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Not sure if you guys are still with me, but here's the next chapter!
Hope you like it :)
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Stay safe y'all.
It's a mad world.
And remember...

Ride free, citizen!

Chapter 3

Big ears.
White fur.
A silver mask.
Red eyes.

Big ears.
White fur.
A silver mask.
Red eyes.

Big ears.
White fur.
A sil…

"Charley!"
Startled by the sudden noise, Charley almost fell off her chair, her heartbeat skyrocketing with the speed of light.
And if that wasn't bad enough already, she even let out a soft shriek, one that made her cheeks burn in shame, for it wasn't like her to react this way.
Her green eyes, now wide open, landed on the person in front of her, who was leaning on the table and studying her with her piercing blue eyes.

"Jesus, Pux, lower your voice. My head is killing me", Charley breathed with a slightly trembling voice, but Pux wasn't impressed.
She never really was, which made her both infuriating and good company.
"What, I called your name like ten times already. I figured you'd be really upset if I slapped you in the face", the blond-headed girl shrugged as she got back upright before she pointed at one of the bikes in the corner of the garage.
"You might wanna check that one before we call the owner that it's ready."

Charley frowned in confusion, trying very hard to ignore her pounding head and aching body.
"Why? It's ready, or isn't it?"
Pux gave her a look and arched a brow, giving her a somewhat arrogant expression.
"Is it? It's Mr. M's bike, so it's…"
"...never ready. Okay. I get it. I'll look at it once I've found the energy to get my ass out of this chair", Charley sighed tiredly, rubbing her face.

Mister M. was a regular at the Last Chance Garage, home of Charley Davidson.
He paid well, but the guy was a huge pain in the ass, always able to find something he could whine about.
It was beyond important to make sure the bike was in perfect state upon delivery, otherwise, they would never hear the end of it.
And both Charley and Pux were not in the mood for another lamentation spoken by that way too monotonous and therefore boring voice.

"Rather sooner than later, Charley. The man has called three times already and it's not even noon yet, so please, save me", Pux responded before she dropped on the second chair with a sigh, the blonde curls in her high ponytail dancing with every movement.
And there was a lot of movement.
Ever since she met her, Charley wondered daily why no one ever diagnosed this girl with ADHD, for she was always in motion, next to being chaotic and forgetful.
Still, she was a welcomed addition to the small team of the Last Chance Garage.
Or perhaps 'team' was too big of a word, for it were only the two of them who ran the small but high-rating garage that was hidden away in the ghetto of Chicago.

It was the last thing Charley had left from her parents and she kept it going with pride and good quality, just like her father had done.
But not even she was able to run a successful business on her own and so, two years ago, she had hired Pux to help her on the weekends.
It was probably safe to say that Pux came closest to a friend, which was quite pathetic since the girl was, with her eighteen years, ten years younger than Charley and all they ever talked about was bikes.

But truth be told, it was a relief to have an extra pair of hands helping around here, and even though the young and slender-build girl was like a tornado of chaos, she was kind and funny at the same time.
Perhaps even more important — she was good with the bikes and therefore a real asset.
Especially now Charley still suffered from a concussion, due to the vicious attack in that awful and dark alley.

It was only yesterday that she woke up on the E.R. in a wave of panic, panic that didn't go away, not even when the doctor told her that she was, aside from some cuts and bruises, relatively unharmed.
It was the fact that she couldn't remember how she got to the hospital that worried him -and her for that matter-, and thus he had insisted on keeping her for the night, if only to wake her every two hours to make sure her head injury wasn't more than just a concussion.
She had tried to wriggle out of it, for she hated hospitals with every fiber in her body, but the doctor had been quite adamant.

And so, Charley had resigned to her faith and called Pux, to ask her if she could keep the garage open until she came back, although with reluctance.
That was simply because she wanted to have control over her own business and handing the reins over to an eighteen-year-old bouncing ball didn't exactly fit that image.
But there wasn't that much of a choice, knowing she wouldn't be able to put food on the table if the garage remained closed, let alone pay Pux for her hard work.
And so it happened.

It was only this morning that Charley came home with an awful headache, a lot of confusion and still a hint of panic gnawing on her insides.
All she could think of was that creature she had seen, or at least, she thought she had seen.
She still wasn't sure whether it was a dream or reality, though both options were quite concerning.
Her hand slowly reached for the now stitched wound on her forehead, and the pain she felt once she touched it could only be real.
Her night at the hospital was too.
So did that mean that… he was real too?

