Episode: Wolf Moon
The week had passed by fast, and now the night seemed too short. The first day of Sophomore year was officially tomorrow.
Scott McCall sat in his room, preparing for the big day tomorrow. Surprisingly, Scott wasn't nervous but excited. The reason – He was determined to be first-line on the lacrosse team this year. His asthma would not become an obstacle to his goal. To prove this, he had practiced and worked out all summer.
He had fixed his lacrosse stick and done pull-ups before entering his bathroom and brushing his teeth. He repeatedly doused water on his face but abruptly stopped as he heard loud creaking. Scott looked at himself in the mirror; water droplets rolled down his face. His eyebrows scrunched in confusion, and he turned to look behind him. A frown etched on his lips when the noise returned.
Soon he was on the front porch, nervous. A baseball bat in hand. He was prepared to swing at whoever had made the noise.
Catching him off guard, something swung from the rooftop, bringing down a load of leaves.
"Ah!" He yelled synchronously with someone else, raising his bat but not swinging. Upon hearing another yell, Scott paused and opened his eyes slowly. Once he saw them, his eyes widened in terror and surprise, "Stiles, what the hell are you doing?!"
His long-time best friend, Stiles Stilinski, was hanging upside down from the roof, hands dangling free in the air. "You weren't answering your phone." His eyes landed on the item in Scott's hands, and he stared at it, confused, "Why do you have a bat?"
"I thought you were a predator," Scott replied frantically.
Stiles' mouth gaped in disbelief. "A pre - I - Wha -" He stuttered, chortling at the reply, "Look, I know it's late, but you gotta hear this. I saw my dad leave 20 minutes ago. Dispatch called. They're bringing in every officer from the Beacon Department and even State Police."
Scott's eyebrows knit together, confused. "For what?"
"Two joggers found a body in the woods." The buzzcut-haired boy revealed before swiftly flipping himself over and landing his feet on the ground.
"A dead body?"
Stiles narrowed his eyes, "No, a body of water. Yes, dumbass, a dead body." He jumped over the rail to his best friend.
"You mean like murdered?"
"Nobody knows yet." The boy answered, his hands on his hips, "Just that it was a girl, probably in her 20s."
The shaggy-haired boy's eyebrows conjoined, "Hold on, if they found the body, then what are they looking for?"
A tiny smile looped on Stiles' lips. "That's the best part." He tried to hold in his excitement. "They only found half. " His friend looked at him incredulously, asking if he was serious. Stiles nodded, briefly shut his eyes as he sucked his lip, making a slight popping noise. "We're going."
– ∆ –
Stiles' beaten-up sky-blue Jeep pulled up. The headlights brightened up the scenery, exposing the sign right in front: Beacon Hills Preserve - No Entry After Dark. The two didn't pay attention to it and exited the vehicle.
"We're seriously doing this?" Questioned Scott whilst fixing his red sweater.
His relentless friend slammed the door shut and grabbed a flashlight. "You're the one always bitching that nothing ever happens in this town." He chuckled and clapped Scott's arm before continuing forward.
"I was trying to get a good night's sleep before practice tomorrow."
"Right, 'cause sitting on the bench is such a grueling effort."
Scott rolled his eyes. "No, because I'm playing this year. In fact, I'm making first-line."
"Hey, that's the spirit!" The pale-skinned teenager 'encouraged' as they trekked through the lonely woods, "Everyone should have a dream, even a pathetically unrealistic one."
Chuckles escaped the other boy, "Just out of curiosity, which half of the body are we looking for?"
Stiles glanced up. "Huh! I didn't even think about that." He tittered, making Scott smile.
"And, uh, what if whoever killed the body is still out here?"
"Also, something I didn't think about."
Scott nodded to himself as they climbed an unsteady hill. "It's - comforting to know you've planned this out with your usual attention to detail."
"I know," Stiles grunted while hiking up the dirt slope.
"Maybe - uh - the severe asthmatic should be the one holding the flashlight, huh?" Wheezed his friend. He leaned against a tree and pulled out his inhaler. Shaking it first, he took a hit of it.
Stiles carried on without him. He was at the top when bright lights were seen up ahead. Quickly, he threw himself on the floor behind a tree root so he wouldn't be seen and turned off his flashlight. Scott joined a bit after, throwing himself on the ground. They watched as the deputies and cops looked around.
The corners of Stiles' lips contorted into an elated smirk, "Wait, come on!" With that, he was up and running.
"Stiles!" Scott shouted and took a hit of his inhaler before standing up. "Wait up! Stiles! Stiles!" He followed after his best friend. Stumbling around, "Stiles!"
Finally listening to Scott, Stiles paused and waited. Before he could see it, a large dog came out of nowhere and barked at him, making him fall to the floor with a loud shriek. He scrambled to get back to his feet.
