Wolf Of The Present

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Wolf Of The Present - book excerpt

Prologue

Singer Orphanage and Foster Care Home

Sixteen years ago

Meghan lowered herself until she was hanging upside down by her knees on the playground’s high bars. The sun-warmed metal burned her bare skin but she ignored it, closing her eyes and breathing through the discomfort. Eventually, her legs grew used to it. After all, it was just a little heat, she’d been through worse. Opening her eyes, she watched the other kids on the playground.

They didn’t notice her attention. Everyone else was either playing in or watching the basketball game. She sighed. No one invited her to play, but who wanted to play with all those stupid kids anyway? She would just as soon hang on her perch. Closing her eyes, she let her arms hang down, her fingers brushing the sand, and tried to block out the sounds of the game. Struggling to remember every tiny detail, she pictured the playground, minus the other kids. There was the basketball court and the bars. To her left was a merry-go-round and beside that were the slides and tunnels. They rested on grass and dirt. This playground didn’t have any of the wood chips she’d seen at the playground downtown, where the officer took her after the doctor cleaned her injuries, before she was brought here. The wood chips were supposed to be nicer, and they didn’t get muddy when it rained, but you couldn’t sculpt wood chips, and who cared about getting a little muddy, anyway? Meg picked up a handful of sand and let it fall slowly through her fingers. The playground was bordered on one side by the building where the children slept and ate. The other three sides were surrounded by a tall metal fence, blocking them from everyone outside the playground. Random flower bushes lined the fence, to keep kids from trying to climb it and get out. There were a few trees spread around, including the big one behind the bars. Kids jumped from that one sometimes. Meg had done it more than once. It was fun to jump past the mound of soft sand and laugh when the older kids were afraid to do the same. She listened as the wind moved the branches of the tree, rustling the leaves. If she tried, she could hear birds singing and the distant sounds of traffic. The birds and car horns joined in a strange symphony, adding their own music to the day. She smiled. This was so much better than playing some stupid game.

“No!” A small voice cried out, interrupting her thoughts. The protest was followed by laughter. Meg opened her eyes and turned her head in the direction of the sounds, over by the slides. She could make out three kids; two boys and a girl. The girl was a little younger than Meg, with brown hair and a sundress that was a little too big for her. The boys were older, probably five or six, and like Meg were dressed in jeans and plain white T-shirts. The boys were laughing as they threw an object back and forth over the girl’s head, just out of her reach. Meghan squinted but couldn’t make out what it was hanging upside down.

“Give it back,” the girl cried, her voice high-pitched and choked with emotion. It was obvious they weren’t playing a game, she looked and sounded upset. Meghan tried to spot an adult, or someone else to help the little girl, but everyone else was by the basketball court. No one was paying attention to what was going on by the slides, they were caught up in their game. It was up to her to help.

Pulling herself up, Meg swung down and walked quietly toward the slide. The boys were distracted by their game and didn’t notice her approaching. They laughed and continued to tease the girl, upsetting her more. As Meg got closer, she could see the object was a simple necklace with a stone attached. Patiently, Meg waited until they threw the necklace again and grabbed it out of the air, surprising both of both boys and the little girl.

“Hey!” one of the boys protested. His face reddened with anger, and his lips puffed out in a pout.

“Hey, what?” Meg threw back, standing her ground.

Obviously better with actions than words, the boy made a grab for the chain, but Meghan was ready for him. She shoved him back, hard and he fell to the ground with a thud. A cloud of dust flew up from his impact, covering him in dirt and eliciting a sneeze. His friend ran over to help him up and held him back when he started for Meg again. “No, don’t do it!” he cried out a warning, his skin flush with the excitement. “That’s Meghan. You don’t want to mess with her.”

The first boy looked at her with a sense of awe and dread. He stopped fighting his friend. “She’s the one who beat up Tommy?” His voice cracked at the question.

“Yeah, I am,” Meghan confirmed. “So, maybe you want to stop bullying a little kid and go play basketball or something before I do the same to you.”

They ran off without another word. Meghan grinned with satisfaction and handed the necklace to the little girl. She loved making bullies run away. “Here you go.”

“Thank you.” The little girl immediately put the necklace around her neck and threw herself onto Meghan for a hug, nearly sending them both tumbling to the ground with the unexpected action. Meghan stumbled back, barely holding her balance.

“My name is Nicole,” the little girl said with a sniffle. Despite the sniffling, she seemed to be feeling better, and even had a hesitant smile on her face. “I’m three years old.” Nicole held up two fingers and looked at them for a second before putting up a third.

