Little Red

could see its breath, the hot plumes escaping its large mouth as it panted, he matched its pattern of air inhalation and exhaling; their hearts beating in unison. His skin felt no cold as he leapt through his snowy surroundings, every couple of strides he would lower his body to the ground and vault forward with his hands; the white powder flicked out behind him. He felt alive, he moved like the beast, they breathed together; they ran together. He was becoming.

The beast had stopped suddenly, catching him off guard and he fell to the ground, the snow covered his head. He knelt and turned to face his friend, its breath appeared distant and the cracking of foliage encouraged Russell to track it. The branches were bent from his view as he pushed through the woods, he followed the beast as it moved past the large trunks, its shadow partially cast as the moon glared down from above. Russell followed with curiosity, he didn’t understand why his friend had stopped. It intrigued him to find out.

He stopped short as he neared the edge of the wood, the crisp white fields lay ahead. He saw the dark mass and it saw him, their eyes connected and the wolf offered a loud howl to the light in the sky. He moved towards it, noticing the body on the floor. He gazed around and noticed that he was back in the location where he had first met the woman, the one he had killed. Russell approached the body nervously, still unaware of the wolf’s intent. He saw the naked legs and moved around the wolf’s large shadow to observe her bloodied body.

He stopped as his heart raced, the beating sounding in his ears. The woman was gone, the blood from her body had disappeared with her. Now, in her place, lay the fragile girl, the red cloak buttoned around her neck, her heart pumping the red liquid from the gaping hole. He fell to his knees and placed a hand on her stomach. She looked just like she did when he had left the house, her pale skin and wide eyes remained exact. The stab wound from the shard of glass prominent on her small chest, the blood pooling in her lungs.

‘Sarah…….I’m sorry, I’m so, so, sorry’ he wept

The beast beside him growled away his tears, the warning issued and heard. He dried his eyes and looked at his sisters body with a stone cold expression. He had to fight the remorse and block it from his mind, he battled his emotions by introducing fear into others, by controlling the weak and manipulating those that he could. The wolf had beckoned him to the body, he had to see her; he needed to learn of how his work should be done…..how he will become. He leant back and fired the deep howl to his moon, it glared back down upon him, warming his skin and accepting his offer. Her heart was for his becoming, the trade was complete.

***

Nathan lay upon the bed, the folder placed to his side. He had finished placing the collage of information upon the wall. His room now beginning to appear like the office, just more spacious and comfortable. He preferred his new surroundings. He could work with peace of mind from unwanted guests. He picked up the folder and sat himself against the headboard and the mass of bulky pillows provided a great lumbar support. He ripped open the envelope and removed the brown A4 folder and its contents. He lifted the front open and read the first page.

Mr Cawley

This folder contains the details you had asked for. I apologise for the amount but as you can see, there was a lot to overlook. The pages show all cases of violence, murder, death and other investigations that may be relevant to the Wolf case. I hope everything is satisfactory and if you need any more assistance, just call.

Thank you

Lillian

Nathan didn’t know the name of the young constable that he had asked for help. The note seemed formal, as if she had taken pride in retrieving the information he had asked her for. He felt a wave of admiration for her. He then hoped that the folder did hold the details he needed. It would be a shame to let the young woman down. He flipped through the contents, finishing at the final page. It held the number eighty six at the bottom.

‘Fucking hell’ he spoke with shock.

There were more than he had planned on, the complete folder would take him longer than expected to digest. He focused on the first twenty for the night………..he reached eighteen when his eye lids began to close.

***

Jack had sat at his desk. The news from Sally had been more than he had hoped. Finally the pieces were coming together, his boat dream of retirement was closing in, he longed for the freedom. He leant back and placed his feet upon his desk, the sigh escaped his mouth and turned into a long drawn out yawn. He was feeling exhausted, the case was non-stop and he realised that this was the exact reason his ex-wife had left him, you’re not married to me!.....you’re married to that fucking job! They were the words she had used, he did recall a few more curses that were thrown in his direction but that wasn’t important. What was important was the fact that she was right, and the sad thing was it had taken him his marriage and most of his life to realise that. He chose not to dwell on the past, his future lay with the case, this exact moment would determine the outcome that he longed for, he wasn’t going to stop until he had closed the file and earned his leaving party.

He removed the crushed packet of cigarettes from his trouser pocket and shook the contents, the sticks rattled inside, telling him that he was low on smokes. He removed one and lit the end. He welcomed the relaxing effect it brought him.

He placed his notebook upon his legs and flipped through the pages, reading over the details he had jotted down whilst on the case. He reached the eighth page and noticed the words Press Conference in bold letters.

‘Shit’ he spat, the accumulated ash dropping on his grey suit pants.

He had forgotten about the conference for the second victims family, he panicked and reached for the phone, the dents in the handset reminded him of the anger he showed towards Lime’s threats to Nathan. He tapped the numbers and waited for the dialling tone to finish. The call went through, he waited for the answer.

‘Hello Director Chamber’s office, how can I help?’

‘Marion, its Jack, is he in?

‘One moment Mr Crawford’ the line was placed on hold

‘Jack, what can I do for you?’ the gruff voice came

‘Sir, I’m just calling about the Press Conference for the Clough Family. Is there a date set yet?’ his voice held a slight panic which he attempted to hide.

‘That’s been sorted already, I received your paperwork two days ago Jack!’

‘My paperwork?’ confused by his bosses reply

‘Yep, I have it hear in fact….wait one’ the line went silent and the sound of a chair squeaking came through the phone, it was followed by the sifting of paper.

‘You still there Jack?’

‘Yes Sir’

‘I have the copy that you signed stating that you have handed all interviews and conferences to another party, dated from…..yep, two days ago. I think your old age is kicking in my friend’ he finished with a deep chuckle

‘I see, can I ask, who the person or persons are that I handed it too Sir?’

‘Of course, Doctor William Lime no controls the press coverage. He has booked tomorrow as the conference date, will you be attending?’

No Sir, sadly I can’t, thank you Sir, apologies for bothering you’

‘No need Jack, get some rest’ the call was ended.

Lime, that fucking snake. He came to terms with the fact that Lime must have