“The entire downtown is in chaos!” The news reporter’s voice boomed from the tv while Lena sighed as she reached out into the popcorn box. Throwing one popcorn into her mouth and munching it loudly, she looked so relaxed.
She looked like someone watching an intriguing movie in the cinema. “Shortly before the mysterious murder of a young man who has been identified as one of Cj’s club bartenders, the club was set on fire,” The news reporter continued.
“People barely managed to escape and here… We have with us, an eye witness who has got an answer for the cause of the sudden fire outbreak,” The news reporter pointed in a direction and the cameraman changed the position of the camera to reveal a badly injured guy who had burns all over his body.
He threw his phone and someone caught it. “Please, let me… go… I am… innocent. I’m never… visiting any club again,” he seemed shaken up. The cameraman removed the camera from him and turned to the person that had caught the phone.
The lady clicked on a recorded video that was displayed on the rough phone screen. The video was blurry but it was clear enough to show an animal that hurriedly chased after something or some set of strange people with small fireballs.
That’s where the video stopped. She replayed it and immediately paused at a place that showed a clear image of the animal… Is it? The news reporters zoomed in quickly and everything was displayed live.
Sounds of gasps rang out everywhere. “What do we call a wolf-like animal standing on its hind legs and not on all fours!?,” One of them cried out and the number of people viewing the news channel tremendously increased.
“It’s even got the physical features of a wolf! A giant wolf but it is clearly not a wolf!” Another cried.
Lena picked up the television remote and increased the volume, looking more interested in what was going on. She didn’t even notice that her popcorn box had already fallen off the sofa as she leaned in to see what the tv screen was displaying clearly.
“No… No… It can’t be… They don’t exist,” One of the news reporters mumbled repeatedly as she looked closer at whatever was displayed on her phone.
“This can’t be a werewolf… Can it?” She said a little bit too loud and everyone around her quietened.
“The last time I checked… Those dangerous creatures do not exist and we’re only myths,” She continued, unaware of the hundreds of eyes on her.
The news reporter that was presenting was the first person to react. He shoved the camera closer and held up the microphone high before yelling into it, “You heard her right! There is a dangerous creature on loose… A werewolf or possibly werewolves are on loose. Everyone should stay safe and not roam around the city till the government does something about this unknown creature!”
This was when Emily walked in fully dressed. She glanced at Lena, surprised at her position and then quickly glanced at the tv to see whatever has piqued her interest.
The only thing she saw was the picture of a weird… Is that wolf? It was boldly displayed on the tv. She took a closer look and wondered why the wolf looked so… familiar.
“Wait, Jon! What are you saying? Why do you have to broadcast that on…,” The female reporter that had mentioned werewolf almost pounced on current news reporters but just then the tv screen went blank before another program came up.
“Damn! Why did the fucking camera man cut off the video like that? This is the first time in the past twenty years that I have ever felt news broadcasts are interesting,” Lena complained and Emily smiled.
“Shut up dummy. You are just seventeen years old.” Lena looked up when she heard this. She was about to counter that response when she realized something.
“Wait… Sis, are you going somewhere?” Her brows rose as she asked and Emily nodded.
Lena stood up from the sofa faster than a scampering bunny. She rushed to Emily and held her hands. “No! You can’t… It’s so late already and we have been advised to stay indoors. It’s not safe to go out because there is a dangerous animal on the loose right now.”
Emily gave her a look that clearly says ‘WHAT THE FUCK ARE YOU TALKING ABOUT?’
But still, she tried to reassure Lena cause the latter looked extremely worried, “Don’t worry. I’ll be fine. I just have to meet someone at a nearby restaurant. I’ll be back in a jiffy.”
“But, what about mum…?,” Lena was saying but she had already dashed out. The former pouted sadly as she looked straight ahead at the door that had just closed with a bang.
A phone rang in the room and Lena rushed to it. When she saw the caller ID, her facial expression turned frosty. She dropped the phone but it kept on ringing over and over again.
She sighed and finally picked it up while mumbling, “I wonder why she is calling me now. Why promise to come here every time when she won’t? Thankfully, mom wasn’t able to leave her office early today or how would I explain to her that Coco ditched me once again.”
By the time she was done musing, the call disconnected. She sighed in relief but the phone rang again and she groaned before answering the call just before it disconnected again.
******
Someone sighed again in the room. “We… We can’t stay here anymore… It’s all over… We have to go back before the cops or other investigator finds out the truth,” Mia’s voice sounded awfully low.
Ryan’s response was drowning himself in alcohol as he raised a half-empty bottle of champagne and almost finished in one go.
Chris glanced at his cousin drinking himself into a stupor and almost groaned. He walked to him and held his hand just before he’d reached out for another bottle.
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