Gauntlet Rite of Ascension (2 page)

If it was someone that needed help and I left them here how could I look at myself in the mirror? Just a quick check then, if it was someone in need, I’d go get help, if not I’d get my butt to class.

              I stepped off the trail and went deeper into the bushes. I pressed aside small trees and bushes to make a path towards the sound. I heard it again and it was louder. I was getting closer.

I passed through a deep patch and entered a slight clearing. The bushes opened up enough to allow me to see a white form lying under an overhanging pine tree. The deep shadows hid the figure from me but I could see the form moving up and down, breathing. I was just about to walk away, figuring it was someone sleeping when the figure slowly started moving.

A large white wolf stood up and stared at me. The animal was magnificent. It had the long strong legs of a northern wolf, piercing light blue eyes that looked at me with cunning and a surprising depth of intelligence.

I was mesmerized. I stood transfixed as a wolf out of myth and ages past stood looking at me. It lowered its head slowly and sniffed, then it rose back up and stared with an intensity that was unnerving.

I didn’t know what to do. If I turned and ran that would only make me seem like prey and I was afraid the wolf would attack. If I stood there and did nothing that might make the wolf curious and it might come over to investigate and then attack.

I thought about jumping up and down and waving my arms while screaming, only for a second. The wolf took a few long steps towards me and before I knew what I was doing I saw my hand reach out. The wolf came to within a few feet and I kept my hand there, out in front of me level with the wolf’s nose. The wolf leaned in and sniffed my hand then dipped its snout under my palm and rose up indicating that I could pet it.

I cautiously stroked the wolf’s head twice before my senses came back and I started to realize what I was doing. I took my hand back as the moment passed. The wolf continued to keep eye contact with me and I was just about to start slowly walking backward away from the wolf when it lunged out and bite down on my forearm.

Pain erupted as the wolf’s powerful jaws clamped down and its teeth pierced my skin. The wolf’s grip was like a steel vise as I tried to pull my arm back. No matter what I tried the wolf would not let go.

My arm was screaming in pain as a dull throbbing began to radiate from the site of the bite. I was just about to take my backpack off and use it as a weapon when the wolf let go of my arm and turned away, disappearing into the shadows of the woods. I took a few steps back, thrown off balance.

I looked down and saw blood slowly welling up out of the puncture marks the wolf’s teeth left. As the pain increased, I felt another sensation following it. It was odd, but there seemed to be an almost physical sense of finality. It was as if a lock had been turned and a door that had been long closed opened.

I couldn’t explain it, only to say that I felt as if something important was about to happen. The pain came back and erased any other feelings as the shock of what happened and the sight of so much blood overwhelmed me and I passed out.

Chapter 2

I slowly opened my eyes.

The bright sting of a ray of sunlight assaulted me as it shot through a break in the leaves overhead. I squinted and brought my arm up over my eyes to shield them. I sat up and my head swam as dizziness clouded my vision. I waited for it to pass and the deep throbbing of my temples to fade into the background.

What was I doing here? I thought.

Then I remembered the wolf and the encounter. I looked down at my right arm afraid of what I would find. There was dried blood on it where I remembered being bitten, but there were no open teeth puncture wounds. My skin was closed; showing small scar puckers in the spots where a wolf’s teeth should have left open bloody wounds.

Either I had been bitten by a wolf and the wounds had healed within minutes or the marks were from some kind of bug bite.

Was I going mad?

Had all the nights spent learning about thermodynamics or studying calculus made my head mush? Did I hallucinate being attacked by a wolf? What the hell had happened?

All these thoughts and a million more raced through my mind. I absently looked down at my watch. I had only ten minutes to get to school before I was late!

I got up and hurried out of the bushes. I tried to brush off the leaves and some of the dirt that was stuck to my pants.

Once I got back on the trail everything seemed to gain normalcy. This trail was familiar; the path to school was familiar. If I just got to school, the weirdness of the morning wouldn’t seem so real, I thought. Something explainable happened. I was sure. I just had to figure out what.

I started running, hoping to get to class in time. On the way, my mind began formulating a plausible scenario that seemed more and more agreeable all the time.

I heard a noise and went to see what it was. A rabbit startled me and I fell down bumping my nose and bleeding on my arm. A bug had bitten me and left those strange marks on my arm and the whole wolf thing was a result of my being unconscious.

Yeah, I could live with that.

I flew out of the woods and over the open expanse of grass that led up to the high school. It wasn’t a large school.

The main structure consisted of a one story rectangular building with two adjoining wings the same length but not as wide. There were satellite buildings that housed some electives, Art, Home Ec. that sort of thing. The gymnasium was in another building behind the main school.

I passed the large gymnasium that held our pep rallies and basketball games and hurried into the main building from a back entrance.

The hallways were full of students making their way to their lockers and getting their books needed for class. I stopped inside the building and checked my watch. I had three minutes until the first bell. Then another bell three minutes later that let you know you were late.

I had six minutes all together, plenty of time to get to my locker and then class.

I tried to calm down and act normal. I walked through the hall avoiding other kids and keeping my head down.

For some reason everything seemed to smell stronger. The scents permeating my school assaulted my nose and as I passed each student I could easily tell what they had for breakfast. One girl had cereal, another girl ate a donut, while still others only had coffee, and a few stunk from cigarettes and the occasional joint.

