Excerpt: Illicit

Everything felt so wrong. Wolves weren’t supposed to attack people like this, were they? Wasn’t it one of those rare things, a low statistic like shark attacks? What had we done to get so goddamn lucky? Fate was an even crueler beast than the canine undoubtedly on my heels.

The fatalist part of my mind was planting seeds of doubt, asking why I even bothered trying to escape. I was as dead as Josh. It was only a matter of time. And would I really want to live without him? It was the selfish part of me whispering ‘yesyesyes’ that kept me moving in a strange run that was half crawl and mostly stumble. I was frustrated with my recalcitrant legs that wouldn’t hold steady enough to carry me to safety - if such a thing could even be found.

A heavy weight smashed into my back, pinning me face down in the dirt and leaves. I knew this was the end for me, my final breath, the very last beat of my heart. They say your life flashes before your eyes but that wasn’t true for me. I didn’t even have nice thoughts of being with my dad or anything. The only thing that filled my mind was a black, all-encompassing terror edged with despair. It chilled me to the core and had my soul screaming out for more time, more time, more…

But I felt the wolf’s jaws close over the back of my neck and I knew my silent plea would go unanswered. Its teeth were hot knives sliding into my flesh like butter. Pain lanced through me and I clung to it like a drowning woman, riding that tide of sensation until it faded,

Then I was gone as completely as the pain.