Madison
It’s called The Forbidden Forest for a reason.
I just happen to think that reason is bullshit.
People hear rumors and they get scared, and that fear leads to legends and myths that aren’t entirely true. Oh, they might be based on a true story and contain some facts, but most of the time, when someone says, “Oh, that forest is haunted” or “Oh, that forest is evil,” they’re just repeating stories they’ve heard.
I’ve heard them, too.
I’ve heard the tales of haunted castles lurking deep in the heart of the darkness.
I’ve heard stories of dragons who can turn into men, of animals who aren’t always entirely what they seem.
And I’ve heard of the wolves.
These stories are most likely not true.
They’re just legends built on fables built on something someone saw once.
They’re fake.
At least, that’s what I tell myself as I head toward the forest. Westbridge Forest meets, and then wraps around, the mountains where I live. Growing up in Storm Dawn, I’ve learned that a lot of mysterious and mythical things happen in the woods. Most of them are untrue. People that can shift into dragons? Yeah, right. Mysterious circumstances that mean shifters are real? Uh-huh. Okay.
But capturing a wolf because it’s good luck?
That one I’ll believe because I have to.
That one I’ll believe because I don’t really have another choice, and I could use a little bit of luck these days.
The path that leads from Storm Dawn to the forest is long and treacherous. It only takes me an hour to get through the pass, but it feels like forever. By the time I reach the forest’s edge, I’m already out of breath and tired, but I can’t be lame about this. I can’t be stupid. I certainly can’t be the type of girl who fails on my first try.
Not when so much is at stake.
Not when my entire future depends on this.
So it’s into the woods I go. I might be going into a dangerous situation. I might be wandering through the darkness to my death, but I firmly believe that all legends hold a certain truth to them. I just have to find out what the truth is to the stories I’ve told. If there’s a chance – even a small, tiny, imperceptible one – that finding a wolf could lead to the miracle I need to Save Eva, then I’ll do whatever it takes.
She’s been my entire world for as long as I can remember, and I won’t let her die. Not yet. Not on my watch. Eva is only 50. She’s much too young to die from some weird disease no one’s ever heard of. She gets a little sicker every day, a little weaker, and her time is running out. That’s what her doctors told me yesterday.
“She doesn’t have much time left,” they said carefully, almost hesitantly. “And we’ve done all we can do.”
“What does that even mean?” I whispered, terrified.
They exchanged glances. Again, what the fuck? Did they think I was some sort of mind reader?
“You should be with her,” Dr. Martin said. “You should make sure she’s as comfortable as possible.”
“Can I at least take her home, then?” I asked.
“We’d prefer to monitor her here,” Dr. Albright said. “But you can visit as much as you like. I’ll let the nurses know that visiting hours don’t apply to you.”
Then they walked away.
They left us alone so Eva could die.
Not on my watch.
I went home after talking with them: home to the house I’ve shared with Eva since I was a little orphan. I slammed the door harder than I should have and I just walked around, looking for answers, trying to figure out what I could do.
And then I remembered a story long ago.
I tore through Eva’s books, trying to remember what she had briefly mentioned about wolves long ago. She’s a bit obsessed with wolves: the whole fucking house is decorated with pictures of them. Finally, I found the journal tucked away: the one with the recipe for the potion. All of the ingredients seemed straightforward enough, except for one: a lock of wolf’s fur.
It’s a long shot.
I don’t recognize the names of any of the diseases this concoction cures, and I guarantee the doctors don’t know, either, but I do know one thing: I have to save Eva. She’s the most important person in my entire life.
I’m going to rescue her.
When she finds out I’ve gone into the woods to try to find answers, she’s going to be pissed. I know that much about Eva. She’s hot-headed and mean when she wants to be, and she’s not going to appreciate the fact that I just walked away from her, even if it is in order to save her. She’s going to tell me I should have stayed by her side until the very end: not run around trying to rescue her based on something I read in some fairytale.
Well, fuck that.
I’m not going to sit around and let my best friend die.
She’s been my surrogate mother for many years and right now, that’s all I care about. Eva saved me when nobody else wanted me. Now it’s my turn to save her.
