I feel like I've been stuck in this position for ages. My body simply refuses to obey my commands. Then again, my commands seem to be all over the place so, which of them should my body obey first?
I want to make a run for it. I want answers. I want to sit down for a moment. I want... To take another look at his face once more, and I think there's even a part of me that still wants to jump off this roof. In any case, I remain rooted to my spot until I hear Nathanael's voice, coming from behind me, "You're safe now. They're gone. They won't bother you anymore,"
There it is again; that straight to the point, wanna be dry timbre. Unlucky for him, it seems to carry a deluge of undertones within its underbelly. Indeed, it's so heavy with concern and care and perhaps even a sprinkle of regret that... I am fairly sure he wants to conceal. If I had to go by his attitude alone, I mean.
I finally manage to unglue my feet from their places. I slowly turn around to do what I've been wanting to do for the past... Three minutes or so? My gaze meets his as I stand there waiting for him to say more. He doesn't, but I take the chance I am offered to inspect his visage. It looks utterly and plainly... human. The same face that looked back at me for the entire duration of our date right up until its… Abrupt ending. No more glowing eyes, no more bestial features. I didn't get all the time I wish I had to distinguish every trait he'd exhibited at that moment in front of the wolves, but I am sure... At least I think I am, I saw fangs peeking out from underneath his lips earlier.
My lips part ways but nothing comes out of my mouth, not even a whisper. He remains silent and so do I. Still on the edge, he moves his right leg which gets a little jump out of me, but he doesn't move forward. Instead, he steps backwards, and gravity does the rest; it sucks him downwards out of my sight. He disappears behind the edge under my eyes.
That feeling... That unshakable heavy weight I've been carrying on my shoulders really was him. He was the one following me the entire time, my entire walk home. He must've thought I was a complete idiot when I face planted against the door, unless…
I feel an invisible slap across the face and before I know it, I am running to the edge that'll allow me to view the front of the building. And there he is, opening the door to his car... He pauses and lifts his eyes up towards me. The look we're exchanging tells me so much yet so very little. He's the first to break eye contact; he gets inside his car, shuts the door then just... Drives off.
I forgot about the car. We walked to the restaurant, so he left it here. He was only coming back to get it. So... Should I consider myself lucky he was? Was it a coincidence? Wha....
How the fuck do I even find the words to appease my screaming mind? It's like trying to extinguish a ravaging forest fire on my own, with only a bucket of water in hand. I turn around and allow my body to slide down against the edge of the rooftop, until my behind reaches the floor under me. The best course of action for me now is to let the adrenaline running through my veins die down. Only then, will I be able to... Think or whatever the hell I will do then.
My hand on my chest, I can feel my heart rate slowing back to its normal pace. So does my breathing. My limbs are no longer shaking like leaves on a stormy night. I push myself off the ground and cautiously move towards the door. Once inside the building, I descend every step with utmost care, tiptoeing my way down to my floor level. Nathanael did say they won't come back but... It's not like he scored in terms of trust with me tonight so... Uptight vigilance it is!
The staircase seems to be clear of any wolves, but so is it clear of any inhabitants. I wonder if anybody other than me saw the wolves. I wonder if everyone else is fine. I do hope it is the case. I am usually one to enjoy quietness, but this one... Is just eerie. I reach the door to my apartment level, push it open a smidge and peek behind it. Again, no wolves at the horizon. I listen up for any growling or abnormal breathing. Only after making sure there were none, do I move in and travel the hallway, all the way until I reach my apartment door.
"Izzy?" I whisper as soon as I open the door.
I don't immediately enter; I wait for a few seconds before finally closing the door behind me. Apart from the clock ticking and myself, there is absolutely no other sound or sign of life. I carefully turn the knob to Izzy's room only to find her fast asleep in her bed.
Once in my own room, I just stand there for a moment, completely still. I exhale and I allow my body to fall flat on my bed shortly after.
I have to... No, I need to revisit tonight's events down to the tiniest details. From the second I first saw Nathanael. I'll take it from the top. What's the very first thing I'd noticed about him? His eye color. Looking back at that, I am realizing now that it was, in fact, not a mistake on Izzy's behalf. It must have something to do with whatever he... is. The second thing I'd noticed was the look on his face, giving me the impression that he was uncomfortable with something all along. Honestly, the signs were there for me to see. Although, I am not very sure of what I was supposed to do with them right then. The third thing I felt was... Well, still is, considering I still feel the heaviness, like someone is observing my every action. Does that mean Nathanael is still somewhere around here? Stalking me?
