Wolf Running Read Free

around.
    By the time she reached the exit her legs were shaking and sweat lightly slicked her face. She leaned her head gratefully against the firm support of the door and took a precious few moments to corral her strength. Raising her head she peered through the small window centered in the door.
    A cream-colored wall was directly opposite, one sign pointing right to the nurses’ station and another sign pointing left to the elevators. There was the sound of running feet and then three people, all in scrubs, ran through her viewpoint, right to left. Trailing them came a fourth person, an older man, also in scrubs. He was cradling his right arm across his chest and pressing his left hand against a bloody gash in the upper arm. A large group of people thundered by and the man was knocked aside. He slammed against the far wall and slid below the small window’s perspective. A smear of bright blood followed him down.
    She stepped back, confused and afraid. Her hand rested on the door handle but she couldn’t make herself turn it. She needed to get out of this room, find someone who could tell her who she was and why she was here. But something very bad was going on in the hospital. Even with her lack of knowledge about her own self and what might be normal for her, people screaming and running and bleeding in the hallways couldn’t be normal for a hospital.
    Now more noises were coming from outside her room. She pressed her face back up to the small window, straining for a glimpse of what was happening. Whoever had been screaming nearby had stopped, but other voices, further away, were raised in pain and fear and anger. Something that sounded very much like gunshots came to her, faintly. She thought about calling for help, and then decided against that. Drawing attention to herself right now might not be the best idea. For the time being, she was safe.
    A rustling sound drew her back to the window. As she watched, the injured man who had been knocked down rose into view. He was facing away from her, swaying slightly. His arms hung limp at his sides and blood dripped from the injured one. Then the man turned, slowly, until he was facing her door. He looked bewildered and lost, and she could almost see his mind trying to turn over, like a car engine on a cold day. He finally seemed to see her, and their gazes locked.
    And then he was gone, pulled down by someone moving very fast, a blur of pink fabric stained with something dark and wet-looking. They landed with a loud thud against the base of her door and she took a startled step back. The injured man began to wail, a sound of pure agony that was abruptly cut off. She could hear liquid tearing sounds. A thin line of blood slid in under the door.
    She staggered away from the door, a hand clamped over her mouth. The large window next to her bed caught her eye and she worked her way over to it. The floor she was on was well up from the ground, and the height gave her a wide view of the outside.
    Against a rich blue sky multiple columns of smoke climbed upwards from a sprawling cityscape. Directly below her window was a large parking lot full to capacity with cars, all trying to reach the street that ran adjacent to the lot. Where they hoped to go in their frantic rush wasn’t certain, as the street was also backed up with traffic. Horns were honking furiously and sirens clamored for attention. People were running between the stopped vehicles wildly. From this height they resembled marbles, crashing into each other as if they had been casually tossed to the ground. Someone, a woman she thought, stumbled and fell in the mad rush of people. No one stopped to help.
    The sound of crunching metal drew her attention to where a long black car was forcing itself past the other stopped vehicles and up onto the sidewalk. Now free of obstacles the car roared headlong down the concrete walk, and those in the fleeing mob who weren’t able to get out of the way were mowed down. Loose-limbed