"Help!"
The dense forest got filtered with moonlight, casting scary shadows on the forest floor. A man crashed through the underbrush, his breath coming in ragged gasps.
Something large with an inhumane speed was chasing him, closing the distance between them with each passing second.
"Somebody please help me!" The man screamed, his voice raw with terror.
A low growl resonated through the trees, sending shivers down the man's spine. He risked a glance over his shoulder and stumbled, his eyes widening at the sight of his pursuer.
"What the f---"
It was a massive wolf with red eyes gleaming with an unnatural intelligence, that was sprinting after him.
Its powerful legs ate up the ground, bringing it ever closer to its prey.
"Please, no! I will do anything!" The man pleaded, scrambling to regain his footing.
"Don't kill me, please." He added.
The wolf's jaws parted, revealing rows of razor-sharp teeth.
"Okay, fine. I know and admit that I have been bad. I will repent! I won't ever do anything illegal again. I promi..." The man was rambling on when the wolf lunged forward, powerful muscles bunching under its thick fur, and then it bit into the man.
"Arghh!" The man let out a terrified yell but the wolf didn't stop at that. It moved back and within a split second, it was rushing at the man again before he could even think of standing to flee.
"Oh my fuc----"
Emma Carter jolted awake, her heart pounding in her chest. She blinked rapidly, trying to make sense of the vivid images still swirling in her mind.
"I have been dreaming?" She muttered in disbelief.
It had felt so real that she could almost smell the damp earth and feel the night air on her skin.
"And what the hell was that? How am I dreaming of something that doesn't involve me at all?" She muttered again, running a hand through her tangled hair.
As her eyes adjusted to the darkness of her bedroom, Emma became aware of an odd sensation. Something felt... off. She reached for the lamp on her bedside table, her fingers fumbling for the switch.
"What the hell?" Emma gasped in shock as warm light flooded the room.
"I definitely had on a night suit before going to bed last night..." She mumbled in shock as she realized she was completely naked.
But that wasn't the only shocking thing.
Her body was smeared with what looked horribly like blood. Dark, crimson stains covered her hands and arms, with splatters across her torso and legs.
"No... no, this isn't possible," Emma whispered, her voice trembling. It was as if she was coming out from a crime scene where she was the criminal.
She stumbled out of bed, her legs weak and unsteady
"How did this happen? Did I get injured? But when, where and how?" Her mind raced as she tried to make sense of the situation.
"But I feel no pain, no wounds that can account for so much blood..."
"Did I sleepwalk? But I have never done that before! And where is my night suit?" She wondered aloud, furrowing her eyebrows in confusion.
Before she could process further, her phone rang, the shrill sound cutting through the silence of the night. Emma firstly flinched, then hesitantly picked up the device.
"Yes, Officer Carter speaking!" She answered, struggling to keep her voice steady.
"Emma, it's Sergeant Ross. Sorry to wake you, but we have got a situation. There has been a murder." The caller informed her.
At the information, Emma's blood ran cold.
"A... murder?" She repeated unsurely.
"Yeah, looks like a brutal one too. We need all hands on deck. How fast can you get to the old logging road off Route 7?" Sergeant Ross asked her.
Emma's mind whirled. She needed to shower, to get rid of the blood before anyone saw her like this. But she couldn't exactly tell her sergeant she needed to clean up first.
"I will be there in twenty minutes." She managed to say.
"Good. See you soon, Carter." Ross and the call ended, leaving Emma in stunned silence.
She looked down at her blood-covered body once more, then sprung into action.
"I should get cleaned up first. I have to get to a crime scene first, whatever that is happening to me can wait." She told herself as her professional instinct kicked in and hurried into her bathroom.
"I probably just had a nosebleed in my sleep..." She thought to herself as she showered. No matter how she tried, she just couldn't make sense of the situation.
~~~~~~~~~
Twenty minutes later, Emma pulled up to the crime scene. The area was alive with activity, blue and red lights painting the night. She ducked under the yellow tape, nodding to her fellow officers as she approached Sergeant Ross.
"Carter, glad you are here." Ross greeted her.
"We have got a mess on our hands." She added.
As Emma followed Ross towards the body, a chill ran down her spine. The surrounding forest looked eerily familiar. The pattern of the trees, the way the moonlight fell through the branches –
"This is exactly like my dream..." She observed inwardly.
They finally reached the corpse, and Emma's breath got caught in her throat.
The victim lay sprawled on the ground, his body torn and bloody.
"This is a mirror image of what I have seen in my sleep." Emma breathed in shakily as she observed the scene before.
"Victim is male, mid-thirties. ID in his wallet says his name is Michael Reeves." Ross informed her.
Emma snapped up her head at the information.
"Michael Reeves? The drug dealer?" Emma blurted out in shock.
Ross nodded grimly.
"Do you know him?" Ross questioned.
"I... I actually arrested him three weeks ago. He was out on bail." Emma said, her mind reeling.
Ross sighed.
"Well, looks like his luck ran out. Coroner's initial assessment suggests an animal attack, but..." Ross trailed off, shaking his head.
Emma barely heard him. She was staring at the victim's face, twisted in a rictus of terror. It was the same face she had seen in her dream, pleading for help as he ran from the wolf with red eyes.
"What is going on?"