Chapter 3 The Dream Wolf
Leela looked again just to make sure that what she saw wasn't just a figment of her imagination or maybe something else entirely in the fog.
The fog was still thick enough to not be able to see in front of you, but the wolf was still there except the fog wasn't touching him at all.
It was as if it was standing within a bubble made of invisible glass. The mist swirled around him but it bounced away from the wolf like oil running from soap. It stood in the only spot the fog was not touching.
The wolf lifted its head. Those amber eyes stared straight at the crack in the curtains meeting her own gaze. It seemed to be looking into her soul.
Leela let the curtain fall back into place. She stared at the curtain for a second, holding her breath. She waited for the panic to set in. She should probably call the police or at least put the dresser in front of the door. But as she stood there, she realized the panic wasn't there.
Instead, she made sure the locks were in place and decided to ignore the wolf outside her door and to forget that said wolf was sitting in what could only be described as its own magical bubble.
"I don't care," she whispered to the empty room. "I literally have no cares left to give, no more energy to give a sh*t."
She turned her back on the outside world. The wolf was now the world's problem. Leela's problem was that she hadn't slept in over twenty four hours and her stomach was trying to eat through to her back bone.
She tossed her bag on the floor next to the bed and sat down on the edge of the mattress. She searched until she found a remote that was held together with duct tape and a prayer, it had clearly seen better days.
She pointed the remote at the big boxy tv bolted to the wall. Honestly, the motel looked like it hadn't been updated since sometime in the early 80's.
She clicked through the channels. She couldn't watch the news, to depressing. She changed the channel a few more times and found a cheesy old time western and decided it would have to do. The audio didn't match the movement of the mouths of the actors but she didn't care. She just needed the noise to drown out the emptiness of the room.
Leela reached for the bag that held her food and pulled out the burger.
She started to unwrap the burger and the smell of the tomatoes and the hamburger hit her senses so hard it made her stomach give off a painful growl. She lifted the sandwich to her mouth and took a bite, then another.
She reached in the bag, taking a handful of fries and shoving them into her mouth, taking another bite of the burger.
It was absolutely the best thing she thought she had ever tasted. It tasted like salt and freedom.
But as she went to take a fourth bite, but then the exhaustion hit, it didn't just creep up it hit her full on like someone hitting her to the back of the head with a shovel.
She suddenly couldn't even lift the burger to her mouth any longer. Her eyelids felt heavy like they were made of lead. The weight of the last three days finally hitting her. The burger, which had been a lifeline a few seconds ago suddenly felt like a ten-pound weight in her hand.
She wrapped the hamburger back in its wrapper and placed it on the nightstand. She placed the bag with the fries in it next to the burger.
She lay back on the bed sinking into the pillows, not even bothering to remove her clothes or her shoes. The Tv western still playing in the background. The sounds of the gunshots and galloping horses led her into a deep sleep.
Suddenly, she wasn't in the motel room anymore. The smell of the burger and stale room vanished being replaced by the clean scent of the outdoors. She could smell damp earth and the pine trees that surrounded her.
She was running. Her heart hammering in her ears. Faster, her instincts screamed in her head. Faster before it catches you.
She was running from something. She couldn't turn to see and risk falling and being caught but she could see a shadow behind her. The old fear of hearing her father's footsteps coming down the hall to see what disaster I had created after speaking with her mother.
She dug her toes into the soft dirt underneath her, pushing harder. Her legs began to burn not used to the effort.
But then everything changed. She looked down at her feet and noticed she wasn't wearing shoes. In fact, they weren't human feet anymore and instead of two feet she was running on all fours.
The paws she saw, an amazing liquid gold looking furry paws. They were pushing her forward with a power of her paws. She could feel the muscles in her back and legs every time she pushed forward.
The huge shadow was keeping pace with her cutting through the underbrush. It was the wolf from the hotel. But it wasn't chasing her it was running with her.
It was shoulder to shoulder with her. His pace and breathing matching her perfectly. The same amber eyes shining with a wild joy that shone brighter than the moon above them.
Leela realized it wasn't a threat, he was a partner. He let out a playful huff and looked at her. She could swear he was wearing a smile. Then he surged ahead, as if he were challenging her. Catch me, his posture said.
She felt a laugh bubble up in her chest but it didn't come out as a laugh. It came out as a bark of happiness.
She dug her claws into the ground and ran forward to meet him. She wasn't running away anymore. For the first time in her life she was running with a pack.