"Stay right there!" A cop ordered, making Stiles stay on the ground.
Scott took the chance to hide behind a tree. He didn't want to get caught tonight. His mom would ground him for life if she knew.
"Hang on, hang on." The sheriff called out, recognizing his son on the ground, "This little delinquent belongs to me."
The pale boy squinted, shielding his eyes from the light and sprinkling rain. "Dad, how are you doing?" His voice seemingly innocent.
"So, do you, uh, listen in to all of my phone calls?" Mr. Stilinski narrowed his eyes at his son.
"No, heh." Stiles began, but his dad was giving him a look. He sighed, "Not the boring ones."
"Now, where's your usual partner in crime?"
"Who, Scott? Sc - Scott's home. He said he wanted to get a good night's sleep for the first day back at school tomorrow. It's just me. In the woods. Alone." The boy lied, not convincing his father.
"Scott, you out there? Scott?" Mr. Stilinski moved his light, making sure that Scott wasn't anywhere. Scott pressed himself further into the tree, afraid. Once Stilinski 'knew' the shaggy-haired boy wasn't there, he sighed and looked back at Stiles, "Well, young man, I'm gonna walk you back to your car -" He grabbed Stiles by the back of the neck roughly, making him wince, and led him away "and you and I are gonna have a conversation about something called invasion of privacy."
Scott silently cursed and stood behind the tree 'til it was okay for him to walk away. He was alone in the now pouring rain. A long howl echoed in the woods, making a shiver crawl up his spine. Pulling down further the hood of his sweater, he walked on. He was paranoid, checking his surroundings constantly. The sounds of the night making it a million times worse.
At some point, Scott paused and took out his inhaler, shaking it. Suddenly, a herd of deer came rushing at him. He yelled and fell to the ground, his inhaler flying off. The deers rushed past him, luckily not trampling him. When the deer left, he breathed heavily and stood up shaking.
He wanted to go home but couldn't find his inhaler. Pulling out his phone, he turned on his flashlight and tried to look for his missing inhaler. Through the dirt, leaves, and in some crevices.
The lonely boy moved further and further until the light shone upon a face. It was the face of the top half of the body they came looking for. The girl's eyes were in horror, her last expression before her death. A gasp left Scott, and he fell back, tumbling down a large hill. He winced in pain as his body came to a halt at the bottom. The boy stood up, leaning on a fallen tree to take a breath.
A growl then sounded, making him freeze in his spot. Slowly, he turned to look over his shoulder, and to his surprise, he was being watched by a hideous animal. Without warning, the creature tackled him down and dragged him across the floor. He fought back, but there was no use. The creature took a giant bite off of his side.
The teenager screamed in pain.
As soon as the beast let go, Scott ran without hesitation.
– ∆ –
Sometimes I like to consider myself, well, pretty mature for my age... Not this time. See, typically, when people can't sleep, they take tea, Melatonin, or something. I'm pretty darn sure they don't go into the woods in the middle of the night while it's sprinkling like I am. Although I must say, it makes for an interesting and tiring walk.
Goosebumps appeared on my pale-seeming moonlit skin. I had a flashlight in hand, but it was hard to see due to the rising mist. I hoped there'd be no psycho with a chainsaw waiting. If there was, the prey would probably be me. My mom didn't even know I was out because I snuck out.
A loud, long-lasting howl echoed through the midnight, making my spine tremble. Not so long after, a noise that sounded like a scream came from somewhere close, "Okay. Definitely, time to go back." I mumbled to myself, turning to walk away. As I walked, the sound of leaves crunching and twigs snapping seemed to follow me. Panic began to quicken my heart, and I walked faster. My breath came out in soft pants.
Suddenly, a growl came from beside me. Instead of moving faster, my body froze. I stared at the space in front, not knowing what to do. I thought it was me hearing things.
My head turned to look. I was faced with the hideous monster that already had its eyes on me. It stood taller than me — heavy build. Piercing through me were these two glowing blood-red eyes. Evil was all that I could see in them.
The beats inside my chest accelerated as I stared directly into its eyes. Blood pumped so hard I heard it rushing in my ears. The terror running in me paralyzed me slightly. I always hoped that in situations like these, I would fight or flight. But no... my body decided to freeze.
About a second later, my feet responded, and I walked backward stiffly.
The animal let a menacing growl rumble out. "Oh, my -" I began, but it caught me off guard by lunging. A strangled cry left my lips as its canines ripped through the skin of my shoulder, causing excruciating pain. "Let go!" I sobbed. It wouldn't let go even as I tried to push it off. I felt the metal flashlight beside my head and took it in my hand. With all the adrenaline I could muster, I repeatedly hit the animal in the snout. The beast growled, letting go of me. I scrambled up but screamed as it bit me again, this time on the calf.
