Lycaon

-ALPHA-

"Oh...you are a strong one aren't you? Lets see how strong."

26 was frozen in place, his arm outstretched, aiming down the sights of his pistol. The bitch had been right in front of him. Every muscle screamed as he tried to move something. Even his eyes were frozen in place.

Umbra stepped lightly around 26, and placed her finger on his forehead.

Everything went black.

26 opened his eyes.

He was naked.

In a tub.

The bathroom was stark white.

The water was cold.

Where?

He stood up, goosebumps on his skin. Arms huddled across his chest. He stepped onto the cold tile floor. No towels...no clothes.

He reached for the doorknob. His hand was wet and slipped off. He tried again. He could find no purchase. He flicked his hand trying to get the water off, everything was wet.

His teeth were chattering.

Was it getting colder?

He squeezed the knob as hard as he could and turned. The knob was freezing, his skin stuck to it. He yanked his hand back, the skin tearing from his fingertips.

The bright red stood out on the tiles as his hand dripped.

The door had opened. He pulled it open, smearing blood on its edge.

Before him a long hallway stretched farther than he could see.

Ok...so this isn't real. Right?

He squinted to see the end of the hallway. Too dark. He tapped the fingers that still had their fingertips to the knob of a random door. Not cold.

He opened it and looked inside.

A giant black wolf sat in an empty concrete room.

26 froze.

Their eyes met.

The wolf stood and walked over.

26 was not afraid. He knew this wolf somehow.

They were old friends.

Maybe.

It could be a trick.

The wolf lowered its head in front of 26.

He slowly lowered his hand towards its head. The fur was thick, coarse, a soft undercoat. He ran his hand along the animals head. His fear left him. What was this creature? Why was he comforted by its presence...and why had he been so afraid?

Thats not who he was.

He faced his fears.

He looked down, still nude.

Enough.

Its time to find clothing and leave.

"Will you come with me? Be my guardian? My Sentinel?"

The wolf raised its head and stood next to 26.

"Good. Lets leave this place."

Back in the hallway they walked past many doors. Some he recognized, others he did not.

He was still unsure of the reality of it all.

How did he get here?

Why couldn't he remember?

What's the last thing he could remember...

The tub.

Nothing before that.

Lets figure this out.

If this isn't real, then it could be magic. He still wasnt sure magic was real, hed seen no evidence to support that it was a real thing. Except this maybe.

Second option, hallucination. Hmmm...thats an interesting one. He slapped his face. It hurt. So, not a hallucination. Unless hes hallucinating the pain. Is that a thing?

Probably not.

Third option, someone is doing this too him. Hes drugged and laying on a table somewhere. That one is more plausible.

Fourth option, hes lost his mind and hes walking around naked with a giant wolf in some sort of facility.

That theory has teeth.

He looked down at the wolf.

The wolf looked at him and curled its lip.

He started laughing. The laughter echoed down the hallway.

"Lets try another door."

This door was metal with a keypad. He typed in the code 6969.

The light flashed green and the door clicked open.

How did he know that?

Must be somewhere I've been before.

He and the wolf stepped inside.

"Yessss!"

Before stood a room with guns on the walls. A workbench on both sides of the room. A backpack under one of the workbenches.

He reached under the workbench and grabbed the backpack. A full change of clothes were here along with an old pair of black low top converse. He didnt know how he knew, but he was sure of it. He got dressed and pulled a .45 off the wall and stuck it in his waistband.

He stepped out the door and the wolf followed. It kept its shoulder at 26s leg.

"Lets find the end of this hallway."

It wasnt a hallway anymore though, it was a forest. He spun around, the door was gone. He grabbed at his waist.

The gun was gone. He was naked again.

"THIS IS BULLSHIT!"

He started walking angrily through the forest. Dead branches poked the bottom of his feet. Long pine branches slapped at his body as he pushed through the trees.

He came out on a baseball field. Children were playing, parents yelling from the bleachers.

This was familiar.

No one seemed to see him.

The wolf barked and trotted over to a young boy out in left field. It turned and looked at Carl, then looked at the boy.

