Claws For Concern

“I need you to remember…” Carlisle whispers, his eyes closed as he is gently holding a young woman’s head. “I need to see what happened…”

“I’m trying… My memory is fading…” the young woman groans, eyes also closed. “I can’t remember his name…nor what he looked like… I just know he existed…and was someone you know…”

“Give me your best shot… Maybe if we take it from the top…” Carlisle urges. “Deep breaths, now… Breathe…”

Carlisle manages to get inside the young woman’s head. Here, he finds a door that she just unlocked for him. Is this it? The memory she’s been trying to recover? No…

The vision begins. The young woman, Sherill Breckinridge, is trapped in a cage of some sort, curled up, trembling. Heavy footsteps sound as her captors arrive. She gasps, but obediently turns around in her tight confines to face her captor.

“Have mercy, please… I’m still bleeding from last time…” Sherill pleads.

“Mercy, indeed. We, as a counsel, have decided to let you go,” the captor says in a voice like cool-mint breath mints.

“You have…? It’s over…?” Sherill asks. “I can go home…?”

“Yes, my dear… Come on, out of your cage, pup…” the captor calls, his voice heavy with fake kindness as he opens the door to the crate.

“Will they remember me? I’ve been away from home for so long…” Sherill comments, still trembling as she emerges from her cage.

“I’m sure they will…” the captor says. “Thank you for being patient while we tested our theories… Your assistance proved fruitful.”

“Thanks for not killing me,” Sherill says and transforms into a grayish brown wolf.

Without looking back, she runs for the exit. No longer hindered by a shock collar, she escapes. The natural light strikes her, making her squint a bit. The last golden rays of sunlight are dazzling on the horizon. With that, she runs into the twilight.

“Mom?! Dad?! I’m home!” Sherill cries out, running all the way home to her wolf pack.

“Sherill! Thank goodness! We thought we lost you for good after those Vampires showed up!” Sherill’s mom exclaims, hugging her tightly.

“They didn’t kill me…they could have, but they had mercy. I’m finally home!” Sherill exclaims.

“They didn’t follow you, did they…?” the father asks, suddenly alert.

“I don’t think so? Why would they?” Sherill asks.

Silence falls. The vision then changes to Sherill waking up to howling outside her house. Quickly, she rushes outside and finds the Vampires who kidnapped her previously attacking and killing her entire pack.

“Sherill! RUN! RUN, SHERILL!” Sherill’s mother cries out, then howls in agony as she is bitten by a Vampire.

Sherill is frozen for a moment, staring in horror at the carnage. Then, she flees. As fast as her legs can take her. Desperation fills her body as she runs and runs, not even stopping as exhaustion begins to take over. Her whole pack was slaughtered because of her lack of vigilance.

“Awooooooooooooooooo!” Sherill howls, crawling into a hole in a tree.