Chapter 6

Without giving it a second thought, Conner turned on his heel and

headed for the forest path and the dark beyond.

* * * *

The light from the parking lot didn’t stretch

far down the path before the darkness swallowed it. Conner stumbled

over an unseen sapling and prayed that it was past poison ivy

season. Outside in the growing night, the pain in his body

subsided. His senses seemed heightened—he could smell the stench

from the dumpster behind Sylvia’s, the earthy odor of the woods and

dirt path, the fresh evening beyond. Now that he was among the

trees, he wanted to race through them like…like a wolf,his

mind whispered. Yes, like a wolf. He wanted to feel the wind

against his face and through his hair. He wanted to feel the earth

beneath his hands and feet, dig into the soft ground and roll in

the grass. He wanted to howl out all his dreams and frustrations at

the moon above, and wait for an answering call to beckon to him.