Relating to other people was something I wasn't sure I'd ever be able to achieve. Not because I considered myself different but because I was filled with envy. Maybe even jealousy. I envied the experience other people had with relationships. With intimacy. With living life to the fullest. I'd admit, I wanted a taste of it all.
Even as I studied the other customers among the small café space, some of which were college students, many of them were bound to each other. I shifted as the sudden stir in my gut made me want to topple over.
"Keep it together. Almost done," I whispered to myself.
The smell of minty hot chocolate blended with the steam puncturing my nostrils. I could feel the hot cocoa burning through the mug in my hands, reddening the flesh on my fingertips. Still, I sipped slowly. My eyes loomed over the edge of the mug at the booths surrounding mine.
It was oddly quiet in here for a Friday night.
I wondered how many students had already made their way off campus to the ongoing frat parties taking place in someone's house. It helped that the campus wasn't too far from this café. There were a few pubs in town that got crowded around this time of night too. Mostly college kids and older adults looking for a quick fuck.
It was the least we could offer for a town that wasn't necessarily big in population or known in popularity, compared to the heart of New York—the city—where I'd grown up. Sometimes I wondered if moving Upstate to Havford, New York on my own, right after I finished community college was a bad idea. Especially now that I was jobless. Again. Fucking perfect.
"Sometimes, I forget I'm only twenty-years-old. I don't know why but I always feel like I'm missing out on so much. It can get overwhelming at times, you know? Maybe it's just me." I had uttered those words to my mother this morning.
I could hear them playing in my head on repeat. Just thinking about it made me laugh. I had never realized how fucking paranoid I sounded sometimes. Maybe I should have just moved back home.
She gave me the usual mother-daughter pep talk. The ones she gave when I cried my eyes out at night, overthinking as I'd usually done majority of my teenage years. She'd always been blunt with her words but damn were they soothing. I was surprised I hadn't broken down in tears whenever she talked to me.
"Okay, that's it. You need to get your shit together, Genesis," I spat under my breath and laid my mug on the table, slamming my laptop shut. I'd had enough for the night. My job search was going horrible and if I sat here any longer, I knew I'd wallow in self-pity. That was something I could do at home, in my bed, with food.
The trees rustled as I breathed in the crisp Autumn air outside the shop.
The October winds had no mercy on me. I'd have probably blown away if I didn't have enough weight (barely) to keep me grounded. Now would've been a great time to throw my hair into a bun or a ponytail if my rubber band hadn't popped.
I guess it was only natural. My black hair was long, curly, and hard to maintain. My mother often told me it was one of the perks of being Black. Whether it was a positive perk or a negative perk was up for debate. I wouldn't argue with her though, even though it could be annoying at times.
"I am going to freeze my ass off out here," I huffed and pushed my glasses up my nose. The circular frames were foggy. I could only assume my breath had been the reason for that.
There were absolutely no cabs in sight. I had even taken the time out to call one of the nearest cab services, but the lines were busy. I knew I should have gotten my driver's license already and taken my father up on his offer to buy me a cheap car when I'd turned eighteen.
"Walking it is," I mumbled, continuing down the sidewalk.
Damnit, I hated being super cold. I would have had no problem walking if it wasn't below fifty fucking degrees out here. And the moon was at its highest peak tonight. Half of its light was glowing over the stretch of the town.
I could see everything ahead from here. The houses, some lit, some dark. The cemetery off the side of the road. The trees surrounding all of it. And a place I had never been. The mountains. But not just any mountains. Further up those mountains was a closed off town.
Well, the town seemed closed off. But I was sure there had to have been people from that town, that had driven through this one when they needed to. There was no way they couldn't have. Unless there were other ways around this town I didn't know about. And I didn't mean ways that were by foot either. I meant within driving distance.
The town of Calamitous was said to be a tight-knit community. People who kept to themselves. A town who practiced witchcraft. A town that was full of crime—crime they were very capable of hiding. Those were only a few of the rumors I had heard before.
The town's name was odd enough. Calamitous was a word associated with disaster and catastrophe. I wasn't sure why a town would want to call themselves that. But that was only one odd thing about them among many. The rumors worsened last year when two boys disappeared after traveling up the mountain.
I'd never been sure how the case was handled or what happened afterwards. All I knew was, people had tried their best to stay far away from that town now. No one knew how the people really were up there. I guess it wasn't my business anyways. I didn't live up there and never planned on living up there.
A cold draft washed over me. The warmth left my bare skin under my clothes as soon as it touched my body. I shook it off and checked my phone for the time. "Shit. It's already ten?" My eyes widened slightly.
I wasn't a fan of staying out late around the fall or winter times. The nights grew cold faster and the sun set earlier. That was the only good thing about having been let go at work. I didn't have to worry about late night shifts anymore. I did have to worry about paying next month's rent though.
