1 The First Rumor
Run, Run, I have to run
It's chasing me, help, that's it, I need to find help, but... What is going to help me against that?
It's useless looking for help, then should I run away forever?
*Step*
It's behind me, I have to look.
Don't look.
I have to look.
Don't do it Alyan.
As I slowly turn my head to look, "IT" swallowed me.
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I'm currently in an online chat room.
"Why?" you ask, well... This guy here has no offline friends so to speak.
Hmm? Who am I? Well... My name is Alyan and I'm currently a university student. How I have no friends even though I'm still a student you ask? I got sick during the first week and no one spoke to me since then, It's been a month.
Anyway, back to the point, I'm currently in a chat room and the topic of dreams came up, I used to not dream at all, but now I'm only having nightmares.
So I decided to speak.
'Alien' - I used to have no dreams at all when I was younger, but recently I'm only having the same nightmare over and over again
'Anna Lisa' - Wow Alien, you got straight to the point I wanted to bring this conversation into <o/ \o> <o/ \o>
'Liar' - You always use those weird emotes Anna Lisa, I guess the weirder thing about you is that you're always changing names so we always have to guess if it's you or a new member.
'Ren' - Lolol, remember that time when Alien stole her previous name so we didn't know if she was the new name or the previous one.
'Anna Lisa' - That wasn't a fun day for me...
'Alien' - Hahaha, that was probably my best thing I did in a while, anyways what was that topic you wanted to bring up Anna Lisa?
'Anna Lisa' - Don't change the subject! Or rather, the subject was already changed... do we go back to the dreams and nightmares talk?
'Liar' - No problem for me, Ren do you care?
'Ren' - No problem for me... and I don't think we need to ask Lurker, he doesn't really care anyway.
'Lurker' - đ
'Anna Lisa' - A rare Lurker message!!! I have to save this one in my Lurker book of messages!
'Alien' - Will we ever go back to the topic of dreams at this point?
'Anna Lisa' - There, saved the message. You always liked horror movies, right Alien?
'Alien' - I think I said that multiple time in this chat that I do, why the question now?
'Anna Lisa' - I think you know that a few famous horror movies were based on rumors, well... I have a rumor that I read in a forum, it's becoming really popular these days because of the lack of good horror stories
'Ren' - Oooooh, a creepy rumor... that excites even me that doesn't like a lot of horror movies
'Alien' - I still don't know how you manage to find all these topics every time, but you got me interested in this one
'Ren' - Lololol, "This one"? Lololol, you say that but every time we talk about something you're always the first one to continue the topic lolol
'Alien' - Shut it
'Anna Lisa' - Alien, could you perhaps like me or something? You know I use female names but I'm a guy, right? just the thought of another man liking me is creeping me out...
'Alien' - See, I knew something like this would happen, I'm straight so don't worry Anna Lisa, I absolutely will never like you đ
'Anna Lisa' - Anyway, now that I got a little bit of time making fun of Alien let's get back on topic.
'Alien' - Yes! Finally!
'Anna Lisa' - There is this rumor that is being circulated in a certain online forum, the post where there is the rumor went like this...
"If you're having nightmares recently this may help you.
This happened to a friend of a friend of mine.
Stay awake until 2 am.
When the clock strikes the 2 o clock mark say these following words:
'Nightmare, Nightmare, here I am.'
then the Nightmare will answer
'what does thee want with me'
and you will answer
'I want my dreams back to this reality'
and the Nightmare will then leave and never return"
'Anna Lisa' - this was the original post, but there was an answer in the same thread when someone asked what would happen if you answered anything else. The answer goes something like this...
"Then your nightmare will take your soul away from your body and devour it.
Your now soulless body will become the vessel for the nightmare to come to this reality."
'Anna Lisa' - Creepy, right? I have goosebumps every time I read this
'Alien' - It does certainly seem interesting as a rumor, but as a horror story it's missing something, not sure what
'Ren' - Well, for my frail heart it's great, but for Alien it may as well be missing as he said
'Anna Lisa' - And we haven't heard from Liar in a while, did that creep him out maybe?
'Liar' - Not really, I just remembered something I always heard as a kid, wanna hear?
