C9 Wolf Village

“Are you not aware that this kind of accident might happen if you’re walking alone here, at this hour, with your tiny flashlight?”

I scratched my forehead and smiled a bit, “I didn’t expect this to happen, I checked my car before I went here, and I don’t know what might be the reason why it broke,”

“What’s this, by the way?” he pointed out the bags he was carrying; Max must be that strong; he was holding it as if he was taking a rim of paper, “And where are you going?”

“The company I was working for a new program, and one of these was reaching villages without access to education; I was a teacher before I entered corporate work, so I initiate to be sent here, and those,” I looked at the bags, “Those are my materials for teaching, it’s heavy, I’m sorry,”

“No big deal, it’s not that heavy,”

I can’t actually talk right now; I’m still shocked by what happened; however, with Max’s presence, I felt comfort; we talked about random things; it was a friendly chat; I just realized that we were in the village when I heard kids laughing and gushing water.

“I think we’re already here,” I stated a fact; he just shrugged and gave me a meek smile, like he didn’t end those unknown creatures’ lives a while ago; he helped me go down since the pavement was not thoroughly done, it’s like, the construction had a stop there for a long time.

There are less than a hundred houses, the trails were made off a rock, it was surrounded by tall grasses and trees, it was a hidden gem, kids were everywhere, running, I saw some houses with smoke on their chimneys, it six o’clock in the morning, it must be their breakfast, there are some farm animals, like pigs, cows, and chicken, dogs were also everywhere, same as cats.

“I’d like to stay longer; however, I have some duties to attend to,” Max stated; I was startled; I almost forgot that I was with him; maybe he realized it; he chuckled and carefully gave me my materials, “Nice talk, I’ll see you around, Vera,” he fixed his plain shirt, that got crumpled from carrying my bags, “Nice eyes, by the way,”

I smiled, “Thanks, Max. See you around,” and he bid his last goodbye with a smile before leaving. That’s when the realization hits me, those creatures, what are they?

Are that vampires?

I mean, I only rely on facts; however, what happened today is unexplainable. There is such a thing as vampires? Do they really exist? How about Max? What is he? Is he one of them?

My legs started to wobble, I felt safe when Max was still on my side, but now that he was not, I could immediately feel the tension and the fear inside my chest that made my uneven breathing.

Maybe Max was one of them; his visuals couldn’t lie, he was like my age, but his round brown eyes, and thin lips, paired with grey hair, were surreal; he’s one of them, I’m sure of it.

But, who will b-

“Pardon, my lady?” I immediately looked at the voice I heard; a middle-aged woman approached me; she was holding a bucket containing raw fish and vegetables, “You’re not from here; may I know why?”

“U-uh, yeah, uh,” I raised my bag containing the materials, “I’m from one of the companies from Vildorwick; I’m here to endorse the program to rural areas without access to education,”

Her forehead creased, “But, we don’t have a penny to access or buy you,” she stopped as if asking what I was holding; her eyes became fascinated when I put out a book.

“I’m not asking for money. May I have a word with the village head for further information?” she nodded and walked me to one of the houses.

People were looking at me, children halted from playing with mud and making kites, adults stopped doing their laundry, and some came out from their houses while carrying spatulas in their hands; I bet they were cooking. Yeah, that’s it.

Their eyes were a mixture of confusion and awe; maybe, people from the urban places rarely stepped here, and that’s very obvious.

The lady and I stopped in front of the cottage house; there were plenty of flowery plants, most of them herbal; I knew it from my grandma; she loves planting herbals, and I’m used to it.

“You can go inside,” I nod and bid my thanks before entering the cottage. Inside, I saw a very simple style. There aren’t anything fancy; there’s just a bed in the middle, some crafts on the table, nearby the comfort room.

“Good morning,” I greeted the village head, who was busy writing something on a creamed colored paper, using his ink; she halted when she heard me, “I’m Vera; I came from Vildorwick,” nodded and gave me a small welcoming smile.

“Have a seat, our special visitor,” she offered me the small throw pillow in front of her; I gathered all my materials and sat in front of her, “What made you go so far? Can we offer anything to assist you?”

I nodded, “Yes, I’m here to teach children, we have a new program for our company, and one of it was to reach rural villages with no access to education,”

“I will not stop you from your good intention; however, do you know what kind of village you have gone to? Are you aware of our kinds?”

My smile faded as a flashback from what happened earlier crept inside my mind; I was frozen. Am I in trouble again? Are they rogues again?

“I know that before being able to come to our village, you will encounter different and unbelievable species. Have you met them?” Her voice was soothing, like a mother talking to her child. I nodded as I knew what she was talking about, “They are rogues,” my eyes widened.

