5 stars Great
Read!
Wonderful
book and one I enjoyed reading! I loved all the characters, and the settings in
the book. Hopefully there is a second book coming soon!
5 stars The Mark!
This
was an enthralling book. It has everything a book is about. I chose this rating
because of the comedy, love and passion this book was made with. I truly loved
the happy ending but I wish there was a sequel...
4 stars!
Review- Wampus Springs - Mark of the Wolf is an amazing book, I love the way Wade Faubert tells the story of Lori. From beginning to end you're on edge of what's coming next, I defiantly was.
4 stars!
Review- Wampus Springs - Mark of the Wolf is an amazing book, I love the way Wade Faubert tells the story of Lori. From beginning to end you're on edge of what's coming next, I defiantly was.
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At
sixteen years old, Lori Foster has seen a lifetime of pain and suffering. Four
years earlier, she watched as her best friends were savagely mauled to death by
a rogue wolf, then barely escaped with her own life. The scar on her neck is a
constant reminder of just how lucky she was that stormy day in Wampus Springs.
Four years and hundreds of miles from the attack, Lori still searches every shadow for the return of her tormentor. She finds ordinary life to be a struggle, but when she meets Josh Hughes, things appear to get on track. With her best friend Jessica Tanner and her new love in her life, Lori lets her guard down, but it may be premature. When her menstruation begins, her nights are ravaged with nightmares of the attack. The nightmares seem to be more than a coincidence, they seem to hint at an inevitable confrontation between Lori and the wolf that mauled her four years earlier.
Four years and hundreds of miles from the attack, Lori still searches every shadow for the return of her tormentor. She finds ordinary life to be a struggle, but when she meets Josh Hughes, things appear to get on track. With her best friend Jessica Tanner and her new love in her life, Lori lets her guard down, but it may be premature. When her menstruation begins, her nights are ravaged with nightmares of the attack. The nightmares seem to be more than a coincidence, they seem to hint at an inevitable confrontation between Lori and the wolf that mauled her four years earlier.
Sample
Wampus Springs - Mark of the Wolf
Prologue
— Four Years Earlier —
Lori Foster sat slouched
in her chair, mesmerized by the leaves dancing on the playground. At 12
years-old, she wasn’t the only student in Miss Hopkin’s class who found the
world outside much more interesting than math lessons. Her eyes darted quickly
to the wall clock then back to the leaves, waiting for the wind to whisk them
high into a funnel, only to return them to their partners a moment later.
As the sunlight retreated from the angry
clouds, an eerie darkness descended upon the schoolyard. It was the darkness of
dusk, thick and heavy, covering every crevasse under a blanket of grey. Even
though the classroom lights reflected off the dark windows, Lori noticed
movement in the distance, near the edge of the woods. She squint her eyes as a
fluffy white and brown bunny hopped from the woods and nibbled on a patch of
tall grass.
A flash of lightning sliced through the dark
sky, forking off into the distance. The overhead lights flickered, sending the
classroom into temporary darkness. It was at that moment Lori saw them—two
faint red dots staring out from the blackness of the woods. She blinked fast,
trying to adjust her eyes, but as the classroom lights came back to full
brilliance, the red dots disappeared, leaving Lori to wonder if she’d actually
seen them or if it’d only been the lightning playing a trick on her eyes.
“So class, it looks like we’re in for a good
storm,” Miss Hopkin said, turning from the chalkboard with a nervous look on
her face. “I hope that’s the last of the lightning. I’d hate for everyone to
miss their lunch recess.”
Lori glanced from her teacher, back out into
the darkness of the playground. She couldn’t spot the bunny anywhere.
“Lori… Lori!” She turned back to face the front
of the class. “I know you’d rather be out playing, but please, let’s just
finish up.” As if on cue, the lunch bell rang and immediately the students
began to fidget.
“All right, fine. Eat your lunches then go
outside.” Miss Hopkin plopped into her chair and opened her desk drawer. “But
if you get your shoes wet and muddy, don’t even think about wearing them back
in my classroom.”
After retrieving her lunch sack and dumping it
onto her desk, Lori dangled the plastic bag before Cindy. “Tuna. Wanna trade?”
“Tuna again.” Cindy tossed her peanut butter
and jam sandwich onto Lori’s desk then snatched the offering. “How many cans
does she have?”
“Too many.” Lori ripped open the bag and took a
bite. “Eat fast, cause I saw a cute bunny out by the woods. Maybe if we’re
fast, we can catch it. If my mom won’t let me keep it, maybe yours will.”