'Alien' - If what you always heard what something like this makes you remember I feel sorry for your child self, but do tell.
'Liar' - "Don't tell anyone about your nightmares, otherwise they will become real and eat you"
'Alien' - Ooooh, that's a bit creepy to hear as a child.
'Liar' - Of course, it was all a lie to make me stop telling my nightmares to other children and scare them, but that did scare me a lot when I was a kid.
'Ren' - Lol, you do seem to have used to be the type of kid that scared other kids for fun.
'Anna Lisa' - AHAHAHAHA, I sure can imagine him doing that.
'Alien' - He does seem to be that type of person in his childhood.
'Alien' - Well, I'm going to sleep because I have classes tomorrow, good night everyone, good night Lurker
'Anna Lisa' - 'Night Alien, and why doe Lurker gets his own separate good night?
'Ren' - I think I'm also going to sleep, I should have slept hours ago, bye all
'Liar' - Then I'm also going, see ya later guys.
'Anna Lisa' - Booo, everyone is going to sleep, guess I'm going to sleep too then.
Anna Lisa logged out
Liar logged out
Ren logged out
'Lurker' - everyone left...
Lurker logged out
'Alien' - Anna Lisa is going to freak out seeing Lurker typing something tomorrow...
Alien logged out
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It's the following day and I'm currently at my college.
"Couldn't sleep at all yesterday..."
I mutter while walking from the classroom of the previous class to the one of the next class, I then let out a sigh and continue muttering.
"Haa... I'm always having that same nightmare..."
I enter the classroom and the class starts shortly after.
After a whole day of classes, I'm itching to talk in the chat, I don't show much but those guys really saved me when I had no one to talk to, so I really treasure them.
Just when I was thinking that...
"Hey, you're Alyan, right?"
Someone talked with me.
"Yes, I am, why the question?"
I respond... Wait, is this it? Is my chance to make Friend in a real-life university finally here?
When I think that I start to get really nervous.
"You're single, right?"
He asks and my answer comes immediately
"I'm sorry, but I have no interest in a same-sex relationship."
Crap! the joke went out by accident!
He's looking at me as if looking at a weird thing, then...
He starts laughing.
"Good joke, I didn't expect that one coming"
"Ah... Thank you"
"Hey, a few friends of mine are organizing a group date, but I'm not going anymore, they said I should at least find someone to go in my place, so I'm asking, do you want to go in my place in the group date?"
Well, that was kinda unexpected... I predicted it was going to be something like a group date, but I didn't think it was going to be in his place
"Look, I don't know anyone here. I think that you should look for someone that is going to fit better with your group"
I answer after thinking for a bit.
"Ah, you don't have to worry about that, these friends of mine don't care about stuff like this, I can guarantee you."
He answers.
"haa... Okay, I'll go"
And after letting out a sigh I answer him.
"Thank you, thank you, I owe you one. The guys that study here say our university has the cutes girls as you must know"
I didn't know that but I won't say it.
"But put me in your group when there is a group project."
I say to him
"Ehhh..."
"You owe me one."
"Fine, but only if you don't end up going out with anyone from the mixer."
"Why the condition?"
"Because then you would rather be on your girlfriend's group."
"Oh"
Didn't think of that... Wait
"Wait, is the mixer for people in this class only?"
"Not this class only, but most frequent or frequented this class."
That would help me make a few friends, I only said the group thing so I wouldn't be alone.
"Well, when and where is it?"
"Today at 7 pm, so 3 hours from now, as for the place... let me check, they're going to meet at the university south entrance."
"Right when classes end then, that's nice"
Guess I should download the app for the chat on my smartphone.
"Oh, my name is Robert, Robert Fawkes, nice meeting you"
"I'm Alyan Cecil, it's a pleasure meeting you"
And so it was decided I would go to a group date.
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4 hours later I'm currently finding myself awkwardly alone and with no one to talk to, "They don't care" my ass... At this point, I'll be a loner till the next semester...
Well... at least I'm not alone in this, there are about other 5 people alone like me.
Different from my case, it's because they are all pretty girls or guys and no one has the courage to talk to them...
and one of those pretty girls is by my side reading on her phone to boot.
