Tundria's Gauntlet

Chapter 2 - John

"Hello, human."

Two simple words, that was all it took to shatter my ability to stay calm. I took a sharp inhale and was on the verge of yelling, but the massive wolf-man-thing held up his paws in a panicked fashion.

"Wait! Don't yell. No one else can see or hear me, but they can still hear you. I can explain all of this, but I need you to stay calm for me, okay?"

I somehow didn't yell, but I was holding my breath and staring as hard as I could at this creature. I felt if I looked away for even a moment, I'd get my throat ripped out. My heart was pounding and none of my limbs were responding anymore, any attempt I made to take a deep breath came out in a shallow wheeze. The wolf was staring intently at me, being careful not to move too suddenly but he began to reach out towards me, specifically towards the necklace. I was too stunned to move so I let it happen. His claw made contact with the shard and his entire frame began to slowly dissolve.

"We'll try this again tomorrow, human. Try to sleep on this so we can have a real conversation next time." He said as his head vanished.

I was alone in my tiny, dark room once again. The instant I regained control of my body, I ripped the necklace off and ran to the bathroom. There were no windows I could chuck it out so I resigned to flushing it down the toilet. I lifted the lid and held the necklace over the bowl, giving it one last look over before I let it drop. However as soon as I let go of it, it vanished.

"The hell?" I said out loud, stunned.

"You gotta try harder than that." Said that deep gruff voice in a snarky tone.

Somehow this creature was talking to me despite not even being here. I went over to the sink to splash some water in my face, it was cold and uncomfortable, but it helped clear my head. I looked up into the mirror and noticed that the necklace was around my neck again. The shard glistening in the light, that wolf contained within looking right into my eyes through the mirror. I wasn't sure how he was in there or if he could even see me, but I was very uncomfortable. The rest of that night was very long and boring, I had nothing to do but sit in the dark and wait for the lights to come back on. Sleep was no longer an option after what I saw, but I was still more calm than I thought I would be. Eventually the lights did come on and the door to my room was unlocked automatically. I didn't take long for me to get out of there. Desperately needing some air and space to breathe, I sauntered into the mess hall only to find it quiet and empty. Only the hum of the AC and maybe a dishwasher could be heard.

"What are you doing in here, worm?" Said Brady from somewhere behind me. 

I spun around and saw him approaching me from down the hallway I came from.

"The mess hall doesn't open for another few hours, you're supposed to work before your meals. There's plenty of garbage outside in the fields that needs picking up before the park opens. I suggest you get started."

He didn't even bother waiting for a response, just pushed past me and into one of the back rooms behind the tray counter. I sighed and headed outside, it was quite a walk to the nearest open area so I had a some time to think some more. This wolf thing was clearly real, failing to flush the necklace and it appearing in my pocket a few hours earlier confirm that something  is going on here. I took a deep breath and stopped walking. I lifted the shard to eye-level, gazing at the wolf within.

"Hey. You in there?.." I asked, trying to hide my nervousness.

For a moment nothing happened, but then I felt a low hum emanating from the necklace, before suddenly the image of the wolf was gone and he was standing right in front of me.

"Bout time. You know how hard it is to squeeze back into that thing? It's not comfortable I can tell you that."

He was giving me a calm but piercing gaze, like he was trying to read me without freaking me out.