And
Ravi King
Location: The Hospital
Interacting with: each other
A breath hitched in Ravi's throat as fear over took him, did they notice him? No, they were to focused on one another to pay any attention to him. Without hesitation, Ravi leapt to his feet and sprinted away, darting deeper in to the forest. He weaved through the trees with little more than his memory to guide him. Cresting a hill, he broke free of a dense patch of needle leafs and rolled freely down the embankment, a natural landslide that served his purposes more effectively now that it was covered in an unusual moss and sped his escape from the hungry gaze of the wolves. As the canopy overhead thickened, his steps grew muffled by the pine needles that blanketed the forest floor; the ground warm beneath his soles.
He paused in a clearing, in the distance he could see the dirt road on which his car lay idle. With a grin of relief plastered on his face, Ravi ran once again, fumbling with the key along the way. In his adrenaline infused state, he threw open the door and smashed the key into ignition and slide into reverse, hitting 35 before smashing it into drive. The sound of metal on metal grinding rung loudly, but Ravi still sped off.
He didn't look back until he was back in town. Parking on the curb, he let out a breath, the nights events weighting down on his shoulders. On the floor under his feet, the light of his phone caught his eye, it was a text, one from Sophie.
"Shit." he mumbled to himself before texting back furiously, only to find himself at a lost of words.
"Ya, I was there, does this happen often in this damn town?Sophie noticed her phone buzz on the night stand then picked it up and read the text. It was from Ravi. Her expression turned to that of confusion and concern as she wasn't too sure as to what he was talking about besides the wolf attack.
"What happened? I only heard that a wolf attack happened and that's it. Are you ok? Where are you now?"Though it was only through text, it was obvious that she was worried about Ravi.
Ravi leaned back onte headrest, the adrenaline draining away from his body, replaced with an unusal calm. For once since this day started, he was able to think clearly. This city was wack, atleast thats what he came to. First a seizure, then a bloody attack a bunch of teens that he witnessed the aftermath of, not to mention shapeshifting freaks. Lastly, he was pretty sure he blew out his transmission on the way here.
Ravi, quite literally slamed his face into his hands, that transmission cost him almost six-hundred dollars tops. With a sigh he once again picked up his phone, noticing that Sophie had replied.
After I left I ended up back at the campsite only to witness the aftermath of a damn wolf attack. I knew you guys had a wolf problem, but shapeshifting ones is a whole different story."Ravi breathed out again, Red Lake was not a peaceful as he thought.
Sophie only got more confused and concerned by Ravi's texts.
"Shape shifting? what are you talking about? Did you hit your head or something? I'm getting worried about you... Maybe you should go to the hospital after all... where are you right now?"What was Ravi talking about when he said shape shifting wolves? This was getting a little weird for Sophie and it made her worry a bit more about Ravi than she probably should have.
Ravi frowned at Sophie' reply. She was at the hospital, didn't any of her friends tell her about what was happening, or what happened. No, most must of been recovering from the attack. But that meant that if the inhabitants of Red Lake were shapeshifters, who could he trust to actually be human, was Sophie even human? The world that Ravi had been opened up to weighted on his mind, humans becoming wolves, maybe he did need the hospital. Despite his doubts, Ravi wasn't crazy, he knew what he saw out there.
Look, I'm on the outskirts of town, I'll be there in a few minutes, but you have to belive me, I saw it with my own eyes, ask your so called friends.Ravi typed the last few words in on his phone before throwing it in the passenger seat and sliding into second gear and driving off, headed towards the hospital.
Sophie sighed softly, causing the mask over her nose and mouth to fog up a bit. He sounded insane, to put it bluntly, but she wanted to trust him anyway. He knew her secret and believed her, now it was her turn to do the same and trust her no matter how crazy it sounded.
"ok... why don't we talk about this more when you arrive at the hospital? I'm in room 13B. I'll try to trust you on this and understand it as best as I can, alright? But you still sound crazy lol"She sighed again then groaned. What did she just get herself into?
Within seconds, Ravi sped into the parking lot of the hospital. In the back of his mind, his carelessness nagged him, but he ignored it, he watched a human transform into a wolf tonight. Without much thought, Ravi slamed his car door and walked briskly inside. The lobby was buzzing with activity, it seemed that victims of the wolve attack had made it to the hospital. Doctors and nurses yelled at one.another, parents demanding to see thier children, only to be told that they were in critical condition and couldn't he bothered.
Ravi's face remained deadpan ashe walked through the chaos like zombie, searching for the room labled 13B. Nurses ignored him, surprisingly, with the influx of patients, she was defiantly going to earn her pay tonight.
Soon Ravi stumbled upon room 13B, sticking his head in to find Sophie with a smokey mask on her face.
"Sophie?" Ravi called from the door.
Sophie sent Billy out of room as soon as she heard Ravi speak then turned her head slightly to look at Ravi with tired eyes. She smiled gently at him.
