The Howling

Vlad pushed Lena softly until she gave up and crawled out of bed. She knew he would have breakfast ready by the time she was finished. So she skipped off down the hall, humming to herself lightly, pleased by the start of a brand new day.

Six months and several bottles of Johnny Walker were gone along with half of Kyle’s liver and kidneys. The cops had stopped searching for Lena a week ago. The last she had been seen was at a gas station off the I-10 in Texas. After that, she had just vanished.

Kyle woke up with a half empty bottle still in his hand and a hangover that threatened to make him repeatedly vomit as the room spun around him. It was so horrible that he had refused to go home. He slept on the couch at his office and prayed every night for a sign that Lena was still alive, or that god would just let him die. He didn’t care anymore as long as the answer came swiftly.

It was time for Kyle to get up. Hangover or not he needed to get cleaned up. Even though he didn’t want to work, he still needed to. He had to support his alcohol habit somehow. So with a deep sigh he pushed himself off the couch, called a cab, and made his way out into the cold, rainy morning.

After a long cold shower and a hot meal, Kyle felt slightly less nauseated. He decided that he would drive back to the office rather than pay for another cab. So he grabbed his keys and made his way outside. At least it had stopped raining, even though he felt like wincing as the sun came through the clouds.

The car started right up for Kyle as if he hadn’t been neglecting it at all. He almost felt better as he puttered up the road. Then it struck him harshly, yet again, that Lena was missing. There would be nothing for him until she was found. He pulled into the parking lot, glided the car into the spot in front of his name, and turned the car off.

The elevator music was slightly less annoying without the incessant pounding in Kyle’s brain. He stepped out onto the fifth floor, waived hello to his secretary, and stepped through the door to his office. He searched the stack of envelopes on his desk and still not one of them was from Lena. He let out a defeated sigh, sat down in his chair, and opened the mail one letter at a time until his misery was nothing but a dim memory.

Almost the whole day had gone by too quickly for Lena. While Vlad worked in the library she decided it would be a good time to sit down and write away a few more demons. Before she could even reach for the pen, the papers began flipping through what she had already written. As a blank page came into view the ink started appearing as words on the page. She let out a squeal as what was in her mind transferred onto the paper with only her thoughts guiding it.

Vlad raced in to see what had caused Lena’s wrenching howl. She had knocked the chair over and was standing a few paces back pointing at the desk speechlessly. He couldn’t help but laugh as he wrapped his arms around her.

“It’s alright love. I didn’t mean to frighten you. I wanted to gift you something that would make your time easier.” He explained.

“I’m surprised.” She laughed, embarrassed, “Thank you.”

“Words come so easy for you. It should be easier for you to share them. I’m glad you like it.”

“How does it work exactly?” She asked.

“Well, you sit, think of what you want it to be and the spirits transcribe it for you. When your thoughts end, you place your hand over it and speak that it is done and it will close.” He explained.

“Neat,” She waved her hand over it and watched the stack of papers reset to perfect order.

“You are wonderful.” She kissed him tenderly.

“You are magical.” He smiled as she pulled away. “Are you interested in a sunset picnic in the gardens for dinner?” He asked.

“Yes I’d like that.” She smiled. “Just let me get changed. I don’t want to wear white out in the grass.”

“Alright, should I wait for you outside?” He winked.

“No, you may however help me out of this gown before I snag it on the closet.” She laughed.

Vlad unzipped the dress for Lena and she let it fall to the floor. Spirits whispered all around them nearly pushing them into each others’ arms with the intent of skipping supper. But Lena ignored the temptation changed into a light green dress and took him by the arm. Contently they walked outside together.

Vlad lit up the back gardens with hanging globes of soft blue light. Beneath the glow a blanket appeared with a basket that held sandwiches and wine. Lena settled in next to him contently as he poured them each a glass. They sat quietly sipping wine and nibbling the sandwiches until long after the sun passed. It wasn’t long until the soft lights above them began to fade away when they decided it was time to retire for the evening. The magic dissipated as they made their way inside.

Vlad had been asleep for hours. Lena however couldn’t shake the restlessness that left her wide awake. The voices had grown louder, more demanding of her attention since the sun had gone down. The whispers were now angry shouts as the shadows twisted just beyond her line of sight. Silently she slipped from his bed, made her way through the darkness and entered the room he had given her. The candles that lined the desk sprang forth with light beating the darkness into submission for the moment.

“Alright, you want to speak, so here I am.” She said as she held her hands over the enchanted paper.

The pages flipped open and the words began to appear. Lena read along as it flowed into being.

The eve of his twentieth year as a human the enchanted one cast into existence a place where he could find solitude. For every day within this place a month would pass to the outside world, granting him time to harness his powers and wait for the one that his vision had shown to him.

