~Chapter 24~
I wake up suddenly, my heart pounding so hard I swear I can hear it in my ears.
The air is cold, but I feel sweat running down my temples.
For a moment I don’t know where I am, my room seems different, darker, quieter.
I sit up, trying to take a deep breath.
I don’t know if I’ve dreamed something or if I’ve just woken up from a black void.
I get out of bed, a little dizzy, and go to the kitchen.
The kitchen smells of coffee and fried eggs, and Sergio’s voice comes from somewhere behind. Everything seems normal. Too normal, after last night.
But I know this silence is just a pause. Not the end
I sit at the table and watch him as he sits with the pan in his hand and sings. I chuckle softly.
He does a pirouette as he sings.
He turns
And screams.
"JESUS CASSIAN!" He says and puts the pan back on the small red fire.
I look at him and laugh softly as his eyes roll and he starts doing what he was doing again.
I hear pookie meowing so I pick her up.
"I love you pookie, you know?
" I say softly and she rewards me when I hear her make little sounds and cuddle, I pat her on the head and get up from behind the chair.
I take the bag of beans and put some cat food in it, then put it back and sit back down at the table.
I see Sergio putting a plate in front of me so I say thank you and start eating.
I look at the clock behind my hand and see that it's 6 o'clock.
I'm surprised. Because Sergio and waking up in the morning is really hard.
I cough a little and ask
"How come you're awake so.
..early?"
He looks at me and is probably thinking about whether to say yes or no but then he sighs and says
"I don't know either.
I think I feel like running and maybe that's what woke me up so the chickens" he says and I laugh at the last sentence.
"I'm coming too. I know a place" I say and he nods.
We eat what's left and then Sergio gets up first and then me, we wash the dishes and go upstairs.
I go to the bathroom to brush my teeth, then I go out and head to my dressing room.
I grab something random, it looks pretty okay outside, and I walk out.
I see my phone vibrate so I go there.
It's Theo.
I think he sent a message, but I ignore it.
I go downstairs and wait for Sergio to come too.
While I'm tying my shoelaces, I hear a faint noise outside, like a short, barely perceptible growl.
I look out the window, but it's nothing.
Just the wind. Or at least, I hope it's just the wind.
I hear Sergio coming down the stairs so I open the door.
He comes after me and gives me a nasty look, I look at him and wait for nothing to come
"What?
" I ask and start doing a light warm-up
"You are without a shirt, you're cold, it's cold outside" he says and starts doing the same.
"Since when do you care about your brother's health?
" I sigh "you know I don't like putting pressure on the sides" I say and laugh, he looks at me and already thinks I'm crazy "come on, just follow me" I say
I brought Sergio to the clearing I went to a while ago, the one with the fox. I forgot my food at home again.
"How do you know this place?" He says as he breathes quickly from running, sitting down. He looks at me when he sees I'm not answering and I swallow hard.
I run a hand through my hair and look around, trying to avoid Sergio’s gaze.
The clearing looks the same. Guiet, covered in dew, with the sun just beginning to peek through the trees.
It’s beautiful, but there’s something strange, thick in the air.
“I don’t know,” I finally say, taking a deep breath.
“I think I came here when I needed to… get away from it all.”
Sergio raises an eyebrow, but says nothing.
He looks at the trees, at the light playing through the leaves.
“Get away from what, Cassian?” he asks, his tone softer than I expected.
I feel his eyes on me, and for a moment I want to tell him.
About all the nonsense in my head and that strange voice that still rings in my ears with “just die.” But I bite my lip and shake my head, pretending not to hear.
"You're welcome. I just... like this place."
He’s silent for a moment. Then he rests his hands on his knees and sighs.
“Have you ever been here alone?”
I look at him. His eyes look too curious, like he knows something.
“Yeah, I told you that… once. Or twice,” I say. “It’s quiet. It’s like… different from the rest of the forest.”
Sergio shakes his head, smiling.