So, I guess it wasn't really all that great. . .
A sigh left my lips as I paused mid-walk. My head fell back, my hands caressing the back of my neck. "Geez, my muscles are tense as hell," I grumbled.
I hadn't realized how stressed I was until my arms fell limp at my sides. My eyelids felt heavy. My chest felt even heavier. And the cold was a harsh reminder that I'd been struggling. I could barely afford a new jacket. I couldn't remember the last time I had a proper sleep either.
"Ugh. Damn, I feel like such a failure. This is what happens when you don't listen. Oh, it'll be fine, you said. We got this, you said. We got nothing. Literally nothing, Genesis—!" Something interrupted me. I quieted down, adjusting my head both ways.
There was another snap that caused a rift in the silence. The sound carried on as an echo with the wind until it faded. I knew the sound of a twig breaking in half anywhere. It was something I'd purposely done when I was younger.
When my mother held my hand as she walked me through the littered streets, I'd claim a stick as if it were my unlucky victim. The way it crunched like Autumn leaves from a single step was fulfilling to my ears.
Autumn had always been my favorite season. I enjoyed the sweaters that clung to my skin, the smell of hot chocolate and tea that grazed me with memories from my childhood, and the feeling of Halloween in the air.
However, the noise came from somewhere deep in the trees beside me. That wasn't comforting at all. It didn't help that I was running out of sidewalk along the quiet roads. There were no more street lights to light my path either.
Following the unsettling noise, was an inaudible one. The rasp in its tone straightened the hairs on my arm. I could feel them pulling from the roots. It was enough to jerk me out of my thoughts and make my skin crawl.
I clutched onto the bottom of my jacket and kept forward. "Time to go," I whispered without hesitation. I could hear rustling—the kind you'd expect from animals. Big animals. It filled my ears from the right.
"Happy thoughts, Genesis. Happy thoughts," I repeated through gritted teeth, "get the hell out of here with happy thoughts, please."
Anxiety ate away at my insides until I felt like I'd puke. There were only two times in my life I'd been this close to danger. There was no way in hell I wanted to make it a third. Because there was no guarantee I'd make it out alive this time. Three's a charm never worked in my favor. It was more like three strikes and you're dead. Not even out, just six-feet under.
I had terrible luck.
The noise went off once again. It was softer; similar to that of a whimper. I often saw stray dogs walking this path. A few stray cats too. Maybe I'd been overexaggerating and it was just a dog. Whatever it was, was close. Too close.
Heavy thumps pounded into the ground. It only gave me enough motivation to quicken my pace until I was running along the dry roads. I knew those footsteps hadn't belonged to me. I didn't weigh that much. I was practically as light as a feather!
My feet nearly stumbled over one another and my head spun out of control. The area was vast and empty, too dark to spot anything. That didn't refrain me from trying though. When the noises went dead, I tensed. The silence should have calmed me. But it was eerie. An unsettling silence that woke the fear in me. Whatever it was, could have been lurking—watching me.
I wondered how far I could make it down the road. It sounded fast. Huge.
And it obviously wasn't going to back down easily. Before I could think any further, the next set of events happened so fast; it took a moment for me to process my own gasp. I couldn't remember what happened before the air had been knocked out of my lungs at full-force.
All I knew was that it had happened. There was a gush of wind and a blur I couldn't quite make out. My legs crumbled beneath me. But I caught myself just before my back hit the ground. My nails clawed at the pavement as my tailbone secured my fall.
"Son a bitch!" I winced and rubbed my butt. Shit, that was going to leave a mark.
"Phone! Where's my phone!?" I screamed in a whisper, scrambling for my jacket pockets. The phone slipped into my hands and I fumbled to turn on the flashlight. When my eyes flicked up, I flashed the light onto the blur, and my breath hitched in my throat.
What was this abnormal feeling of power? It was so strong. So heavy. I couldn't bring myself to look away from the golden eyes staring back at me. Like a spear piercing straight through my chest, they struck me down.
The source that the noises had been coming from was clear now. Ferocious growl-like whimpers. That of a distressed animal. But it couldn't have been any wild animal I knew of . . . except one.
"Holy shit, that's a w-wolf. . ." I stuttered. A bleeding wolf.
It was. . . It was too big to be a wolf though. It shouldn't have been a wolf. The large dog-like creature in front of me was almost the size of an adult male deer. Maybe even bigger. I had never seen anything like it. Dried blood blended into its coat of black fur.
The blood had dripped all the way down in between its paw of its left leg. That would explain the slight limp. I could've sworn it was still bleeding out too. The wound was nearly impossible to see though. It was too dark even with my bright, white light.
"Why are you just staring at me like that?" I whispered, more to myself than the wolf.
Something felt off—wrong.
