No One Can Know...

The ground vanished beneath Hannah's feet and suddenly she was air borne. The wolf howled in rage and anguish but the sound became further and further away. Hannah's deep brown eyes snapped open. The trees were racing passed her in a blur and her head began to spin. Hannah's first thought was that death was nothing like she'd expected. For one it hadn't hurt nearly as much as she'd thought it would. Suddenly Hannah felt the ground beneath her feet swiftly followed by pain as her body went to meet it.

Hannah rolled onto her back to see where she was. She recognised her surroundings instantly and realised that she was in fact not dead, because no way would the afterlife look like the main road leading into Ducks Bottom. Hannah started in surprise when she realised that a man was standing next to her feet and staring disdainfully down at her. Hannah recognised him, it was the blonde man that had vanished from the graveyard. Once again Hannah was certain that she'd seen him somewhere else before...

"I rescued you, no need to thank me by the way." His voice was thick with sarcasm and he had a heavy American accent.

"Thank you." So if he rescued her from a werewolf did that make him superman? All the stories could be true. However Hannah was fairly certain superman would rescue you with more charm and less imperious boredom. "What are you?" Hannah realised that he must have carried her and either run or flown really fast to bring her here.

He ignored her question.

"I'll leave now, I rather fancy a crack at that wolf without any distractions." His tone was accusing, as if Hannah was a misbehaving child.

"No!" Hannah shot up to her feet, balance was still an issue so she stumbled and had to cling on to a tree. "You can't!" A breeze ruffled her hair and abruptly she was staring at just a tree. He was really fast. "NO!" Hannah stared at the forest fringe that over the years had crept up on the road. She had no idea what to do. The idea of Lucy being hurt was horrible but how could she possibly fight that man? Also if she charged off into the woods the wolf might succeed this time in tearing her into pieces. Hannah growled in frustration, she had never felt so useless and hopeless.

Hannah sat down, leaning her back against a tree and listened to the noises of the forest - flinching at every sound. Silent tears spilled down her freckled face as she waited in the dark. Hannah's rational mind couldn't reject the facts, her cousin was a werewolf. She thought back over the last few days. Lucy had said, 'It hurt me and then it killed her... I ran faster than Jess and that's why she's dead!' Now she understood those words. The transformation into wolf had looked excruciating - the wolf had hurt her. If that American had not been so fast they would be dead now, Jessica had never stood a chance. So Lucy had killed Jessica, no wonder the idea of attending her funeral had been too much.

When light at last crept up on the night sky, Hannah headed off into the woods. Her head was reeling, was she really going in search of a werewolf. It felt silly to believe in a mythological creature, it felt dangerous to go in search of one. But Lucy had returned to being human last time, she might do it again. As Hannah walked, in what she hoped was the right direction, she concentrated on every sound and movement around her and tried not to think too much. But still the question pushed its way into prominence in her head, what happened now?

Hannah felt the hairs rise on the back of her neck. It was just a feeling but as she walked on - it became stronger and the irrational fear that she was being hunted made her breathing louder and her heart beat thumped at double pace. It didn't take long before Hannah come upon the wolf's tracks. Now all she had to do was follow the path of carnage. It had torn apart several trees and clawed at the bark of more. Hannah followed, trying to not panic as the destruction reminded her of the terrifying beast that had almost killed her.

She saw light up ahead and sped up to reach it, eager to escape the oppressive gloom of the forest. Hannah broke out of the trees and into a clearing. She gasped. The clearing had been created by the uprooting of the trees that were now piled in a broken heap. Hannah caught sight of a small shape in the centre of this destruction. Lucy was curled up in a tight ball, her perfect white skin caked in dirt. It was incredible that her violent transformation never left a mark on her body. Hannah called Lucy's name softly, to alert her cousin of her presence. Lucy sprang up and pulled Hannah into a tight hug.

"You're alive! I was so scared. When I think about what might have happened..." She was weeping hysterically.

"Lucy, are you a werewolf?" Hannah asked surprised by how calm her voice was.

"I think so but I don't know how." Lucy's voice was small and vulnerable. "I'm a monster! I killed Jess! I remember doing it. It enjoyed it!"

Hannah removed her coat and coaxed Lucy to put it on. Hannah felt cold just looking at bare skin exposed to the cool morning air. Lucy hung her head miserably, too ashamed to look her beloved cousin in the eye. "Are you going to send me to a lab or just kill me?"

Hannah staggered back at these words. How could Lucy think that she would ever harm her? She loved her as a sister.

"No. I won't let anyone hurt you Lucy." Hannah promised her eyes blazing with sincerity and aggression. Lucy's head snapped up and her baby blue eyes mirrored Hannah's.

"No one can ever know."