"Toby," I sigh, pulling out an earbud and pausing the video on my laptop's screen. "What are you still doing up?"
My eight year old brother stands in the doorway, one hand clutching the doorknob and the other holding a stuffed gray wolf to his chest. He's wearing his red and blue Spider-Man pajamas, and it's far past his bedtime. His blonde hair is a mess, as though he'd just woken up, but his blue eyes were wide with excitement. He bounces around on his toes as he speaks.
"I saw a wolf, Lisa!" He whispers, coming into my room and shutting the door again.
"In your dream?" I ask, turning back to my computer. "That's cool."
"No, Lis, just now!" He runs over and sits on the edge of my bed. I sigh and turn on the lamp next to me. Light filters across my room, revealing the messy state it's in. "At the door!"
"Oh yeah?" I ask, pressing play on my video, and Adam Levine immediately resumes belting the chorus to Wake Up Call. "Where?"
"Downstairs! At the door!" He climbs over and puts his hands on the top of my screen, leaving greasy fingerprints.
"Hey, hey!" I frown, peeling his fingers away from Adam's precious face. "Hands off, Tobe!"
"At the door!" He whispers excitedly, almost with a hint of urgency. "I let him in, come on, I'll show you!"
I freeze for a moment, tilting my head.
"You let something inside?" I ask worriedly.
"A wolf!" He beams, and tugs at my hand. "I'll show you."
"Toby, stop," I hiss, shutting my laptop and pulling out my other earbud. I take a breath to keep from losing my temper. "When did you let it in?"
"Him." Toby corrects me as I sit up, planting my feet on the floor. "I let him in just a minute ago. He told me he was cold, so I let him in."
"Oh God," I stand up, pulling the oversized black tee shirt I'm wearing down, and it almost covers my shorts.
I make my way to my door, trying not to trip over a pair of jeans I left on the floor. I turn the handle quietly, and crack the door ever so slightly. From my room at the top of the steps, I can see the front door wide open, wind blowing the small curtain over the window. I shut the door as fast as I can and press my back against it, jaw dropped.
"Toby Wilson, what did you do!" I whisper as loud as I can, wanting to yell but too afraid to.
The grin slowly falls from his face, and is soon replaced with a confused frown. He brings the stuff wolf closer to his face, stroking it nervously.
"I… He-" Toby searches for an explanation.
"You can't do that, Toby!" I hiss, covering my face with my palm nervously. "That thing could be rabid! Even if it isn't, who knows where it is? Wolves aren't friendly!"
"This one was," He tries to explain to me. "He was nice, he…. he…"
His words are cut off as he begins to cry. I feel bad, but there's not much I can do at the moment. Bigger problems are at hand.
"Look, Tobe," I whisper, less aggravated than before. "Just hush, okay? Give me a minute."
I want to console him, I really do. I love my brother more than life but at the moment, I have to tell my parents. I don't want to risk walking down the hallway, though, so I cross to my bedside table and pick up my phone. I unlock it, open my contacts and select my mother's name. I put the phone up to my ear, and place a hand on Toby's shoulder. They rack with sobs.
My parents' room is only two doors down the hallway, with the bathroom between us, but I can hear her ringtone from here. The simple old fashioned telephone ring goes off a few times, but my call goes unanswered. It's about 2 a.m. and she's probably well into a deep sleep.
Now, I try my dad's phone. His ringer doesn't seem to be on, and if it is, I can't hear it. Especially now that Toby is full out sobbing. I want to take a moment to talk to him, but at this point I'm too scared. I try my mother's phone two more times, and give up. My only hope now is animal control.
I begin to rub Toby's shoulders, mumbling "Hush, Tobe, hush. It'll be okay," over and over again. I sit down on the floor and pull Toby to sit, too. He crawls onto my lap and burrows his head into my shoulder, spewing apologies between sobs. I try to assure him it's alright as I dial the digits 9-1-1 into my phone.
"9-1-1, what's your emergency?" The operator, a woman, says calmly.
"Hi, ma'am, um," I speak quietly into the phone. "There's a, uh, wolf. In my house."
"A what?" She inquires, almost incredulously.
"My, uh, brother let a wolf into the house." I know I sound like an idiot, and I'm becoming increasingly nervous. "It-It's hard to, um…"
"Is this a joke?" The woman asks, turning nasty. "You can get into real trouble for-"
"No!" I cry, a bit louder than I meant to. "No, please, I'm not joking. Please, just send, uh, a-animal control or, or something. I don't know where it is and it might be in my parent's room. They're a-asleep."
"Alright, miss, just calm down." The operator directs me. "What's your address?"
"1536 Livingston Avenue," I tell her frantically. "Please, hurry."
I stay on the line with the woman until I can hear the siren of a car approaching. At that point, I thank her and hang up. Toby has long since fallen silent, but hasn't moved away from me. He clutches me like a lifeline, and I don't mind. Poor kid must be scared out of his mind.
I dial my mother one more time, but she still doesn't pick up. The fact the animal control is here makes me feel a little less worried, but I still don't leave my room. I look down at Toby. He's apparently cried himself to sleep. I gently smooth down his hair, in hopes to comfort myself. His stuffed wolf, who he's dubbed Wolfy, has fallen to the floor next to me. Trying not to move too much and disturb my brother, I reach over and pick it up. I place it by his hand, and he instinctively grasps it, even in sleep.
"Hello?" A man calls from down the steps.
"Up here!" I call out, and am happy to know I didn't awaken Toby.
I hear him tromp up the steps and in a moment, my door opens. Before me stands a tall man, with black hair and dark skin. He's dressed in a blue uniform, and holds a long white stick with a loop at the end in his right hand. He opens his mouth to speak but I quickly bring a finger to my lips, and glance down at my sleeping brother. The man nods, and drops his voice to a whisper.
"My name is Clem. Stay in here until I search the house, okay?" He says calmly, and I find his voice soothing. I nod, and clutch Toby a little tighter.
The man walks quietly out of my room and shuts the door again, leaving me to listen and wait for his return. I soon find myself rocking back and forth, flinching at every creak in the floor boards. My room, although well illuminated by the lamp, seems cast in shadows. The darkness makes my situation seem even scarier, and I'm glad Toby isn't awake to see the fear I'm certain is strewn across my face.
I wait in silence for a few minutes until my door creaks open again. I take a deep breath and bite my cheek for a moment, until I see it's only Clem returning. I give a sigh of relief.
"You didn't find it?" I whisper, tilting my head to the side.
"No ma'am." Clem shakes his head, frowning. "I didn't find anything."
"So my parents are alright." I sigh, relieved. So much worrying for nothing!
That is, until Clem replies.
"Parents?" He asks, puzzled. He forgets to keep his voice low, and glances at Toby. Still fast asleep.
"My- My parents? They're in the room at the end of the hall." I speak slowly. "Asleep."
"Miss, I didn't find anything." Clem frowns, eyes widening. "No wolf, no parents, no nothing."
"You-" I can feel the air beginning to freeze in my lungs. "You must have just…. missed them.."
I slip my arms under Toby's sleeping form and stand up, cradling my brother. He mumbles something and fidgets some, but still doesn't awaken. Before Clem can even react, I'm out of my room and down the hall, in my parent's room. I look all around the room before finally laying my eyes on their bed. It's empty. My parents are gone.