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cotton balls to the gash on the leg, causing the wolf to yelp in pain. I jumped and the wolf moved his leg back a little.
    “Sorry,” I mumbled, feeling guilty for putting him through more pain, but it was the only way I knew of to keep it from getting infected. I dabbed the gash a little more, and the wolf whined loudly, like he was screaming. My hands shook each time he whined and I could feel the tears in my eyes again.
    What was I doing? What if it didn’t help him any? What if I was making him suffer for nothing? I tried to ignore my fear as I wrapped the leg firmly in gauze to stop the bleeding.
    I soaked more cotton balls in peroxide and then dabbed the cut on his side. He didn’t whine as much, probably because it wasn’t nearly as bad as the cut on his leg. I put a few little butterfly bandages on it and then got up to go wash my hands in the bathroom.
    After I washed, I watched the water run down the drain. The water almost looked yellow in the dim light of the bathroom. I was debating again on whether I should call Uncle Justin.
    Finally, I decided I would. The wolf needed professional help. I couldn’t risk his leg because of my cowardice. The bandage was firm enough to stop the bleeding, so he would survive the fifteen minute wait for Justin to get home. If Uncle Justin hated me because of the close call with Big John, fine. I would just deal with it and ask him to send me back to California. Maybe with some begging Aunt Suzie would take me in. I could convince her of my usefulness, that I could get a job and pay rent. There was no reason why she wouldn’t be able to afford me then. Personally, I got the gut feeling she just didn’t want to be bothered. She acted like her own children bothered her.
    I walked back into the dark hallway, heading to the living room then to use the phone. I stopped walking once I reached the doorway, because the wolf was nowhere in sight. Big John was pawing desperately at the front door.
    My jaw dropped as I took in the empty towels on the floor. I looked around, wondering where the wolf had gone. I ran into each room and the wolf wasn’t there. I then walked back into the living room where Big John was. He finally calmed down and walked over to the window. He stood on his back legs and planted his front paws on the window sill.
    He was looking at the trees again.
    I slipped my coat back on and pulled my sneakers over my feet. I ran out the front door and scanned the mounds of mowed grass for distortions that might be tracks. There was the trail from the sled and other distorted fluffs of mowed grass from where I had been, so I couldn’t be sure. I followed them to the edge of the forest, hoping it would lead me to the wolf, but he was nowhere in sight
    I grabbed my head, cursing my stupidity for not calling Uncle Justin sooner, fearing for the wolf, and wondering how on earth he managed to get away. He hadn’t been able to stand up earlier, so how did he take off? Besides, it’s not like the wolf could have opened the front door and just walked away. It didn’t make any sense, and I wondered what Uncle Justin would say if I told him. Would he say I was crazy? Would he send me to another relative because he didn’t want to be bothered with a crazy teenager, or would he send me to a mental institution?
    In that moment, I really did feel like I was crazy. I felt like I was going to go insane from all of the emotions that were raging through me.
    Finally, I walked back into the house, defeated and frustrated. Was my life always going to be one big struggle?

Chapter Two:
Phantom
     
     
    “Christine?” Uncle Justin called as I heard him unlock the front door. Every day he called my name with that same note of uncertainty, like he thought I would run away while he was at the lumber yard.
    I came out of my room where I had been sitting on my bed, staring at the wall for the last hour. I put a smile on my face as I walked into the living room. “How was work?” I asked,