CHAPTER 4 - The Attack

Five years later...

It was a late, dark, and foggy Wednesday night. The heavy rain that started in the afternoon has finally subsided but that didn’t stop the cold from enveloping the atmosphere. The streets are nearly empty and from time to time, a car will pass by, splashing water on the puddles that they will be driving over.

Clattering sounds of tin cans dropping on the ground can be heard as several cats were fighting over food that they had scavenged from the garbage bins located in the alleyway.

Twenty-year-old Amarah Saville wrapped her wool scarf around her neck and put on her gloves, to protect herself from the cold after closing the door of the clinic, where she works as an assistant. She was about to walk towards the direction of where she lives, which takes around twenty minutes, but stop when she heard her phone ringing in her jacket pocket.

“Matt, I just closed off and will be there in fifteen minutes. Glo has all the details of the patient we’re looking after,” she answered softly. “You can tell Jacklyn to not worry over me. I’m fine now.”

“I’ll wait for you at the corner. You are such a saint for volunteering to take the late shift today. Thankfully, there’s only one patient to look after. Tracy is taking advantage of your kindness. She doesn’t deserve it, honestly,” Matthew Slade said dryly at the other line. “Look what happened. You were nearly run over last night. Why do you always have to decline that I pick you up? It’s no big deal.”

Amarah smiled as she started walking home.

“Don’t want my bad luck rub on you, you know that well enough,” she answered softly. “But guess what? I think it’s finally rubbing off on me. Compare the previous years, I always have misfortunes every day.”

“Because I was not there to protect you. Or you never told me about it,” he countered lightly. “Have you cross the street?”

“About to,” she answered. “What’s left for dinner?”

“Chicken pot pie,” he replied calmly. “I’ll cook you some stir fry veggies when you arrive, so it’ll taste better.”

She looked to both of her sides carefully before crossing the street quickly. After the near miss accident, she had last night, Amarah made a mental note to herself to walked quickly. She finally reached the other side and casually informed Matt to keep him from worrying.

Suddenly, a commotion can be heard not far from her.

Amarah turned towards the direction of the noise she heard but found nothing out of the ordinary. She remained on her spot, her eyes scanning the empty surroundings.

“What was that noise?!” Matt exclaimed intently. He let out a huffed. “Arah, where are you? Shit! I’m fetching you right now. Find a place where you can hide. I’m crossing the street now!”

“There’s nothing here -,” she started but stopped when she heard a growl several feet behind her.

She turned and swallowed a scream when she came face to face with a pair of bright yellow eyes, looking at her. She remains still, her phone still on her ear and her eyes roamed as the big animal with thick black hair with few streaks of grey, was huffing, and panting in front of her, a ferocious and dangerous snarl across its face.

The beast growled at her, and she automatically took a step backward in fear.

Amarah let out a scream, immediately crouching down, raising her arms over her to protect herself, as the beast lunged at her. She felt a heavy swipe on her arm and heard another different growl. She looked up and saw another beast, this time with thick grey hair with streaks of silver and white.

The grey beast lunged at the darker one, his paw swiping at it hardly.

Hide!

She thought she heard Matt shouting the command. She looked around to see for any signs of him but did not see him.

I said hide!!! The command came again. Two more are coming!

Amarah got back on her feet and hurriedly run towards a big sculpture depicting a family having a stroll, several feet from her and lay down on her side, crunching herself on an opening to hide herself. She closed her eyes tightly, praying that Matt will be safe.

She clutched her hands as she heard more noises, growling in low, menacing tones. A few minutes later, she could hear ferocious fighting over the air. There was a moment that one of the beasts let out a painful yelp but was immediately replaced with a yowl.

Crunching herself tighter, Amarah has no idea how long she stayed in her spot until she finally heard Matt’s voice.

“Amarah!”

“Matt,” she whispered lightly. She waited for a few more minutes until she heard her name being called again. She finally knew that she is safe. “Matt! I’m over here!”

Amarah finally crawled out of her hiding place sat up, rubbing her knees and elbows gently to relieve the sting she felt. She looked to her right and finally saw Matt, running towards her a big relief crossing his handsome face when he saw that she’s alright.

“What was that?” She asked after he helped her stood up. She stared towards the direction where she heard the fighting was and saw a shadow of a large mass, lying on the ground. “What is that beast?”

Matt held her by the elbow gently and started pulling her towards their home.

“Let’s go, Amarah,” he said firmly. “We must go. We should not be here. Especially you. We’ll talk about it once we’re safely back home.”

She looked up at him curiously before finally walking beside him.

“What’s going on?” She asked again. “What were those beasts?”

“Wolves, Arah,” he stated quietly.

Help me.

Amarah stopped when she heard that voice again in her mind. She turned back and to her surprise, the large mass has changed into a different physique.

Please help me. The voice pleaded.

“Matt! It’s human!” She exclaimed and she suddenly pulled away from him and rushed towards the direction of the person on the ground. “He needs our help!”

“We should leave him alone, Amarah,” Matt insisted behind her.

She stopped and looked down, surprise on her face when she saw that it is a naked, well-built man with dark hair. He was lying on his side, breathing heavily and she could see the injuries his body had sustained from the lights of the posts near them.

“He needs help, Matt,” she answered, and she started taking off her jacket. “Call Gloria. Tell her we’re bringing a patient over.”

Amarah checks the extent of his injuries before turning to Matt, who refused to make the call. He was standing stiffly beside her, a stubborn look on his face.

“You’re supposed to be saving lives, Matthew Slade!” She scolded. “Make the call now or I will!”

What felt like an eternity, Matt finally made the call and after much forceful persuasion from her, he had carried the unconscious man on his back and walked towards the clinic, which is just a few feet away.

“Oh, my goodness!” Gloria Archer gasped when she opened the door for them. “What happened?”

Matt said something to Gloria and a panicked look crosses her face.

Amarah rushed towards the bed where Gloria had prepared for the patient and started preparing the gauze and cleaning solution. She grabbed some gloves on one shelf, put them on and handed a pair to Matt and Gloria. She looked down at the unconscious man and a feeling of panic unexplainably filled her.

“We have to save him!” She cried in despair. “Matt, he will be needing stitches! Thank goodness you decided to come after me!”

She started cleaning the injuries hurriedly and with care. Unknown to her, Matt and Gloria exchanged a look of utmost concern over the situation that they are currently having.