Chapter 5

Antonie

His hand was bleeding, leaving a trail directly from the cabin. He was a coward, and at that point, he didn’t care. Antonie’s mom always said: If you see trouble. Stay out of it, and if you can’t. RUN. So he did just that. Besides, he didn’t owe his siblings anything. He tried warning them – tried protecting them. But the dumb one had to throw a chair into the window. 

Cold sweat ran down his spine, and he could barely breathe. He could barely comprehend what was ahead of him. In the distance, Antonie heard the howling again – this time louder. But they couldn’t be that close. He had run away from the danger, not towards it. 

Looking over his shoulder, a trail of the creatures prowled behind, stalking him. 

“Antonie!” Camille’s voice screamed out in the distance. 

What did he get himself into? He pushed himself farther. He just had to make it out of the woods and into the streets – there would be cars. Maybe. But the trees weren’t helping, and neither was his energy. He dared look back right before he hit the black pavement, but the monsters had stopped a few feet away. They stared at Antonie. 

Then, as if no longer concerned, they turned around and headed toward the sounds of his screaming half-siblings.

“Atonie!” 

What the hell were they doing? The air filled with howls again but more wildly, almost as if they were laughing at the scene in front of them. 

A small cloud circulated in his mouth as he began to take deeper breaths. The creatures were shrinking—as if the mist was swallowing them. And Antione knew the way you know a stove is still hot but unable to stop yourself from touching it. He knew that something terrible would happen to the others.

He could leave them and let the monsters tear them apart limb by limb, just as he had wanted to do since he got there.

But then he remembered one more thing his mom said: If you have the power to do good in this world, then do good.

It was simple yet effective, so he did what he knew his mother would do for him. He ran toward the direction of danger, screaming. The crisp air quickly surrounding him and clogging his nose. Fog invaded his eyes, and as he ran directly back into the woods, he tripped over a fallen branch and landed on his stomach. Antonie had to think fast, and as he raised his head, he came face to face with yellow eyes and an open mouth, ready to bite. Its fur had a gray coat with speckles all over its face. Up this close, it didn’t feel all that scary, but as Antonie pulled away from the monster, it attacked him – biting Antonie right in the face. He was crying, most of his blood-curdling tears getting mixed with the rain.

He heard someone scream his name in the distance.

“Antonie, Antonie, Antonie!”

But as the blood trickled down his face, the speckled wolf retreated. Antonie could barely move, let alone speak. He couldn’t think for long. Raising his head again, he looked out to see in the distance. The sound of the breeze had camouflaged the truth. A few feet away stood three other monsters.

Antonie screamed, trying to gather his strength. “Hey! Get away from them!” Mustering what little power he had left, he grabbed a log and threw it in their direction. He felt a tickle on the side of his face, and as he touched it, the blood stained his fingertips. He wanted to pass out, scream, and cry for his mother.

Camille

Camille’s shoes were soggy from the drenched grass. Her breath made little pillows out into the air. As usual, Daymond was close behind, with Bernard straggling along. 

“This is dangerous!” Daymond screamed, but it was no use. She wasn’t going to listen.

The rain poured over their shoulders. Her loose honey box braids weighed heavy on her back. But she kept running, kept her eyes on the prize. To find Antoine. The leaves were deadly brown and decrepit. Daymond managed to catch up, so he grasped her arm, demanding her to stop and return to the cabin. 

“I’m not leaving Antoine out here!” She said. 

“He’s the one that left us, and who cares? We don’t even know the guy!”

Camille looked at Daymond with disdain. “He’s our brother.” Grabbing at Daymond’s shoulders, she stared directly into his eyes, making sure he understood.

“Our half-brother,” he snarled. 

Camille glared back at him. 

“This is not the time to argue. We’re already out here. Let’s find him and be done with this.” Bernard said. 

He was the voice of reason for Camille and, apparently, Daymond as he eventually began walking forward, furthering into the woods.

“Antoine!” Camille called out. 

Eventually, the other two joined her calls, not caring what may answer back. They were stuck in the middle of nowhere in a storm. It doesn’t matter what happens to us, as long as we are together. She shouted his name louder, and took two steps forward. The woods are soaked – twigs cracking under pressure, but the water patters sound the same as if the world was finally drowning of its sins—the sin of the wolf. 

“Look!” Bernard pointed into the darkness, fog splaying across the willow trees and skies. 

But in the center, that’s not what caught his attention. Camille followed his finger and landed on a set of golden eyes. Slowly, she began to make out the other features: the nose, fur coat, and paws.