nora kent needs help (lovebleeding) wrote in light_of_may, @ 2014-01-13 16:39:00 |
|
|||
Entry tags: | 2009-10-01, nora, regan |
let mercy come and wash away what i've done
WHO | Nora & Regan
WHERE | Her apartment → U of M Hospital
WHEN | Early Morning
The door and floorboards seemed to be working against her that morning; how was she supposed to slip back into the apartment without waking Zoie? She was half-motivated by affection for her sister; not wanting to disturb her rest when she needed as much rest and energy as she could get. But she also knew that if Zoie woke up to Nora coming home, then she'd be exposed to a typhoon of never-ceasing questions and it was just far too early to deal with an interrogation. Nora closed the door behind her with a light snap and twisted the dead bolt so that it was locked securely. The last thing she needed was some psychotic were following her home. She crept through the kitchen and down the hall, pausing long enough to scratch the snoozing kittens behind their ears once she reached her bedroom. This was one of those moments that made her thankful that she had the master bedroom with the adjoining bath; if Zoie stepped out of her bedroom, just one look at her older sister would cause her hear to skip a beat or two.
Because Nora was covered in mud, leaves, and blood.
Some of it was her own, now dried on her shirt and jacket and smeared across her forehead, but most of it belonged to a werewolf she had tracked towards Pentwater Lake in the northwestern part of the state. It was nearly a three and a half hour drive away from home, but the second that Nora had caught wind of the were, she followed him. Despite the fact that his scruffy demeanor and greying hair pegged him as an older wolf, he acted as though he was totally unaware of Nora hunting him. So she followed him from the high school all the way back to his den. She figured the news about what was going on at the school is what dragged him down this far south in the first place, but what surprised her the most was that he was alone. Even as they entered his territory, she didn't see any other signs that might have indicated the presence of a pack.
Following him was one thing, but confronting him was something else altogether and Nora realized now how lucky she had been to escape. Sure, he was a loner, but years of being a lone wolf had done wonders for his will to survive. Normally, that was a quality that would be admirable and might have kept Nora from doing what she needed to do, but she was desperate for information. How long had it been since she'd lost the trail of the wolf she had been searching for? Days? Weeks? It was hard to keep track. All she knew was that he had been pointed towards Scarlet Oak. For all she knew, he had already left the town behind. That was why Nora crept into the woods near the lake, following the wolf into what could have been a trap. It wasn't a trap; no, the wolf just realized he was being followed by a hunter and turned on her faster than she had anticipated.
The ground in the woods was damp and caused her to slip and slide through fallen leaves. She tripped, cracked her head on a low hanging branch, and tumbled down a hill and struggled to stop herself from rolling into the lake. By that time, she'd already attempted to shoot and stun the wolf, but to no avail. It wasn't until she'd lost her tranquilizer gun that he was close enough to inflict any harm upon and at that point, all she had left was the silver bullets and her Beretta.
She didn't miss that time.
Nora groaned, a sound mixed with fatigue and pleasure as the hot water cascaded down from the shower head. She stood under the running water for several minutes, rotating her shoulders and rolling her neck to try and ease the stiffness out of her muscles. She washed away all the dirt and dried blood from the cut on her head, wincing slightly when her shampoo caused it to sting. She stayed in the shower until there was no hot water left; then, she stepped out and examined her cut in the foggy mirror. The fortunate thing was that she could cover the scratch with her hair if she brushed it a certain way. Walking back into her room, Nora studied the mess of her clothes. She reached into her jacket pocket and retrieved her cell phone; she carried it with her during hunts just in case Zoie called, but during her tussle with the wolf, it had somehow been smashed. The screen was a web of shattered plastic and no amount of pressing the power button helped fix it. She sighed heavily and tossed it to the side; she would have to get a new one today.
After dressing, Nora slipped through the apartment and to Zoie's room. The lights were off, but the door was open. She peered inside, but couldn't see anything, so she quietly slinked inside. Finding the bed, she sat on the edge easily. "Zoie?" She whispered to the darkness. "Sweetie, are you awake?" She reached out to touch her sister's shoulder, but where her hand should have rested on a slender shoulder, it fell straight to the blankets on the mattress. Nora's brows came together and she reached out for the night stand and flicked on the lamp. "Zoie?!" She couldn't stop the shrill tone to her voice. She had never come home to find that the apartment was missing her very sickly sister. With her phone completely demolished, there was no way that Nora could check to see if she'd missed any calls. She sprinted back into the living room and that was where she found the answering machine blinking with six messages. She didn't hesitate to press play. They started with the most recent first; one from her mother demanding to know where she was, followed by one from Harper explaining that Zoie was at the hospital -- Nora didn't wait for the rest.
She was inside of the hospital before she realized that she'd left the apartment. Whether or not she'd locked the door or if she had run any stop lights on the way didn't even cross her mind until she was walking through the lobby. She barely paused at the main desk.
"Tell me where Zoie Irving's room is right now," she screeched at the nurse behind the desk. It didn't matter that the people here knew her and Zoie; Nora was prepared to tear the world apart if it meant she would get to her sister.