“My mom won’t even let me have goldfish, let
alone a rabbit.” Cindy took a bite of the tuna sandwich then lifted the top
piece of bread and gazed inside. “But yeah, we can see if it’s still out
there.”
Lori pulled on the gold chain, fishing the half
pendant from beneath her shirt. It had been a birthday gift from Cindy and one
she absolutely cherished. Lori held her half of the pendant out, dangling it
before Cindy, waiting for it to be completed.
Without hesitating, Cindy fished her pendant
out and like two superheroes activating their magic power, they whispered the
phrase in unison as they connected the two halves. “Best friends forever.”
When the second bell rang, Lori and Cindy
quickly cleared off their desks, dashed from the classroom, down the hall to
the glass door. The door had barely started to close when Max and Randy stepped
into their path.
“Hey, where’s the fire?” Max asked, trying hard
to even out his lopsided grin. “You two almost knocked us down.”
“Yeah,” Randy made kissing noises and shoved
Max into Lori, “like you wouldn’t want your girlfriend to fall on top of you,
so you can suck her face off.”
“Shut up!” Max grunted, returning the shove.
“She’s not my girlfriend. We’re just friends.”
“Sure,
lover boy.” Randy rolled his eyes then smiled at Cindy. “Where you guys going
in such a hurry, anyways?”
“To the woods, to look for a bunny,” Cindy said
shyly. “Why, do you guys wanna come?”
“Sure, you girls might need our help catching
it.”
“But, if we get caught?” Max looked around
nervously. “We’ll be in detention all week.”
“Someday, Max, you’ll have to take your
mother’s tit out of your mouth and stop being such a baby. I’m going!” Randy
started toward the back of the schoolyard. “You coming?”
“Um…” Max waited until they were a few feet
away then made up his mind. “Okay, but if anything happens—”
“Don’t say I didn’t warn you,” all three mocked
in chorus.
Max shook his head, running to keep up. “You
guys are the babies.”
As they reached the tree line, Lori headed
straight to the patch of tall grass where she’d last spotted the bunny, but it
was nowhere in sight. After stepping around the bushes she spotted faint bunny
tracks in the soft earth and followed the trail behind the first row of Maples.
Randy and Cindy were right behind, but Max paused, peering nervously around for
any sign of Miss Hopkin.
“Hey, guys. I think the old bag went inside to
find the Janitor.” Max snickered. “She’s probably helping him mop the floor
with her dress.”
“You’re just disgusting!” Lori said, rolling
her eyes, unsure at that moment why she was actually friends with Max, but when
a rustling sound captured her attention, she forgot all about him. Slowly she
turned, listening and judging where the sound had come from.
“Over this way! Walk really careful so you
don’t scare her.” Lori led the way, followed by Cindy then the two boys. They
made their way down the small path, through the brush, and around more Maple trees.
The woods thickened and darkened with each step they took. It was as if the
trees were crowding closer, huddling against the frightening darkness. They
were twenty feet from the forest edge when Max came rushing past, almost
knocking Lori off the pathway as he sprinted on ahead.
Lori saw the white patch of fur flash across
the path and watched, surprised at Max’s sudden burst of bravery. He seemed to
be suddenly sparked with life, a welcome change from his normally nervous
behaviour.
For a moment, Max disappeared behind a stand of
high weeds, emerging, panting for breath, holding a struggling bunny by the
scuff of the neck.
“You’re a fast little bastard.” Max raised the
bunny to his face, staring into its eyes. “But you’re no match for me.” The
bunny tried to run but its feet only stirred the air. “Hey, I caught him!”
“It’s not a him. It’s a her.” Lori carefully
stepped off the path and into the deep greenery. “And I’m going to name her
Rosy and keep her in my garage, and—”
The forest was suddenly lit, every tree and
crevasse instantly illuminated in an eye-startling flash of lightning from
overhead. Momentarily every shadow retreated to its hiding place, only to
escape a few seconds later, growing stronger and darker in anticipation of the
attack of thunder that was due. Lori heard a few startled screams from the
playground, but they were muted when a deafening roar of thunder assaulted her
ears, shaking the ground and her body, too.
She glanced at Cindy and was surprised to see
her shaking uncontrollably. Her eyes were glued to something just over Lori’s
shoulder. As a shiver raced through Lori’s body, she slowly turned to see what
Cindy was staring at.
There, only a few feet behind, stood Max. The
bunny was no longer in his hand, but hung, swinging back and forth, its teeth
pierced through both of Max’s nostrils. Hands shaking, eyes crossed and wide,
he stared down at the bunny. Instantly it dropped with a dull thud, scrambled
to its feet then dashed away into the shadows. Instinctively Max cupped his shaking
hand over his nose as the blood began to flow.
