A Wolf At The Door

Huit

"I knew immediately once my eyes fell upon you," Arielle rasped, clinging to the iron bars. "The same brown curls. The same fair skin. You were nearly identical to my brother."

An invisible hand seized hold of Olivier's throat. "You-Your what?"

She ignored him, continuing to speak in her manic tone. "But your mother," she growled. "Your mother seduced him away from me. She destroyed our family... She destroyed us!"

Olivier found himself teetering back, having to force himself upright at the last second. Bile was starting to rise from his stomach, burning its way back up his gullet. A part of him couldn't believe her words while the other half refused to. The implication was just too horrific to fully comprehend.

Even Father Samuel seemed too appalled to speak.

All the while, Arielle's face had grown flustered, and sweat dripped from her brow. Her eyes burned with hunger through the strands of her covering her eager face. But this was not the usual kind of hunger. This was something else.

Something more intense.

A sudden chill ran up Olivier's spine as he realized this look was directed solely at him.

A strained moan erupted from Arielle's lips, and her hand fell away from the window. She wrapped her arms around herself, giving another painful groan as she tore the sides of her dress.

"A-Arielle?" Olivier inched forward, only to scurry back when a piercing scream emitted from the cell.

"The wolves... will rise... again," she breathed before collapsing to the floor.

After a few beats of silence, Olivier slowly approached the cell window, trying to catch a glimpse of the woman.

But what was lying on the other side was no woman. Not anymore.

Between the heavy pants, the creature steadied itself on all fours, digging its nails into the floor. With its back arched into the air, it started to sprout patches of long, brown hair from deep within its skin. The spinal bone that was visible from underneath the skin was soon covered with a coat of fur. Even from where he stood, he could hear bones cracking and muscles stretching as the thing grew larger. What was left of the dress quickly shed to the floor in tatters. As it rose on its hind legs, it pressed a shaky paw onto the wall in front of it, screeching its sharpened claw alongside the stone.

Olivier let out a breath he hadn't realized he had been holding. He clamped a hand over his mouth, unable to tear his eyes off the creature. Its head turned instantly, fixating its glowing eyes on the trembling boy.

With a low snarl, the beast charged forth, leaping through the door and smashing it to pieces. It would have crashed right into Olivier if not for Father Samuel, who blocked its frenzied path with a bullet to the shoulder. It let out a shrill whimper as the bullet hissed its way through the flesh.

But it did not stop its charge. As Father Samuel prepared to fire another shot, the wolf sprung forward, knocking the man down with its massive paw.

Seeing him fly across the room was enough to break Olivier from his stupor and send him running. From behind, the creature snarled again before dropping down on all fours and scampering after him.

The hallway seemed to stretch on forever into the darkness. As to why the candles were not burning, Olivier had no time to guess.

Only to run.

With every blind twist and turn through the monastery halls, this was all he could focus on. Not on his aching muscles or his labored breathing, but on getting away from the monster pursuing him.

On survival.

He knew it was right at his heels; he could feel its hot breath right on his neck. If he were to trip, it would surely overtake him.

From amidst the blackness, a light in the distance flickered with the promise of safety. It was so close, only a few feet away.

A sudden burst of strength overcame him, pushing him out of the darkness and into the light.

"Leave! Get away from here!" He rushed past the startled monks, continuing to scream with every fiber of his being.

He nearly stopped, knowing he should render aid to his fellow brothers. But the growls from behind reminded him of the death that awaited if he did.

So he kept running, trying to block out the sounds of screams and ripped flesh from his ears.