Finding The Wolf Within

Part 1 It was pitch black out except for the lights from the emergency vehicles and the flares the police had lit. Everything seemed to move in slow motion as he watched the rescue team work relentlessly to get into the car that held his girlfriend and their unborn baby captive. Someone asked him what happened and all kinds of other questions, but he couldn't answer because he didn't know. The two had gotten into a fight earlier, and she had left with the car leaving him stranded. And instead of calling a cab or anybody else to come and get him, he chose to walk back home, giving both of them more time to calm down. He had been accepted into the astronaut program with NASA. Which was why they had moved here in the first place, but she had gotten mad when he said he had gotten in. She had been hoping he wouldn't actually get in and would never be sent to outer space, leaving her alone for any length of time. They fought because he didn't understand why she was angry and not excited for him like he had thought she would be. As he rounded the corner about halfway home, he came upon the scene. He had tried getting through and running to their car, but the police quickly stopped him. He told them that his girlfriend had been in that car and she was pregnant, but that didn't seem to make them move any faster than they already had been. There was no sound coming from inside the car that he could hear. He held his breath as the men cut through part of the car before pulling the door out of the way. He doesn't remember ever letting go of that breath as they pulled her unmoving body out of the car. And then watched in horror as the team worked on her lifeless body for what seemed like a lifetime before they stopped and covered her with a blanket. He doesn't remember moving or even what the officer had been saying to him as he watched in horror. All he remembers are arms going around him as they restrained him from going to her body. He hit the ground hard as he fell from the weight of the officers trying to restrain him. And then there was blackness as something sharp pierced his arm. *** Andy set up in bed breathing heavily. He was covered in sweat. It was still dark outside, and the only light he could see came from the street light that set not far from his bedroom window. His room was simple, with just his bed and a dresser for his clothes. On top of the dresser was his alarm clock, which told him it was only just past two in the morning. He didn't need to be up for another few hours before he would have to head off and get ready for his next trip to space. He had been sent up into space many times over the last few years and dreamed of that night before every mission. It had been four years now, and they still never found the person that had hit her car, pushing her into the intersection in front of the semi-truck who didn't have time to stop as he went through the green light. The truck driver had given a description of the car, but he hadn't been able to get a license plate number, and well a tan or light-colored sedan wasn't much to go on. And so he had been left to try and explain to her father that because they had a fight, he had allowed her to drive off on her own and did nothing to stop her. The guy already hated him anyway for talking his baby girl into moving to another state and knocking her up before they had been married. The news of his daughter's death didn't help his dislike for Andy. Andy lay in bed for a while longer, trying to get the image out of his mind and catch his breath. Lying on his back, he watched his ceiling fan for a while before he finally pushed his blanket off of him. Deciding he might as well get up and start his day. It was way too early, he knew, but he would not be able to fall back to sleep, and he would just continue to dwell on the past and the things he couldn't change if he continued to lay there. So getting up and doing something productive seemed the best thing to do. His bathroom was just outside his bedroom door. It wasn't really a full bathroom, but it was just him, and he didn't really need a full-sized tub. There was only a stand-up shower that was almost too small for his broad shoulders, but he made due. He turned the water on as he passed the shower, so it had time to warm up as he relieved himself. He allowed his boxer shorts to fall to the floor as he peed, kicking them to the side with one foot. It didn't take much time for the small bathroom to fill with steam from the hot water. He stepped into the water tilting his head forward to allow the water to run over him. He stood under the hot stream for a few minutes before using some shampoo to scrub his short light blond hair. When he was done with that, he took the bar of soap he kept in the shower and washed his body. He was just six feet tall and lean with a muscular build. He didn't really have to work out to keep up on his physique. It was more something he had been born with. His father and grandfather had been built the same, and Andy had never seen either of the men pick up a single weight their entire lives. He stood under the water a bit longer after he had finished washing. It would be a while before he got to stand in a shower like this. The mission he and a few other men were being sent on was one that they weren't really sure how long they would be gone for. He knew they would be given enough supplies to last them for a year, which was longer than anyone thought it would last. The mission was to see if they could make it out of the Solar system and to our neighboring system Alpha Centauri. If possible, they were to try and get some pictures of as much of the neighboring system and then return. But if they hadn't made it far enough in six months and didn't think they would make it back before running out of supplies, they were to come right back. This mission would have four crew members, including him. All of whom he had worked with before and knew that even if they didn't make it as far as they hoped, the team would have a blast.