Everyone that passed me held a deeper profile than I was used to. Colors were sharper and the sounds of the crowded hallway began to overwhelm me.

I made it to my locker and stood there leaning my forehead on it taking deep breaths. I tried to get control of the sensory overload I was experiencing. Maybe I had hit my head harder than I thought.

“Hey, what the hell happened to you?” I heard my sister say as she walked up to me.

“What?” I said, startled at her approach. A strong scent of someone else came off her, a familiar, yet hard to define odor.

“What’s wrong with you? Did you get beat up or something? You’ve got blood on your arm and you’re dirty. Did someone jump you?” She asked with real concern.

“No, no. I just fell, it’s nothing. Thanks for leaving me, by the way. I had to take the short cut through the woods.” I said, trying to make her feel bad.

“No problem. Next time, be faster.” She said with a smile, unperturbed.

“Jerk.” I said.

“If you don’t like it you shouldn’t be such a tight wad and spend some of the money grandma left us. Get your own damn car.” She said, walking off.

“Bye bro, have fun today.” She added over her shoulder.

Maybe she was right. Grandma had left us a large sum of money after her death. I took mine and put it in the bank, intent on using it to help with college. Susan took hers and bought some clothes and her car. The rest she put in the bank for a “vacation” she said she needed after school let out.

We were twins, not identical, paternal. We were both graduating this year and had different goals. She didn’t take her future as seriously as I did. We were best friends growing up, always together, playing, hanging out. We slowly grew apart at the beginning of high school.

I guess hanging out with your brother was bad for the rep. It was bound to happen I guess. I missed her though. Maybe things would change after school was over and the pressures of a social life less important.

“Eric! Eric! There you are. Where the hell have you been? You were supposed to meet me in the library, remember? You wanted to practice your debate prep.” I heard Max say as he walked over to me.

He was my best friend. We met during our freshmen year. I was on the football team and he was in the chess club. Some of my fellow teammates thought it would be funny to give him a “Texas wedgie”, I didn’t.

I stepped in and saved him. He hasn’t left me alone since. He is really a good guy. Smart and kind, he spends way too much time online and sees a conspiracy in everything. I loved his enthusiasm.

“I’m sorry, Susan left without me and I had to walk to school, took me longer than I planned.” I said.

He came up to me and noticed the blood and dirt. Concern crossed his face.

“You okay man?”

“Yeah, I’m fine. Just fell that’s all. I’m gonna go get cleaned up real quick, meet you at lunch.” I said.

“Yeah, okay, see you in a bit.” Max said as he continued to look at me with skepticism.

I hurried down the hall and into the bathroom. I went to the sink and assessed myself. It wasn’t all that bad. I had a smudge of dirt on my face and some small leaves in my hair, my arm looked worse than it was.

After washing the blood off it looked normal, except for the marks. I checked my clothes and quickly tried to swipe off any leftover dirt. I looked at myself and decided I was presentable.

The first bell rang. I had three minutes. I turned from the mirror and ran straight into Ricky Roberts. We collided as I was exiting and we both took a step backwards.

“What tha?” Ricky said.

Anger starting to show on his face as he saw it was me. Ricky was very athletic. He was tall, strong and had a tendency to be aggressive. He wasn’t a bully, but he didn’t have a problem getting physical when someone got in his way.

“Watch where the hell you’re going A.W.O.L.” A.W.O.L. was a term some on the football team had given me after I left. Some of the players saw football as a club or an exclusive membership, a privilege. They resented the fact that I quit.

Especially, since I was good at football. Normally I never let the term bother me. I let it go by without a second thought. What did it matter anyway? These people lived their lives for high school and in five years they would be working some lame job reliving the “glory days”.

I stopped and stood up standing tall and straight. Ricky outweighed me by about fifty pounds, but I wasn’t a shrinking violet.

Anger welled up within me, a deep urge to strike out and make him understand that he was beneath me overwhelmed me. I was filled with a need to make my dominance known. To have him understand where he stood on the natural order of things and that was under me.

I took a step towards him without even realizing it and a slow snarl began to gather deep in my throat. Ricky saw something in my eyes, because he took an involuntary step back.

I shook my head, getting myself under control. What was wrong with me?

“My bad, sorry.” I said as I turned to walk past him.

Ricky just looked at me, still confused, then he said, “Yeah, well, be more careful.” His previous bluster gone.

I walked away from him and made my way to class. Something about how he smelled clicked and I realized what the smell on my sister was.

I made it to class with a few seconds to spare and the day of learning started. My first period was calculus, it wasn’t too terribly hard, you just had to keep up so that the material didn’t overwhelm you.

Next came U.S. History. I always loved the stories about battles and the founding of America, but somehow Mr. Fritter sucked all the fun out of it. I think history teachers are taught how to pull all the enjoyment out of the past. We learned more about dates and places than about the people and events that took place there.

Third period was Home Ec. I had all my credits full and needed an elective. I decided to take it in hopes of meeting a girl. I figured that’s where they’d all be. Sure, it was full of girls, but none of them were interested in me.

It was no loss; I learned how to fix buttons and how to bake a cake. I was currently working on making a poncho, it was almost done. All I had left was sewing on the hood.

After Home Ec. was lunch. The previous episodes of enhanced sensory perception had stopped and I wasn’t assaulted with overwhelming sights, sounds and smells.

I went to the lunch counter and got a tray, loaded it up with the mystery meat of the day and went to find a seat.