Once Diana was done applying makeup on Alisha, she held up a pocket-sized mirror to show her. The moment Alisha caught her reflection, she flinched back nearly falling off her chair.
"Sorry, I forgot mirrors give you PTSD," Diana muttered, quickly tucking the mirror back into her bag.
"Just... don't do that again," Alisha warned, her voice shaky. Ever since that night, she couldn't bear reflective surfaces, they always showed her the same horrifying image: the beast's reflection, snarling back.
From her bed, Jake tossed a tennis ball against the wall, his legs sprawled out. "weeks of therapy and you're still jumping at mirrors. What did you really see, Alisha?"
Alisha's gaze hardened. "Trust me, if it had happened to you, you'd be in therapy for the rest of your life. And for the last time, Jake, get your shoes off my bed."
Jake held up his hands, smirking as he removed his feet. "Alright, alright. But if it's that serious, maybe it's time to confront it. Face your fears, you know?"
Diana scoffed. "'Face your fears'? Really? You have to be a bit more specific, Shakespeare."
"It's simple," Jake replied, undeterred. "Go back to where it happened. Show yourself it's in the past."
Before he could catch it, Alisha grabbed his tennis ball out of the air, her jaw clenched. "That's a lame idea. I can't even drive down that road, let alone step into those woods. I'll deal with this on my own terms. Don't worry about me."
"Don't worry? Alisha, we're your best friends. If it were us, wouldn't you be worried too?" Diana asked, her eyes softened with concern.
Alisha managed a small smile. "And I love you guys for it, but really, it'll pass. Just give it time."
A knock interrupted them. The door creaked open to reveal Alisha's mother, grinning widely. "Alisha, there's a boy downstairs asking for you. And he's cute."
"Mom, stop embarrassing me!" Alisha groaned, feeling her cheeks flush.
"What? A mother can't find a teenage boy cute?" Her mom teased.
"Gross." Alisha made a playful face, feigning disgust.
Jake piped up, grinning. "Do you find me cute, Mrs. Montes?"
Diana and Alisha shot him looks that could kill, but Mrs. Montes only laughed. "Oh, you know I do. Now, are you three heading to this party or not?"
They made their way downstairs, where Danny was waiting, his face lighting up as Alisha appeared.
As Alisha moved towards the door, her mom called after her. "Remember to breathe if you get nervous! It's all in your head okay?"
"Mom!" Alisha groaned, mortified.
"All right, all right. Have fun!" Mrs. Montes said, laughing as she shut the door.
Alisha climbed into Danny's car, while Jake and Diana drove separately to Natasha's house, where the party was in full swing. The thumping bass pulsed through the walls, multicolored lights flashed across the room, and a crowd of kids danced wildly or huddled around, drinks in hand.
Alisha paused, feeling the chaotic energy wash over her. Once, she would have been in the thick of it all. Now, she felt like an outsider, watching someone else's life.
"Hey, want a drink?" Danny asked, pointing towards his friends, who were laughing in a lively circle in the corner.
Before she could answer, someone bumped into her hard. The world seemed to shift; the music dulled, her vision blurred, and an intense, nauseating smell filled her nose, a smell she could only describe as..."Death".
Death?...
"Watch it, jerk," Danny muttered, pushing the guy aside before steadying Alisha.
"Are you okay?" Danny asked, his eyes filled with concern.
Alisha blinked, shaking her head to clear it. "I'm fine. It's just… that guy…" She trailed off, feeling ridiculous, but the feeling lingered.
She couldn't shake the thought. Was this another form of her trauma? Was it possible to smell death?
"Hey, I'll catch up with you in a minute, I need to use the bathroom," she said abruptly, making her way through the crowd, searching for her friends.
Finally, she found Diana and Jake and pulled them aside. "Guys, something weird just happened. I swear, when a guy bumped into me, I… I smelled death."
"Death?" Diana frowned, confused. "Like, what does death even smell like?"
"I don't know, but I'm telling you, it was real. It was like…" Alisha's voice trailed off.
"Maybe he's close to death and you picked up on it, like a psychic or something," Jake suggested, only half-serious.
Diana sighed. "Jake, you always find a way to make things worse, you know that?"
"We need to think logically here," Diana continued, turning to Alisha. "Your mind's playing tricks on you. You're safe, Alisha. Be present, okay?"
Alisha's voice dropped to a whisper. "So I'm just going crazy?"
Diana took her hand, squeezing gently. "No, Alisha. Whatever this is, we'll figure it out."
But as they spoke, Alisha's eyes locked on a figure weaving anxiously through the crowd, it was the same guy who had bumped into her. His face was pale, eyes darting around as if he were being hunted.
"That's him," Alisha breathed, breaking away to follow him.
Her friends remained, skeptical about what made her leave so abruptly.
The man slipped through a side door to the back of the house, where the noise was muffled, and shadows stretched long across the empty yard. She watched him from behind a bush as he faced two men waiting for him. Maintaining a safe distance where she could hear them perfectly.
One, tall and wiry, smirked with a dangerous glint in his eyes. "You thought you could lose us in the crowd? Pathetic."
The second man spoke, his voice cold. "The alpha gave you a choice, Oliver. Face him, or die here."
"Face the alpha?" Oliver's voice was barely a whisper, filled with dread. "He'll kill me either way."
"Your choice, then," the first man sneered, lunging at Oliver.
Mid-air, his form twisted and transformed, hair sprouting, limbs elongating into something inhuman, a towering beast, half-man, half-wolf. Alisha stifled a gasp, frozen in terror. The creature grabbed Oliver, his massive jaws clamping down in one swift, brutal motion. In a heartbeat, Oliver's head lay severed on the ground.
Alisha's breath caught in her throat, horror clawing its way up her chest until she couldn't hold it back any longer. A piercing scream tore from her throat, louder than the music, loud enough to shake the walls and send the werewolves staggering back, clutching their ears. They vanished into the night, leaving the backyard eerily silent.
The lights in the house flickered and went out. Panic erupted as people scrambled, shouting and pushing toward the exits. Alisha felt her vision blur, her legs giving out as she collapsed into darkness.
*****
A Few Moments Later
"Alisha… Alisha, wake up!"
Her eyes fluttered open to find Jake and Diana hovering over her, worry etched across their faces.
"Are you okay?" Diana asked, voice trembling. "We heard this screaming and thought…"
Alisha tried to speak, her voice coming out in a broken whisper. "They killed him. They… they ripped his head off."
"Who?" Jake asked, his face pale.
Alisha shakily lifted her hand, pointing toward where she'd seen it all. Jake switched on his phone flashlight, creeping over to check.
When he returned, his face was ashen. "There's… there's a headless body back there. We need to leave, now, before someone calls the cops."
Diana clutched Alisha's arm, glancing between them both. "Jake, what the hell is going on?"
"Not sure I want to stick around to find out," he replied. They helped Alisha up, supporting her as they hurried out, their steps quickening with every glance over their shoulders.