The boy ran through the woods of the Canadian wilderness. He could not only hear the others but smell them as well. He kept his eye on his goal... a fallen tree across the ravine. If he could make it across the chase would be over for another day.
The tree loomed dead ahead and he adjusted his backpack and started across keeping his arms outstretched for balance. He was almost across when the tree started to rock and he fell. Pain shot through his arm as he scraped it on a sharp broken branch on his way down into the shallow water five feet below.
"Aw! Baby had a fallen." One of the boys above taunted making the others laugh. They all walked away leaving him in the water.
He slowly rose to his feet, wrapping his shirt hem around his arm he picked up his bag and headed for home.
All the way there he prayed for no one to be home and his luck held, there wasn't anyone waiting for him. He climbed the stairs to the farmhouse and dropped his bag in his room then went to the bathroom to tend to his arm. He thought it strange it no longer hurt as he turned on the water. A good cleaning and he looked it over frowning, water dripped from an unmarked arm. There had been blood, his shirt testified to that, so why was there no injury? He pondered that as he changed clothes throwing the dirty and sodden items in the hamper.
"Honey, are you home?"
"Yeah mom."
"Your father needs some help in the barn."
"Okay." He sighed and hurried downstairs to the door, injury forgotten.
"Hey!"
He turned back to his mother questioningly.
"Happy Birthday honey." She smiled and brushed his cheek. "Fourteen today."
"You gonna cry mom?" He made a face.
"No!" She shook her head and sniffed, giving him a hug. "Go help your father."
He grinned and ran out the door.
"Hold the reins!"
The boy held tight as his father attached the plow to the horse.
Unexpectedly the horse reared and the reins were ripped out of the teenager's hands, stinging them and making him cry out. He looked at his hands and gasped. His disbelieving brown eyes saw the burns heal instantly.
"You alright?"
The brown haired boy stared at his hands amazed.
"Kid, you alright?!?"
He looked up meeeting his father's eyes and nodded.
The older man muttered a curse and returned his attention to the horse.
The boy looked at his hands again then his arm and a slow smile began to form.
"Neat." He whispered.
This was of course about Wolverine played on film by Hugh Jackman.
*growl-bg*.