Old Prey - Chapter Eight: Allusion
“Oh, you poor, poor, thing.”
Leo looks at the beeping thermometer with worry, silently signaling that my fever has not gone down.
This morning I fell with a fever, and it has only gotten worse. My head throbbed every time I moved, my muscles ached as if my bones were shattered. So I’m bound to my bed.
“Oh, dear, oh, dear,” Leo rambles about, looking at me as if I’m about to die. “It’s only getting worse, you might faint from overheating! We can’t have that, oh, no, we can’t…”
Leo hasn’t been any help. He’s been giving me home remedies and soup. While I do enjoy his cooking, it isn’t going to do a thing to help me. He seems too busy worrying like I’m bleeding out. I hope I faint soon, so I can finally rest from all of this…
“Can’t you just bring me to a doctor?” I ask, trying to keep my voice as soft and sweet as I can.
“My dear, outside is scary and dangerous, those evil beasts might brainwash you again. Then we’d be separated… You don’t want that.”
“I don’t,” let’s try to make my voice a bit more soft. “But I’m sick, and I need help… don’t you want to help me?”
He looks deeply into my eyes, looking like he’s considering it. Yes, bring me to the doctor, then I’ll get saved, finally…
“Some… Some more soup my help. I should just try to keep you company while I try to find some sort of medicine.”
He gets into bed with me. He wraps his arms around me so tight like he had the intent of crushing me to death. He gently lapped my forehead, purring as he rubbed his scent all over me. I’m getting sick of being handled like this…
“I promise you’ll get better, my sweet Soleda… it won’t get worse with my help.”
I give him a smile, not knowing how long I can keep up this act before someone saves me.
I have a good feeling about finding Beau.
Mr. Spera and I agreed to meet up in two hours and go around the neighborhood knocking on doors and asking questions. We both think she was taken, so this is a chance to find her captor or get clues.
I step into my house, locking and closing the door behind me.
“I heard what happened to that female bear you’re friends with,” My father says once I notice him. He stands up and walks towards me. “Do not go looking for her.”
“What? I’m not going to let her stay missing; I’m going to look for her.”
“You’re going to get desperate and get new, worse ideas,” he stared intently. “First you’re searching for her, then you find where she is. You think she can be her knight, so you go to save her yourself. Then you get your arm mauled off. Each new idea seems genius, but it’s more idiotic and dangerous than the last. I know from experience.”
“You’re just being paranoid again!” I clenched my fists. “You think everyone is a danger to the family, you’ve always been like this!”
“I’m not being paranoid, I’m being cautious. I can’t trust anyone!” I’ve always noticed how similar Beau sounded to him. That’s why I hate and pity her paranoia with a passion.
“No, you aren’t, not every beast is going after you! Searching for her isn’t going to put me in danger. I’m going to look for her, I don’t know what could happen if we just sit around!”
“Female teenagers run away all the time!”
“Maybe she had a fight with her father, or perhaps with you,” because it’s always his dumb son’s fault…
I glare at him. He’s always treated me like I’m just a dumb dog. That someone is always after him, but we’ve never been ‘attacked’ before. I’m sick of my life being controlled by another beast’s paranoia!
“Did you act like this when you were my age?”
“No. I wasn’t afraid of anything. I wanted to be feared because that’s how I thought a male wolf should be. It caused me to get with bad beasts, hurting other beasts, getting myself hurt… I watched beasts die and got my life spared by the beast I mauled to near death. I don’t want my son to go through something like that.”
“Why would something like that happen to me?”
“It may seem impossible, but it’s not. It started with me going to a bar, I met a beast, then I was getting shot at. Every idea is more dangerous than the last. Please listen to me, Duko. I love you.”
My father doesn’t say he loves me all that much. He says he only wants to say it when he really means it.
“I know how afraid you are about this, but I’m terrified. Beau is someone I care so much about, I hold her so dear to my heart. I need to find her. She’s probably praying for it right now.”
I walked on the sidewalk, shivering as the snow began to fall. I’ve asked questions to every resident in my and Beau’s neighborhood. It’s been mostly ‘I don’t know who she is,’ or ' I didn’t see her that day.’ But those who did have something useful to say saw the same beast talking to her: the superintendent, Mr. Santifelon. He might not know much, but it’s worth trying…
I arrive at his house. It’s… depressing. All the blinds are closed, and the grass is uncut.
I knock on the door, the sound of numerous locks unlocking before I look up at his tall, intimidating figure. He looks at me with a deep glare.
“Hello, Mr. Santifelon,” I try to tread away from that harsh gaze of his. “A small female bear that’s a senior at Claws Academy went missing Friday night and I’ve been questioning people to help find her. Most beasts saw you talking to her first period. You came into the classroom and asked her to talk with you in an abrupt change. When she came back, she looked tired, even bothered…”
I read from my notes, trying not to sound accusing. This probably explains why she was so quiet when we met on the bus that afternoon. She’s always tired from school, but not quiet like that. It could’ve been about her coming to celebrate from me, but she would probably forget about it until it was brought up.
“I was talking to her about grades.”
“…Why? Isn’t your job to check if the school is in check, if the principal is doing his job, or something like that?”
His harsh tone catches me off guard. He’s very defensive. He isn’t known to be bubbly or anything but it’s unusual.
I lower my ears in submission. “…I’m sorry. Did you at least see her after that..?—”
“I never saw her, I didn’t talk to her again, I just went home, that’s that.”
I have a bad feeling about him, but I don’t know what it is besides the harsh yelling. I just smell something so familiar…
I begin to walk away since this isn’t going anywhere talking to a hermit. “Thank you for talking to me.”
“Never return to my house again, or I’ll kill you.”
