The Undergrowth

Chapter 1: No wolves in Tennessee

 I slow my rental car to a crawl, looking out the window at the numbers on the houses. The useless GPS said I arrived ten minutes ago, but it had been an abandoned lot. I was supposed to be renting a room in a small bungalow until I could save enough to get my own place. Unless the small bungalow was a tent in the woods, the GPS was wrong.

The moon shone brightly through the pine trees, lighting the quiet street. I strain to see the small numbers posted on the houses.

I sigh and start to speed up, preparing to turn around and head back the way I came. I top a hill and gasp, slamming on my brakes. My heart thumps out of my chest. Standing in the middle of the road is a huge white dog. Like a massage dog.

"Shoo... shoo." I motion with my hands, but he doesn't move. His eyes seem to stare right at me as if he knows my darkest secrets or something. A shiver trails down my spine. He moves closer to my car and I gulp, realizing it isn't a dog after all.

It's a wolf. A freaking wolf! I didn't even know there were wolves in Tennessee. I grip the steering wheel as the wolf moves closer. He's so close to my car I can see his eyes. The center is piercing blue with a hazel ring around them.

I reach across the seat, searching for my phone. I manage to locate it without taking my eyes off the wolf. I glance down for a second to hit a number then look back up. The wolf is closer, his nose turned up in the air.

"Hello," Harper Williams, my best friend since high school chirps.

"There's a wolf in the middle of the road."

"Well, hello to you too."

"There's a wolf in the middle of the road." I repeat. "A giant white wolf."

"I thought you moved to Tennessee not Alaska."

"Well, apparently there are giant white wolves in Tennessee with eyes that penetrate my soul."

"Um... Amelia," Harper's voice pitches up an octave. "Is it a full moon?"

I look up at the sky at the beautiful orb in the sky. "Yes."

I startle as a black blur darts across the road, then pauses and sprints back to the white wolf.

"Oh, shit. There's another one."

The latest wolf is so black I can barely make him out. He nips at the white wolves legs and... did he motion his head?

"Get out of there." Harper shrieks. "I'm calling Chad."

"Wait, don't call my brother." I beg. The white wolf finally looks away from me and starts to follow the black wolf across the road.

"They are gone." I breath a sigh of relief.

"I'm still calling Chad." Harper says. The last thing I need is for my twin brother to badger me. He is already unhappy about my move to Tennessee and I'm sure he will be even less pleases about me being lost in the middle of nowhere. 

"Harp, I'm fine. Forget it." I start to drive slowly up the road, spotting a small white house with the numbers 7551 on the side of the pillar. I sigh with relief and pull into the drive. "Besides, I just found the house. I'll call you later."

"Amelia, be careful. Don't get tangled up with any wolves."

I laugh. "I'll do my best. Tell Chad I'll call him tomorrow once I'm settled."

"Okay, love you."

The door to the house opens and a petite girl with curly, unruly brown hair steps onto the porch. She waves and starts skipping toward the car.