The Golden Wolf

I could hear the branches underneath my feet breaking as I ran. My breath heavy drawing my attention to how truly tired I really was. If I could just get to the cottage up ahead, I knew I would be safe. I knew he was waiting for me there. I wasn’t exactly sure who “he” was, but I knew he was there and that he was safe. I heard the growl behind me right on my tail. Would I be able to make it there?

**Beep beep beep beep **

I woke up and hit the alarm. These dreams had been getting increasingly more real to me each night. They started on my 21st birthday two weeks ago. Every night the same but more intense. The first night I just saw the dream as I looked above like a bird flying overhead. Now, in the dream I could hear, smell and feel the cool air of the night and the leaves from the trees smacking me as I ran through them. If it wasn’t for my alarm that woke me up every morning, I would think I was going insane.

Well then again maybe I was going insane. Recently, I had taken to going out for midnight runs. I had always enjoyed running. The feeling of the air in my hair and hearing the rhythm of my feet as they hit the ground. However, lately the night had been calling me and every night I ended up in the same place. Every night I would run and then end up at the river they flowed through the city park. I would stare into the water and watch how the moon would reflect on ripples in the current. It flowed so easily. Unlike life which seemed to have come to a complete halt recently.

I was doing so well. I had graduated from high school the valedictorian of my class. I had put a lot of effort into finishing with high honors and my friends and I would study hard. In college, it was the same story. I even finished a year early and with my master’s in biology. I landed an awesome job at the local lab looking at new blood samples they sent us every day. This was such an interesting job and I really enjoyed looking at it and testing my knowledge. But then I started to ask questions about where the blood samples were coming from. What exactly we were looking for in the samples. Were these samples of people or animals. And that is when I got thrown onto coffee duty and basic blood labeling. I was told just to look and label with normal or not normal. To be honest, there was a whole lot more not normal.

Anyways, I need to get started on my day instead of complaining about the rut I feel stuck in. I look at my reflection, I still look tired like I never slept. My blonde hair goes down to my mid back and I pull it up into a ponytail. I look at myself closely, my green eyes are very vibrant today as if they are sparkling. I have always gotten compliments on my eyes. Not to sound to proud but they do kinda sparkle, especially when I am excited, plus they have golden specks around them which I think is brought out from my golden hair. My skin is light but tans easily which has always been a shock to others when they find out how dark I can get in the summer. I have a slender but muscular shape. I have always put effort into staying fit, but with my nightly runs and bike rides to work it has been easy to stay slender.

I throw on my dress pants and a button-down blouse. It is simple but it goes with riding my bike to town and working around the lab. I through my heels into my backpack and head out to work. I do not drink coffee. This may come to surprise you, but I just cannot do it. I have always woken up naturally and caffeine had a drunkenness feeling to it for me. The earth itself energizes me which is strange to say but as soon as I take a deep breath in, I can feel the energy surge through me.

I park my bike in front of Birming Labs, my workplace, and run to the coffee shop next door for my usual order for all my fellow lab mates.

“When are you going to start making all those other lab rats get their own drinks?” My friend Rose yelled as I walked through the door. She was a short girl and not quiet. She had a wonderful ability to speak her mind and stand her ground. She was a great friend to have because you knew she would always have your back. Her short black hair was pulled halfway back so that her round face was easily viewed. She had blue eyes and today she wore a cut off shirt so that the olive skin of her stomach showed. She wasn’t 5’9” like the models you see on television, but her beauty was evident. We had been friends since we were six when she punched a boy for pulling my hair.

“Those lab rats are my coworkers.” I tell her while grabbing my drinks, “And I am pretty sure they would not even speak to me if I didn’t give them coffee to say thank you for.”

“Well, what do those lab rats know? Then again, do any of them really have personalities? I look at them going in everyday and they all look like robots.” She made a face and turned up her nose a bit in an act to look robotic. I laughed and almost spilled the coffee. I got a good hold of it when my phone started to ring. I looked down and saw the name Ashley Birming. I groaned. “What is that about? Princess need her drink?”

“I need to go!” knowing Ashley would be wondering what I was doing and make the day even worse if I didn’t get up there now.

“Okay! Movie night tonight, Gracie!” Rose called after me.

“My place! See you at 7!” I call back before heading to my building and rushing up the stairs. As I pass people, I hand them their coffee. I get to the main floor and there’s Ashley waiting right by the door. “Uh Ashley… I mean Ms. Bingham, here is your coffee.” I stutter out finally. Ashely in her red stilettos and matching lipstick stared back at me. She had a pixie hair cut that fit her thin face perfectly and a bit too much make up on.

“Oh, Grace why can you never make it in on time?” Ashley says in her whiny voice. It is like a cat scratching on a chalkboard. I look over at the clock. I am ten minutes early, but I am not going to say that. She is my boss after all.

“What would you like me to do for you?” I say to Ashley ignoring her question.

“I need you to take these samples to the lab. They are our newest samples and I need to know what the blood types are. Then mix the different blood types with this.” She hands me another vial. I take the samples. Keeping them separate in my hand.

“Okay. Do you want the full report today?” I ask trying to get an understanding of the perimeters.

“No. I want you to test it the same way for the entire week, until the full moon on Sunday.” I look at her. This was not the first time she had asked me to do something that had to do with the full moon. I was unsure what it all had to do with one another. Normally the vial of, I assume a virus just sits on one side and the blood sits on the other. It is always so odd, and I always wrote it in my report.

“Okay” I reply. Heading down to my lab area. I put a drop of the blood on the slide and look at it. It looks a bit abnormal. I wonder if this is the blood type of an animal or a mixture of animals together. I label it Sample A. I take a drop from the other vial. Under the microscope this droplet looks off. Almost shimmering as if it has bits of silver in it. As soon as I mix the two, the unknown shimmering material eats up the blood.