Big ears.
White fur.
A silver mask.
Red eyes.

Big ears.
White fur.
A silver mask.
Red e…

"Charley!"
Again, the already distracted mechanic almost jumped out of her skin and she slammed her fist on the table while her green eyes almost spat fire.
"Goddammit, will you stop doing that?! You almost gave me a second heart attack just now!"
But again, Pux didn't even flinch.
It was most frustrating.
"You're the one who keeps zooming out every time I say something to you…", she shrugged, but then something changed in her so-called innocent facial expression.
Something that looked a lot like worry along with the slightest touch of curiosity and Charley let out her breath almost noiselessly, not wanting to have the conversation that was about to start.

Then again, it would be rather unfair to stop it.
After all, it was Pux who dropped everything to open the garage for her.
To take over the job she was supposed to be doing.
And because of that, Charley kind of owed her an explanation.
One she had held off since she stepped out of the cab and walked inside the garage like a zombie instead of a living human being.
It was actually a miracle that Pux had been able to keep her mouth shut for this long.
But that was about to change, Charley could tell.
And look how right she was.

"Look, I know you're not that much of a talker, which is fine, I guess, and I also know you told me over the phone that you didn't want to talk about it, but I'm dying for news, so spit it out, woman. What happened to you?", Pux asked almost eagerly, leaning forward with her elbows on the table and looking at Charley with expectation.
"I mean, you look like you've seen a ghost. Or wrestled with one for that matter. So please enlighten me… Who won?"

Charley felt a pang of annoyance because of this bluntness that defined teenagers these days, but when she looked into Pux's ocean blue eyes, she saw worry, too.
Sympathy, even and it made her anger vanish like smoke in the wind again.
It was pretty obvious that this young girl, who stood only at the beginning of her life, cared.
She cared.
It was rare these days.
And a very welcome development.
Still.

Charley lowered her gaze and as she studied her nails, she racked her brain trying to find a logical explanation for what she was about to tell.
'What happened to you?'
Such a good question.
A question lacking an answer, for Charley hardly knew for herself what happened.
She had no idea what had been real and whatnot.
Well, she knew how it began.
And so, she started at the beginning, for every story had one.
A beginning.

"I was walking home after I ran some errands, like I often do. Since it was raining, I decided to leave my bike at the garage. I could've called a cab, but I figured a walk would do me some good after being locked up in the garage for almost two days…", she started her story, a story that had, indeed, a beginning, but no ending.
"It was cold. Wet. I just wanted to get home as soon as possible, already regretting my decision to take a walk. I guess I wasn't paying attention to my surroundings because of that… If only I did…"

She trailed off, still staring at her fingernails with furrowed brow, somehow still pissed for being so stupid.
She knew Chicago.
She knew the ghetto even better.
She was born and raised in this part of the city.
How in the world could she have been so stupid?

"Go on…", Pux broke the silence, her usual loud voice now lowered to a whisper and Charley glanced at her from under her lashes, in some way amazed by the friendliness this young girl was able to put in her voice.
Amazed by the warmth in her eyes.
Dammit.
This was crazy.
This was supposed to be the other way around.
She was only eighteen.

She wasn't supposed to take care of someone who was ten years older.
Someone who was supposed to be the adult here.
Someone who was supposed to know that taking a walk in this part of the city after sunset was the same as jumping out of a plane without a parachute.
But here she was.
Pux.
Being only eighteen.
Providing a sympathetic ear.
She might as well use it.
After all, there was no one else who cared.

As she focussed her attention back on her now fiddling fingers, Charley took a deep breath through the nose and bravely continued.
"Out of nowhere, there was this hand… this hand that grabbed me and pulled me into a dark alley… It was so sudden, so unexpected, that I had no idea what was happening. Looking back, that's kind of naive, I know. But as soon as I looked the man in the eye, his intentions became clear. Very clear…"
Again, the usual sassy mechanic trailed off, replaying the scene in her head as she explained it to Pux and a shiver ran down her spine when she saw the man's empty and dead eyes looking back at her.

Pux clearly took her silence for something else because she inhaled with a soft hissing sound that made Charley almost cringe, but the young girl hardly noticed.
"Oh my God, did he…?", the teenage girl breathed as she leaned forward to lay a hand on Charley's and the latter looked up again, straight into the now wide-open blue eyes of the only friend she had.
"No. No, he didn't. He didn't get the chance", the older female hastily explained before this could get really awkward.

