Beautiful Tragedy Full Moon

Episode 3

When she arrived in the room, Alice dropped her backpack and lay down on the bed. While lying there, she suddenly sat up with a shock. After waiting for what felt like a long time for updates on Darren's death, the police finally confirmed that Darren had indeed been attacked by a wild animal—a wolf.

The police urged the public to avoid nighttime activities and to be extra cautious, as the incident could potentially happen to anyone again.

And the police are still on the hunt for the wolf that's caused such a stir in the city.

Alice got up from her bed and walked over to her desk. She opened her laptop and pressed the power button to search for information about cases of people being attacked by wolves.

The search yielded several photos of corpses that had been killed by wolf attacks.

The disturbing images made Alice quickly shut her eyes and try to close the tab.

“No wonder Uncle Cole looked so shocked when he found Darren's body," Alice said, continuing her search for information about wolves.

From the searches Alice browsed, she stumbled upon an article that told the tragic story of someone who died from a werewolf attack.

"Werewolves are real; Tragic, the story of a man who died from a werewolf attack.”

That's what Alice read in the headline of the article she was currently looking at.

"Werewolves? Do they really exist?" Alice wondered aloud.

Alice stood up from her sitting position and glanced at the clock on the wall, which already read 7 PM. She walked over to the window to see the situation outside.

"Ever since the news of Darren's death, it's been really quiet outside around this time. People are probably too scared to go out at night," Alice said.

Shortly after, Alice saw Hans walking alone towards his house. Seeing this, Alice quickly ran out to approach him.

“Hey Hans, where have you been? Why are you just getting home now?" Alice asked, hurrying to catch up to him.

Hans looked puzzled, his brow furrowed as he stared at Alice. "What's wrong? Why are you running like you're scared?"

"I was worried about you. Have you seen the news about Darren's death? The police are advising everyone to stay at home and avoid going out at night for the time being," Alice explained.

“Oh, I haven't seen the news yet. So, what did the police say? Have they figured out what happened to Darren?" Hans asked.

Alice nodded, still catching her breath, "Yeah, the police said Darren was attacked and killed by a wolf."

“Wolves? That's terrifying," Hans said, “How's Aunt Helen doing? I'm worried about her."

“I haven't seen her yet, but I'm sure it'll be tough for her to accept this reality."

"My condolences to Aunt Helen and Uncle Ben. Losing their only child must be incredibly tough," Hans said sympathetically. "Hey, didn't you say the police told us to stay indoors at night? Why are we still out here? Let's go inside. And don't hesitate to let me know if you're feeling scared," Hans suggested, showing concern for Alice's safety.

“Alice, who realized that it was very quiet outside, immediately nodded and ran into the house, just like Hans, who hurried into his home.”

After locking the door and windows, Alice went straight to her room, lay down on her bed, and hid under the blanket.

Darren's death had her spooked, and she couldn't shake the fear that the wolves might return. Being alone made it worse, but she took some comfort in knowing Hans was just next door.

The hours ticked by, and midnight arrived, but Alice's eyes remained wide with fear, her imagination running wild with thoughts of wolves approaching her home.

Still hiding under the blanket, Alice's hand fumbled for her phone, which lay nearby. Remembering Hans's words, she decided to call him, seeking comfort in her fear.

[Alice]

Hans, are you asleep? I'm scared. I don't know why the atmosphere tonight feels so tense.

It's been 10 minutes since she sent the message, and she's still not gotten a response from Hans.

Meanwhile, in his room, Hans had fallen fast asleep on his plush bed, exhausted from his activities.

But in the midst of his sleep, Hans suddenly woke up, drenched in sweat.

“Another nightmare, and why do I always dream about wolves?" Hans said, his breathing still labored.

Hans had had nightmares countless times about a pack of wolves chasing him. The wolves looked furious and were about to pounce on Hans, who was running for his life.

Even long before Darren's death, and before moving to this town, Hans had frequently dreamed about those wolves.

Hans got out of bed and headed to the kitchen to get a glass of water. However, his steps halted as he heard a faint sound coming from outside.

With a surge of courage, Hans peeked out through his window glass and spotted a cat that had just leaped into the bushes in his yard.

Hans closed the curtains and headed to the kitchen to get a glass of water before returning to his room.

When he arrived at his room, Hans took a sip of the water and set the glass on the small dresser beside his bed. Then, he reached for his phone, which was also lying on the dresser.