Guess I'll log on a bit on the chat app I downloaded.
<<
4 Members Online
Alien has logged in
'Ren' - Oh, hey Alien
'Liar' - Hey there Alien
'Beatrice' - Heya Alien
'Alien' - Another name Anna Lise, or should I say Beatrice now?
"Beatrice' - Beatrice, please
'Alien' - Okay. I'm currently in a mixer and no one is talking with me...
'Beatrice' - Et tu Brutus?
'Ren' - Lol, you're in a mixer too Alien? Beatrice was complaining that no one was talking to him, I guess it's the handsome(lol) guys fate to be ignored(lolol) in a mixer(lololol)
'Alien' - I know I'm not handsome, ok?
'Beatrice' - Alien, you at least consider yourself to be normal, I'm just plain ugly...
'Beatrice' - And the prettiest girl in class is by my side... she's just there without doing anything, no, wait, she's on her phone now, as the real Ice Princess she is, fitting for her nickname
'Alien' - At least you have friends in your real-life outside of the mixer, I have none, Zero, nada
'Liar' - We got it guys, you guys both are losers in life(lol) and have nothing more to do now than to talk in this chat right now
'Ren' - Lololololol, straight to the point as always Liar
'Liar' - But it would be funny if you two were on the same mixer
'Alien' - Yeah, right. It's kind of impossible for us to be on the same mixer when the world is so large.
'Liar' - Oh, didn't you know? this chat is only for the city we live in, city-53.
'Alien' - Wait, What?
'Beatrice' - I didn't know that was a thing
'Ren' - Yeah, apparently the owner of the chat IP-Blocked the chat, When I went on a trip I couldn't access the chat and that seemed to be the case, but it's been a while since the other logged in too.
'Beatrice' - Others?
'Liar' - After you entered 7 months ago they weren't logging in anymore since a while.
'Alien' - Sorry for changing the subject, but this has been on my mind since you spoke that we're in the same city.
'Liar' - Do speak
'Alien' - Why don't we do a meet-up of the members here?
'Liar' - Oooooh, that would be great, see Alien and Beatrice arguing in real life, count me in
'Ren' - That would be nice(lol) I'm up for it
'Beatrice' - I don't think I could go...
'Lurker' - Can I go?
'Ren' - Sure, Lurker!
'Alien' - Are you sure you aren't going Beatrice, your favorite Lurker is going to be there
'Beatrice' - Message saved... And of course, I'm going now that Lurker is going.
'Beatrice' - o>
'Alien' - What happened this time?
'Beatrice' - The cute girl right next to me did a "guts" pose with only one arm
'Ren' - Cute girls doing guts poses, that's a nice sight, envious...
'Beatrice' - Of course it is, even more by the side of this great me huhu
'Alien' - Hey, Beatrice, I found a song right up your alley, listen to this: âˇ
'Beatrice' - Ooh, let me listen then
'Liar' - Why only for him?
'Ren' - Let me listen too
Alien has logged out
'Ren' - Huh? What happened to him?
'Beatrice' - No clue
>>
No way.
Nooooooooooooooooo waaaaaaaaaaaay.
Nononononononononono.
Impossible.
At least I thought it was, but the cute girl by my side is currently listening to the song I sent Beatrice after I sent it to Beatrice and the guys.
I would be too dumb if I didn't make the connection that Beatrice = Cute girl by my side.
I first made the connection when I made the guts pose with one arm and the girl she spoke made the guts pose with one arm, then everything started to connect.
It's hard to find a mixer in such a small city, Liar really was right, we were on the same mixer.
I turn to talk with the girl, Beatrice or whatever her name is.
"Hey"
She flinches.
Crap my voice got a little too loud and a few guys are looking over here angry at me.
"Wh-What?"
She stumbled while speaking, I'm starting to feel sorry for her.
"You're Beatrice, right?"
Immediately color drains from her face when I ask that.
"Wh-Who... Wh-Wha-What? A-Alien?"
She is stumbling her every word.
"Yes, It's me, Alien, Look I don't want to hurt you Beatrice, or whatever is your real name, but you need to calm down."
