Chapter 12: Crashed car
She was freaking paralyzed, locked in a terrifying staring contest with a wolf through her windshield.
The creature's eyes, glowing amber like molten gold, held her frozen in place.
They weren't just animal eyes; they were intelligent, cunning, almost as if the beast could see straight through her, peeling back layers of flesh and bone to read the terror that coiled in her very soul.
Its thick, matted fur was darker than the night, rippling with each subtle shift of its powerful muscles.
She could see the cold vapor of its breath as it panted against the glass, fogging up a small portion of the windshield, only to clear again as the beast drew back for another stomp.
It stomped its feet on the windshield again, claws clanging against the glass like steel against stone, and the cracks deepened, spider-webbing outward with a sharp, menacing sound.
Kara's breath hitched, caught in her throat like a stone lodged there. She didn't know what to do, her thoughts racing in chaotic loops of panic.
Her phone was dead, as useless as the gas gauge needle that had dipped to empty hours ago.
If she opened the door, it would be over. She couldn't run, not in these conditions, not with her shaky knees, and certainly not from this predator.
It was massive, a mountain of muscle and fur. No matter how fast she thought she could go, it would catch her in mere seconds.
The wolf snarled at her, baring long, yellowed fangs glistening with saliva that dripped onto the hood of her battered car.
Each guttural rumble sent vibrations through her chest, a primal warning that death was inches away.
Kara felt like prey, utterly at the mercy of this monstrous creature.
She squeezed her eyes shut, and every single prayer she'd ever learned during her years as a Catholic child came rushing back like a flood of forgotten hymns.
"Our Father who art in Heaven…" she began in her head, but the words tangled with the memories of hymns and Sunday school sermons. Her lips trembled, unable to form coherent words.
The wolf stomped on the windshield again, harder this time, and the sound of shattering glass pierced her ears.
The cracks spread further, jagged veins now splintering toward the edges. Her breath seized in her throat, and for a moment, it felt like time itself had stopped.
The beast stared at her again, amber eyes narrowing, almost as if it were calculating the exact force needed to shatter the glass completely.
One more violent stomp, she realized, and its claws would tear straight through the windshield, ripping her apart right there in the driver's seat.
Her hands gripped the steering wheel so tightly her knuckles turned white.
Was this it? Was this how she would die? Killed and eaten in the middle of nowhere, in freaking Monowi, Nebraska?
Of all the ways she thought her life might end, being mauled by a wolf hadn't even made the list.
Her heart pounded fiercely in her rib cage, the sound of it thundering in her ears like a war drum.
She was having a panic attack, and she knew it. The suffocating sensation in her chest, the lightheadedness, the trembling, these were all too familiar.
She hadn't had one since elementary school, but the crushing weight of claustrophobia was back with a vengeance. She couldn't breathe.
"I don't want to die," she whispered, her voice barely audible over the cacophony of her own panic.
She clawed at her neck, desperate for air, as if loosening the collar of her jacket might somehow free her from the invisible noose tightening around her throat.
Her chest heaved, each breath shallower than the last. Nausea churned in her stomach, bile rising in her throat.
Her vision blurred, the world around her spinning in a disorienting spiral of headlights, darkness, and the looming shadow of the wolf.
Her head spun, a sickening dizziness overtaking her, and she felt the edges of her consciousness slipping away.
Just as the dark abyss threatened to consume her, something happened.
A shadow, no, a figure, leapt onto the hood of her car with an earth-shaking thud.
The sudden impact made the entire vehicle tremble, the metal groaning under the immense weight.
It was tall, muscular, and undeniably human-shaped, though there was nothing human about the aura it radiated.
The figure was cloaked in darkness, its features obscured, but its eyes, those eyes burned a vivid, blood-red, glowing like embers against the black backdrop of the night.
The wolf growled, a deep, guttural sound that reverberated through the air.
It shifted its attention to the dark figure, ears flattening against its head as if recognizing a superior predator.
Kara could barely comprehend what was happening.
Her mind, already overwhelmed by fear, struggled to process the sheer impossibility of what she was witnessing.
The figure moved with unnatural grace, its presence radiating power.
It didn't seem to attack the wolf; instead, it made a series of low, guttural noises that sounded almost like a language. Whatever it communicated, the wolf understood.
The beast's growling subsided, replaced by a low whine. Slowly, almost reluctantly, the wolf backed away from the car.
Kara blinked, her vision swimming, as she watched the creature retreat into the shadows of the forest.
The figure turned its attention to her. Before she could react, its hand shot out, shattering the already-cracked windshield with a single, effortless motion.
The glass exploded into countless shards, scattering like a thousand tiny crystals catching the faint moonlight.
Before she could scream or even think, a strong arm reached through the jagged opening and grabbed her.
She was lifted out of the driver's seat as though she weighed nothing, cradled in powerful arms that held her firmly yet gently.
The air outside was blistering cold, sharp against her skin as the figure moved with inhuman speed.
The world around her became a blur, trees and darkness blending into a dizzying swirl. She could feel the wind biting at her cheeks, carrying with it the faint, metallic scent of blood.
Snowflakes began to fall, tiny, delicate crystals drifting lazily from the sky.
Kara shivered, her teeth chattering as the cold seeped through her thin jacket. Snow in spring?
That didn't make sense. But then, nothing about this night made sense.
She nestled deeper into the warmth of the figure's arms, the heat radiating from its body a stark contrast to the icy chill of the night.
She tried to lift her head, to get a better look at her rescuer, or her captor, she wasn't sure which, but her strength was gone.
Exhaustion weighed her down like an anchor, and her eyelids fluttered closed despite her efforts to keep them open.
The last thing she remembered before losing consciousness was the rhythmic thrum of a heartbeat against her ear.
When she woke, it was to blinding light. The brightness pierced through her closed eyelids, pulling her from the depths of a restless sleep.
She groaned, raising a hand to shield her eyes as she slowly sat up.
Her head pounded, a relentless, throbbing ache that made her wince.
Every muscle in her body felt sore, as though she'd run a marathon or been dragged through one. Blinking against the harsh light, Kara took in her surroundings.
The room was spacious but bare, the walls a stark, clinical white.
The only furnishings were the bed she lay on, a small wooden chair in the corner, and a table with what looked like medical supplies.
She felt an odd sense of detachment, as though this place existed in a dream.
"You crashed my car," a voice growled, low and rough, cutting through the fog in her mind like a knife.
Kara turned her head slowly, the movement making her dizzy, and saw a man standing near the door.
He was tall, with a muscular build and a rugged appearance. His dark hair was disheveled, and his jaw was set in a hard line.
But it was his eyes that caught her attention, intense, piercing, and unmistakably red.
"Rox," he added, gritting his teeth as if the name itself carried weight.
Kara sat up further, clutching her head as the pounding intensified.
The events of the night before came rushing back in fragmented flashes, the wolf, the figure, the snow. "What... what happened?" she managed to whisper, her voice hoarse.