CHRONOWOLF; LEGACY OF TEMPORAL RUIN

This evening the moon showed its narrow crescent while drifting through the icy night sky. The whole scene appeared different as everything felt both muted and odd at the same time. The whole Whispering Woods landscape appeared unusual to me when I sat on my porch looking across the woods. Darkness concealed something that I seemed unable to notice. People normally describe Havenwood as a picturesque picture postcard. All of them appeared cute along with their comfortable looks and oceanic scent at the same time. Tonight, though? Nobody was relaxed. The people seemed to sit motionless while waiting for a feared event to occur.

Everyone moved with nervous glances and hushed voices similar to those fearful of accidental eye contact. It wasn't my imagination, either. I experienced the same dreadful sensation that sank deep into my skeletal structure before holding on. My heart felt like a hand made of cold ice as it seized me. The forest, especially, was odd. The ancient trees stand as silent witnesses to events that no person should believe. The woods stay keen on observing you though you never turn to look. I never encountered difficulties while spending time within that location which shielded me from everything else. But tonight, it was…different.

The place seemed hostile toward my entry. They seemed to share hidden secrets while I remained unauthorized for listening. I'm a painter, mostly. The painting represents both actual observations and emotional reactions to my perspective. My current emotional state looks unusual since I noticed a change in myself. All my artwork includes deformed figures and landscapes that possess eyes that track people moving throughout the space. They seem to whisper unnoticed messages although I cannot comprehend their meaning. Their words produce secrets that are spoken in an unknown dialect. My woodsy cabin sits right beside the forest where I made my private home.

The cabin stands as my regular sanctuary away from others and community gossip. When night fell my cabin trap felt like a waiting room that limited my response to whatever would occur next. I stood up to see the moon glaring directly at me in a demanding way. The moon influenced me to take steps into the woods. The wood's atmosphere seemed familiar to me which made me experience a strange bond with it. The night reduced me to a new level of self-awareness because it recognized my silenced traits. The moon seemed to hold part of my forgotten history that I needed to find. Entering the room I noticed its familiar scent mixture of fresh paint and dried artwork. Not tonight, however.

An unsettling sensation swept over me when I checked my paintings because they moved away from their original positions despite my absence. The painting showed a woman with intense black hair and eyes that pierced straight through me revealing every part of me. The woman's face appeared to come from a long-buried vision during sleep. The evil force took control of my sanctuary. The spinning around me made me lose my sense of balance since everything seemed upside down. The quickening beat of my heart changed into anguish that tore through my insides. My utterance became an animal-like howl as I tried to scream. Some inner voices escaped as a basic animal noise inside the cabin. All surroundings disappeared and I sensed my body changing. My body shifted while new hair appeared and fangs grew in my mouth. I was a…a wolf. A werewolf. I couldn't believe it. The horror felt real because my transformation happened like an impossible dream turned nightmare. The urge to feed became uncontrollable at that moment as I sought to kill and destroy my prey.

Under the moonlight, I rushed outside through the house entrance and raced toward the forest with the wind as my sole companion. The trees wrapped their branches around me just as though they had sensed my arrival and prepared to welcome me. My body moved endlessly through the night like a beast of the darkness. Anya became the wolf and understood she shared that identity. The moon observed while the forest remained in silence. I decided to learn the truth at all costs even though it would test my inner darkness. The forest greeted her with open branches and rustling leaves that gave silent admiration. As she raced the wet ground she felt her lungs heaving. The urge to hunt consumed her totally because food for her existed only in the form of fresh blood. She existed as a natural hunter of the night like a free-roaming wild animal. Today she and the wolf existed as one being named Anya. The fundamental need took over because the connection between woman and wolf ceased to exist. The moon floated overhead as she entered her animal nature and set off to hunt what lived secretly in her own spirit. In the night Anya sprinted from the woods under the guiding path of her hunger while carrying her werewolf curse destined before her.

Anya moved in an untamed manner through the forest with intensified senses bordering on unbearable levels of perception. All noises between the prey scent and leaf crackles and wind whistles became distinct sounds that she detected without effort. She had left behind all human restrictions because her body now answered only to instinct. She now ruled a maze that concealed itself in the darkness because the forest had become her realm to prey upon and to be preyed upon. Through her wild nature, she ruled with primal instincts as she searched the wilderness for her basic needs. An unpleasant sense of excitement surged through her body when she glided through the forest tendrils as she lost contact with the earth beneath while her senses spread out toward the dark surroundings. Hugging a lit sunspot in the wilderness she burst forth into an exposed clearing.

Her eyes surveyed the dimness as overwhelming senses consumed her mind while she attempted to spot any prey signal from the darkness. A distant smell reached her nose delivering a clear message that blood flowed nearby with its sweet metallic odor. She walked with stealth and reduced herself to an earth-hugging position while following the scent trail. A small stream appeared in front of her which shimmered under the moonlight. The bank of the stream held a deer whose throat wound spilled blood toward the soil while casting a shadowy red pool under the faint moonlight. The bloody aroma washed over her with a raw energy force that caused her muscles to shake uncontrollably. She attacked the deer by biting its flesh with her teeth while she wickedly tore and slashed the soft body tissues with her elongated fangs embedded deeply into the warm meat.

The taste of warm metallic blood streamed through her mouth to fill her intense appetite since her appetite seemed unable to find contentment. The deer's body lay before her as she ate until the human mind started to wane from view because of her animal's primitive pleasure. Her chest labored while she retreated from the scene where she left the bloodied fur stained by the darkness that glimmered under the moonlight. The silver bright moonlight shone down upon her bloody animal fur while she raised her head to look at the night sky. Beyond the animalistic rage emerged a human feeling of guilt as the wolf's nature allowed her human thoughts to shine through. The savage act left her mind staring helplessly for a reason behind such mindless cruelty. She strangled her victim even though she did not need to because an ancestral drive combined with a killing instinct took complete control over her.

Her legs raced against the floor while her heartbeat echoed frantically through her body against the silent forest. She needed to return to her cabin for digestion and comprehension of the monster barely contained inside her. She needed to master the beast before its wicked nature devoured every essence of her and left no trace of her existence. Wild whispers among the trees of Whispering Woods followed her departure while every leaf seemed to sense her forthcoming actions. Every element that created the unholy secrets of Havenwood remained hidden within the shadows, waiting for the day of their revelation. And Anya, the werewolf, was going to be the key to unraveling them all, a pawn she was not even aware she was playing.

The slope towards the cliff top grew intense for Liam as he dragged the body with its rustling weight that served as evidence of the night's cruel discovery. The powerful wind blast exposed him to ocean odors as well as the weak trace of blood and metal in the air. The ocean waves produced a glass-like sheen from moonlight while he returned his view toward the sea swiftly. The face of this dead man remained vivid in his mind as he showed a silent expression of horror. Shadows and secrets in Havenwood.

The man gasped for air at the peak of the cliff while trying to recover. He laid the body on the ground without force before draping his jacket over it to protect the dead remains. The intricate tiny symbol on the man's bald scalp never ceased to bother him even though it existed right below his hairline. Although he took a photo with his phone the symbol in person appeared different with its unusual luminescence that went unphotographed.

Despite trying the symbol seemed to