“Yeah, sure. You and ‘different’ places. You seem to attract all the weirdness.”
“Very funny,” I say, giving him a quick glance.
He laughs, but his laughter stops abruptly.
“Cassian… did you hear that too?”
Freeze.
The wind had stopped.
The birds, too.
And somewhere in the trees, the same growl—only now it’s clearer.
Closer.
I look at Sergio. He’s not smiling anymore.
“Don’t move,” I whisper.
The leaves rustle.
Something moves among them.
And for a moment, I think I see a figure.
Large, or rather gigantic. With yellow eyes.
I see him staring at me.
He knows I’ve seen him, and that brings another growl from him.
I look at Sergio and I see that his face is already yellow, I can't help myself and I start laughing.
Sergio looks at me with a frown, and rolls his eyes even though it's obvious to the naked eye that he's scared.
"Why are you laughing, you idiot?" He says and hits me in the stomach with his shoulder.
"Ouch! It hurts, dude!" I say loudly and glare at him, I distance myself from him at every opportunity and say "his face is still yellow" I say and laugh even louder.
I see that Sergio doesn't say anything anymore and looks back.
I swallow hard for a second and turn around.
When I see that he is not even a meter away from me, I really feel my blood boil.
I turn my eyes to Sergio once more and see that he is holding on tightly to the grass, I really feel what he is feeling now.
I look at the wolf again and see that it is not even 30 cm away this time, it is growling softly but you can only hear it if you are close to it.
It comes closer and my palms are sweaty.
"Stop..." I say softly to the wolf and to my surprise it actually stops.
I look at Sergio and I see that he is looking at me.
Great! I am a Zoo agent now on another planet!
The wolf starts to come closer to me again and I turn my neck towards Sergio.
I am ready to be eaten. At least I lived what I could.
But...nothing.
Nothing
I gather the courage to look at him and see that he is face to face with me.
I see his spotted fangs and from here I can see that his fur is completely black, immaculate and his eyes are yellow or super light brown.
"Hey.." I slowly reach my hand towards his head and see that he sits down with his head on my legs.
I feel my heart pounding in my chest. I still can’t believe what I’m seeing, the wolf, huge, strong, with its strange eyes, is staring at me, but…
not with anger. More like a strange silence.
A silence that disturbs me more than any growl.
My hand trembles as I gently lower it, touching its fur.
It’s warm, soft, but at the same time I feel something strange pulsating under its skin, like a fine vibration.
The wolf closes its eyes, and its heavy breathing calms down.
“What the hell…” I whisper, mostly to myself.
“Cassian, don’t touch him!” Sergio shouts, but his voice is shaking, barely holding itself together.
“Shut up,” I say without looking at him.
I don’t know why I said it. It’s like I’m not even the one talking.
The wolf opens its eyes again and slowly raises its head.
It looks at me again, and for a moment I have the impression that it understands.
I don't know how, but I feel like he wants to tell me something.
Then he stands up, takes a step back, and... disappears. Just like that. As if he melted into thin air.
“You saw it too, right?!” Sergio comes running towards me, almost tripping. “Tell me you saw it! That I’m not crazy!”
I stand up, still dizzy.
“I saw it,” I say quietly. “But... I don’t know what I saw.
”
Sergio runs his hands through his hair, breathing heavily.
“He’s gone, Cassian! He’s gone, brother!
No... he didn’t run, he didn’t hide! There’s no trace!
”
I look down. He’s right. The grass is untouched, no footprints, no trail of fur.
Nothing.
“Maybe... he wasn’t real,” I say quietly, but the words ring hollow to me.
“He was. And you know what’s worse?” Sergio says, staring at me.
"That he just looked at you. Like... he knew you. "
I swallow hard. I don't want to admit it, but I feel the same thing.
The air in the clearing seems to have become colder, heavier.
