Chapter 2: No One Was Harmed
As dusk approached, the fading sunlight stretched long shadows over the city, spilling golden beams between the towering skyscrapers. But the light barely reached in the old town, where the high-rises loomed over narrow alleys. Shadows claimed the streets, and a damp chill hung in the air, oddly out of place compared to the dry warmth outside. Small patches of melting ice clung to the cracks between bricks, a quiet testament that something strange had happened here.
Shadows flickered and darted between the buildings, moving like wind across rooftops. They jumped effortlessly from one corner to the next, and when they landed, the shadows trembled and took shape, solidifying into wolf-like forms. Their faces were vague, almost blurry, as they prowled and sniffed at the ground. One of them raised its head to the sky and let out a long, eerie howl.
“Awooo…”
“Thud!”
A stone sailed through the air and struck the wolf right on the head, cutting its howl short. A scolding voice rang out from the shadows of a nearby building. “Quiet! No howling in the city—and don’t think adding a ‘woof’ at the end will fool anyone! People aren’t that stupid. They won’t mistake you for dogs!”
The phantom wolves whined softly and backed away as if chastised. From the shadows emerged a petite figure, moving with purpose.
She was a young girl, no older than sixteen or seventeen, with short hair framed by her face and a single strand curling upward on her forehead. She looked calm beyond her years, dressed in a black skirt and a dark red jacket. As she walked past the wolves, they lowered their heads respectfully. She didn’t spare them a glance, her eyes fixed instead on the lifeless body lying by the side of the alley.
Her face darkened for a brief moment as she knelt beside the body, inspecting it. One of the wolves approached, its growl low and muddled like it was trying to convey something.