Now that the storm was overhead, the forest was
as dark as night. A steady rain began to fall, pattering on the canopy above,
releasing an array of multicoloured leaves, which fluttered down all around
them. Lori reached out and grasped Max’s free hand then hurried him back to the
pathway, past Randy and a pale looking Cindy. All Lori could think about was
what Miss Hopkin would say when she found out they were playing in the woods.
“I knew…bad idea.” Max fought Lori’s help. He
struggled, pulling free of her grip. “Never should’ve listened.”
“Come on, Max! Hurry!” Lori looked out through
the clearing at the empty schoolyard. The last few stragglers were running for
the door, heading for cover. Just then, a scent drifted on the wind. It was
horrible, like that of rotting garbage, but worse—much worse. She turned back
to Max, who was sitting on a decaying tree stump, trying to catch his breath.
Maybe the smell had come from the stump?
“Tell Miss Hopkin that it happened behind the…”
Her words trailed off seeing the dark shapes on the pathway behind. What were
they waiting for? Didn’t they realize how much trouble they were going to be
in? “Cindy, Rrr…”
Two faint red dots appeared from the darkness
where Cindy and Randy had been. The sight triggered the memory from earlier
when she thought the lightning had played a trick on her eyes. She’d dismissed
it as nothing, but now, Nothing, was
standing over a dark lump on the pathway.
“What? What’s the matter?” Max asked,
struggling to get to his feet.
Lori ignored the question. She took a step
toward the glowing red eyes in the darkness, wondering what was back there. It
wasn’t until another flash of lighting pulsed across the sky, filtering through
the small gaps in the branches, that Lori saw exactly what stood guard over the
fallen body.
She gasped seeing its blood-soaked muzzle
inches from Cindy’s mangled neck, while Randy meanwhile stood to the side,
watching and waiting.
It all happened so quickly that Lori couldn’t get
a warning out. The beast sprang from Cindy’s lifeless body and in one quick
motion sank its teeth into Randy’s neck, ripping out his throat. Then it silently
started back into the woods—even before Randy’s body began crumpling to the
soft leaf-covered pathway.
“No!” Lori screamed, unable to stop herself.
She froze in terror as the beast stopped. Its massive head jerked around in her
direction, eyes glaring, burning like embers in a fire.
Lori felt a tremor erupt throughout her body.
They had been safe. It was going away, leaving her and Max to survive, but
because she couldn’t control her emotions, it was watching—No, coming for them!
Lori turned and grasped Max’s blood-covered
hand then sprinted, pulling him down the path to the schoolyard. She didn’t
dare look back, afraid that the beast would be nipping at their heels. Instead,
she forced Max to run faster, but he stumbled and tripped on everything,
finding it hard to keep up.
When they made the edge of the woods, Max
tripped on a tree root, falling flat on his face in the soft mud. Lori stopped.
She pleaded for him to get back to his feet and continue running, but he looked
tired and defeated. His nose was still gushing blood, bright red against his
ash-white face. She glanced back into the darkness of the trees and saw the red
eyes closing in fast. Max turned to see what they had been running from and
when his eyes fell on the charging monster, he scrambled to get to his feet.
“Go!” he yelled.
Lori obeyed. She turned her back on the
approaching killer and ran as fast as she could toward the school—and help. Her
only chance to live was to out run it. She was one of the fastest kids at
school, but could she outrun a killing machine?
Twenty feet from the tree line, she heard the
first shriek from behind. Her body shook. She couldn’t help it. She pictured
Max back there and could only imagine what that thing was doing to him. He’d
always been so timid and reserved, and now he was sacrificing himself so she
could get away. She felt ashamed at leaving a friend behind. Felt torn about
whether to flee or to fight. Lori remembered how easily that thing had finished
both Cindy and Randy and realized that there was no way to win a fight against
it. Her only chance was to run for help.
Another shriek came, this one more like an
animal cry than a human. Legs trembling, unable to continue, she stopped and
glanced back. Just past the trees, in the long grass, Max lay clinging to the
rear leg of the beast. It continued on, struggling three legged to resume the
chase, clearly angered at Max’s actions.
Lori couldn’t believe it. Max was still
fighting for her. He was doing everything he could to save her, but she was
stopped, watching and wasting precious time.
“Run, Lori!” Max screamed as the beast turned
its attention to the parasite on its body. Max snatched a loose rock from the
ground and slammed it into the approaching muzzle. It connected, splitting the
beast’s lips wide open. The animal paused a moment, taken by surprise, and Lori
prayed that it would change its mind and retreat from the attack. But after
lapping at the gushing blood, it snarled, then in a fevered frenzy repaid the
effort. Max’s grip loosened then his hands fell, twitching onto the damp
leaves.