"Hey... Thank goodness... you are alright... please... come in. We have a lot to talk about. But for now why don't you relax a bit? You look like the living dead. I should know." She laughed softly and her voice was hoarse and just as soft as her laughter. She looked horrible and she knew it, but she was more concerned as to how Ravi was. He had just went through hell and for all she knew, Ravi could be seriously injured.
Ravi frowned at Sophie as he got closer to her bedside, ignoring the guy he she dismissed. He really did not understand the extent of her illness, he had never seen a seizure in his life before, but this was bad. She looked like a train wreck, although he kept his mouth shut about it. Ravi rarely dealt with situations like this, he was at loss of words.
He raked his hands through his hair and gazed at her once again, his eyes hard for reasons he didn't know. With a sigh, Ravi began to speak.
"Sophie, how are you feeling?" he said, a frown now plastered on his face.
Sophie's smile never faded, even as Ravi approached her with such a hardened expression.
"I'm fine... But what about you? Such a hardened expression... it doesn't suit you... I much prefer it when you smile... you look more handsome when you smile." She reached out and touched Ravi's hand. There was period of silence.
"You want to know, don't you? About my illness? I haven't told anyone else about it but... I feel like I can trust you not to tell anyone else." She gestured to Ravi.
" Come here I think it is better that I showed you rather than just tell you." Before Ravi could protest or ask anymore questions, Sophie pulled Ravi close to her. With one hand, she gently place Ravi's head on her chest, and with the other she placed Ravi's hand on her neck to feel her pulse.
"Don't speak. Just listen." She told him. Sophie took a deep breath in then exhaled. She continued this pattern of breathing and let Ravi listen to her heartbeat. It changed dramatically from one near extreme to the other, yet never remained constant.
"I was born like this, Ravi. This wasn't your fault."Ravi reamained silent as Sophie spoke to him, a feeling of calm and sernity came over him as she spoke, despite her situation. He watched her as she spoke, his eyes softened, the ordeal that he had gone through seemed to melt into the back of his mind. Without much of a choice in the matter, watched quietly as she grabbed his head and hand on her chest and neck. A thin line was set on face, he didn't know what to feel about her illness, in reality, all his problems seemed to pale in comparison to hers in the long run. Ravi sighed, shakeing his head mentally before gazing at her once again, taking his hand and head off her body and returning them to his side.
"I understand that Sophie, but it weird, anytime something like this happens you can help but feel that way." Ravi said raking his had through his hair.
"Its alot to take in addition to what happened today." Ravi said with a smile.
Sophie released Ravi and allowed him to stand, she smiled at him again.
"Yeah... sorry. It's a lot to take in... I don't mean to make things worse for you... especially when you came to this town for a more peaceful lifestyle... but I hope that gives you some clarity on what you are trying to befriend... Ravi... I'm a ticking time bomb... and my time is almost up. Ravi...? What's it like to be an adult and to go where you want?" She asked curiously.
"Is it fun? What's the outside world like? I've only seen places out of town on TV and in pictures."Ravi shook his head.
"Make things hard for me? Of course not, your gonna be fine Sophie, this is just a small bump." Ravi said as he grabbed her small hand in both of his.
"Travel...travel is hard to explain. The freedom of being an adult is unprecedented and superficial. At times it’s confusing as you don’t feel like you belong anywhere. But, its because you don’t have to. You just have to belong in the now and then you are home. It’s a constant reference point of love, growth and joy.
A simple song, or smell, or random passing conversation will rush forth memories of love and joy.
That stirring arrives in the present – even when it looks bleak – and turns the frown upside down. It reminds you to be grateful and helps you connect to the love that bursts out of your chest." Ravi explained, the words literally tumbling out of his mouth. He usually wasn't so heart felt.
Sophie smiled as Ravi spoke.
"I see. You sound so passionate about it. You must love it a lot and have many stories. Perhaps you could tell me about some of the places you have been sometime?" She looked down at Ravi's large hands that encased hers. She gently held Ravi's hand in her own and opened his hand to see his callused skin then ran her fingers across his palms.
"You must have worked hard to get this far. I hope you are successful and find a place you can call home... even if it is not in Red Lake. I will be rooting for you, ok?" She grinned then released his hand.
Ravi grinned at Sophie, and unusual feeling of giddiness and nervousness rushing through his veins. It was wierd, he had just met this girl today, yet she seemed to have warmed up to him nicely, he could say the same for himself also.
"It would take alot of getting used to, but maybe I could deal with the whole shapeshifting humans thing going on." Ravi said shaking his head, frowning slightly as he took his head back.
Ravi stood, straightening his clothes out of habit.
"I'll leave you to rest." he said looking down at her.
"Alright. Good night, Ravi. be safe. You can visit me anytime, since I'll be here for a while. I'll see you soon, right? After you settle in?" Sophie asked curiously as she looked up at him.
"Ya don't worry, I'll be around." Ravi said with a smile as he left the room. Walking through the hallways of the hospital, he found it funny that not once did they talk about the incident. Funny, but it was probably for the best, he would clear it up on his own.
