9 Who are you?!

Michael's POV

I really didn't know what the hell was happening. 

One moment, I am in a cemetery grieving over my dead sister and the next, I am with a woman who can talk to wolves! 

My head kept spinning as it hardly registered anything that freak lady was saying. 

"Hey! Quick, we have to go." She said. 

It occurred to me that I don't even know her name. Or anything about her.

"Err.. where are we supposed to go? You can't be suggesting that we go with these wolves??" I said faintly. 

She stared at me irritated. 

Then facing these wolves, she started making those weird growling sounds closely resembling the ones that the wolves made in response. 

I must be dreaming. None of this can be real, come on….it must be overexertion from all those late nighters that I have pulled last week. I blinked and even pinched myself, while the freak lady held onto me. She didn't disappear. What if I'm hallucinating? Do I have any of those dreaded brain disorders? Can all of this be a figment of my imagination indicating a malfunction of my brain?

I tried to concentrate. The lady turned towards me urgently and grabbed my hands tighter. Something curled inside my stomach and I vehemently tried to ignore it.

"Who are you? And heavens! What is happening?" Exasperation shot through my voice. 

"I am Cassadrei. That's all you need to know right now, I'll explain you everything later. Now, come." She said. 

I weighed my situation, like I always do when I am faced with peculiar circumstances. In my mind, I tried to picture the pros and cons, whether it would be prudent to follow the instructions of an apparently insane lady. On one hand, I thought, she is speaking gibberish and suggesting that we follow some bloodthirsty wolves deep into the woods. On the other hand, the wolves are quite placid after that apparent conversation with her and they seem less ferocious now. I mean, if they had to attack and rip us apart, they had had plenty of time to do so. Right?

She might be some sort of animal trainer. Or better, she might have experience working with violent animals on a routine basis. Everything sounded crazy, and I wondered if it's the brain tumor speaking. 

However, one thing was clear. I didn't seem to have any other option than blatantly following her because I couldn't see how I can make it out of here alone and alive simultaneously. 

The pack of wolves seemed to be delighted at the prospect of us following them. Ofcourse, ready made food for them, I thought grimly. I don't know what madness has overtaken me that I decided to go against my better judgements and trust Cassadrei. Cassadrei seemed to be very sure on herself and any sign of fright was missing from her. It hardly gave me any conviction. 

"Hey!" I whispered, "Are you sure this is a good idea? I mean... they are looking away, we can try to escape now."

"No...we won't go anywhere without helping the wolf cub." She replied stubbornly. 

Somehow, her entire persona had changed. Her eyes were bright and full of life, she seemed more energetic and purposeful than I had ever seen her. I wondered if this is what happens when you are about to be mutilated to death. 

I further tried to reason with her but she was so adamant. 

"Leave this to me, will you? I promise you no harm will come your way. You just have to stand quietly and hold my hand. " Cassadrei said, but I wasn't convinced. I still don't understand why I am holding her hand. Also, I am a bit distraught about the fact that I am not able to withdraw my hand.

I realized that we were quite far into the woods now. The trees have thickened to a considerable degree and the sky above was turning dark. It was completely obscured of light inside the thickets of dense forest and I couldn't figure out which way we had entered. I didn't dare to turn on my flashlight and groped in the dark to find my way ahead. It was better that I was holding Cassadrei's hand, otherwise I would be surely lost by now. 

I couldn't see anything ahead of me except Cassadrei's dark tangle of really long hairs that occasionally brushed against my face. I could feel my heart thumping really loud as we seemed to walk forever into the abyss of absolute darkness. 

I dared not break the pervading silence, lest I enrage the wolves. Cassadrei seemed to share my ideas too, and I really didn't have much to say to her. Everything about this situation spelled weird to me and I tried to come up with a hundred reasons to explain these, but none of those fit.

After eons had passed, we finally seemed to reach a place where the branches thinned out and a clearing was visible ahead. We had entered into the Wolf territories, it wasn't a pleasant thought but then nothing about today is exactly pleasant. 

I heard a distant whimpering and suddenly everyone came to a stop. Through the faint light projected from the skyline above, I could make out a  silhouette lying on the ground and that seemed to be the possibile source of the whimper. 

I heard the Wolves conversing with Cassadrei in that weird growling noises and once again I hoped that my sanity was intact. 

Cassadrei seemed to be unperturbed as she took a measured step forward, dragging my reluctant self along with her. There, on the ground, lying between the shrubs was a wolf cub with a deep slash across it's abdomen. It was moaning in pain as it bled away, counting the times till it's death. It was certainly a hunter's work, someone who is very skilled at their job. The slash was deep enough and the wolf cub has lost a lot of blood. It was only a matter of time before it would succumb to it's injuries. 

I don't know how Cassadrei is supposed to salvage such a deadly wound. I couldn't help remembering Cassadrei's maimed face on the day of the carnival...and how quickly it had healed. A shiver ran down my spine at the very thought. What have I landed myself into?

"Shh...erm... Cassadrei.. I don't know if we can do anything to help him... I mean it's only a matter of time now. Look at his wound...it may have festered by now. There's not anything we can do to help." I said helplessly. 

"Please just keep quiet and watch me. I'll explain everything later." Cassadrei replied, forehead wrinkled in concentration. 

I let out an audible sigh, but the wolves barely seemed to register my presence. It is a good thing, I suppose. 

Cassadrei approached the Wolf cub and sat beside him. I was forced to do so too, and on close inspection my worst fears were confirmed. Saving this cub is simply not possible, I thought sadly. I was pained to witness it's suffering but there's nothing much we could do, other than trying to end it's suffering quickly. I wondered if the wolves should be privy to my ideas. 

My attention returned to Cassadrei and I saw her gazing sadly at the cub. Maybe, she understood that it's beyond help now. To my surprise, she gathered some shrubs and started wiping the blood around the gaping wound. Then, with her brows furrowed, she placed her hand tenderly on the slash and did a little swirling movements with her fingers over it. I gazed at her in surprise, unable to understand what she was doing. Nothing happened. 

It was a cruel joke, I thought. Then I gasped. The wound started to close, the skin approximating over the gap as the muscles developed underneath. I rubbed my eyes but I was clearly not hallucinating. It was happening. The wound was healing itself! The wound closed completely...the skin stretched upon it, leaving behind no visible scar, nothing to remind of a gap that was here just minutes before.

Cassadrei stroked the cub and placed her hand over the healed wound once again, muttering something. I almost choked, the wolf cub seemed to gain vigour, it's pallor disappeared and it suddenly seemed much more lively. The cub sat up and started whirling and jumping. I almost fainted at the sight. 

My head started to swirl as nothing made sense anymore. Cassadrei looked up at me triumphantly. All around us, wolves howled and rejoiced.