Dog-like Creature

Another year had passed, and William cheerfully celebrated his 19th birthday with his family, a few classmates, and his best friend Lawrence. Lawrence and William became close after Lawrence assisted William the day he was involved in a fight. Lawrence had given him a perfume with no brand or name on its black glass container as a gift. He inquired as to where the latter purchased it, and the reply was that he had made it himself. The perfume has a fragrant and masculine scent. The only thing William didn't understand was that Lawrence wanted him to promise to use it exclusively from now on. Because they are best friends and William has no idea what fragrance he prefers, he agrees and promises his friend that he will use it from the end of his birthday celebration until it runs out. Lawrence was pleased with his choice.

William awoke from a deep sleep one night because he was thirsty. He went out of his room to get some water because his throat was dry. He walked past their living room and noticed that it was exactly midnight. His thirst grew stronger, so he dashed to the kitchen, opened the fridge, took a bottle of water, and drank it. He was still thirsty after drinking the half-empty water bottle, so he drank again until the bottle was empty, but the thirst he felt was not gone, rather, it is getting worse. He drank some juice from a can, but it didn't help quench his thirst. His throat was already sore which caused William to sweat profusely.

He didn't want to make even a faint noise, so he slowly sat on the floor holding his neck. He could no longer understand how he felt. It looked like someone was choking him and his throat was dry. He seemed to want a drink, but he didn’t know what it was. Not far from where he was sitting, he saw the small trash can in their kitchen. Above it, he saw a bottle of wine. William had never drunk or tasted alcohol before, but he didn't think twice and stood up again, opening the hanging cabinet where his father's whiskey was stored and taking a bottle of it. It turned out that he had grabbed the strongest one. He opened the bottle of whiskey and drank it. He could feel the heat in his throat with each swallow. He just kept drinking until he felt dizzy. Slowly, he sat down again and drank a few more times, and later on, he was sound asleep on the floor.

The next morning, William awoke to the cries of his startled mother. “William! What the hell happened to you? ”

William slowly opened his eyes. He felt an unbearable headache, so he didn't get up right away. Startled by the noise, his half-awake father ran up to the kitchen. “What is it, ha-oh no! William?”

The dad's reaction when he saw his son lying on the floor with both eyes half-open was priceless.

“M—mom.” William's response was weak, and when he saw his father behind his mother, he also greeted him by saying, “D—dad.”

His mother immediately approached her son and assisted him in getting up. “What happened, son?” William's worried mother asked.

She asked a few more questions after seeing the bottle not far from where William was lying, “And what is this? Why is there a bottle of whiskey here? ”

Concerned, the father stated that the three of them would discuss the situation later. They must now prepare for their responsibilities outside the home. William's father is a police officer, and his mother began working at a café when he was 16 years old.

William's father said, “Let me and your mom know if you have a problem, okay?” once, patting his son on the shoulder.

William decided not to attend the class for the second time in his life. During dinner with the Styles, William explains that it was his curiosity that drove him to drink and experience what it was like to be wasted. His parents accepted him after he apologized.

Saturday rolled around, and William had no classes. He and Lawrence were stationed in a tall, old, deserted building near the forest path that led to the mountain. It is open and free of columns, with three stories of flooring. They were sitting on the far end of the second floor, their feet hanging in the air. As the two were conversing, they could feel the breeze of fresh air when William suddenly heard a sound like someone chewing the seemingly fresh flesh of something unknown. Lawrence looked at him, waiting for the young man to respond to his question, but William abruptly stood up and followed the sound he heard.

“Hey! Where are you going? ” Lawrence asked, and he immediately stood up and followed William. The latter did not answer him and just kept walking, so he just followed William until they reached the forest. William was silent and did not look around even once, as if he knew where he was going and he was not mistaken in his path. Behind him was a worried Lawrence, who was just tailing him.

They had been walking around the forest for far too long when William abruptly stopped. He remained pale and statuesque on his stand, afraid to move. A gray animal the size of a dog turned its back on them as it gnawed the flesh of an animal. He couldn't tell what kind of animal it was because it was already covered in its blood. Lawrence, who is standing behind William, is also just watching the event, but unlike William, he is not surprised at all. Instead, Lawrence is irritated like a man who was caught by his wife breaking a house rule.

Soon, the creature seemed to feel that someone was watching him, so it slowly turned toward William's direction. When confronted with this, William immediately backed away, causing him to collide with Lawrence. The creature in front of them had yellow eyes and sharp fangs. It was only as big as a dog, but it was obvious on its face that the creature was fierce and harmful. William had never seen such an animal before. So he was just too nervous, especially when the creature started to move in their direction.

“Lawrence, we need to run!” William's weak but stammering utterance.

William got no answer from his friend, so he was even more alarmed. The creature was only a few meters away from them when it suddenly bent down and cried like a dog beaten by its owner. After a few seconds, it ran away from them, entering the denser part of the forest higher up the mountain.

“It's gone, you can move now, William,” Lawrence said and laughed at his friend's startled face.

“Wha—what kind of animal is that?” Although he stuttered, William's words were a bit more relaxed. Then they started walking back to where they had gone before.

“Isn't it just a normal wolf?” Lawrence inquired as he tailed William once more.

William came to a halt and turned to face his friend, saying, “A wolf? Yes... but no! I've seen one. The wolf isn't like that. Their eyes don't glow like that of an animal.” He then resumed his walk.

Lawrence responded, “Glow like what? I'd never seen anything like that earlier.”

“Seriously, bro? Its eyes were glowing like a golden treasure, how can you not notice that?” William said, unconvinced.

“I told you I hadn't,” Lawrence replied.

“Are you accusing me of lying? Or am I just delusory? ” William asked, frustrated.

“I didn't say anything like that either.”