Ten years had passed to him before the three hundred year wait finally came to an end. The world had caught up with him, and at long last, she who would be his came into his forever and left the world of the others behind.

“Is it true?” She asked realizing Vlad had been standing behind her.

“Yes,” He replied softly.

“That kind of explains why it’s felt like I’ve been here longer than twelve days.” She smiled.

“A year has passed for the world that we have fallen away from.” He replied.

“Three hundred and twenty years is a long time to wait for someone.” She thought out loud.

“It’s only been ten years for me. If that finds you any comfort.” He offered.

“I am comforted by that.” She replied.

“Do you miss the world Lena?” He asked.

“I feel like the world misses me.”

“I am sure it does. I know I would miss you if you were to be gone so suddenly.” He kissed her forehead.

“I would like to see what I have missed.”

“Then I will show you. Give me some time to gather what we will need.” He said gently.

“I shall wait for you here.” She smiled and kissed him softly.

Vlad turned away and vanished down the hall. Lena thought for an instant that she may have hurt his feelings by asking. She sighed and figured she would apologize for it later. As she waited she turned back to the book and watched the spirits continue to write it out in her honor.

When there was nothing left to be written the pages folded together. They slid neatly into the yellow folder that appeared beside the stack. Another book that would have taken Lena months to accomplish was done in just a few days. Then she recalled that those few days were in fact months had passed. Her head was foggy in the confusion of it all. She didn’t have to think on it much longer before Vlad came for her.

“Are you ready?” He asked.

“Yes, I am ready.” She replied as she stood.

“I feel that I hurt your feelings when I asked for this. I want to apologize.” She said as they walked down the hall.

“There is no need for apologies.” He smiled and took her hand in his.

“When I first left the world I missed it too. It took time to get used to this way.” He said as they entered the library.

“Thank you for being so understanding.” She kissed his cheek.

“You make it easy.” He replied as he cast his hand over the viewing bowl.

Lena leaned in close to get a good look as the water shimmered, ready to show them what they were asking for. Vlad stood silently beside her as she watched the world come into view.

Kyle stood off to the side of the room. He sipped on his scotch and watched as his co-workers partied the night away. It was almost midnight. He should celebrate but this was the first year without Lena and he just didn’t feel like it. He put the empty glass down as everyone cheered and threw the confetti. Then he made his way outside. Sad and alone, a tear fell down his cheek. He climbed into his car and went home.

Lena could feel his sadness as she turned to Vlad with tears in her eyes. He put his arm around her and held her tightly.

“He misses me so much.” She sighed.

“I never knew that I was more than an author to him.” She admitted.

“Can you be certain by what we have been shown that you are not?” He asked.

“Well, no.” She thought.

“We see and can interpret many things by what is shown, without ever really knowing the truth of it.” He explained.

“You’re right.” She smiled. “Can we test it?”

“How do you suggest we do that?” He chuckled.

“I have that book the spirits helped me finish. We could send it to him and view again to see what changes.” She replied.

“That’s possible.” He smiled. “Your curiosity never ceases to amaze me.”

“Thank you.” She smiled.

“I am well spent for the day on my magic that bridges the two worlds. Tomorrow we will test your theory.” He said.

“I didn’t realize there were limits.” She pouted. “I shouldn’t have made you strain so much.”

“It’s alright,” He kissed her softly. “I’m not exhausted here. I just don’t belong in that world. There’s a balance I am required to keep.”

“There’s so much for me to learn. How will I ever keep it all straight?” She sighed again as the confusion set in.

“We have much time for you to learn. But for now, we should eat and get our strength back from this viewing.” He stated.

“Of course darling, you lead the way.” She slipped her arm through his.

Vlad walked Lena down the hall. They descended the stairs and entered the kitchen where he watched her work contently cooking without magic. He liked how she kept things simple, sparing his energy for other things. The spirits had not lied to him. Indeed, his life was better with her in it.

Kyle’s New Year’s resolution began with the idea that he would do everything he could to forget about Lena. He began by swearing off the bottle of Johnny Walker he drank every night. He was three weeks into his sobriety kick and back to working full time. Somehow, he actually felt better.

A new style of book came to Kyle’s attention by way of one of his co-workers. It was a decent mystery based comedy, even if the young author stunk at punctuation and grammar. He worked away quietly correcting as the day moved on around him.

Thursday night’s, Kyle hosted the company poker night. He closed the book he was editing at five that evening, and stopped to pick up pizza and snacks on the way back to his house. He had the table set, chips in bowls, and beer chilling in the fridge when his guests arrived.

