(Still Not Found !)
an excerpt

They were onto her again. Three to one, their spears aiming at her.

Men and she-wolf were facing other, motionless, sustaining each other's gaze. Crouching on her hind legs and ready to spring, Ciara looked alternately at each of the men.

What makes you think you're stronger than me ? She thought. Your sticks ? Your number ? Your so-called intelligence ? That feeling of superiority you've taken so well for granted ? You fools !

Although the spears appeared to be still, Ciara could see they were slightly twitching.

She could sense the fear they failed to hide with their combat stance and their apparent confidence. She could feel the tension in the nerves of their arms with the tight grip on their weapons. She could see the terror in the shrinking pupils of their eyes and hear their heart racing inside their chest, counting every second to their inevitable death.

Ciara stepped slowly backwards, holding her gaze at the men and letting out a threatening snarl. The men stepped forward, probably thinking she was retreating with fear.

Idiots !

She no sooner saw a perfect opportunity about the man in the middle. He was the tallest, and probably the leader, but he also was the most terrified. As he suddenly brandished his spear, she pounced on him, aiming at his right shoulder. As she expected, the man did not resist the attack. He no sooner fell down and let his spear down. The second one tossed his spear at her but missed her, unlike the third one, whose weapon wounded her left flank. She shook it off, without leaving her grip on the first man. As the latter tried to sit up despite his deep wound on the shoulder, she jumped on him, pinning him on the ground and sank her fangs into his throat.

A feeling of infinite satisfaction overwhelmed her, as she relished the taste of blood ; as the man let out his last breath ; as the other men slowly backed away and lowered their spear, gaping in terror. She had just killed their leader. The second man let down his spear and ran away, leaving the last man in a state of schock and terror. Unlike his companion, he decided to resist and faced her, directing the head of his spear to the she-wolf. Ciara only moved softly towards him, staring at him, while the hunter stepped back and forth, hesitating between attacking or defending himself. Ciara could see cold sweat pearling on his forehead.

For a moment, they circled, still staring at each other, him panting loudly, her growling.

Why don't you just run for your life, just like your mate did ? Her amber eyes were telling the man. If you think your life's so precious, why don't you just leave me ? What do you want from me ? What satisfaction would my death provide you with ?

As a response, the man threw the spear at her, hitting her shoulder. Ciara howled in pain, violently shaking the spear off. The head stayed stuck. The hunter picked up the spear left by his companion and ran towards the wolf. Ciara jumped and bit his calf, causing the man to trip and fall on his back.

B+ Ciara ! Let go ! B;

The spear rolled away from him. The man stretched his hand to reach it, but was dragged by Ciara's tight grip on his ankle.

B+ Will you let go, goddammit ! B;

The man pulled his leg in a desperate attempt to set himself free but it only brought Ciara to sink her teeth deeper in his skin.

B+ CIARA ! STOP IT ! I'M YOUR DA ! B;

Ciara opened her eyes and the reality of the situation hit her with as much brutality as an anvil dropped over her head. She was in bed, her father was leaning over her and... she was biting his forearm. She no sooner released him, overwhelmed by guilt as she saw the red print of her teeth on his flesh.

B+ I'm so sorry, Da... B; she said with a weak trembling voice, feeling her cheeks flushing. B+ I was dreaming... B;

B+ It's OK... B; Da grunted, rubbing the small fleshwounds. Her mother was standing by his side. Ciara thought she heard him whisper to her B+ Those damn stupid dreams again... B; Ma shook her head and tutted. B+ Come on... B;

B+ We're so glad you're safe and back home, sweetheart. B; she said to Ciara, kneeling at the side of her bed and trying to sound compassionate. B+ Where on Earth have you been ? We were worried about you ! We had to call the police b oh Gerard, by the way, did you... ?

- I'm gonna call'em B; he muttered, going out of the room. B+ And I'm gonna call Carmichael too. B;

- At this time ?! She sees her this friday. It can wait...

- Karen, she bit me. B;, he said, clenching his teeth. Ma sighed. B+ Go call the police and tell them she's back. B; she said firmly.

Da opened his mouth to speak, but said nothing. He shook his head and went out. Ma turned to Ciara again.

B+ Ciara, how did you come back ? We didn't hear you.

- The bathroom window B;, she replied. B+ It was open. It's always open, anyway.

- Can you tell me where you've gone ? You said you went on your date with Shane and...

- Ma ! For the hundredth time, Shane and I aren't dating ! Ciara cried with an exasperated voice. We're just friends... B;

Ma paused, with a scrutinizing look, opened her mouth, but she went on.

B+ Anyway, that's not the point. So, you went out to meet your friend Shane, but Mrs MacKerr said he was home last night and you were not with him. So,...

- I don't know.

- What do you mean? You don't know.

