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deliberately.
    "Any identification on him?" Erin asked the EMT, who was standing to the side filling out the paperwork on the new arrival.
    "Nope. And no name from the callers, of course."
    A John Doe, then. They'd find out who he was when he woke up.
    When the doctor took the gauze off his back, they found similar wounds to the ones on his chest. A double set of long cuts, raked down the length of his back.
    "What happened here?" she asked the EMT. "Any ideas?"
    He stepped around to stand with her, looking at the wounds.
    "Our best guess?" he said, looking at her sideways. "They look like something with claws took a pretty strong disliking to him. Except that those are definitely boot prints. So, we really have no idea.”
    “Wolverine?” the intern who’d just walked in to observe suggested.
    "Claws," the doctor said flatly, ignoring the attempt at humor. 
    The EMT nodded.
    That was, Erin decided, what they looked like. Four parallel marks, opened by something with a pointed tip. But there were the bruises, which were definitely boot imprints.
    The lacerations needed to be cleaned and sutured, and bloodwork sent to the lab. When that was done, the doctor and the intern left, and Erin was alone with the patient. She checked the IV levels, made sure he was resting peacefully, and stood for a moment, silently studying him.
    He was a good looking guy, even bandaged up and laying in a hospital bed—strong cheekbones, a straight Grecian nose, a thick head of curling brown hair. Erin turned away. She had other patients to see to, after all.

Chapter Two
    Back in high school, Erin had a friend who'd confessed a secret to her.
    She remembered the day all too clearly. They'd been sitting outside on the swings behind her house, swaying gently back and forth in the slanted golden light of late afternoon. The day was warm, but not hot, one of the last good spring days before summer would set in and fry everything to a crisp. It had rained in the morning, and everything felt fresh and new and clean. The flowers were blooming in the flower beds, and the trees were in blossom.
    "I have to tell you something," Jenna said very quietly.
    Erin turned to look at her past the chains of the swings, her hands curled around the plastic-covered part of them. They were really getting too big for these things, and the seat wasn't exactly comfortable. The edges cut into her hips.
    "Tell me. You know you can."
    Jenna was looking down at her lap, where her fingers were twisting together, her dark hair, a contrast to Erin’s blonde, pulled forward over one shoulder. She tugged at her lower lip with her teeth.
    "Yeah. I know I can, or I wouldn't have said it."
    She took a breath and let it out again slowly. In the little copse of trees to their left, birds called back and forth. Erin waited for her to speak.
    "You know how I'm always missing school for a few days every month?"
    Erin knew. She'd asked about it before, and Jenna always had an excuse, but she'd never given her a straight answer. Erin felt her heart beat pick up a little, and at the time she hadn't been sure why.
    "Well, there's a reason."
    "What?"
    Jenna was silent again for a long moment, swaying restlessly.
    "I…" She seemed to have trouble getting the words out, stopping and clearing her throat. Cleared it again. "I'm not sure I know how to say this," she confessed after a moment.
    "Just tell me, Jen. I won't tell anyone. I promise."
    Erin lifted her hand and drew an X over her heart. They hadn't done that since they were ten, but she hoped it would let Jenna know that she was telling the truth. Jenna could tell her anything. They'd been friends since kindergarten, and she didn't like the distance that had been growing between them over the last couple years, since Jenna had been in that accident while she was camping.
    "It's hard," Jenna said, hardly more than a whisper. "I mean, I've never told anyone this, Er. And telling you could get me in a lot of trouble."
    "Only if someone