Chapter Two

On the top floor of the pub, Laila lay uneasily on her bed in her room. It wasn’t because the roof was so close it could fall on her head at any moment, or because the floor beneath her was vibrating due to the loud music; the reason for her apprehension was her recent findings. The realization of how bad her situation could become tied her stomach in sailor knots. Her plan already wasn’t easy from the beginning, it took everything in her to even be in Grimshore, to be indirectly told that her work would now be ten times harder than what she was expecting was a blow Laila was struggling to recover from.

Moving from the bed to the window nook, Laila leaned her head against the window where she stared at the starless night sky, its infinite darkness was consuming, yet beautiful. The thought of disappearing in it was surprisingly pleasant; at that moment, any place would be better than the hellhole she entered.

The scenery from where Laila sat gave the impression that the town she was in was just like any other, civilians walked the streets headed to their respective destinations while others stood underneath the street lights chatting and laughing, the few who decided to get intoxicated to the point they couldn’t stand anymore staggered until the floor received them. To the oblivious, it was a normal scene, but to those who knew, like Laila, in that normal scene, there were some abnormal people who put on a disguise to blend in; as she was one of them, it was like looking in the mirror.

The night would have been pleasant enough if Laila had not taken notice of the moon, as she had lost track of the days; it was a shock to see that it was nearing its full cycle. The surprise was followed up with glumness almost immediately; it was like being hit with a combo move. It was because of the moon that Laila dreaded night times, it was a rather heartbreaking switch up to her because she once loved night dates and the moon too, but after the incident, it only served as a reminder that once every month, she would turn into a mindless beast, and lose all control of her body for three days.

Laila looked at the moon with a deep sense of loathing, as if it were the cause of her misfortune. On any other day, she would have cursed at it and gone to sleep, but that day was different; it seemed that being at Grimshore brutally ripped open her past scars, letting out a flood of memories that gushed out like blood.

The day of the incident was cemented in Laila’s mind; not one detail was left out. She couldn’t forget it even if she tried to, and there was nothing she didn’t try to forget. That night was supposed to be like any other; having wrapped up her night shift and clocked out, all that was left to do was to pass by the grocery store before heading back to her apartment, but it never happened. Instead, what progressed could only be described as a living nightmare; Laila’s body temperature began to rise gradually until it felt like she was burning from the inside out. At first, she thought it was a fever, but to suddenly be struck with an illness after an entire day of good health was strange.

Naturally, stopping by the hospital for a check-up would have been the ideal solution, this, however, was very difficult to achieve for even her eyesight began to fail her, the world was just a big blur from her perspective, not a single person or building could be defined, and as a result, she ended up elsewhere.

Because she could not make anything out, Laila had no idea how she managed to reach that construction site, but how she got there was the least of her problems; the most of her problems was the bone-breaking sensation that followed. Every muscle in Laila’s body tensed to the point of cramping; the pain was too intense to handle standing, so she sought relief on the dusty and unfinished floor but would not receive any.

At that moment, Laila swore she was going mad. She dug her fingers so deeply into the ground they started to bleed, but even that pain was mild compared to what her entire body was going through. Her suffering felt like it went on for hours with no sign of stopping, but just at the peak of her pain, everything stopped, and what followed was a sound that could only be heard in the wild. The world became a different place to Laila, though her senses had returned to her it was tenfold what she was used to seeing and hearing, and right there, before her very eyes, was the full moon in all its glory, she could see it so clearly, and for a moment, it felt like it was talking to her.

Only after did Laila realize that something terrible had happened to her body, and she would later spend the entire night in a hectic frenzy. The morning after was just as unforgettable as the night before; getting out of the construction site unseen was a stealth mission she would have been proud of if it wasn’t so humiliating. Everything else after progressively got worse until the point where she was now, back in Grimshore. She had come full circle in the most dehumanizing way possible, but she would be damned if she let it end that way.

Allowing herself to remember the events from her past was somewhat therapeutic in the sense that it instilled more motivation to see her plan through to the end, that alone was a pushing force, it was her only reason to live.

*~*

The next morning, Laila was up bright and early; it took exactly ten minutes to freshen up and have all her things ready for leaving. Breakfast wasn’t even considered, but for the sake of not passing out in the middle of the forest, she bought a small pastry and some water. Before leaving, Laila wanted to be sure she got every last bit of information she could find; even the smallest detail was important, but, alas, she had only been told the same thing the waitress told her. Most of the people she asked were hunters; they would’ve had more to say, but from what she could sense, they were definitely holding back some details, probably because they didn’t want to share their prize.

Having not found anything interesting, Laila began her trek to the woods, moving purely based on memory from last time; she carefully followed the dusty paths to not get lost. From what she could remember, it would only take about twenty minutes to reach the cabin she stayed in that summer, and perhaps even less if she skipped the place altogether and took a different path, but the urge to see that place was so great her muscles instinctively took the right path.

The walk to the cabin was one filled with much thought; from the little she had found out, the current situation in Grimshore was not only worrisome, but it was also threatening to a great deal of her plan. Since the hunters successfully managed to scare away her only valuable piece of data, finding the wolves would now be more difficult than she already anticipated it would be. If it were possible, Laila would’ve ignored everything she had just discovered and focused more on what she originally came for, but her curiosity on the matter was insistent on dragging her deeper into the rabbit hole she was already struggling in.

