Wolf Of The Present

Chapter 2-1

2

"See you tomorrow,” Katie waved as John drove away. Locking the front door of the SES building, she dashed for her car, trying in vain to stay as dry as possible. Fumbling with her wet keys, she finally managed, after several attempts, to get the key into the door lock. “Gotcha!” she exclaimed triumphantly before something was clasped over her mouth.

“No, I’ve got you,” a male voice said from directly behind her left ear. Katie’s eyes widened and her body stiffened. Struggling against the arms holding her, she swung her purse up and heard a satisfying grunt when it connected with the man’s head. Unfortunately, it wasn’t enough to lessen his hold. Grinding her heel into his right shin, she followed by throwing her weight back. It was enough to make him lose his balance, but his hold stayed firm. He took her with him when he fell to the ground and pain shot up through her shoulder and hip when they made contact with the rough driveway. Slamming her head down, she repeatedly hit the attacker’s arm against the pavement as hard as she could, loosening his hold over her mouth. She bit down hard on his hand, tasting blood, and followed immediately with an elbow to his chest. Kicking and rolling, she threw her head back into his face, finally gaining enough momentum to pull free. Scrambling up, she made it a couple feet before he was on her again, gripping her hair tightly in his fist as he smashed her head into the side of her car. Head swimming, she thrashed about blindly, gaining a few feet, only to be brought down again and again.

Somewhere in her haze, her brain started to work again, telling her she needed to try something different. She couldn’t keep this up much longer. Breaking free again, she took her own advice, Instead of moving away, she swung around and started kicking furiously at the side of his neck, not stopping until he rolled away coughing and clutching his throat. Only then did she try again to get up, stumbling and struggling against the pain, hardly aware of her surroundings. The ground dropped away, and she found herself falling, tumbling down a rock-strewn, grassy slope. She rolled to a stop, staring up at a clear sky framed by tree leaves and branches. Somewhere in the distance, she heard sirens blaring, but she couldn’t tell what direction they were coming from. Blinking, she rolled back onto her stomach and started crawling, ignoring the pain.

Meghan pulled her jacket more tightly around her chest and took in another deep breath. Just a little farther and she would be on campus. The rain had reduced to a light drizzle a few blocks back. Not that it mattered, she was already soaked to the bone. Between this rain storm and the one earlier, she probably resembled a prune by now. It would take a week just to dry out her shoes.

Out of the corner of her eye, she saw a car pull up by the sidewalk. Glancing over, she was greeted by Officer Mark Stevenson’s handsome face. A momentary burst of excitement at the prospect of seeing and talking to him again bubbled up in her chest, but she quickly fortified herself, calmly walking over to his open window. Leaning on the frame of the window, he shot her a charming grin, flashing his pearly whites when he looked up at her. “Need a ride?”

“No, I’m fine.” She smiled ever so slightly and started walking again. Mark’s car crept forward, following her tempo. She almost smiled despite herself at the playful gesture. It was enough to break her out of her sour mood, at least for the moment.

“Are you sure?” he called out his window, completely undaunted by her refusal or the rain falling in through his open window.

“I’m fine, I don’t mind bad weather.” Keeping her gaze forward, she kept walking.

Mark took in her appearance and agreed that the rain didn’t seem to bother her. Still, something was obviously on Meg’s mind. Granted, he didn’t know her very well, but she was more subdued than he recalled her being. Something serious was obviously bothering her, and he didn’t need to be a mind reader to notice. “To be honest, that’s not the only reason I asked. I assume you’ve heard about the recent abductions in this area? It’s not really safe to walk alone.”

She looked over at him and smiled. It was kind of nice to have someone worry about her. Nicole was right, Mark was a decent guy. “Yeah, but I’m fine. Trust me. I know how to take care of myself. I’ve been taking self-defense classes since middle school. Besides, I thought the guy behind all that had been arrested.”

Mark shrugged. “Until he’s tried and jailed, you never really know.” He thought back to those inconsistencies in the case that Susan had mentioned earlier. What if there was something to them? What if they’d arrested the wrong guy? He hadn’t worked the case, so he didn’t know for sure. It was probably nothing, but it didn’t hurt to play it safe. “You sure you don’t want a ride?” He hated to leave Meg alone out here. She might be right about being able to take care of herself, but she also looked like she needed some company. Having been alone so much of his life, he recognized the need in others when he saw it.

She smiled again. “I’m sure. I’m just going to the Registrar’s Office to take care of some stuff, so I shouldn’t be out too late. And I promise to call campus security if I see anything suspicious.”

Nicole would probably kick her for blowing Mark off like this. Before she’d left on her honeymoon, she’d suggested Meg give him a call. Said they’d make a cute couple, whatever that meant. They’d only spent one night together, on Nicole’s couch when Mark was making sure she was okay after an attack. They’d shared some pizza and Meg had fallen asleep leaning on him. They hadn’t spoken to each other again until David and Nicole’s wedding, and not since. They weren’t a couple, they were barely acquaintances.

“Okay, then.” He returned her smile and conceded the issue. He couldn’t force her to come with him, even for her own safety. “Have a good day.” With that, he rolled up the window and drove off.

