Wolves Den

Lifes a funny thing. One second you’re a child playing in the forest with your best friends and the next you’re a teenager, locked in high school, most of your childhood friends gone or too popular for you now. That’s what happened to me. In elementary school I had tons of friends and everyday after school we would run around the forest playing hide and seek or tag. But when we hit high school they all left. The only one who didn’t is the exact person who sits next to me now, in our own personal hideout. “You’re eating all of them!” Jen laughs, scratching the bag of gummy bears from me.

“Am not!” I laugh, trying to take them back. We go back and forth for some time before we finally settle and look out at the river.

“Remi?” Jen says suddenly.

“Hmm?” I hum back.

“Do you ever wish you could just live in the forest? Away from everyone and everything?” She looks at me. “Free.” We stare at each other for a long time. I see the real meaning in Jen's eyes. Her worries for going home to her overly strict parents. Her fears for the future and the unknown in general.

“If we lived in the forest we wouldn’t have gummy bears any more.” I comment to lighten the mood. She doesn’t find it funny.

“I’m serious Remi! What if we did run away?”

“Jen, we can’t just run away. I know your parents are strict but I truly think they just want what’s best for you.” She says nothing. For a moment I fear she’s mad at me but then she puts her head on my shoulder and I know we’re okay.

When the sun starts to set, making the air cold I pull away. “We should get going.” I whisper. Jen nods and lets me pull her up. On our way back to my car I see something in the trees. Yellow eyes stare at me through two trees, just hidden enough that I can see nothing else.

“Remi?” Jen asks. I blink and look away.

“Sorry. I thought I saw something.”

“Don’t say that.”Jen cries, blond hair catching in the lighting. “You know I don’t like the forest the way you do.” Glancing back to where I saw the eyes, I found that they were no longer there.

“Sorry.” I say again. She pulls me along and gets into my car.

Pulling up to Jen’s house I find all of the house lights on. The window curtain moves and reveals Mrs Collard, Jens mother. “It’s only 5:30. I’m back half an hour before my curfew.” Jen whispers staring out the window at her mother. The worry in her voice is present.

“I’m sure everything will be okay.” I tell her. She looks at me with a small smile.

“”See you tomorrow?”

“Always.” Jen nods, reassured, and gets out of my car. Her mother flings the door open and starts yelling at her. I don’t leave until I see both of them disappear into the house.

Going home for me isn’t the exact highlight of my day but there’s no way around it. Unlike Jens house, mine is dark and empty. Both of my parents are gone, most likely at a bar. Unlocking the door and stepping in I find it’s cold meaning my parents hadn’t been home all day. Just as I enter the kitchen the familiar sound of my dogs, Duckie and Rex, barking brings a smile to my face. They round the corner so fast I’m sure they’ll slam into the wall but just before they do they manage to skid to a stop and tackle me instead. “Hey boys!” I laugh. Rex licks my hand while Duckie sniffs me everywhere. “Are you hungry?” They perk up when I say this. Laughing again I push them off of me and get their dog food out of the closet.

As they eat I make some food of my own. But my appetite soon disappears when I see yellow eyes staring at me from the edge of the forest. I live in the middle of nowhere so having animals in my backyard isn’t anything new but this animal is different. It’s big and the only big animals around here are the raccoons in the summer or my dad when he’s actually home. Duckie and Rex stop eating and sniff the air, then both start growling. “Hey!” I scold, not taking my eyes away from the window. “Don’t start that. You’re not scary.” Neither of them listen to me. Instead they run to the door and scratch to be let out. “Both of you knock it off!” I yell but still they don’t let up. “I’m not letting you out. You’ll get yourselves eaten.” I finally take my eyes away to give both my golden labs a look. With a whine and a huff they both walk away and plop down at my feet, sulking. With a roll of my green eyes I pull the ramen I made in the microwave out and grab and fork. Glancing back out the window I’m relieved to find that the eyes are once again gone.

Today my alarm went off at seven like it always does. But this time it’s not for school or even volleyball but for church. Sitting up I pet both of the dogs laying with me that didn’t even bother to lift their head to greet me. I crawl over Duckie and go straight to my closet. As I pull my jeans over my hips I get a weird feeling that I’m being watched, but when I look over my shoulder I see nothing. My phone dings and I hurry to pick it up knowing it’s Jen. “Hey girl! Are you going to pick me up this morning?”

“When don’t I?” I text back. She sends a rolling eye emoji and our conversation is done.

The only reason Duckie and Rex get up is when they hear me pouring their dog food in their bowls. Duckie finishes first and tries to eat Rex’s but I push him away. “You already had yours.” I scold. He backs away and gives me puppy dog eyes. “Don’t give me those. You know the rules.” He pouts more but doesn’t go after Rex anymore.

Just as the clock hits 8:30 I close the front door and lock it. Both of my dogs whine at the door as I walk towards my car. When I get in my car and close the door a strange scent lingers in the air. It’s musky like a wet dog but neither of my boys have been in my car for a month. Shaking off the weird feeling I have, I start my car and drive to Jen’s. She was waiting on her porch when I pulled up, shivering from the cold. I roll down the window and shout at her. “Get in dummy! You’re going to catch a cold!” She doesn’t need to be told twice. She’s in my car so fast I barely had time to roll the window back up. “Why were you outside?” I ask. She turns up the heat and sticks her hands by the vent.

“My mom got mad at me for not doing the dishes so she kicked me out.” She sighs.

“When are they letting you back in?” I ask, pulling out of her driveway.

“Probably when I get back from church. They should be fine after that.” She sighs again.

“Well you are always welcome at my house.” I tell her. “My parents aren’t there anyways so they won’t know.” I can see her looking at me from the corner of my eye but I keep my head straight ahead.

“They didn’t come home again?” She says it like a question but I know she’s not asking. My grip on the wheel tightens.

“No they didn’t.” Knowing my best friend will worry I go on, “but that’s their loss I make some great ramen in the microwave.” Jen doesn’t smile with me. “Come on Jen. Smile! You only live once.” This does make her smile but there’s still worry behind it.

“We’re going to be okay.” She whispers to me like a declaration.

“We’ll be okay.” I whisper back.

This is the first chapter of the new book I wrote! If you've been following me for a while now you'll know I've mentioned this for a long time now and I'm proud to say that it is finally done (Well mostly). I hope you all enjoyed it! Please tell me what you think in the comments! -Koda122