CH:1

When Matt woke up on Monday, he didn't know that that day was going to change his entire life. Like all the other Mondays, Matt dreaded the week ahead. It started like any other ordinary Monday. He came down to have breakfast with his parents. He also had an elder sister, but she was pursuing her Bachelors in a college in the nearby city.

His mother dropped him off at school. His first class was Math. Matt was very good at Math. In fact, his nickname was "Math" Matt. While he was very attentive during the class, he couldn't help but let his eyes wander towards the Eriksen sisters.

Daniella and Joanna Eriksen were two of the hottest girls at school. They were identical twins. They were both very smart, consistently ranking near the top of the class. They were also very popular. They were part of the cheerleading team.

While Matt was very attracted to both of them, he thought he had a better chance with Daniella. They had done a project together for their Biology class last year, and since then had remained on friendly terms. Joanna, on the other hand didn't even knew he existed.

The problem with his dreams was the fact that Daniella was already dating Chase. Chase was a bully and he used to torment Matt during middle school. While the thought of stealing his girlfriend gave Matt great pleasure, considering the consequences left him shaking in the knees. He never really understood why Daniella dated Chase. Chase was pretending to be a "good guy" in her presence, while being a complete asshole when she was not around.

After class, Daniella came up to him.

"Hey, Matt."

"Hey, Dani. What's up?"

"Can you help me with something?"

"Yeah, sure."

"I have trouble solving some problems in Calculus, can you help me with them?"

"Yeah. Do you have a free period? Or we could stay back after school and meet at the library."

"I don't think that's gonna work. I have cheerleading practice the whole week after school. Can you come over to my house on Sunday?"

Normally, Matt wouldn't even consider it. Sunday was "his" day. But this was Daniella Erikson. He made an exception.

"Sure, Sunday it is."

Chase came up behind her and gave her a kiss. The kiss was deliberate as he knew Matt had a crush on Dani.

"What up, Matt?"

"Hey, Chase."

He pretended to be civil with Matt in front of Dani. When they left, he gave Matt a kick on he leg that Dani didn't see. Matt limped to his next class.

After Physics class, his friend Gary, came up to him. Gary was a member of the Astronomy club and he and Matt had become friends in the freshman year.

"Hey, Matt."

"Hey, Gary."

"Hey, man. Can you do me a favor?"

"Yeah. Go ahead."

"Can you work on the club project today?"

The astronomy club project was to observe the night sky and map various stars and planets. Each club member had to take shifts to observe the sky over a forty-five-day period.

"Oh, come on, Gary. That's not fair. It's your shift."

"Look, man. I know. It's just Julia's parents are out of town today and she invited me over. Just today, man. I owe you one. I promise."

"OK," Matt sighed.

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After school, Matt's mother, Diana, picked him up. He told her that he'd need to come back to school at around 07: 30 PM in the night. He told her he'd be home by 11: 00 PM or 11: 30 PM at max. Diana was not happy. She didn't like him traveling in the night.

The path between his home and school was covered by woods on both sides. Even though Matt knew these woods like the back of his hand, his mother still dreaded sending him out at night alone.

At home, Matt finished his homework. Around 06: 30 PM, he packed his bag, bid his Mom goodbye, and left for school. He reached the school at 07: 00 PM. He showed the security the note he had got from the Physics teacher and he was let in. He made his way to the classroom on the top floor where they kept the telescope.

He spent the next two hours observing the night sky. He had always admired the outer space. He loved his time spent gazing at the stars. It was a full moon day.

He packed up and left the school early at 10: 00 PM. He lived in a small town. There weren't a lot of people who were out and about at this time. The road was pretty deserted.

While he was riding his bicycle, he felt an uneasiness in the air. Something was not right. It felt as if something was watching him. He started going faster in the hopes of reaching home soon. That's when he heard it. A rustling in the trees on the side of the road. Despite his intentions to get home as quickly as possible, he stopped his bike. He looked at the general direction of the trees.

He saw a pair of glowing red eyes. Just looking at those eyes made him almost shit his pants. Every cell in his body screamed at him to get out of there as soon as possible. Just when he was about to leave, a wolf jumped out of the trees. Matt had never seen a wolf like this before. The woods near his town did not have any wolves. The most predatory animal he had seen in the woods had been a fox. Hell, he had never seen a wolf like that even on the internet.

On its four legs, the wolf was taller than him. It was growling. Saliva dripping from its jaws. It pounced on him. Before he knew he was on the ground. Its paws were on his shoulders pinning him down. It went for his neck. He raised his hand. It bit his hand. Suddenly, it stopped. It sniffed him. Then, it jumped into the woods and disappeared into the darkness.

Matt was in shock, but he managed to pull himself together. He got on his bike and raced home.

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When Matt entered his home, his parents were in the living room watching TV. His mother was the first to notice his bleeding hand.

"Oh, my god. Matt! What happened?"

Hearing the panic in his wife's voice, Matt's father Thomas turned around. His eyes went wide seeing the blood drip from his son's arm.

"It was a wolf, Mom! Bigger than any I've seen. It had me on the ground and bit me. For some reason, it just left."

Diana's eyes widened.

"I'll get the car. We need to first get you to a hospital," Thomas said.

Soon the entire family was in Thomas' car. Thomas was in the front driving, while Diana was in the back, tending to her son's arm, which was now bandaged with a white cloth. It was almost midnight when they reached the hospital.

The doctor admitted him and started him on a course of antibiotics. She told Diana that they had contacted a doctor who specialized in animal attacks and they were on the way.

Soon, the specialist arrived and asked the staff to perform a few tests on Matt. He told Diana and Thomas that they should keep Matt under observation till the test results were available.

With all the chaos happening around him, somehow Matt fell asleep.

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