Friday, August 26th, 2011
Moon Phase – Waning Crescent
8:47 p.m.



On Friday, Alex was again called into work. Arriving to find Marcus working the register,
his friend eventually asked about the incident
with Angela. He answered his questions with
less visible emotion, though with an occasional
look to the side. “Sorry to hear that, man.”

“It's okay. We did what we could. I'm just
stunned that someone stole her body.”

“Yeah. That's...” Marcus placed his hand over his
face for a second. “I've got no words.”

“Despicable?”

“That works.”

“One of the upsides of a good vocabulary.” Alex
said. “Figuring out good words on the fly.”

“Please. I've got a better vocabulary than you.”

“No, you don't.” Alex replied.

“OK then, what is 'zestful' a synonym of?”


Although Alex was unable to answer, that
question kicked off a word game with Trevor
for a while.



***





Alex returned to the skate park after work. He
still felt a chill thinking back to Monday night,
but his desire to get back to skating and filming
was winning out. With one other person there,
he kept his phone in his pocket until they left
half an hour later. With just the sounds of
crickets as background noise then, he set up his
phone’s camera to get a low angle shot of him
tricking off one of the funbox inclines.


Atop the quarterpipe opposite the incline, he
set his board in position for a drop in, his right
foot holding it in place. He had enough room to
do a Kickflip off the incline. A double if he got
enough air. Taking a breath, he set his left foot
on the board and shifted his weight as he sent
himself down the pipe.


Coming up fast on the incline, Alex crouched
down and prepared to Ollie. As his front wheels
came close to the edge, he leapt up, pushing
down against the tail of his board to bring it
vertical with him. The tip of his left foot tapped
the side of the rising plank, causing it to spin on
its center axis.

He saw it spin around once just under his soles,
but held off from catching it right then.
Watching for the moment it completed its
second spin, he set his soles onto the board's
griptape to stop it. Hitting the ground shortly
after, all of his weight went into his bending
legs and into his board, which he felt bowing
from the bad positioning of his feet.

When Alex heard the deck snap, his arms went
out to attempt a recovery. His momentum
downwards and forwards was too great and a
landing on his rear was the result, his legs
swinging up as well. Ow. Damn. Picking himself
up and shaking off the impact, he saw that his
board was broken not only in the center, but on
the tail near the truck bolts, the griptape
holding all three segments together. Well, time
for a new one.


Sweeping the splinters from his broken deck
underneath one of the park structures, Alex
retrieved his stuff and reattached the board to
his backpack; his phone had recorded both the
double Kickflip and his poor landing.

As he passed the steel turnstile, looking out
towards the benches several yards from the
park, Alex saw something near them move. A
large body and a head with pointed ears.
Canine ears. He felt his heart beat faster, and
then faster again when it began to stand up.

“Oh, shit.”
Telling himself not to worry, he still quickened
his pace, reaching for his keys. Footfalls in the
grass sounded from where the canine was, and
he turned to see it coming towards him. It
wasn’t making any noise, but now that it was on
all fours, the size of it caught Alex’s attention.

He’d never seen any canine as big as this one.
It then suddenly lowered its chest, and a steady
growl came from its muzzle. Alex began
walking sideways to keep it in view, the sound
not worrying him as much as everything else
that was wrong about the animal. Its posture
was off, as though its legs were too long. Its
body looked too long. Its front paws were huge,
and they motioned more like hands.

Torn between wondering what the hell he was
looking at and the urge to run, the canine
began to become illuminated by the park lights
behind him. He saw the colors of its pelt, how
thickly covered in fur its neck was, and how its
paws more resembled clawed hands than paws.

It snarled at him, lips pulled back and teeth
showing.
Alex took a full step back, his left shoulder
hitting the park’s gate, increasing his pulse. As
though the creature saw his attempt to retreat
as a challenge, it charged.

Alex's first instinct of a side-step didn’t work.
The creature shifted its direction and lunged at
him, the immense weight of its body knocking
him backward into the grass.


An open jaw hovered over his head for but a
second before trying to bite at him. Alex got an
arm under the beast’s throat, holding it away.

His shaking made grabbing at its jaw difficult.
The grip he did get didn’t last a second. The
beast grabbed his arm with one of its clawed
hands and yanked it away, holding it down in
turn. Its other hand went over his face and
mouth, almost blocking him from breathing.
He grappled with the arm over his face, trying
to get it off, and then felt his right arm in the
beast’s grip.

Its hot breath blew over the flesh of his
forearm just before its fangs punctured his
skin.
His nerves reacted, sending signals of sharp
and searing pain, worse ones than any time
he’d been bitten at the vet. Alex screamed into
the beast’s paw, the sound muffled against the
fur and pads.