Jokes were thrown, bets were made, and pizza devoured; cards were shuffled, dealt, and discarded as well. Kyle found comfort in the repetition of it all. That was until he ran out of poker chips to bet with. He chuckled at loosing again knowing he was never good at poker. The night came to a close as he watched his guests walk out the door shutting it behind them.

Kyle cleaned up the kitchen, poured the rest of the beer down the sink and took out the trash. He put the poker chips and the cards back in the kitchen drawer. Then he headed off for a quick shower before retiring to bed.

In the morning, the alarm clock rang. Kyle climbed out of bed. He dressed and made his way into the kitchen where his automatic coffee pot had his steaming cup of coffee ready to go. Keys in hand, wallet in pocket, and coffee sipped. He locked the door behind him and headed for the office.

Kyle rode up the elevator with his secretary who chatted happily about her sisters’ brand new baby girl. He listened politely and even found himself smiling as they exited into the office. She went on to make coffee and check the messages while he pushed open his door ready to finalize the edits on the mysterious comedy he spent all week working on.

Next to Kyle’s computer sat a large yellow envelope. It struck him as a bit out of place. No one had used one to mail manuscripts since they had switched to email nearly fifteen years ago. As he made his way over to the desk he could see his name written on it with plain black ink. There was no return address or a stamp to indicate it had gone through the mail. He hesitated to open it as he sat down in his chair.

The computer chimed as it booted and the monitor powered up. Kyle stared at the envelope and finally gave into the curiosity. He peeled it open carefully and slid the paper free. As he read the title page he gasped. Tears flowed from his eyes as he leapt out of his chair and opened the door shouting.

“Get me the police chief on the phone and every news station and paper for the entire state of California.” He hollered.

“What’s the matter? Kyle, what’s going on?” The secretary asked frightened.

“It’s Lena, she’s still alive.” He said as the shock hit him.

Kyle fell to the floor and shook violently. The secretary punched the phone ferociously as she did what he requested. He kept thinking, over and over in his mind, that he had to be alright. This was the sign that he had been waiting for. Now that he knew she was still out there he swore he would do everything in his power to find her.

The chief of police was the first to arrive at the office. Kyle was no longer on the floor. Instead he hovered over the coffee pot and watched as his office was desecrated in the name of gathering evidence. In the end, there wasn’t much to find. There were no fingerprints on the envelope, no saliva on the flap of it, no hair follicles stuck in-between the pages. Only the first twenty pages had half prints or smudges on it, the rest were blemish free, giving the appearance that no one had touched them at all. His office was torn apart, everyone unsure of how the package had arrived on his desk.

What little the officers had gathered, along with the manuscript had left the building for lab work and processing. Kyle cussed and made them promise to return the pages intact. It was all he had from Lena, and damned if he was going to let it be destroyed.

When the chaos was over Kyle made his way downstairs to address the news crews as they anxiously awaited him on the front stairs. As the glass doors opened, cameras flashed, He stepped outside and looked at them soberly before speaking.

“It has come to my attention that Lena Crawford is alive and well.” He began.

The shouted questions and murmurs followed. He raised a hand to silence them.

“I’m certain your questions and mine will be answered once she is located. I’ve called you all here to say one thing only.” He took a deep breath and looked right at the cameras.

“Those of you that truly know our Lena, I beg you to find her. When you do, contact me so we may bring her home safely.” When he finished speaking he turned away and made his way back inside.

Lena and Vlad stood over the looking pool and watched quietly. Kyle was cleaning up his office. She could not see the manuscript that she had sent to him. When he was done cleaning he shut off the light and closed up the office for the day. She turned away not finding the need to watch anymore.

“Are you alright?” He asked as he followed her down the hall.

“I’m fine,” She smiled. “The world doesn’t miss me so I no longer feel the need to miss it.”

“That’s good.” He took her by the hand. “So, what would you like to do with our eternity?”

“I’d like to take a walk around our island and speak more of things I’ve yet to learn.” She replied happily.

“I like that idea.” He led her out the kitchen door.

“You know I enjoy having you with me. All the things I have learned that I can now share with someone that understands, brings me much joy.” He spoke proudly.

“Everything I have experienced in my short life time pales in comparison to the days I spend with you.” She said causing him to blush.

“So what do you want to learn today?” He asked changing the subject quickly.

“I have no idea.” She chuckled.

“Alright,” He smiled. “Let’s just start in the center where we were united. We can have a nice lunch and see where the spirits guide us.”

“That sounds perfect. I’ll race you there.” She took off running and laughing.

“No cheating either.” She hollered back as he contemplated a teleportation spell.

Vlad chuckled as he watched Lena dance away behind the tree line. He teleported anyways catching her in his arms as they both fell into the soft grass laughing together.

“I said no cheating.” She pouted as she placed her head on his chest.