But perhaps it was already too late.
Because how in the world was she going to explain what happened next without sounding insane?
Pux was dying to know as well, curious and impatient as she was.
"What do you mean, he didn't get the chance?"

There was already a hint of suspicion audible in her voice, one Charley feared from the moment she agreed to have this conversation.
But she noticed that it didn't matter.
Maybe that was because she was suddenly sucked back in time.
Before she knew it, she was back in that alley, that awful alley…
Hiding between the two dumpsters, trying so hard to stay awake.
To keep it together.

The strange yet beautiful voice still echoing through her head.
The sound of footsteps approaching.
The intoxicating scent that became stronger and stronger…
"There was someth… someone else in that alley... ", she whispered with a faltering voice, sitting perfectly still and her green eyes a bit narrowed as she was caught in this place between past and presence, almost desperately trying to find an explanation for what she had seen that night.

Pux frowned a bit confused, triggered by this vague yet significant remark and she leaned forward in eager anticipation.
"Who? Who was there?"
Yet another difficult question.
And another lacking answer.
"I dunno… He…"
The image of the poster, the one she had seen only seconds before that monster had chosen her as his prey flashed before her eyes.
The screaming red letters.
Wanted...

"I think it was one of those vigilantes they're talking about", Charley whispered, her head a bit tilted as she stared into space.
The words hadn't left her mouth or Pux already flew upright, shaking her head with pursed lips and a disapproving look in her clear eyes.
"Ah, ah. No way. Not you too. We both know that's bullshit. You of all people know. I mean, you're the one who told me that it's simply impossible that someone cares. No one cares, Charley. No one. We're on our own."

Charley blinked almost in slow motion as her brain kept showing her the image of the strange creature in the alley, as if it tried to convince her that it was real and not just a figment of her imagination.
The feeling he had given her slowly washed over her again, as if her entire body was on fire.
There was a sudden craving, one she had never felt before and her heartbeat increased.
"But I've seen him, Pux. I've seen him. Can I ever forget that sight?", she mumbled absent-mindedly while the image of his face became more and more clear.
"Can I ever escape from that face, so… unreal, it was hardly a face…"

Pux studied Charley with narrowed eyes while confusion clouded her mind.
"I have no idea what you're talking about, Charley… Perhaps you should call the doctor? You seem pretty shaken up…"
But Charley hardly heard her.
All she heard was that voice.
That raw yet melodic voice.
'It doesn't matter who I am…'
But it did.
God, it did.
"You know, the strangest thing happened to me in that darkness. His voice… his voice filled my spirit with hope and warmth… like music…"

"Okay, now you're starting to sound crazy", Pux mumbled worriedly, shaking her head with a frown but Charley still didn't seem to hear her.
She seemed to be miles away.
Completely caught up in this fantasy that her mind had created to deal with the trauma.
Of course.
It had to be that.
Otherwise, what else could it be?
She had never seen Charley like this.
So… fragile.
She was always so strong.

Pux admired her, or perhaps even adored her for everything she was, but there seemed to be nothing left of that.
One night.
One night was all it took.
To take away all of the things that defined Charley.
Maybe she needed to take matters into her own hands and just call a doctor.
There was obviously something wrong with her.
What really happened in that alley?

With her heart pounding in her chest, Pux leaned forward again, her blue eyes searching for green ones, but all Charley did was staring at the table with a frown that made her look sadder than ever and Pux shifted her weight a bit uncomfortably.
She was so not good at this.
But she couldn't just do nothing.
Not now it was clear what a mess Charley was.

And so, after taking a deep breath, she took a leap of faith because that's what friends did.
They helped each other out in times of need.
And a friend she was.
"Charley, you know you can tell me anything, right?", she started, keeping her voice low and soft because she figured it would fit Charley's state of mind.
The last thing she wanted to do was scare her.
"If that guy in the alley hurt you, I think you should tell m..."

"But in his eyes… Jesus, Pux, his eyes…"
Charley interrupted her as if she wasn't even there, still staring at the same spot, telling the energetic young girl that she was still miles away.
Which worried her even more.
So did her words.
"In his eyes… all the sadness of the world…", the mechanic whispered, her green eyes now a bit narrowed as the image of the face kept flashing before her eyes.
"Burdened. Marked. Scarred. He was… he just looked so… lonely…"
That's it.