The beast stepped away from Max’s body and
stood tall on all four legs. It was at that moment Lori saw exactly what she’d
been running from—a wolf! But not an ordinary wolf. This wolf was huge. Its
muscular body rippled under the tattered, matted fur as it slowly stepped
toward her. There was something seriously wrong with this thing. Lori felt the
tremble rack her body again. The colour of its eyes told her everything—it was
pure evil!
The sky let loose as if at the command of the
beast and the rain plummeted to the earth, stripping leaves from the trees. The
roar of the downpour filled her ears, blocking the sound of the beast’s
footfalls as it advanced toward her.
Lori spun, sprinting full out toward the
school. Her legs burned. Her lungs ached. She knew that if she didn’t get to
the school—and fast—she would die right here in the playground.
The pouring rain pasted her clothing to her
skin, making it hard to get full strides. She couldn’t tell how much lead she
had and didn’t dare glance back to check, fearing she might slow slightly. The
glass door of the school was twenty feet away, illuminated in the darkness of
the storm. She prayed for someone to be there to open it, allowing her to dive
inside, but it remained deserted.
A flicker of red reflected off the glass door
sending a shiver up Lori’s spine. It was right behind, chasing her down like an
animal.
Five feet away—the rain fell like a waterfall,
cascading down her face and into her mouth as she gasped for breath. The red
eyes reflected high in the glass door—it was launching itself at her for the
finish! There was no way it was going to let her escape.
Lori’s fingers wrapped around the cold steel of
the door handle. She watched the red eyes grow larger and larger as the wolf
sailed toward her back. Every movement slowed to a crawl. She pulled the door, which
seemed to weigh a ton. Slowly it began moving on the hinges as the rancid
breath of the beast filled the air.
The door was half-open, but the reflection in
the glass was enough to make her stomach turn. The beast’s jaws were wide open.
A mixture of saliva, puss and blood strung from the mangled lips, down to the
darkness. Lori was on the threshold, trying to squeeze through the half-opened
door, when its teeth pierced her flesh and the blood began to flow. Her left
hand snapped protectively to the side of her neck and Lori released an
ear-piercing scream…
Chapter 1
Lori bolted upright in bed, screaming at the
top of her lungs, her hand clasping the scar tissue at the side of her neck.
“Wolf!” she screamed. “Help!” Then as she
became fully awake and realized she was safe in her own room, hundreds of miles
and four years away from the horror in the school ground, she broke down
sobbing.
After a few minutes the tears stopped flowing
and she was able to catch her breath. As her finger slid over the raised scar
tissue, she whispered, “So lucky. So damn, lucky!”
She had after all gotten away. The wolf had
taken a chunk out of her neck, but as it bit down, she’d slipped on the wet
entrance mat and lost her footing, sending the wolf crashing over her head, into
the brick wall. Then while it was dazed, Lori had jerked open the door and
squeezed inside.
“So lucky to even be alive,” she said, but then
her heart twisted with guilt. Cindy, Randy and Max weren’t so lucky. How could
that have happened? Killed by a wolf in this day and age?
Lori glanced at the clock on the nightstand.
7:30. “Shit, I’m gonna be late for school.” She swung her feet onto the floor,
hurried and gathered clothes then dashed to the adjoining bathroom.
Standing in front of the bathroom mirror, Lori
held the pendants from both necklaces together between her trembling fingers.
The gold plating had worn off years ago, leaving the words looking old and
tarnished. But, it didn’t matter because every time she rubbed the two words
between her fingers, Lori felt somewhat closer to Cindy. It was, after all, the
last thing Cindy had given her.
Lori wondered why the memory had resurfaced
now. It had been years since the last time she’d woken up like that. Why now?
Why the hell, now? She could still see Max holding onto the wolf’s leg—giving
his life for hers.
Tears filled her eyes. She clenched them shut,
praying that the image would disappear. With shaking hands, she reached for her
prescription bottle of tranquillizers, popped the cap and swallowed two. Quickly
she showered, dressed, then descended the stairs to the kitchen for breakfast.
“Hi, Mom.” Lori avoided her mother’s gaze. “How
are you this morning?”
Her mother finished pouring the glass of orange
juice then set it on the table. “Never mind me, I heard you scream. Was it the
same nightmare?”
Lori nodded her head, dropping into the chair.
“It was the same one I had back in Wampus Springs, before we moved here.”
“But it’s been—”
“Years. Yes, I know how long it’s been.”
