Nine years old…

The day had started off muggy and unbelievably dry. For most tourists, it was torture. The heat was something Selene was used to though since she’d been here eight months now, two of those eight living out on the streets.

This was in central Nevada – one of the many nondescript small towns in the middle of nowhere. The roads were brown-yellowed gravel and cracked in places that made driving a little bumpy. It was dark every night and to make up for it, street lamps were scattered everywhere but even that didn’t make the small town of Longmount any cheerier than they wanted.

The population here wasn’t counted by individual. It was by the number of families. There were thirty-three all-in-all, small enough for people to know everybody but big enough for them to ignore each other. It made life in Longmount very simple. At least, it looked like it did.

Roughly a year ago, her mother died from some brain aneurism that Selene only understood as a big problem with what was inside her head. Her dad never fought custody for her but upon the death of her mother, she was sent to him to be taken care of. The man was less than pleased.

As a solution, eight months ago, he had driven her here from his place in Vegas to leave her in the hands of his younger sister. It was hardly a healthy place for a nine year old to stay in what with Selene’s aunt running a motel that hosted, on occasion, some very shady characters overlooked by the people of Longmount. Especially so since her under-the-table business was the main income of the town.

Life for Selene wasn’t as hard as people thought. During the day, she walked around the neighborhood and was greeted and even invited in for food by most of the neighbors. They were mostly kind but even for a nine year old girl, she found them extremely hypocritical. It was the way they cooed at her that she knew they talked bad about her behind her back.

During the afternoon, she tried playing with the older kids even though she found it very boring. At least with children, Selene knew what they thought since they didn’t bother being as discreet as the adults. They treated her as an errand girl often and said that it was the only thing she was good at because her aunt did errands for the town too. Aside from that, they treated her as a nuisance and only tolerated her because their mothers told them to.

Finally, when night came, Selene avoided her aunt’s place like the plague since she didn’t trust the men there who seemed to be friends with her aunt and often called her, ‘A pretty girl.’ That was why she never stayed in the motel for too long. Just long enough for her aunt to see that she was still alive and then off she went to stay out at the unused shed located fifteen feet from the back of the motel.

That was her daily routine for two months now. Even after all the weeks she’d been here, Selene still wondered if she’d be able to see her mother again. Stupid thought, really, but she just hated this place so much. It made her quiet, closed up, and lost as to what to do. It was summer now so there was no classes for her to attend but she doubted her aunt would send her to study once school started.

It was nearly eight in the evening when Selene walked up to the front of the motel her aunt owned. As always, she walked up to the main house and entered letting the bell above the door announce her arrival. The entrance to her aunt’s residence also acted as a lobby to welcome any new customer but Selene always thought that the flickering pale light of the fluorescent above the ceiling did little at making a person feel welcome here.

“Is that you, Selene?” asked a breathless woman that was clearly distracted and obviously annoyed.

The voice came from the closed off living room and she didn’t have to look to know that her aunt had company. Male company judging from a loud groan Selene heard. This didn’t happen often but whenever it did, her aunt didn’t want her anywhere near the house.

“Yes, it’s me,” she replied, voice meek.

“Go play somewhere. I’m busy.”

For some reason, Selene thought her aunt was very out of breath and there was a desperate need in her voice that seemed to disappear at her sudden shout of approval. There was also a sound of moving furniture. A big one. Maybe the coffee table or the couch. Not really wanting to know about it, Selene went outside and proceeded to the one-floor building where the motel rooms were located.

Longmount Motel was located at the very outskirts of town and because of that; the lonely lodge seemed as if it was really in the middle of nowhere. To the sides there were trees and dried areas of shrubbery that never really succeeded to grow properly because of the heat. Beyond that, plain expanse of flat parched land. Miles away, a dark silhouette of small mountain ranges could be seen if one looked carefully. It was beautiful, in its own way. Just seemed a little lonely in Selene’s point of view.

Just as her thoughts came back and wondered what her aunt was doing, something caught her peripheral which made her glance to her left side. There were few lamps around and the artificial lighting didn’t help her in seeing anything out of the ordinary so she moved on. Selene skirted to the side of the building of the motel rooms and finally reached the back where, fifteen feet away, she could see the sanctuary of her shed.

