It was chilly outside, even through my leather jacket I could feel the cold wind, the damned alcohol was warming me up though.

“Should I call a cab?” Simon asked, swaying a bit on his feet.

“Nah, I think the walk will do us some good,” I said, laughing and patting his back.

“Fine but if I fall, you’re carrying me home,” he said and threw his arm around my shoulders as we made our way through the city.

The streets were quiet except for Simon’s drunk chatter. Probably because people were too afraid of the wolf. It took us a good half an hour to get to the residential street on the edge of town. Fortunately, we managed to get there without an incident. Simon’s house came up first. I watched him get inside and then made my way further up the street. I lived only four houses away from him.

I was already on my doorstep when suddenly all the hairs on my body stood up on an end, making me shudder. I stopped and looked around. Nothing, only silence and the darkness of the forest that surrounded this street. But I couldn’t shake off the bad feeling. I shook my head and started digging through my pockets looking for my keys. I was just opening my door when I heard the scream. A shrieking that pierced my ears and echoed through the surroundings like a promise of death, then, even more frighteningly, it faded. Without thinking I ran up the stairs, got my revolver, and ran after the sound, the adrenaline sobering me up quickly. At that second, I didn’t care I was heading straight into the dark forest that was practically in my backyard. All those years in the army and the force made me follow the call for help no matter what.

There was an impenetrable darkness between the trees and I had to slow down to avoid stumbling over every stone, hole, and branch. Come on, where are you? I wasn't sure if I was still going in the right direction. I had only one goal in mind. I heard nothing but the wind and the fast beating of my own heart. The cold revolver in my hand gave me confidence as my mind tried to undermine me by showing me the photos of the bloody crime scenes. I shook my head and continued forward. My heart pounded wildly and my muscles were tense, ready to attack.

And then I heard it… A quiet pain-filled groan, followed by a wet crunching sound and a deep growl. I spun toward the sound and pushed through the bushes into a small clearing. As soon as I saw a white four-legged thing, I fired. The wolf seemed to dodge… but how? I had a great aim, I was sure of it. Even though I was a bit drunk it should’ve hit, no creature was fast enough to avoid a bullet. Another shot, precisely aimed at the head, but there didn’t seem to be a single scratch on the wolf as it jumped to the side.

What? I blinked in confusion and the wolf was suddenly right in front of me, leaping at me. I yelped in surprise. That wasn’t possible, he was so far away just a second ago! Before I could do anything, the wolf pinned my back to the ground and its fangs sank deep into my arm. I cried out in pain and quickly kicked it in the stomach with my knee. It released me, growled, and then noticed the dropped revolver. For some reason, it went for it instead of finishing me.

I scrambled to my feet quickly as the wolf tried to tear the weapon to pieces. And finally, I really looked at it. This was no wolf… I stared at the creature, almost as big as a bear. I was six feet tall, and it reached my stomach without any problems. Its white coat was covered with blood and tangled with pieces of flesh. Madness and hunger burned from its bloody red eyes. I risked a look at the woman… or rather, at the remains that once were a woman. Though I could swear I heard her just a few moments ago her body lay motionless on the grass, torn apart. My stomach rolled at the sight of the flesh and organs that lay scattered around her.

I winced when a shot rang, crouching instinctively. The animal growled angrily and looked up at Simon. I did too. He wore only sweatpants obviously ready for bed except he held a revolver in his hands. That reminded me of my own weapon, I looked for it on the ground... Well, no one would be ever shooting from it again. The creature twisted the metal into an unrecognizable shape. Still, I quickly picked it up from the ground as the animal slowly approached Simon. It was still heavy, I could at least hit the animal with it. Better poor weapon than no weapon at all.

Simon fired and the animal jumped back. Incredibly fast, it grabbed his arm and hurled him sideways. The revolver fell out of Simon's hands and Simon himself flew a good few feet before he hit a tree with his back. How strong is this thing? I thought. The adrenaline and panic were making me tremble. How do we stop something that can dodge a bullet? The animal jumped on Simon excitedly. It looked like my savior ended up unconscious. I quickly found Simon's revolver in the dark grass and fired. This time the animal was so focused on its catch that it didn’t dodge.

It whimpered, staggered, and looked at me over its shoulder. I wasted no time and fired the entire magazine into it. I was sure half of the bullets hit it, but still, it lunged at me and sank its teeth into my calf. I clenched my jaw against the pain, thankful for the adrenaline rushing through me. I hit its head with the gun and the animal released me.

It growled madly and bit my side. This time I lost my balance and hit the ground hard. At that moment the animal went completely mad. It jerked its head and ripped a whole piece of flesh out of my side. I saw it with my own eyes, though my vision was clouded by pain as I screamed.

A monster. It was a damn monster! I hit it again, and again but it didn’t stop. It clenched my shoulder in its jaws, and I could clearly feel its teeth grazing my bone. My screams were drowned out by the horrible sound of my precious flesh and skin tearing, the sound of breaking bones, and the disgusting smacking as the wolf swallowed pieces of my flesh. Hip, shoulder, then thigh, abdomen… I jerked and tried desperately to hurt it, to somehow break free from its grip, but the beast continued to tear into me. I’m going to die today... I realized when its claws sank into my face. I could feel the copper taste of my own blood in my mouth, the stinging of blood getting into my eye. I helplessly kicked and hit the white horde of muscles that held me down while it tore me to pieces.

"N-no! I won’t d-die here!” I stammered through the blood, which slowly started filling my lungs. Simon was still alive. I couldn’t die, not now. I had to do something. This animal killed so many people. I couldn’t die!

Suddenly it stopped… With a gaze full of intelligence it looked right into my eyes. The creature's eyes were bloody red and filled with hunger and excitement and anger and joy… It studied my miserable body with interest, while I couldn't move. I no longer even noticed the agony and throbbing in my whole body. The animal walked around me staring at me like I was the golden grail, a prey, a trophy, an angel. With wonder in its eyes, it stopped right next to my face. It leaned down and I winced as it licked one of the open gashes. And then… it was gone. I was left alone staring at the vast star-sprinkled sky while the forest promised me painless darkness if I just closed my eyes…

I told the officers what I remembered in less gruesome detail and then lay down to sleep. My dreams were haunted by the white-furred demon…