Jerking his head around to try and free
himself, he grabbed the paw over his face again
and wrenched open his own mouth. His teeth
then bit into the rough pads, the pain from the
bite and the bitter taste of the beast’s skin and
fur both giving him incentive to bite harder.

He heard it squeal in pain and let go of his
head. Alex then slammed his left fist into the
muzzle that had just let his arm go, feeling it
impact and push away the beast’s head.
Grabbing his punctured forearm, trembling in
shock and fear, he struggled to get back to his
feet, keeping his eyes on his attacker.

In seconds, the beast recovered, but instead of
charging him again, it stood up on its hind legs,
keeping up its snarl. Alex’s eyes widened at
what he saw. It stood taller than him in that
stance, even with a hunch and canine-like legs.

His blood was coloring its fangs and muzzle,
and it was bracing for another strike.
The terror Alex felt from the first attack
intensified as the werewolf swung to try and
grab him. He didn’t think about which direction
he went. He just went, ducking to avoid the
massive paw as he did.


He barely got two steps before the werewolf
got ahold of him. Its paw grabbed onto his T-
shirt, the claws tearing into the fabric, and his
collar jerked him to a stop. Feeling himself
being pulled back, before he could scream
again, the werewolf had wrapped its other paw
around his neck. The claws pushed against his
throat, above his jugular.

It had him, and any sudden movements would
leave him with a gushing artery. Breathing
rapidly with tears running from his eyes, Alex
tried not to break down. But he was at its
mercy.

Feeling his head being jerked to one side, this
time his left shoulder was the target, and the
massive canines pierced his flesh again. He felt
them pass through his muscles, but stop at his
clavicle, his shoulder burning from the pain.

Suppressing his screams to fight the pain, Alex
wanted more than anything now to have some
kind of lucky break. To get away from this
thing. With his hands jerking in reaction to the
pain, he reached behind himself and grabbed
two tufts of fur. From what felt like around the
werewolf’s hips.

He couldn’t tell how strong his grip was, but he
twisted his hands nonetheless. He could feel
the werewolf’s skin moving as he pulled,
making it produce a growl. The pain in his
shoulder intensified. He was doing something
right.

Lifting his foot, he swung it backwards and it hit
nothing. The second time, he felt it hit
something furry. Pushing down as hard as he
could, he felt his shoe grab more fur. And then
it hit what felt like the werewolf’s hind paw. It
released him again, and his still clenched hands
pulled out two handfuls of fur.
Alex barely saw
it rubbing the affected areas before he started
to run.
With every muscle in his arms shaking like
mad, he made for his bike, only to stumble
upon reaching it. Swearing out loud several
times, he heard the clicking of claws behind
him and the werewolf was again on top of him.

This time, it pinned him down against the seat
of the bike, one paw on his head and the other
on his back, both with claws digging into his
skin.

Gasping in pain, Alex expected this to be the
end. He'd fought back and lost. He’d only pissed
it off instead of managing to get away. Hearing
the beast breathing next to his ear, and
thinking about how Angela must have felt
against this thing, he let emotions rule his
words. Regardless of whether it could hear him
or not.

“If someone skins you...” Feeling the claws in
his back tightening, his words halted for a
moment. “...for what you did to her and me...”

Hearing a snarl by his ear, and feeling the hot
breath of the werewolf against his neck, Alex
shut his eyes and stopped talking.
Seconds passed, and nothing seemed to
change. He felt quick breaths run over his
shoulder wounds, and then the claws that were
sunk in his back and head were pulled out. He
heard claws clicking on concrete, moving
backwards.

Turning himself around with his motorcycle as
a temporary crutch, he saw the werewolf
backing up. It did so until it was about five feet
away, and then stopped. It produced light
growls but didn’t move, as if it was taunting
him. Sniffling once, Alex didn’t try and anger it
further, even though he wanted to. If it was
just going to sit there, he had a chance to run
for it.

Swinging a leg over the seat, he reached for his
keys with his bloodstained fingers. As the
engine started up, he nearly forgot to pull up
the kickstand before punching the throttle. He
raced down the access road, turning to see the
werewolf not trying to follow him.

The evening wind whipped his uncovered face
and his muscles continued to twitch as he flew
down the road, trying to maintain his
composure and keep himself upright; his
nerves were slowly cooling but every little
jostle made him fearful of crashing.

Turning into his neighborhood going as fast as
he could, Alex pulled over near Nathan's place,
confident that he'd gotten away. Still trembling,
he didn’t move until he heard a car passing by
on the road he’d just turned off of.