“A-are,” my lips and throat went dry, “A-are you o-one of them?” I was hesitant to ask, afraid that I might be correct, but I was craving for an answer in the back of my mind.

“No, we’re not one of them; we are far different from them,” she stated, which made me sigh in relief.

“Then what are you?” I asked again; I didn’t know that in order to do my duties, I had to undergo this mind-blowing discovery of species.

She stood up and walked towards me, she then started to remove her shawl, then her traditional dress and she was left with nothing but her undergarments, my eyes widened when she suddenly shifted from an old lady to a huge wolf!

What the fuck!

“Wolves,” my forehead creased, still shocked by what was happening before my eyes, “We are wolves, Vera,”

I did not know that the villagers would welcome me with so much warmth. Sinitra gave me enough time to absorb everything. I’m still afraid of Wolves and vampire rogues; who would have thought that I, who always rely on facts, would witness these events? For my twenty years of existence, I have never believed in such things as vampires and wolves.

I have seen them in movies and read them in books, but that’s all; it all ends there. However, I can’t deny the fact that they are brilliantly unique; I mean, the fact that this world really doesn’t only use and home for humans like me, there are creatures, like this village, that exist.

“Vera!” I immediately turned around, only to see Andriana holding a coloring book in her left hand and a red crayon in her right hand; she seemed very excited to show me her output, “I colored this one, take a look!” she proudly presented her first coloring.

A garden was full of red roses.

“Wow, this was fantastic, Ana; you did well for a first-timer,” I complimented her, “You can be a great painter or artist when you grow up,”

She smiled brightly before running back to their bungalow; her mother gave me a small smile; I nodded and continued looking at the bonfire again.

This was my first night here in the village, I was not prepared for the cold breeze, and I haven’t packed myself a nice blanket to keep me warm, but they let me borrow one of their traditional clothes, it’s really warm that I forgot having a blanket and just sat in front of the bonfire, while everyone was having fun.

My days went as I expected; I taught the children how to draw, I gave them a coloring book, and they can make it pretty as they want, and I’ll be checking it tomorrow. My plan for tomorrow was to teach them to read, then write.

I also planned to teach some of their parents, I’m still observing how many parents haven’t know how to do the basics, so I can teach them to do it; that’s my only agenda for coming here. I just need to present the ideas we might need in establishing this project.

“Vera,” I flinched when I felt something cold near my face; I turned my gaze up and saw one of the kid’s mom was holding a cup, “Here, take this; it will help your body heals your swollen feet,” my forehead creased when I looked at my ankle, it was really swollen. I wonder why I didn’t feel it.

“Thanks,” I mumbled and looked in front again; I heard her sitting beside me. I don’t know how to open a topic; I didn’t know her, and the same goes for her.

“Thanks for coming to our village,” she started; I muffled my breath and smiled; that was a good one; I didn’t expect to hear it from her, “But, Vera,” I looked at her as she hung her words, “Be careful, do not trust easily, even yourself,”

My forehead creased; what was she saying right now? I can’t understand, “What do you mean?”

She looked at me straight in the eyes; I was taken aback, “I can feel them, Vera. They are everywhere, waiting their time to devour you, one mistake, and you’re gone, they know you are here, they knew what you’re up to, their eyes were everywhere, so be careful,”

I didn’t have the chance to ask her; when I heard my name being called from behind, a lady in her fifties, smiling at me, walked in my direction.

“Sinitra wants to have a word with you. Are you free?” she asked and helped me stand up; I nodded and glanced at the lady I was talking to, but her mysterious aura was long gone; she was now smiling like she had a great time talking to me.

What was that?

Was she teasing me?

I didn’t bother to think about it and just went to Sinitra; I knocked three times before entering her cottage; she was sitting in her bed again, and in front of her were unfamiliar artifacts-like necklaces and bracelets.

“Sinitra,” I greeted her; she nodded and offered me to sit beside her, “You need to talk to me?

“I wanted to give you something,” she said, then grabbed one of the black-colored bracelets near my sit and softly held my arm, “This is an amulet,” my forehead creased, “A protection for you,”

“For what?”

“For kind, like us, and the ones you encountered,”

“Why would I need this?”

“This,” she looked at me right after she finished putting the amulet, “You have a very good scent, Vera. You might not be aware of it, but that scent will attract more rogues and wolves, either will kill you or will make you their ally, but this amulet will help you seal that scent,”

My heartfelt so light; upon hearing that, my lips curled up, forming a smile, “Thank you,”

“You’re always welcome, Vera; after all, you might be one of us,”