Five-Ten in the Morning, September 26. Outskirts of Robert’s Forest.
Debra carefully led Wendy out on the edge of Robert’s Forest into the field where the entire pack had previously transformed. Wendy’s lack of energy worried Debra. She seemed she could collapse at any moment. Debra voiced a small whine which easily translated in Wendy’s mind. Wendy merely smiled back and said, “I’m okay.”
Debra took note of the distant tone in her voice. Once they were with Lisa and the pack again, Debra placed herself next to Wendy.
Lisa growled and gestured in her crimson hybrid form at her pack sisters. She wanted everyone to transform back into their human selves and to meet up at her home. Sharon was going to ride with Lisa and Solange. Debra will be driving with Wendy in Lisa’s Jeep Cherokee, and everyone else will be in their own vehicles.
Lisa’s gleam of superiority softened when she saw the concerned look on Debra’s face. She followed Debra’s gaze toward Wendy. Lisa immediately saw the reason for her concern. Wendy was expressionless, staring at the ground.
“Grieving for Vix, no doubt,” Lisa thought to herself. She wanted to talk with Wendy to tell her that things was better off this way, but now wasn’t the time. Although Lisa saw first hand of Vix’s sacrifice, Vix was not a member of her pack, and was more so a threat. Her death means that her pack will be safe, at least for the time being. “Still,” Lisa reflected while she continued to issue her commands, “Vix would have been an excellent addition if she saw lycanthropy more as a gift rather a curse. What a shame…”
Debra, like Lisa, didn’t grieve for Vix. Instead, she worried more for Wendy. Wendy was her responsibility, and she wanted to help her cope in any way possible. Debra’s flattened ears perked up as an idea popped into her mind.
The moment before anyone started their transformation, a howl sounded into their ears. Everyone, including Wendy, turned to see the source. Debra was crouched on all fours, her nose pointing at the crescent lit sky as a melody escaped her muzzle. Normally there was only one note to a howl, yet Debra was very articulate in hers. It started with a long sole note. A note that spoke of monumental proportions: of life, of death; of gain, of loss; of saving, and of sacrifice; in translation, ‘balance’. Her pitch slowly shifted higher, marking the start of the echoing tale of their journey.
The idea that an unaccompanied howl is a forlorn and lonely one also echoed into the minds of her coven sisters. Lisa was the first to chime in, her howl starting when Debra paused to catch her breath. She picked up the tone effortlessly. Her flexible vocals took up on the high note where Debra left off and held it with alarming clarity before easing down.
Soon, everyone joined into the hymn of howls each telling a tale of their own experience. Every change in tone marked a different emotion that mirrored how they felt through the ordeal. The most notable were Lisa’s, Debra’s, and Solange’s.
Solange’s howls went from those of despair to relief. She loved and felt deeply responsible for Sharon, who lay soundly asleep as if she knew she was in caring embrace. Solange was comforted by her coven sisters while Sharon was missing, but out of all of them, Solange took it the hardest. She was the one to offer Sharon the gift, and Sharon sealed their love when she accepted. Only in death would that bond ever be broken. Solange was grateful that she did not experience that kind of loss. Her Alpha and her Alpha’s mate were to thank for that.
Lisa and Debra, they understood each other so well that they shared howls. Alternating in sync, starting slightly before the other ended, they expressed care, unity, and pride for all others to hear. From afar, their joint performance sounded like a continuous howl from a single wolf.
Wendy’s sorrowed state shattered. Taken back by the display, she yearned to become whole. She wanted to join them, to become part of their harmonious howlings. It drew her closer to understanding the relationship she had with her sisters. She was theirs, and they were hers. The emptiness left by Vix was filled with renewed hope. Wendy knew that she had her pack to depend on, and they will help her through this.
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Minutes before…
“B.P. 90 over 40 and falling, fast,” the female paramedic informed, monitoring Vix’s vitals.
“She’s going under shock,” the other said filling a syringe.
THUMP!
The ambulance shook, running over a large rock on the dirt road. The paramedic dropped the syringe. “Hey Jim! Can you keep it steady up there?” he yelled. He goes for another syringe. He moved over to inject the life saving liquid into Vix.
THUMP!
“Gah!” he yelled as he pressed down on the needle into the soft stretcher cushion Vix was laying on.
THUMP!
The small bottle containing the injection fluid falls on to the floor and rolls away.
“Crap!” he cursed. Wasting little time, he reached back to get another bottle and syringe. This time he successfully administered the liquid to Vix. The result was not what he anticipated.
“She’s flat lining!” the female medic notified.
Without hesitation, he began chest compression while the other supplied oxygen. A few minutes pass without any response.
POP!
The two paramedics tending Vix were roughly thrown aside as the ambulance careened off road. Both braced themselves against anything fixed until they came to a stop.
“You okay, Caroline?” he looked over at his partner.
“Yeah, I’m fine,” she replied out of breath.
“Blow out,” the driver shouted. “I’ll call for another bus.”
Caroline placed the fallen oxygen mask back on Vix. The other checked her vitals for any improvement. He shakes his head, still no pulse.
“AED, now!” he ordered as he prepared Vix for defibrillation.
Caroline removed the cover for the defibrillator when the speaker on the case started to blurt out instructions on how to use it.
“Shut that thing up!” he remarked loudly. Applying a wet gel to Vix’s exposed chest, he grumbled as Caroline flipped a switch. “Three lousy thousand dollars and they can’t give us the type that doesn’t talk.” Caroline pressed both electrodes on Vix. The defibrillator monitor showed it was charged.
“Do it,” he said, removing the oxygen mask. Caroline depressed a button, sending a jolt reading 400 volts on the panel into Vix. Her body remained still as the shock coursed into her heart.
He checked her vitals, briefly placing the mask back on. “No change, again!”
“Hold on, it’s still charging,” Caroline pointed at the machine until the ready light was on. This time the read out was at 700 volts when Caroline repeated the process. This time, there was a slight twitch as the second shock was administered. Again he checked her vitals, nothing.
“One more time,” he said with a grim look. Nodding, Caroline waited once more for the defibrillator to charge. The final charge was set at 1000 volts which delivered the maximum amount possible. With bated breath, both watched as Vix convulsed momentarily from the discharge. Still, there was no pulse. Closing his eyes, he came to a conclusion.
“Write this down,” he said glancing at a digital clock. “Time of death, five-t…” The rest of his statement was drowned out as a howl flooded the ears of the ambulance’s occupants. He and Caroline looked nervously at each other as a series of howls followed the last. It was then when the defibrillator Vix was attached to beep with activity.
“Look!” Caroline pointed. The machine was displaying heart rhythm readings.
The male paramedic watched in astonishment. “The damn thing’s wrong,” he muttered in disbelief. He placed his hand on Vix’s neck to feel slight throbs against his fingers. “No way…” He double checked with her wrist to find a similar result. Next, he moved his head closer to Vix and heard her breathing. “Well holy shit.”
“What happened?” Caroline asked.
“I don’t know… must be a delayed effect from the last shock,” he answered rummaging his fingers through his hair, “but I’ll be damned if this wasn’t a miracle.”
“Her BP is steadily increasing,” she said looking at a monitor. She turned back to her partner and grinned. “This was the first time I’ve seen one of those.”
“Yeah… me too,” he said rather unsure of himself. What he said next brought back the little confidence left in him. “Keep an eye on her BP, we might not get a second chance if she goes flat again.”
Ten minutes passed before another ambulance to arrive to usher Vix away. By then, the mysterious howls that marked her turning point fell silent, its players already long gone from their grassy stage.