Howling

Every night the howls happen. Nine pm on the dot, they sound and echo throughout the forest and town. Everyone knows to be in by eight, everyone did. People would often open doors to hurriedly offer others a place to stay for the night. From nine to the first rays of sunlight, don’t stray outside. But, that’s all within reason as several businesses still run. For instance, this wonderful gas station that stays open twenty-four seven.

“See you tomorrow Moll!” Carl calls through a yawn as he heads out with Natalie.

“Stay safe sweety!” Natalie states sternly before leaving.

“Thanks, you too!” Molly yells after the couple, all waving to one another. They were the last one she saw of her fellow workers at the start of each shift. Everyone knew the dangers of the shift, but being nearly three times the pay wasn’t something Molly could pass up. Plus, the safe room was always available and where she’ll spend most of her time.

Howling from somewhere deep in the forest sounds a couple of hours later. They ring out clearly as her hairs stand on end and she uneasily looks out into the night. She tries to steady her breathing as she gets back to stocking, testing the sensors repeatedly as usual.

She restlessly stays at the counter until the familiar alarms start. The sensors being tripped one at a time. It was procedure to wait until they were three sensors out before going to the room. But these beasts could certainly reach her by then, and that thought kept her looking out of the reinforced glass windows and the sensors.

She watched as they slowly made their way closer and closer, as if they knew she was there. The anxiety of watching them steadily come for her never lessened, though she was aware they weren’t targeting her but simply moving to town. And the third sensor being tripped instantly had her running with all of her ability to the safe room, slamming the door shut and locking it tight. She squeezes her eyes shut and curls up in the far corner as the snarls and growls surround her. As usual, she tries to calm down as they roam around outside of the building. And just as usual, she finally calms enough to watch the cameras and make sure none were getting into the store. So far so good.

She recalls the one time that they had broken in. The large wolf-like creatures usually didn’t enter buildings, but on this occasion two were fighting and tousled straight through a window. They didn’t appear affected in the slightest from the glass and wrought iron as they both stood back up, snarled, then started attacking one another again. By the time dawn arrived, the store was a mess. Even though it had been hours since they settled their disagreement and moved on, she couldn’t bring herself to exit until her boss came in an hour after dawn. Her boss sent her home straight away, giving her the following day off to pull herself back together after witnessing what she had. After all, the creatures weren’t right and one’s mind couldn’t fully comprehend what they were seeing. Wolf-like being the closest they can come to describe them, that wasn’t quite right.

Each creature on all four easily cleared six feet tall, but should they choose to raise on their hind legs, instantly gained some feet to their height gaining closer to nine feet tall. Their eyes always seem to be a solid glossy color, ranging in the color spectrum. Their lips seemed too tight and always pulled back, unable to cover their rows of fangs. Their barbed tongues can easily whip out twenty feet, injecting prey with toxin to immobilize you. It wasn’t unusual to hear the screams of a human or animal as they were ripped apart and devoured alive. Each of their fingers and toes were tipped with five inch claws, ready to hook and shred anything they wish to. Their rough and wiry fur coated their bodies in different colors, but usually would be bloodied by the end of the night with chunks of gore clinging to it.

But tonight, she didn’t have to deal with them in the store. Pissing herself during that last event wasn’t something she’d like to revisit. An hour after them passing through, she’d be on alert for the delivery trucks. Everything more or less followed a schedule after all.

She’s playing a game on her phone when the alert comes through. She watches the semi pull in, backing up to the ramp to unload items. Molly quickly fixes her hair and outfit as she opens the safe room’s door. She keeps a reader for the sensors on her as she opens the door for the ramp, a familiar man waiting with a smile on the other side. Her stomach instantly gains a dozen butterflies at seeing Nicolas. “The usual?” She asks, leaning against the door as he starts to wheel in some items.

“Yup! All the essentials are here Molls.” He replies with a wink tossed at her as he goes past.

Molly has to remind herself to breath at that as she feels warmth flush her face. “I’m glad you were able to make it safely.” She murmurs as she tries to calm her heart. She couldn’t ever pull herself together around this man! With a sigh, she moves to help him unload the items.

