The First Howl

In the middle of the city, among high-rise buildings and bumper to bumper traffic is a small house, a little out of place, well thats where i live. The names Lee, I was born in Japan and known as an outsider all my life, I inherited a house in the most inconvenient of places but i love it even though I would prefer a house in the mountain away from humans. I'm a veterinarian. My practise situated 10 minutes out of the city, just a few kilometers alongside a forest and, well, thats where my life changed.It was a regular Monday morning. I got out of bed and got ready for work. I was on auto-pilot from a lack of sleep.And there is this recurring nightmare.

Anyway, I got into my old school Opel Manta and drove off to work. A few kilometers into my commute, I was driving as fast as I could because I was like a half an hour late, I saw a black wolf in the road, I slammed on my brakes but because of the speed I was too late and had to swerve out the way, firmly planting my car against the barricade.

I don't know how long I was out. All I remember is the pain and the ringing in my ears.

"Fuck! " I yell at myself as I fell out of the car still a little confused about what had just happened, my head dripping with blood. I made my way from the cold, concrete storm water channel I landed in and stumbled all the way toward the road to see whether the wolf was ok and, to my relief, it was. It just stood there in the middle of the road glaring at me menacingly and it looked as though it was ready to make me its breakfast.

I stood in awe, in terror, because this was no average wolf. Its fur black as night, eyes as red as rubies and it looked as though black smoke was slowly issuing from its body.

The wolf suddenly charged towards me, i went down and covered my face waiting for impact or a bite or something but all I felt was a little push, i weigh like 60kg and I know that force should of atleast pushed me over, I looked up and nothing, the wolf was nowhere to be seen and the black smoke that was issuing from the wolf was dissipating in the air. I stood up and looked around, there was no sign of a wolf and no smoke trail, it had just vanished. i walked over to my car to see the damage and it was sever, i then got into my car and hoped it starts, it stared ,well barely. i look around one more time and still no sign of the wolf, i gave a big sigh and well blamed it on my lack of sleep and continued driving with a car releasing all sorts of sounds. I finally get to work looking like someone who just survived the war with all the blood dripping from my body, as i approach my receptionist to greet i hit the ground last thing i remember was my receptionist, Lisa, looking over me and trying to wake me up

I find myself in a strange world, this has to be a dream. im standing ontop of a signal tower looking around a landscape of brimstone and fire and just opposite me, a few kilometers away, a hill ,out of place and as green as grass, standing ontop was the wolf from before staring at me, i feel terrified because it all feels so real. I start pinching myself, you know, all the shit you do in your dreams to wake yourself up. i finally decide to give up which isnt something i normally do but i came to the realisation that this could actually be real, i might have died when i collapsed at work. I look up and survey the area again, nothing has changed except that the wolf has disappeared once again. i look down from the tower to see if its safe to descend and it is, i then start climbing down this 100m ladder and reach the patch of grass. as soon as i placed my foot on the ground i see a pathway of grass appearing and follow the trail. i notice it lead to the other hill where the wolf was, as soon as i saw that i turned around and ran. A few meters later i come to a dead stop, there it is, staring at me with the same glare, it reveals its teeth and starts charging at me. "im done" the last thought before the wolfs teeth sinks into my head.

I wake up to the beeping noise of my heart being monitored. "thank God I'm not dead, well thank fuck it was a dream" I repeat over and over. I look around the room, everything seems neat and expensive, must be a private hospital. I turn to the side where the visitors normally sit and to my surprise it's Joshlyn, my hot neighbor, fast asleep but why what would her boyfriend say when he finds out. The nurse walks in "I see you finally woke up Mr. Del'Gardo" she looks at me with a professional but cute smile "Yeah, thanks, do you by any chance know how long Joshlyn has been here". "she's been here since your receptionist left" she says but the look on her face tells a different story. I raise my brow and look the nurse dead in the eye "is there anything else" she looks down "I'm not good at hiding things", "yeah I could see it in your eyes", "OK well the day your fiance came I saw your receptionist leave here with a tear or two". "My fiance, what the hell is going on here" I think to myself. "oh OK. thanks love. I don't know what's going on but I'll find out" I said as she starts taking my vitals. "OK Mr. Del'Gardo I'm going to give you some sedative because your heart rate is way too high" "too high, but I feel almost 100%" well those were the last words before going into a deep sleep.