No, no, no! I can't allow this to distract me. What happened after that? The date was going pretty alright, until I started feeling uneasy, pretty much out of nowhere and it kept escalating from there. But then, I noticed that he'd lied to me. I take it the reasons that brought him to Grimesbrook have something to do with what I saw him do earlier.
I feel a tinge of guilt, but very momentarily. If there's anything in this world that is worth lying about. If there's anything I'd hide on my first date, it would definitely be a secret like this one. I feel bad for reacting the way I did but at the same time and regardless of that unnatural feeling I had at that moment... I believe I did the right thing. I don't think we'd be the power couple Izzy thought we would make, considering he can scare a horde of wolves into submission with... A growl...
But is that really all that has happened during the date? No, it isn't. Of course, it isn't. I clearly remember noticing a small porcelain jar that had seemingly appeared out of nowhere, and that was around the same time I started feeling uneasy. I feel insane just thinking of the possibility that the two are somehow connected but at this point... Why the fuck not? What stood out about the jar was the fact that it contained salt, even though there was already a saltshaker on the table but that's not all there is... The strange art it had on it, in the guise of decoration, those strange red markings. A sharp and crisp diagonal line drawn right in between two, perfect dots that were at an equal distance each from the line's ends... I don't even know what to do with this...
Anyways, I reached the building and that's where I was oh! So graciously greeted by those fairytale creatures. Adorable and quite possibly very pattable fur balls, if it weren't for the whole trying to rip me apart segment just there, but I digress. I stand by what I said before, those wolves were there to hurt me, it was their sole mission.
But why? What has earned me such honor? I didn't really do anything to piss any wolf community off. No, nothing that I can remember. Was it because I rejected Nathanael? They seemed to be very obedient to him. Perhaps they were defending his honor or something.
Great! I offended an entire community of werewolves...
Wait... Werewolves? Is it really how I'll call them? Not that I'm breaking under the weight of available options here or anything. I mean Nathanael was able to command them with a growl so, the term "werewolves" will have to do for the time being.
And now what? It's not like there were any other eyewitnesses other than me when all of that took place. I can't expect anybody to take me seriously if I tried to tell the story; sure, Izzy can be a bit kookoo at times, but even she wouldn't believe such... Nonsense? No one in their right mind would. If I go to the police, then what the hell will I say to them? There are no wolves in Grimesbrook... So, even if I say that I was attacked by mere wolves, they'd say they were just dogs. And even if they do take me seriously, they have enough on their plate with all of these disappearances... Perhaps, I can talk to... Him about it?
No, no, no! Not him! Not detective Reed...
My eyes travel around my room before finally landing on this morning's newspaper. The article I read about the Callaway kid came back to me in a flash. They're all connected, aren't they? The presence of these wolf people can't be a coincidence, now, can it? All of the disappearances that began happening around three months ago, always somewhere near the forest area of the town. No, there's no way in hell it's a coincidence.
As I am pouring my efforts into making sense out of the clusterfuck of events, facts and hunches I've got running through my mind; I recall that my eyes and ears weren't the only parts of me that witnessed what happened tonight. I made physical contact with a wolf when I was trying to escape them. Granted, it's not exactly a part of me but... If I am correct then, I might have proof to back the crazy story I have to tell.
My purse, the one I threw at the wolf to chew on in order to create an opening for me. It should be right where it fell. At least I hope it is.
I leap off the bed and sprint towards the staircases again, ignoring everything on my path. Not that there is anything or anyone worth noting aside from the Irises I'd put in a vase earlier tonight.
I inspect every inch of every step as I descend them. I keep on fumbling for what my eyes are looking for until I finally catch sight of it. My purse laid there; partially shredded, visible animal bite marks stamped across a good portion of the fabric.
I pick it up, attentively avoiding putting my hands directly on the parts that were bitten. If I am lucky, I could be able to isolate a few viable samples out of it. This beast's DNA has to tell me something new about them. Analyzing this could just turn out to be what brings my desire to work in a lab back.
But even if this doesn't amount to anything, because, and I have to be honest with myself, the chances of me getting something tangible from the purse are pretty slim. Then, there's always this relative of his at the hospital. The reason Izzy met Nathanael in the first place. I wonder what her case can tell about all of this...