But there was no answer.
Now I was getting scared. There I was in a stranger’s house, standing in my underwear in the dark. The moon was low in the sky now, fully framed in the living room window and shining brightly. Strange sounds had been coming from Cal’s room all night and I didn’t know if I should check on him, run, or call the police. What if he was a weirdo? A crackhead? Or some sort of deviant? Then again, what if something was wrong and he needed help? My heart leaped at the thought of him hurt and in pain, too embarrassed to ask a total stranger for help.
I wasn’t sure why I cared. I’d walked past plenty of people on the street that needed help and turned the other cheek. It was just something you learned to do in Portland. But something about Cal was different. Maybe it was that he’d given me a place to stay for the night, or that he seemed concerned for my welfare. Whatever it was, it propelled me across the living room until I was standing in front of his bedroom door.
“Cal? Are you alright?” I asked again, my voice low.
No answer. Just metal and growls and a strange musky scent I couldn’t place. What the fuck was going on in there? The entire situation was making my hair stand on end, goosebumps breaking out over my entire body. But for some reason I couldn’t help lifting my hand to the door handle. I felt driven by some unknown force to check on him, to make sure he was alright.
My fingers closed around the doorknob, and I gave it a tentative turn. Locked, just as he'd said it would be. Relief and disappointment warred inside me.
"Cal, I'm leaving soon. You said you'd walk me to my car, remember?"
The noises inside only intensified. Metal clanged against the floor, the growling growing louder. Suddenly I found myself wondering if we reallyweresafe from whatever I’d seen in the alley. Had it found a way up the building and through Cal’s window? It seemed impossible, but there I was, listening to themost inhuman sounds I’d ever heard coming from Cal’s room. It sounded like there was a… amonsterin there. What if it was hurting Cal? What if he needed help?
My heart was racing as I tried to turn the knob.Locked.
“Fuck,” I hissed, jiggling it furiously. More terrifying sounds came from within. “Hold on Cal,” I said through the door. “I’m coming!”
I ran to the kitchen, searching for something to break through the lock with. I found a butter knife in the drawer and rushed back to Cal's door. I'd jimmied enough locks in my life to know the basics, but my hands were shaking so badly it took three attempts to slip the knife into the lock. The growling on the other side intensified, along with a new sound. Panting, heavy and desperate.
"I'm coming!" I called, jiggling the knife frantically. The lock finally gave with a satisfying click.
I pushed the door open and froze.
The room was bathed in moonlight streaming through the window. But what I saw made no sense. The furniture was pushed against the walls, creating a large open space in the center of the room. And there, in the middle of that space, was what looked like a creature. Not a dog… but maybe a wolf? Its fur was dark, almost black, and it was at least twice the size of any canine I'd ever seen.
It was partially wrapped in chains that were bolted to the floor, and it was straining against them, muscles rippling beneath its thick coat. When the door opened, the creature's head whipped around, yellow eyes… the same eyes I'd seen outside. And they locked onto mine.
Then it began to stand. What I thought was a wolf lifted itself onto two legs, its pointed ears brushing against the ceiling. It took a step forward, the chains attached to its ankles and wrists clanking against the wooden floor where they were bolted down.A clawed hand reached for me as its lips curled back into a low growl.
I couldn't breathe. My brain refused to process what I was seeing.
"Cal?" I whispered, though I knew it was insane. This wasn't Cal. This was some kind of monster that had… what?Eaten himalready? But why was it chained up? Was it going to eat me too? If Cal was dead, where was all the blood?
The creature's growl intensified, vibrating through my chest like a physical force. I stumbled backward, my back hitting the door frame. My legs refused to move as terror paralyzed me. This was how I was going to die—in a stranger's apartment, in my underwear, mauled by some... some...
"Holy shit," I whispered, backing up slowly. "Holy fucking shit."
The creature or… wolf-man, I guess, pulled against the chains, making them creak ominously. Its massive chest heaved with each breath, and I could see the muscles straining under its dark fur. Those eyes never left mine, intelligent and fierce. Around its neck was a thin chain that caught the moonlight with what looked like a small wooden wolf pendant. It was just like the ones Cal had carved.
"Cal?" I said again, my voice barely audible as something strange and impossible dawned on me. "Is that... is that you?"
The creature's ears flattened against its head, and it made a sound that wasn't quite a growl, but more like a whine. It lowered itself slightly, as if trying to appear less threatening. Which, considering it was still about seven feet tall with teeth that could probably tear through bone like butter, wasn't particularly effective.
Still, I couldn’t help but feel like it had answered me. That this monster reallywasCal. How such a thing was possible, I didn’t know and I didn’t understand. But as he looked up atme with that pathetic expression and those big puppy eyes, I felt my guard slip slightly. Maybe… Maybe he wasn’t actually dangerous.
"Fuck," I whispered, taking a step forward despite every survival instinct screaming at me to run. "You're a... werewolf?"
The creature,Cal, made another whining sound and ducked his massive head, as if ashamed. The chains rattled as he moved, and I noticed angry red marks where they bit into his fur-covered wrists. He'd chained himself up. To protect me? To protect others?
"That's why you didn't want me to leave. Why you were so worried about whatever was out there." I was talking more to myself than to him, trying to process the impossible. "Because it was you. You're what's been attacking the pets."
Cal's head snapped up, his eyes flashing with what looked like hurt. He shook his head violently, the chains clanking.
"No? You're not the one doing it?"
Another emphatic shake of his head. He gestured toward the window with a clawed hand, then pointed to himself, making a restraining motion.