- It's true. I swear, Ma, I... I don't remember anything. B;

Ma narrowed her eyes. B+ Are you sure ? B;

It was partly true. Ciara could not still recall about the events that led her to the cave on the banks of the river, although Ma dropped a clue. She went there because she received a message from Shane. He said he wanted to show her something... or that he had something important to say... or something like that and that they have to meet by the river, where they liked hanging out. However, he did not turn up. Then all she remembered was that rotten feeling something was horribly wrong. It all went wrong indeed but she could not remember why and how, because everything went black. She was standing on the strand, waiting for Shane, and the next moment she woke up inside a cave, naked and surrounded by corpses.

On the other hand, she did not want to tell Ma nor anyone else about the bodies and the wounds on her face and...

The wounds...

It dawned on Ciara that Ma did not ask her about the scratch on her face. She touched her cheek, which felt smooth under her fingertips. Her eyes fell then on the palm of her left hand b which was absolutely intact, as if no shard of glass had touched it.

B+ Are you OK, sweetie ? Ma asked. Ciara slightly jumped. She had momentarily forgotten about her mother's presence.

- Err... aye.

- You look confused.

Ciara had hardly the time to say anything because her bedroom door opened and Da's head stick out, saying : B+ It's OK. They called off the search.

- Good, Ma said, standing up. B+ Now go take a shower, sweetheart. B; she said, with a friendly pat on her daughter's back before leaving the bedroom. B+ And make it quick, so you can have breakfast before leaving. And you're already late for school. B;

Ciara stopped herself just in time from telling she already had a shower earlier in the morning. However, she took her school uniform and some clean underwear and headed to the bathroom.

Ciara let the water running to make believe she was in the shower. In fact, she just took her clothes off and looked at her naked body in the mirror. The wounds scarring her soft pale skin were not there anymore b or have they ever been there ? Ciara scrutinized her arms, her chest and her legs. No scar or scab or trace of wound whatsoever. By the smoothness of her skin, it looked like she had not been wounded at all. It was all perfectly intact.

Then it dawned on her : what happened last night, did it really happen ? Or was it a dream too ? The awakening in the cave, the bodies, the wounds,... Yes, they were just a dream, just like the ones she had had every night for a few months b those dreams of blood and savage violence, where she hunts and rends, and kills - and in each of them, she was a wolf.

That was just a dream. Or so she wished. When so, what really happened then ?

For a split second, she started to think of the opposite. Everything from the cave to her sneaking back home was real and she was now in a dream. She might be some kind of monster dreaming she was Ciara Wood, 13, ordinary grammar school student with a perfect skin. She closed her eyes and pinched herself, when Ma's voice calling for breakfast came from downstairs. Ciara decided it was convincing enough for the whole thing to be real.

She turned off the water and hastily put her school uniform on. She briefly came back to her room, tossed her towel and dirty undies in the basket, grabbed her bag and rushed down the stairs.

As hunger roared in her stomach, she started wondering too whether it was the she-wolf of dreams that dreamed she was her, when her parents' voices from across the door broke her speculations.

B+ She's good for the hospital, I'm tellin' ya ! said Da's voice.

- How can you think that ? Ma cried with a high-pitched voice. Just because she bit you ? Don't be such a child, Gerry...

- Yes, she bit me. Why are you minimizing that ?

- She was dreaming... and you are taking it too seriously.

- Those stupid dreams again ! B; Da's voice was louder. Ciara could hear he stood up by the noise his chair made. B+ You saw it too, Karen ! She was agitated, like some sort of beast with rabbies, like she was possessed by the devil or anything like that...

- She didn't have her tablets last night. Maybe that's why it was worse.

- Your bloody tablets won't help. There's something definitely wrong with her.

- Wait til we get Dr Carmichael's diagnosis and please, stop making a fixation about it.

- You don't seem to worry much about it, do you ? It's OK she has these nightmares, it's OK she bites me, it's OK she has no friends but that Shane creep, it's OK she listens to that noise and always looks like she's gonna kill herself and acts crazy... Next time, she'll be sleepwalking with a butcher knife and you'll say that's OK ?!

- Why do you want our Ciara to be a psycho killer ?! Ma cried. Why are you talking that way about your daughter ?

- You know, she's never been...

- Well, I'll tell you this : it's all becoming worse because you are becoming worse a father ! B;

Ma was moving to the door as she was saying that. Ciara heard her impatient footsteps and quickly paced backwards, trying to pretend she had just arrived. However, Ma's suspicious expression on her face, after she opened the door, let her think her plan had failed.

B+ C'mon ! Have your breakfast ! You're late ! B;

Ciara wolfed down her toasts and downed her tea mug in hardly ten minutes, avoiding her father's gaze. Then she rushed from the kitchen through the entrance and to her mother's car without saying good-bye to him.