The power flicked off. Except for the tiny flame of the gas oven, all light vanished. Silence instead of Beatles music played a freaky tune. Pitched in quiet darkness with some neighbor’s creepy dog outside and thoughts of West African juju chilled her.
A big black wolf stared at her from behind the window that stood above the alley. It stood on its hind feet, more like a werewolf than a wolf. Freaking tall! Its eyes glowed like blue flames. She backed away. A long drool hung from its fierce maw. The creature butted its dark muzzle against the window. Fog clouded the window.
Rachel screamed, dropped the flashlight and ran for the bathroom. She locked herself in the bathroom, dug the phone from her blue jean pocket and dialed 911.
“Nine-one-one, what is your emergency?” asked a woman dispatcher.
Her rapid breathing signaled her near panic. “There’s some wild wolf or wolf hybrid outside my home.” Damn genetically modified creature.
“Has it attacked you?”
“No. Yes. I mean it’s trying to get in. It might have rabies.” Though the dreaded disease was rare in the U.S., she’d seen enough cases in third world countries to not take it lightly. Why else would it want to bite her?
“My address is…”
“We have it, ma’am.”
“You better call animal control.”
“A squad car is on its way. I’ll stay on the line, ma’am.”
“Thank you.” She slunk down on the floor, her back to the door. Beneath the door, the lights flicked on. She tilted her head. Footsteps. Barefoot patter. No clicking sound of claws on the wooden floor.
Rachel placed her fist on her forehead. Shit. I forgot to lock the back door after taking the trash out. “Hurry, someone is in my house,” she whispered.
“The wolf, ma’am?”
“Human steps. A man.”
“Stay calm, ma’am.”
Rachel pressed her lips tight and nodded, not making a sound.
A police siren wailed in the distance. The back door slammed shut. Had the trespasser and the wolf left or were they hiding in the dark ready to pounce on her when she thought she was safe? Either way best to stay still.
Loud knocks pounded the door. “Police.”
She opened her mouth to shout “coming.” Too late. The police broke the door down and two officers entered, guns drawn.
Rachel held her arms up. “I’m the one who called.”
“Are you all right, ma’am?”
She trembled. “Yes.”
“I’ll check the rooms,” said the other.
The older cop asked. “Tell me what happened, ma’am.”
“A big wolf stood by my kitchen window and then when I hid in the bathroom, I heard a person inside the house.”
He regarded her with a questioning brow. “Are you sure it was a wolf and not a big dog?”
“At first I thought it was a dog, but what I saw through my window was a wolf. I know a wolf when I see it. Strange, though, it seemed too big to be a natural wolf.”
The second officer returned. “Clear.”
“How big?”