She sighed. A good day. Ha. She didn’t even know what one of those felt like anymore. Walking the rest of the way to the Registrar’s building in silence, she made her way to the Bursar’s Office and took her place in the extensive line. Combined with the people trying to get out the rain, it made for a very crowded hallway. Absentmindedly, Meg watched the puddle of rainwater beginning to form at her feet. The patter of droplets hitting the floor was almost calming.

The line moved forward slowly. After about a half hour, Meg finally made it to the door, leaving a long stream of water in her wake. Standing outside the main waiting room of the office, she stared into the reflective glass and sighed. She resembled a drowned rat and she supposed she should be cold. After all, the administrators on campus cared for nobody’s comfort but their own, so the air conditioners were running on full blast. The other rain drenched students where shaking and adding their own contributions to the chorus of complaints on the temperature in the building. Meg didn’t seem to notice much of anything anymore. It was as if she was watching herself go through the motions, without actually experiencing anything.

Staring into her reflection, Meg let her mind drift. Sounds around her began to muffle, time standing still. The other students disappeared from her perception. There was only Meg and her reflection, alone in contemplation. Slowly, the image shifted. The colors swirled and changed until she wasn’t staring at her reflection anymore. She glanced around and discovered her surroundings had changed as well. This room was bare, dark and musty with sunlight streaming in through holes in the boards making up the wall. Looking ahead, she saw an antique mirror, set in a tarnished frame. The reflection revealed the face of a woman, someone she knew. Struggling to place the image, Meg looked more closely.

The woman’s hair was long and dark. Sunlight glinted off a single hair, and the woman leaned in for a closer examination. Separating the strands of her hair with her fingers, she pulled the single strand in front of her face, examining it speculatively in the dim light.

It was a single white hair. Only then did Meghan realize she was looking at Mara. The woman owned a local clothing store, although she kept mostly to herself – an oddity for someone who owned and operated a business alone. She’d always stuck out in Meg’s mind as being a secretive person. Given she was relatively well acquainted with David and Mark, and from what Meghan knew about David and Nicole’s shared lycanthrope heritage, her instincts about Mara were probably accurate. But there were subtle differences between this vision and the real person which set her apart as perhaps a younger version of Mara. The most obvious and noticeable difference was her trademark hair. Mara seemed strange without the shock of white hair at her temple. It had been a part of Mara for as long as Meg could recall. The Mara Meg knew didn’t have many wrinkles or other signs of aging to speak of, but this version of Mara appeared to be a woman with a few less worries and a little more hope.

The Mara that Meg was seeing looked at the single grey hair and smiled wistfully, shaking her head. “I guess a thousand years old is old enough to go grey.”

A tap on her shoulder brought Meghan back to the present. She was in line at the Bursar’s Office, staring at her own reflection in the glass doors. “Come on, move it already,” someone called out from behind her. Turning her attention forward, she noticed the line had progressed several feet. She stepped forward, shaking off the strange vision and grabbed the forms she’d need to fill out from the trays on the island in the center of the room. She pulled a pen from her purse and filled in the required information as best she could. Water dripped onto several spots, causing the ink to smear and run, but it was the best she could do. After another thirty minutes or so of moving forward two feet at a time, she finally made her way to the desk. Meg waited for the student worker to acknowledge her presence and stepped forward. The girl, who was engaged in a loud, obviously non-work-related phone call, barely spared Meg a second glance as she took her resignation paperwork and threw it onto a pile of similar forms. With a distracted hand wave, Meg was summarily dismissed.

She walked outside and noticed it wasn’t raining anymore. It was still a miserable day, but it was calm at last. Not bothering to avoid puddles along her way, Meg walked back to her apartment in silence. That was that. She’d lose her apartment now, because it was student housing. Not that it mattered. Even if they did let her stay, she couldn’t afford it. She wouldn’t be able to keep her student job, either. Still, even that wasn’t what bothered her the most. Slipping her hand into her pocket, she touched the letter and the note and shook off a shiver. Glancing frantically from side to side, she almost expected Marlay to jump out at her from the bushes at any moment. Starting to feel slightly panicked, Meg hurried the rest of the way home.

The smell of rain was still in the air. Walking through the small park, Durante snickered at the absence of activity – not that he was the sole cause. Humans always avoided anything to do with nature in all its violent glory, such as the earlier storm. But the animals, they knew he was near. Animals always knew and fled in fear, sensing a nearby predator. Humans weren’t so observant. They might sometimes sense something dangerous nearby, but they usually used those logical minds to rationally explain away their fears, ignoring their instincts. Lucky for them, he didn’t kill humans very often… any more.

The wind blew toward him, bringing the scent of blood – human blood. Curious, he walked toward the scent, rewarded by the sight of a badly injured young woman crawling blindly through the bushes. Her blonde hair was matted with blood and dirt in several spots, and her blouse and skirt were torn and filthy. She wouldn’t last much longer, he could sense her strength waning. The pull of death was near, overwhelming her with pain and exhaustion. She turned a bleary gaze up in his direction, and he almost believed she saw him with her vibrant, bright blue eyes, but that was impossible. No human could see him, not unless he willed it. She probably only sensed his presence. Being near death, her senses would most likely be heightened. As he watched, she collapsed into oblivion, unable to fight the pain and blood loss any longer.