Meghan took a step back, to put some distance between them, and plopped herself on the ground. The kid seemed nice enough, but a little too clingy for Meg’s taste. She didn’t like people trying to hug her, or even standing too close. It wasn’t a problem most of the time, people tended to leave her alone, and she liked it that way just fine. “So, Nicole, what are you doing over here instead of being with everyone else?”

“It was too loud over there,” Nicole replied, stepping forward and sitting down next to her. “The noise hurt my ears. I want quiet to try remembering.”

“Remember what?” Meg prompted when Nicole fell silent.

She didn’t respond at first, instead, she stared down at her necklace, gently rubbing her fingers over the stone. “Anything,” Nicole said softly. “I was found by a nice couple and brought here, but I don’t remember anything else. I want my parents, but I don’t know if I have any.” She broke off in a sob.

Meghan sat in silence for a moment, unsure what to do. Hesitantly, she reached out a hand and Nicole flung her sobbing body straight into her arms.

* * *

Meghan listened to the clip-clop of Nicole’s jellies padding across the pavement toward her and rolled her eyes. Ever since she helped get Nicole’s necklace back from those bullies a week ago, the kid had been dogging her steps like a devoted puppy. Not that it was that bad, it was kind of cool to have one person who wasn’t afraid of her.

Word about the fight with Tommy had spread quickly and reformed into some strange rumors. She’d only given him a black eye, after he made fun of her aversion to the plastic knives in the cafeteria. But Tommy had been adopted right after it happened, so some of the kids had made up stories that she’d put him in the hospital. No one knew what he’d said to set Meg off, so now everyone avoided her. Although she liked her privacy, it was nice to actually have someone who wanted to be around her, sometimes.

Nicole plopped down in front of Meg and held out her hand. “Here,” she said, opening it to reveal a bracelet made of thread. The blue, green and purple threads weaved to create a zigzag design running along the length of the bracelet. “I made it for you.” Nicole’s voice held a note of pride.

“Why are you giving me this?” Meghan eyed the bracelet speculatively. It was well made, the kid had put a lot of effort into it. She had every right to feel proud of her work.

“Well, ’cause you’re my friend, the only one I have.” Nicole smiled broadly.

“I… thank you.” Meghan took the bracelet hesitantly and tied it around her wrist. She smiled faintly. “Thank you.”

Nicole grabbed Meghan’s arm and pulled her toward the playground. “Come on. Let’s go through the tunnels. They’re only fun with someone else.”

Meghan laughed despite herself and allowed Nicole to drag her along. She was halfway through the second tunnel, near the intersection which would lead them to the small tower bubble room, when she lost sight of Nicole. She smiled. The kid sure was energetic. She glanced behind her and wished she hadn’t. The curve of the tunnel suddenly seemed very dark. She turned away quickly but looking forward again didn’t help. The intersection was up ahead. The one that was so close a moment earlier seemed to be receding. At the same time, she noticed how close all the walls were becoming. She touched the cold plastic beneath her hands and she could feel the plastic behind her back. The hairs on her neck and arms stood on end, practically touching the walls on all sides of her. There was so little space. If she could only stand up. Suddenly her knees ached to do exactly that, to stretch out. That’s what she needed to do. She needed to stand up. The tunnel darkened further, her breath escalating in short gasps. She sat against one wall, her knees to her chest, and closed her eyes. This wasn’t real, it couldn’t be real.

“Meghan?” A soft voice called through the haze she seemed caught in. Meghan tried to open her eyes, but it was taking all her concentration just to breath. “Come on, you can follow me. I’ll lead the way.” A soft hand grabbed hold of hers and pulled her to her knees. She let herself be pulled, unable to resist the gentle guidance. A breeze cooled the sweat on the back of her neck, and she opened her eyes to find she was at the end of the tunnel. Gratefully, she jumped out and took several deep breaths, taking the time to appreciate the sight of the dim sunlight, shining down through the clouds onto the sand at her feet.

“Wanna go on the merry-go-round?” Nicole asked cheerfully, completely unfazed.

Meg gave Nicole a grateful smile. “Sure. You get on, and I’ll push.” They took a few spins on the merry-go-round, enjoying the overcast afternoon and each other’s company. Then a rumble of thunder shook the air around them. They laughed at the shrieks from nearby children when it started to rain. The grown-ups ran around frantically, gathering the stray children, but Meg and Nicole shared an understanding smile and hid underneath the slides until everyone was inside.

Once it had been quiet for some time, they came out hesitantly, checking to confirm they were alone. Happy that everyone else had gone inside, they took turns on the slides.

Meghan smiled broadly. Who needed the other kids and grown-ups messing stuff up? Today, it was she and Nicole, alone in the rain, and she couldn’t be happier.