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Chapter 4: Forget Forgetting

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It growled, its throat vibrating just as it bared its gleaming, white teeth at me. The animal’s shining, brown coat stood on ends, its tail long and puffed. It was ready to attack, and I was standing there like a deer caught in the headlights. I needed to run, I needed to do something, or else I was going to be a wolf’s dinner.

Oh, God, help me, my mind screamed. Sweat formed on my brow and I realized that my scent was probably becoming unbearable to the hungry animal in front of me.

A twig snapped somewhere in the forest. The wolf’s head turned to its right and I took that as the chance to run. One glimpse behind me showed that it was following my trail. I breathed in shallowly, my body shaking and my legs wobbly.

Something tugged hard on my pant leg and I lost my balance, falling forward with only a short intake of breath to suppress me. I groaned, hitting the ground with a thud. The sharp, dead leaves scratched against the palms of my hands as I tried to stand up. A quick glance at me leg showed that my pants had caught on a sharp, broken branch. I whimpered, my heart thudding as I tried to free from the wooden stick.

I heard the paws thump against the ground, getting closer now so that the animal was in my view of vision. Then again, I could have been hallucinating, too. For one very important reason, I could hear another one approaching me from in front of me- the direction I wasn’t even paying heed to.

For all I knew, my heart could go into a relapse any second and I could have a heart attack. It felt that way so much that I clutched the material of my shirt at my chest and sat down on the ground. It had been stupid to come here. Out of the shittiest ideas- this was the one I followed. I closed my eyes, thinking I had led a pretty decent lifestyle: taken risks, rotted my brain a few times, got good grades in school…

A harsh growl emanated from behind me, stilling me to the very marrow of my bone and causing me to lose my train of thought. The wolf in front of me glared, its stance positioned in a defensive mode. I breathed in, allowing the strong scent of pine and fine leaf dust to waft up my nose. Two evil, scary, large wolves were going to eat me. That’s what I thought at the time, anyway. I mean, what else would anyone think?

Something breezed by and I steadied myself as I heard something hard hit against the ground. Scuffling, growling, yelps, and more resounded. I opened my eyes.

Angry, brown wolf… and angry, black wolf…?

Bring the whole, damned, demented pack, why don’t you! Wonderful, I thought. I reached over and tugged my pant leg free from the branch and backed away. The animals were clawing at each other irately. The black wolf was on top, reaching over to bite the brown wolf’s furry neck. The brown wolf bared its sharp teeth and growled, raising its one paw and striking the other suddenly at the neck. Blood welled from the wound and drenching the sleek, black fur in the liquid. It fell onto it’s back for a mere few seconds. I caught a quick wisp of it’s green eyes as it quickly gained control, although avoiding using it’s left arm completely. I widened my own eyes, thinking how much they looked like Embry’s.

I shook the thought away and backed away, feeling stupid to think that.

There was no point now to stay as the wolves continued to quarrel.

So, that was it.

What else is there to say? I got the hell out of there. There was no reason to be there. So, what then- the one still alive could kill me, too?

Hell, no.

Run- yeah, that’s what I did. So, why the fuck did I feel so guilty?

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Morning dawned.

Was it really morning?

“Naomi, wake up!” Oh yeah, my mother’s voice screeching down the hallway made it absolutely clear.

What day was it, anyway?

Friday- I remembered. “Oh, God.” I muttered, feeling completely horrible as the events from last night flooded back to me.

I rubbed my eyes, trying to be rid of the sleep that had been deprived from me. How could I stay up for so long and not think about the next day?

I prayed for a substitute in Statistics.

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“What the hell happened to you?” I screeched, shoving Embry into the lockers that very same afternoon. I had caught him trying to walk very casually past me down the hall. His wounds were fresh, but also seemingly misplaced; looking as though the bruises he had when I last saw him had healed, but only to appear somewhere else in more vibrant colors. Scratches earlier had disappeared only to reveal somewhere else on his skin a little deeper and much more fresh. I tightened my grip on the front of his shirt and peered at the four long, but shallow gashes at the side of his neck. They were already showing signs of healing, however.

“Get off, Naomi.” He said, pulling my hand away. His hands were warm.

“Why did you disappear like that?” I said, glaring at him.

“I had to…something came up, all right? What does it matter to you, anyway?” he replied, pushing past me. I grabbed his arm and he flinched.

I ignored the question, not wanting him to think that I was too weak to run away from wild animals in the middle of the forest. He didn’t need to know that, right? “Where did you get those bruises, huh?” I questioned, “And those scratches on your neck? It’s like you were fighting with an animal or something.” Sarcasm dripped from my voice.

He shook his head, “Stay away from me, Naomi.”

I stared at him in disbelief. “Embry,-…” he turned around to face me, his dark green eyes gleaming with so much resentment.

I let go of his arm. “Just stay away from me.” His voice was dark, stern. It was as if my blood had turned cold. He turned around and walked away. The bell rang, signaling for fifth block. I growled and leaned against the poorly painted lockers; the grass green color revolting.

I watched him as he camouflaged in with the crowd of students. They multiplied and divided, swallowing me up as well in their glamour and glitch.

There was no more Embry Braxton.

And there was no more risk.

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Maybe I wanted to get to know him; maybe I wanted to talk to him. Maybe I went through all those odd, irritable feelings when he told me to stay away from him was because I…cared?

But, why would I care? One misfortunate essay that brought us together didn’t mean a thing. He was just another classmate, right…? He was just some random classmate that made me ponder his quirks and moods, drove me to question my own existence, my own distastes and quarrels.

For man to be one with nature, man must know what life goes beyond those solid walls that he hides behind. Nature is a complicated gift. It was something that was given to us to take pleasure in, work with, and marvel. Man belongs with the beauty of nature, for both things can never be understood. The history of man will never be solved. Had he been created by bacteria over billions of years, or created by those believers that call on the Omega, God? Did he ever have a different form- like others believe? Does he still have a different form that maybe a few have not discovered, yet? Like nature, man has grown and changed, and like nature, he will diminish to dust.

Did he think I would laugh?

It was true, wasn’t it?

But then, I read it over…and another time, and once again. Something clicked in the back of my head, something that drove me to pieces. I threw the near weightless papers against the wall in aggravation, letting them drift to the floor against the wisps and weaves that the outside winds brought.

No, he was speaking to me, wasn’t he? He knew something I didn’t, and I was going to find out.

Forget forgetting Embry Braxton, and forget forgetting risk.

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Ahh, I’m so sorry for the latest of late updates. I ran into some writer’s block, but I finally got it up. I’m sorry it’s short, but it’s true that once again- I probably won’t have the entire story up. Actually, I’m not very sure, right now. XD Maybe I’ll just revise the story if I every happen to get the prequel published. Oh, well. But, thank you to all those great people who are reading this story. I hope you stick around to the next update!