CHAPTER 2 - NIGHTMARE
1100 Words
Selene couldn't sleep.
She had been staring at the ceiling for nearly half an hour, watching shadows move across her bedroom walls whenever cars passed outside. She had already checked her phone twice and flipped her pillow over three times.
Nothing worked.
Maybe it was the coffee she'd had earlier.
Maybe it was because she'd finally turned eighteen.
11:59 PM.
"Go to sleep," she muttered to herself.
The apartment was quiet. Moonlight filtered through the curtains and painted pale silver shapes across the floor.
Everything felt normal.
Until the dogs started barking.
Selene frowned.
At first she ignored it.
Then more joined in.
Within seconds, it sounded like every dog in the neighborhood had begun barking at the exact same thing.
She slowly sat up in bed.
The barking continued for a few more seconds before stopping all at once.
The sudden silence was what bothered her.
One second there was noise.
The next there was nothing.
No dogs.
No insects.
Nothing.
Selene stared toward the window.
A strange feeling settled in the pit of her stomach.
The digital clock on her nightstand changed.
12:00 AM.
At the exact same moment, the lights flickered.
Once.
Then again.
Selene pulled her blanket tighter.
The room felt colder.
Not freezing.
Just cold enough to notice.
Then she heard it.
A howl.
Long and low.
The sound drifted through the darkness from somewhere beyond the apartment complex.
The forest.
Another howl answered it.
Then another.
Then another.
Selene found herself listening.
Really listening.
The sounds seemed to move through the trees.
Calling.
Responding.
Searching.
Almost as if something was looking for something else.
"What is going on tonight?"
She climbed out of bed and walked toward the window without really thinking about it.
The forest stretched beyond the apartment buildings.
Dark.
Silent.
Waiting.
The howls continued.
For some reason, she couldn't take her eyes off the trees.
The moon looked brighter than usual.
The forest looked closer.
The room looked farther away.
Selene blinked.
And suddenly she wasn't standing in her bedroom anymore.
She was standing among the trees.
Her heart skipped.
Cold air brushed against her skin.
Fog drifted between the trunks.
Moonlight filtered through the branches overhead.
For a moment, she couldn't move.
She didn't understand how she'd gotten there.
None of it made sense.
Then she noticed something ahead.
A shape.
Standing between the trees.
Watching.
Selene's pulse quickened.
The figure didn't move.
It didn't come closer.
It simply stood there.
The fog shifted.
The shape became clearer.
A Wolf.
A massive silver wolf.
Far larger than any wolf she'd ever seen.
Its silver fur caught the moonlight.
Its golden eyes never left hers.
The wolf didn't growl.
Didn't move.
Didn't make a sound.
It simply stared.
As though it knew her.
As though it had been waiting.
For her.
The realization sent a chill down her spine.
The wolf took one step forward.
Selene took one step back.
Then the forest exploded with howls.
Dozens of them.
Every direction.
Surrounding her.
The silver wolf lifted its head.
Its golden eyes remained locked on hers.
Beep. Beep. Beep.
Selene practically jumped out of bed.
Her chest rose and fell rapidly.
The forest was gone.
The wolf was gone.
Morning sunlight streamed through her curtains.
The digital clock read 7:00 A.M.
For several seconds she simply sat there trying to calm down.
Then she laughed nervously.
"Okay... that was weird."
But even as she said it, she couldn't shake the image of those golden eyes.
And deep down...
It didn't feel like a dream.
She got out of bed.
The moment her feet touched the floor, she stopped.
She felt different.
Not sick.
Not tired.
Different.
Lighter.
More awake than usual.
Almost like she'd slept for an entire week.
She stretched and felt a satisfying c***k in her shoulders.
It felt good.
Really good.
Trying not to think about it, she headed for the bathroom.
The apartment was quiet except for the faint hum of the refrigerator in the kitchen.
Everything was normal.
At least, that's what she kept telling herself.
She splashed cold water on her face and looked into the mirror.
For a moment, she just stared at her reflection.
Something felt off.
Not wrong.
Just different.
Like she was looking at herself through someone else's eyes.
The feeling disappeared a second later.
Then her stomach growled.
Loudly.
Selene frowned.
"I literally ate before bed."
Another growl followed.
Even louder this time.
She walked into the kitchen.
Halfway there, she stopped.
A smell drifted in from outside.
Fresh bread.
Warm and sweet.
Like it had just come out of the oven.
The bakery was across the street.
There was no reason she should have been able to smell it this clearly from inside her apartment.
Selene moved closer to the window.
The scent became stronger.
Immediately she stepped back.
"Nope."
Whatever was happening, she wasn't dealing with it before breakfast.
Coffee first.
Everything else later.
Reaching for a mug, she paused.
The dream flashed through her mind.
The silver fur.
The golden eyes.
The wolf standing beneath the moon.
Watching her.
For some reason, the dream felt unfinished.
Like it had been trying to tell her something.
Before she could think about it any longer, her phone started ringing.
Zoe Calling...
Selene groaned and answered.
"Happy day after your birthday," Zoe said immediately. "Did you survive adulthood?"
Selene laughed at herself.
"Barely."
Just like that, some of the tension disappeared.
At least for now.
.....................................
By the time Selene arrived at Crescent University later that morning, she had convinced herself that the dream meant nothing.
It was just a nightmare.
Nothing more.
The silver wolf wasn't real.
The forest wasn't real.
And the strange feeling she'd woken up with would probably disappear soon.
The campus looked exactly the way it always did. Students hurried between buildings carrying coffee and backpacks while complaining about assignments they hadn't finished.
Everything felt normal.
Which made Selene feel ridiculous for letting a dream get to her.
A hand suddenly smacked her shoulder.
She nearly jumped.
"Zoe!"
Her best friend laughed.
"Okay, seriously. What's wrong with you today?"
"Nothing."
"That was the most suspicious answer I've ever heard."
"I'm fine."
"No, you're not."
Before Selene could argue, she overheard a conversation near the fountain.
Two students were talking quietly.
"...they found tracks."
"What kind?"
"I don't know. Security thinks it was a dog."
Selene stopped walking.
The students weren't particularly close.
Yet somehow she had heard every word clearly.
For the first time that morning, she wasn't so sure everything was normal anymore.
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