Between Life and Death

Chapter 2

         We pulled up to the small townhouse about ten minutes later. I could feel my anxiety picking up the closer we got. Something about what Sammie had said wasn't sitting right with me, but I didn't know why until we walked into the house and I immediately noticed that the wine she had supposedly set on the counter wasn't there. I noticed her tense up as I walked into the kitchen, and I knew she knew that she had been caught.

         "I can explain..." She started hesitantly.

         I looked back at her, crossing my arms over my chest expectantly. I raised a brow at her silence and after a moment nodded. "Right, so, you lied. You weren't even home that night, were you?"

         She shook her head, looking down at the ground, wringing her hands nervously. "I... I don't know what you want me to say, Lizzie..."

         "How about the truth, Sammie!? Or am I not worthy enough for that!?"

         She flinched, and I realized I had struck a nerve. I didn't care though, I just wanted some answers.

         After a long moment, she sighed and looked up at me. "Sit down. We have a lot to talk about..." I watched her walk over to our couch and sit uneasily, and after another moment I followed, fuming.

         "You know I hate being lied to, Sammie. How many times have we sat here while I ranted about Jackson lying to me? And now you're doing the exact same thing!"

         Her eyes snapped to my face, and I saw a mixture of hurt and anger flash through them at my harsh words. Something else was there too, though. Something I hadn't ever really noticed before...

         "You listed a few cryptids at the hospital, and while yes those are some of them, you didn't quite hit what I was looking for". She took a shaky breath before continuing. "Vampires, werewolves, djinn, the like. They're all cryptids too".

         I could feel my anger spike. "Back to those cryptids. What the hell does that have to do with anything!? They're myths"

         Sammie looked me dead in the eyes, and I felt a wave of sudden, primal fear wash over me. This was a look she had never given me before, like a predator locking in on it's prey. I shrank back slightly, my anger fading into fear.

         "We're not all myths". With that, she stood and, after beckoning to me to follow, walked out the back door, toward the forest that was just behind our house. I followed uneasily, still afraid of that look she had given me.

         We walked for several minutes before finally stopping in a small clearing, maybe twenty feet in across. She held up a hand, signaling me to stop at the edge of the trees as she continued into the middle of the clearing, then turned to face me.

         "There's a lot you don't know about the world, Lizzie. Why you're in a coma yet you're able to walk around, why I can see and hear you. And what exactly I am". She turned her back on me at the same moment she began to change, her body shifting fluidly until what stood before me wasn't the Sammie I knew, but instead was a huge black wolf, standing as tall on all fours as I did on two legs.

         I stumbled backwards into a tree as the wolf stepped forward, a deep rumble in it's throat. It wasn't quite a growl, but rather something softer than that, protective almost. After several long moments, the fear in my chest subsided as it reached me, and I lifted my hand to pet the wolf gently. It leaned into my touch, and I thought I could almost make out a smile. I stared into it's eyes, and the realization hit me that this wolf was Sammie.

         Another moment passed before she shifted back and I snatched my hand away. She reached to grab it, but once more only passed through me. I frowned deeply, confused. "Why was I able to touch you when you were... well, a wolf, but now you can't touch me?"

         "It's the supernatural aspect of it. In this form, I'm just as human as that nurse. In the wolf form though, I am something different. It would be the same if I only half shifted. Like so". Another fluid shift and suddenly she had wolf ears and fangs. She reached for my hand and took it in both of her, holding it tightly. "I know this might be a lot to handle right now..."

         I stared at her in awe. "You're... a werewolf?"

         She nodded slowly. "Yes, I am. I'm the one who found you after you fell through the ice. Er... Well, I was there when you fell through the ice actually".

         My eyes widened as it suddenly came back to me, the last thing I saw before everything went black. The silhouette of a wolf, howling against the full moon. I stared back at her, shaking slightly. "You were there... You called 911?"

         She nodded slowly. "Yeah... You sank too fast for me to grab you in time..."

         I nodded slowly, trying to process the whole situation. "So... I'm in a coma... Because I fell through the ice... And you're a werewolf... You were there when I fell through... Why? Why were you there? And how did you really know about my fight with Jackson?"

         She sighed shakily and dropped my hand as she shifted back. "It's... complicated? Sort of. What I told you before about how I knew about your fight was true, I could sense you were upset. Which... Is why I was there, I guess. Something felt wrong, very wrong. I could tell you were incredibly upset, so I shifted and ran to the park because I knew you would go through there on your way home. I was planning on just following you to make sure you got home safe, but trying to be sneaky when you're as tall as a human in wolf form is kinda... Difficult. You heard me, and I caught scent of a man ahead, which is what caused the growl... And you started running... I followed until I saw the man ahead. I saw the knife he was holding and... I couldn't lose you that way. I knew you wouldn't be able to outrun him, so..." She let out a shaky breath.

         "You... Killed him?"

         Her eyes snapped up to mine and she shook her head quickly. "No! Gods, no, I just... Disabled him. The police found him when I called 911 after you fell through. He's in the hospital too. But I had to make myself known to you to do so... And you took off..." Her voice broke, and suddenly I knew what she meant.

         "Hey, this isn't your fault, Sammie. I should have just called you and asked you to pick me up. You can't blame yourself for this. There were so many things I could have done differently..." I reached for her hands only to remember as my own passed through her. I frowned deeply. "Why am I like this? Why haven't I woken up yet?"

         Sammie looked at me, her eyes soft. "Because that fall through the ice should have killed you, Lizzie... But for some reason it didn't. Is there something you remember from that night that maybe I don't? Something you saw?"

         I shook my head. "No... The last thing I remember is you howling against the moon. Everything after that is just... Dark. I'm pretty sure I passed out after that".

         Sammie shook her head slowly. "You were awake when they pulled you out, Lizzie. You didn't pass out until they got you into the ambulance". She was silent for several moments, and I was too shocked to say anything. "We need to go back to the lake. There's something we're missing".

         "Like what...?"

         She looked at me again. "I don't know. But we're going to find out"