Chapter Ten

Monday and Tuesday passed too quickly. The only thing interesting was Jimpy-our most famous chimp- had a thankfully successful surgery. Wednesday I had off. My bones ached from working. Hauling pounds of meat and sweeping pens. I laid in bed after feeding and cleaning the animals at home. Eliza was sitting beside me on the floor. Her face was unreadable. Ever since Sunday, we hadn't talked about the wolf who jumped in front of our car. Honestly, I didn't want to have the conversation. It was stressing me out. Each day I went into work, Darby and his team would be parked along the road. They hadn't caught him. But the anxiety of not seeing them parked along the road one of these days was taking a toll on me. I wanted to be at work. Doing my routine so I didn't have time to think. I also wanted to nap. To lose myself with in the blankets. But Eliza wasn't having that. I could see it in her eyes when she looked up. An apology brewed in them. I sighed and waited until she found the right words.

"Dan, I'm truly sorry for how things played out. I know you didn't want the wolf taken, but we have to worry about ourselves. Our cattle. I didn't mean for it to happen like that." I sighed and let my eyes slid shut before shrugging-trying to play off as if I was indifferent even though I cared very much.

"Eliza. It's alright. I get it." She sighed in relief as if a weight was lifted from her shoulders. She was gullible. Giving in to my answer so quickly. She didn't even search for the tone in my voice. She grabbed my hand before leaning her head on my bed.

"What do you wanna do today?" She quirked. As if to answer my question, my phone buzzed. I answered it without looking at the caller ID.

"Yellow?" My voice was dry.

"Blue?" He asked in confusion. I felt the color rush to fill my cheeks. Eliza's eyes squinted.

"Hey, Lucas. What's up?" I twisted my hair around my finger. Eliza's squinted eyes turned into a stern glare. He cleared his throat to hide a soft chuckle.

"I'm pretty sure we have a date." I went pale for a second before I darkened even more. Eliza didn't like that.

"Right, I almost forgot." I sat up on my bed. Eliza followed me with her eyes as I started to pace.

"I'm offended. What do you wanna do today?" I giggled lightly. My mind went to the zoo. I was yearning to go.

"Wanna go to the zoo?"

"Uh, yeah sure! I'll meet you there? Two sound okay?" He sounded a bit unsure. I nodded then felt like kicking myself. He clearly couldn't hear my head rattling.

"Yep, sounds good." We said our goodbyes before ending the call. Eliza was waiting for an explanation.

"Lucas and I are going to the zoo." I shrugged before digging through my side of the closet.

"I don't know Dan," She spoke hesitantly behind me.

"He's not a stranger any more Eliza. I'll be fine." She sighed in defeat. I was surprised she gave in so easily. I got dressed and fled before Eliza could change her mind. Before she threw a fit. I drove around town, grabbed an ice cream cone, then drove toward the zoo. He was leaning in front of the ticket stand. I smiled softly when his brown eyes met mine. 

"I got you something," in his pale hand was a small silver heart connected to a thin chain. I gasped softly.

"Awh, Lucas," I hugged him lightly. He helped me put it around my neck.

We walked into the zoo after he bought his ticket, I didn't need to buy one. I rubbed that one in a little bit. We wandered around, he held the hawk and the tarantula. We ordered some food and took turns to put the condiments we wanted on our hot dogs. I bit into mine and continued the conversation. Suddenly his hand reached toward my face. He whipped a drop of ketchup from the corner of my lip. Color flooded my cheeks as his eyes bored into mine. I looked down, embarrassed and flustered. We walked around, he stopped in front of the wolf enclosure. I eagerly looked over the edge, looking for Alastor. He was nowhere to be found.

"Isn't there a big black one?" Lucas asked nervously at my side. He was almost ridgid beside me.

"He must be in his den," I whispered. As if I had called his name, Alastor sprinted out. His eyes scanned the people watching him until they landed on me. His ears perked up until he zeroed in on Lucas standing close to my side. His muzzle scrunched up and he ripped out a snarl. People cheered in excitement. It must be cool to see a wolf growl like that. I was just upset. Why was he angry?

"Is he always like that?" Lucas snapped. I shook my head slowly. Lucas' eyes were full of some hard emotion. I sighed in confusion. I was doing that a lot nowadays. I looked over at a family to our right. The mother and father were taking selfies, facing away from their young child. She leaned over the edge to get a better look. Then it all slowed down for me. The little girl let out a shrill scream when she fell over the edge. I leaped for her, falling over the edge myself. My one hand grabbed the ledge, while the other grabbed the girls ankle. Her floral dress fell around her body but she still screamed in terror. I heard the panic up top, but there was no panic like the one in Alastor's eyes. It was a good twenty-twenty five-foot drop. My stomach twisted as the ground seemed to be moving farther and farther from me. Everything started spinning. Curse my fear of heights. I wanted to puke, but I shook my head. It made me dizzy. This girl would be seriously hurt if she fell, I'd only suffer a broken bone or two. I exhaled sharply from between my teeth. My fingers were slipping. I looked up, Lucas' face and arms were there. He reached for me, but there was no way I was letting go of that ledge. I heard people screaming around me. I struggled but I slowly dragged the girl up.

