Chapter 86

Olivia

My heart skipped a beat. The sound seemed to come from behind me, off to the side in the bushes lining the street. A rustling in the underbrush, a low growl. At least, that was what it sounded like.

My cheerful whistling ceased, fading away into a somber, out-of-key tune, and then into oblivion. I stopped dead in my tracks and strained my ears to listen, hoping and praying that it really was nothing, that it was just the wind or my ears playing tricks on me.

Nothing.

The night was silent again.

Taking a deep breath, I chided myself for being so paranoid.

“C’mon, Olivia,” I whispered to myself. “Grow up. You’re almost home.”

I started walking again, picking up the pace a little. I was almost home; I could see our street sign standing up ahead at the corner, cast aglow in the amber tinge of the streetlights, a beacon of safety.

Just a few more minutes and I would be walking in through the front door. Nathan might be upset with me, but he couldn’t be too upset, because I made it home safely and without incident other than a simple bump in the night.

In order to keep myself sane, I imagined Nathan waiting for me in the living room when I came home.

“You’re home early,” he would say. “I thought I told you to have me pick you up. It’s dangerous, Olivia.”

“I know,” I would respond, ignoring his frustrated look at me. “Sorry. Anyway, I didn’t eat at the party, and I’m starving… Wanna order a late-night pizza and watch a scary movie?”

Nathan would likely chuckle as he dialed the pizza parlor’s number on his phone. “What, you’d wanna watch a scary movie just so you can come running to my room again like a scared little kid?”

I would blush and inwardly think to myself that yes, maybe I did—

Suddenly, the rustling sound returned and broke me out of my deep train of thought. The smile that had begun to blossom on my lips quickly faded. The noise was closer this time, so close I could practically taste it in my mouth.

I spun around so fast my hair whipped my face. I tried to peer into the inky blackness that seemed to close in on me.

“Hello?” I called out instinctively, instantly cursing myself for giving away my position like that.

There was no response. There was no movement, there was no sound, only the whispering wind that seemed to laugh at my paranoia.

All of a sudden, just as I was about to start walking again, I heard the sound of rustling start up once more. My breath caught in my throat as I peered nervously into the darkness. The rustling became accented by a strange sound, something high pitched and excited…

Suddenly, a squirrel burst out of the bushes and ran across my path with a big nut in its little mouth.

I jumped, but quickly relaxed at the sight of his bristling little tail disappearing into the bushes on the other side of the street, likely returning home with his spoils of the day.

“Oh,” I muttered to myself, laughing out loud at my own fear. “It was just a squirrel.”

I felt silly for allowing the darkness and Angela’s warning about the monster to get the best of me. So, with a quick glance over my shoulder and a quick shake to dismiss the eerie feeling, I resumed my walk.

Only, the faster I walked, the louder the whispers of fear became in my mind. My eyes darted from one dark corner to another, my ears tuned to any crackle, crunch, or growl.

And then, it happened again. A rustle. A hushed, throaty noise that made me freeze in my tracks, and an icy wave of fear coursed through my veins. The shadows seemed to dance, shifting and morphing into a hideous shape.

My mind screamed to run, my heart pounded in my chest as if it would burst out any moment, but my legs wouldn’t obey my commands. I was like a deer caught in the headlights.

“Who’s there?” I called out, my voice shaking more than I’d like to admit. I waited, hoping against all odds that it was just a harmless animal.

The response was more terrifying than I could have ever imagined. A shape stepped out from the bushes, materializing from the very fabric of my worst fears. My heart leaped to my throat, and I felt as though I couldn't breathe.

As the form slowly appeared through the bushes, I felt as though I just kept following its red-eyed gaze up and up, until it practically reached the top of the trees. When it finally stopped its horrendous ascent, I felt as though I would throw up at the sight.

A monster, cloaked in shadows, towered above me. Its form was bulky and undefined in the darkness, but the glowing eyes that met mine were like two gleaming orbs. They stared at me, unblinking, a steady, unwavering gaze.

My heart pounded in my chest, my breath hitched, and my eyes widened. I turned around, scanning the darkness. The glow from the streetlight barely reached the shadowy figure that stood a few feet away from me.

I froze.

My scream caught itself in my throat. I was too terrified to even do that much. Fear had stolen my voice and I could only stand there, trembling in the dark with the unknown creature scrutinizing me.

But surprisingly, although the creature’s throat rumbled with the sound of a deep growl, it didn’t approach me any further. It stayed in the shadows, just… looking at me.

The seconds felt like hours as we stared at each other, frozen in a dance of terror and uncertainty.

In my fear-induced stillness, I noticed something odd. The way the beast was standing… it was uneven, almost limping, as if...

As if it were missing a paw.

My mind suddenly flashed back to the footprints that I had found earlier that day, the uneven, irregular prints that depicted only three feet instead of four.

I squinted through the dark at the creature, my heartbeat pounding in my ears. It was hard to tell through the dim lighting and my blurry, teary vision, but I was almost certain.

The beast, this monster that had the whole town living in fear, was indeed missing a paw.

It couldn’t be…

The creature and I continued to gaze at each other in the dim streetlight, a bizarre standoff that seemed to last forever.

I felt a shiver run down my spine, my fear morphing into something else entirely. Sympathy? Pity? I wasn’t sure.

Suddenly, as I leaned forward and gazed intently at the beast, its glowing red eyes met mine. There was a sense of familiarity there. Somehow, I think I knew this creature.

Those eyes, that missing paw, that familiar look as we gazed at each other. This beast wasn’t attacking me. It wasn’t even approaching, much unlike the horrific accounts that I had heard already of it lurking in the shadows and chasing people back into their homes at night.

It was as though we were both frozen in surprise, as though it didn’t expect to see me here just as much as I didn’t expect to see it here.

My eyes wandered up and down over the creature, my vision clearing in the darkness. Finally, I could make out the rough outline of its shape. It was indeed a wolf with gray fur, and not a monster at all.

I knew this wolf, and he was my long lost friend.

My mind was a whirl of questions, one dominating the rest:

Could it really be him?

I swallowed hard, my quivering voice barely more than a whisper as I called out, “Alvin? Is that you?”