I woke up and found myself in the discharge area. I look at the visitor chair next to me thinking I'd find Joshlyn but to my surprise it's Lisa "guess I'm popular with the ladies lately" I jokingly say but the glare I got was colder than the fucking Artic followed by dead silence . The nurse arrived "finally someone to break this awkward silence" I sang in my head. "OK Mr. Del'Gardo we round about done with you, just go to the reception get your medication then you good to go, just take it easy with the driving and please phone as soon as you start feeling sick ", "thanks nurse". I got out of the gurney but it only lasted a few seconds before my legs gave in and I fell, waiting for the impact, to my surprise Lisa caught me and I glanced in her eyes and I noticed a tear, I was so surprised I avoided eye contact with her "nice reflexes" and no reply. Lisa helped me onto a wheelchair and that's when the nurse came rushing towards me "I'm so sorry Mr. Del'Gardo I forgot to tell you that your leg muscles are still weak since you've been in bed for a month". "a month, I've been here a whole month, it can't be I only remember two days what the hell happened to me." I think to myself. "a month, was I here that long?? " "yes Mr. Del'Gardo you had a major head injury, has our Head nurse not inform you about your injury?" "the only nurse I saw was you ", she then sped towards what looks like the nursing office. "Lisa, how was the date?" my attempt at small talk, I've never struggled to make conversation with Lisa before, even when it was that time of the month, we could talk about anything so why am I struggling with this all of the sudden. " are you referring to the date that I had the day of your accident " she softly replies "yes, it was with Michael if I'm not mistaken ", "I'm not that heartless you know, I had to cancel it to take care of you" those words was like a dagger piercing my chest, I never saw her this furious, the tone she said it in was like she intended on hurting me as bad as she could but on the other side I was flattered that she canceled her date just to take care of me. "I didn't mean it like that" fuck was that the right thing to say, I don't know, I've never had such a hard time on talking to someone "sorry " she mumbled and the silence between us two continued. a few minutes later a huge women came out the nursing office with a file In the hand heading straight towards me. "Mr. Del'Gardo, I'm head nurse Victoria Sanchez." we then spoke about what happened and apparently I had a minor hemorrhage in my brain and that I had surgery which was signed by Lisa and since she wasn't family it took a week for them to authorize her signature since I don't have any relatives. the surgery was a success and my recovery was surprisingly fast due to the fact that the had to clean my blood to get rid of an unknown black substance. the head nurse told me not to worry about the unknown substance and that my blood is clean." oh and Mr. Del'Gardo if anything changes in your condition like nausea or migraines we need you to come back asap, this is your brain afterall so for the next six weeks if anything out of the ordinary happens to your body you come straight to the hospital" "will do Miss Sanchez ". Lisa and I then went to reception where I was handed a butt ton of medication and signing the discharge papers. Lisa helped me into her car which actually seemed new. while on the road I gathered the courage to ask her what's wrong "can we not talk about it right now, I need some rest. I'm dropping you off by your fiance" the ways she said it was like she hated the fact that I had a "fiance". but at that point I totally forgot about Joshlyn claiming she was my fiancé. "what fiancé?" I asked trying to straighten things out but to no avail. "just shut your face so I can concentrate on the road ", fuck like I can't get a break with this shit, I turned to the window and slowly fell asleep , I was told to shut up and it's like a few hours drive home so I might aswell. I slowly drifted off to sleep when I felt the car make untimely stop, 3 hours couldn't of gone by that fast, I opened my one eye hiding the fact that I was awake, and peered out the window, all I see is forest. I turn to Lisa, she was panicking and struggling with the ignition "everything OK? " I ask as I adjust my posture on the seat "this fucking car won't start!" she says with an irritated tone "is there enough gas " "ofcause there is I just filled up, do you think Im an idiot aswell?". Fuck now I'm stuck in the middle of nowhere with someone who for some reason hates my guts and ontop of that my legs are still weak so I can't just get out and walk the rest of the way. "what have I done to deserve this kind of treatment?!" I snap back irritated at the fact that my only friend is now pissed at me for reasons unknown "You don't understand do you, guess you never did all you fucking do is just go with the flow no matter who you hurt in the process" she's snaps with tear rolling down her cheeks just before I was about to reply she beats me to it "nevermind!! let's just get this fucking car started and get back home ". I didn't know what to say so I just sat there in silence. she continued struggling for a few minutes before the engine gave a big roar and the car started idling as normal. The drive home was long and the silence didn't help much.

