Chapter 2: unconscious

After several somersaults down the cliff into the woods, their vehicle finally came to a halt when it collided with a tree trunk in the forest. Their vehicle now laid upside down in the middle of nowhere, the four wheels still rotating around the axles as the engines went ablaze.

     No one was conscious after the crash, but coincidentally a young boy happened to be close by. His name was Henry, the youngest member of the Carter werewolf family. Once he noticed the accident, he went over to offer some help but it was too late for Nicole’s parents, they had already succumbed to their injuries.

     Henry could hear Nicole’s heart beat faintly, she was in the rear seats still stuck to her seat belts. He was able to yank her out of the burning vehicle, Nicole was on the brink of death and that left Henry with no other choice. Without any hesitation, he slashed his palms with his claws and poured a few drops into her mouth.

     He was careful not to give her so much of his blood because it could be toxic to a human. Henry had no other way of ensuring her survival without turning her into a werewolf. Henry had to find a place to keep her for the time being while she recovered.

     He took her to his family’s cabin quite a distance away, carrying her on his back. Henry made sure that none of his family members had an idea about her, he secretly brought her meals.

     “Hey Henry, are you okay?” Henry’s mom, Agatha, asked him. She noticed that his eating habits had changed a lot plus he was eating twice as much as he used to earlier.

     “I am,” he uttered

     “I have never felt better,” he added, as he wore a fake smile on his face.

     “I just need to be sure that you are not going through any phase alone, we are here for you,” she told him. Agatha imagined that he was going through depression since he had been spending most of his time in the cabin, for some weeks now.

     “I know all that mum, but as I said I am fine,” he told her, trying to convince her.

     “I guess I would have to take your word for it,” Agatha replied to him.

     It had been two whole days and the mystery girl he saved was still recovering, she had not woken up. He could only feed her with liquid food since she could not chew. That morning, he returned to the cabin to find out that Nicole was not present.

     He began to panic, because he thought that perhaps his mom found out what he was hiding and he felt it was the reason behind the sudden show of care earlier.

     Henry walked a few meters from the cabin in search of the mystery girl and he was relieved to find her.

     “what are you doing here?” he questioned her. She looked confused and tired, she obviously had no idea where she was going to.

     “who are you?” she asked him, “where am I?” Nicole added. She glanced around in different directions, as she placed her palms on her face trying to feel her own body.

     Her body was readjusting after she regained consciousness, her senses seemed strangely elevated. She slowly walked up to a puddle of water close by and just as she took a glance to see the reflection of herself, her legs trembled and she fell. Henry was able to grip her just before she hit the ground.

     Henry escorted her back to the cabin, holding her hands across his shoulders to help her walk through the stumpy woods. He was actually happy to see her awake, but his fear was that she would want to know the whereabouts of her parents.

     “what is your name?” Henry asked her out of curiosity.

     After a pause, she uttered “My name is..., Nicole,” she sounded quite uncertain.

     “are you sure?” Henry probed.

     “yes, I think so,” Nicole replied to him.

     “So, what are you doing around here?” he inquired, Henry wanted to know how much she remembered.

     “I...,” she paused for a while, “Do not know,” Nicole said to Henry, she gazed at him completely confused.

     Henry did not want to break the news to her about the accident and her parents, he felt that it would be too much for her since she was just recovering. Later that day Henry decided to return to the crash site, he wanted to clear the wreckage and bury the bodies of Nicole’s parents.

     He could not find the crash site anymore when he returned, at first he thought that it was just him unable to remember the location of the crash. Soon Henry realized that someone else was already there and they did not leave any trace of an accident behind. Down to the trees and the grasses that had been destroyed were completely replaced with props.

     Henry began to think that there was more to the accident, it did not in anyway random.

     “where have you been?” Nicole asked Henry as he returned.

     “I went for a walk in the woods,” he replied, for some reason he did not also want her to find out about his family.

     “why do I feel so blank, like I’m meant to know something but nothing adds up,” she questioned.

     “I have no idea but there is nothing to worry about, you’ll be fine,” Henry assured her.

     Once Peter realized that the tracker placed on Nicole had stopped transmitting, he sent some of his men to see what happened. Nicole had enrolled into the University of Denver just few months before the incident happened. After she was gifted an iPhone, a present no one would refuse.

     When Peter’s men arrived at the crash site some hours later, they saw the crash but could not find Nicole. Peter was more bothered about the wreckage rather than the young girl, and he needed to cover up the accident.

     Peter was not directly involved in the crash but if there were any investigations, it could lead to him and other incriminating information would eventually be discovered.