And in my ears, among the rustling of leaves, I feel that big headache coming over me again, plus I have a voice in my head but I can't make out what it's saying.
..
But this time it's not an echo from a dream.
It's real. And it's coming from somewhere behind me.
I turn around but I don't see anything.
I look at Sergio and say
"Let's go home, it's probably late" with that I already head towards the exit of Poieni?a with Sergio behind me
---
I get home and go straight to the bathroom.
Not that I smelled bad, but I think that wolf left a smell combined between whiskey and chocolate and I was already becoming obsessive with that smell.
I get out of the shower and go to change for school.
Some slightly baggy black pants, with a blue blouse that I matched with a chain and along with that I added a white cap turned inside out to match and some simple white Nikes on my feet.
I was pretty okay dressed, nice.
I leave the dressing room and go to my phone, I take it and text the group that Emy, Theo and I write to when we couldn't see ourselves doing it separately.
Cassian:
-"I like to be at school in about 15 minutes"
-"I hope we don't do math today, I don't feel like it"
I text and take my backpack that I left on the chair and head for the door.
I put down the phone, go out the door and go down the stairs.
I go into the garage and get an Audi RS7, something simple for me but at least I have a car.
The engine starts, and the smooth, deep sound of the car fills the garage.
I like this feeling—the control, the routine, the normalcy.
After what happened in the clearing, I need to believe that this is just an ordinary day.
I open the garage door and slowly step out into the street.
The morning air is cold but clear, and the city is just beginning to wake up.
The few cars, the half-empty streets... everything seems calm.
Too calm.
I put on some music, something light, just to block out the silence that weighs me down.
At the first traffic light, the phone on the right seat vibrates.
Theo:
- “I was expecting you, man, I hope it’s nothing serious today.
”
I swallow hard. I look at the message for a second, but I don’t respond.
I don’t know what to say.
“Something happened to me” sounds stupid.
“I saw a giant wolf that disappeared into thin air” sounds insane.
So I just leave the phone there and keep driving.
When I get to the school, I see Theo and Emy leaning against the fence, laughing at something.
For a moment, everything seems normal again.
I smile involuntarily.
I park and get out, closing the door with a sure movement.
Theo turns first and raises an eyebrow.
“Look at the model! What, did you shave in your sleep?”
“Very funny,” I say, giving him a light nudge on the shoulder.
Emy laughs, but looks at me carefully, as if she sees something the others don’t.
“You’re a bit pale, Cassian. Did you sleep badly?
”
“Something like that,” I answer, trying to seem indifferent.
But just then, out of the corner of my eye, I see movement on the sidewalk across from me.
A silhouette.
For a second, I swear I see those yellow eyes again.
I blink. There’s no one there.
“Cassian?” Emy’s voice brings me back.
“Yeah, yeah, sorry… it’s just the sun blinding me.
”
I fake a smile and try to stay on my feet, but my stomach tightens.
I don’t know if what I saw was real or if it’s just my mind playing tricks on me.
But something tells me that wolf… didn’t stop there.
---
I enter the school with Theo and Emy, and the noise of the hallway hits me immediately.
Mixed voices, laughter, slamming doors, echoing footsteps , everything is too vivid after the silence in the car.
I pull my cap over my eyes and cross my arms over my chest, trying to appear calm, even though I can still feel my heart beating chaotically.
We head towards the classroom, and Theo says something about a teacher who lost his catalog, but I can barely hear him.
I have that annoying feeling that someone is watching me.
From behind.
I turn around suddenly, but there is no one.
Just a group of students laughing and pushing each other.
“What’s wrong, Cassian?” Emy asks, one eyebrow raised.
“Nothing. I thought…” I stop. No, I won’t say it. “Nothing, never mind.”
We enter the classroom. The smell of chalk, old wood, and cold coffee lingers in the air.
The desks are arranged in the same orderly chaos, and the morning light streams in streaks through the blinds.
First period: math. Obviously. Exactly what I said I didn’t want.
