HOME | DD

Description
It was a dark and windy October night, the kind of night when you want to be curled up by the fire with a cup of hot cocoa and a blanket, not outside in your pajamas taking out the trash. Of course, that's exactly what I was doing at the moment.

My name is Joe. I've been living by myself for almost 4 months now - just moved into a nice, small house by the woods - and I have so many new responsibilities. I cook my own meals, do my own laundry, and yes, even take out the trash. It's not easy being independent.

I was just going to close the lid on the garbage can when I heard it. It, being a loud, chilling animal howl. The lid slipped from my grasp and met the ground with a loud clash. I froze in place, not even bothering to pick it up; I was too afraid. I remember thinking that if I stayed perfectly still long enough, I'd be safe from any harm.

Another howl, this time closer. Slowly, carefully, I turned to the direction of the woods. My eyes widened in horror as I saw a pair of gleaming yellow eyes staring straight at me. It, whatever it was, could see me.

I backed away from the woods and towards my house, but I didn't seem to be getting any farther from the creature. It was moving towards me.

The animal came to the opening of the wood, and I could see it clearly now in the light of the full moon. It was a wolf, a big, grey, hairy wolf, with giant, razor-like fangs and a low, menacing growl. I ran.

I did not look back; I just ran to the nearest entrance of the house. I ended up tugging at my inconveniently locked cellar door. I chanced a glance behind me.

The wolf was right there behind me, glaring at me with bloodthirsty eyes. It had me backed into a corner, trapped. I stood stock still and shut my eyes, silently praying for the nightmare to end.

The animal let out a noise like something between a roar and a scream, a ferocious sort of battle-cry. I staggered backwards against the wall of my house as a great force pushed against me, and I felt a sharp pain in my right arm.

Coming to my senses now, I placed both arms in front of me and pushed forward with all of my might, shoving the heavy weight off of me. My eyes were now open and I could see a clear path to the front of my house. I ran as fast as I could, got inside, and shut the door behind me.

I collapsed to the floor, my right arm hitting the doorknob on the way. I cursed loudly and clutched my arm. I realized now that I was bleeding.

I got to my feet, slowly, and staggered to the bathroom, grabbing a towel and shoving it to my wound. Within a minute the towel was soaked with blood. I felt faint and I was breathing heavily. Then I passed out.

I woke up on the bathroom floor; my arm had ceased bleeding over night, but I must have lost a lot of blood. Sunlight was creeping through the window, and it seemed strangely bright. I moved my right hand to shield my eyes.

Just that one movement of my arm sent pain through every part of my body. I cringed.

I hadn't spotted the wolf nor had I heard of anybody seeing one since that night. It took about 3 weeks for my arm to fully heal. On the first week, I went to the doctor and he examined my arm. He said the bite was very unusual, and he sent me home with a patched up right arm and a bruised left arm from a tetnis shot. On the fourth week, my scar began to sting like hell.

It was at the end of the fourth week when the incident occured. I was heating up Thanksgiving leftovers in the kitchen. It was 6:30 and the sun had just set.

A breeze blew through the open window. I went to close it, but paused as I noticed the moon in the sky. It was full.

My outstretched arm - my right arm - came into the moonlight, and my scar seared with pain. I dropped the plate of food in my other hand and grabbed my right arm.

Suddenly, my body became limp, and I fell to the floor. I was paralyzed, unable to move... voluntarily. My entire body began to shudder violently. In a moment, it was over.

I stood up, and somehow, I felt different. The room seemed larger, and darker underneath the electric light. I was not myself, and whatever the reason, I chose to ignore it.

I looked at the dropped plate on the floor. A piece of turkey breast was lying next to it, and stuffing was strewn all over the place. I leaned down and sniffed it. Then I stuck out my tongue and licked the stuffing.

Yuck! It tasted like paper. I turned to the turkey. The aroma was so pleasant, so inviting. I dug my teeth into it, hungrily, and then swallowed it whole. Surprised and ashamed by my own actions and ill manners, I left the room.

In the living room, I found all of the windows wide open. The room was flooded with the glistening light of the moon. It beckoned to me.

