Monkey Meets Wolf

Chapter One: Run, Forest, Run!

Hard to turn around when there's a devil on your heels. Or a big freaking werewolf.

I was minding my own business, I promise you. Not bothering anyone. Just running along an old path through the woods as I did every other night. I'm not some "she was asking for it" tragic (moronic) heroine. I wasn't looking through my creepy great-grandmothers witchy stuff, I wasn't trying to talk to the dead through an Ouija board, I wasn't stupidly walking into an abandoned house with a serial killer on the loose, and I most certainly wasn't going to prom. I wasn't asking for trouble, I really wasn't.

And, of course, it found me. It was big and hulky and wheezy and smelly. Kind of like my uncle Drew. Then I was running from it for a good hour or so. Trouble. Not my uncle. Probably was a bit more than an hour, though. I didn't really have time to keep checking my watch. I just started running and didn't stop until the thing finally caught up to me. Or at least its teeth did.

I was sitting home alone before all this shit went down with my little beagle-terrier cross Kipper, this little yippy thing that my widowing husband decided to get when we moved to Beacon Hills. We were plopped on the couch, watching The Vampire Diaries, my guilty pleasure, shoveling strawberry ice cream into my mouth with a serving spoon while my pup chewed on his favorite bone in my lap.

Looking at my watch, it was getting around time to head out for my every-other-night-forget-the-dead-husband midnight run. I sat up, stretching my arms overhead and distinctly feeling my shirt lose its tension suddenly. I looked down to see that the last button on my flannel had popped off onto the coffee table. I picked the tiny little piece of plastic and stared at it.

"You suck." I insulted the incessant thing.

Not really my greatest work, but I didn't have the energy anymore. I used to be the sassiest girl for miles. I was throwin' shade like you couldn't believe. People would bow before me in the streets for I was the queen. Around that time though I mostly stayed home. I'd screw around with my truck, never could figure out what was making that rumbling sound, head to work, go for a run, maybe I'd attend a lacrosse game. Beacon Hills was known for their lacrosse above all else, and James used to play in high school so I had a bit of a soft spot for it.

Oh, James was my husband, by the way. He died about a year before this shit happened.

But run, yes. I was going out for a run. Silently I tried to will Kipper off of my lap, to no avail. He was blissfully ignorant to my presence most of the time no matter what sort of telepathic message I was trying to send him. So I finally just ripped the bone out of his mouth and tossed it across the room, effectively sending him after it. I laughed at the little idiot, standing and brushing off the dog hair from my lap.

Quickly I got changed into some sportier gear. Leggings, sports bra, sneakers, they were of some similar color and probably looked quite nice on me. I'm going to bore you with irrelevant details, I won't tell you how nice the fabric felt on my skin or whatever actual writer's do. The important fact is I was clothed and ready to go, picking up my iPhone from the table and holstering it against my arm. Kipper didn't even notice that I was leaving.

"Dumb dog." I muttered to myself as I refreshed his water and food, watching him gnaw on a bone that was about twice the size of his head. "You keep trying to conquer that bone little slugger, I'll be back."

Shouldering on my jacket I turned out most of the lights and I headed out the door, locking it behind me. I inhaled the cold autumn air and then quickly clutched at my sides, cursing a brisk wind that blew right through me in that exact moment. Quickly I fidgeted with my phone to get some music playing before my fingers decided to fall off. I settled for some Ellie Goulding and I took off running towards the path through the woods behind my house. My dumbest decision, quite possibly ever.

My run was liberating, as usual. Sweat cascading down my face, the burn in my calves, the smell of fresh pine needles, and a general feel of total inhibition, I lived for it. It really made me think back to high school when I ran cross-country in Rue de Fleur. I tried to get away from my nasty sister Amber as much as possible. So I did whatever school activity I could to keep me away from home. I worked at a diner, ran cross-country, sang in choir at various venues around California, and goofed around at my future husband's house with all of his half-brothers. And then eventually just with him in the back of his car.

I often thought about my high school days on my runs, made it easier to run past the old Hale house and not be entirely creeped out by it. The thing moaned. An old ruin of a mansion that burned down a few days after James and I moved to Beacon Hills. Killed an entire family, incinerated them. Not something I liked to think about. One thing on a list of many.

Up until about fifteen minutes into my trip through the woods, I had no idea anything was wrong on that oh-so-normal night. Everything was as I remembered it, remnants of teenagers sneaking around smoking pot, the carving "Derek + Paige 4E" in the same tree it had always been, the same eviscerated deer laying across the path – wait. That was new. That's how I knew something was up.