“I could give Sara Parker a call. Maybe she can
get you in to see Dr. Bruce this afternoon. He might be able to help sort out
these nightmares.”
“This one’s not a nightmare, Mom—it’s a memory!
It’s exactly what happened! It’s like I was right back there.” Lori saw the
hurt look on her mother’s face. “I’m sorry, I shouldn’t take it out on you… But,
Mom, it felt so real. Like I was really there again, back at the school.” Lori
took a sip of juice. “I swear I could reach out and touch the others. I could
even taste the rancid breath on that thing as it lunged for my neck.” Tears
blurred her vision. “Those eyes, those red eyes…they seemed to bore straight
inside me.”
Her mother stepped behind, placing her hands on
Lori’s shoulders then whispered that everything would be all right and that
they’d get through this together.
Pulling away, Lori looked up, meeting her
mother’s gaze. “Mom… I still miss Dad.” Lori swallowed the lump that was stuck
in her throat. “Why wouldn’t he come with us?”
“I wish I knew.” The tears were welling in her
mother’s eyes but she blinked them away quickly. “I really wish I knew.”
After eating enough breakfast to satisfy her
mother, Lori grabbed her purse and school bag then headed out the front door.
Reaching the end of the crushed stone driveway, she glanced back. The old
Victorian home was picture perfect, barely visible behind the shroud of mature
oak trees. Lori could just make out the large hanging swing on the front porch.
The one place she could really relax and think.
Four years ago they moved here, to Ridgeway, Ontario,
a small town nestled in the countryside, on the edge of Lake Erie. With its
sandy beaches and crystal-clear bay, it was an easy choice. But the true
selling point was the fact that it was far enough away to settle a hysteric
young girl who felt her attacker was lurking in every shadow, waiting to pounce
when no one was around.
Lori swung her school bag over her shoulder
then headed off down Hillcrest Street. She walked with her head down, watching
the sidewalk while her mind replayed that horrible memory. The guilt of seeing
Max sacrifice his life for her was gnawing at her stomach.
“Lori… Lori!” Jessica shouted from in front of
the school, casting a scowl at anybody else who dared look her way. “Over
here.”
Lori crossed the street, walking straight to
Jessica. She didn’t feel much like talking right now, but Jessica wasn’t the
type to let her alone to sulk. “Hi, Jessica. Were you waiting for me?”
“Of course I was, I’m always waiting for you,”
Jessica said, raising Lori’s chin with one finger. “I’ve been watching you
since you turned the corner down the street. You must’ve had a bad night, cause
you look like shit.”
“Yeah, I had trouble sleeping.” Lori lowered
her voice. “I had a nightmare.”
“So, you’ve had that same nightmare for the
last three weeks. What was it this time, wandering through the woods or the
farmer’s fields?”
“No, not that one!” Lori stepped away from the
crowd, lowering her voice. “The other one I used to have.”
“The one where you were attacked?” Jessica
whispered.
Lori nodded. “It’s been years, but it was
exactly the same. Nothing’s changed. Nothing’s even faded with time.”
“Wow,” Jessica raised a manicured eyebrow, “I
have trouble remembering last week, let alone years ago. But why would you have
it now, unless—”
“It has something to do with my regular
nightmares.”
The bell rang.
Jessica grabbed Lori’s arm and escorted her
inside. “You know you’re gonna have to get a hold of this thing before it
destroys you. One day they’re gonna find you dead in your bed, with a scream
stuck on your face.”
“I know. Dr. Bruce says it’s all in my head,
but I’m still scared. What if it comes back for me? And what if something
happens to you, like it did to my other friends?”
“Don’t worry. Nothing will happen to me.
Nothing I don’t want to happen. Besides, you don’t think I can kick some ass?” Lori
followed Jessica’s gaze. It was directed at Jessica’s ex-boyfriend, Marcus and
Crystal, the most popular girl in school. “Remember what I did to her last
year?”
“I still can’t believe you broke her nose, and
what for?” Lori said. “Because your stupid boyfriend was talking to her.”
“Talking?” Jessica laughed. “Half an inch
closer to that bitch and they would’ve been tonguing each other. It serves that
slut right for messing with my man.”
Raising an eyebrow, Lori said, “Well, you got
the last laugh. You dumped him, right?”
“Um… right.” Jessica shook her head and stormed
down the hall as Lori ran to catch up. “He’s a typical boy, follows his dick
like a divining rod.”
“Well, I’m just glad you’re my friend,” Lori
ran right into Jessica as she stopped suddenly, “and not my enemy.”