An hour after Alice had sent the message, Hans finally opened it and read it.

[Hans]

Alice, are you still awake? I just woke up.

***

Morning arrived. After hours of lying awake and struggling to fall asleep, Alice finally drifted off, only to wake up with heavy, sleepy eyes.

Fortunately, it was Saturday, and Alice had no plans other than relaxing at home. Still looking a bit sleepy, she headed to the bathroom to wash her face and brush her teeth before making her way to the kitchen to make breakfast.

Just as she was engrossed in cooking breakfast, Alice suddenly heard a commotion outside. Curious, she turned off the stove, left her cooking, and went outside to see what was going on.

Several residents were flocking to the intersection, and Hans, who had also heard the commotion, stepped out of his house to see what was happening.

“What's going on? Why is it so crowded?" Hans asked Alice.

Alice shrugged, "I don't know. Want to go check it out?"

Hans nodded, and together they followed the crowd to see what was happening.

"I swear, I saw it clearly! That creature was truly terrifying," said one of the men who had become the center of attention among the crowd.

The whole crowd seemed enthusiastic about the story. Ann was no exception, having joined the gathering earlier to find out what was going on.

“Aunt Ann, what's going on?" Alice asked.

Ann turned around, "David's telling a story about seeing a werewolf last night." Ann pulled Alice and Hans closer so they could hear more clearly what David was saying.

"Did the werewolf chase you? If so, how did you manage to escape?" one of the curious residents asked.

"What were you doing at the time? Hadn't the police warned us to avoid activities at night?" another resident chimed in.

“I deliberately went out at 1 am to check on the rumors about the werewolf. But the air was so cold and the atmosphere was so eerie that I decided to head back inside. However, just as I was about to step in, I saw the werewolf. It scared me so much that I ran inside and locked the door right away," David explained.

"Ah, you're just being a troublemaker. What if you ended up like Darren?"

"Yeah, and what's the point of being curious if it's going to put you in harm's way?"

“Stop doing stupid things.”

That's what the residents said to David. Some of them warned him not to do it again, while others asked David to try to capture a picture of the werewolf.

One by one, the residents began to head back to their homes, still discussing the werewolf that David had seen the night before.

“Our neighborhood isn't safe right now, so you both need to be careful and avoid going out at night," Ann warned Alice and Hans before heading back to her own home.

"Do you believe what David said?" Alice asked Hans as they walked together back home.

Hans pondered for a moment before thinking, "I won't know what to believe until I see it with my own eyes."

“Ah, that's right," Alice replied with a laugh. "Have you had breakfast yet? Let's have breakfast together at my home," Alice suggested.

Alice asked Hans to take a seat at the dining table while she continued cooking the breakfast that she had paused earlier.

Soon after, Alice came to the dining table carrying three different dishes for her and Hans to enjoy.

Alice took a plate, put rice and a spoon on it, and handed it to Hans. "Here's your rice, feel free to pick you favorite side dishes," Alice said with a smile.

Hans fell silent, staring at a silver spoon on his plate.

"Alice, do you have any wooden spoons?" Hans asked.

"Wooden spoon?" Alice paused for a moment, thinking. "I don't have any wooden spoons. What's it for?"

“Okay, hang on, I'll be back in a sec."

Hans got up from his seat and walked out of Alice's house, leaving Alice silent and confused.

Soon after, Hans returned carrying a wooden spoon and sat back down at the dining table.

"Can you take this spoon away for me?" Hans asked Alice. Confused, Alice could only nod slightly as she took the silver spoon from Hans' plate.

“You're not used to eating with silver spoons? Do you always eat with wooden spoons?" Alice asked.

Hans nodded with a smile. "Yeah, somehow I just can’t stand anything silver.”

Alice smiled, and the two of them began to enjoy their breakfast together.

"How was your sleep last night?" Hans asked after swallowing his food. "Sorry I didn't respond to your message right away, I had already fallen asleep when you sent it."

"No worries, I didn't even know what time I finally fell asleep. I'm pretty sure I was already asleep when you replied to my message in the middle of the night. What woke you up?"

“I had a nightmare that woke me up."

“Nightmare about wolves?"

Hans was taken aback. "How did you know?”

Alice laughed. "You must be thinking too much about Darren's death. Where everyone says Darren died after being attacked by wolves."

Hans smiled faintly as he returned to his breakfast. If only Alice knew, even long before Darren's death, Hans had been haunted by packs of wolves in his dreams.