chapter 58

Fire. Fire and smoke. Smoke and fire.

They were everywhere. Following him, chasing him, trapping him...killing him.

He looked around for a way out, a way through the fire and smoke. The smoke and fire. He turned and turned and turned and then… there! An open window on the other side of the room. 

He was saved!

He ran and then he was climbing over the window seat. One more swing and he was out. Out and safe. Safe from the fire and the smoke. The smoke and the fire.

But he stopped.

Something wasn’t right. There was something he had to do.

Something...SomeONE...SOMEONES...

Then his feet were back in the room and he was running again. He was headed for the closed door. He reached out to open it and then…

BOOM!

OoOoO

Max woke up in the middle of the night drenched in sweat and with a scream trapped in his throat. His heart was still racing and he swore he could still feel the heat of the fire on his skin and the smoke in his lungs. It all felt so real. He’s never had a dream that felt as intense or as real as that one had been.

He got up and opened his window. The cool evening air did wonders for chasing away the remnants of his nightmare. His skin felt a lot cooler and he could breathe just a little easier. The terror took a little longer to fade. Even with his eyes wide open and knowing one hundred percent that his house wasn’t on fire, Max still felt the panic and the desperate need to run and survive. 

Trying to quell the residual fear in his heart, Max went around the house checking on his family, the stove, outlets, and the dusty fire extinguisher in the hall closet was wiped and moved to the kitchen.

When he was finally calm and secure enough to fall back asleep, Max’s last thoughts were on his relief that they wouldn’t get him and his family now.

He didn’t know who they were and by morning he’d completely forgotten about it. 

OoOoO

Settling back into life in Ashborne was...surreal.

The few times Adam came out to town, people kept staring at him. Some did so as discreetly as possible while the bold ones didn’t even bother hiding the fact that they were talking about him. Not that it mattered, whether or not they were discreet he could still hear what they were saying about him and smell the hint of fear and pity they felt around him.

“Who’s that?”

“It’s Adam Lowell. Remember that horrible fire years ago? He was the only survivor.”

“What’s he doing back?”

He tuned them out after hearing the first part of their conversation. It took him a while but when he finally learned to turn off his enhanced hearing at will, it became his favorite lesson. For six years he used it to block out the chaos of New York City, now he used it to block out the gossiping population of Ashborne.

If it were up to him, he wouldn’t come back to this horrible town. Not after everything it took from him. But death took away another person he loved so now he has to stand by the last family he had left.

OoOoO

Ashborne Medical Center's long-term care ward was the quietest part of the hospital. Ashborne residents recovering from an accident, stroke, or heart attack were brought there after they were stabilized and they only stayed until they were fully recovered. There was only one patient who has been there more than a handful of months, Michael Lowell.

Michael Lowell was the only survivor of the tragic Lowell house fire. Unlike his nephew, Adam Lowell who wasn't in the house when it caught fire, Michael was in his bedroom. The firemen found him by the stairs, the door that pinned him down the only thing that shielded him from the worst of the fire. The firemen believed that he was headed for the children’s bedroom to save his nephew and nieces. He suffered 3rd degree burns all over his body and the doctors were convinced that he wouldn't make it through the night.

But he did. His body recovered even though his mind remained broken. For six years he remained catatonic. The doctors couldn’t explain why and they certainly couldn’t explain why his body hadn’t deteriorated after all these years. They just tagged him a miracle and a survivor.

Adam felt his hands start to shake as he walked into the hospital. A nurse led him to his uncle’s room and he found him lying on a hospital bed facing the open window. This was the first time he saw his uncle since he left Ashborne six years ago. And now he was about to give his catatonic uncle more devastating news.

He pulled up a chair and sat by his uncle’s bedside. 

“Uncle Mike,” He began, “Something happened. It’s about Amanda.”

OoOoO

Weeks went by and Max’s symptoms never went away, they just became... commonplace. So much that he barely thought about them anymore. He continued to excel in lacrosse practice and Coach Grey kept insisting that he would be a shoo-in for first line. That the eliminations would just be a formality. Erik would seethe and turn an adorable shade of red every time Coach did so and it was the only reason Max never tried to actively discourage Coach’s ‘encouragement’.

One Saturday morning, the entire Taylor household woke up early to have a big breakfast of pancakes, french toast, scrambled eggs, sausages, and even some eggs benedict. It was a family tradition to have this big blowout on the morning of something important.

And that afternoon was very important. Coach Grey was holding tryouts for the entire school lacrosse team to pick who gets to play on first line and for the first time in the history of mankind, Max and Kevin Taylor had a decent chance of getting picked.

Breakfast was lively and fun, all they talked about was lacrosse and the boys elicited promises from both their parents to come and see them play. Even for a little bit.

Their parents drove them to the lacrosse field. Kevin was so excited that he was already out of the car before it even stopped running. Then Max watched him get stopped by Diana. She wished him luck and Max could only imagine how red his face was.

“Does your brother have a girlfriend?” Rose teased.

All this helped Max to block out the werewolf nonsense and the nightmares he’d been having. It was working and he was starting to convince himself that he was just being ridiculous.

Then his dad’s phone rang and the illusion shattered. John excused himself and walked to the parking lot where it was a lot quieter. Max couldn't help but listen in.

“Sheriff we’ve got the results from the forensics lab in LA.” He could hear whoever his dad was talking to on the phone and though normally he would have questioned it, right now he was just curious about the lab results.