The moment she said that last word, Charley snapped back to reality, suddenly understanding why she felt so attracted to this strange yet intriguing creature with his lovely scent and unforgettable voice.
He was lonely too.
He knew.
He understood.
He was a wolf.
Just like her.
He was a kindred spirit.
It was this realization that already made her feel less alone, a feeling she wasn't used to, at all.
She felt lonely ever since she could remember.
This was beyond strange.
Warm, too.
Addictive.

But in the end, it was shame that prevailed.
Shame due to the confused, worried and perhaps even suspicious look on Pux her face.
No.
Not suspicion.
Fear.
There was a hint of fear readable in her piercing eyes and Charley's cheeks turned red when she realized that she was acting crazy.
As if she had lost her mind.
Like some kind of lunatic.
Jesus.

This wasn't just embarrassing.
No, it was even worse, for she might have scared the young girl sitting across her.
A girl who had her heart in the right place.
A girl who tried to help her and what did she do?
Talking nonsense.
Gibberish.

Still with burning cheeks, Charley leaned back in her chair and rubbed her stinging eyes, cursing herself for letting herself go like that.
That was just nothing like her.
This whole thing really threw her off her game, that just became painfully obvious.
"I'm sorry, I don't know what just happened. It's just… well, I hit my head pretty hard, so it's probably one of those blackouts the doc warned me for..."
She then peaked between her fingers at her youthful friend.
"I didn't mean to scare you."

"You didn't scare me", Pux immediately retorted, but Charley knew better, though she didn't say it out loud.
She did roll her eyes behind her fingers before she lowered her hands with a sigh, already annoyed by herself for giving in to this awfully childish urge.
"Forget what I said, okay? I just need some rest. Yeah. That's probably it. A few hours sleep…" She added the last part already a bit absent-mindedly again as her thoughts brought her back to that alley again.
To his face...
...to his eyes…
...those burning red eyes…

"Okay", Pux suddenly broke the silence, thereby almost giving Charley another heart attack.
This was starting to get really annoying.
But this time, Pux didn't give the startled female time to get angry with her.
Or at least, there was no time to show it.
And when she continued, Charley's anger already dissolved into thin air again, for the words she spoke were kind and thoughtful.
"Let's just say for a moment that you're right about what you saw. Let's just say that you saw one of those mysterious vigilantes, that he saved you and all, being heroic and stuff..."
Pux fell silent for a moment and caught Charley's gaze with a certain severity that just wasn't healthy for a girl of her age.
"Then what happened to that guy who attacked you?"

"That's what the detective wanted to know as well", the older female answered without thinking.
Pux's mouth fell open and her eyes almost popped out of their sockets.
"Detective? What detective?"
Charley closed her eyes for a moment as she heaved a sigh.
Shit.
She thought she had mentioned the detective.
But seeing Pux's reaction, she now knew she hadn't.
Shit indeed.
She really wasn't her usual sharp self.
How inconvenient.

"What detective, Charley?", Pux demanded, almost bouncing off her chair in expectation.
Really, this girl lived for gossip, that she knew now.
She probably ate it for breakfast, too.
Or maybe even for lunch and dinner as well.
Honestly…

"Just a detective who came by at the hospital. No worries, it's standard procedure in situations such as this one, at least, that is so I've heard it said", the auburn-headed woman told her as she waved her hand, trying to sound as nonchalant as possible.
But that wasn't enough for Pux.
"Detectives don't just come by, Charley. Police officers do. But not detectives. They're important. High in the food chain. So what did he want to know, besides where the man went?"

"Are you really only eighteen?", Charley asked a bit baffled by how sharp this girl was.
Then again, that was exactly the reason why they were getting along so well.
And why she was such an asset to the team.
Still.

"What can I say? I'm an old soul", Pux solemnly answered the question with her hands folded on the table and despite everything, a smile appeared on Charley's face.
"You're the worst."
"And you are avoiding my question. What did he want to know?', Pux repeated imperturbably, still with that solemn look on her young face.
"He just asked some questions about what happened, that's all", Charley shrugged as she leaned to her right.
"And what did you tell him?"
"Nothing."