I jumped out of the window, which startled me, so I let out a cry. This startled me even more, because my voice was not my own. It sounded inhuman, even animal-like.

For some odd reason, I decided to run into the woods. My legs carried me away swiftly through the dark. I ran faster and faster against the wind, with an agility that did not belong to me. The feeling was incredible.

When my limbs finally began to tire, I slowed to a stop. I looked at my surroundings; I was deep into the woods. It was dark out, but I seemed to be able to see everything clearly. The moon shone through the trees, illuminating everything with its silver glow. Everything around me, I realized, was in black and white.

I heard the rustling of leaves, loud and clear, yet from far away. I turned my head in that direction. Something was moving behind a bush; I could smell it.

Aware and confident of my newfound senses, I crouched down and moved slowly towards the bush, without making a sound. I stepped on a branch, which cracked. The rustling stopped.

I sniffed the air. The animal was still there. I dared to move a little closer. Then I saw it. Two little black eyes, peeping out at me.

I could feel the fear surrounding the poor creature. It was thick, like the summer's heat. I almost felt bad for the thing. Which is why I was surprised by what I did next.

I jumped onto the bush, but the animal was gone in an instant. Disappointed, and a little weirded out, I turned around and decided to head home. I had had enough of this strangeness for one night.

I made my way through the woods, in what I believed to be the direction of my house. A little while later, I was able to see my house from far away, with the light still on in the kitchen. This was odd, I thought, because I normally had a terrible sense of direction. Then again, everything was off tonight.

I stopped short and my ears perked up when I heard a low growl. I immediately thought, it's the wolf!

My nose told me that I was right, that there was an animal nearby. No, not an animal. A foe. Its stench was so thick and pungent, I couldn't miss it.

I turned towards the smell, and there, indeed, was the wolf - that very same wolf that bit me that one night. I grinned from ear to ear; tonight I would have my revenge.

The wolf stepped towards me, and I realized for a moment that I did not have a weapon to fight with. I ignored that fact, however, confident that somehow I'd be able to take on a wolf with my bare hands.

The wolf growled louder and the crouched down, ready to pounce. I stood my ground, ready to defend myself. The wolf jumped at me and I moved out of the way. It wasn't expecting that, and it fell to the ground behind me. I turned to it and jumped onto it, scratching and biting and doing anything I could think of to attack it. Apparently this was working, because the wolf whimpered and scrambled out of my reach. One of its paws was wounded, and had to limp in order to walk. Serves you right, I thought.

The wolf looked like it was going to cry or something. It sprawled out onto the ground and began to lick its paw. Then it looked up at me, and, as if noticing that I was watching it, turned onto its back, exposing its belly.

The wolf was a girl. I thought, I just attacked a girl! Sure, it was a wild animal, but it was a girl! And what's worse, I thought, I bit it. I bit a girl. No, nevermind that, I bit a live animal! What was I thinking? Human beings don't do that.

The wolf, after eyeing me for a while, stood up and limped over towards me. She circled me a few times. What was going on? Did she not want to kill me for hurting her? What on earth were her intentions?

A thought occured to me, that maybe, from the beginning of the fight, she had not intended to kill me at all. Pushing this ridiculous thought out of my mind, I backed away from the wolf and ran through the woods, back to my house.

The she-wolf did not follow me, luckily. I went up the front steps and reached the doorknob. I inaudibly gasped.

My hand was... was a paw! A big, furry brown paw! I jumped down from the steps and tried to look at myself. I thought I spotted the end of a tail behind me. I turned around to get a better look, but the tail moved as I moved. I kept turning, in circles, to see it, but it was a lost cause.

Joe, I thought, you're chasing your tail. What's wrong with you? You're an animal! You've got to seek help.

I stopped and stared at my house. Okay, I thought, I'll go inside and call somebody. Vanessa, I'll call Vanessa. She's a psychiatrist; she'll know what to do.

Vanessa was my girlfriend of a year and six months. She lived just on the other side of the woods. I realized that if I told her what had happened to me, she'd think I was nuts, but I was desperate for help.

I jumped through the window of my house and looked around the living room for my phone. It was lying on my sofa. I lowered my face towards it, grabbed it between my teeth, and pulled. I dropped the phone onto the floor and used my paw to dial the number. Vanessa's loud, cheery voice came up.