"O-okay... J-Just give me a bit of time."
"As much as you need"
After that little exchange, we didn't say anything else to each other.
Beatrice, Anna Lisa, she uses a lot of names and changes them very frequently, but that's not the point, what I want to say is that she has social anxiety and a pretty serious one to boot, she said that to us a while after I entered the chat room.
I can see why she wanted to speak on the chat while on a mixer if it's as strong as I can see.
5 minutes.
10 minutes.
15 minutes.
And then 20 minutes passed and she started talking again.
"Marie Aada"
"Hmm?"
"My name, It's Marie Aada"
"Oh, My name is Alyan Cecil, it's a pleasure meeting you Marie"
Then she laughed lightly
"Did I say something weird?"
"You said the same thing when you first entered the chat."
"It's a greeting I always do when meeting someone for the first time."
"But... we already know each other."
"Not in real life, and I feel like I met a new side of you just now."
I say while smiling softly, trying to ease her mood.
"Thanks"
She says with a soft voice and lowers her head.
"Is... Is it unpleasant?"
"What is?"
"Being next to me, since I'm ugly and all"
I let out a snort and her composure crumbles.
"Of course it isn't. You're probably aren't going to believe this, but I don't think you're ugly"
"You're right, I'm not going to believe it"
"Well, for me you are really cute"
She looks at me with a surprised face, then blushes and looks the other way.
Nice one Alyan, leaving the girl embarrassed when she has social anxiety.
Say something me.
"I guess the alcohol is getting to me, haha"
"But... we aren't in drinking age yet and they don't sell alcoholic beverages around here."
My face starts getting hot from shame.
I get up to get something to drink and wash away the shame, but a hand holds me back.
"Please don't leave me here alone"
She says to me with pleading eyes
So that's what it was looking like?
"Okay, I'll stay right here then"
Then I sit down and we start talking about other things.
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Man, that took a while, It's currently 1:50 am and I just took Marie home, She lives in the University dormitories.
When I get home It should be a little bit before 3 am, luckily tomorrow we don't have classes.
After walking a bit and getting close to the university entrance I decided to see what time it was on my watch again.
Why? You ask. Because I'm going to try out that rumor that Marie posted on the chat group.
10 seconds until 2 am.
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"Nightmare, Nightmare, here I am."
Riiiiiiiiiiiiing
"Wh-What? my phone?"
I pick up and answer my phone.
"Hello?"
A creepy voice soon appears on the other side of the phone line.
"What does thee want with me."
I froze, couldn't answer it.
"You took too long to answer and my patience is thin, so your soul and body are mine."
Then everything around me went black and white, not because I was passing out, but because I was being taken somewhere else.
Slowly my surroundings began to fade and a new scenario appeared with a new person here... Robert Fawkes was staring at me with an eerie smile.
"Hihihi, you seriously followed that rumor, well, until a certain point Hahahaha."
What...?
"Robert, what is happening? I don't like jokes like this."
"Jokes? Hah, try to remember your nightmare, who was it that was chasing you? who was it that swallowed you whole?"
"No, it's not you, that was a monster, you, you are..."
"Human? sorry, but I never was a human, only yours truly, worst nightmare Red Riding Wolf. Eating humans is just the kind of thing I like to do, but enough about me, let's talk about today's game."
"G-Game?"
"Yes, game. We will play a little game of tag with a difference in rules, we both will be hunting each other. We both will be hunter and prey."
"B-But..."
"But that would be unfair? Sorry, but I don't care. You're merely here to be my meal."
He, no, It pauses and then starts speaking again.
It's human form is no more, now I can only see a big red wolf, not because it's fur is originally red but because of the blood of it's prey that is still dripping to this day.
"But I will give you hope, you will have a 30 minutes advantage over me, you can do whatever you want, attack me, run away or even, but I want o advise you against that, kill yourself so I don't eat you."
I gulp saliva down my dry throat.
"Why are you advising against that?"
"Because if you do that, I will hunt all you hold dear while your soul watches in agony, and we both don't want that ya see, I'm more of a "my pace, my life" kind of guy."
He stares at me and with a creepy smile says.