Pux blinked a few times before a frown appeared on her face, clearly confused by this answer.
"Wait, what? Why not? I mean, someone assaulted you. Don't you think he needs to know that? He's a detective, for fuck sake. It's his job to catch people like that man in the alley."
"Language, young lady", Charley warned her, partially joking and Pux stuck out her tongue in response.

The older female smiled for a moment before she answered the question.
"Usually, I would say you're right. But not now. Not here. Not now the police have turned their back on this place. Besides, the only thing he was interested in were those vigilantes. He didn't even pretend to care about me. It was a freakshow, honestly… nothing more, nothing less."
"And you didn't tell him what you just told me?"
"I didn't. I just told him that I couldn't remember what happened."
"But why?"

Ah.
Another good question.
Why didn't she tell him?
Hm.
She wasn't sure.
It wasn't just because she was scared that the detective wouldn't believe her.

There was something else.
Something far more important.
An unexplained need to protect… him.
Him, the creature with big ears, white fur, a silver mask and red eyes.
"I dunno… Something told me that I needed to keep my mouth shut. That I couldn't tell anyone about what I've seen…", she explained, keeping it a bit vague on purpose.

But again, Pux proved how smart she was.
It was just so goddamn frustrating.
"You wanna go find him, aren't you? That's why you didn't tell him. So you can find him before anyone else does. Before he might leave because he's discovered."
Charley met her gaze and she was surprised when she saw a hint of anger brewing in those blue irises of hers.

She opened her mouth to tell Pux she was wrong, which was just a little lie for her own benefit, but it was already too late because the young girl jumped up from her chair and the wooden object clattered on the floor with a lot of noise, making Charley -due to her headache- flinch.
That didn't stop Pux, though.
Oh no, it didn't.
"Have you lost your mind?! You can't go back there! You have no idea who this guy is!", she exclaimed angrily with her hands raised into the air.
"He might be dangerous, Charley. You can't play with your life like this."

"He saved me, Pux. He literally saved my life. How does that make him dangerous?", Charley retorted as calmly as possible, but she felt that her patience was wearing thin.
She knew that Pux meant well, but come on.
She was kind of overreacting.
Was she?

With her blue eyes still fuming, Pux placed her hands on the table and leaned forward.
"You tell me. What department was that detective from?", she asked with a low voice.
Charley stiffened as her brain already took her back to that moment in the hospital, that moment when the detective came in, shortly after she woke up.
How he held up his batch when he introduced himself with a self-righteous look on his ugly face.

Up until now, his name and department hadn't sunk in yet, but they did now.
Detective O'Neill.
Bald, round face, brownish eyes, beard, heavy voice, khaki coat, a hat…
Oh my God.
"Homicide. He introduced himself as a homicide detective…"

Pux nodded a bit satisfied before she got back upright.
"There's your answer. He's a killer, Charley. That makes him the devil. Not the guardian angel. Most certainly not the guardian angel."
Hm.
Maybe she wasn't overreacting after all.
Maybe.
Just… maybe.

But Charley wasn't planning on saying that out loud.
No, it was clear that she was on her own in this one.
And so, she heaved a sigh in so-called defeat and looked up at Pux.
"Okay. Maybe you're right."
"Maybe?", Pux asked compellingly, her gaze almost burning a hole in her skull.
"Okay, okay. You're right. I won't go looking for him", Charley muttered under her breath, feeling like a child that got reprimanded.
Ugh.
Things really were upside down today.

"Promise me."
The spunky mechanic caught Pux's gaze and looked her straight in the eye.
"I promise."
Pux studied her with an intensity that made Charley almost flinch, but thank God for her poker-face because soon thereafter, the young girl nodded, clearly convinced.
"Thank you. Now, about mister M.'s bike. I need you to check on the spark plugs, apparently, something is wrong with them, but I couldn't find it..."

As Pux was talking, Charley let out her breath while she lowered her eyes and her gaze eventually landed on her hand that was hidden under the table.
Or maybe even more specific — on her crossed fingers.
She usually never lied.
But this time, it felt like there wasn't really a choice.
Because Pux was right about one thing.
She was going to look for him.
She had to.
She couldn't just let this slide.
She needed to know who he was.
Or what he was.

Or maybe that didn't even matter.
Angel or devil, she needed to know what he did to her, for it was clear that he did something to her.
Every lone wolf needed a pack…
Tonight.
Tonight, she would go back to that alley.
It was the only lead she had.
She could only hope that he was there.
Please…
Let him be there.