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I trembled, my breathing see-sawing in and out of me, my vision blurred. To stop myself from screaming, I clamped a hand over my mouth and sat there, frozen and terrified, picturing my mother left to die just like my father.
A gurgling came next, and then the pounding footfalls seemed to run through the house.
Something more dangerous is coming back for us.
Shaking, I didn’t dare move and remained that way long after the sounds vanished. So much so that I must have passed out, because when I opened my eyes again, the door was being pried open and a man with the kindest eyes I’d ever seen was staring at me.
“Hello there,” he soothed. “I’m not going to hurt you.”
Even delayed, the shock startled me, and I flinched backward, screaming with dread.
He had strawberry blond hair that was graying at the temples, and somehow, he got me out of the cabinet.
My pulse raced through my veins, my knees so numb from being cramped up that I couldn’t stand on my own.
The man held me and smoothed the hair out of my face, studying me with the softest brown eyes. “You’re safe now, little one. The fire’s been put out. We’re searching for survivors.”
I blinked at the man I instantly recognized as a shifter by his heavy wolf scent.
“My parents,” I gasped, peering over to the hallway where all I saw were bloody drag lines. Remembered horror pounded in my mind, and fresh tears fell from my puffy eyes.
I tried to stand on my own but stumbled, and the man held onto my arms to steady me. “It’s only you in the house. I don’t know what happened here, but you’re not alone anymore.” He stared at me with pity in his gaze. “My name’s Caleb and I’ve been helping with the clean-up of this town, rescuing who’s left. What’s your name?”
Everything was too much, too confusing, and still, my name slipped past my lips in a whisper, “Gwendolyn. But where’s my mama?”
The bridge of his nose pinched. “There’s no one else in the house. But you don’t have to be alone anymore. I have a large home, and there's always room for one more; you can stay until your mama comes back.” Even as the words slipped from his lips, I knew he thought she was dead.
Without warning, he lifted me in his arms and carried me out to the hallway where there was indeed no sign of my mother. Only blood. So much of it was on the floor, and more was splashed on the walls.
I cried, trembling in the man’s arms.
A sliver of sunlight caught my eyes once we stepped outside the house, the smoke clearing, and I gazed up to the bright sky. It heated my face, and I was certain I heard my mother’s whisper in my ear.
I will always be with you in your heart.
“I have a large garden you can play in, and a family who will love to have you there, so you’ll never be alone. Okay, Gwendolyn?” Caleb said, distracting me.
I wasn’t sure how to respond because I wantedmyfamily, not a different one.
Around us, the fires were out. Only wisps of smoke curled from the charred remains that were once homes. Most of the huts were destroyed. Those that remained, like mine, were black on the outside from how close the fire got, but there were maybe only half a dozen of those remaining.
We reached a white SUV by the side of the dirt road where Caleb set me on my feet. I kept staring at my home, at the village that had been obliterated. A few people searching the burned homes in the distance remained, but I didn’t recognize them.
Caleb collected a blanket from the backseat, and wrapped it around my shoulders. “We can wait to see if you recognize anyone in the village who might have information about your family.”
His words were soft, and every time I looked at him, I saw my father in his kind eyes. He offered me a bottle of water.
I nodded, wiping at my tears. “Okay.”
“I won’t be long; I have to go speak with my friends.” He walked quickly to the others nearby, without waiting for my response. He paused to talk to two females, then soon returned, announcing, “They’re going to ask around for your mama.”
I nodded, hugging myself with the blanket just as a distraught couple came over to us.
The woman with reddish hair offered me a soft smile and asked for the man’s details in case they needed to get hold of me if they found my parents. They gave me pitiful looks after that, and then they left. I didn’t know them, but neither of them offered to take me with them.
Caleb turned to me, and I stared at him, too choked up to reply. “Should we head out?” Black soot stained his face and arms from having searched for survivors in their burned homes. He was a kind person, I could see that clearly. He would have gotten along well with my father.
“Yes.” The tears fell and my chin trembled.
