I thought I told him to leave me alone!

It's been exactly a week since Tobias met the so-called inhuman Felix, and the guy has been pursuing him non-stop since then. Always appearing randomly around corners, sometimes directly in front of him like the time Felix cornered him in the bathroom. The only peace of mind Tobias had was that the guy never followed him when he inevitably ran to avoid the impending confrontation.

He just don't know when to quit! I said I didn't want anything to do with him, why can't he take a goddamn hint when it's so glaringly obvious that I don't want to hear whatever shit he has to say?! This is getting annoying, and frankly disturbing... I just want to be left alone, is that so wrong?

Sure, Tobias was mildly curious as to the guy's species, but he doesn't understand why he wants to talk to him so badly. Shouldn't Felix be avoiding him because he figured out his identity? Or perhaps the reason Felix wants to speak with him so desperately is to make sure he keeps his mouth shut?

If that's the case, then he's wasting his time. It's not like I have anyone to tell it too. Maybe if I found out before... when I still had someone...

Fuck, not again. He squeezed his eyes shut and pinched the bridge of his nose to will away the slight prickling sensation behind his eyes. He was not even truly upset by his thoughts, much less to cry over it.

The return of his emotions was more trouble than it was worth, seeing as that more than a couple of them always plagued his mind. Leaving Tobias immensely frustrated and short-tempered, prone to an eventual future outburst. He should've known that bottling up everything wasn't going to do him any good in the long run, but it was either that or killing himself to escape the pain. And the coin wouldn't let him carry on with the latter.

Tobias flipped the coin as he hesitantly walked out of a classroom, glancing both ways to ensure that his stalker wasn't at work. A few people stared at him weirdly when he whipped his head from side to side. Their opinion of him didn't bother him in the slightest. Not when he was much more concerned about a freakish stranger. He could only be thankful that they shared zero classes.

Unless this guy wants to lure me out and kill me, he has no business dogging my every move.

No.

No to what, genius? No to the part where Felix possibly wants to kill me? Or to the part where he has no business outside of killing me to keep his secret?

The coin didn't answer. Tobias rolled his eyes in exasperation, not caring enough to rephrase his questions.

He didn't see hide nor tail of Felix the entire day, which was both reliving and suspicious. Felix could've either decided to skip school today, or he finally gave up after a whole week of pointless stalking only to be left in the dust. Until either option was proven, Tobias was reluctant to put his guard down.

Better safe than sorry, he reasoned.

Right then, though, Tobias was too angsty to return to class. In truth, he had only excused himself out of the second to last period of the day to escape the claustrophobia he began to feel. In the past, he was able to tolerate the breathlessness that came with the heavy presence of multiple people in an enclosed room. His tolerance only lasted till his indifferent mask broke to reveal the shattered remains inside.

Now, being in such close quarters to literal strangers for hours on end was enough to make Tobias silently hyperventilate in the corner. Pretending to be sleep helped to hide his uncoordinated breathing.

Skip the rest of school?

Yes.

The thought was received with a relieved exhale. Tobias stared at the coin for a moment out of habit, suppressing the memories that came with it. Instead, he took a rather roundabout way to exit school property in order to not get caught. He never did come across anyone, which should have been a big enough sign for Tobias to sense that something didn't feel quite right.

Nevertheless, it is only until after he left the school behind did he actually encounter the reason why Tobias had a niggling sense of foreboding. In the form of a man stepping out from the shadows of a tree, so fluidly as if he'd been merged with it at some point. A man who had a name. A name which Tobias was beginning to wish he'd never had the displeasure of knowing.

Before Felix could open his mouth to spew out his usual pleas, Tobias beat him to it. "I think I've made myself perfectly clear from the start. Leave. Me. Alone! I don't care about whatever you have to say to me! Stop following me already!"

Felix's face instantly became shrouded with guilt, a deep set pain filled look in his eyes. Hands fiddling with the bottom of his shirt, twisting it nervously, Felix spoke in a trembling voice. "I'm really, really, sorry for all of this. You weren't supposed to find out that way, I was going to ease you into it. Just please, please hear me out just this once, that's all I ask! And then... you never have to see me again! I swear!"

