New notification. Nell couldn’t help but grin. That was fast. Very, very fast. Granted, the message itself was the bare minimum and, thinking about it, with all that went down earlier, Jess replying quickly did make sense… But still, it could mean something, right? She stared at the slightly cracked screen for another moment before putting the phone down on the table. She sighed. It wasn’t like her to overthink minor details like this to such a degree, not at her age. Something about Nell just made her feel like she was a teenager again, want to jump and squeal at the reply. Made the fatigue melt away and she almost forgot the unsettling circumstances of their meeting… Not exactly the cutest meet-cute, but it would definitely make for a decent story someday…! It almost scared her how fast and hard she was falling. It must be the suspension bridge effect or something like that… After all, she’d always had a thing for gingers, but still… Focus, Nell! She didn’t have any time for distractions. She hadn’t crossed half the country just for sightseeing and/or flirting with the locals… She opened the laptop next to her phone and turned it on. Bright white light against the dim-ish yellow filling the clammy room. What was the color of the wallpaper again? She couldn’t really remember – she had only arrived the night before – and the slightly dusty incandescent bulbs overpowered everything… Not that it mattered, though – What mattered now were the couple of unread emails that popped up. Now, she felt the tiredness sinking back in, her limbs grew heavier as the cursor was brought to the icon. Deep breath, though her throat felt like paper. But before she could open her inbox, a sound disrupted her uneasy focus.
Howl! Howl!
It came from right outside the window… Was that a dog? No, definitely not a dog…! When she looked down out of the window, she saw nothing. Or barely anything, rather, her eyes straining to make out anything in the dark. Damn country town outskirts… Who’d even want to come here… There! A big shadow on the other side of the road. Immobile, howling. Definitely not a dog… But inside thick old stone walls, barely more than an admittedly somewhat unsettling annoyance… Hadn’t she already had to deal with enough wolves for one day? Or was this just part of the package? None of the neighbors seemed to react to a wild animal screaming its lungs out in the middle of the night… Was this their normal? Howl! It couldn’t possibly be the same wolf, could it? Probably just paranoia, the fatigue thinking but still, once the idea had sprung up, it gripped her and lukewarm unease traveled up her spine. Pang of guilt and opportunity and she unlocked her phone…
Shrill ringing. The display read 2:43 AM. Nell calling. Jess picked up, not sure why, maybe not awake enough to let her better judgment… Barely coherent ramblings… She slowly slipped out of the bed, gently wriggling free from the bare arm wrapped around her. Wolf. She jolted awake… No, you’re not crazy for thinking it might be the same animal as earlier… Some of them can travel enormous distances… I’ll be right over, just let me write down the address…
The person next to her stirred. Where are you going in the middle of the night?
– The wolf from earlier followed her. I’ll take care of it, you stay here. – Sure, too early anyways…
She grabbed the clothes strewn around the bed and reached under it for a small briefcase. All the darts were still there. Ever since the incident six months ago, she’d kept those at the ready. Since she woke up blood-smeared next to Lana’s mangled corpse… She shuddered and felt the panic mounting, the lingering taste of her and her blood mixing between her teeth. No one but her knowing… At least with Ella, they could share her memory… Quick text to Nell. Leaving now, stay inside. That wouldn’t necessarily save her, but could at least buy her some time…
Nell still remembered the night that Lana had left her. The memory wasn’t so fresh anymore that it hurt, but still recent enough to itch, like a fresh scab. There had been the usual argument about conflicting visions for the future, life priorities, chores, the best local Chinese place. They’d been in that kind of spiral of fighting and making up and fighting for years at this point. There was almost like a sunk cost to it and even when, on occasion, they separated for a week or so, they inevitably ended up gravitating back towards each other again… Not this time.
Before – in the most cliche way imaginable – slamming the door on her way out, Lana yelled that they were done for good this time. So far so normal – but she added that there was someone else. Someone she’d apparently been seeing for some time now. And that was it. The days or even weeks following were a bit more of a haze. Grieving, processing, anger, emptiness. Was that really it? In the end, she didn’t even throw away the things Lana had left in the apartment – the temptation had definitely been there; either that or burn them – taking the highroad. Maybe she’d be back to pick them up. They’d talk things out. There’d be at least some closure, if nothing else. But there was nothing. And, well, that was fine too, in a way, no need to open up wounds and all that…
One day, however, some two or three months after Lana had left, Nell got a text from one of her ex’s friends. They hadn’t heard from her in weeks. She asked around, leaving her little hole or nest for the first time, and it turned out no one had seen or heard from her. The police weren’t much help either. Not that she expected them to be. Given their past dynamic… Lana had seemingly just up and vanished. Maybe she had indeed simply eloped but maybe there was something more to it, and she needed help. That was the least Nell owed her after all this time… (Though part of her – and she hated that part – still held out hope…). She unpacked Lana’s things again, at least those she might be able to coax answers out of. Her ex had had a habit of traveling alone – and visiting her mistress, maybe, while she was at it? Didn’t matter… There were now at least some trails to follow…
Cold sharp air, sides hurting. The asphalt strangely soft and moist under her naked soles. Cold, cold, cold, but had to keep going… Streetlights and colored neon-signs blending together, everything a blur. Impact, stop, soft impact, falling backwards. Soft voice:
“Are you alright? Why are you running dressed like this at this hour?”
“I … don’t know,… don’t know.”
“Hmm, ok. Can you at least tell me your name?”
“ …Lana. Yes, my name is Lana.”
