would continue living in the woods but this time around, alone. When I confronted my dad about it, he told me she would only be allowed to return to the pack when her mother's autopsy result is out.  

The following day the whole pack was silent, more than it used to be in the early morning hours. It was as if the pack had been deserted, everyone stayed indoors except for the border patrol and pack guards.  

Despite losing my appetite, I managed to eat something for breakfast. Then I called Rieka and asked if they were ready for school. Unfortunately, she told me she wasn't going today. "Why?" I asked.  

"Because..." she paused, "I just don't feel like going," she uttered.  

"Is it about Mam Yolanda's death?" I curiously asked.  

"Yeah. You know, it's been quite some time since we last lost someone here. But don't worry, I will be fine" she replied.  

"Okay," I huffed, "So, how about Dave? Is he going?"  

"Yes, I told him to go and pick you up at your house. Hasn't he arrived yet?" she asked.  

"No, I haven't seen him yet. But let me go out and see" I said. 

"That would be great. See you later!" she said.  

"Okay, bye!" I ended the call.  

Thus, I peeped through the window and saw Dave leaning on his car a few blocks away from our house. He was going through his phone. Wasn't he supposed to come and pick me up?   

I checked the time, it was a quarter past seven. I quickly got myself prepared and headed out to meet him. "Morning!" I greeted him.  

"Hey, was just about calling you," he said.  

"Really? I thought you were just, you know, chatting" I pulled the front passenger's door and hopped into the car.  

"No, I was... I was just searching through my contact list, I couldn't find your number" he said hopping into the car as well.  

"Oh, you lost my contact?" I asked surprised.  

"Yeah, I... I couldn't find it" he stuttered.  

"Fine, let me have your phone" I stretched my hand to him.  

"Alright," he handed the phone to me.  

After dialing my number on his phone, I handed it back to him. "There you have it," I said.  

"Thank you," he said, wearing a smile.  

"You are welcome" I smiled as well.  

While on our way to school, I asked why he didn't come into our house when he came to pick me up. "The Alpha's house? Come on, you know I can't just do that. By the way, there were guards around and I..." he said as I cut in,  

"You were scared of the guards?" I wrinkled a brow at him.  

"Hmm, yeah. They are among the strongest wolves in our pack, handpicked by the Beta to guard your dad" he said.  

"Well, they are nice"  

"Really?"  

"Trust me!"  

"Okay, but..." he said halfway as a loud bang interrupted him and our car began losing control. Fortunately for us, the road was empty. He gained control of the car and pulled over by the roadside. "Are you okay?" he asked panting.  

"Yeah, I am… fine. How about you?" I said panting as well.  

"I am fine too. I think we lost one of our tires. Let me go out and check" he pulled his door open and alighted from the car. I also did the same.  

After walking around the car, we discovered the problem was from one of the rear tires, it had been struck by an arrow. Dave quickly ordered me to return to the car while he looked around the woods.  

Panicked, I tried to phone my dad but the network was down. I was so scared, what was going on? I wondered. Suddenly, Dave returned to the car and told me to calm down before going out to replace the burst tire with a functional spare tire.  

I waited patiently for him to finish. And while waiting, I couldn't stop looking outside the car with different thoughts pacing 'round my mind.  

When Dave was done replacing the tire, he returned the tools to the trunk and walked back into the car. "We have to turn around and go back home," he said starting the car, "I can't risk losing another tire, the maniac could still be out there" he added.   

"Okay, okay..." I nodded repeatedly in acknowledgment.   

As soon as we arrived home we went to the Beta, Uncle Dolph, and narrated everything to him before heading to my Dad and apprising him as well. "The hell!" he overreacted, grabbed my hand, and began asking if I was fine.  

"Dad, I'm fine. And so is Dave" I said.   

"Oh, thank goodness!" he pulled me into an embrace, pecked me on my forehead, and told me to go upstairs to my room.   

"Okay dad," I said, waved to Dave, and began heading towards the stairway.   

"...it could be hunters" I heard Uncle Dolph say to my dad the moment I reached the stairway, he was referring to the maniacs that shot arrows at Dave and me.  

"Hunters? I thought we don't have humans around here anymore, sir?" Dave chimed in.