You wake up in the Smith Mansion

Act 1 - Wandering Around Howland Town

May 29th.

You lifted your heavy eyelids and the bright sunlight caused you pain immediately. You grunted uncomfortably and sat up, and it was at this exact moment that you noticed someone was staring at you behind the door.

That was a young girl, with long, curly red hair and a pair of green eyes. She looked concerned. When your eyes met, she gasped in astonishment and quickly ran away.

You were confused, but at the same time you realized that you were resting in a luxurious room. A large four-poster bed with silk curtains dominated the space, and you were lying on crisp, white linen sheets that felt incredibly soft against your skin. A window draped with heavy velvet curtains let in the bright sunlight, and you could hear the noisy chirping of birds outside.

Your cellphone, which was supposed to be in your pocket, was now lying quietly on the nightstand. You tried to recall how you ended up here, and you remembered what you last saw.

The werewolf. The beast that left terrible gashes on your chest and... Wait! My chest!

Your looked down and found yourself wearing fine clothes instead of what was left of your shirt. You grabbed the collar with both hands and peeked inside. To your surprise, you found only three red marks on your chest. You didn't feel any pain when you touched them, as if you were never scratched by that monster.

How is that possible, you wondered.

"Ah! James! You're finally awake!" Walking into the room was a middle-aged man dressed in black. You recognized him right away.

"Mr. Smith! How did I get here..." You quickly stood up beside the bed and greeted the millionaire properly. You also noticed that the young redhead was peeking behind the door again, looking curious this time.

"Well, Benjamin, my butler, told me that he found you **** in the forest outside the mansion and immediately brought you back. I'm glad you're okay, James." Leonard Smith gently patted your shoulder, sighed in relief and asked curiously, "What exactly happened?"

"I was attacked by a werewolf! It scratched me and-" You were about to show him the wounds but you were once again reminded that, there weren't any wounds or gashes left on your chest at all.

"I'm sorry, what? A werewolf? Did I hear you right?" Leonard stared at you seriously, "I don't think it's the right time for humor or bedtime stories, James."

"I... Uh..." You didn't know what to say. Leonard's daughter was still missing and you understood his seriousness and anxiety.

"Master Leonard!"

An old man out of breath rushed into the room. You believed that he was the butler Leonard was talking about. Also, you noticed that the young girl was nowhere to be seen now.

"Miss Shannon has... just returned!" Benjamin smiled joyfully.

Leonard looked shocked and ran out immediately, with the butler following him. You should be happy that Leonard's daughter was safe, but everything seemed to be too good to be true, which made you even more uncomfortable. Without any hesitation, you grabbed your cellphone, followed them out of the room and ran downstairs.

When you reached the main hall, you saw a fine lady with long black hair covering herself with a white towel, which the maid had brought just seconds ago. Judging by her terrified expression and trembling posture, she must have been naked when she showed up at the door.

"Shannon! Oh, my dear..." Leonard burst into tears when he held his daughter tightly in his arms, "What happened to you?"

Shannon kept shaking in fear and was too traumatized to utter a single word. Leonard ordered the maid to help Shannon back to her room and, before following, turned towards you.

"I'm sorry, James, but both my daughter and I need some private time." He looked at you as calmly as he could.

"I understand." You nodded.

"Thank you. Ben will drive you back to town. I hope everything will be fine and you can enjoy your trip." He smiled sincerely before turning around and catching up with his beloved daughter.

The same white Sentinel was sitting in the front yard when Benjamin, the old butler, opened its door for you. You got into the passenger seat and calmed yourself with a long breath. Benjamin quickly got in and started the engine.

As the car began to move you took out your cellphone to check the time. Besides knowing that it was 4:20 in the afternoon, you also noticed that there were a dozen missed calls from Fran. Shit. You panicked and called back.

"Hi, Fran." You tried to sound confident when she picked up.

"James? Thank God you're alright!" Fran sounded nervous, but when she heard your voice she felt relieved, "I've been calling you since I arrived in town last night! Where have you been? What happened?"

"It's a long story." You sighed, "Anyway, I'm coming back into town right now. Meet me at the hotel, alright?"

"Yeah, I'm already here." Fran smiled, "Cole, uh, the receptionist, showed me your room."

"Okay... Wait, how does he know you're with me?" You frowned.

"Well, he just... does? I don't know..."

"Look, Fran, just stay safe and wait for me, okay? I'll be back in 30 minutes."

"Sure. Bye."

You hung up the phone and began to collect your thoughts. All is well, right? You have been telling yourself that since you walked out the front door of the mansion. The client's daughter was back and seemed to be unharmed. You couldn't believe that the case would be this easy. Now you could spend some time with Fran in the remote town and have fun, right?

Yet, there was still a puzzle left unsolved.

The werewolf.

"I didn't have the chance, but... Thank you for saving me, sir." You looked at the old butler driving the car and said.

"You're welcome, Mr. Wilson. Please, just call me Benjamin, or Ben." The butler smiled and nodded gently.

"Okay. You may call me James as well. Uh, so, could you tell me how I was when you found me in the woods?" You asked.

"Of course. I was patrolling when I heard distant howls in the forest. There are wolves living in this region, so I went to check if there were any poachers or unwary travelers. That was when I found you." Benjamin spoke calmly while still focused on driving, "You were lying on the ground, **** and naked, with your clothes torn into pieces."