“Molly, you should know how experienced I am with deliveries by now.” Nicolas playfully replies, making her laugh and nod her head in agreement. Truthfully, he had only been late twice, and had only spent time in the safe room with her once since she’s been working here for the last six months. They have a pretty good routine going on now and often didn’t have many issues. But all good things end, so her favorite part of the night was over too quickly. Nicolas bids her farewell all too soon, and she’s left alone in the store for a bit locking up before any of the other usuals would be around.

“Just on time…” She mutters as she slowly comes to the front after watching three young men enter. She starts to punch in the usual items they bought. “Anything different this time?” She asks with an arched brow as she looks at them.

“Not for me Molly!” Joseph says happily as he makes his way to the counter, arms full of snacks and a few drinks. He was always first, followed by his twin. Then, there was the last brother…

Molly suppressed a groan at just thinking about the last one as she checks Joseph out. He stands to the side as Jeremy comes up next. “Can you add these to mine?” He asks her with an excited grin as he shoves his items up next. He was the type to always get excited by new drinks, which she knew they had a number of new ones in tonight.

“Sure thing…” She mumbles, going back into an easy conversation with the twins while they all waited for him to finish. To be fair, they were all very easy on the eyes and friendly. However, the last brother had pretty much been the biggest pain in her ass since they were all elementary kids. So, when he comes up with his items, instantly gaining a devilish grin when he sees her, she couldn’t suppress the sigh that was as though a part of her soul left her.

“Oh come on Molly, you should show your future boyfriend some love.” Donovan states so naturally and blatantly that you would almost take it for fact. He grins as he slowly places his items up next, causing his brothers to roll their eyes while Molly instantly grits her teeth.

“Stop saying shit like that.” She hisses at him as she scans his items, shooting him a glare as he chuckles at her. “You know damn well that’s never going to happen, so I’d rather not have to deal with any gossip!” She snaps as she stares him down.

“Would it be so bad to just entertain a date?” He asks as he pays for the items, giving her a puppy dog look with what appeared to be a genuine smile.

“Yes. Yes it would.” She huffs at him as she shoves his bags and receipt at him. “Now hurry up before they come back through.” She adds, them leaving with a good night tossed in. She wasn’t talented enough to convince herself that she wasn’t interested, but after all of his stupid stunts she couldn’t trust him and simply wasn’t ready to tread that path with him. However, he keeps asking and trying. This too was part of the routine. Just as she’s about to head back to the safe room, she notices a car pull up quickly out front. “That’s different at least.” She mutters as she watches a woman lead a child into the store.

“Bathrooms?” The lady asks briskly, getting a point from Molly in reply. Not wasting a beat, the woman all but runs there with the kid of about six or seven. Some time pass, and she’s checking them out as the little girl stares at her handling some candy with big doe eyes.

“Would you like a free sample of some local candy?” Molly asks with a little bit of a chirp in her voice, giving them both a smile as she asks.

“Yeah, I guess we’ll take some…” The woman says, seemingly distracted as she texts on her phone before paying for everything and heading out.

“Thanks! Come again!” Molly chimes after them, watching as they just reach the car when they all freeze and a chill rolls through them all.

A solitary howl close by hangs in the air.

Her eyes meets the woman’s, both being full of fear and dread as the woman snatches the little girl up and quickly comes back inside. Molly motions for them to follow her quietly, quickly leading them to the safe room as another howl rings out. They both take seats in the room, eyes glued to the wall of cameras. It didn’t take long to find the pack moving in.

Unlike the large group at the start and end of the night that head to and fro their den, the solitary packs strictly form to hunt. A solitary howl is sounded to scare prey, them moving deliberately as they look and smell for any sign of something to devour. Their hearing added in made things even worse as they can easily pinpoint said prey easier.

And that’s why they were surrounding and hovering around the store. Sniffing, cocking their heads to listen, searching to find where they might have gone. One in particular seems to be interested in the door. They stop sniffing and gaze into the store, looking for any possible movement as it’s intelligent eyes scan the interior. The little girl starts shaking and whimpers against the woman, who instantly shushes her and holds her tighter against her.

And just as suddenly as it started, all the creatures suddenly whip their heads to the side, staring out into the night before they quietly move off after whatever they heard. A few minutes later, harrowing screams shatter the silence of the night. It happens so quickly that it causes them all to jump, tears that were being held back the whole time trembling down as the sensors pick up on creatures moving through them, many heading towards where the pack went.

As quickly as the screams start, they end… The only question any old enough to understand can be is

“Who did our town lose tonight?”