"Give me your hand!" Lucas yelled, but I ignored him. He looked more nervous than I felt. He glanced back between me and Alastor, fear ridden all over his face. I held the girl's ankle toward him. Hoping he would get the message. He quickly took the girl from me, and as soon as he had her weight. I dropped.

"Danny!" He shrieked. My arms flailed aimlessly while I waited for the ground to hit me. But instead, I hit something hard. But it was soft. Fluffy. I went rigid when I realized what happened. Alastor was wrapped in a circle, making a platform for me to land on. I'm surprised I hadn't hurt him. I was laying in the circle of his body, my back leaned against his stomach. I felt him panting. I made sure not to move as I waited for someone to help me. He slowly sat up around me, keeping me wrapped in his body. I saw the side of his face, his eyes full of wild panic. He sniffed me over and when he was satisfied I wasn't hurt, he whimpered. He waited patiently for me to give him a response. Was that what he wanted?

"I'm. . . okay." I whispered tentatively. His ears twitched to my voice. Suddenly he leaned in and rubbed his head against my chest. I was frozen in fear. But I thawed slowly. He sounded like he was purring. A sound coming from the back of his throat. I barked out a laugh of disbelief. His ears twitched to it. The purring grew louder while he wrapped himself further around me. I was getting lost in all the fur. He rubbed his face against my chest before planting his jaw on my shoulder. His tongue suddenly rolled across my cheek before he returned to leaning on me. I was dazed. Amazed that this beast was capable of whatever this was. I looked up at Lucas and everyone else, they all seemed just as amazed as me. I heard shuffling on the other side of the glass as they tried to figure out what to do. Alastor growled at that. He pulled his head back and faced me. His stare was intense as he panted. He slowly leaned his head against my forehead and I froze as a reflex. He shut his eyes then. The door opened and some people with guns walked in. My eyes widen but Alastor didn't move. His eyes stayed shut. I lifted my hand toward them, halting them in their movements. The female wolves were spooked and took off for the den, the pups followed. I swallowed and looked back to Alastor's calm face. I hesitantly laid my hands against his chest. The heat was intense and my hands almost disappeared in the fur. I cautiously pet him. The purring started back up. I started to untangle my legs from his and slowly the purring turned to a growl.

"Alastor." My whispered plea made his eyes open. He let out a soft whimper before slowly getting up. He pressed his head against my body, helping me up. I thanked him softly while petting him. Carefully I walked away from him, making sure not to turn my back on him. My audience watched in amazement. The men with guns walked out the door and I followed slowly behind him. Alastor watched with eyes hooded with sadness. Before the door shut he let out a small whimper. I let out the breath I didn't know I was holding. Kari was there, waiting for me. She hugged me tightly and dragged me away from the enclosure. People were there at the front door to overwhelm me. The girls' family thanked me over and over again, insisting I take the money they shoved at me as their gratitude but I declined. Lucas hugged me so tightly I thought that I would have to go to the hospital for broken bones after all. He checked me over in a panicky manner. After I told him he was breaking my ribs, he dropped me. I was absent while I drove home. I wasn't exactly sure what to think about. There was a lot. I think I was in shock. Eliza was terrified when I told her the story and for the third time in one day, I thought I'd have to go to the hospital for broken bones. Penny and Frank were the same. Frank and I settled in the living room, I pet Daisy while she sat between my legs. My mind was distant. Far away from this little house, down that long road, through the thickly populated town, through the zoo entrance, and right smack dab in the middle of the wolf enclosure. That's where my mind was right now. Frank slid today's paper across the coffee table where it skidded to a stop in front of me. I wasn't sure if he had put the paper there on purpose or if he was just done with it. But the title sprung out at me and instinctively I grabbed the paper.

WOLF HUNTING GONE WRONG

Darby Miller and his team of skilled animal trackers were on the hunt for one of the rare mutant wolves. The only one recorded in history is being held in Wisconsin State Zoo. The rare wolf is the size of a horse and its speed and strength are like no other. There had been a call that another one was running lose and they were hired to find it. They had no intention to kill the wolf, only tranquilize and relocate it to the zoo. On the third day of searching, they came across the wolf. "The beast was unlike anything I'd ever seen! I swear, it was as if it had three bears within one body!" One of Darby's team members had stated. The wolf unleashed his anger onto the team, killing eight in its rage. When the other's finally were able to chain it, it was shot with so many tranquilizers that it shouldn't even be able to twitch. Yet the wolf still growled and snapped at the men, but it was weak. They dragged it back to their truck and loaded it into a cage. In the process, the weak wolf got his jaws on one more man, ending his life with one weak bite of his jaws. On the way to the zoo, the tranquilizers had worn off. Which seemed impossible since he had been shot a total of sixteen times. There was a hole in the cage and the wolf slipped out. The beast sank its teeth into the tire of the truck, spinning it out of control. He was shot another eighteen times, this making him finally pass out. But before doing so, he killed six more men. Darby Miller being one of them. The mutant murderous wolf is being held captive, test are being run, and soon he will be transferred to live with the only other wolf like him. But the question remains. Is this a new breed of wolf? And if it is, are we in danger by them?

