Chapter 28:The Wolf Tattoo (2)

Chapter 28: Chapter 28:The Wolf Tattoo (2)

"I... I saw something." Iris’s voice barely rose above a whisper.

Her reflection in the mirror stared back at her, but she wasn’t truly seeing herself anymore. Her hazel-green eyes remained fixed on the black wolf-shaped mark resting against the curve of her neck, while her fingers hovered just above it, trembling.

"There was..." She swallowed. "There was a forest."

Zoey frowned. "A forest?"

"It was covered in snow." Iris blinked several times, trying to organize the images still crashing through her mind. "I could smell the trees... I could hear the wind..." She slowly lifted her gaze toward Zoey, confusion and disbelief battling across her face. "...and I heard a howl."

"Woah." Zoey stared at her, the silence in the room becoming heavy, almost oppressive.

The sound of the Air-conditioner in the apartment—the distant shouting of other students, the hum of the vending machine in the hall—seemed to fade away, leaving only the sound of their synchronized breathing.

Zoey stared at Iris for several long seconds before letting out a slow breath.

"...Okay." Zoey said slowly and she folded her arms. "New plan."

Iris looked at her.

"You’re not going home today."

"What?"

"I’m serious iris, I don’t think you should even go at all."

"Zoey—"

"No." Zoey held up a hand before Iris could argue. "Listen to me first."

She stepped closer until they were standing face to-face.

"I’ve known you for four years. I’ve seen you pull all-nighters before exams. I’ve seen you work yourself sick, I’ve also seen you cry after Jason cancelled dates because of basketball."

"...Thanks for reminding me."

"You’re welcome. But my point," Zoey continued, ignoring the interruption, "is that I’ve seen you stressed. I’ve seen you exhausted. I’ve even seen you survive three cups of cafeteria coffee without sleeping for forty-eight hours."

Despite herself...One corner of Iris’s lips twitched.

"But," Zoey said, gently pointing toward the mark on Iris’s neck, "I have never seen you develop a mysterious wolf tattoo out of nowhere and immediately start having visions of frozen forests."

She paused dramatically. "So... congratulations. You’ve officially entered the weirdest phase of your life."

Zoey paused and then continued. "We are not letting you get on a bus in this condition. We need to figure out what this is. We need to Google it. We need to find a dermatologist, or a priest, or maybe a vet."

Iris looked at her suitcase, the clothes neatly packed and ready for a trip that now felt impossibly distant. The anxiety about her internships, the stress of the final semester, the pressure from her parents—it all seemed trivial now. The central conflict of her life had shifted from ...’Will I get a job?’....’Will Jason call me?.... to ....’Why is there a wolf in my skin?’....

"I can’t just not go," Iris argued, though the conviction was missing from her voice. "My parents are expecting me. If I call them and tell them I can’t come because I’ve developed a spontaneous canine tattoo, they’ll have me committed to a psychiatric ward before I can finish the sentence."

"True," Zoey conceded. "But look at you. You’re shaking. You can’t go home like this. What if your parents find out? And more...you’ll be staring at the mark the whole time, and you’ll probably start howling at the moon during dinner."

"This isn’t funny Zoey. Am freaked out right now."

"I know you are, and I promise that am not taking this lightly. That’s why I said that you shouldn’t leave yet. Just give me twenty-four hours. We’ll spend the day researching every weird skin condition and occult symbol known to man. If we find nothing, you can go home tomorrow."

"Still Zoey.....this all seems ridiculous to me somehow."

Zoey sighed and leaned against the wardrobe, studying her friend.

"You know....I think you’re trying very hard to convince yourself this has a logical explanation."

"Because there has to be one to explain this thing on my neck."

"There doesn’t have to be." Zoey sighed. "Iris..." She walked over and gently touched the edge of the mirror.

"If there’s one thing computer science has taught me.....it’s that not every bug has an obvious cause."

"What does coding have to do with mysterious tattoos?"

"Everything." Zoey grinned. "Sometimes you stare at a problem for twelve hours. You check every line, you convince yourself you know exactly what’s wrong."

"And?"

"And then you discover the problem was something completely ridiculous that nobody could have predicted."

She shrugged. "The universe might work the same way."

Iris shook her head. "I preferred you when you were talking about fake coughing."

"I can go back to that."

"No thanks."

For several seconds neither of them spoke. Then Zoey glanced once more at the wolf-shaped mark.

"I really don’t think you should leave today."

Iris sighed. "You’ve said that a lot of times."

"And I’m saying it again."

"Why are you so certain about all these things?"

Zoey hesitated. When she finally answered, her voice had become noticeably quieter.

"Because whatever happened..." She gestured toward Iris’s neck. "...it happened after you met that man...am sure of it."

Alexander.

The name slipped through Iris’s mind before she could stop it. And then, frustration crept into Iris’s voice.

"Nothing that’s happened since last night makes sense anymore Zoey." She laughed softly.

"I lost my boyfriend, my best friend betrayed me, I spent the night with a complete stranger. And then I woke up with..." She touched her neck again. "...this."

Neither of them spoke, and after a long moment...Zoey suddenly snapped her fingers.

"That’s why we need to do some research, to understand what we’re dealing with here."

Iris looked up. "What?"

"We’re sitting here making theories when we have the entire internet."

"You really think Google has answers for magical wolf tattoos?"

"No." Zoey picked up her laptop anyway. "But Google has answers for everything else. So.....what do you say?"

Iris looked at her friend, seeing the genuine worry in Zoey’s eyes. She felt a surge of gratitude, a warmth that had nothing to do with the mark on her neck.

"Fine," Iris sighed, leaning her forehead against the cool surface of the mirror. "Twenty-four hours. But if I start growing fur, I’m blaming you for encouraging this."

"Deal," Zoey said, already tapping furiously on her phone. "Now, stay still. I want to take a few more pictures from different angles. For science."

"Aren’t you a computer major and not a science major?"

"There’s a reason why it’s called ’computer science’ genius!" Zoey said with a deadpanned look, and despite the tense situation, iris chuckled.

"Also...i really need to study this mysterious tattoo for the inevitable day we become famous for discovering a new species of skin-art."

Iris stood there, a captive to the camera, her gaze fixed on the wolf in the mirror. As the flashes of the phone camera illuminated the room....click, click, click....she could have sworn the wolf’s eye flickered. But then she blinked and saw nothing, and just told herself...that she’s only imagining it because she’s anxious.

After Zoey was done taking pictures, she pointed dramatically toward the living room.

"Come on. We’re going hunting."

"Hunting what?"

"The truth. Or at least," she added with a grin, "the weirdest search history either of us has ever created."