Swan Song || The Lost Boys - & The One Who Found Them...

Chapter XVII ~ ᛏ (Tiwaz) Part IV - Demonized & Demoralized

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[ Small dots of light danced across the forest floor & the moon finally broke through the wall of clouds, the swaying branches shattering & scattering the pale silvery beams into particles as they illuminated the forest before me. The light was faint yet bright enough for me to see several steps ahead, providing me with a certain sense of security as the forest grew thicker & the trees seemed to inch towards me.

Something wet from above landed on my forehead, resting there right between my eyebrows before it ran down the bridge of my nose & eventually dropped to the floor.
The same happened again, this time on my right shoulder, & the one after that landed on my cheek, just when a gentle tapping sound began to fill the air all around me, a dulcet pitter-patter whose voice soon echoed throughout the entire forest.

It's raining...

And that's when I first saw it... Or rather, him. Right there, a few feet away under a pine tree large enough to provide complete shelter from the rain, its giant branches spread like wings.
Right there, surrounded by roots protruding from the forest floor & leaves long decayed, barely receiving the moon's attention as the sky once more began to darken...

A wolf. ]

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" I can hear a phone buzzing. "

" Oh. Thanks. "
Freeing myself from Marko's embrace I made my way across the room towards my bag, for some reason on my tip-toes, & pulled out my phone after a brief search.
The name I saw rapidly flash on the screen caused my heart to jump straight into my throat.

Oh, shit...!

It was my boss.

" Mr. Hiller! "

" Miss Hella!! What a relief to hear your voice! You didn't show up at the office this morning & we were genuinely concerned that something had happened to you! "

The lump that had formed in my throat was now so thick, I could barely swallow.
I had actually missed today's shift at the translation agency!

" Oh no.... I... I'm so deeply sorry, Mr. Hiller! I must have misread my schedule, I was absolutely certain that my next shift would take place tomorrow afternoon! This... This has never happened before... "

" So, does that mean all is well with you?? ", my boss asked in the calmest voice possible which honestly caught me a bit off guard.

" Yeah. Yeah, I'm fine. It's just... A friend of mine went missing & we found him no more than half an hour ago, so everything is a little... intense right now... "

" Good God, Miss Hella! That sounds awful! I hope nothing bad happened to your friend?? "

Contrary to past experiences with other people & co-workers, Mr. Hiller's questions regarding Michael's as well as my own wellbeing came from a place of genuine concern rather than blunt curiosity, & it made me unbelievably happy. For once in my life I felt appreciated in my working environment; not just as a worker, but as a human too.

" Unfortunately we don't know that yet... The paramedics are on their way now & should be here any minute. We hope that they can tell us more... "

" I understand, Miss Hella! Listen. Do not worry about your shift, we should be able to handle today without your presence. You stay with your friends & make sure everything & everyone is safe & sound before you get back here, alright?? "