It spurred
him to grab his phone and start to dial his dad,
but he stopped before pressing call.


What was he supposed to say about his
attacker? He knew what the thing was. He’d
seen it clear as anything, but even on his best
day, his father would never believe the use of
'werewolf' for an animal attack report. The idea
of lying to make it something more believable
came to mind, but his father relied on accurate
information in situations like these. If he made
up a story and others died as a result...

His heart sank at the feeling of being wedged
between two bad outcomes. Revving the bike’s
throttle after pocketing his phone, he drove
back to his house. For now, this was his
problem to fix. If someone found out, then
he’d consider what to do.

As he pulled into the driveway and shut off the
engine, he heard his phone beep with a new
text but ignored it and went straight for the
front door. Inside, Bailey was quick to run up to
him and greet him, but his reaction to him
changed almost instantly when he came close.

He started sniffing at his owner’s body and
produced a slight whine.

“Quiet, Bailey.” Alex demanded softly. Hoping
that he wasn't dripping blood on the rugs and
carpet, he made haste to the bathroom, locking
his dog out behind him. Stripping his torn and
blood-stained T-shirt off and facing the mirror,
he could now see the extent of the damage the
werewolf had caused.


On his left shoulder were two large piercings
from the werewolf’s fangs, with shallower
punctures in the skin near his clavicle bone. His
right forearm showed torn flesh and punctures
in the shape of a massive canine jawline.

Running down the length of both of his arms
were several drying trails of blood. The
puncture wounds from the claws in his back
didn't look as bad, but his spine and ribs stung
when he tried to move too much.

Going for the store of medical supplies under
the counter, Alex ripped a square of gauze free
of the packaging, dabbing the area around his
forearm as lightly as he could. His arm still
stung like mad at the slightest touch, but as he
cleaned the spot, something caught his
attention. Few, if any, of the wounds were still
bleeding. He knew deep animal bites didn’t clot
that quickly.

His heart rate, which had begun to slow down,
rose again. He flipped the gauze over to a clean
spot and, despite the searing pain, directly
dabbed one of the largest punctures. He pulled
it away to see blood, but no oozing from the
wound.


As his limbs began shaking from his rising fear,
Alex’s throat constricted and he felt sick to his
stomach, his eyes closing and leaking tears. He
wanted to believe that he was being irrational,
but after what he’d just fled from, if his
injuries were healing this quickly, there was no
mistaking why.

For nearly an hour, Alex stayed shut inside the
bathroom, cleaning the blood from his arms
and dressing the wounds he could reach. He
heard Bailey sniffing under the door at times,
but he kept him out. Hoping his mother didn’t
wake up before he finished, his mind was on
overdrive, thinking about what else was going
to happen to him.

Would he start acting like an animal in public?
Would he start driving his friends and family
away? If they found out what he was, what was
to stop them from turning him away? Every
possibility, and every thought, made him sick
to think about, but the silver chain necklace he
had on confirmed, at least, one thing: He wasn't
suddenly allergic to the presence of the metal.

After completing the dressings for his wounds,
Alex finally opened the door after turning out
the lights. Bailey rushed in to see him before
being distracted by the pile of bloody medical
supplies in the trash. Telling Bailey off, Alex
carried the bin to the kitchen and dumped the
mass as deep down as it would go, his shredded
T-shirt going in afterwards.

Returning to his room and getting a fresh T-
shirt on, Alex tried to relax as he sat in
complete darkness against his bedside drawers.
Bailey was right behind him and tried to lick his
face when he came close, something that Alex
allowed only because he didn't feel like pushing
him away. His limbs felt heavy and weak and
some love from his pet was a small comfort.

When Bailey started sniffing near the dressings,
and then got too close to his forearm, a shot of
pain ran through him. Holding back a painful
noise, Alex climbed into bed in response but
Bailey followed suit, staying focused on the
fresh injuries.

Rubbing the last of his tears away as his pet
kept sniffing near his wounds, Alex tried to lay
down, finding very little relief from the stings
of his injuries. When his breathing leveled, he
eased himself to sleep between strokes of
Bailey's fur.

Wednesday, August 24th, 2011
Moon Phase – Waning Crescent
6:43 a.m.



Waking up extra early the next morning thanks
to Bailey, Alex got a shower and breakfast out
of the way before his mother asked if he was
ready to talk. He was hesitant to say much
when he did choose to talk, as he had been the
night before, but he slowly revealed more and
more about what happened with each question
his parents asked him.