“Ah, it’s not like you hadn’t already beaten me. So it was absolutely my disadvantage from the beginning.” He laughed gently.

“True,” She sat up and smiled. “So, what about this lunch you spoke of?”

Vlad had the sudden urge to kiss her, so he pressed his lips to hers and then whispered.

“Life’s uncertain, desert should come first.”

Lena was pleased by Vlad’s response. She gave no verbal reply. Instead, she shed her clothes and kissed him intensely. They tumbled through the grass together ambitiously seeking the fleshly union. With energy renewed by their emotions they abandoned all thoughts until they were fully satisfied with an afternoon well spent.

A week later, still no one had come. Kyle was beginning to wonder if his imagination had tricked him into believing that they would. The good news was he had finished the edits on the mysterious comedy and returned it to the author for final approval.

On the way home from the office Kyle caved in and bought himself a gallon of Johnny walker. It was Friday and he had nothing left to be responsible for with the weekend at hand. So he took a flying leap off the sobriety wagon and cracked the seal. As he was pouring himself a glass, a knock sounded on the door. He made his way across the living room and opened it.

Kyle thought for a moment that he recognized the man standing before him. He had bleach blonde hair and a slight tan. He wore jeans and a shirt not appearing to be disturbed at all by the chill of the evening.

“Is Lena really missing?” The man asked as he was being looked over.

“Yes,” Kyle hesitated to reply.

The man turned and nodded to someone off in the shadows. The truth struck Kyle like a harsh slap in the face.

“Keith,” He breathed deeply.

“Are you going to let me in Kyle?” He asked thankful for the lack of necessity on introductions.

“Yeah, sure, come on in.” He said as he stepped aside.

Keith made his way inside and took a seat on the oversized couch. Kyle poured a second glass and handed it to him before settling into his chair.

“You really were real.” Kyle said shaking his head.

“They’ll find her Kyle, just give them some time.” Keith stated.

“In what condition will they find her in? That’s what I fear.” Kyle sighed.

“Tell me where to start looking. I want you to fill me in on everything you know.” Keith replied.

“We got into an argument and she left.” He hissed and drank his scotch down. “I tried to be what she wanted. I guess I couldn’t compare to you.”

“You all were supposed to forget about us and move on. That was the agreement.” Keith countered as he finished his glass.

“I’ll get us a refill. It looks like it’s going to be a long night.” Kyle fetched the bottle from the kitchen.

“That’s the bitter truth of it right there.” Keith smiled as the glasses were refilled.

“I tried to protect her from herself. Yes, I wanted to tell her the truth of my heart but after John and then you, I looked so boring to her. It didn’t matter if she remembered you or not.” Kyle looked as if he wanted to cry.

“John and I were trying to do what was best for her. We never told her the truth to keep her out of harm’s way. It seems that plan has backfired though. I thought by walking away she’d just be able to move on.” Keith sipped his drink.

“She was pissed at me when she disappeared. The car went missing sometime after she stopped in Texas for a rental car and gas.” Kyle explained.

Keith flipped open his phone and began composing a text message to the pack. Kyle watched him for a moment before another knock sounded on the door. He answered it to see John Kelly standing before him.

“You should have called me.” John growled.

“To tell you what exactly, I didn’t see you volunteering the truth to her when it mattered.” Kyle growled back.

“Texas,” Keith yelled from across the room.

“Shit, this is going to be a really long night.” Kyle sighed as he closed the door.

“Wolf,” John nodded as he took a seat.

“Vampire,” Keith replied with a nod of his own.

“I should have bought more alcohol.” Kyle shook his head in defeat. “None of this seems real anymore.”

“It’s on the way.” Keith smiled and closed his phone.

“Great,” Kyle managed a weak smile.

“They’ll find her.” John said comfortingly.

“I hope so. Thanks for the help.”

“Don’t mention it.” Keith smiled as he opened the door and snatched the bottles from the girl standing in front of him.

With both vampires and wolves combing the country for Lena, there was nothing Kyle could do but wait. With Keith and John camped out on his couch he sighed knowing that at least he didn’t have to drink alone. They raised their glasses and toasted to the safe return of their beloved Lena.

They’re coming… it whispered.

They’re coming… another hissed.

They’re coming… it grew more frantic.

For you!

Lena was jolted awake by the most wretched sound she had ever heard. It only took her a moment to realize that she was the one making the noise. She had woken up screaming, suddenly aware of the looming danger. She threw the covers off and raced down the hall.

Lena burst through the library doors and without waiting for Vlad she picked up the dagger and sliced open her palm. She traced the looking pool haphazardly then gripped the rim as the blood flowed from her hand down the side.

“Who is coming? Tell me damn you.” She shouted at the water.