“Watch where you’re going.” Jessica drew a long
ragged breath then exhaled deeply before turning to Lori. “Did you ask your
mother about the dance Friday?”
“Let’s just say we had a long discussion about
boys, sex and drugs. I didn’t think she was gonna give in and let me go, but
after thinking it over for a few hours, she finally agreed.”
“That’s great cause Kirk just got his car
running again. You know, the Buick, the one with the big back seat?”
“No, I wouldn’t know about that, but I’m sure
you’ve checked it out many times.” Lori fell behind a step. “But I don’t even
have a date. Who’s gonna want to go with me?”
“Don’t worry your pretty little head about
that. I’m working on it.”
As they approached their lockers, Jessica suddenly
stopped dead in her tracks so Lori almost stumbled into her. “Why is he always
there?” Jessica complained, gesturing toward Douglas, who had the locker to the
left of Jessica’s. “You have to trade me lockers, Lori. I can’t take it any
longer. Every time I get something from my locker, that dork, Douglas is there.
How come I had to get stuck beside him?”
“Look at the bright spot.” Lori smirked. “At
least you’ve got me on the other side to balance things out.”
“If you trade with me, I’ll do all your
homework for the rest of the year.”
Lori rolled her eyes, nudging Jessica along.
“Nice try Jessica, but I do want to pass.”
“Anything,” Jessica begged dramatically. “Just
name it.”
“All right I’ll trade, but only if you agree to
go on a date with Doug.”
“Bitch!” Jessica whispered. “Fine, let’s get it
over with.”
“You know why he spends so much time at his
locker?”
“Because he’s a moron?”
“No, because he likes you. That’s why he
pretends to get stuff from his locker, just so he can wait for you to show up.”
“That’s just gross! The thought of that little
dweeb thinking he could score with me.” Jessica shook off the thought. “He’s
never even been with a girl before. For all I know, he might be gay. You know,
I read once that all gay guys are obsessed with neatness. Take one look at his
locker and you have to agree he’s a candidate for a Butt-surfer award.”
Lori shook her head. “Don’t even start with
that. You never read anything.”
“That’s not true. I read it in one of the smut
magazines at Kirk’s house.”
“You reading smutty articles? No way.”
“Hi Jessica,” Doug said, his face turning a
brilliant shade of red.
Jessica ignored his salutation and moved past
to her locker. She glanced repeatedly from the corner of her eye, waiting for
him to leave. Then after fifteen seconds and no success, she pasted a big smile
on her face and poked her head into his locker. “Hey Doug, you got any tampons
in here? If not, how bout a pad? Mine’s all bloody. You know how it gets on the
heavy days.”
The colour drained from Doug’s face and a cold
sweat broke out on his forehead. “Um… No. Um… I don’t… Why would I?”
“It was a long shot, but I think mine’s full.
You know, I think my panties are getting full of blood too.” Jessica reached
inside and fumbled through his gym sack. She pulled out a sock first then
finally found what she was searching for. “Can I borrow your spare undies, just
in case I leak?”
Doug couldn’t take any more. After ripping his
underwear from her hands, he tucked them back into his sack, slammed the locker
door and turned toward the classroom.
“But Doug, I promise not to wash them!” Jessica
yelled as he ducked into the classroom to avoid all the stares. “You can wear
them after I’m done!”
“You’re so mean Jessica,” Lori said, unable to
hold back the smile. “I still think you guys would be great together.”
“If he’s so nice, then why don’t you date him?”
Lori opened her locker, stuffed her bag inside
then grabbed a binder. “Cause he clearly likes you. He couldn’t take his eyes
off you the whole time.”
Jessica shoved Lori toward the classroom door.
“I never thought I’d say this, but let’s get to class so you’ll shut the hell
up.”
The rest of the day went by like clockwork.
Lori attended her classes but found it hard to concentrate. Her mind kept
drifting back to the images of the wolf attack and to the question of why it
had resurfaced now, after weeks of being haunted by the other nightmares. She
prayed they weren’t connected, but deep down inside she suspected what was
happening and it scared her—scared her to hell.
After school, Lori hurried down the hallway,
anxious to escape. She nearly made the door before Crystal, Monica, and the
latest addition to their group, Tanya, noticed her passing. Lori could feel
their eyes following her every step and braced for the insults, which were
bound to come.
“Wolfie. Come here, Wolfie,” Tanya called. For
being new in town, she seemed to adapt to her position as bully pretty quick.
The fact that she towered over most the girls—and some of the boys, combined with
the fact that her father was the latest recruit on the police force, made her
pretty much invincible. She took advantage of her position beside Crystal, and
Monica—the English teacher’s daughter—to dish out an extra dose of punishment.
