Wolves of the Upper East Side

Prologue - First Encounter

Walking down to the parking garage just under my works building, I fiddled with my car keys. The elevator ride always juddered and made me think that it would be safer to use the stairs, until I remembered the fires that had happened and also the sheer force I would need to open the doors on either end.

I always dreaded walking through the parking lot at night, even the one underground with lighting. It wasn't that I was afraid of the dark, or completely paranoid about someone attacking me; I was cautious because my parents had raised me to be wary of my surroundings and had also forced me to take self-defence classes when they learned I was leaving the quiet state of Ohio to go to New York.

The lighting in the parking garage wouldn't be an issue, if the maintenance team had the work ethic to come down and fix the shattered and dead bulbs. But it had been this way since I had started my job here six months ago. I was fresh out of college when the law firm offered me my first job. I was an assistant attorney and I was pretty damned good at my job. I was just a little too independent for some of my co-workers and also a little on the jumpy side.

I hadn't always been this way, but since I made my decision to leave Ohio, everything about my changed. I had actually changed before leaving, but only three people knew that. Me, my sister Charlotte and him. I shook my head, I didn't need to think about him when I needed to focus on getting to my beat up car.

I had always managed to park close to the elevator in an effort to avoid the shadowy spaces in the lot, but it wasn't always viable. Today I had apparently been lucky, because I got the space that was just on the other side of the security office. It was about twenty-feet from the lift and I was counting the seconds until I could be safely in my car, and driving home.

As the doors opened, I sighed with my eyes closed, stepping forward. I opened my eyes and felt my heart rate quicken as I took in my surroundings. All the lights in the garage had gone. All but one. It was the one that was right above me as I stepped into the lot. I held my breath as I looked all around. Even the light to the stairway was out. Frowning, I dug into my purse for two items. My phone, for multiple uses; a torch and police call if needed; and the pepper spray that never left my side.

I stepped forward again, cautiously listening for any other sound in the dark underground. When no sound other than my foot steps and shallow breathing was heard, I edged to the end of the light where it met complete darkness. Knowing my car was only ten feet away now made it slightly easier to breathe, but also know that it was completely dark until I got into my car, was making my mind come up with all sorts of crazy ideas.

As soon as I took three steps into the darkness, I found the button on my phone to turn my torch on. Instantly a small flood of light shone ahead me, glinting just barely off of my silver car. Breathing an audible sigh of relief and started forward, cursing myself for being so paranoid about a little bit of darkness. I had stepped no further than two paces when I felt a shudder race through me, the feeling of dread pulling at the hairs on the nape of my neck, halting me in the brief steps.

Keeping my breaths even, I forced myself to keep my eyes level with my phone torch as I swivelled around to look for what was apparently staring at me so hard I was rooted to me spot. My phone swept the length of the lot from my car, back to the elevator, and then back again, until it stopped on the sight of two sleek black town cars. I furrowed my brow at them, as I wondered momentarily why I had stopped on them, when I realised that in the chill of the October night, what appeared to be a gasp of fog drifted lowly from between the two vehicles. The fog moved forward, toward me, as a large grey wolf stepped out from where the fog had just been.

I stumbled back, feeling my back hit the wall of the security office. I stayed as tight to the wall as possible, trying to not take my eyes off of the wolf. I reached behind me with my free hand, feeling for the cool metal of the door handle, but froze when I realised the door was locked. I know I was out of running options. It was too dark and far to get to my car, and I would never make it to the elevator without the wolf reaching me before the doors opened. The stairs were a no go as the door was barely usable.

My eyes darted for any sign of help, but I was completely alone and my quick breaths were making me dizzy. I scrunched my eyes for a second and remembered the documentaries my ex-boyfriend had forced me to watch him with. He was studying to be a wild-life expert, but he lacked the compassion needed. I thought about all the different animals that had been documented and their life styles and habits. One stood out, which in that moment, I would be forever grateful.

The Wolves of the north; the documentary had been solely about the wolves of North America and as I stood staring at the brown eyes of the grey wolf stood in front of me, I knew what I needed to do. In the film, the wolves that were the main subject were a top pack and they came across a lower pack of wolves and a fight ensued. But before any of the wolves could do much damage, the alpha of the other pack lowered himself to the ground in submission and showed his belly to the alpha of the subject pack.

I had always wondered why he had left himself so vulnerable, but at that moment in time, I didn't question his reasoning, I just re-enacted the bowing the best I could. I lowered myself to the ground, forcing myself to keep my breathing as even as possible, and kept my eyes on the wolf. I placed my phone on the ground so that the light was upwards, and I was not in complete darkness with a wild animal. The wolf looked at me, with wide and seemingly confused eyes. If I had been an onlooker I would have been confused as well, but I was in the situation and I would not let myself be mauled by a beast.

Finally having my hands and knees on the ground, I slowly lowered my head, so that the back of my neck was showing; my most vulnerable part. I held my breath as I heard the paws of the wolf walk slowly over to me. It sniffed all around my neck and hair and ears and then it grunted and turned away. By the time I had the courage to look up, the wolf was gone, and I was alive. The sigh of relief that left me was so audible, it shocked me and made me laugh out loud as I climbed back to my feet, heading to my car.

I sat behind the wheel, shaking from the near-death experience and shaking my head at the ridiculous thoughts that surrounded me. The wolf had not once growled or snarled at me, yet I was terrified of it. One thought that didn't register with me until I was already home was, what was a wolf doing in the middle of New York City?