It didn't matter how much pain I was in; I sprinted as fast as possible. There was no looking back. I couldn't bear to look at that hideous thing anymore - My fear didn't let me.
Leaves crunched loudly as my feet moved against the ground. Adrenaline pulsed hot in my veins. Terror and pain. Each pound of my feet on the ground sent a surge of numbness in me. My breath came in thick heavy pants.
Out of nowhere, a body crashed into mine, forcing me down. "Ah!" We scrambled apart and looked at each other. I sat on my legs, crying in panic. My trembling fingers rested lightly over my mouth. I sniffled, my heartbeats raging. The guy across me looked around sixteen too. He had shaggy dark hair, dark eyes, and a slightly crooked jaw.
His eyebrows scrunched in confusion but also worry, "Are you okay?"
I shook my head frantically, looking at my bleeding shoulder and calf. He stared. "N-No, something bit me."
His eyes widened, "I was bitten too." He stood and helped me up gently. His hands raised his shirt slightly. A nasty bite was on his side, which was bleeding like mine. It was recent too.
Another loud howl diverted our attention from each other to the woods. When it ceased, we turned back. "Can we just go?" I breathed, sniffling. He nodded vigorously.
Quickly, we sprinted onto a road holding our wounds. As we reached the road, a large red van almost impacted us both. We screamed, wholly terrified, and stumbled back. The van swerved away from us, letting out a loud beep. We watched it leave without stopping to ask if we were okay.
The teenager and I stood there, shocked, baffled that the person didn't even stop to check if we were okay - About everything. A part of me couldn't grasp what was happening tonight.
The guy looked down at his bite, that leaked blood, before looking at me. I ran a shaky hand in my hair and looked at him. "What the hell is going on tonight?"
He panted, "I don't know."
I grimaced, hearing the same wolf howl in the distance.
After a few seconds, we walked home in silence in the rain. There was nothing we could say because we didn't understand ourselves. I was holding my shoulder in pain and limping. The bites were burning badly. Hopefully, whatever bit me didn't give me rabies.
"Scott McCall." The guy introduced after a while of walking together. I knew it was more than just a kind gesture. It was to distract ourselves from the nightmarish experience we suffered.
I looked at him with a soft smile, "Thaís Levine."
"Nice to meet you." He smiled softly.
I chuckled nervously, "Way to meet each other." Scott chuckled back and nodded.
The whole walk home, we talked about ourselves. It was awkward, considering the situation, but I was grateful that he was attempting to calm me. It sucked this happened, and I had only been here a week.
Scott accompanied me to my house. We found out we lived about three houses away from each other. Hopefully, we'd see each other more because he was friendly. I'd like to be his friend.
"Are you sure you're gonna be okay?" He questioned worriedly. His hand was still on the bite.
I nodded softly, "Yeah... Are you?"
He tittered quietly, "I hope so." But it wasn't funny, and we both knew that.
"Thank you for bringing me home." I thanked him, to which he smiled.
"No worries, see you at school tomorrow. Feel free to talk to me whenever you see me." He replied. I smiled softly and nodded.
"Take care. Goodnight." I said. He returned the nod, mumbling a 'you too' before walking away.
I watched as he got to his doorstep safely before entering his house. Quietly, I went upstairs. If my mom found out I snuck out and got bitten, she would be pissed and worried at the same time. I'd be in so much trouble. As far as my mom knows, I was asleep about an hour ago. That's the way things should stay, I believe.
Once I was in my bathroom, I slipped off my clothes. My face screwed in disgust upon seeing grotesque wounds crusted with dry blood. I proceeded to disinfect the wounds on my calf and shoulder with alcohol. My lips pursed, trying not to yell in pain.
When that was done, I showered to rinse off the dirt from the rest of my body. As I massaged the shampoo on my scalp, I tried not to let the soap reach my eyes. Honestly, I didn't want to close my eyes in the shower. The thought that once they opened and the beast was there was horrifying.
After the lukewarm shower, the wounds were doused in antibiotic cream and bandages.
I went to my bedroom, shutting the lights off, and climbed into bed. Turning off the lights had resulted in being the worst idea. The paranoia sunk in again. The lamp beside my bed was turned on, and I felt better with a light illuminating the darkness.
The feeling of adrenaline still ached at my bones. It was all still frightening. I could vividly see its red eyes piercing into mine. The weird thing about this was that it didn't kill us. It was a creature with the means to rip us apart. Yet, it didn't even try to chase us. It didn't make sense. I didn't even know what it could be. I've never seen anything like it before.
Still thinking about it, I hugged my pillow, digging my face into it. Trying to find comfort away from the ugly memory.
Updated: 03/24/20