Chapter 2 He Is The One

• Lyra's POV
• Josephine and I dug while Abigail packed the coals we unearthed into the canvas bags we’d brought. After a few minutes, Abigail made an uncomfortable face.
• “Pee,” she rasped.
• I blinked at her, frowning. “What?”
• “Pee.”
• “You wanna pee?” I asked, confused.
• Aby nodded.
• “Be an adult. You don’t need permission.”
• She scrambled up the rocky slope that led to the cave entrance and vanished into the forest beyond.
• “Where’s she going?” Josephine asked.
• I didn’t answer. Silence settled over us for a moment, broken only by the scraping of metal on stone.
• “You know,” I began, “I’ve been meaning to tell you, you're quick to anger, Josephine. That doesn’t quite suit a girl with such beauty.”
• She kept working, and didn't look up. “What do you mean?”
• “Not everyone has to agree with us all the time. Sometimes, we agree to disagree and that’s life. And with time, we learn to let go of certain attitudes. This... should be one of them.”
• Josephine dropped her gaze, hiding her expression. We worked for a while longer, sweat collecting in my palms and I could no longer hold the shovel firmly.
• “I think we’ve done enough,” I said. “Let’s take as much as we can carry.”
• “Right.” Her voice had softened.
• I hoisted the cotton bag, sturdy enough for the weight of coal.
• “Ain’t Aby supposed to be back by now?” Josephine asked.
• I froze.
• A prickling tension shot through my ears and into my skull. She'd been gone too long. No one pees for ten minutes or even more.
• “What’s she still doing out there?” I muttered.
• Silence settled in for a moment between us and I was hoping Abigail's voice would break it.
• “You hear that?” Josephine said, her brows arching into a frown.
• “Hear what?”
• “A scream.” Her voice tightened. “I think I heard someone scream.”
• My heart skipped.
• “Aby,” I whispered. “Abigail. That had to be her.”
• I bolted for the entrance, and Josephine was right behind me. My body surged with adrenaline as I paced up. I wasn’t sure how I went past the red cedar tree we passed on the way in, but I remembered doing it in one swift limp, like a deer chased by a predator.
• “Abigail!” I shouted, scanning the trees with my eyes. “Aby!”
• Josephine joined me, her voice high with worry. Another scream pierced the silence, this time to the west.
• We ran toward the scream but I stopped abruptly at a point.
• “I smell blood,” I said suddenly, stopping. “Josephine, I.. I smell blood.”
• “You what?”
• “Blood. Aby’s hurt. I know it.”
• “How do you—?”
• “I don’t know. I just do.”
• I turned to her. “We should split up. We’ll cover more ground faster if we do”
• Josephine frowned and brushed dirt off her chest. “Are you sure that’s a smart decision? Wouldn’t we be safer sticking together? What if we’re attacked?
• I inclined my head backwards a little.
• It was a good point. Too good. It could be exactly what the attacker wanted, I mean to separate us.
• “Do you have a better idea?” I asked.
• She hesitated, the fear showing in her eyes. Despite her tough look sometimes, Josephine’s heart had always been tender, or so I thought.
• “Please,” I said, taking her hand. “Anything you see, scream and run to the cave. That’s our rendezvous point. I’ll come for you.”
• She sucked in her lips, then nodded.
• We took off in separate directions. I followed the trail where I’d last heard the scream, my eyes scanning the forest floor. Blood marked the leaves. It was fresh, small drops, but enough for a trained ranger like me to follow the marks.
• The trail led into a quiet, shaded grove beneath towering trees. Some trunks were as wide as my grandfather’s truck. The silence was suffocating here and it gave me chills.
• I paused.
• Goosebumps prickled my arms at some point and I knew something was up.
• Something was watching me. Something somewhere and I was sure of it. I scanned the shadows, my instincts screaming danger.
• I couldn’t defend myself. Not without a weapon.
• I tried to breathe slowly, stay calm, and think.
• Josephine, was she safe?
• I should’ve never let her go alone.
• Then I heard that which I had been afraid to hear; a faint, mournful whimper of a human girl.
• “Aby?” I called. “Abigail, is that you?”
• But there was no answer.
• Just as I wanted to kneel down beside a tree because I was disappointed, she was just right there, opposite me.
• Abigail lay crumpled, her white top shredded and soaked in blood. Her lips looked like torn cardboard sheets, red and trembling. Her eyes were glassy, bloodshot.
• “Jesus Christ,” I whispered, kneeling beside her.
• I cradled her damp head, voice trembling. “What happened to you, Aby? Who did this?”
• She coughed weakly, blood sputtering from her mouth. I grabbed a handkerchief and wiped her face, her shirt. “Just breathe. I’m here. Breathe.”
• She lay her head in my lap, breathing shallowly.
• “N-Not who,” she whispered.
• “What?”
• I leaned closer.
• “Not who,” she repeated. “It’s a what.”
• I was tense.
• “What do you mean?”
• “Wolf... is... here.”
• I snapped my head up.
• Behind me stood a massive wolf, canines gleaming red. Abigail’s blood was dripping from its mouth.
• My pulse pounded in my veins, chest, and stomach.
• I gently lowered Abigail’s head to the ground and rose, facing the beast.
• “Dangerous,” she murmured, her breath fading.
• “I know.”
• The wolf paced in a circle, gauging me.
• I had no weapon. Not even the shovel, we’d left those back in the cave. This thing could kill us both.
• Then I saw a rock buried near Abigail. It was the size of both my fists clenched together.
• I dug my fingers around it, trying to pry it loose but it was very hard and I could do little to nothing to remove it.
• Perhaps, the wolf noticed. It snarled and charged against me.
• I dove, narrowly avoiding its claws, though one scraped my stomach, tearing my shirt and grazing my skin.
• Amid the scream, I pulled the stone with all strength until I grabbed it.
• I looked back and found out Abigail wasn’t so lucky. The beast slammed her into the tree. Her head struck hard and she slumped, and remained there unconscious.
• “No!” I screamed. “You motherfucker! Come at me!”
• The wolf let out a deep howl. It was as though the idiot was laughing at me.
• It charged again. I waited, then I hurled the stone straight at its face. The impact landed on its head and the wolf howled, staggering back, one eye gushing blood.
• I didn’t smile long but I did a little. That two seconds of satisfaction wasn't bad at all. The beast wasn’t done with me.
• I had nothing left to throw.
• It lunged at me again, I dodged as I did before, but it anticipated my move. Its claws raked across my thigh, tearing into flesh.
• “Damn!” I cried, clutching the wound.
• The wolf snarled, eyes gleaming with vengeance.
• It lunged again. I faked right and dove left. The move tricked it once, but it wouldn’t work again from the way I see it because it was faster.
• It leapt, claws outstretched. I caught its front legs, but its hind legs drove me back. I lost my balance and hit my head on a rock.
• Pain exploded in my skull and blood ran into my eyes.
• I was going to die, I thought.
• As the wolf reared to strike again, a blur of movement slammed into its skull. The beast tumbled, yelping, until it hit a tree with a sickening thud.
• A figure stood between me and the wolf, tall and motionless. He turned slowly and there stood a man.
• My heart skipped.
• “W-who...” I gasped, vision blurry, “What are you?”