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.If they wereacting as bodyguards, then I could expect them to unfortunately.I guess I should havebrought more clothes to hide in.They wouldn t try anything, but I definitely didn t wanttheir eyes on me all night either.I pushed a palm leaf out of my way as I approached the screen door that wasattached by only one hinge.The door somewhat jammed on itself and I had to thrust thething to the side.It shuttered on its only hinge as it busted near the wall. I did that once before, I heard Shirley mutter behind me.I don t know what that statement meant, and right now, I don t care.There wassomething much more devastating beyond this door that was weighing on my mind.I peeked in through the doorway, staring at the brown carpet that I was sure wascovered in stains.The good thing about brown-colored carpet is that it hides all kinds ofpast sins.I could smell spilt coke, milk, salsa and other weird scents that I couldn t putmy finger on and truthfully, I didn t want to.My skin bristled for the slightest of seconds and my beast stirred.Down throughthe darkly lit hallway I knew what awaited me.And my beast wanted to be near it.Icould see it uncurling inside me, stretching, waking up to breathe in the luscious scent ofmeat.I closed my eyes and focused on my hearing.I had to shut down the olfactorynerves just enough so that I could focus on the task at hand.The smell of death was justtoo intoxicating.So I tried to ignore the scent and focus on the sounds of life around me.There were more cockroaches here than at Clyde s.The crickets weren t chirping,instead, the only sounds being made by animals were my family members outside and theHunter s beating heart inside.Nature is not quiet.She never sleeps, she never takes abreak, and she never becomes silent like a frightened hen.I heard a soft pitter-patter beat beneath a hollow box and realized it was Shirley sheart.It didn t sound like anything I had ever heard before.It sounded distant, faint, anduncomfortable.There really was something unique about her.When I get the chance, Iwill ask if she was kidding about that alien comment.But later, for now, the silence was a little bit more than overwhelming.There areLEGEND: THE WOLF Erin Dameron-Hill 61clichés for moments like this; the calm before the storm, the silence before the attack.Imade that last one up because it had been so quiet when I had first been attacked.Ihaven t appreciated silence since.Nor do I appreciate it now. I know, she said in a tangible whisper,  it s quiet.I think he is still here. He? I whispered back, my heart beginning to dance a little bit faster,  how doyou know it s a  he ? Because he s watching us. From where? I asked not wanting to know the answer.The beast that was mebegan to growl.It wanted out to defend us, to protect us because the insane cheerleaderwas right; the killer was still here.I could feel those eyes searching me, anticipating mymovements, waiting for me to stir.It is an otherworldly feeling knowing that someone isboring their eyes into you, watching you, breathing you in and that you are helplessagainst it.Because what can you do, other than feel icky? It s not like you can gouge outtheir eyes; all you can do is hope that the moment passes quickly. We need to communicate via telepathy, she said as if telepathy was akin tousing a cell phone. I can t do that. That s too bad because he can hear us.If we go after him&  How do you know where he is? I can hear him breathing.Can t you?I pricked my ears to hear the faintest of sounds but the cockroaches wereencouraged by their own fear so their tiny little legs dug deeper into the crowd creating abarrage of scraping explosions in my head. There s too much interference, I said, and then I realized I shouldn t have beenable to hear anything out of the ordinary,  not that I could anyway.I could feel Shirley roll her eyes,  I heard you growl.I know what you are.But Iwon t tell anyone.Besides, shouldn t we be focusing on the sound? How can you hear him breathing and I can t? Long story.I ll tell you another day, she paused,  do you think that s wise? What? Sorry, wasn t talking to you.Fine, I ll do it.I m going to chase him off. What?! He s only here to watch us, he doesn t want to get caught, she paused and then Ifelt her body relax behind me,  Ah, you hear that, he s not breathing anymore.He salready left. How can you be so sure? Just trust me on this one. Shirley, what are you? I ll keep your secret if you keep mine, she paused again and then rolled hereyes,  of course I m not going to tell her [ Pobierz caÅ‚ość w formacie PDF ]