A Walk in the Park

Kelly practically danced her way out of the elevator and headed toward her car in the underground garage.  She couldn’t believe her luck and decided she deserved to take a walk in the city’s large park to celebrate.  As a mute, jobs, especially jobs paying more than minimum wage, were difficult to find and she had found one.  Even better, her supervisor had been raised by a deaf mother and could understand the sign language she used to communicate.

After finding her car and buckling herself in, she pulled up to the attendant, paid for her parking and faced the car west.  There was a break in traffic and she scooted behind a blue minivan.  It felt like no time had passed before she was pulling into the parking area at the north end of the park and she realized with a smile that every light had been green.  This was shaping up to be a fantastic day. There were only about a dozen other vehicles clustered near the entry to the pathways, so she knew she would likely have a peaceful walk.

Kelly pulled the zipper of her coat all the way to the top and turned to close the driver’s door of her red convertible, hesitating at the last minute.  She had heard thieves were targeting cars in the parking lots around the city’s green spaces, so she grabbed her purse and slung it over her right shoulder.  She closed the door, then used the remote control to lock it and pocketed her keys. 

She mentally tossed a coin and headed up the western pathway into the woods surrounding the lake.  About 300 yards into the forest, the bushes ahead of her rustled and parted and she saw a large grey dog push its way onto the path.  It turned its head toward her and sniffed the air, then opened its large mouth slightly and growled.  The growl was low and more menacing than any dog she had heard before.  The first knot of fear began to form in Kelly’s stomach and she looked around quickly, hoping to find the dog’s owner.

There was no one in sight, the beast slowly moved toward her.  As she watched it slink closer, Kelly realized that it was not wearing a collar, and that its coat was matted and unkempt.  A faint, unpleasant smell drifted from it and she got a sense that something about it was just … wrong.  It crept steadily closer and she chanced one more look for its owner.  When it had closed the distance to 10 feet, her brain made a sudden connection.  She was being stalked by a wolf.

The wolf was now close enough that, even in the muted shade of the forest Kelly could clearly see the individual streams of saliva dripping off the vicious teeth.  The coarse grey fur framing its mouth was specked with deep red spots, which she knew must be blood.

The wolf was alone, but she warily scanned the forest around her, knowing that wolves travelled in packs.  She didn’t see any, but she wasn’t foolish enough to think they couldn’t hide.

She reached slowly into her purse, taking care not to startle the animal with a sudden movement.  Her fingers scrambled through the collection of makeup, keys, cards and general junk that filled her oversize bag.  As she fumbled through the mess she started thinking maybe the pepper spray wasn’t in there and she promised herself that she would finally clean out her purse if she survived.  Just as her panic threatened to take control, her fingers brushed the familiar canister and she grabbed hold of it.

With the pepper spray clutched in her right hand, she started to back slowly down the path toward the parking area and the safety of her car.  She reached her hand slowly into her coat pocket, grabbing the remote, ready to unlock the doors.

The 300 yards she had covered so quickly on the way into the woods felt like 300 miles as she backed carefully down the path.  Every time the wind rustled the undergrowth she imagined the pack circling around her.  When she was half way there, a squirrel scolded her from a branch above her head and she nearly dropped the pepper spray.  The wolf stalked her all the way back to the parking lot, maintaining its distance throughout the terrifying journey.

When she broke free of the woods, Kelly chanced a glance around the parking lot, but she saw no one.  She continued to back carefully toward her car, fumbling for the door lock button.  She pressed it and relaxed slightly when she heard the reassuring sound of the locks popping open … then tripped over the parking curb.

As she fell, she remembered the panic button on the remote.  That would set the horn going and maybe scare the wolf away.  She was fumbling for it when she hit the ground – hard.  She heard a sickening crack when her head hit and pain exploded at the back of her skull, taking all of her attention.  She only lost her focus for a couple of seconds, but in that time she dropped her keys and pepper spray.

Laying there, she saw the canister of pepper spray roll under her mud splattered car and thought, “I can’t die with a dirty car.  It’s not fair.”

Kelly turned her head to face the wolf and her mouth opened in a silent scream as it lunged, its powerful jaw opening wide to expose its jagged teeth.  She fought the pain and brought her arms up in front of her face in the nick of time.

Pain lanced up her left arm as the wolf’s teeth tore flesh from bone and she groaned under the weight on her chest.  She tried to choke the beast with her right hand, but the blood loss and the weight pinning her down were too much for her.  The wolf tore free from her grip, reared back for another lunge and …

She woke suddenly from her nightmare.  Her breath was coming fast and hot and she was still in the grip of panic from her vivid dream.  Kelly tried to slow her breathing by taking deep breaths, but she couldn’t.  It felt as if the weight of the wolf was still pinning her down and preventing her from breathing deeply.  She opened her eyes and saw the dark form of a person sitting on her chest.

From the shadows came a deep, raspy voice, “I’m gonna rape you and cut you.  Then I’m gonna do it again, and I’ll keep doing it until you bleed to death.”

Kelly’s mouth again opened in a silent scream as she realized she had woken from a horrible dream into a living nightmare.





Word count 1136