Chapter 2: The Encounter
1014 Words
Sarah's heart hammered against her ribs as another knock echoed through her apartment. Louder this time. More insistent.
Her eyes darted around the room – her research was everywhere. Articles about mauled bodies, lunar charts, and Alexander Kane's face stared back at her from every wall. She scrambled to tear them down, shoving papers under her couch, behind books, anywhere she could hide them.
"Miss Chen." His voice carried through the door, smooth as silk but with an edge that made her shiver. "I can hear you moving around in there."
*How?* She was being as quiet as possible. Her apartment was six floors up – there's no way normal hearing could...
Another knock. The door rattled in its cheap frame.
"Coming!" She grabbed her phone, quickly hitting record in her pocket. If she was about to disappear mysteriously, at least there'd be evidence.
Sarah smoothed her hair, took a deep breath, and opened the door.
The photos hadn't done him justice.
Alexander Kane filled her doorway, easily six-foot-three, dressed in a black suit that probably cost more than her yearly rent. But it was his eyes that stopped her breath – steel grey with flecks of gold, catching the hallway light in a way that wasn't quite... human.
"Miss Chen." He smiled, showing perfect white teeth. Just a bit too sharp? "May I come in?"
Every instinct screamed danger. But this was her chance – the story that could save everything.
"Of course, Mr. Kane." She stepped back, painfully aware of her cramped studio apartment with its secondhand furniture and water-stained ceiling. "Though I have to admit, I'm surprised by the personal visit."
He stepped inside, his movements fluid, predatory. His eyes scanned the room, nostrils flaring slightly like he was... scenting the air?
"Please," he gestured to her own apartment like he owned it, "have a seat."
Sarah perched on the edge of her worn armchair while Kane settled onto her small couch, looking ridiculously out of place in her shabby apartment.
"You've been asking questions about me, Miss Chen." He spoke softly, but there was steel beneath the velvet. "Dangerous questions."
"I'm a journalist, Mr. Kane. Asking questions is my job."
"Ah, yes. The Daily Chronicle." He pulled out his phone, scrolled briefly. "Though your recent articles seem more suited to tabloids. 'Mysterious Attacks Follow Lunar Cycle.' 'Beast of Wall Street: What Are They Hiding?'" He looked up, those strange eyes locking onto hers. "You seem... obsessed with monsters."
Sarah's mouth went dry, but she forced herself to hold his gaze. "Just following the evidence."
"Evidence?" He laughed, but there was no humor in it. "Like your wall of conspiracy theories? The ones you so hastily tried to hide?"
Her blood ran cold. *How did he...*
"I don't know what you're talking about," she said, but her voice shook.
In one fluid motion, Kane was up, moving to her bookshelf. His hand shot behind it, pulling out one of her lunar charts.
"Don't lie to me, Miss Chen." His voice had dropped an octave, a growl underlying his words. "I can hear your heartbeat racing. I can smell your fear."
Sarah stood, backing toward her door. But Kane moved impossibly fast, suddenly between her and her escape route.
"You want to know about monsters?" He stepped closer, and she swore his eyes were more gold than grey now. "Be careful what you wish for."
A cloud shifted outside, and moonlight streamed through her window. Kane flinched, turning away from the light, but not before Sarah saw something impossible – his eyes didn't just reflect the light, they *glowed*.
"Jesus," she whispered.
"Not quite." He turned back, composure recovered but something wild lingering in his expression. "You have questions. I have answers. But knowledge comes with a price, Miss Chen."
"What kind of price?"
He smiled again, definitely showing too many teeth now. "The gala. Come as my personal guest. Let everyone see you're under my... protection."
"Protection from what?"
"You've seen the news. Those whistleblowers? They didn't understand the importance of discretion." He moved closer, and Sarah found herself backed against the wall. "I'd hate to see anything... unfortunate happen to your family. How is your mother's cancer treatment going?"
The threat was clear. Sarah's hands clenched into fists. "Are you threatening me, Mr. Kane?"
"Threatening?" He reached out, tucking a strand of hair behind her ear. His hand was fever-hot. "I'm offering you the story of a lifetime. Exclusive access. All your questions answered." He leaned in, his breath ghosting her ear. "But if you betray me, if you publish anything without my approval, well..."
He pulled back, and for a split second, Sarah swore his handsome face *shifted*, showing something bestial underneath.
"Do we understand each other?"
Sarah got lost in thoughts for a moment, however, fixing her gaze on Kane as if trying to read through his mind.
"Is this man being real or he is playing safe?" She wondered.
Her journalist instincts warred with her survival instinct. But then she thought of her mom's medical bills, her rent, her career circling the drain...
Feeling that her head was about to explode. Sarah remembered she had always sought this opportunity to have one-on-one encounter with this force of a human or would she say a beast to be able to uncover the truth behind rumours of mysterious deaths going on within the community.
Lifting her gaze from Kane, she snapped,
"Crystal clear."
"Excellent." Kane stepped back, straightening his suit. "A car will pick you up at eight tomorrow night. Wear red." He walked to her door, then paused. "Oh, and Miss Chen? You can keep recording. No one would believe you anyway."
He pulled her phone from his pocket – *when had he taken it?* – and placed it on her counter. The recording app was still running.
"Good night, Miss Chen. Sweet dreams."
The door clicked shut behind him.
Sarah slid down the wall, her legs giving out. On her phone, the recording played back nothing but static.
Outside her window, a wolf howled at the moon
- Writer