Wolves' eyes weren't supposed to do that. I wasn't sure anyone's eyes were supposed to do that. The small black dot of its pupils expanded until I was staring at nothing but black. The gold had faded. I'd only ever seen pitch-black eyes in horror movies. They usually belonged to demons. Or something else supernatural.
That was exactly how this felt. Like death was taunting me.
It gently pawed at its head a few times, nails outstretched from the tip, as if it were hitting itself. . . It soon began pawing at the ground in front of me. The whimpers never stopped; only increased to an unbearable volume. Had it been in so much pain it was keeping its distance? I wasn't sure why else it'd have been backing away from me.
Until I saw it lingering in the corner of my eyes. And I let loose a blood-curdling scream.
"Oh my gosh. Holy shit. What is that!?" My voice muffled as I fought to my feet. If not for my flashlight, I wouldn't have noticed the dark black solidified mist surrounding its body, trapping it in.
My scream seemed to have startled it because the wolf growled and backed away further.
"S-shit. Shit. I'm sorry. I didn't mean to scare you, buddy. I won't hurt you. I swear. I just want to go home. A-and you know, not possibly get eaten?" Word vomit flooded my mouth. It often happened when I panicked. I could feel my heart slamming against my rib cage.
The urge to run away was kicking in at full-speed. There was no running now. Limp or not, there was no doubt in mind that this wolf was very capable of running. I had just seen it jump out of the woods at me! Besides, wolves loved a good chase. I was basically roadkill lying here if I tried anything stupid. I guess I was roadkill either way.
Oh no. Oh fuck no. What was I doing? This was probably the dumbest thing I'd ever done. Don't do this Genesis, I begged myself in my mind. But my body was already moving forward at a dauntingly slow pace.
The wolf froze like a deer in headlights. Our eyes connected for a moment too long.
All I saw was gold again; all reminisces of black swallowing its eyes gone. This time, there was something else though. Something that wouldn't allow me to look away. I felt I'd been under a hypnosis. Its eyes were so human-like. Like time had slowed down between us. I'd have been crazy to think this wolf was trying to talk to me. Trying to call out to me for help.
But that was exactly how it felt.
I wanted to ignore it. Ignore the fact that the wolf was in pain. Ignore the fact that it needed help. Ignore the fact that, that wasn't a normal wolf. And I had a right to be scared shit-less. Regardless, it was a wild animal. What could I do without throwing myself into danger? It had several attempts to attack me already. But it didn't. All it did was grovel before me.
"Fuck. You're so scary," I snapped under my breath.
"Listen, I'll admit, you're freaking me the hell out. But I can't go home if you're guarding my path. I don't want to leave you here either, okay? So, here's the deal. We can help each other and stay alive if you just . . . don't attack me."
I removed my jacket and pulled my sweater over my head. My heavy breathing clouded my ears. The phone shook in my other hand, unable to survive the control my trembling fingers had over it.
"P-please don't eat me. You're in pain. . ." I whispered. "I just want to help. I promise." A hint of (what I thought was) remorse flickered in the wolf's features. It was the least scary thing I'd seen since I laid eyes on it. As if it had something to apologize to me for.
But the look in its face was gone as fast as it came, when I pressed my sweater to the middle of its front left leg. The wolf flared up from its relaxed state. My hand had almost been trampled over by its paws.
"Hey, hey, hey! That's it. It's okay. You're okay," I mumbled, "so, that's where your wound is." I began tying my sweater into a knot around its fur.
That should have stopped the blood flow for now. Or so I hoped. The wound could have already gotten infected. I wasn't sure. The pounds of dirt and leaves it'd run through might have been enough to do damage. I wasn't an animal doctor. I could barely help humans like myself.
"See? Told you, I wouldn't hurt you—" I'd barely had time to react when it jumped off its hind legs, bolting to the side. Shit, what had I done to startle it now? The feeling in my gut told me I had nothing to do with this though. In fact, it was telling me to run.
Judging by the look in its eyes, I was convinced my gut was right.
The wolf let loose a loud snarl and flung its head side to side, ramming itself against the ground. Over and over again. "Definitely time to go now." I breathed in, backing away.
Oh, fuck me.
I plucked at my skin, my eyes frantically searching for a way out. Anything would have sufficed. What I was seeing—this thing—it was worse than when it had jumped out. This was the definition of a wild animal that had lost control. The only difference was, this one seemed like it was fighting to regain control. And it seemed like less of an animal the more it fought.
The gold swarming in its pupils fell mercilessly to a pitch of black. I'd noticed the entire wolf's body was now encased in complete darkness. The only source of light was my phone or else I'd have only saw a dark blur.
I heard my own whimper as my feet stuck to the ground, unresponsive.
The nerves in my body ran cold. The blood in my veins did the same. The last thing I remembered was the loud scream that shot out of my mouth, as its jaw opened wide before it lunged and went for my neck. And I hadn't realized I dropped my phone.