“Do you need to get that?” Conan asked “Um… Hali?”

Hali didn’t even realize she was shaking until Conan was beside her, placing a hand on her shoulder. “Hali, do you really think someone’s trying to kill you?”

“I-I don’t know,” she stammered “Like I said, sometimes I can’t sense anything.”

“What happened last night?”

Hali looked at her lap as she focused on remembering the details:

“Anthony and I closed up. He left for his train. I sensed nothing and I didn’t want to leave the garbage for you again, so I opened the door and when I did, this… wolf attacked me. Grabbed me by the apron, pulled me down, and was dragging me across the alley. If one wolf was unbelievable, another one showed up and they started fighting! I came back inside while they were both distracted and… then you found me sometime later. I was in shock, I guess.”

“So, Anthony didn’t get attacked?” he asked. Hali confirmed, “It was maybe a minute between when he left and I went outside. I screamed for help, but no one came.”

Conan lost himself in thought, but looked up when he noticed her waiting for him to add anything else. “It's an insane story is all. I mean, grey wolves are sometimes sighted in Algonquin, but that’s like.... 300KM away.”

“They weren’t grey!” Hali cried.

“Huh?” he asked.

She stood and started pacing around the kitchen. “I’m sure of it. The wolf that attacked me was like.... a rich blonde colour, and the other one was like a dark reddish brown colour.”

“Are you sure they were wolves? Wolves around here don’t have colouring like that. Big dogs, more likely.” He pointed out.

His own phone rang and he took it out of the carrier on his hip, he flipped it open and looked at the caller ID. “I gotta get back downstairs. Are you up for your shift tonight?”

She nodded and he answered the phone as he hurried downstairs. That left Hali by herself. Her stomach growled, reminding her why she came into the kitchen to begin with. She put the mugs away and grabbed the pieces of cookie, eating them as she ran around the kitchen to make herself a quick sandwich before continuing her class work.

* * *

Hali arrived downstairs five minutes before her shift was to start that evening. She was with Erin on Friday nights, but she didn’t see her there at the cash. Conan was there instead along with the daytime staff member Hali was replacing. Perhaps she was running late.

Hali walked behind the counter into the back kitchen and did her usual clock in. She washed her hands in the sink by the door and after drying them, set out to start. The day-time staffer —who Hali had never worked with before— nodded at her and wished Conan a good night before he left for the day. Hali stood beside Conan and was prepared to make the next drink or sandwich order.

Hali took to the espresso machine and prepared it for the next order when it came in. Conan stood next to her and glanced her way. “Erin had a family emergency and I tried to call Anthony but there was no answer, so I’m working with you tonight.”

Hali had never worked a shift with Conan behind the counter before, though he did plenty of times during the day shift. “Alright then.”

“And we have a last minute performance tonight. A local venue had to cancel, and the band asked to play here. Expect many people,” he explained “It will also be loud, but the band is giving us a large portion of the ticket sales so it should be worth it.”

“What kind of band is it?” she asked.

“I think it’s a rock cover band,” he answered.

Hali smiled, “Sounds fun. Think your old man ears will survive the night?”

Hali passed a drink to a customer and wished them a good evening. She felt Conan’s breath near her ear as he answered her in a whisper, “Depends if they actually have any talent and if it's decent rock covers.”

Hali snickered, but drew away as his breath tickled her ear and neck. It was the first time she had made fun of him for acting so old that he didn’t take offence to and rather, played along. As it inched closer to 7PM, the small stage in the cafe was prepped and despite how crowded it was getting, they made a decent amount of drinks and sandwiches. To Hali’s delight, Conan was very fun to work with! She never saw his relaxed, less Boss-Persona and more of his everyday guy one. He even seemed to enjoy most of the music.

So even though it was taking longer to close than usual, Hali didn’t mind so much, as it was distracting her from all the stresses of the week. Though as they got closer and closer to finishing, Conan looked over to her with a furrowed brow, “Hali?”

“Yeah?” she said, poking her head into his office as he was counting the deposit.

“I noticed a little earlier that your apron has holes in it. Is that from last night?” he asked.

Hali glanced down at her apron and lifted it, she ran her fingers over the holes from last night’s attack. “Yeah. The strap around my neck got torn too.”

He nodded, “Throw it out. I’ll get you a new one before your next shift.”

“T-thank you.” Hali had worked plenty of jobs that would make her pay for a new one, but Conan replaced stuff like aprons, hair nets and paid for staff’s new anti-slip shoes occasionally if someone needed help. Not having to worry about stuff like replacing her apron made this job much more enjoyable.

Hali placed the garbage bags by the door and finished putting more utensils and coffee pots in the dishwasher, running it through for the last time tonight. They were just about done and only had the garbage to take out, but Conan insisted she stay inside and that he’d do it. So Hali just spot-cleaned around the kitchen and waited for him to finish up with the cash. Hali listened to the safe unlock and the familiar jingle of the coin box. Conan left the office a few seconds later and pointed to the punch in machine: “Let’s clock out, and we can get upstairs.”

Hali did first, as it was customary for the manager on duty to punch out last. Conan went next and then retrieved the garbage bags. Hali waited, just to be sure he was safe. There was no sense of dread again, but she was bothered that something may happen to Conan tonight. Conan looked over his shoulder. “I’ll be fine. Why don’t you go upstairs and get some sleep?”

“I just want to be sure you’ll be safe,” Hali explained.

He shrugged, “If it brings you peace of mind.”

Conan opened the door— it was silent outside. He walked over to the bin and opened the lid, lifting the bags to put inside. Suddenly, he froze; twirling around. He let out an audible gasp. Hali saw the shape of a large dog leap onto Conan from the dark, and watched in horror as the honey coloured wolf pinned Conan against the garbage bin. Its mouth was open, growling, and struggled against Conan, snapping at his throat. Hali screamed, “Conan!”