RowenaI woke with a start, my heart pounding as the remnants of a nightmare slipped through the cracks of my consciousness. For a few disoriented moments, I simply laid there—staring blankly at the muted sunlight filtering in through my curtains as my mind caught up with reality.It was only when I reached out blindly, my hand finding nothing but empty space and rumpled sheets beside me, that
RowenaThe crisp evening air hit me like a slap in the face as we burst out of the cafeteria—the chaos inside still ringing in my ears even as we put distance between us and the furious mob of angry students.My lungs burned, my heart thundered in my chest, but I couldn’t even feel it. Not after what had just happened.
RowenaI watched in horror as Eric began to fall.“Eric!” His name tore itself from my throat as a ragged scream, my fingers digging gouges into the side of the car. He couldn’t fall here, not like this. I wouldn’t let it happen.Despite Emma’s protests, I shot to my feet, prepared to lea
EricI woke up with a start, my entire body tensing as my eyes snapped open. For a disoriented moment, all I could process was the dim light filtering in through the curtains—and burning my eyes.Sitting upright, I winced as a sharp twinge of pain worked its way through my shoulder—the events of the previous night rushing back. Those damn feral warriors.
RowenaI hurried down the hallway at camp, keeping my head down in the wake of everything that had happened with Heather and Dr. Reynolds—but apparently, it seemed that I didn’t need to.One apologetic glance turned into another, followed by the occasional sympathetic murmur, and soon, I was realizing that my classmates actually…
RowenaEric’s wide blue eyes stared down at me for a moment, his broad frame practically blotting out the light streaming into the hallway through the large windows before I managed to collect my bearings.“How’s your arm?” I blurted out, taking a step back and adjusting my satchel on my shoulder.
Rowena“Did you see the look on Liam’s face when you beat his high score on that zombie shooter game? He was so flustered!”Emma rolled her eyes good-naturedly. “Yeah, well, that’s what he gets when he assumes that girls don’t know how to play video games.” She paused for a moment before shooting me a sly grin. “You and Eric seemed to be having a pretty good time too, by the way.”I felt my cheeks flush slightly at her implication, and quickly looked away to hide it. Last night, Emma, Eric, Liam, and I had gone out to a local arcade; we had spent the night playing games, eating pizza, and… well, just acting like normal people for a change.It had been nice. But there was nothing more to it.“Yeah,” I finally managed, rubbing my hand along the back of my neck. “It was nice to spend some time with him.”“Mhm.” Emma drew out the sound, shooting me a coy look. “If you say so. But you two would make a pretty cute couple if, you know, you weren’t related.”My heart stuttered in my chest at
RowenaI hovered anxiously over the warrior’s bedside, my teeth gnawing at my bottom lip as I watched him strain against the thick leather restraints binding him to the cot. A thin sheen of sweat glistened across his brow, his eyes wild and glazed as he thrashed around—growls and snarls ripping from his throat like a feral animal.He had been sedated, which reduced his fury immensely. I wondered what it would be like if he hadn’t been.“God,” Eric muttered from somewhere behind me, low and full of worry. “He’s... he’s completely gone, isn’t he?”I swallowed hard, my grip tightening around the pen I held as I watched a thin line of white foam dribble from the corner of the warrior’s mouth. This was bad—so, so bad. The Wolf’s Fury virus had progressed so quickly, far more quickly than I could have imagined. Just minutes ago, he had seemed relatively coherent save for his unfocused gaze and jerky movements. Now…Now he was practically feral, utterly detached from his humanity.A shudder