Another shadowed movement in the darkened plains beyond caused Selene to stop in her tracks. The fifteen feet that stretched out to the shed was dark since the only beacon of light back here was located by the tall lamp just beside her sanctuary. To her luck though, tonight there was a full moon so she could at least see more clearly in the gloom.

There was nothing Selene could see at first but then a bolder moved. Curious, she took a few steps closer and wondered what she was seeing but then froze when she saw the outlines of a huge prowling animal instead of a giant rock she first thought it was. It was far enough from her that she didn’t worry too much but it still scared her nonetheless.

Never in all her life had Selene seen anything like this where moonlight and animal fit so well together. The luminosity from the sky seemed to make the creature’s matted fur smolder in the shadows. At the same time, it hid the animal’s identity even if the light from the moon was so bright. Yet, as nice as their combination was, it did not seem to comfort the dog-like creature with its hunches bristling and tensed.

Or, maybe it was Selene’s presence that was making it feel so agitated.

Whatever the reason was, the sudden sight of this creature made her freeze in her place. There was no fence protecting Selene from where the animal lurked. Curiosity and fright battled at her mind with the latter being victorious in the end. The thing was big – a little smaller than a cow with unmistakable canine movements.

It couldn’t have been a stray dog. Dogs didn’t get that big. Were there wolves in central Nevada? That was highly unlikely but Selene was just a child fairly new to the place. Eight months was hardly enough time for her to know what lived beyond Longmount.

With ice cold fear dictating her movements, Selene sensed her foot give a step back and felt her heart skip a beat when the animal did the same towards her direction. The tell-tale action made her want to scream but she stopped it in time believing that making noise wouldn’t help her in this situation. Instead, Selene found herself recognizing the distance between her and the animal and did the only logical thing she could do.

She ran.

Yards had separated them but Selene, with her back against the wild beast, felt the distance get drastically smaller even if she didn’t hear it behind her. It was there, she could sense it, but looking back seemed like a death sentence.

With immense relief, Selene burst through the door of her aunt’s main house and didn’t stop while she continued to rush where she knew her aunt was.

“Aunt Nola, quick!” she shouted even before she reached the living room. “There’s a huge dog outside! Maybe a wolf! I think –“

Her words were cut short when a resounding slap hit firmly across her cheek. The force of the blow made Selene crash to the floor and the shock of pain on her skin made tears sting at her eyes.

“You stupid child!”

Her aunt was pulling on a robe and closed it clumsily around her form. Behind her, there was a man on the couch struggling with his clothes. Selene recognized him. He was the widower who worked as the acting physician in the town’s small clinic.

“Nola, its fine,” the man said as he continued to struggle with his shirt.

He was ignored.

“I told you to play outside didn’t I?”

“But there’s a big wolf –“

“Shut up!” Nola hissed at her stopping Selene from her stuttering. By now, the little girl was crying but her aunt could care less. “There are no big wolves in this area you little brat.”

Selene sobbed harder when Nola yanked at her forearm and dragged her to the front door. All her stay here Nola had never been violent and this sudden turn of events had made Selene feel wretchedly scared and angry with herself for making her aunt furious.

This was all her fault.

Throwing her niece outside her house, Nola didn’t even flinch when Selene fell on her elbow making her cry louder. “Do not come back until you stop with this nonsense.”

The door shut behind her aunt when she went back in. Not a moment later, Selene heard arguing from inside and she didn’t know what to do. She was just telling the truth. There was an animal out there and it seemed dangerous. Wasn't it only reasonable that she told someone about it?

Feeling helpless, Selene stood up with wobbly legs and looked around. Beyond the trees and shrubbery, the wide plains appeared empty. The moon helped her see enough that Selene felt it was safe but the memory of the huge beast accompanied by the bright full moon made her confidence falter. A sudden thought crossed her then.

The boy who cried wolf.

The boy in the story was highly mischievous so Selene’s mother always said that he deserved what happened to him in the end. Crying wolf three times with the third being a genuine call but nobody coming to his aid. The boy had ended up climbing a tree hoping to be safe from the animal but ended up dying of starvation when the wolf did not leave.