"Let your death game begin."
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.
I'm running as fast as I can, it's been 27 minutes since the game started and I only ran, I don't have anything to attack him with, so I can only run in hopes that there is a border that will end the game somewhere.
I'm running as fast as I can but I can't get the feeling out of my head that he can still get here in an instant.
Then his voice suddenly resonates through the entire area and I stop running
"Change of plan, I'm tired of waiting"
Wh-What?
My voice doesn't come out
"It seems we will have a visitor in a while so I have to get ready to welcome him, and for that, I need to finish you, so.... goodbye"
I feel a chill on my neck and jump forward
Suddenly the wolf appeared in the air and snapped his jaws where my neck was.
"You're good at dodging, but that won't take you long"
I begin running again
Run, run, I have to run, turn right, turn left, jump, duck, dodge, dodge, dodge, dodge, dodge
I have to run, run
But it's going to catch me either way, why do I have to run? That's it, I don't, I need help. But what is going to help me against that thing?
*Step*
It's behind me, I have to look.
Don't look.
I have to look.
Don't do it Alyan.
As I slowly turn my head "IT" Swallowed me.
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.
Or so I thought, but no matter how long I waited for the pain it never came.
When I opened my eyes someone was standing in front of me.
"Rule of Immortality: If I, the Liar, lie once my Immortality for this game will be gone.
Rule of Removal: If I, the Liar, lie twice I will be removed from the game.
Oath of Interference: I, The Liar, can't kill the nightmare, Red Riding Wolf, with my usual means.
Oath of the Breaker: As the nightmare, Red Riding Wolf, broke a rule the nightmare cannot kill the target until I die.
This is mine, Liar's Rules.
Let the Hunt Begin."
The person said
"You have two choices nightmare, go back to the starting point and fight with fair means, or we battle until our lives end."
The wolf stared at the white-haired young man with sharp eyes.
"You got here earlier."
The nightmare said with anger.
"You broke a rule you set yourself"
The man answered shortly.
"Tsk... Fine, I'll go back, but remember I will soon have that prey you so wish to protect even when not fighting at full power."
The wolf then disappears and the man then turns to me.
He is a bit older than me, probably one year or two, with white hair and purple eyes, he is wearing a black long coat with red outlines, black pants with a white shirt underneath the coat, he has a sword on his waist and a few daggers on the inside of his coat for weapons.
"Hey Alien"
He says light-heartedly to me
"Who... are you?"
"It's me Liar, I saw that you were in this whole mess and came to help."
Only now I notice but I'm really done, cuts and bruises on my whole body and a few deeper cuts near my neck, it hurts a lot, but I can't do anything about it now
"Liar?"
"I know this isn't easy to process but you need to calm down, all of this is real, and getting too agitated isn't going to help you."
He stares at me for a while and then continues.
"Inhale, exhale, slowly"
I do as he says and it really does help a bit, guess I was too much in a panic.
"Okay, I'm calmer now, but what should I do?"
"First, I have to explain to you a few things:
The only way the nightmare will be truly gone is if you kill it, otherwise, it will one day come back. For that, we need a plan and we don't have a lot of time to think of one. In a few minutes, he will come running here and kill you if we do nothing so I'm sorry if you get to agitated, but it's your only way out of here alive"
"But didn't you say that he couldn't kill me? one of those oaths you said"
"Yes, but that was only in the case that he continued to attack us"
"Then a plan..."
"Yes and a pretty urgent one"
"Then I may have thought of one"
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10 seconds till I get that tasty prey and defeat that shitty hunter
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I stretch a bit and start running until the place the-
I can't feel those two...
Those shitty bastards, they are tricking my senses with something.
And I got to play fair?
I start running to the place they last were until I went away because of the shitty hunter.
After a few minutes running I get to the place where they used to be and get a nice surprise.
"Huhuhu, the prey didn't clean his blood and now I have a trail of blood to follow them"
As I start following the trail of blood I let out an eerie laughter and after a few minutes, I get to a vacant house where the trail ends.
"Huhuhu, so here is where you two are hiding?"
I slowly enter the house destroying the doorway.
