Wolf's Bane

Chapter Four

"Did you guys see the news this morning?"

"The one about the serial killer? I did! Holy s**t, I read more about it online and it made me want to puke honestly."

"True! I was like, damn, this guy got away with it for over a year? It makes you wonder what the police in that area are doing. I bet some of them are in cahoots with that serial killer."

"I know right? What do you think about the reports of the one that killed him? There wasn't much written about that at all. From what I managed to dig up, all the witnesses don't seem to remember the man's face. In fact, that piece of information wasn't supposed to be released but one of the witnesses slipped up and ended up talking about how scared he was when a random stranger just waltzed inside the pub and pulled out a gun."

"This might sound weird but that sounds really badass."

A couple of high school students were animatedly talking about the news that was making the rounds everywhere. It seems like the incident has sparked a huge debate on bringing back the death penalty in most of the states in the country, as well as gun ownership.

"Alright everyone, settle down. You can save that topic for later. It's time for class," a young lady said as she walked into the classroom with a laptop tucked underneath her arm.

She had a pair of brown eyes and fair white skin. Wearing a pair of high heels to go along with her matching blouse and skirt, she was definitely a fresh graduate due to her youthful appearance as many of the class' male students were staring at her.

"Yes Miss Rias," the class chorused as they all settled down and waited for their teacher to go in front of the class.

"I hope you all had studied the lectures I gave you last night because we would be having a surprise quiz today. So, you all better be ready," Rias said with a smile while her students had this look of panic on their faces.

An hour later, Miss Rias said goodbye to her students who all looked drained after the surprise quiz that they just had.

"Miss Rias looks really attractive but she can be so strict at times."

"I know right?"

"Maybe she has a boyfriend and every time they get into a fight, she dumps all her stress on us."

What the students didn't know was that their teacher was just exhausted from having to teach for almost ten hours every weekday, with her weekends spent on planning new activities and class lectures. In fact, almost all teachers were in that same boat, with Rias and most fresh graduates just experiencing how difficult the workload was first hand.

Maybe I need to go see a doctor or something. I feel more exhausted than when I was taking up my master's degree.

That was what's going through the head of Rias as she proceeded to make her way towards the next class.

By the end of the day, she was completely spent as she currently had her face pressed against her desk inside the faculty room while her fellow teachers were all asking her if she was feeling alright.

"Yes. I'm just tired lately," Rias said with a smile.

"That's no good. You're still young. Why not visit a nutritionist? It was recommended to me by a friend of mine and ever since, I have been more energetic than ever despite my age of forty three."

"A nutritionist?" Rias repeated, as her fellow coworker told her that he had been visiting the hospital down the block in order to maintain his health.

"You're young but I think it's as good a time as any."

With that, Rias left the school wondering if she should take that advice and get a checkup. Getting on a bus, she decided to drop by the hospital and see if there was any way to deal with her exhaustion, like a change in diet or some medicine perhaps.

So, she got off the bus once she was close to the hospital and began walking towards the large building. On the way there, she could hear some people she passed by talking about the news from this morning, making her frown.

This reminds me a lot of the incident from twenty years ago.

Rias thought to herself as she continued walking. Unfortunately, she wasn't focusing at all on where she was stepping, causing her to trip over a ledge.

Bracing herself for the impact, she closed her eyes in an attempt to lessen the pain that she knew would come regardless however, there was none. Instead, she felt something warm around her waist so she immediately opened her eyes to check who it was that saved her.

"You shouldn't be walking carelessly while wearing heels," the man who saved her from falling to the ground said, his deep voice had a hint of annoyance in it but she didn't seem to mind at all, finding herself staring deeply into his bright blue eyes that reminded her of the ocean.

"Ahh, sorry. I'll be more careful. And, thank you," Rias said as the young man merely turned away as soon as she was upright and began heading off towards the hospital's entrance.

"Is he here for a checkup? But, he's holding a camera," Rias muttered to himself, wondering who that man was.

"He seems lonely for some reason. And…quite feral," Rias whispered to herself, unaware of the slight tint of red that appeared on both her cheeks.