As we pull up in my driveway Lisa turns to me and ask "is it fine if I stay the week, because I don't see your fiancé here and don't want to leave you alone for the night" she has an embarrassed look and I don't know what to say, I never invited her to my house for as long as I know her and the only time I actually bring a girl over is when I'm going to relieve some tension. "sure " I nervously reply. Lisa helps me as I get out the car "I got it! " I snap at her, I guess that reality kicked in, " I sorry, this is just so frustrating" I apologize almost immediately after seeing the look on her face." it's OK Lee I understand it's a massive hit to your pride but it's only for a while, in a few days you'll be up and running again", to be honest those words were actually really comforting. the two of us then made our way to my front door. I scratch in my pocket for my keys, ah there they are, as soon as I opened my door I'm jumped by my 2 huskies, killer and Rex. "who took care of them?" I ask "I did, I actually stayed here to take care of your babies and the house" she replied, I was shocked that she abandoned her apartment for the entire time while I was in hospital. "really? what about your apartment?" I asked as I hugged her, I could feel her facial muscles move, it was a smile, the first smile Ive seen today from Lisa "I know how much you love killer and Rex and well I live alone in an apartment so no-one will notice if I was gone a few weeks" "thanks " I squeezed a little tighter to show her how much I appreciated her help. after the hug I looked around, my house was cleaned, cleaner that I could ever get it. she helped me onto my lazyboy and went to go get our things out the car, I felt bad that I couldn't help her, she then went to the kitchen and I heard a few pots and cutlery "you hungry? " she asks from the kitchen "famished really " I replied, I couldn't help but smile, the last time I had someone in my kitchen was before the whole fight between me my dad and my step-mom. "so when last have you had someone cook for you " that question caught me by surprise "*laughing* I was just thinking about that, I guess before the big fight", I told her about the fight but not the details because it's is just so embarrassing. "you never told me what it was about ", "yeah it's a long story, and I'm not really comfortable talking about it". Lisa is very understanding and never really pushed me for information but I was surprised when she asked "does your fiancé know the details " shit I totally forgot about the "fiancé". I remained silent as if I never heard the question. I grabbed my TV remote and my console controller that was placed ontop of the small fridge next to my lazyboy. I'm a full on gamer so games was the only tool I used to relax and after the day I had I needed to relax, so I logged into my account and noticed another account on the screen, "shadowgirl69" is the profiles name, I know that name, I use to team up with that person so many times on so many games and platforms to the point where I can say that we were online friends. I never heard that persons voice before but we chatted allot on private chat rooms, but what's that account doing on my console, could it be Lisa's, but she never told me she's a gamer. I continued signing in and joining the server for deception, a sandbox survival war type game. "foods done" I hear from the kitchen, Lisa arrived with the food, a bowl of ramen, fried rice and shushing rolls "wow, you went all out" I say a my mouth starts to water at the sight of the food "well of cause I want you to feel at home, I guess you haven't had a proper Japanese dish since you've moved to the US" she replies with a smile and she's right, the last time I had homemade Japanese food was way back in Japan when my mother was still with us "yeah, thanks allot Lisa, I'm glad you here" I say with a massive smile on my face "Shokuhin o arigatōgozaimashita" I say before digging in and to my surprise she say the same thing. after a few minutes I decided to find out why Lisa was so mad at me "Lisa what's wrong, what did I do to hurt you so much today ", she drops her chopsticks onto her plate and looks me dead in the eye "I can't believe you never told me that you and Joshlyn was dating and got engaged, I talk to you about everything and other than the big fight you never hide anything from me, I thought you had forgotten about me, those few weeks before the accident you always looked so exhausted in the morning at work, you come in greet me and retreat to your office and the only time I see you is when we have an emergency and when you asked me to run errand, we always used to talk throughout the day, after lunch time you'd pull up a chair and turn my reception desk into your office desk just so that we could continue our