“What is it?” His dad asked

“The fiber analysis identified the unknown hair as a wolf.”

Just that one word made Max’s world start spinning and his head start flooding with all that he had tried to suppress since being bitten by the beast in the woods. The heightened senses, enhanced reflexes, vanishing scar, and the all-too-real nightmares. Even the glowing red eyes that he saw when he was bit that he has tried to ignore.

Before he knew it, he was running full sprint to the lacrosse field. All the players were already on the field and it looked like he was just in time for Coach to finish his pep talk.

“Taylor!” Coach yelled, “You’re late!”

“I know Coach but can you just give me a sec I need to talk to my brother.”

“Your brother’s already warming up which is what you should be doing. Get your ass on the field!”

“But Coach, can you just…” Max tried but Coach Grey just blew his whistle and Max was left with no choice.

He’d play the first elimination then leave. Maybe getting a little workout will help him clear his head.

Max played like his life depended on it. He was fast and agile. Each time someone passed him the ball, he scored a goal. Each time someone blocked him, he was able to sidestep them easily no matter how many they were and how fast he was going. He dominated the field like it was nothing. No one, not even Erik Garcia could steal the ball from him or keep him from making a shot. Some of the people in the bleachers joked that he played like he was possessed by a demon. An aspiring philosopher commented that he treated the goal as if it were his life’s goal and the opposing team as the obstacles he had to overcome in order to reach that goal. But all of them knew that the boy making those amazing shots is not the same boy who dropped his beaker on the first day of freshman year and incurred the wrath of their Chemistry Teacher Donna Black.

After scoring a particularly tricky goal, Coach blew his whistle and called him over.

“Taylor! What do you call that?” Coach practically screamed, “This is a lacrosse field. What, are you trying out for the gymnastics team?”

“No?” Max asked unsure of the right answer.

“What the hell was that?”

“Well, I thought I was winning Coach.”

“Yeah?” Coach asked, “Well congratulations. You’re starting buddy.”

Max stared wide-eyed at the crazy-haired Coach. He didn’t know what to do.

The crowd cheered for him and he couldn’t help the smile on his face. He looked at the stands and was elated when he saw his parents on their feet and clapping for him. He made first line!

This was great! This was…

He looked down at his hands and his smile was replaced by a look of pure shock and confusion. He made first line.

If there was one thing he needed to prove to him that werewolves were real and that he was quite possibly one, it was this. Because he knew that under no circumstances, Adderall or no Adderall, would he have been able to make first line before he got bit. He was unathletic, uncoordinated, unfocused, and frankly, he wasn’t even sure how he made it on the team in the first place.

Taking off his gloves, he told Coach and Kevin that he was beginning to get light-headed and wanted to go home. Coach made no objections, not wanting his surprise star player to pass out before he even played a game. But Kevin looked at him curiously, he was worried about him but Max just patted his shoulder and told him he was fine. That he was just gonna sleep it off. He asked his dad to drive him home and then come back to the field immediately to watch the rest of Kevin’s game.

He had a lot of things to prepare.

OoOoO

The smile on Kevin Taylor’s face was the brightest it has ever been. He made first line! He was going to play, really play in the next game! He could hardly believe it when Coach gave him the news. This was the best news he’d ever gotten. He and his brother won’t be stupid benchwarmers anymore. They would actually be contributing to the team’s wins!

He stowed his gear in his locker and nearly got his hand cut off when his locker slammed shut.

“Erik what the hell?!” He cursed, seeing Erik suddenly in front of him.

“What are you taking?” Erik asked.

“What?” He asked, “Taking where? These are just my gear.”

“It’s just us here now Taylor and I want to know what you and your brother have been taking to suddenly get that good.”

Kevin still looked confused. Taking? Taking…

“Are you talking about drugs?” He asked.

“Of course I’m talking about drugs you moron!” Erik screamed, “Because I refuse to believe that you and your spaz of a brother are suddenly this good.”

Kevin shoved the other boy away from him. “We’re not on anything Erik.”

“I don’t believe you.”

“Believe what you want. I spent the entire summer practicing, doing drills, and following every stupid tip there ever was about controlling my asthma. That’s how I improved. Because I got sick of being a benchwarmer. Of being another stupid kid in the halls that no one even knows.” He paused. “I just wanted to make a difference in high school.”

Erik was silent and Kevin took this as his sign to leave. He couldn’t believe he just said all that to Erik Garcia of all people. Everything he was feeling all freshman year, all the issues he was struggling with, it all just came out when Erik kept poking at him.

“I believe you.” He heard Erik say. “I saw you in the field all summer. I even saw you in the tennis court facing off against the ball-launcher to work on your catching skills.”

Kevin blushed, he had no idea anyone saw that. He paid the janitor at the tennis court ten bucks a day to help him with the launcher and to let him in when the place was empty.

“But I never saw Max.” Erik continued, “And after everything I saw today, some wonderful conclusions are starting to form.”

“What do you mean?”

“Well there may be a cure to your asthma but there certainly isn’t one to whatever your brother has. And your mom is a doctor. It means he has access.”

Kevin blanched at the implication. 

“Max is not on anything.” He insisted but even he could tell how shaky and unsure his voice was.

Erik noticed this too and laughed. He placed his hand on Kevin’s shoulder and whispered something right before he left the locker room.

“How would you know?”