Between gagging at the sight of a deer being completely gutted on the ground in front of me and trying to figure out what sort of hunter would rip apart game so messily and thoroughly, I realized that there was probably a bear lurking around. Only something that big could leave those large marks. I turned around, wondering if I should head back home or try and find a ranger station.

I didn't get much of a choice when I found myself looking into the eyes of a monstrous beast not ten feet to my left.

I turned sharply, falling to the ground and quickly scrambling back onto my feet. The thing was huge, definitely a bear. Or Bigfoot. It certainly wasn't Bambi. I started running away from it as fast as I could, sprinting through fallen branches and leaves, ignoring the pain in my shins as they were being sliced open by dry brush and God knew what else.

The thing, Bambi, Sasquatch, Elvis, whatever, was on me in a heartbeat. It threw me to the ground before I could even get a head start. I felt a sudden and extreme pain in my arm. Ow. I looked to see the muzzle of it, its teeth sinking into my skin and threatening to snap off one of my only few good appendages left. I started screaming, desperately kicking at the cinderblock leeched onto me and trying to ignore the feeling of my flesh ripping.

Finally I landed one good kick on its – snout? The thing looked a lot like a wolf from that angle, but I really didn't care. Its grip slackened and with another good kick I was off running again, ducking and weaving, careful of my injured arm since it felt like it was going to fall off. Running at full speed got me closer to home then it took to get me out there. I practically ran into the back door, fumbling through my pockets for my keys while I tried not to pass out from the blood loss. Frantically I looked back, not seeing the thing I jammed the key in the deadbolt and turned it, falling into my empty house and kicking the door shut behind me.

Kipper was already barking like mad, probably sensing trouble long before I got there. The warrior was standing between me and the door defensively like a German Shepard. I sat up and practically ripped off my jacket, feeling pieces of fabric being pulled out of my arm as I chucked it across the room. That was a nasty bite. The diameter of the things teeth had to be at least two inches wide.

Quickly I made my way over to the sink and started running water through my gaping arm holes. There was blood everywhere. The smell was metallic and pungent and gross and my head was throbbing from the loss of vital red fluid. I wasn't sure whether or not I should disinfect it, because I was definitely going to the hospital, no questions about that. Truthfully I just wanted to stop looking at it so I sort of stumbled over to the fridge and pulled down the "big boo-boo" supplies.

I didn't wait for it to stop bleeding because I might've died before that happened. Having the box in my hand I fell onto my knees and did the best I could. That meaning I simply loaded on the gauze and I wrapped it up in tape. Leaning against the cabinets I pulled out my phone and called a friend that was well versed in such matters as people nearly dying.

"Sheriff?" I asked into the receiver when the call connected.

"Brooke?" He returned with another question. "This isn't really a good time, there's something out here-"

"Oh, I think I know what you're talking about. It just attacked me and now I'm sort of bleeding to death." I informed without an ounce of urgency in my tone. "I'm back at my house if you want someone to come and grab me and take me to the hospital."

He barked something at one of his lieutenants before returning his attention back to me. "Someone will be there soon, Brooke. Just hang in there."

"Thanks much Sheriff!" I exclaimed happily as I felt my consciousness slipping.

Not able to hold my hand up anymore it fell to the floor, my phone scattering across my cheap stick on tiles. I really did lose a lot of blood. It had pooled significantly where I fell onto the floor trying to get into the house, less so where I was sitting. Kipper was still trying to get out, barking non-stop out the window. I grabbed a towel and threw it at him. The barking was giving me a headache. Or the dying thing. It startled him only slightly enough to realize that the person that feeds him was lying painfully on the floor.

He trotted over to me, nosing at my injuries. I winced, but I didn't feel much. My whole arm had sort of gone numb. Probably a bad sign, didn't really care. Kipper was pawing at my poor attempts to bandage, causing me to realize I'd left a good portion of it uncovered. He started licking it.

"That isn't sanitary boy." I joked weakly, not bothering to stop him. I simply placed my hand on his head and scratched him behind the ears. I was alright, really. I mean, it was only the rending of my flesh. No biggie. Just a bite, right?

Ha. Ha ha. Ha ha ha ha ha ha. I'm funny.

Author's Note: Tada! Here we go. One chapter every two days. xoxo, Momma Love