I don’t know how I made it home, but somehow, with the sun just above the horizon, I found myself wandering aimlessly around Mrs. Carpenter’s property, searching for an animal to eat. Shash was barking inside the barn. I was still a cheetah and my wounds were about to drive the lingering bit of sanity I possessed right out of reach. I yearned to be me again.
I almost couldn’t change back. It took a lot of energy, I guess, and mine was almost gone—had bled out of my body through the gashes on my back. Had I not been so scared of staying a cheetah forever, I never would have been able to use that last, tiny bit of adrenaline surging through my blood to make the change possible—even so, it just barely made the difference.
Naked, blood covered, and shivering, I skulked into the barn, to the joy of Shash, and stumbled toward the stairs. And then I realized … I had left my clothes and my key near the mine. Big lazy tears began making their sleepy way down my cheeks. Then I remembered: I’d replaced the spare key under the bottom step.
With shaking hands, I groped through cobwebs and dirt till I felt cold metal. It took two tries to get the key into the narrow lock, but I did.
In six stumbling steps, I was across the room and staring at my body in the mirror. My shoulder had four tiny puncture scabs. Four long, blood-framed welts shone on my pale back, like I had been whipped. But my skin was whole. I remembered the night Mrs. Carpenter had found me after I was attacked by dogs. I had healed before her eyes. This morning, it was the same. As I watched, the welts on my back faded and then disappeared. My broken ribs were the same. They just stopped hurting, as if they had never been cracked. And the tooth punctures on my shoulder? Gone.
I fell onto the bed, buried myself in blankets, and slept.
When next I opened my eyes, it was dark. I sat up in bed, frantic, and stumbled dizzily across the room to the light switch.
The light blinded me, making it impossible to see for a moment. When I could finally keep my eyes open, I looked at my watch: 9:57. I had missed my shift at work.
My gaze moved from my watch to my naked body, and I gasped. I was covered with brittle brown blood and dried mud. I ran to the bathroom and turned on the shower. Not waiting for the water to heat up, I stepped into the icy onslaught.
I scrubbed every inch of my skin with an entire bottle of body wash, then the entire bottle of shampoo, and still I didn’t feel clean. My skin seemed permanently tainted. I couldn’t breathe, couldn’t move as panic set in. I sank down to the shower floor and huddled there with my head leaning sideways against the wall. Tears mingled with the water dripping down my face as I realized it was the end of the world, the end of my world. The world I had known. I had killed someone. And he had tried to kill me. Nothing would ever be the same and I could never go back to how things used to be.
When I finally regained control of myself, the hot water had run out. Cold water pelted my skin and I was shivering. I got out of the shower, wrapped myself up in a towel, and stumbled back into my bedroom.
Hunger pangs clenched at my hollow stomach. If I didn’t eat, I thought I might die. And I smelled food. On the dresser, beside the bowl of ash, sat a plate with scrambled eggs and two pieces of toast on top of a handwritten note. Ignoring the note, I grabbed the plate. The eggs were cold and rubbery, the toast hard, but nothing in my life had ever tasted better.
With my belly nearly full, I picked up the piece of paper.
Maggie Mae,
I worried sick about you all night because you forgot to tell me when you got home! I almost called the police to go up to the mine and look for you. I tried to wake you, but you hardly stirred, so I thought I’d leave some breakfast.
Glad you’re home safe.
—Mrs. C.
P.S. I forgive you. Just never forget to wake me again!
The thought of her coming up and down the stairs to my room made my heart hurt. She had done so much for me, and yet I was the reason she was injured—because I was being hunted. And based on the graduation night attack, the creatures knew where I lived. Mrs. Carpenter had already been attacked once. What if they came to the house looking for me and found her again instead?
I climbed from the bed and went to the window. Pulling the curtain aside, I peered into the dark night. Moon shadows shivered over the yard. Past Mrs. Carpenter’s house, something gleamed, like the flash of animal eyes, but when I looked harder, I saw nothing but shadows.
I put my right hand on my left wrist, expecting to feel the juniper bracelet—for the yo-ih, Naalyehe’s gift of protection, was a gift worth more than he’d ever know. But the bracelet was gone, left at the mine in the bag with my clothes. I clenched my teeth. How could I have been so stupid? Protection was what I desperately wanted. But it was Mrs. Carpenter who desperately needed it. Because I, at least, could fight back.
I got dressed and scribbled a quick note. Mrs. Carpenter would be safe as long as she stayed away from me. I just needed to ensure she kept her distance.
Mrs. C.,
I think I’ve caught something, maybe the flu, and I don’t want you to catch it, so I’ll be staying away from you for the next couple of days. Don’t worry about the chickens. I’ll take care of them. And Shash. And thanks for the scrambled eggs. I’ve got a few things up here to eat, so don’t worry about feeding me! I don’t have much appetite anyway.
—MM
I left the bedroom and crept through the barn, out the door, and to the front porch. Folding the note, I taped it to the edge of the front door so when Mrs. Carpenter let Duke out, she’d see it.
Next, I stuck to the shadows and made my way to the edge of the property, to the ring of protection. And then, one by one, I took the bleached animal skulls from between the trees and put them around the entire perimeter of the house, making Mrs. Carpenter her own snug ring of protection.
When I finished, I lay down in bed and listened. With the skulls only encircling the house, the barn was now accessible to my hunters. I knew they would come for me sooner or later. I prayed it would be never.