It was a starless night. Cold and foggy. Certainly not the perfect time for driving. John Doe knew this, and he knew what laid ahead of him. But he shook it off, relying on two facts. One, he wasn’t going to reach Brookehurt. Yes, his Mama's house was a little away from the town. It took about twenty minutes away to get there from her house. Two, this wasn’t the full moon. No threat to be wary of.
And so, he drove. But the unsettling feeling was still in him.
“Just a little closer,” he said. Just then, something darted across the road. He jammed his brakes, eyes wide open. Heart thumping. He stopped his engine, leaving just the brights on. And listened. All he could hear was the sound of crickets.
When a minute passed and he didn’t hear anything, he continued, reminding himself not to fret. That he would get home. And when he did, that would be the end of night journeys. Gosh, what had he been thinking setting off at such an ungodly hour? Had it not been for Marie, his ever nagging wife, he should have left long before the sun set.
He sighed. Let him just get through the journey and as soon as he returned, he would give Marie a piece of his mind. No sooner had the thought come than there was a jolt on this trunk. On reflex, he stomped on the brakes again. Slowly and hoping that this was just a dream, he turned. And there hunched on his trunk was a creature. Its fur as clear as sky, but with eyes so vicious you could under its gaze. It growled, making John Doe shriek. He worked on his ignition, but the car refused to come to life.
No no no. The creature growled again as John Doe continued to work on the ignition. Then it stopped right beside him, smashed the windows and plunged in its arm. John Doe made a dodge and stretched for the at the other side. He yanked it open, but before he could make it outside, the creature grabbed his leg. Its claws driving deep into his flesh.
John Doe wailed as the pain seared through him. But he wasn’t going to give in. No, he would fight till the creature —the wolf was forced to let him go. And that was what he did. Using his other foot, John stomped on its arm, but contrary to what he'd thought, it was unyielding.
In one swift move, the creature jumped into the car and mounted on John. It then silenced him by making a gash on his throat. Fresh blood pumped out soiling the car seat, dehumanising John. It plunged its mouth on the open wound sucking in the liquid of life.
When it was done, it morphed. Gone were the fur, and deathly pangs. Gone were the bristling ears.
It was human, with the only thing saying otherwise was the still pointed canine. He got out of the car and disappeared into the fog, ready for another prey.
***
==Olivia==
“Gee, I can’t wait to hit the bathroom,” Leah said, placing her head on the headrest
“You sure do.” I opened the car door. “Thanks for the night.”
Leah gave me a thumbs up. I stood watching her start the car and drive off. When she had gone, I walked into the building and rode the elevator to my apartment. My eyes were pretty heavy. What a mistake I had made by agreeing to Leah's terms. We spent our time drinking. I wasn't going to lie and say I didn’t have fun. I did, I mean, I met new people, the music and everything in the bar was quite good and lively, but man, it could get noisy. And the drinks, they weren’t just for me. I had settled for two shots of vodka, and it messed with my head.
I was about using the key to open the door when I realised it was already open. Dad was home? A look of shock graced my face. This was quite odd, given that he had said he was going to travel today. Anyway, I shrugged the thought off and went in.
The living room was dark, so I turned on the switch. I yawned, walked to the kitchen at the adjacent side of the room. I opened the fridge, brought out a glass and got myself some water.
After drinking it, I went to the living room, took my purse and began walking toward my room. That was when I noticed that Dad's room was still open.
It was ajar and I could hear him speak.
I walked closer and leaned my ears on the wall.
“Please, just give me this week. I’ll get it. Please.”
My heart leapt as he said that. It was obviously one of his creditors. A huge lump formed in my throat and I raised my hand to knock on his door, but stopped. I didn’t know how to approach him. I didn’t know how to comfort him. So, I turned around and walked into my room.
I slumped in my bed, looking at the ceiling. The tears that had been in my eyes came trickling down. I couldn’t bare seeing Dad in such state. It just hurt me beyond words. What even hurt me more was my inability to help. I was tempted to start making regrets but I put a halt to that. It was of no use. What I had to do now was to try and find a way to help him. That was all.
Sighing, I tossed the other way, looking at the window.
==Olivia==I woke up to the sound of a phone call. Awesome, it was from Leah.“Morning, Leah. Thanks for the really needed present.”She squealed. “You liked it? I bet you did!”I rolled my eyes. Leah's present was two pairs of Victoria’s secret lingerie. Among the most outrageous things she had sent, this took the lead.“Oh yes. Cos I work in a club and my success really depend on how flimsy my underwear is.”.“Don’t be an ingrate.”“I’m not,” I said. “But you now how these things are. I’m not comfortable with ‘em.”.