I gawked at the paper. My lips twitched when reading over Darby's death again. But they had caught him. My heart sank and I dropped the paper back to the table. I stared out the window as if the news was indifferent to me.

"The wolves in this area," Frank said next to me in his abused recliner. "They are one of kind, aren't they. A whole pack of them is quite intimidating when you're alone in the woods." A small gasp left my lips as I whirled toward him.

"A pack? You mean-" I cut off, unable to think of the words.

"Oh yeah, people are just now finding out about these creatures. They've been around for a very long time. Way before me." His voice flattered as he was hit with the wave of nostalgia.

"I was nine or ten. Roaming the woods behind this house. Bored and had nothing to do. My brothers and sisters were off doing something. Who knew what. I was kicking a rock and before I knew it, I was surrounded. Wolves the size of bears, even more so. As tall as a horse, thick as a rhino. They stalked me in the shadows. Saliva dripped from their fangs, each tooth a small dagger of its own. Each pair of eyes, full of knowledge. Swirling with a mystery no one would know but them. I couldn't count how many there were. I couldn't find where the first one started and the next one stopped. I cried and curled into a ball, next thing I know I've woken up on the ground in the middle of downpour." He shook his head, ending his flashback. I could see it very clear as he spoke. I could picture the wolves as they circled the little boy. I could see the-all-too-knowing-eyes. I could see it as if it was my memory. As if it was me in the circle of fur. In a way, I'd been in the same situation as him. I didn't have a chance to ask questions because Penny called us in for dinner. I felt each question wanting to fly out of my mouth, some almost did. He looked almost amused as I fumbled over my frustration at the dinner table. I didn't eat much. After dinner, Penny hovered for too long. I didn't like it. Like she knew I wanted to be alone with Frank and that annoyed me. When she finally went to bed and Eliza right after her, I sat beside Frank in the living room. He let out a small chuckle.

"You're more interested than I thought." He chuckled again. My eyes were full of questions, but I tried to pick just one.

"So, do you think it's a new breed of wolf?" I whispered, not sure why though. He shook his head. He went to explain himself.

"There's more to my story. A couple of days later, when no one would believe my story, I went back into the woods. I needed evidence so my family wouldn't think I was crazy. I found paw prints in the soft sand and like the kid I was, I followed them. I had found them again, they all laid together in a pile of fluff. Snoring away as they slept. I remember not being able to look away. I was mesmerized. "Hey!" Someone had shouted from behind me. The man was huge! At least seven feet tall, dark-skinned and handsome like no one's business. He looked furious. He was flanked by two men, each one just a little bit shorter than the first. All three only wore jean shorts, barefoot and bare-chested. But they were all angry. His voice awakened the entire pack, and suddenly I was surrounded by wolves again. I was confused about why the men weren't afraid. My family was never one to believe in the supernatural. We didn't believe in ghost or horror stories. But that day, I didn't know what to believe. The man began to shiver, his body became a blur due to the vibration. The men behind him were doing the same. The wolves seemed unfazed as they continued to glare at me instead of staring at the shaking men. Steam seemed to radiate off the men before their bodies twisted quickly and they threw themselves onto the floor. Their skin exploded into fur, shreds of fabric quietly fell to the ground. In the men's place stood three huge wolves, unlike the rest. Especially the one in front. He was huge and all black, not a hint of discoloration to him. His eyes were pitch black too, just like the men whom the wolf had replaced. I had been so horror-struck, so chilled to the bone. I could have sworn to you I'd been dreaming. But the feeling was too real. I had never been so afraid in my life. They let me run from them, the wolves had even made a path for me to run through them. I'd vowed to never set foot in the forest again. Though my siblings teased me because of it." His voice drifted, his eyes seeing more than he could tell. But I could see it perfectly. Just like the first part of his story he had told. I hugged myself as I thought about what he had said. Men who turned into wolves? Oh please, that's crazy, right? Right? I mean the eyes that are full of knowledge. . . it would make sense. No, I can't believe I'm even thinking about it. I shook my head, shaking the thought away. He laughed silently at me.

"I didn't think you would believe me." He chuckled some more but then shrugged and mumbled something that sounded like. "You will soon." I excused myself and ran up the stairs. I showered with no rush, letting the freezing water wash away my thoughts. Then I curled up with Daisy and fell asleep, dreaming of being surrounded by a pack of wolves, all ravenous for my death.