conversation from lunch time. I feel like ever since you got engaged to Joshlyn you started to ignore me and don't get me started on what happened after your operation" I sat there stunned, do I really mean this much to her "Lisa, me and Joshlyn are neighbors you know that and we not at all engaged , she actually has a boyfriend, the only time we talk is when I leave in the morning for work, that's if she stands on her balcony at that time, when I get home from work because she always invites me to supper with her and her boyfriend and well sometimes when we team up in various games, I have a crush on her yeah, she's one of my favorite gaming streamers and youtubers but I never once made a move on her and if I did you would be the first to know. I have no idea why she told the nurses I was her fiancé " I explained to her, she looks surprised and I swear I can see a smile that she's trying to hide. "what happened after the accident? I need to know the whole story since there's something else that upsets you" I ask because Im curious as to what happened since that day. She adjusts her posture on the chair and starts " after you passed out I phoned Michael to cancel our date after I phoned the hospital ofcause, I used the number that was on you medical aid card in you wallet, they sent out an ambulance to pick you up. I stayed to lock up and call your insurance to come pick up your car before leaving to the hospital. when I arrived I heard they sent you to ICU and went to go visit but they wouldn't let me in, luckily I got hold of you doctor and spoke to him, Dr. Raven, he said you needed to get an operation to stop the bleeding and that I had to bring in a family member since you don't have any emergency numbers listed in your file. I told him you have no relatives in the US and that I'm the only person you would trust with signing the papers for the surgery. I was told that I had to get a letter by the police which allows me to sign and then go to the hospital board to get it approved, so I rushed to the police but could only get a meeting with the board the next day. After an hour long meeting I was approved and I immediately signed the papers. I took you house keys and came to your house to take care of the dogs, for a week I was alternating between the house and your hospital bed and that's when Joshlyn came into the picture, I arrived one day to the hospital but they didn't let me in saying that your fiancé came back from a family trip to Japan and that she wanted to stay by your side the entire time, so as furious and I was I came here waiting for Joshlyn to come home so I could let her know what was on my mind, she revoked my signing authority and I wasn't allowed to see you because she asked the nurse to keep me away from you when she's there. a few days ago I got a call from Dr. Raven saying that I have regained signing authority since Joshlyn had to leave the country for a family emergency, I didn't go to the hospital until today when the nurse phoned me to say you being discharged today". "what the fuck was Joshlyn thinking" at this point I was furious. "let's go visit her and hear what she has to say" I suggested with an angry tone "no, you need to relax and focus on getting better before anything else. I'm sorry" Lisa replied before giving me a kiss on my cheeks, "why you apologizing " " I feel terrible of thinking that that it was all true" "it's fine love, I understand, I'd feel the same".

after the awesome supper and the talk Lisa decided to go wash up and I went back to playing my game. "so you think it's fair that you the only one that can relax?" Lisa asks as she approaches the back of my chair " so you the mysterious shadowgirl69" "I'm really shocked that you never knew Mr. ShadowWolf" "I never knew you a gamer, and such a good gamer ontop of that" "well I have kept that part a secret, but are we going to continue talking or are we going to kick some ass". I have to say we play games laughing and joking around until 3 in the morning and that's when shit got weird. As we put off the console Lisa hears a scratch by the front door, "Lee where are your house keys, I think one of the dogs are out front trying to get in" "what you talking about they both sleeping on the couch, I think it might just be a stray dog or the wind playing with the branches". after everything got locked and alarm got set Lisa helps me into bed and decides to retreat to the extra bedroom. the house is silent, a few minutes later my dogs starts wimping and crying, I put on my bed lamp and there it stood in the middle of my room, the wolf from the accident, my dogs staring at it and growling and I'm here in bed shit scared. the wolf looks at me and let's out a loud howl, a howl so terrifying it caused my dogs to piss on the spot and scramble for safety.