area. She was dreaming…. She knew this. But it was different
than before. The soft snow blanketing the forest floor hushed the sound of her
steps. She heard gurgling and realized that she was close to a river. She could
almost feel the chilly mist that rose up as the water bubbled over stones
rounded smooth by the passage of time and elements.
She felt as
though she was looking through a dense, grey fog. Her vision cleared a little,
but not much. Night blanketed the forest, almost swallowing it, but was pushed
back by the brightness of a near-full moon dropping through the tree branches and
casting silvery rays of light on the snowy ground.
Selene moved
stealthily, silent as a shadow. She entered a small alcove where the water was
still, not quite frozen. She leaned over to look and then recognized that it
was not shadow that she resembled, but moonlight. She was in her wolf form,
silver white.
She bent to lap
from the mountain-fed waters. But something was wrong. There was some dark
substance in the water as she drank. Looking down, Selene saw that her white
fur was covered in something darker. As a wolf she was colorblind, and it was
night, so she couldn’t see what it was. But she could smell… and she knew that
she was covered in blood.
Tons of blood.
Horrific screams
split the night air.
Selene shot up straight
in bed, gasping for air. Frantically, she ripped the covers away and ran her
hands over her body. There was no blood on her. Anywhere.
Another damn
nightmare.
These were too real. As much as she tried to convince herself that it had just been a dream,
Selene knew deep down that something was terribly, terribly wrong.
*****
Ellie jumped as something
slapped the kitchen table, just barely missing her bowl of cereal.
“That,” Griffin
pointed accusingly at the newspaper in front of her, “is why we can’t trust
her.”
Alex, freshly
showered from his and Ellie’s morning run, was toweling his black hair dry when
he entered the kitchen and caught the offending headline.
“Oh, shit!”
Ellie picked up
the paper and carefully read the entire article, while Griffin paced back and
forth like a caged animal. “This doesn’t prove anything,” she insisted once
she’d finished.
Griffin was
incredulous. “A white wolf attacked and killed a group of campers in
that motor home park at the bottom of Big Thompson canyon, and you think it
doesn’t prove anything?”
“I’m with
Griffin on this one, Elle,” Alex murmured, taking the seat beside her. “It’s
too much to be a coincidence.”
Ellie glared at
her fiancé and received an unapologetic shrug in return.
“Fine,” she said
after a few moment’s contemplation.
“Fine?” Alex
asked suspiciously, crossing his arms over his chest. “What does fine mean,
exactly?”
Ellie fished her
cell phone out of her purse. The two men watched as she searched for a number, dialed,
and waited for it to connect.
“Hi! It’s
Ellie,” she eventually said. “Have you seen this morning’s newspaper?” She listened
for a moment as whoever was on the other end talked for a bit.
Griffin
grimaced. “She’s blocking me from listening,” he muttered to Alex.
“Huh, well
you’re right about that,” Ellie continued, disgusted. “I have an idea on how to
handle this. Can you meet me at Hugh and Lucy’s place?” There was another brief
pause. “Trust me on this, okay?… Yeah… An hour? Sounds good. See you then.”
Ellie snapped
her phone shut and turned to Alex and Griffin with a self-satisfied smile.
“We’ve got an hour to get ready and get over to Hugh and Lucy’s.” Then she
exited the kitchen.
Griffin sighed. “You’d
better go after her, Alex. The mood I’m in, I’d probably say something I’d
regret. Much as I love her, my sister can drive me nuts sometimes.”
“I’ll go see
what I can find out, man.” Alex gave Griffin’s shoulder a pat on his way out
the door.
*****
An hour later,
everyone was
than before. The soft snow blanketing the forest floor hushed the sound of her
steps. She heard gurgling and realized that she was close to a river. She could
almost feel the chilly mist that rose up as the water bubbled over stones
rounded smooth by the passage of time and elements.
She felt as
though she was looking through a dense, grey fog. Her vision cleared a little,
but not much. Night blanketed the forest, almost swallowing it, but was pushed
back by the brightness of a near-full moon dropping through the tree branches and
casting silvery rays of light on the snowy ground.
Selene moved
stealthily, silent as a shadow. She entered a small alcove where the water was
still, not quite frozen. She leaned over to look and then recognized that it
was not shadow that she resembled, but moonlight. She was in her wolf form,
silver white.
She bent to lap
from the mountain-fed waters. But something was wrong. There was some dark
substance in the water as she drank. Looking down, Selene saw that her white
fur was covered in something darker. As a wolf she was colorblind, and it was
night, so she couldn’t see what it was. But she could smell… and she knew that
she was covered in blood.
Tons of blood.
Horrific screams
split the night air.
Selene shot up straight
in bed, gasping for air. Frantically, she ripped the covers away and ran her
hands over her body. There was no blood on her. Anywhere.
Another damn
nightmare.
These were too real. As much as she tried to convince herself that it had just been a dream,
Selene knew deep down that something was terribly, terribly wrong.
*****
Ellie jumped as something
slapped the kitchen table, just barely missing her bowl of cereal.
“That,” Griffin
pointed accusingly at the newspaper in front of her, “is why we can’t trust
her.”
Alex, freshly
showered from his and Ellie’s morning run, was toweling his black hair dry when
he entered the kitchen and caught the offending headline.
“Oh, shit!”
Ellie picked up
the paper and carefully read the entire article, while Griffin paced back and
forth like a caged animal. “This doesn’t prove anything,” she insisted once
she’d finished.
Griffin was
incredulous. “A white wolf attacked and killed a group of campers in
that motor home park at the bottom of Big Thompson canyon, and you think it
doesn’t prove anything?”
“I’m with
Griffin on this one, Elle,” Alex murmured, taking the seat beside her. “It’s
too much to be a coincidence.”
Ellie glared at
her fiancé and received an unapologetic shrug in return.
“Fine,” she said
after a few moment’s contemplation.
“Fine?” Alex
asked suspiciously, crossing his arms over his chest. “What does fine mean,
exactly?”
Ellie fished her
cell phone out of her purse. The two men watched as she searched for a number, dialed,
and waited for it to connect.
“Hi! It’s
Ellie,” she eventually said. “Have you seen this morning’s newspaper?” She listened
for a moment as whoever was on the other end talked for a bit.
Griffin
grimaced. “She’s blocking me from listening,” he muttered to Alex.
“Huh, well
you’re right about that,” Ellie continued, disgusted. “I have an idea on how to
handle this. Can you meet me at Hugh and Lucy’s place?” There was another brief
pause. “Trust me on this, okay?… Yeah… An hour? Sounds good. See you then.”
Ellie snapped
her phone shut and turned to Alex and Griffin with a self-satisfied smile.
“We’ve got an hour to get ready and get over to Hugh and Lucy’s.” Then she
exited the kitchen.
Griffin sighed. “You’d
better go after her, Alex. The mood I’m in, I’d probably say something I’d
regret. Much as I love her, my sister can drive me nuts sometimes.”
“I’ll go see
what I can find out, man.” Alex gave Griffin’s shoulder a pat on his way out
the door.
*****
An hour later,
everyone was
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