Carl walked over to the boy, one hand in front of his junk. Even if they couldn't see him, it felt weird.

The boy...that was him.

The glove with the batman logo drawn on the side, that was his glove.

He remembered that.

A memory.

He was inside a memory.

How?

He walked towards the bleachers and stared at each individual person. Trying to shake something loose. If this was a memory, his parents must be here.

None of the adults were looking his way, except one lady. Blonde, too much eyeliner.

Familiar though.

Mom?

She smiled at him.

She could see him.

Her head tilted down, her smile stretched until it was inhuman.

Thats not my mother...thats something else.

He turned and ran, the wolf keeping pace with him.

They ran towards the trees.

He looked back.

The ballfield was gone.

It was a battlefield littered with dead.

If he was in memories, what was this?

Was he a soldier?

He stopped and ran back, grabbing a rifle from one of the corpses.

An M1 Garand.

A weapon of war.

He turned back to the forest, but the forest was more battlefield.

He stood alone among the dead.

The wolf barked.

It was staring at the skirmish in the distance.

Carl could hear the gunfire and the screams now.

He looked down, still naked.

He looked at the nearest corpse. An American G.I. in olive drab fatigues.

Fuck it.

He undressed the man and put the clothing on.

Not like he was using it anymore.

"Carl."

It was just a whisper.

He put the rifle to his shoulder.

"Show yourself!"

He slowly rotated. He was alone here.

"Carl."

Spoken this time.

He closed his eyes.

What is this?

Memories? So hes in his own mind?

If its his mind, he should be able to control it.

"I want to go home."

He focused on the word.

Home.

He couldnt remember his home, but it had to be in here somewhere.

He opened his eyes. He was naked again, but standing in a kitchen.

A short blonde woman with her back to him at the stove.

The wolf walked over and nudged her hand with its nose.

She petted the beast.

She turned and walked over to him, anger on her face.

"How could you? You brought her to our house!"

This woman was familiar.

Very pretty.

Very angry.

"What? I dont understand."

Her eyes snapped up to his, her gaze went through him.

She slapped him across the face.

As soon as her skin made contact with his, he was flooded with memories.

The date.

The kiss.

The wedding.

The bedroom.

The everyday.

The arguments.

The car crash.

The grief.

The silence in his heart.

He grabbed at his chest, the pain was an old ache.

He remembered her.

Charlene.

He fell to his knees before her.

"I was never unfaithful to you. I loved you."

The woman froze.

Carl stood up. Waved his hand in front of her face.

"Charlene?"

He heard a laugh from the living room. The wolf growled.

"Easy boy."

Carl walked into the living room. The blonde woman with too much eyeliner sat on his couch.

"A boy scout eh?"

"Who are you?"

"Whoever you want me to be."

Carl blinked and she was gone. He blinked again and his mother was sitting on the couch.

"Alright, cut the bullshit. Shes dead just like Charlene. What do you want?"

His mother stood up, a wide inhuman grin on her face, revealing pointy teeth.

"We just want to play."

Charlene was behind him with the same horrific grimace. He raised his fists ready to fight.

"You're not fucking real."

"You sure about that?"

The wolf jumped at his mother, but the visage blurred. That face, the short blonde hair and eyeliner.

Who was that?

Charlene punched him in the back. He spun around and threw an uppercut. Her teeth clacked together and she stumbled back and fell. Carl didnt wait to see if she got up, he whistled for the wolf and booked it towards the front door. Fuck this.

He was in his own head.

He was sure of it...but how did he wake up?

The wolf's eyes were rimmed in red.

It is a truly magnificent creature, its black fur a fast moving shadow over the bright snow.

I am running beside it, or rather, he was running beside me.

I'm really not sure.

I can't remember how I ended up here.

I just know I have to run.

Somethings coming.

Early morning rays break through the canopy and we huddle behind a large mossy rock.

The thumping moves away into the distance.

We avoided it...what ever it was.

He sat on a stump, his knees huddled to his naked chest. His breath visible.

The wolf sat across from him.

"So what do we know?"

The wolf blinked and Carl got a flash.

A single word.

Nano.

"Is that your name boy?"