“Wolfie want a—” Tanya stopped when a classroom
door opened and Mr. Schafer stepped out. He glared at Tanya and point down the
hall, toward the principal’s office. Without a word, Tanya shrugged her massive
shoulders and shook her head before plowing through the crowd toward the
office.
Lori turned, giving Crystal and Monica a big
smirk before stepping through the door. It felt great seeing the stupid look on
Tanya’s face at being caught red-handed, but Lori knew it would only infuriate
Tanya and the next time she’d be more careful and more relentless.
Once outside, Lori scanned the crowd and found
Jessica and Kirk propped against the wall, making tongue babies. Normally she’d
wait until they tired and broke apart, but today she found herself impatient.
“You coming?” Lori said, stepping behind
Jessica. “Or are you gonna try to get your gum back?”
“Yeah, I’m coming.” Jessica broke free of
Kirk’s groping hands. “It’s not like another few minutes would’ve killed you.”
“No, but if the principal releases Tanya, then
she just might try.”
A big grin filled Jessica’s face. She hated
Tanya more than anybody else in the school. Not just because she was bigger and
stronger than she was, it was the fact that her father, the cop, had been
spending too much time around her mother’s coffee shop, getting too close to
her personal life.
“Why what happened?”
Lori recounted Tanya’s run in with Mr. Schafer,
and described the look on Tanya’s face when he’d stepped out into the hall. The
news seemed to make Jessica’s day, bringing her to full-blown laughter. It
wasn’t until they turned the corner and were clearly out of sight of anyone at
school that Lori tagged Jessica then sprinted down the sidewalk. Jessica would
give chase—she always did.
Lori couldn’t believe how easy it was to out
run Jessica today. Normally they were neck and neck, but today her feet seemed
to glide over the sidewalk, hardly landing before pushing off again. She
thought it might be the rush of hormones inherited from her first menstrual
cycle. The extra little push she’d been missing for the last years. Other normal girls had suffered and complained
for years about the pain and mess, but Lori had been immune from the whole
deal, that was, until last month when it finally came. She’d been half
relieved, half scared to death of it. Her mother said she was lucky not to have
dealt with it at a young age, but Lori could tell its absence had worried her
mother a great deal, too.
Reaching her driveway, Lori glanced back,
spotting Jessica a block behind, holding her stomach and gasping for breath.
“Come on, Jessica! Let’s get you in the house
so you can rest.” Lori jogged back, bouncing on her toes and grabbed Jessica’s
arm. “You want me to help you the rest of the way, Grandma?”
“Ha, ha, you’re so funny.” Jessica shrugged off
the offered hand.
Lori’s mother was standing just inside the
front door when they entered. Her face relaxed the moment Lori stepped across
the threshold and Lori wondered if her mother had moved from that spot at all
during the day, or if she’d stayed there waiting, unable to proceed with her
life until she knew her baby was safe at home.
“Hi, Mrs. Foster,” Jessica said, trying to hide
the fact that she was tired and out of breath.
“Hello, Jessica.” She smiled and turned to
Lori. “And how was school today?”
“Oh, the same as always,” Lori dropped her
school bag onto the hall table, “boring.”
Jessica jabbed Lori in the ribs. “Hey, what
about Sex Ed class?”
Lori felt her heart race. Jessica had a way of
turning the ordinary into the extraordinary. She shook her head, praying that
Jessica would hold her tongue, but knew her prayer would go unanswered.
“They showed slides of diseased penises.”
Jessica smirked at Lori. “Now you can’t tell me you were bored looking at
penises?”
Lori’s mother nervously moved the school bag then
arranged the magazines on the table. “That’s enough, Jessica.” She shook her
head. “You must drive your mother crazy.”
“I try.” She grinned. “I think it’s my duty as
a teenager to make her ponder her decision to reproduce.”
“Oh, I’m sure she ponders often.” Lori’s mother
turned and headed to the den. “Supper will be ready shortly. Don’t spoil your
appetites with junk food.”
Lori led the way into the kitchen and rummaged
through the cupboard for a snack. After plucking a bag of cookies from the
shelf, she turned to Jessica. “Nobody’s gonna ask me to the dance. They’re all
scared of me. They think I’m some kind of freak and this scar proves it.”
“Scar? You can hardly see it.” Jessica ripped
the bag from Lori’s hand and set it on the counter. She closed her eyes and
rubbed her temples. “I can see a young man who’s interested in your body. Nice
looking boy, dark hair, full lips, tight butt. Oh… Oh… but wait—Wait a minute.
