Vet Wolf

Mark sped down the road, one hand on the wheel and the other resting on the windowsill.

A toothpick hanging from his mouth dangling from left to right unrythmically.

Taylor knew this was his way of blowing off steam without speaking, so she just let him do his thing while she stared at the trees.

She too didn't like how he frequently had to get her from work so late at night, but she couldn't help it. A pregnant dog needed her help, and she couldn't postpone its delivery.

Smiling, she recalled the little puppies that the dog had birthed. The guilt she felt for Mark seemingly evaporated.

Spitting out his toothpick, Mark was finally ready to speak. "What are you smiling about?"

Now noticing she was smiling, Taylor turned to him with a straight face. "I'm sorry, it's just..."

"It's just what, Taylor?" He cut in. "Don't you know the meaning of work hours?"

"You get me so worried, I'd have to come get you from work myself!" Mark spoke at the top of his voice while his eyes occasionally moved from the road to Taylor's sorry-looking face.

"All for the sake of those animals!" He spoke knowing fully well that Taylor hated it when he referred to them with such disdain.

"What happens when we have kids?! I'm not sure I can get married to someone as irresponsible as you!" He spoke and became silent feeling that he'd said the wrong thing.

Upon hearing this Taylor's brows furrowed. "Irresponsible?!" She repeated.

"How's saving lives irresponsible?" Taylor spoke tearing up.

"Lives?! You... You just!" He stepped on the gas pedal harder, his knuckles turning white as he gripped the steering wheel tightly.

Seeing how fast they were going, Taylor held onto her seat, "You going to get us killed, Mark!"

He immediately turned to her "At least then...."

"Watch out!" Taylor screamed and Mark subconsciously stepped on the breaks.

With a screech, the car came to a stop, but not after colliding against something.

"What was that?!" Mark asked as he stretched over the steering wheel to see what was hit.

Taylor quickly unbuckled her seatbelt and opened the door.

"Where are you going?" He asked alarmed, surprise Taylor dared open the door.

"You hit an animal!" She said concerned as she walked to the front of the car.

"An animal? Do you know what...?" His eyes widened as he began to sweat, looking at Taylor.

"Get in, Taylor!" He yelled unsure what to do.

On seeing its tail and hairy back, Taylor quickly rushed back to the car.

"What's it?" Mark asked ready to start driving.

"It's a dog!" She announced as she picked up her kit from the back of the car.

"So?!" Mark opened his hands agitated.

"I'm going to save it!" She said sternly looking at him and walking towards the front of the car.

Before she could get there, the dog bolted into the woods. With her kit, she chased after it.

"Taylor!" Mark yelled as he unbuckled his seatbelt.

She stood in at the edge of the road staring into the woods.

"Taylor, come back!" Mark yelled still too scared to open the door to get down.

"Taylor!" He yelled again.

"What?!" She yelled back with tears in her eyes.

"No animal can survive that impact. Are you happy? You just killed a dog!" She yelled at him.

Staring stupified, Mark looked at her wondering how and why he was ever attracted to her because of her passion for animals. Had he known she was this crazy, he never would have taken things further.

She picked out some pills from her kit and walked into the bushes gently.

"Tay!" Mark who was almost crying in confusion called. On one hand, he was angry at her and on the other he was worried.

She stopped and placed the pills on the floor making several weird sounds with her mouth.

After standing there for a few seconds she turned and was about to walk back to the car when something caught her skirt.

Shocked she turned back and found a branch stuck to it. In an attempt to get the skirt out of the branch, it tore, revealing a small of her lap.

Seeing this, Mark hit his forehead annoyed but unsure what to say.

With a sigh, she aggressively walked back into the car.

Mark just continued to stare at her, not sure how to express himself.

"Drive!" She said not even looking at his face.

After a sigh, he stepped on the gas pedal and they were back on the road.

Staring at the leaving car, a figure stepped out of the bushes holding a red piece of cloth in one hand and some pills in another.

"Who's a good girl?" Taylor said squatting as a Labrador ran towards her.

Mark stood behind her, with dark circles under his eyes-too tired to frown.

He sighed and walked passed her into the house.

Looking up at the clock, he exhaled heavily and slouched on the couch.

He reached for the remote and put the TV on, gnashing his teeth in irritation at the sound of the barking dog.

Shortly after, the door sprung open.

