All of the adrenaline and rage from the last few minutes drains out of me, and it’s replaced by a wave of confusion. How…did I do that?
David shakes his head and gets to his feet. “Damn,” he says. “I had no idea a little thing like you was that strong.” He rotates one of his arms, rubbing his shoulder.
I don’t respond. What just happened to me? I’m a peaceable type of person. A pacifist. I always get along with other people; I always try to find solutions. I do everything I can to avoid conflict, and when I’m angry, I almost always walk away instead of giving in. But I just transformed into a different person for a minute, someone full of anger and power. That fury I felt…I’ve never felt anything like it.
It was invigorating.
And terrifying.
Misty rushes over to David, grabbing his arms and looking him over. “Did she hurt you?” Misty cries.
David shakes his head. “I’m fine. My back might be a little sore tomorrow, but I’m okay.”
Misty turns and glares at me. “You assaulted him. And you assaulted me!” Misty holds her arm out to me, reminding me where I had grabbed her. Under any other circumstance, I’d be tempted to roll my eyes… Misty is prone to exaggeration. But right now, I’m way too disoriented, and then I catch a glimpse of the very real bruises forming on Misty’s arm and realize that David isn’t the only one who felt my strength tonight.
What the holy hell just happened?! I’m not a weakling by any means, but I’m also not super strong. Definitely not strong enough to bruise Misty’s arms or send David into a wall. David is at least six feet tall, and he’s got several pounds of muscle on me. There’s no way I should have been able to throw him across the room like that. It’s like my body is foreign to me. What is happening? I think, panic washing over me.
Misty folds her arms and grimaces at me. “If you don’t get the fuck out of here right now, I am calling the police,” she says. “I’ll mail your stuff to you.”
I look up at her. Silence stretches between us before I bow my head. “Yes. Fine. I can leave now. I’ll just…pack a bag and head to a motel.”
In my room, I hurry and throw things into a duffel bag while my mind races. Clothes, pajamas, my phone charger. I grab my toothbrush and other toiletries from the bathroom, sweeping all of it into my bag without thought or organization.
It occurs to me that this is the second time tonight that I’m running from the police. But talking to the cops is absolutely the last thing I need on a night when everything has gone so horribly. And this time, I actually did do something wrong. I shake my head at the memory of David standing up from where he’d fallen after my shove.
Within five minutes, I’m on my way out the door. I don’t say anything to David or Misty, who are sitting on the couch, watching me warily. Right before I close the door behind me, I hear Misty say quietly to him, “You should really work out more if a little thing like Layla can throw you around like that.”
Another reminder that I have no idea how or why any of that just happened. Why I’d been filled with rage and super strength.
I’m out in the cold again. I pull out my phone to look for a nearby motel. I scroll for something within walking distance. I don’t care how much it costs, or if it’s a dump. I just need a shower and a bed, and I need them as soon as possible. I’ll figure everything else out tomorrow.
It’s honestly probably better if I’m alone for a day or two anyway. I have no idea what the fuck is going on with me, and as much as I dislike Misty, I didn’t mean to physically hurt her, or David. And I also might have hallucinated a violent attack, so it’s possible that I’m a danger to other people in my current state. I don’t feel insane, but I don’t know how else to explain the past twenty-four hours.
The motel I find is a run-down building just off the highway, near the woods at the edge of town. It’s only a ten-minute walk, and soon I make my way to the front desk. I pay the nightly fee up front and grab the key.
The room is a little musty, but it looks clean enough. There’s a standard issue scratchy blanket and generic art on the walls. An old-style television set with a VCR sits on a dresser on one side of the room. I throw my duffel bag on the bed and head to the bathroom.
Once I’m alone in the hot shower, I can fully examine my body. I run my hands over my neck, down my arms, over my chest. I even open the shower curtain to look at myself in the mirror. I turn around to check my back and strain my neck to see the backs of my legs.
There isn’t a mark on me.
It doesn’t make any sense! There’s no way I hallucinated the whole thing. I was brought to the hospital. My clothes were covered in blood. Something attacked me, something that’s still affecting me. I feel strange, almost jittery.
Maybe it’s adrenaline from the attack? And that’s what made me so strong in the fight with Misty and David? I remember the wave of fury I felt when I pushed David. But that can’t be possible. Adrenaline shouldn’t last this long. It’s been hours since the attack, and I still feel strength coursing through me.
But how could I have been attacked if I don’t have any wounds?
I give up trying to figure it out tonight. My brain is mush right now, and I just need to rest. It’s been an overwhelming night, so I finish my shower and fall into bed. I’m asleep almost instantly.
My dreams are full of flashes of the night. The sound of footsteps following me. A huge figure, backlit by a streetlamp, looming over me. Glimpses of sleek black fur and golden eyes, flashes of glistening, razor-sharp teeth. The feeling of not being able to breathe. The weight of scrambling claws and a heavy body, shifting muscle pinning me in place. The hot air of the creature’s breath.
And that growl. That awful, animalistic growl. It was unlike anything I had ever heard before. I could still feel the scream tearing out of my throat right before the creature lunged at my neck. The last thing I see before I wake up is a wolf…a wolf with golden eyes, looking at me. There’s something familiar about those eyes…
I startle awake. I’m drenched in sweat, the bedsheets tangled around me. I’m shivering. I draw the blankets back up to my chin and put a hand to my forehead. I don’t feel feverish. I glance at the clock. It’s still early. I lie back onto the pillows and stare at the ceiling. There’s no way I’ll be able to fall back asleep.
It’s Friday, but I decide to call out of work. I won’t be able to explain what I’ve been through, but after enduring a mysterious attack and everything else that happened last night, I need a day off. Besides, Victoria is traveling, and she can call me if anything comes up. I reach for my phone and send a quick email to Victoria and HR, letting them know I’m out for the day.
I’m exhausted and could probably spend the rest of the day lying in bed, but the reality is that I need to find a place to live, and soon. My head is killing me, and my whole body feels sore, even though I still don’t have any evidence of my injuries from yesterday.
Wearily, I drag myself out of bed and throw on sweats and a T-shirt. There’s a gas station across the road. I can grab some painkillers there, along with some kind of breakfast.
I stop at the motel front desk to pay for a few more nights, then jog across the street. It’s quiet out, still too early for the workday commuters. There’s a slight chill in the air at this hour.
I’m not paying attention when I pull open the gas station door, so I’m shocked when I walk right into a hard body. The size and strength of it knocks me off my feet. I land on my ass and look up in surprise.
A pair of stunning blue eyes looks down at me. There’s something familiar about those eyes, but I can’t remember where I’ve seen them. A deep male voice says, “Are you okay?”
I look at the man standing in front of me and blurt out before I can stop myself, “Do I know you?”
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