The woods are eerily silent as I walk through them. I’m not sure where I’m going. East, I suppose. Just East. I’ve been hunting and I’ve been fishing and I’ve taken wilderness classes. If I see something that looks like a magical wolf, I’ll just…catch it. I’ll trap it. I’ll do something.
Your plan is stupid and so are you.
Because I don’t really have a plan.
Because I’m kind of just hoping things will work out all right.
Because right now, I’m just killing time until I have to go back and watch my very best friend in the entire world die.
Because right now I have nothing left to live for.
*
I walk for two days. At night, I camp in a small little tent I brought with me. It’s not very big and my feet stick out at night. Nothing’s eaten me yet, so I guess it’s all right. I’ve been tracking my path with a compass and a map. There’s no cell service here, so I can’t really track my movements with GPS. It’s unfortunate, really, because that would be fucking incredible. It would make getting back to Storm Dawn easy as pie.
I haven’t seen any signs of life in the woods yet. I’ll walk for one more day, I decide, and then I’ll go home. This was a stupid experiment, I realize. Did I really think I was just going to go hunting for wolves and find them? Everyone says the forest is dead and buried. There used to be people who lived here, out in this forest, but those folks are long gone.
Now it’s just a place where birds live.
At least, that’s what Storm Dawn’s townspeople say.
Something tells me they’re wrong, though. I think there’s more to the forest and I plan to find out exactly what.
For the last few weeks, as Eva’s grown worse, I’ve been busy reading. In between doctors trying to figure out what’s wrong and calling in specialists from out of town, I’ve been searching for clues as to what might be plaguing her and how we can find a solution. Each doctor says the same thing, though: they’ve never seen anything like it, they don’t know why her symptoms are getting worse, and the only thing they can do is try to make her comfortable.
But then I remembered the story.
The one about the wolves.
The one about the wolves who live in the darkness.
If you can catch a wolf, your life will never be the same.
Eva has an entire journal full of fairytales and recipes. Some of them are obviously just simple musings to go with the story, but this one has always seemed real to me. Catch a wolf, take a lock of its fur, and create the potion. Whoever drinks it will be healed. End of story. Everybody wins.
It’s a beautiful thought: a pretty one, and I’m clinging to it with everything I’ve got.
I don’t really believe in magic. At least, I didn’t until now. Now I don’t really have a choice anymore. Medicine hasn’t helped. There’s nothing left but magic, and if the story is true, then the fur of a forest wolf holds magic. I know that when you catch a wolf, you’re never the same again. Something changes in you.
Living with someone obsessed with wolves means I don’t have to do much research on where to find wolves. My only obstacle is getting deep enough into the forest to find them. I really did think I’d have seen at least a couple of wolves by now. Apparently, the Forbidden Forest is even deader than I previously imagined.
I kick a rock as I keep walking steadily. Wolves. I know their living habits and their mating habits and what they eat. I know where they tend to hide and what their homes look like. I know they’re beautiful, magnificent creatures. I know Eva loves them.
For a brief second, I close my eyes and think of her. Can she sense that I’m out here? Is she even still conscious? When I saw her before I left, she opened her eyes, but she didn’t really see me. She’s too far gone, and I have no idea what’s wrong with her. She’s always been sickly, but this is the worst it’s ever been.
Opening my eyes again, I start walking faster. I have traps in my bag, along with sedatives I managed to get my hands on. I need to catch a wolf and hope for the best. I need to catch one and hope it actually brings magic. I need to catch one because if I don’t, I’ve wasted two days walking through the woods, being away from my friend, and the truth is that I’m scared.
I’m scared that she’s going to die and I’m going to lose the most important person I’ve ever known.
The most important person I’ve ever loved.
I need Eva.
I honestly don’t know what I’ll do without her.
Suddenly, though, hope fills my heart because I see signs of life. After all this time, I’m finally getting a lead. Squatting down beside a tree, I look at the big paw prints in the mud. It rained last night, which means this print is fresh and new. It means there was an animal nearby and not too long ago.
It means I’m getting close.
I can sense it.