"You do know you're supposed to be resting, right?" He said searching for a channel.

"Taylor!" He called having not heard a response.

Hearing heavy breathing, he turned to his side. Gazing at him with two big watery eyes was a furry creature standing with its mouth open.

"What tha...?!" He jumped off the couch.

"Bella!!" He yelled holding his chest to calm down his racing heart.

"Bella come with me, " Taylor called as she stepped in.

Mark looked at her leaving figure sighed and turned off the TV.

Getting into the room, he saw Taylor wrapped in a towel while the dog lay on the bed.

"Stay there!" She said as she walked towards the bathroom.

Mark cast a questioning gaze on her, his eyes seeking answers.

"Why is she on the?" He went on to ask.

"She's sleeping next to me." She said with a firm tone, not even sparing him a glance as she walked into the bathroom.

Mark clenched his fist as he looked at the innocent dog. Seeing his gaze, she ran behind the pillow cowering.

Under the shower, Taylor heard the door slam followed by a thud on the ground.

She sighed as the water ran through her body.

Exhaling deeply she recalled the accident that had happened earlier.

Why is Mark so insensitive?

"A dog... So?!" She mimicked.

Sighing, she turned off the shower and looked down at her belly.

"If only I knew he was this uptight!" She said and let out a sigh.

Suddenly she heard her dog growling.

"Bella, what's it?" she called knowing that Bella was not one to growl like that unless she saw something.

Coming out with a towel wrapped around her body, she walked towards the living room where Bella's barking could be heard aloud.

"Mark!" She called instinctively, still unsure why Bella would growl at Mark in that manner.

"Ouch!" She exclaimed seemingly having stepped on something that cut her foot.

Grimacing, she looked down only to find the wall clock on the ground, its glass shattered in pieces.

"Guh!" She exclaimed pissed and then she began leaping on one foot towards Bella, who continued barking aloud looking through the window.

"Bella, what's up?" She asked, rubbing her head as she too looked through the window. To her surprise, Mark's car sat unmoved from the driveway. "I thought he drove out.." she uttered.

"It's okay, girl. Let's go eat something." She hopped to her room to get a first aid kit to clean up her wound.

......

In the kitchen, Taylor stood by the counter cutting some onion.

"Ouch!" She exclaimed, inadvertently putting her finger in her mouth.

"What's happening today?" She was about to drop the knife when she heard a low growling sound coming from near the window.

Taylor's heart skipped a beat as she heard the growling sound. It was a deep guttural growl, unlike anything she had ever heard before. Her palms began to sweat and her breath came in short gasps.

Bella who had heard the sound too ran towards the window and began to bark.

The growl she'd heard echoed in her mind. Having worked in the vet for so long she's heard so many dogs growl, but none like this.

"Shhh!" She tried to hush Bella so she could hear better. But the dog ignored her plea.

Slowly, with the knife knitted in her fingers, Taylor walked towards the window, the source of the ominous sound.

Everything outside glowed in the moonlight, a brightness-like day only a bit grey. The dense trees swayed in harmony with the howling wind increasing the tension of the moment, their branches casting eerie shadows on the ground.

"Mark!" She called out wanting to believe that Mark was the one trying to fix something; an attempt of her mind to excuse the situation.

With one hand holding the knife, she used the other to shut the window.

A sudden loud bang echoed from the roof, pulling Taylor's heart to her throat.

She held the knife firmly now with both hands as she looked at the ceiling, following the sound of the slow and heavy footsteps on her roof. Now more than ever she wished Mark was here with her-despite being quite timid, he'd at least take away this sense of being alone... even Bella was cowering behind her.

Another thud was heard and the sound on the roof hushed, leaving an unsettling silence. Taylor's sweaty palm holding the knife slowly loosened its grip as she cautiously walked towards her room.

With the knife still in her hand, she lay on her bed staring left and right, refusing to turn off the light.

......

Awakened by the stream of sunlight that made its way through the curtains, Taylor sighed in relief. "It's finally day!"

She got off the bed, briefly glancing at the knife on the table. Her hands were slightly red and sore from holding the knife for so long.

The finger she cut the night before had become slightly swollen.

Grimacing, she reached out for her first aid kit.

Looking at her dishevelled look in the mirror, she sighed. Like a nightmare, the scene of the accident played once again in her mind.

"I hope he's alright..." She said as she picked herself off the bed.

