The full moon was shining brightly in the sky as the young man walked out to his car, ready for his big football game. This was an important game: after all, it was one of the first games of the playoffs, and Phil Adler, as a proud member of the Philadelphia Eagles, was more ready than ever before! He was completely decked out in his football gear, his jersey proudly displaying his team number, 00, on it. Smiling to himself, he reached out to open his car door... when suddenly, a rustling noise stopped him dead in his tracks.
His eyes widened, he turned around, gazing at the large bush next to his driveway. What was that sound? Curious, he took a step forward, trying to figure out what was going on. He thought he heard some kind of low breathing coming from that bush, along with what sounded like... growling. He cautiously took another step... and that's when it happened.
Before he could react, a massive blur shot out of the bushes, knocking him to the ground. He quickly looked up, eyes widening in fear as he saw what was happening. Standing over him was a massive wolf, its brown fur matted, its fangs bared, and its yellow eyes burning with malice. Panicking, Phil tried to get away, but before he could even move, the wolf had pounced again. Phil felt the wolf's paws land on his chest, felt its hot breath on his face. Before he could do anything, the wolf's head shot forward, and it sunk its fangs into Phil's left arm.
Phil screamed, massive pain shooting through his entire arm. The wolf, seemingly satisfied, removed its jaws from from his arm, then turned its head toward the other arm. But before it could strike again, Phil's right fist shot forward, striking the wolf right in the side of the head! Stunned, the wolf released its hold on Phil, allowing him to stand up again. Seeing its victim standing, the wolf took a step back, before turning around and running away from the house.
Smiling, Phil watched the wolf run before turning his attention to his injured arm. The bite marks were pretty deep, and blood was already running down the side of his arm. "Damn wolf..." he muttered, turning around and walking to his car. If he went back inside his house to treat the wound, he was never going to make it to the stadium on time, and this game was too important for him to let that happen. It would have to wait until he reached the stadium. He got into his car, pulling a towel from the glove compartment and wrapping it around his arm. That would have to do for now. With that done, he started up the car, before pulling out of the driveway and onto the road.
The full moon was hidden by clouds well before Phil finally reached the stadium. As soon as he got there, he noticed one of his friends from the team running up to him. "Hey, Phil!" Mark yelled. "What took you so long?" His head turned, and he suddenly noticed Phil's injured arm. "Hey, what happened to your arm?"
"I got attacked by something outside my house..." Phil said, removing the towel he was keeping over it. "Don't worry, I'll be fine. I just need to treat this once I get inside and... wait, what the..."
Phil blinked a few times, staring at his arm in confusion. Where the wolf had bitten him... there was nothing. No bite marks, no blood... nothing that indicated that he had ever been injured. In fact, he noticed that it didn't even hurt anymore. It was as if the attack had never even happened.
Mark was looking pretty confused too. "Um... your arm looks perfectly fine to me," he said, looking back up at Phil. "Are you trying to prank me or something?"
"What? No, of course not!" Phil looked back at his arm. "I swear, I was attacked! And there was blood and..."
"Yeah, sure. Listen, I'd love to hear more about this supposed attack of yours, but we really have to get back to the locker room. Coach is about to give one of his speeches, and you know how seriously he takes punctuality. He'll kill us if we're late. Come on, let's go!" With that, Mark turned to run back into the stadium. Phil took one last look at his fully healed arm, then started running after him.
