Wolf of the Tesseract

Chapter 5

Can't breathe! Claire struggled against the beast that gripped her throat. She lashed and clawed at the wolf as it tightened its grip further. She was impotent against its locked jaws. Just as her eyes bulged and lungs nearly burned out, she coughed and sat up straight in her bed—yanked out of the vivid dream.

She took a deep, raspy gulp of air and blinked against the burgeoning light that crept through her window. Claire's sweaty nightclothes were cold and slick and her panting breaths calmed momentarily; she swung her legs over the edge of the bed.

The toilet flushed and a zombie-like Jackie surrendered the restroom. Jackie shambled towards the kitchenette and declared the obvious. "Coffee."

Claire leaned over the lavatory sink and looked at herself in the mirror. A long mark arced across her neck where she'd scratched herself thrashing in her sleep. She looked closer; two reddened handprints, bigger hands than her own, faded from her neck as her color returned. She blinked away the crud from her eyes and looked again, but they'd disappeared entirely and she wondered if they had been a hallucination.

"Rough night?" Jackie asked from the doorway, sipping the first cup of the morning.

Toothbrush in mouth, Claire nodded and rolled her eyes.

"With all that thrashing last night, I thought that maybe James had followed you in," she suggested.

Claire glared at her friend's crass comment and spat her foamy mouth of paste into the sink. "You know he's a perfect gentleman. James is very proper and has his upright public image to protect."

"Oh, I know," Jackie said. "But he's also a boy."

Claire rinsed the sink quickly. "He's more of a man, that way." She stole Jackie's cup mid-sip and claimed it as her own.

"Well, I'm glad you've been lucky enough to find the last remaining well-mannered man on the planet."

"Ha ha, I know, right?" She took a deep draught of coffee. "It's like he's not even from Earth."

Jackie sighed. "If I only had your luck." She ticked off points on her finger. "Your fiancé is famous. Gorgeous. Wealthy. Sweet. Gorgeous. Confident. Giving."

Claire waived her hands away.

"I could go on."

"You forgot that his sister is a bit of a monster. You'll find your prince; I'm sure of it. Rob's probably down on the park-bench as we speak—show some initiative."

"I think you might be wrong on all counts."

Claire raised her eyebrows.

"I've seen the way Rob watches you. I don't think he'd ever look at anyone else like that. And even if he could, he's a hobo... and also, he's in the alley, not on the park bench. I already checked." Jackie went to the kitchen again and clicked the brew button for a new cup. "And you never know, Vivian might turn out okay, too."

During their visit last night, Jackie and Vivian shared an honest discussion about Claire and relationships. For her part, Vivian seemed genuine in her efforts to be a better human being, at least to Claire and Jackie.

They sipped their coffee in relative silence, waiting for the gray to burn off the sky with the advent of a full morning's sun. It had no sooner crested than someone knocked at the door.

Claire opened the door to Vivian. She held a full drink tray. No pastries.

"Ready for the big viewing?"

"Just give me a few more minutes to get ready."

"Do you want to tag along, Jackie?" Vivian offered. She understood Claire would be more at ease with a friend tagging along and understood it might help her build that bridge she worked towards with her soon-to-be family.