Just then the door was pushed open. Mark who still seemed tired walked in.

"Where'd you go?" She asked.

"Like you care..." He said and walked into the bathroom.

Truly Mark was the last worry on her mind for some reason. After her patients at work, he used to be the first thought she had when she got up but now, the thought of him gives her heart questions that she doesn't want to answer.

"Come on girl, let's take a walk!" She said looking at Bella who had been sitting there quietly.

She and Bella walked out of the house, her eyes peeled as she wondered what made the sound she heard.

Before getting behind the kitchen, Bella, who had beaten her to it continued to bark rapidly.

"What's it, Bella?" She said as she made a bend to the kitchen's back.

"Whoa!" Her eyes widened in shock.

A footprint could be seen in front of the window.

"What kind of dog is this?" She said looking around.

Taking her gaze up, she noticed some scratches on the wall and a broken edge on the roof.

"Mark!" She called out.

"Marcus!" She called out louder.

"What is it?!" He yelled back.

"Come out!" She walked closer to the footprint and squatted in front of it

"What?!" Mark asked aloud, walking out in a pair of grey boxers. Now that it was day, he just wanted to take a shower and leave. He had spent the entire night in the truck because he was too scared to get back on the road that late; afraid he'd encounter another animal.

Inspecting the front of his truck, the blood he saw was not one the truck had impacted on an animal. It seems the animal was hurt even before running across the road, and judging from the impact that animal wasn't small. What could have hurt an animal that large?

"Any idea what this is?" she asked pointing at the footprint.

On seeing what she was pointing at, he stood still.

A footprint this huge concludes his suspicion from last night, there were bears in the woods.

"That's a bloody bear, Taylor!" He said.

"I've told you over and over again, Taylor, let's move over to my house in the city where real people are, but no! Taylor of the wide life!" He said sarcastically.

"Oh please! Don't start this again! You know how much I hate people!" She said standing up.

"I wonder how I ended up with one!" She stormed away into the house.

"A wise man once said, if everyone around you seems to be the problem, then you just might be the problem!" He yelled aloud in the direction she walked.

He shook his head as he looked at the footprint, then gazed up at the scratched wall. Sighing, he clenched his fist, "This girl just wouldn't listen!"

About to leave, he caught a glimpse of something on the window pavement. He walked closer and picked up a strand of grey hair, thick and not like something he had seen before.

"Gray bear?" He stood there puzzled.

"Taylor!" He yelled as he walked into the house.

"Get your things, we are leaving now!" He said firmly.

"Taylor!" He yelled as he walked into the room.

"What do you need?" He asked on hearing the sound in the shower.

On hearing his voice, Taylor turned off the shower so she could hear him.

"Taylor, I said what do you need?" He opened a box and was staring at Taylor's clothes.

"What do you mean what do I need?" She asked.

"I said we are leaving right now!" He said aloud.

Grabbing her towel, Taylor walked out of the bathroom.

"Are you out of your mind?!" She stared at him in bewilderment.

"You'll see if you don't come with me right now!" His masculine figure stood up erect glaring at her with fire in his eyes.

Laughing sarcastically, Taylor ignored him and walked towards the mirror.

Breathing heavily and unsure how to vent his anger, he shut the box, locked it and pulled it to his truck.

After gathering what he felt they needed, he stood in front of Taylor breathing heavily. "Let's go!"

"I am not going anywhere!" She said resolutely.

"You... I... you're just irresponsible, you know that!" He said as Taylor furrowed her brow at the mention of that word again.

"Do you want your kids to grow up in a place like this? A place we don't even know what lives around us." He said.

"It's better than staying in the city where we know the monsters that roam freely on the street!" She replied about to walk passed him.

Grabbing her arm forcefully, he pulled her, "We leaving now, whether you like it or not!"

"Let go of me!" she struggled.

Ignoring her plea, he pulled her outside.

He knew he wasn't supposed to do this but his love for her and the baby demanded he took them out of this unsafe place quickly. She wasn't so far in for a mere struggle to cause a miscarriage.

"Mark!" She yelled but he wouldn't listen.

Bella continued to bark, occasionally biting his leg, but he remained indifferent to that.

He opened the door and pushed her on the seat, slammed the door and looked at her face and then at her belly as they both continued to breathe heavily, "Why can't you just do this for our child?"

"I don't want him to go through what I did.." She said and broke down in tears.