"Hi, you've reached Vanessa's voicemail. Please leave a message after the beep. BEEEEEEEEEEEEP."

I tried to say something, but all that came out was a series of grunts and groans and barks. It was no use. I turned the phone off.

I suddenly felt very sick and very tired. I looked up at the couch thoughtfully, then jumped up onto it and laid down. I fell immediately asleep.

I woke up with a splitting headache and a frown. My slumber had not succeeded in wiping away any memories of last night. I got up, pulled myself into the bathroom, and looked in the mirror. I was human. This disappointed me only because I now had no proof that last night's events were true, and because I knew that it was real, and not just some wacky dream.

The phone rang. I picked it up.
"Hello?"
"Hi, Joe!" It was Vanessa.
"Hi. What's up?"
"You called last night, didn't you? I was worried because you sounded sick in your message. Are you okay?"
"Yes," I said, "I'm fine."
"Okay. I'm going to come over today; I hope that's alright."
"Sure," I said.
"Good. Are you sure you're okay, though? Do you need me to bring you anything?"
A free trip to Maui, I thought. Instead I just said "Uh... some aspirin?"
"Okay. I'll see you in a few."
"Okay. Bye."
"Bye. I love you," she said.
"Love you too."
Click.

I hung up the phone and sat down, rubbing my hands through my hair frustratedly. I really needed a vacation.

I took a shower and got changed before Vanessa came over. She brought with her three bottles of aspirin and some chicken soup, which didn't surprise me. When she saw that I was pretty beat up, I just told her that I had gotten into a fight with a co-worker.

"Why don't you lie down," she'd said, "and I'll feed you." I laughed at this, but she didn't seem to think it was funny, so I did as she said.

As she was feeding me, I noticed that she was using her right hand to hold the spoon. Vanessa was left-handed. When I asked her about this, she shoved her left hand into her coat pocket.

"Let me see," I said. She obeyed, taking her left hand out of her pocket. I looked at it, and gasped. On her hand was a huge bite mark.

Description
It was a dark and windy October night, the kind of night when you want to be curled up by the fire with a cup of hot cocoa and a blanket, not outside in your pajamas taking out the trash. Of course, that's exactly what I was doing at the moment.

My name is Joe. I've been living by myself for almost 4 months now - just moved into a nice, small house by the woods - and I have so many new responsibilities. I cook my own meals, do my own laundry, and yes, even take out the trash. It's not easy being independent.

I was just going to close the lid on the garbage can when I heard it. It, being a loud, chilling animal howl. The lid slipped from my grasp and met the ground with a loud clash. I froze in place, not even bothering to pick it up; I was too afraid. I remember thinking that if I stayed perfectly still long enough, I'd be safe from any harm.

Another howl, this time closer. Slowly, carefully, I turned to the direction of the woods. My eyes widened in horror as I saw a pair of gleaming yellow eyes staring straight at me. It, whatever it was, could see me.

I backed away from the woods and towards my house, but I didn't seem to be getting any farther from the creature. It was moving towards me.

The animal came to the opening of the wood, and I could see it clearly now in the light of the full moon. It was a wolf, a big, grey, hairy wolf, with giant, razor-like fangs and a low, menacing growl. I ran.

I did not look back; I just ran to the nearest entrance of the house. I ended up tugging at my inconveniently locked cellar door. I chanced a glance behind me.

The wolf was right there behind me, glaring at me with bloodthirsty eyes. It had me backed into a corner, trapped. I stood stock still and shut my eyes, silently praying for the nightmare to end.

The animal let out a noise like something between a roar and a scream, a ferocious sort of battle-cry. I staggered backwards against the wall of my house as a great force pushed against me, and I felt a sharp pain in my right arm.

Coming to my senses now, I placed both arms in front of me and pushed forward with all of my might, shoving the heavy weight off of me. My eyes were now open and I could see a clear path to the front of my house. I ran as fast as I could, got inside, and shut the door behind me.

I collapsed to the floor, my right arm hitting the doorknob on the way. I cursed loudly and clutched my arm. I realized now that I was bleeding.

