Chapter 6: Werewolf

Orion shoves me the poster released by Jupiter Police Department. It has a blurry and dark picture of a wolf that looks like the one that we encountered three nights ago. 

"What is this?" 

Right behind him, Loki watches with amusement while Hermione couldn't care less about what is happening. Orion is dressed in his pajamas, with hair sticking out everywhere. My appearance looked very similar, having just woken up seconds ago. Today is Sunday, which means no school and no homework and I get to sleep in. Or rather, I was supposed to. Thank you, Orion. 

"Don't you see? This is the werewolf that we saw! I told you! I told you they're real and they're here!" He storms into the living room, and he is immediately followed by Hermione. Then there's Loki, who remains standing by my feet, looking up at me expectantly. I've refused to pet him ever since he bit me. I lightly kicked him out of the way to close the door, then I went to my kitchen to prepare drinks and food. "This guy was at the woods at night and he saw a person wearing a cloak. One second, it was human and after passing a tree, a wolf emerged. How do you explain that!" 

I poured two orange juice in two glasses. "What's a guy doing in the woods by himself?"

"Doesn't matter. He saw a werewolf!" 

"Could it be that, oh, I don't know," Loki jumped on the counter table to drink one of the orange juice, but I moved both of them away from him. He hissed with frustration. "Maybe he was drinking? Or getting high?"

"Or he could be stargazing and enjoying nature when freaking Scott McCall decided to have dinner" I rolled my eyes and shook my head. I started cooking some breakfast while he went on a rant. Down at my feet, Loki attempts to climb my legs, only to scratch my skin while doing so. Clinging my tongue, I shooed him away with my foot and splashed him with water from the sink. 

Bad move. He bit me again.

"You little shit!" I picked him up and dropped him on the couch. He landed on two lavender roses, which have been showing up on my bed recently. I'm still freaking out about how it's getting there, but I've noticed that nothing is missing and no one is hurt, so I'm assuming whoever is giving me those roses don't mean any harm. Even if I tell someone about it, they'll just laugh at me and think I'm crazy. 

 I always make sure that my door is locked, so there's no way to get in through there. My balcony door is always open somehow, but my room is in the third floor and it's a pretty long way up. There's no ladder or anything, so the chance of anyone sneaking through the balcony just to leave a damn rose is pretty low as well. Orion's not even in the question. It's definitely not me giving myself roses. Unless... it is? No, I'm losing my mind. But this roses thing is the least of my worries right now.

I'm still trying to find out more about the red-eyed woman in Virgo. I haven't been able to get any information because their door has been locked. I could pull a Mission Impossible and do some breaking or sneaking in at a later time of the day, but what if I get caught? It's not worth losing my job. 

Loki just jumped right off the couch and ran away, disappearing somewhere in my bedroom. I decided to leave him alone and focus on the breakfast food. Orion also ignored the cat, because his mind is too wrapped up on the so-called werewolf in Jupiter. 

"Don't worry about it." I told him, preparing his plate. "We saw the wolf a few nights ago and as far as we know, no one is dead. No animal attack, no bodies found in the woods. When someone die, that's when people should start getting worried. What if the wolf is just a lone wolf who got lost from its pack and is completely harmless?" 

Orion nodded. "Yeah, you could be right." At least he relaxed a little bit. "By the way, did you get that email from Virgo?" 

"About the missing solutions? Oh yes." The two of us began to eat. "Why would anyone steal chemicals?" I laughed, stabbing my food with a fork. "Maybe someone is trying to create the Powerpuff Girls." 

Orion chuckled. "I'm just amazed at how they're actually successful. Virgo's security is pretty serious. Sometimes I get nervous walking through security because I think I'll somehow have a weapon in my bag or something even though I know I'm innocent. Whoever is the thief, they have to be someone who works inside." 

I thought of the Russian scientists and the red-eyed frozen woman. 

"Who knows." 

Later on, I found Loki inside my dirty laundry basket, purring as he swam through the pile of smelly clothes. When I picked him up, he was wrapped around my burgundy scarf that I wore last week on a chilly morning. I had to take it off at noon because it suddenly turned hot. Weather is insane. 

"Enjoying yourself?" The cat let out a meow, opening his mouth. I tried to remove the scarf off of him, but Loki dug his nails through its thin fabric, refusing to let it go. "Fine. Keep it." I murmured, taking him in my arms and carrying him back to the living room. I handed Loki back to Orion. The cat is too busy cuddling in the scarf to even complain about being back in Orion's arms. "Here's your asshole cat." 

