Iris slowly blinked her eyes. She couldn’t make sense of what was happening. It was dark and cold and everything was fuzzy inside her head. Why was she asleep? And why was it so cold? Did she somehow leave the window open? What was going on? And why was Sophia crying? She shouldn’t be here. As Iris struggled to open her eyes, terrifying images flashed through her brain. She pictured herself dragging Ivy out of her house, she saw the huge black truck accelerating towards them, and remembered hurtling towards a snowy bridge over an icy river. She gasped as everything came rushing back to her.
Shit! She had crashed the fucking car! And Glen? Where was he? How was she even still alive? Where was Ivy? And Sophia? Fear filled her and she bolted upright, groaning as pain spiked through her head at the sudden movement. She reached a hand up to her forehead. It came away sticky, and when she pulled it away she could see blood on her palm.
Still holding her throbbing head, she looked around the inside of the car. Twisted metal spiked through the passenger side, embedded into the top of the passenger seat next to her. Ivy was unconscious, her body twisted through the front seats, sprawled halfway into the back. Broken glass glittered in Ivy’s hair, which was matted with blood. Iris couldn’t tell if she was breathing. Sophia was crying from the back seat. Dear God, please let them be ok.
Iris struggled to turn around. She needed to check on Sophia and Ivy, needed to know if they were hurt. “Ivy?” she called out. When there was no response, no movement, she shook Ivy gently. “Ivy? Ivy!” She pushed harder, but Ivy still didn’t move. She reached down to place her fingers against Ivy’s neck, feeling for a pulse. After a few seconds she felt it. It was faint and weak, but at least Ivy was still alive.
Iris undid her seatbelt and turned to the back seat. The whole passenger side of the car had caved in and the windows had broken at the impact. Shards of broken glass covered the backseat, but none of it seemed to have reached Sophia. Thank God. She looked over the top of the car seat, calling out to the baby. “Sophia? Good girl, good girl.” But the baby just cried harder, wailing at the top of her lungs, crying out for comfort.
Iris groaned. What was she going to do? They were in such big trouble. Glen hadn’t killed them yet, but if she couldn’t get help they might freeze to death or worse. She felt her breathing increase and her heart race faster, panic beginning to overtake her. What was she going to do? She closed her eyes and focused on breathing deeply for a few seconds. She had to think. Ivy and Sophia needed her. She couldn’t let them down.
First things first, she needed to get out of this car, check the damage, and figure out a way to warm them up. She glanced at her watch. She hadn’t been out long, only a few minutes, but the cold air was blowing through the broken windows and it was already freezing inside the car. She glanced through the cracked windshield at the crumpled hood and the fluids leaking out from the engine. She didn’t think it was going to start again. It was probably never going to start again. But she had to at least try. She tried the key, once, then twice, but nothing happened. No surprise.
She thought about what else she had. Then hope flared inside her as she remembered the trunk. Her mother’s emergency kit! Luckily she had let her mother pack an emergency kit for her. Her mother had insisted she needed one if she was going to be driving such an old car around in winter. It had at least an extra coat and blankets. Maybe even a space blanket? Thank God her mother had kept pestering her about it. Now she just needed to get it out of the trunk.
Hopefully it wasn’t too smashed up and she would be able to get it open. She turned back and looked over the top of the car seat to the back of the car, trying to check the damage. As she looked out the back movement through the back window caught her eye. Someone must have seen them. They were safe! Her heart leaped with hope of rescue. But then she remembered Glen and his black truck. Her hope fled and fear surged through her. Shit! But as she stared out the window her mind slowly registered the battle that was taking place in the snow. She realized it wasn’t Glen behind them. It was something far worse.
A huge silver wolf was locked in a vicious fight with what had to be a demon, thick and coarse with deadly claws and fangs. The wolf’s fur was glowing white under the moonlight, massive fangs bared towards the demon. They were moving so fast she could barely follow as the wolf leaped at the demon, sinking its teeth deep into the monster’s arm, driving it down into the snow. Crimson blood sprayed through the air, falling stark against the white snow. The demon threw back its head and screamed, a terrifying grating sound ripping from its hideous face.
She panicked, chest heaving as her breath grew ragged. She choked off a scream and ducked back behind the front seat. What the fuck was that? Was she hallucinating? She must have hit her head harder than she thought. She slouched in the seat, fumbling for her phone. She pulled the phone out of her pocket and turned it on. She couldn’t think of anything else to do. She felt completely helpless, way out of her depth. She needed help out here fast.
She had to know what as happening though. She knew if the demon came for her she would have to fight. Even if it killed her she knew she couldn’t leave Sophia and Ivy to it. She turned, looking back again. Maybe the wolf and the demon would kill each other and leave them alone. No luck though. As she watched, the wolf drove the demon back into the snow and moved in for the kill.
She stared at the phone. No signal. God, she was going to have to get out of the car. Her only hope was to somehow find a signal. She jerked the handle of the car, shoving hard to force the door open. She winced as the bent metal squealed in protest, but at least it opened. She staggered out of the car, her head swimming as she fell into the snow and dropped her phone. Shit. She dragged herself up to her knees, digging through the snow for her phone. She felt naked and exposed, each second feeling like an eternity as she searched, until her hand hit the hard metal of the phone. She knew too much time had passed though. She looked back up, staring down the road towards the battle between the demon and the wolf.
The fight was finished. The huge silver wolf was standing tall in the middle of the road, snow falling gently around it, fur glowing in the moonlight. There was no trace of the demon, not even a body left in the snow. Where could it have gone? She knew she should look for it. It could be right behind her. But she couldn’t look away from the wolf. It was wild and dangerous and beautiful. And somehow she was completely captivated. She couldn’t move or run, or even look away. As she stared, the wolf turned its head and looked straight towards her. Huge glowing blue eyes locked on hers. Again, each second felt like an eternity as it simply stared at her. Then its entire body turned, graceful and powerful, and it started forward, gliding towards her.
It flowed down the road, eyes never leaving hers, powerful muscles shifting underneath its fur as it glided forward. Its tongue lolled out of its open mouth and she glimpsed the huge fangs hidden there. Blood covered its muzzle where it had ripped into the demon, the bright red blood stark against the wolf’s silver white fur.
She fell back in the snow as it stalked towards her, staring intently. As it approached, she could see how massive it was, its head reaching almost to the top of the civic as it strode past. She knew it could kill her without even thinking twice. She panicked as it approached, scrambling backwards in the snow, desperate to get away, then freezing in place as stopped right in front of her and lowered its head to hers. It stood still less than a foot from her, face mere inches from hers, breathing deeply and staring directly into her eyes.
The ice blue of its eyes glowed in the moonlight, somehow bright against the white of its face. As it stared into her eyes her panic faded and a sense of calm rose in its place. A feeling of peace settled over her. She relaxed, somehow content in its presence, content to sit with the wolf. Her breathing slowed. Somehow she knew she was safe, that this wolf would never hurt her.
The wolf eased forward calmly and slowly, still breathing deeply. Its nose bumped against hers and its eyes filled her entire field of vision with blue, like she was walking through a glacier, the world turned to blue. She slowly reached a hand up to caress its face, to let it know she understood, but as she reached up she felt her head swim and go dizzy again and the world spin around her. Color faded from the world, the blue of the wolf’s eyes the last thing she saw as she slumped backwards, passing out in the snow. She thought of Ivy and Sophia, but she knew the wolf would protect them. All of them.