I got to my feet, slowly, and staggered to the bathroom, grabbing a towel and shoving it to my wound. Within a minute the towel was soaked with blood. I felt faint and I was breathing heavily. Then I passed out.

I woke up on the bathroom floor; my arm had ceased bleeding over night, but I must have lost a lot of blood. Sunlight was creeping through the window, and it seemed strangely bright. I moved my right hand to shield my eyes.

Just that one movement of my arm sent pain through every part of my body. I cringed.

I hadn't spotted the wolf nor had I heard of anybody seeing one since that night. It took about 3 weeks for my arm to fully heal. On the first week, I went to the doctor and he examined my arm. He said the bite was very unusual, and he sent me home with a patched up right arm and a bruised left arm from a tetnis shot. On the fourth week, my scar began to sting like hell.

It was at the end of the fourth week when the incident occured. I was heating up Thanksgiving leftovers in the kitchen. It was 6:30 and the sun had just set.

A breeze blew through the open window. I went to close it, but paused as I noticed the moon in the sky. It was full.

My outstretched arm - my right arm - came into the moonlight, and my scar seared with pain. I dropped the plate of food in my other hand and grabbed my right arm.

Suddenly, my body became limp, and I fell to the floor. I was paralyzed, unable to move... voluntarily. My entire body began to shudder violently. In a moment, it was over.

I stood up, and somehow, I felt different. The room seemed larger, and darker underneath the electric light. I was not myself, and whatever the reason, I chose to ignore it.

I looked at the dropped plate on the floor. A piece of turkey breast was lying next to it, and stuffing was strewn all over the place. I leaned down and sniffed it. Then I stuck out my tongue and licked the stuffing.

Yuck! It tasted like paper. I turned to the turkey. The aroma was so pleasant, so inviting. I dug my teeth into it, hungrily, and then swallowed it whole. Surprised and ashamed by my own actions and ill manners, I left the room.

In the living room, I found all of the windows wide open. The room was flooded with the glistening light of the moon. It beckoned to me.

I jumped out of the window, which startled me, so I let out a cry. This startled me even more, because my voice was not my own. It sounded inhuman, even animal-like.

For some odd reason, I decided to run into the woods. My legs carried me away swiftly through the dark. I ran faster and faster against the wind, with an agility that did not belong to me. The feeling was incredible.

When my limbs finally began to tire, I slowed to a stop. I looked at my surroundings; I was deep into the woods. It was dark out, but I seemed to be able to see everything clearly. The moon shone through the trees, illuminating everything with its silver glow. Everything around me, I realized, was in black and white.

I heard the rustling of leaves, loud and clear, yet from far away. I turned my head in that direction. Something was moving behind a bush; I could smell it.

Aware and confident of my newfound senses, I crouched down and moved slowly towards the bush, without making a sound. I stepped on a branch, which cracked. The rustling stopped.

I sniffed the air. The animal was still there. I dared to move a little closer. Then I saw it. Two little black eyes, peeping out at me.

I could feel the fear surrounding the poor creature. It was thick, like the summer's heat. I almost felt bad for the thing. Which is why I was surprised by what I did next.

I jumped onto the bush, but the animal was gone in an instant. Disappointed, and a little weirded out, I turned around and decided to head home. I had had enough of this strangeness for one night.

I made my way through the woods, in what I believed to be the direction of my house. A little while later, I was able to see my house from far away, with the light still on in the kitchen. This was odd, I thought, because I normally had a terrible sense of direction. Then again, everything was off tonight.

I stopped short and my ears perked up when I heard a low growl. I immediately thought, it's the wolf!

My nose told me that I was right, that there was an animal nearby. No, not an animal. A foe. Its stench was so thick and pungent, I couldn't miss it.

I turned towards the smell, and there, indeed, was the wolf - that very same wolf that bit me that one night. I grinned from ear to ear; tonight I would have my revenge.

The wolf stepped towards me, and I realized for a moment that I did not have a weapon to fight with. I ignored that fact, however, confident that somehow I'd be able to take on a wolf with my bare hands.

