20. Tunneled Inside

20

Tunneled Inside

" R ed, is that you?" Granny calls as I step through the front door. It's already two in the afternoon, and I brace myself for the tongue-lashing I'm about to receive regarding my disappearance and late return.

"Yeah, it's me, Granny." I walk into the kitchen to find Granny sitting at the table, a cup of steaming tea to her side and an impressively long knitted scarf resting next to her folded hands. Her eyes study me with a disappointed tint coating her expression .

I don't let her speak her scoldings. "I'm so sorry, Granny. I've been investigating this story, and it's taken me on a whirlwind." I pull out a chair and sit across from her. "I ended up staying the night at Jack's because of that storm, and then on my way home, I had to follow this crazy lead."

Granny just shakes her head. "I don't like this, Red. I have a bad feeling about you getting tangled into this."

"What do you mean?" Jack said Granny was also a Werewolf Hunter. He said she'd forgotten everything, but maybe something deep inside her will reveal the truth.

She grabs my hand and sighs. "I don't know how to explain it. Just when you didn't come home last night, I knew you were in trouble. You're a grown woman. You don't have to update me with your schedule, but something doesn't feel right about you going after this story."

I nod and look around the kitchen, trying to think of a way to keep Granny talking and maybe reveal more about my family's history. My eyes meet a family portrait of Mom, Dad, and me. I stand, grab the picture, and bring it back to Granny.

I look down at the faded faces of my young parents. They were both so beautiful—never growing old and experiencing the harshness of time.

Granny leans over my shoulder, looking at the picture with a teary smile. "You're so much like your mother, you know. She was always putting herself in danger for what she believed in."

I study her face. "Oh yeah, like what?" Maybe this is it. Maybe Granny will remember my mom marrying a half-werewolf.

Granny sits up straight, a smile illuminating her face. "She was always causing a ruckus at school. She almost orchestrated a walkout when the school board announced they would cut the arts program."

I smile and lean forward. "I never heard about that. What else did she do?"

Granny smiles at me, her lips parting as if she's about to reveal more, but then a wash of concern drops over her expression. "Your father."

My heart speeds a beat. "What about my father?"

Granny just shakes her head. "For some reason, the memory is fuzzy, but I remember your father being dangerous, but that can't be right. I loved your father." She puts her head in her hands, rubbing at her temples.

I rub her back. "It's okay, Granny. Just tell me what you remember."

"Danger," she mouths, her eyes blank.

I lean in. "Danger from the werewolves?"

Her head darts in my direction, fear strew across her expression. "Don't trust them. Danger. You can't trust them!" She yells. Her eyes roll back, and her body slumps, convulsing against the chair.

"Granny! I shout, grabbing her and directing her to the floor. "Granny, what's going on?" I yell, tears blurring my vision.

"Don't trust them. Don't trust them," she repeats over and over. Foam seeps from her mouth, and I roll her to her side so she doesn't swallow her tongue.

I fumble with my phone from my pocket, dialing 911. The moment the operator picks up, Granny stops yelling, and her body stills. At first, I think she's dead, but I check her pulse and her breathing—normal. The operator tells me an ambulance will be here shortly. I hang up the phone and study her, tapping her gently to see if she'll rise, but she remains unconscious.

Granny has never had a seizure before. She's getting older, and of course, more complications come with age, but what are the odds that her first seizure happened after bringing up werewolves for the first time? I pray to every god in the universe that nothing permanent is wrong with Granny, but I fear the ambulance and doctors won't be able to give me a reason for the episode. Only one person comes to mind who could know what happened. I pick up my phone and dial his number.