He may have once been apathetic to everything and everyone around him, but Tobias was not insensitive. A twinge of sympathy rang through him as he felt the sincerity of his words. No one could lie with that much raw emotion in their voice, that it tore at his newly awoken heart.

Being honest is one thing... but being trustworthy? That was the hardest to pinpoint. A tentative flick of his wrist brought him no answer, and that served to heighten Tobias' wariness towards the person before him.

Should I listen to him? Tobias attempted again.

No.

Hmm...

Should I... run?

Yes.

The only warning Felix got was a pair of narrowed eyes trained on him for the span of a heartbeat, and the person he sought with a fading determination had disappeared in the next. Tobias took off in the direction of the dense forest that surrounded the town.

"NO!! TOBIAS! DON'T GO THERE!" A panicked shout rose up behind him, which was soon followed by a heavy set of footprints. Tobias whirled his head around to look over his shoulder for a split second, startled to find that Felix had decided to give chase this time.

He really doesn't want me to go into the forest... he surmised, and yet continued to head straight for the treeline. Probably because he finally got fed up of me running away and wanted me to hear him out whether I wanted to or not. It makes sense for him to panic, it'd be far easier to lose him in the forest.

Just as that thought crossed his mind, the two of them burst into the forest unceremoniously. Stirring up a racket with their reckless dash through the underbrush.

"TOBIAS! IT'S NOT SAFE FOR YOU HERE!"

Other than getting lost, there aren't any dangerous animals in the woods around these parts, Tobias reasoned to himself. He already had a pretty good lead on Felix, and was not about to lose it. Felix did not sound out of breath in the slightest, which attested to the fact that he was in good shape. In light of that, Tobias had to shake him off his tail soon if he wanted to have any chance of escaping his relentless pursuer.

Up ahead, he spotted a break in the trees. A clearing. Before he could contemplate changing directions, Tobias was crashing through it and immediately skidded to a halt. Almost falling with how sudden he had applied his metaphorical brakes.

That's... one big wolf.

Right at the edge of the other end of the clearing was a dead doe, her fawn also lying dead a few feet away, and an unnaturally large wolf feasting on them. It reared it's head back to rivet it's blood red eyes on Tobias, who stood shock still with bated breath.

The wolf's black fur coat was thickly matted, with a heavy layer of dirt and mud clinging to it. Clumps of fur were missing, revealing the pink flesh underneath. Blood stained the entirety of it's muzzle.

How... he wasn't given the chance to complete that thought. The wolf curled it's upper lip back, baring yellow teeth and snarled at Tobias the second it's eyes laid on him. It didn't hesitate to charge him like a raging bull, it's size and color made it deceptively similar to one. Growling deep down in it's throat, sprinting the distance between them. Tobias was frozen in place, unable to move a muscle to help himself.

His body's unresponsiveness resulted in him bearing the full force of an overgrown canine when it lunged at him. Razor sharp claws each the length of a small knife tore apart Tobias' clothes, penetrating his skin and drawing rivulets of blood. Tobias jolted out of his shock induced state to scream in agony, trying in vain to push off the feral wolf. At his screams, the wolf flattened it's ears before opening it's massive maw to close it around Tobias' throat in an obvious threat. He instantly quietened at that, breathing heavily.

Tobias felt lightheaded. Whether it was due to hitting his head on the ground or to blood loss, he didn't know. Perhaps it could even be because of the horrible smell coming from the wolf's mouth. All he knew was that it was getting increasingly difficult to stay awake and conscious. Even with a gigantic black wolf applying pressure to his jaws, fangs cutting deep into his skin. Tobias finally gave in and let his eyes drift shut, accepting his death.

When he'd been expecting a swift death by way of the wolf snapping his neck, Tobias suddenly felt the pressure and the weight on top of him disappear with a loud lupine whine. He forced his tired eyes open a crack and caught a glimpse of a second large wolf, this one a dark shade of brown, locking it's jaws around the thick neck of the first. A thundering growl reverberating across the clearing.

It was the last thing Tobias saw before he succumbed to the darkness.

A/N

Phew! That was longer than the other chapters in this story.

Sooooo.......

Thoughts?

❤️💖❤️

-RL-