It was disappointing that in real life, at the first call of help, Selene’s aunt didn’t believe her. Because of that, she herself doubted her own credibility. Maybe she was seeing things. They were in the middle of nowhere and the barren land beyond the small town didn’t boast of animal life fit for a lone beast like that to survive on. Besides, she didn’t actually see it run after her; only felt it.

That conclusion drawn, Selene walked shakily a few feet and when her fear became manageable enough, she started to jog and finally sprinted once she reached the back of the building and hoped she’d get to the shed immediately to curl against the mattress she had brought there two months ago.

She was almost at the door of her sanctuary when it happened. Something big had slammed into her causing her to fall face first to the ground. Selene was so surprised that she couldn’t make a sound and when she tried to stand up, something pressed against her back keeping her in place.

The sound of a threatening growl made her tears return full force. It was there. The animal was real.

Selene struggled and clawed at the ground trying to get away with little success. She didn't know why she was so afraid when it wasn't even doing anything to her. There was pain at her fingertips and dark streaks of red trailed at the places she clawed. Her nails had chipped off.

The pressure at her back disappeared causing Selene to be able to crawl away a few feet but the hard bite at her ankle stopped her in place. With one powerful yank, the beast pulled at her leg and a sickening crack pierced the air along with her cry of pain when her tibia broke.

Looking down at the animal that attacked her, Selene saw just how huge it was. It wasn’t just her ankle it had in its mouth, it was her entire shin and up to the middle of her thigh. Even though she was short for her age, the bite it had on her proved just how enormous this beast was. Its gaze was golden and Selene knew that even standing up, this wolf towered over her at least two heads.

Her observations stopped at that point as fear chilled her bone and she continued to scream both in pain and for help. As if annoyed at the noise she was making, the animal released her from its bite and growled at her ferociously.

Taking advantage of her momentary freedom, Selene got up on her side lifting herself up on one elbow. Desperately, she dragged herself and felt pinned in her spot due to her broken leg. She only got a few inches away before it bit down hard on her hip and pulled at her weight.

The ground felt slick and wet and Selene knew her leg and now her hip were bleeding profusely. To add to that, there were pinches of unbearable heat pooling at her wounds that she believed were caused by the animal’s rabies. It looked very hungry and there was no doubt this thing could eat her up. Bones and all.

Was she going to die here?

Sobs continued to wrack at her body but it stopped in frozen horror when a howl erupted beyond the open plains of dried land as if in warning.

There were more of them? Selene thought in trepidation and wondered what would happen now.

To her surprise though, she didn’t seem to be the only one terrified of the presence of more wolves. In fact, the one that attacked her backed away from her as if burned and its ears flattened against its head. The tail of the beast tucked low between its legs and it arched its back as if trying to appear small. The beast’s golden eyes eyed the darkness beyond in apprehension.

Another howl, much closer now, pierced the air and only then did her attacker make its escape. Unbearable pain engulfed Selene and she cried hoping someone would come help her. Her tears seemed to be never ending as she felt isolated when she noticed that the gigantic wolf had dragged her between the motel building and her shed.

No man’s land, it seemed.

It felt like hours even though it was only mere minutes when her sight blurred and her senses dulled. Selene’s tears were still flowing but she was quiet now, the pain not quite muted but not completely registering in her mind.

Movement across the plain made her see silhouettes through hazy eyesight. There were two, maybe three of them there. More wolves.

Before fear could settle back into her bones, the horrified scream of her aunt stabbed through the silence. They had found her. A man’s alert voice and the sound of him rushing closer to help was the last thing she heard.

Before completely losing consciousness, it was the sight of two pinpoints in the darkness she last saw as an animal's gaze perfectly reflected the glare of the moonlight.

-*-
This little thing is a project of mine. I've done vampires before and now this is my next obstacle. I'm just putting this up hoping to get my creative juices flowing and debate on whether I'll continue it or not. Frankly, I'm more of a vampire fan but there's just something about an animal's primal nature that makes me want to write about them.

So forgive me if you can't find this to you're liking. Like I said, I'm more of a vampire fan. Writing this kind of story is completely foreign to me.

Summary might change later on as well as the title.

Hope you drop a review!