All thoughts came to a halt the moment she arrived at the cabin; they were replaced with the feeling of nostalgia, and suddenly, Laila found herself gazing at the worn-out building before her, taking in every detail as if it were a piece of art. The cabin was just as she had left it, the walls were still being held together by faith and mold and the windows did not see a single drop of water or soap, but there were cloth marks implying someone attempted to clear up the dust but to no success.

It was nothing too desirable, and yet Laila still felt a certain fondness towards it, but as much as she still had a soft spot for the place, she also felt resentment. Seeing as it wasn’t only the place where she spent her most unforgettable summer, but it was also the place where it all began, every terrible event that happened in her life was linked back to the very cabin in front of her.

Laila could have remained fuming at just the mere sight of the cabin but she did not want to be swayed off track by her anger, it was important to remind herself to stop living in the past because there wasn’t anything she could do to change what happened and blaming a building for her misfortune sounded quite childish. With one last look at the dreary cabin, Laila proceeded to a familiar dirt path, what was strange was how hyper her heart was. Being so close to the wild excited the one within her, but Laila had no intention of letting it run free.

The path had changed since the last time; it was no longer narrow, rather, it was big enough for two or more people to walk through, this was no doubt because of the hunters; they must have used that way so often. Aside from the size change, much of the vegetation changed as well, and not for the better; the deeper Laila trekked, the more she saw countless trees were cut down, and most of the grass and bushes looked to have been burnt. The sight was enough to make anyone remorseful, anyone with a heart at least, but unfortunately, the new players in the game had a mission, and it looked like they would stop at nothing to achieve it.

The silence of the woods was unnerving. Laila had been walking on her tiptoes because of it; any little sound or slight movement had her on guard, expecting anything to happen. In her agitated state, Laila was barely paying attention to her surroundings; despite it being broad daylight, the fear of the unknown was still alive and active within her. Only when she reached the lake did her consciousness return to her. Laila was astounded at how quickly she reached her destination, but was more curious about how she found it.

The lake was vast; its size made Laila realize that there was so much more to the woods than she could have ever imagined. As she approached the large body of water, her senses told her she was not alone. Though she could not sense where the other presence was, she was certain it was close by; the erect hairs on the back of her neck indicated it. Trying her best to keep her composure, Laila proceeded to the lake and crouched down beside it, the gamble on whether the mysterious being was a hunter or a wolf was on, by the end, she would either be viciously attacked by an animal, or a man, either way, she was done for.

A short while had passed, and the stalker was still in hiding. Fear turned into frustration because of her impatience, and soon, Laila began looking for the culprit. In a hasty movement, her shoe collided with a rock, sending her to her hands and knees. It was there that she found who she was looking for. Down on all fours, Laila stared straight into the eyes of a wolf, and the beast stared right back at her; its piercing yellow eyes were fear-inducing but hard to look away from. Laila had been captivated once again by that demonic pair of eyes. The wolf did nothing but look; its body language told Laila it had no intention of attacking. Instead, it seemed more welcoming to her, as if there were some familiarity between them.

There was some kind of connection that Laila had felt towards the wolf before her; the unspoken solidarity was confusing yet surprisingly pleasant. Laila was unsure of what to do from then on. If she reached out, there was a chance she could scare the wolf away, but if she stayed put, she would not be able to progress from that point.

Slowly, she prepped herself to get into a squatting position. With every move, the wolf reacted; it appeared confused about what Laila was trying to do. Just when she had gotten into position, the wolf made a stance as if it heard something, and without a second to spare, it ran away.

Laila was determined to not let it go. Jumping to her feet, she pursued the wolf as it ran swiftly through the trees. It was her first time in a long time running; she had never been the athletic type, but at that moment she was running like a trained Olympic runner, and just as swiftly too. It did not matter where the wolf was going to take her; all Laila knew was she couldn’t lose it.

With her determination, she stuck by it until its speed decreased, allowing them to race equally from then on. The chase went on until Laila threw in the towel; even as much as she had improved physically, there was still a long way to go before she could outrun animals in their natural habitat.

Stopping to catch her breath at the foot of a tree, Laila was disheartened once again. It was becoming a pattern: every time she found the littlest bit of hope, it was taken away from her, and all she could do was pick herself up and try harder.

Putting her head on her knees, Laila took deep breaths to slow her racing heart, she also fought desperately to keep the one within her from bursting out and taking control of her, she had once lost control over her body due to adrenaline and it was something she wished she would never experience again.

When her heart returned to its normal pace, and just before she was about to curse out the universe again, the one whom she chased after so frantically returned in front of her. Laila couldn’t believe that it had come back for her. Giving the wolf a faint smile, Laila did the only thing she could at that moment; in her weariness, she spoke to the wolf:

“Please help me”

Years of pain, sadness, and anger had reduced her to that point, the point where she would be talking to an animal, begging it to help her. But it was her only hope, and being with it gave her a sense of peace that she had not felt in a very long time. Laila looked at the wolf, waiting for any sign that it understood, anything to tell her it would help her, and in response, the wolf bowed its head once, proving it could indeed understand her.

Surprised, Laila sat upright; that small gesture not only returned all the hope she had lost a few moments ago, but it also reassured her that somehow, someday, she would achieve her goal.