“It’s your lucky day,” Theo says wryly, plopping down in the chair next to me.
The teacher walks in, puts down her bag, and immediately starts writing on the board.
Everyone opens their notebooks, rustling the pages.
I try to concentrate, but… I can’t.
It’s that feeling again. That look.
slowly raise my head.
In the hallway, through the small window in the classroom door, I see a shadow.
Dark. Fixed.
No, it seems to me.
"Cassian, take notes!
" the teacher says sharply, and the whole class turns its head towards me.
I snap out of my trance, quickly glance at my notebook, but when I look up again, the shadow has disappeared.
Theo whispers to me:
"Dude, are you okay?
You look like you saw a ghost."
"Maybe I did," I say quietly, almost without realizing it.
Emy looks at me strangely.
"What do you mean?
"
"Leave it," I say, pulling my cap lower.
When math and history classes finally end, we go get something to eat.
Emy is the first to open her mouth when we leave school
"Is there something bothering you?
" She asks and I think about it for a moment.
I nod and she says "what?"
"A dream" I say quietly but I see her raise an eyebrow "or I think it's a dream... the whole situation seemed so real"
"What was it about?" Theo says as we enter Starbucks and sit down at a random table
"I don't know...wolves or similar creators, I felt Emy telling me that something was wrong with me but she wasn't next to me and in my mind, my body protested with every move. And after Niko and Ash... I don't know how to explain what I felt. After some of the following excerpts" I say slowly towards the wolf I continue "and this morning I went with Sergio to run outside. When I got there I stayed there for 5-10 minutes free and then a huge black wolf with golden eyes came if I remember correctly. IT WAS STANDING AT MY FEET, JESUS!" I say and I see that I'm standing with my mouth open.
“You’re kidding, right?” Emy says, rolling her eyes, but her voice is slightly shaky.
“Do I look like I’m kidding?” I look straight at her, frowning. “Emy, that wolf looked at me like… like he knew who I was.”
Theo puts his coffee down, making a dry noise. “Wait, wait… a black wolf with golden eyes? Cass, maybe you were dreaming, you’re still tired.”
“No, Theo, it’s not a dream.” I lean back and take a deep breath. “It was all too real. And it’s not just that, I’ve been hearing sounds for a while, smelling things more clearly, my mind is racing. And she-” I say, pointing at Emy, “it seems like she knows something and she’s quiet!”
?What nonsense are you talking about?” she jumps up immediately. “How would I know anything about… wolves? Cass, can you hear me?”
“Yes, I can hear you perfectly well!” I raise my voice involuntarily. “And I know when you’re lying. You don’t look at me every time I bring it up. You and that look like I’m a child who’s not allowed to know the truth.”
She sighs, but bites her lip. She doesn’t say anything for a few seconds, just plays with her fingers on the coffee mug.
“Emy?” I insist.
“Don’t you understand, Cass… this is not the time,” she finally says, her voice low.
?Isn't it time?! I wake up every day feeling like I'm losing my mind and you're telling me it's not time?
" I stand up, feeling the people around us giving us curious looks.
Theo quickly stands up too. "Enough, enough!
You both look like you're going to kill each other.
Cass, breathe. Emy, say something, anything, he's going to go crazy.
"
Emy looks at him, then at me. Her usually green eyes seem darker now.
"I don't know what you're talking about.
.. not me Cassy" she just says, standing up and grabbing her jacket.
"Then when, Emy?! When will the time be right? When will my head completely break and I end up in the hospital Or three meters underground ?"
She turns to me, her gaze full of guilt, but also fear. “Maybe sooner than you think,” she says softly and walks away, leaving a heavy silence behind.
Theo looks at me without saying anything.
“You know something, don’t you?” I ask, but he just sighs and runs a hand through his hair.
“Cass… not everything you see is what it seems,” he murmurs, and we’re both left there, our coffee cold and a thousand questions hanging between us.