==Matteo==I got off the phone with my secretary, just in time for a knock to come.“Come in.” I said.The door opened to reveal my butler. “Sire, I have the documents with me.”I ushered him in, and he passed me the documents.The first page read: Olive Samantha Haynes. The second page displayed her personal information. From the look of things, she recently turned 21, measured 5”5 in height and worked as a waitress at a local café. I flipped to the next page and saw her pictures.My eyes circled around her form. I immediately shut the portfolio, not wanting to see more.“You may
*Olivia*Leah… I couldn’t be more grateful for a friend. For a sister. For a companion. She proved once again that she was the confidante I knew. She had suggested I offered to work for whomever it was my dad was owing. She made me realise I might be scared for nothing.I stayed in her apartment for the weekend and resumed fully to work on Monday. My boss had been considerate. When I told him I was ill he sympathised with me. I still hadn’t seen…Dad. I didn’t know where he was, and maybe I didn’t want to see him ever again.I got hold of some burger and fries then walked home. All I would do was eat and drown myself with some music. Something that would clear my mind.When I got home, I did just that, eating and lis
==Matteo==I slammed my palms on the table, fury blinding me. “How dare he?” I growled. “What gave him the effrontery? “My servant remained emotionless. Well, it wasn't as if I was expecting him to react.Fuck! The little bastard that called himself Lyons thought he could sideline me. The hell he thought. Ever since my encounter with my proposed…subject, I hadn’t been at rest. Thoughts about her plagued my mind. I would get flashes whenever I slept, and that scent was stuck in my nose. Fed up, I asked my servants to keep an eye on her. I didn’t want to claim her just yet. Now, everything was going well, until I was informed that Lyons…Lyons fucking Jones dropped by at her apartment. His conversation with her was
Chapter 8==Matteo==Her eyes were tightly shut. Her hair, sandy blonde, fell all over her face. It had been over thirty minutes she arrived, and I had been keeping watch. I was in the atrium with her.The first time I laid my eyes on her, intense hatred and disgust grew in me. I remembered thinking, what the hell was I going to do with this one. She was weak. She was frail. If I didn’t know better, I would have argued she was 15.Again, I cursed Haynes. Pete Haynes, the pathetic fool. He must have grown tired of the burden his daughter had on him, given that he decided to shift his responsibility on me.I sized the young lady again. I couldn’t tell what she would offer. Could I trust her to handle the kitch
==Olivia==My head was light, almost as if it didn’t exist. I wanted to speak, but couldn’t bring that to happen. Tried to turn my neck, that also was a failed mission. I was completely useless.Then, miraculously, my eyes began to obey me. It opened, slowly first before becoming fully active. I was in some form of room. The lighting was pretty dim, but I could still see. I tried to speak, to say hello, but cut myself shut. What happened? Where am I?Then, I saw a figure…no, someone. It was actually a person sitting few feet across from where I was. To say I was startled was an understatement. I literally had the scare of my life. Sitting before me was a guy. Now, although I couldn’t see much, I could tell that he was huge. He wore a black long
==Olivia==I didn’t sleep at all. Not with grieve nibbling at me and my stomach making the growl of the century. Right now, I’m crawled in a fetal position, my eyes dreary from long hours of crying. I was done wondering why fate was so cruel with me. I was done wondering why my life felt useless. Why I had to endure all these. I was done.I didn’t know what the time was, but I believed it should be sometime close to noon. This place was as dark as hell. Anyone who endured more than a day here could as well become a bat.I turned the other way, making sure that I didn’t disturb my left arm much. It was almost numb now from hours of staying fixed to the bed post.Sitting up, my legs made contact with the tray of nachos. At that instant,
==Olivia==I was rational; I knew that. As a child, I didn’t buy the idea that Santa Claus existed. It was just pure nonsense, I’d thought. There was no way in the world that an old heavily bearded man would ride through the skies with his reindeer and go on to distribute presents to kids. It was just too good to be true.As a tween, I didn’t see the truth in a fairy-tale romance, such that there were little to no problems at all. It sounded ridiculous. However, here was I, having the firm belief that my tear ducts had been emptied. I’d so much that it couldn’t be possible I’d be able to produce tears ever again.I was still on the bed. Hadn’t brushed, hadn’t showered, hadn’t eaten. I wanted to end it all. To sleep and never wake up again. And if starving w