The wolf barked.

"How did you tell me your name?"

The wolf blinked.

"Connection"

Carl looked at the creature.

"You and me?"

Blink.

"Yes."

"Who am I?"

Carl blinked and was sitting on a couch.

The office around him was cozy. Light blue walls held psychology degrees and certifications. The couch was soft beneath his slightly sweaty, naked butt.

Before him sat a cat.

Grey, missing his right ear, a small pink scar on the left side of his face.

His big yellow eyes stared intensely at Carl.

Carl spotted a small Afghan on the back of the couch, he snatched it, and wrapped it around his waist.

"Carl? Do you know who I am?"

Carl stared at the cat, bewildered.

"Cats can't talk...you're not real."

"Carl, focus. I am the logical part of your mind. Come here and touch my paw so you remember."

Carl got up, one hand holding the Afghan closed and touched his little paw.

The memories hit him.

Kevin.

His cat.

The stray he had rescued.

His best friend.

"Kevin!"

"Yes. Now go sit down."

Carl pet him for a moment before sitting down. Kevin purred loudly and twitched his whiskers.

"Where are your clothes Carl?"

"I-I dont know."

"What do you suppose that means? It's your mind, your in control."

"What do you mean? How do I take control?"

"Focus. Look the wolf in the eyes."

Carl looked at the wolf, its red rimmed eyes looked as if they were glowing in the dim room.

I'm in my mind...mine.

I'm in control.

Maybe it's a dream, can you control dreams?

Have to try.

Tired of being naked.

Clothes...focus on clothes.

He imagined himself wearing his old black leather jacket, a Soundgarden t-shirt, black jeans, and a pair of converse one stars. He imagined smelling the leather, feeling the pants swish as he walked.

He opened his eyes, he was wearing the clothes. It worked.

"Now we need to talk about how to fight back."

"Fight who?"

"Blondie. She doesn't belong here. I'm sure you've seen her by now."

Carl sighed and looked at the wolf.

"We have."

Kevins whiskers twitched.

"She's dangerous."

"I know."

The ceiling shook.

The thumping had begun again.

"What is that?"

Kevin glanced at the ceiling, then back at Carl.

"It's her. Shes wandering through your memories."

"Are we safe here?"

He looked at the wolf. It tilted its head to one side, its eyes on the ceiling.

He looked back at Kevin.

"We're fine for now. There are layers. Surface level memories, basic memory, core memories, and finally, what I like to call "stock memories". We're in that last one, buried under everything else."

"What do you mean 'stock memories'?"

"Well...think of it like this. Its like word association. If someone says "psychiatrists office", your mind takes all the versions of a psychiatrists office you've ever seen, whether in real life or movies and creates an amalgamated version. Its how you know the basic visual identity of things."

Carls brow was furrowed.

"Ok...I suppose that makes sense. If we're safe here, but not up there, then whats she doing to my other memories?"

Kevin licked his paw and smoothed the fur on his face a few times.

The thumping continued above.

"I really dont know. Nothing good."

"I can't stay trapped here forever."

"No, its not ideal. Logic says if you can manifest clothing, you should be able to fully control everything else as well."

"So what do I manifest? A gun?"

"You're thinking too small."

Carl leaned back into the couch, something in his jacket pocket crinkled. He pulled out a pack of fun-dip, tore off the top and started dipping the candy stick in the powder.

"How do I think bigger?"

"It's your mind Carl. Here, you are god."

Carl nodded and licked the candy stick, his lips slowly turning blue.

Another thump shook the light fixture above.

This one felt closer.

"You should go Carl. Shes getting closer."

He nodded and stood up, tossing the empty fun-dip wrapper in the wastebasket. He crunched on the stick.

"You ready Nano?"

The wolf barked.

"Attaboy...lets take the fight to her."

He headed for the office door, unsure of what was on the other side. He was in control, he dictated what was there.

He turned back to Kevin.

"I miss you Kevin. Thank you for the help...even if you are just a figment."

Kevin winked at Carl.

Carl turned back to the door.

He squeezed his eyes shut.

He knew where to start.

He opened the door.