Maureen stood there, frozen. The black-haired man stared at her, furious. His fall vest was charcoal and seemed white in comparison to his hair. His black creased hair was vibrant and full that fell crisply over his tan skin. His brows furrowed, his nose pointing at her like a blade. His mouth twisted and curled, as if gnarling on an insult he was about to spit out. Maureen was able to get a full view of him, something she never did in class when she saw him in fragments and moments.
He was tall but that could have been by his hiking boots that elevated him to a terrifying height. His broad shoulders were mountains in his scarlet sweater, filled out with muscular power. His arms were crossed as he stared at Maureen. Despite the passage of time that seemed to crawl and the fear he bestowed, Maureen felt a warm touch to her cheeks. His light accent (Armenian was it?) she had heard before mixed with this man of nature was pleasing, she thought lasciviously.
"What are you doing out here?" he asked suddenly. He seemed to have thought a while what he was going to say in those moments between them. Maureen wondered with dread what would have occurred if she had not turned and caught him.
"Oh I was uh- you know..." she stammered. She was a disaster in these situations. She had prayed that she could avoid all confrontation as an RA. So far, so good.
"Don't lie to me." He said it with such finality and directness. It made Maureen stand with rigid attention.
"Sorry," she apologized. God, she felt pathetic. First the Pat situation and now this? She longed for a backbone, to have a little more assertiveness. But still, she glanced at the man's feet, like a child being scolded for stealing cookies.
"I don't know what you think you saw but do not wander around here again. Do you understand?" He spoke each word with delicate slowness, spitting out each syllable with clear diction, accentuated with an accent. His voice was low but had a rich texture to it.
She nodded without hesitation. Yeah, whatever man, just leave me alone and I'll do anything you say. However, she had to know.
"Did you see it too?" she blurted out.
His eyes narrowed; disgusted that she asked such a question.
"I don't know what you're talking about." He turned to leave.
"It was a werewolf," she said. It wasn't a question.
The man stopped mid-step. She could see him calculating, his shoulders hunched up, hands clenching and unclenching in frustration. He turned around with a sigh.
"No, I did not see the werewolf. But it is here on your campus."
"Who are you?" she asked. She had a million more questions, but she thought that she better start with the basics.
"My name is Nickolas," he said slowly with a smile. "I came here to find the werewolf."
Maureen shook her head. Okay, first name basis was easy enough but they were having a conversation about killing a mythical creature as low-key as discussing a homework assignment.
"I'm sorry, but this is insane. Werewolves don't exist." It was a last ditch attempt to shrug off this shred of a fantasy that was disappearing with each passing second.
He tilted his head in confusion.
"Then what did you see last night?"
"Why don't you tell me since you seem to know?" she cried in confusion.
He shook his head sadly.
"I was not here last night but my little friend was."