Orion gasped. "Don't talk to me or my son ever again."

***

Later that day, I decided to go out and do some grocery shopping. It was around eight when I finished all my chemistry homework, so that's when I headed out. It was already a bit dark, so I made sure to bring my pepper spray. As I drove through the small town, I saw more of the 'Beware the Dog' posters, which definitely got people talking. I thought it was interesting that they're more worried about something that may not even exist, but when it comes to legitimate real-life issues such as a mass shooting, all they can do is send 'thoughts and prayers' and forget about it after two hours. North America at its finest. 

"Hi there!" 

I almost dropped my bags as an old man approached me by my car. He's holding a bunch of purple-colored plants, and he's managed to collect some money with it. "Are you aware of the werewolf spotted in the woods?" 

Oh great. 

"If so, I'd like to give you one of these." He pointed at the flowers, presenting them as if they were gold. "These are called Wolf's Bane. If you have one of these, werewolves will not harm you. They are scared of these because it is poisonous to their kind." I'm sure he sold a few of those because people are genuinely afraid. Are people taking advantage of fear and making money from it? Sounds about right. "They're only twenty dollars. For a pretty lady such as yourself, fifteen." 

"No thanks." I put my bags inside my car and got in the driver's seat. 

"Ten dollars." 

I shot him a fake smile and locked the doors. The old man flipped me off and moved on to the next car. "Wolf's bane." I laughed to myself, turning on my car's radio. 

But it won't turn on. 

I tried again.

And again and again. 

"Damn it." I slammed my hands against the steering wheel, and suddenly music began to play.

"We're so wonderfully wonderfully wonderfully! Wonderfully pretty! You know that I'd do anything for you. 

We should have each other to dinner, we should have each other with cream, then curl up in the fire. Get up for a while. It's the grooviest thing, it's the perfect dream!" A song by The Cure, though I can't recall the title. 

It then switched to another song. "And we can build this thing together, stand this stormy weather, nothing gonna stop us now! 

And if this world runs out of lovers, we'll still have each other, nothing's gonna stop us, nothing's gonna stop us now." 

What in the name of Thor Odinson is happening right now? 

I know there's nothing wrong with my car. 

But when I removed the key, everything stopped. 

"What the fuck." Okay so maybe it's just malfunctioning? That has never happened before. 

First, the roses, and now this? Something is out here to get me, isn't there? 

"Astoria," My name is coming from the radio as another song begins to play. "I'm warning you, not ready yet, not for you..."

Holy shit. Holy shit. Holy shit. Holy shit. I'm going to die. Whatever the hell it is knows my name and it's somehow messing with the car's radio. 

Could it be a ghost? 

Should I try talking to it? 

Taking a deep breath, I closed my eyes and spoke nervously. "Hello? Is there anyone here with me?" 

I opened one eye to see if anything happened. 

Nothing.

"Is there a ghost in here?" 

I thought I heard something from behind me, but when I turned around, I was clearly the only one here. I'm going crazy. Shaking my head, I ran my hands down my face and took another deep breath. I inserted the key and started my car as calmly as I could. Thankfully, it did what it was supposed to do. The car's radio had stopped playing music, and I didn't think about turning it on again. 

I tried not to think about it. I just wanted to go home and sleep it all off. 

With my eyes glued on the road ahead of me and hands gripping on the steering wheel, I managed to make it halfway home. 

But then all of a sudden, a creature crossed the road.

A massive, brown-furred wolf.

The same one that Orion and I saw the last time. It is also most likely the same one in the 'Beware the Dog' posters. Once again, it is right in front of me. This time, however, the wolf is staring right at me with its glowing and intense red-orange eyes. 

It's okay. It's just a wolf. 

A really big wolf.

And it's coming towards me.

"Shit. Shit. Shit." 

I'm shaking in my seat as my breath hitches. My doors are locked, but will those really protect me? 

I watched nervously as the wolf circled my car. Sweat drips from my forehead down to my face, while my palms are sweating. The wolf had its snout against the doors as if checking for something. It was sniffing the doors, each one of them and it didn't stop until the door at the back right. 

It then let out a low growl before a loud bark that made me jump and gasp.

And if that wasn't frightening enough, something jumped from the backseat. It went from the bottom of the car to the seats, and then right on my lap. Black hairs are standing while its legs shake. The creature hid its face on my chest while its violet and red eyes flickered back at the window.

Confused, I held up the creature to my face. 

"Loki?"