my uncle petted him saying “so do I” I asked him why he never comes to visit us. My uncle looked somberly at me replying “your mother and I had a fight a long time ago and at the end of it she told me she never wanted to see me again. So I obeyed what she had said and I haven’t see her since then” I didn’t press into the matter any farther.

Soon it was getting dark out, I said good bye to my uncle and rode for home. As soon as I arrived I bundle Arctos in my hoodie and snuck him passed my parents. I went to bed with him curled at the foot of my bed. The next day I went to school and pondered over what I had discussed with my uncle. My English teacher kept yelling at me to pay attention but I ignored her and got a detention for it. When I arrived at home from school I found my mother looking around the lawn as soon as she saw me she says “I saw a fox in the house today when I went into your bedroom” I replied “a fox you must be crazy” she says “I believe I am going crazy but the thing hissed at me and ran out here” I ran into the house and dropped off my backpack and then walked through the woods calling for Arctos. I heard a rustling in the bushes behind me when I turned I found Arctos standing there panting.

Once he caught his breath he replies “who was that women she dang near ended me” I said “that was my mother” he looks up at me and hops into my arms. I can feel his heart pounding within him he says “I am not going anywhere near her again” I chuckle and say “good idea.” A few days had passed after my mother’s run in with Arctos and she had completely forgotten about him. Arctos had gotten bigger and a lot heavier, I made regular trips to my uncles who just seemed happy to have company.

One day while I was talking to him Arctos slipped out and started to look for a mouse he heard sneaking through the grass. He saw the mouse scurry across the road as he chased it when the mouse disappeared into the grassy ditch. He felt a vibration behind his paws when he looked up he saw a car then blackness. Jim and his uncle heard the screeching of a car then Jim ran out of the house and up the driveway. In the road he saw Arctos laying there lifeless, as he ran to the body another car sped down the road and hit him. The last thing Jim saw was Arctos’s glassy stare then nothing.

I hear the beeping of a machine as I open my eyes I am surrounded by my parents and my uncle. My mom looks down at me saying “I thought we lost you” she kisses me on the forehead my father stood by holding back his tears. My uncle hugs me saying “at least you’re ok” I reply “what happened to me” my mother says “you were hit by a car” I try to remember but I cannot, I say “there is someone important I feel I have to remember” my mother says “who” I reply “I dunno, I just feel something is missing. Like a piece of my heart has a hole in it” John says “Denise may I speak to you privately she looks at him saying “ok” they leave the room and go out into the hallway. She looks at him saying “ok what the hell happened at your house the doctors say he was covered in fox blood. Why would he be covered in fox blood” John looks at his sister and replies “your son can talk to animals” she replies “no he cannot” he says “Denise yes he can when I was his age I could to that fox blood is from a fox pup he found in the woods and befriended. The foxes name as Arctos, I saw them talking to one another just like they were long lost pals” she looks from her brother to her son who is sitting up in bed talking to his father.

She says “why didn’t you tell me this earlier” he replies “because I thought you might think he was crazy” she is taken aback by this and says “I would never think my son was crazy I care about him that’s all” she begins to cry. John wraps his arms around her saying “I think it is best we don’t remind him of Arctos now it might be too painful for him to realize he is gone” she nods her head saying “yes that would be for the best.”

A week later Jim and his family left Vermont and headed to Idaho where his father had got a new job opportunity but really it was to get away from everything that might remind Jim of Arctos. As for Arctos he was buried at Jim’s uncle’s house in a small grove of trees with a wooden grave marker with his name carved into it.

 

Wolf In My Room

Hi, my name is Jim Bromley I was born in St. Albans, Vermont to my parents Ian and Denise Bromley. I lived there until we moved in my freshmen year of high school to Stanley Idaho because my father was offered a job there, little did I know that this was going to unexpectedly change my life.

Part 1 Arrival

“Look” mom cried, we watched as the car rose over the hill and we saw a small town mainly made of wooden buildings and it was surrounded by icy mountains that glinted in the afternoon sun. As we descended the hill and into the town I notice a building with the words “Idaho Anti-Wolf Coalition” I say “hey dad check that out” he turns his head and says “oh I heard about them they believe wolves are a threat to livestock and want to take the wolf of the list of protected animals” I shrug and think “well I see their point wolves are killing machines” I didn’t know how wrong I was.

Later that day we arrived at our house, it was a green house with a bay window it had two floors one being the basement and the other living areas. I walked into the house and into my bedroom which had a view of the mountains and the woods behind the house. I glimpsed a silver shadow moving among the trees, I backed away and thought “a wolf,” I ran out of the house and to my parents who were unloading the U-Haul van. My mother turned around and when she saw me she said “honey what’s wrong you look like you seen a ghost” I replied “no but I saw a wolf” my father turned around and stopped what he was doing while my mother stood agape.

My father says “are you sure” I nodded, he walk out back and stared into the woods and says “I don’t see anything” I pointed and said “It was there” he looked in the direction I pointed in and said ‘I still see nothing” I said “but it was there” he replied “must have been your imagination” he shrugged and left me standing there watching the forest.

Part 2 Meeting

The next day I got up and I stared out the window into the forest and thought “I did see a wolf” I walked out of the bedroom and my mother said “hello” I looked at her and said “what’s for breakfast” she said “pancakes” after I ate them I got dressed and waited for the bus to school. I watched as the yellow bus rounded the corner and on it said “Challis High School” I got onto the bus and made my way to the back away from prying eyes.

The bus rolled over the prairie until it stopped in front of a large brick building; I got off the bus and walked through the main entrance. Over the intercom came a voice saying “all freshmen please report to the main office for your schedules” I followed the signs on the ceiling to the main office. I got my schedule and reported to my first period classroom which was Mrs. Rathbone an old wrinkly English teacher she gave us the class requirements and rules. It was the same in every class I had the teachers were always boring except for my Earth Science teacher Ms. Lyons she was rather nice.

After school was over I got onto the bus to go home, once I arrived I noticed the screen door was wide open I thought “that’s weird” walked through the entrance and walked around. I heard a crash and said “that came from my room” I pushed open the door and what stood before me was a wolf. The wolf barred it’s fangs I looked at it my heart raced, I looked at a laundry basket on the floor that the wolf had been sorting through. I watched as the wolf started to ready itself to pounce upon me I yelled “hold on” the wolf stopped and looked at me with a quizzical look on its muzzle.

I edged my way to my bedside and started to reach under the mattress and reach for my hunting knife as I did this, a voice came saying “don’t do that human or you will die” I stopped reaching for my knife and said “who said that” I looked at the wolf and watched as it said “I did” I was stunned I could actually understand what the wolf was saying to me. I looked at the wolf and said “I must be going crazy” stupidly I asked “did you say that” the wolf nodded and I said “I am crazy” the wolf said “this is just as odd for me human” I replied “My name is Jim not human” the wolf replied “mines Silva.”

I asked “what are you doing in here” she replied “I came here to hide from the hunters” he looked at her then out the window and noticed a group of five men in camo carrying shotguns. He says ‘well you can’t stay here my parents will freak” she walked over to him and put her forepaws on his knees and said “please” she looked into his as tears began to come out of them, he looked into her yellow eyes and sighed saying “fine” she wags her tail and licks his face. He looked from her and to the laundry basket on the floor and said “what were