Dusk at Rehab

We lay there under the tree for the next four hours. My head rested on Travis's lap, Travis's hands on my waist.

"I can lay here forever. Us tangled up in each other." I said, sighing happily. I closed my eyes.

"Same here." Travis replied. I heard a soft thump. I opened an eye and saw Travis's head rested against the stump of the tree. His eyes were closed, but he had a smile across his lips. Seeing him smile made me smile. I closed my eye again.

A rustling noise sounded in a bush not to far away. Travis was up and in front of me, protecting me before I could blink. I was sitting on the cold grass.

"Shh. Stay still and silent." Travis whispered, turning his face halfway to me. I sat closer to the stump of the tree.

A wolf came out the bush. What was a wolf doing in the hot, humid, desert St. George heat?

"What's a wolf doing in St. George?" I asked Travis.

"That's what I'm going to find out." Travis said. He walked slowly to the wolf, not daring to startle it.

"How? It's not like it can talk." I walked behind him, but faster than him. The wolf's ears perked up, watching us.

"Stay back! Don't come any closer!" Travis hissed. I stopped dead in my tracks.

First, the wolf was on the ground. Travis seemed to slow-motion-turn-around. The wolf knocked him to the ground.

"Travis!" I screamed. This all seemed to happen in slow motion.

I ran to the wolf and tried to push it off of Travis; but it wouldn't budge. It was growling, and I was too scared to get bit.

But I had to do it.

Something inside of me was growing. I don't know how to explain it.

~Travis~

The pain was terrible. Nearly indescribable.

The white, black, and gray wolf that was on me was biting my neck. I felt the blood run down my neck. I heard Crystill talking to herself. Saying if she tries to get the wolf off, she will get bit. If she doesn't, and the wolf was a shape-shifting angel, the wolf will kill me.

It is possible for an angel to be a shape-shifter.

I turned my head to look at Crystill. She was five feet in the air, a purple "tube" encircling her. Her eyes, mouth, and nose hand a magnificent shade of purple shooting out.

I've heard of an angel having this happen to them, but it's super rare. Only one other angel had this happen to them. And it was the king of the angels, Matthew.

Then Crystill lunged at the wolf, knocking it off of me. It yelped as it hit a tree.

The violet glow disappeared, and so did her energy.

Before she hit the ground, I caught her. My neck started throbbing. Her eyes fluttered before shutting.

ஜ۩۞۩ஜ

~Crystill~

When I woke, I was under the dead tree. The wolf was laying under a pine tree across the field from me. Travis's head was next to mine.

We were holding hands.

His neck was still bleeding.

"Travis?" I whispered.

"Mmm?" He answered. He sounded tired.

"Are you okay?" I was still whispering.

"I'll be fine. The question is, though, are you okay?"

"I'm not the one that got bit. I'm shaking really bad, though." I said. That was the first thing I noticed when I awoke.

"Good. The shaking is adrenaline. It's a good thing you only passed out. If you-- I can't even finish." He said. His voice was shaking. I turned to look at him, and he was looking right at me. He had tears in his eyes. I hugged him.

"Can we keep the wolf?" I asked. I love wolves.

"Why would we keep the animal that tried to kill us?" He asked, obviously baffled.

"Because my favorite animal is a wolf." I said.

"So is mine. But it's a wild animal. It'll try to kill us until it's successful, Love." He said, kissing the top of my head.

"Please?" I kissed him.

He sighed and rolled his eyes.

"I guess.... But where are we going to hide it, feed it, or take it outside to do it's... business?" He asked, turning to look at the wolf.

"I don't know...."

"Honey, we can't keep it." He took my other hand in his.

"I know." I looked away.

He put a finger under my chin so I had no choice but to look at him in the eyes.

"We could do this everyday to make sure the wolf is here."

"That's it! We can keep it here! We could tie it to a tree and feed it!" I said happily, standing up. I helped Travis to his feet.

"It's not fair to the wolf, though."

"Could we make a cage for it? A really big one?"

"Sure. I'll build it. For you." He kissed me tenderly on the lips.