I run frantically into the building, there’s no way to hold myself down. My feet are shaky and there’s blood dripping down my forehead. My vision is blurry, where am I going?
“Elena!’’ the voice called out from behind me, adrenaline pumped through me as I ran faster. “Let me explain.’’
Yet listening to professor Declan Murphy explain the freak show I’d just seen wasn’t on my list of activities today.
“You gonna bite me too?’’ I shouted, even though I had no time to be standing and screaming things. I stood at the end of the hallway, my bloody fingers painting the gray walls as I looked back at the man standing a distance away from me.
What the hell was he on? He kept catching me. He was so fast.
“You cannot run from me Elena.’’
“Y..you…You’re a monster.’’ I let out, and to that, footsteps tapered against the floor at such a quick pace. Suddenly he was in front of me, choking me, while he backed me against a wall.
Was this how I was gonna die?
“Are you going to listen to me now?’’ His hot breath fans my neck, causing me goosebumps. I shake my head slowly, even though his fingers are tight against my neck and I can barely breath. “Good, be a good girl for me.’’
Yet the second he lets me go, my knees come up against his crotch, hitting the target before stumbling away. And this time, I ran.
I ran like never before.
*’ *’ *’ *’
Three hours earlier
“Seriously, again?’’ Mia grunted from behind me, resting her head on my shoulder. I rolled my eyes as I cursed under my breath.
“I don’t know what to do anymore.’’ I let out, slipping the exam results into my bag.
“Girl, have a sit down with him. He cannot keep failing you like this. You deserve good grades. You're brighter than most of us. Hell, I got an 80 and it was because of your tutoring.’’
“I have a shift at work, I can’t start on this. Let him do whatever he wants, it’s not like this class is important to me.’’ I walked past Mia, hiding the heartbreak in my eyes or the fact that I wanted to cry.
“Miss Elena,’’ A voice called out, stopping me in my tracks. A jolt of electricity run down my spine, giving me goosebumps.
“Professor Declan.’’ I corked, a sarcastic smile on my face as I turned around.
“ I’d like to see you in my office.’’
“Why? Is there a way you can fail me there too.’’ I breathed, loud enough for him to hear. He smiled, that pretty smile coupled with those pretty red eyes had other girls on their knees for him.
But not me. I hated Declan Murphy, and I’m damn near sure Declan Murphy hated me. I walked behind, feeling lost and genuinely angry.
The paper stuck in my bag was one I was sure I’d pass in. Professor Declan was known for being stingy with his grades. He only gave the best three papers an A, then the rest were coupled in the B and C section. There was never anyone under it, unless they were only taking the class to stare and drool at the professor.
“You’ve shown slight improvement on your paper and I wanted to commend you for it.’’ He let out, entering his office. I followed behind him, smalling the door shut before blowing up on him.
“Slight improvement? Slight f*****g improvement?’’ My voice matched his surprise, “There’s no one who works harder in that class than me. I tutor some of the other students. I give you perfection on every turn, and you always stick me with a B- if I'm lucky. What..What did i ever do to you?’’
“Miss Elena.’’ He rolled his eyes, adjusting his glasses as he sat down. “I called you in here to discuss your future in my class.’’
“What?’’ My heart dropped. “No. You can’t do this.’’
“I’m afraid this is not for you. There’s no shame in quitting.’’
“Quitting? You’re kicking me out of a class I love with all my heart. Why are you so mean?’’ I cried out, he only stared at me.
“Please get out of my office.’’ He got up. “And make a decision on what you want to do about my class.’’
He had just launched a knife into my chest.
As I turned around to leave, I could stop myself from crying. I stumbled into the washrooms, trying to find my tissues. I feel on the floor, crying my eyes out.
“Sweetie.’’ Mia called out suddenly.
“I hate him. I hate him so much.’’ I cried out as she came to hug me. Mia, now becoming one of my close and only friends, always sympathized with me on how the professor treated me.
“What did he do? I saw you walking into the office with him.’’
I wiped my tears, looking up at her brokenly.
“He wants me to quit. He wants me to stop taking his class.’’
“Who the hell does he think he is?’’ Mia was furious.
“I dunno. But I’m starting to think that I’m not the only one who hates Professor Murphy.’’ I let out.
“What? What do you mean?’’
“I think he despises me too. More than I hate him. And the worst part is… I don’t even know what I did to deserve this cruelty.’’
*’ *’ *’ *’ *’
“I’m sorry Miss, but the kitchen staff have already cleaned everything and no one can attend to you now.’’ I answered politely.
“Whatever. You guys are useless anyway. I’ll sue this place to the ground.’’ The woman in her late forties stormed out of the restaurant after screaming profanities at me for a good seven minutes. My head hurt, and being the one in closing hours was frankly a headache.
Once everything was all shut down, I dropped the key at the soldier’s place next door. I typed down on my phone as I crossed the road. The street was quiet and empty. My yellow waitress outfit was a shouting color even in the dark.
I looked at the main street, feeling tired and exhausted.
“Who cares,’’ I shrug as I venture into the bushy path that was much shorter than the main street. All I wanted was to get home, and sleep. Forget about my shitty professor.
Suddenly, I froze. My eyes grew wide as my phone slipped my fingers.
A woman gasped, her whimpers of pain filling the space between us. She was lying on the ground, and there was a figure right above her, kissing her neck. However, there was a pool of blood right around them. When the figure towering over her stood up, he turned around to meet my eyes, and his lips were tainted with blood, while he had fangs.
I froze, right before my flight response kicked in. I turned, trying to escape, but bumped into a hard body. A loud growl echoed, I looked up slowly, meeting dark but glowy eyes looking down at me. The face, this wasn’t a person. It could be.
He had hair on his face like that of an animal, ears of some kind of wolf and more canines than molars. I stumbled back, shaking in my shoes.
“Let me kill this one, brother.’’ the man behind me let out sadistically. The one with glowy eyes, stepped into the light. He grabbed me, picking me up by squeezing my throat as he looked at me.
A loud growl reverberated in the vicinity. Suddenly, I fell on the ground as the two men bowed their heads in submission. Behind us stood a wolf. A real wolf.
What the hell was this?
Why would they be afraid of an animal? They were clearly disgusting monsters.
Suddenly, something happened that had me convinced I must have been drunk. The wolf began transforming. Moans of pain were heard as I stared at it. But the two men didn’t even dare look up.
I felt frozen on the spot. Barely able to move. The form of the wolf is the form of a man. A naked man.
“Professor Declan?’’ I gasped, before falling back down. He looked at me, and I could never mistake those spiteful eyes for anything.
It was him. My professor. And he was a wolf.
I got up and I ran. I ran, like I’d never run before.