The Fenrir Saga - Part I

Chapter 10

--- Henry ---

We spotted the girl on the other side of a sprawling meadow late in the evening, confident that we would soon overtake her. However, she was unexpectedly fast, as if fueled by a force we hadn't tapped into. It was true; our pursuit was only a matter of duty, whereas she was driven by a primal survival instinct that gave her stamina beyond what could be expected. Thus, it was early morning, just before the break of dawn, when we finally came close enough for her to notice our presence.

We found ourselves on the outskirts of a trailer or cabin park as we approached. The girl finally stopped in the middle of a yard, illuminated by the cold light from some lamp posts. No one was around, but I smelled a vague scent of animal blood and heard tiny paws quickly leave the scene as if whoever it was knew there was havoc to be had in this place soon. 

The girl was all dressed in black, with a backpack, her blonde hair in a ponytail, and a dirty bandage over her forehead. She had her back against us, but now she slowly turned around. She seemed to squint with her eyes a bit, and I supposed she had trouble detailing us since the light was directed towards her.

She had a black scarf covering the lower part of her face. She nodded towards a surveillance camera on the corner of a building, indicating that she knew we couldn't do anything to her without risking it being caught on tape. We were at the edge of the forest; this was human grounds, and we didn't want to draw any more attention than necessary. Clever girl.

Still looking at us, she slowly walked backwards. It was a vain movement, a desperate attempt, as all three of us knew we would catch up with her as soon as she was out of reach from the cameras. 

It suddenly didn't matter, though, as she froze midstep and jerked her head to the left. I quickly scanned the surroundings but only heard a low growl from a dog, and for some reason, I didn't believe that was what had caught her attention. 

There was one small house halfway in front of her with a neatly tendered garden, and halfway behind her to the left was another small house with a more busy garden area. Even at this hour, there was a faint light in the windows, and I heard some music.

She seemed to have completely forgotten about us when I sensed, rather than saw, that she sniffed the air still with her head facing the second house to her left. I sniffed the air. 

Nothing. 

An owl ho-hoed behind me, making me feel uneasy for some reason. Something was... something.

Tristan motioned me to follow him to the back of the second house. That way, we would come closer to the situation but still be able to avoid the cameras. As we were on higher ground than the girl, I could still see her blonde hair over the roof of the neatly tendered house as we rounded it from behind. We were now as close to the second house as she was but on the other side of a small lawn bordered by low fences.

She dropped her backpack and was slowly sneaking up to the house. Something was bothering her, and when a gush of wind caused one of the windows to move, I finally smelled it.

Death.

Blood.

Humans.

And... was that werewolf?

The girl opened the front door, and unable to stop my curiosity, I sneaked over the first fence to get a better look inside.

The first window I peeked into was the one that had moved in the wind. The room behind it was a bedroom. Half-slumped over the bed was a man figure, the smell already informing me, but the unnatural angle of his head confirmed that this human was not breathing anymore. I ducked down again and was urged to keep low as Tristan passed me to peek inside two more oversized windows.