I see it! Yes, I can see it! Oh…” Jessica opened her eyes and shook her head.
“Too bad, he has a small cock. But hey, you’re still a virgin, so you won’t
know the difference.”
Lori glanced around, making sure her mother
wasn’t near. “I’m proud to be a virgin.”
“Spoken like someone who’s never had sex.”
Lori exhaled heavily. “Who is he? And how do
you know he likes me? And why didn’t you tell me before?”
“Slow down.” Jessica closed her eyes and
reached for her temples only to have Lori restrain her arms.
“Just tell me without all the crap!”
“It’s Josh Hughes.”
“From English class?”
Jessica pulled her arms free of Lori’s
tightening grip. “Yes, Josh. He’s always staring at your ass when you go to the
blackboard.”
Lori glanced out the doorway. “He’s nice,
right?”
“He’ll do.” Jessica grabbed the cookies from
the counter and popped one in her mouth. “Too quiet for me. But Kirk kinda
knows him and he mentioned you’re looking for some action.”
Lori shoved Jessica back. “He didn’t!”
“Who knows what they talked about?” Jessica
skirted around Lori and settled in at the table. “The important thing is, Josh is
interested in taking you. Kirk’s gonna call tomorrow and find out for sure.”
“And what exactly is he expecting?”
“I don’t know. Probably what every boy’s
looking for. But don’t worry, just tell him Aunt Flow’s in town. That turns
them off fast.”
“It might not be a lie. It’s been three weeks
since my first period so it could start any time.” Lori grabbed two pops from
the fridge and sat down at the table, then took a cookie from the bag. “Hell,
if I was three years late, it might not come back for another six months.”
After dinner, the rest of the night slid by
with the usual routine of television and gossip. When eleven o’clock rolled by,
Jessica headed home before her mother started calling.
With Jessica gone, the house seemed too quiet.
Lori peered into the den and saw her mother sound asleep on the couch, the book
she was reading still clutched in her hands.
Lori fought away a yawn as she made her way up
the stairs. She was almost to her bedroom door when she paused to gaze at the
old family photo hanging in the hallway. There she was, four years old, hoisted
on her mother and father’s shoulders as they posed before the colourful
backdrop of the carnival. She found herself drawn to the picture like a magnet,
probably because they all seemed so happy that day, something they’d been
missing for many years now.
Breaking free from the picture, she continued
on to her bedroom. There she changed into her nightshirt then crossed the room
to the window. The sky was clear with only the brightest stars shining through
the glow of the streetlights. Lori scanned the darkness, examining every hiding
place, but there was no wolf lurking in the shadows waiting for her to leave
the safety of her home.
She bent down, opened the lid of the window
seat then lifted her sweaters and dug deeper until she found what she was
looking for. Her diary.
After opening the diary to the last entry and
reading it, she stared out into the night, thinking. Then finally…
Dear Diary — Friday
Mother’s
finally letting me go on a date. I know how hard it is for her to let go and
watch me grow up. I can still see the fear in her eyes whenever I leave the
house.
Jessica’s
getting Kirk to set up a double date for the dance. She told me that Josh had
been asking about me a lot. Who would have thought that Josh liked me? Sure, we
share a few classes and I have caught him looking at me. But here I just
thought he was looking at me and thinking ‘There’s one messed up girl’ but he
wasn’t. He actually likes me and by the way, he is cute and he does have a nice
butt, just like Jessica said.
I was starting
to wonder if I’d ever have a boyfriend. They all seem so scared of me. It
doesn’t help that Crystal and her new recruit Tanya spread all those stories
about me.
Lori felt her blood pressure rise just thinking
about that latest rumour. The previous one was bad enough, but to spread a
rumour that she was the one who’d killed her best friends, then turned the
knife on herself in a botched attempt at suicide. That crossed the line from
being bitches to slandering bitches.
Lori sighed.
Maybe Josh is
different. Maybe he won’t care what Crystal says about him dating me. Besides,
this could be the turning point in my life, going from such a screwed up
childhood, to some kind of normal life.
It could be
the beginning of a real relationship. Something that I thought this scar on my
neck would prevent from happening. But now I’m getting carried away. We might
not have anything in common, or he might change his mind and cancel before
Friday. Oh well, no sense in worrying about it, I’ll find out soon enough.
Gotta go
Lori closed the diary then placed it back
inside the window seat. With her sweaters hiding her thoughts, she turned off
the lights and climbed under the covers. The thought of Josh taking her to the
dance caused her body to tingle with excitement. It was a welcome change to the
dread that she normally felt, worrying about the nightmares and memories that
would inhabit her sleep.