"Did you see the wolves that attacked me?"

"No. Something must've scared them off before they took a bite out of you. If you ask me, you're very lucky, Mr. Wilson." Benjamin gave you a comforting smile, "Although I would advise you to take a rabies vaccine at the local clinic once you arrive in town, just to be safe."

"Yeah, good idea. Thanks." You nodded and leaned against the back of the seat after a deep breath.

You touched your chest again and felt the strong poundings from your healthy heart. The scene haunted you still, the pain felt so real, but your body told you otherwise.

Was it really my imagination? Normally you would convince yourself that it was, but you're not the same innocent investigator you were 5 months ago, who believed everything was natural. Something's not right, and you were determined to find out what it was.

You needed to seek help first, if what you were facing was really something supernatural. There might be a church in town, and with your fame within the Vatican, you might ask the local priest for help.

And you remembered that there were several paintings in your hotel room that featured wolves. That can't be a coincidence, you thought. Wolf might be some kind of a cultural symbol of this town, and there might be some connection to between it and the werewolf. You should go look it up.

You arrived in town at around 5 p.m.. Benjamin parked the car in the hotel's parking lot and bade you farewell. You walked up to the hall and the male receptionist, Cole, greeted you with the same gentle smile.

"Mr. Wilson, welcome back!" He showed you the way upstairs, "Miss Evans has been waiting for you."

"Okay... Cole, is it? How do you know Fran is with me?" You asked curiously.

"Hah. What can I say, Mr. Wilson? You are Mr. Smith's honored guest. And we tend to know our customers beforehand." Cole slightly bowed and said, "I read your story in the newspaper. The rising investigator. And Miss Evans must be your assistant."

"Assistant, huh?" You smiled embarrassingly, "Well, anyway, I'd like to know more about the town's culture or history. Do you have any suggestions?"

"The book shop in the north has been collecting books of folktales for decades. You may go take a look. The owner's name's George, he's a nice man. You might like to visit the town's mayor, too, but I heard he went on a vacation with his wife and hasn't come back yet."

"Okay, uh, one more thing. Do you know where I can find a church or a local priest?"

"I'm sorry, Mr. Wilson, but we don't have a church or a priest in town."

"Right... Thanks for your help." You felt a bit uneasy when you heard that.

"It's my pleasure. Have a good day, Mr. Wilson." Cole waved his hand at you when you turned around and went upstairs to your room.

There, when you opened the door, you recognized the familiar figure with a long blonde ponytail, sitting on the edge of the bed with her back to you, reading a book. Instantly you felt relieved. She was like a gentle light, piercing through the clouds of mysteries and questions, and shining on your heart.

She heard the sound of you opening the door and turned around. For a second or two, she looked both anxious and concerned. Then she dropped the book, climbed over the bed in a flurry, ran towards you with bare feet, and hugged you in her arms. And you hugged her in return.

That's Francesca Evans, the girl you wouldn't dare to let go.

"Don't you dare to make me worried like this again..." Her voice was shaking.

"I'm sorry..." You gently stroked her ponytail and smiled.

"So, what happened?" She sobbed slightly and looked up at you. Her eyes were a little bit teary, you noticed.

"Well... I think I was attacked by a werewolf last night?"

"A what?"

You told Fran the whole story except the part where you were fucked by that furry beast, just like the last time. Fran frantically took your shirt off and checked your chest. Just like before, there weren't any wounds or gashes, no signs of what you believed the beast had done at all.

"It's not just in your head, right? What... what are you gonna do?" Sitting on the bed with you, Fran asked in a shaking tone.

"I was going to take a rabies vaccine first, but I've called the clinic on my way here and they said the doctors won't be back until tomorrow afternoon." You leaned on the bed and sighed, "I'd like to check the local book shop, see if I can find something about the wolves there. I'm curious about the absence of churches and priests here, too."

"Yeah... Hey, would you like something to eat? You haven't had anything today. You must be hungry." Fran held your hand gently.

"Sure."

A few minutes later the two of you went to the restaurant to grab a bite. Normally you would like your steak medium well, but tonight you liked it rare. Fran was stunned and later told you that you looked almost like "tearing that piece of meat from a live cow" when you ate. But the steak was really, really delicious and you didn't waste any time talking; instead, you kept eating.

After the dinner and a hot shower, you felt really tired and went to bed, despite having slept for half a day today already.

Fran didn't go anywhere; she just sat by your side and continued to read the same book. She touched your forehead and checked your temperature from time to time to see if you had a fever. Then, she turned off the lamp and went to rest late. But you didn't know that.

To you, it was a dreamless sleep that you hadn't had for a long time.

May 30th.

You woke up in the morning, and Fran had just finished washing up.

"Morning, my lady." You stood up with a smile and got dressed.

"Morning. How's your sleep?" Fran was in her casual blue dress while tying up her hair. You always fell for her hair, and you just stood there watching her, until she snapped her fingers and woke you up.

"Still asleep, I see." She smirked.

"No, I'm well... I mean, I slept well... uh... So, what are your plans today?" You awkwardly changed the subject.

"I'd like to go to the clothing store. I saw a nice dress yesterday, and I wonder if they'll let me try it on." Fran's eyes shone with the light of longing when she said that, "You're going to go to the book shop, right?"