As I walk into the house the hunter is standing there on the corridor as if waiting for me.
"Was that his answer? running away?"
Then I notice something.
"You don't have your sword, are you thinking of fighting me barehanded... or perhaps... the prey will kill me?"
The hunter stays silent.
"If you stay silent it will count as a no."
The hunter then clicks his tongue and nods his head.
"Will he attack me from the cellar?"
I look at the open cellar.
And the hunter nods his head.
I let out the best smile I can and howl to the ceiling pulverizing it with my impact force.
"Guess that's it th- GHH-"
IT HURTS!!!!!!!!!!!! WHY DOES IT HURT SO MUCH?
WHY AM I BLEEDING?
THE HUNTER FUCKING LIED TO ME
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"For the plan, you will need to lie for me."
"Say more."
"We will hide in my house, there is a cellar and a basement in it, the cellar is normally open but the basement isn't. you will give me your sword and I will hide in the basement, while you stand in the corridor.
When the monster gets there, angry because you got here in time, you send glances at the open cellar and if he asks I'm inside it, you answer yes, same goes for any other place he asks I'm in except the basement, in that case, you lie saying no, then when he attacks the place he thinks I am I will stab him"
"Interesting, but there is one flaw."
"Where?"
"The Red Riding Wolf can locate us just by thinking in you"
"Well, that ruins everything"
"Not really, just makes things a little bit harder to me, I can hide your presence from him and subsequently hide mine."
"Why didn't say that before?"
"You didn't let me finish."
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.
I stabbed the heart of the Wolf, this is it, I won, I wo-
"GAH!!!"
"YOU LITTLE PREY, WHAT ARE YOU DOING STABBING ME!"
The wolf sent me flying with his paw through the room, I broke through the wall inside the house and probably a few ribs too.
I saw Liar being launched really far away from the corner of my eye.
"Luckily you missed my heart, if not I would be a done deal."
No... Way...
Suddenly something falls by my side and pierces the ground.
It's my late mother's memento, a knife my, now missing, father gave to her.
If I remember correctly the name of this knife was... Nightmare Hunter.
I grip the knife in my hand while trying to avoid the monster seeing it.
"But man, you are unlucky, you plan went down the drains, a Blood Wold like me doesn't have a heart, per see."
The wolf then stares at me and jumps at me at lightning fast speed.
The wolf then bites my shoulder and stays like this for a while.
"Oooh, how I enjoy giving a prey suffering."
NOW!
I grip the knife with the hand of the shoulder he is not biting and stab deep in his skull
Suddenly something enters my mind, an incantation starts leaving my mouth.
"I am you and you are a part of me, together we are dream and nightmare, separate we don't exist, together we shall fight, become mine, my nightmare, together we shall be Nightmare Hunters."
Suddenly the nightmare became engulfed in a white light that came from the knife and I passed out a little bit after.
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After waking up I was in a white hospital room, Marie was sleeping beside my bed, one could see that she had been crying until she slept.
I try to move a bit but my body hurts too much and a small groan leaves my mouth.
"Alyan... don't leave..."
I use my good hand to brush her hair away from her face, but end up waking her up.
"Nnn...? Alyan? Alyan! you're awake!"
"Ouch!"
She hugged me, but instead of feeling soft I felt pain, she pressed all the wrong places
"Sorry! Please let me stay like this for a while, I thought you were going to die..."
"Okay, as much as I can handle, okay?"
"Yes"
A nurse saw us in the middle of the hug, but she just sneered at me and left.
After a while of hugging she let go of me, forcefully.
She cried a lot while hugging me.
She must have a really deep trauma in her...
"Alyan, When the doctors were examining you, they said you were hurt very badly..."
"Well... Yeah, I don't think that anyone in a hospital wouldn't be hurt badly in a way."
"No, they said that even for people in severe car accidents, they don't get as hurt as you got. They said you lived through pure will"
"I guess my luck is that good, at least"
"But I didn't know you had a tattoo"
"Tattoo?"
"That one in your right arm."
She points to the arm I used to brush her hair.
When I look into it an eerie feeling permeates my whole being, because the tattoo is of a red blood hungry Wolf.