The wolf growled louder and the crouched down, ready to pounce. I stood my ground, ready to defend myself. The wolf jumped at me and I moved out of the way. It wasn't expecting that, and it fell to the ground behind me. I turned to it and jumped onto it, scratching and biting and doing anything I could think of to attack it. Apparently this was working, because the wolf whimpered and scrambled out of my reach. One of its paws was wounded, and had to limp in order to walk. Serves you right, I thought.

The wolf looked like it was going to cry or something. It sprawled out onto the ground and began to lick its paw. Then it looked up at me, and, as if noticing that I was watching it, turned onto its back, exposing its belly.

The wolf was a girl. I thought, I just attacked a girl! Sure, it was a wild animal, but it was a girl! And what's worse, I thought, I bit it. I bit a girl. No, nevermind that, I bit a live animal! What was I thinking? Human beings don't do that.

The wolf, after eyeing me for a while, stood up and limped over towards me. She circled me a few times. What was going on? Did she not want to kill me for hurting her? What on earth were her intentions?

A thought occured to me, that maybe, from the beginning of the fight, she had not intended to kill me at all. Pushing this ridiculous thought out of my mind, I backed away from the wolf and ran through the woods, back to my house.

The she-wolf did not follow me, luckily. I went up the front steps and reached the doorknob. I inaudibly gasped.

My hand was... was a paw! A big, furry brown paw! I jumped down from the steps and tried to look at myself. I thought I spotted the end of a tail behind me. I turned around to get a better look, but the tail moved as I moved. I kept turning, in circles, to see it, but it was a lost cause.

Joe, I thought, you're chasing your tail. What's wrong with you? You're an animal! You've got to seek help.

I stopped and stared at my house. Okay, I thought, I'll go inside and call somebody. Vanessa, I'll call Vanessa. She's a psychiatrist; she'll know what to do.

Vanessa was my girlfriend of a year and six months. She lived just on the other side of the woods. I realized that if I told her what had happened to me, she'd think I was nuts, but I was desperate for help.

I jumped through the window of my house and looked around the living room for my phone. It was lying on my sofa. I lowered my face towards it, grabbed it between my teeth, and pulled. I dropped the phone onto the floor and used my paw to dial the number. Vanessa's loud, cheery voice came up.

"Hi, you've reached Vanessa's voicemail. Please leave a message after the beep. BEEEEEEEEEEEEP."

I tried to say something, but all that came out was a series of grunts and groans and barks. It was no use. I turned the phone off.

I suddenly felt very sick and very tired. I looked up at the couch thoughtfully, then jumped up onto it and laid down. I fell immediately asleep.

I woke up with a splitting headache and a frown. My slumber had not succeeded in wiping away any memories of last night. I got up, pulled myself into the bathroom, and looked in the mirror. I was human. This disappointed me only because I now had no proof that last night's events were true, and because I knew that it was real, and not just some wacky dream.

The phone rang. I picked it up.
"Hello?"
"Hi, Joe!" It was Vanessa.
"Hi. What's up?"
"You called last night, didn't you? I was worried because you sounded sick in your message. Are you okay?"
"Yes," I said, "I'm fine."
"Okay. I'm going to come over today; I hope that's alright."
"Sure," I said.
"Good. Are you sure you're okay, though? Do you need me to bring you anything?"
A free trip to Maui, I thought. Instead I just said "Uh... some aspirin?"
"Okay. I'll see you in a few."
"Okay. Bye."
"Bye. I love you," she said.
"Love you too."
Click.

I hung up the phone and sat down, rubbing my hands through my hair frustratedly. I really needed a vacation.

I took a shower and got changed before Vanessa came over. She brought with her three bottles of aspirin and some chicken soup, which didn't surprise me. When she saw that I was pretty beat up, I just told her that I had gotten into a fight with a co-worker.

"Why don't you lie down," she'd said, "and I'll feed you." I laughed at this, but she didn't seem to think it was funny, so I did as she said.

As she was feeding me, I noticed that she was using her right hand to hold the spoon. Vanessa was left-handed. When I asked her about this, she shoved her left hand into her coat pocket.

"Let me see," I said. She obeyed, taking her left hand out of her pocket. I looked at it, and gasped. On her hand was a huge bite mark.