He recalled the gruesome details, how covered
in gashes Angela had been and how bad the
bleeding was, the icy feeling of her flesh, and
how weak he had felt as he watched her slip
further into shock. He could feel his eyes
watering as the emotions he’d held back came
rushing forward. He paused between replies to
focus and hold them back.



“Son, I know you're upset,” Alex sniffled for the
fifth time, briefly stopping his father’s speech.


“but...you did...the right...thing.”


Alex took several breaths before he answered.

“Not enough though.”

“You're not a doctor, son. You did what you
could while you both were there, and that's all
that matters.”


“I know...but...”


“Do you want to have lunch somewhere later?”


His mother asked after a stretch of silence.
“Get your mind off this?”


Alex shook his head. “No, but thanks.” Hearing
a woof nearby, Alex noticed Bailey sitting down
next to him with the same expression he’d had
last night. Thinking of taking him for a walk to
get himself in a better mood, he realized that
his folks hadn't asked him about his new job
yet. “Oh, that job Marcus told me about? I got
it.”


“You did? When are you starting?”

“Any day now, I guess. I think next week,
though.”

“Well, good job son.”

“Thanks,” Alex said, perking back up. “After the
vet, this will be a nice change.”

The table went silent again while Alex stroked
Bailey’s head. His parents concentrated on their
meals and coffee until his mother had to leave
for her shift. Removing himself from the table
then, Alex headed back to his room with Bailey following him. While part of him wanted to go
back to sleep because of how early it was, he
sat at the foot of his bed and turned on his
XBOX instead.


* * *





When his father got his attention from the
bedroom door, Alex looked over to find him
wearing his police uniform. “You have a
minute, son?”

Putting aside his XBOX controller, Alex stood
up. “Yeah.”

“When I was talking to Sarah last night, she told
me this girl claimed her attacker was nearby.

Did you get any sort of feeling that you were
being watched before the officers came?”
Alex licked his teeth. “No, I didn’t. Nathan and I did look around just in case, but we didn’t see
anything.”


“You’re sure?”

“Very.” Alex paused, then continued, “Though
we shouted at whoever was there.”

“Wait. You just said you didn’t see anyone.”

“We didn’t. We shouted at whoever attacked
Angela before we got to her to scare them off.”

“I see.”

“We didn’t know what else to do, and…it
seemed like it worked. Nothing came around.”

His father kept thinking about what to say for a
short time. “So long as that’s true.”

“It is. Nothing came around.”

“Are you okay otherwise?”

“Yeah, Dad. I’m fine.” Alex replied. “Wish I
could know if Angela is, though.”

“I had a feeling you were thinking that.”

“Can’t help it. I want to know, and I’d imagine
Nathan does, too.”

“Right now, she’s probably on medication and
recovering in the hospital.” His father adjusted
his belt and checked his pistol strap before he
continued. “From what you and Sarah told me,
I’d imagine she’s not going to be willing to talk
for a while.”

“I can relate,” Alex said.

“Anyway, I have to go. Congratulations on your
new job.”

“Thanks. Later, Dad.” After a quick hug with his
father, Alex waited until he left and then
brought Bailey out front to take him for a walk.

His phone rang during the second lap of his
block and he answered it to find Trevor on the
line. His boss was calling him to ask about
filling a shift and, in the same stroke, getting
some training on the floor.

“It’s two to seven tonight. Would that be fine
with you?”

“Yeah. Sounds good.”

“Great. We’ll see you then.”




* * *



Alex arrived at the comic shop fifteen minutes
early. For a weekday afternoon, there were
more customers than he expected, most of
them in their mid-20's, with the one odd child
running around. Oh God, I hope no one expects
us to babysit some loose kid. He recalled the
stories Catherine had told him about parents
leaving their kids inside the bookstore where
she worked.


Walking past the front counter with his Blue
Moon T-shirt and backpack on, he was met by
someone he hadn't seen the other day. The
name on his badge said 'Daniel.' “Hey. Are you Alex?” he asked, putting aside the comic he was
browsing.


“Yeah, that's me.”

He offered his hand to Alex, who returned the
shake. “I'm Daniel.”


“Nice to meet you. Kinda busy in here today.”

“Yeah. During the afternoon and such we get a
lot of customers.”

“Hmm. Marcus told me the same once.”

“Ah. Did he also tell you about the secret room
we have?”

Alex smiled as he heard that, even though he
knew it was a set-up for a joke. “No, he didn't.”

“You’ll find out about it soon enough, I’m sure.”

“Probably by leaning against a switch on the
wall.”

Daniel's face didn't budge. “Yeah, we’ve lost a
few employees to the lasers that way.

Anyway,
Trevor's in his office, but I can show you some
of the basic stuff if you need.”
Alex agreed to the suggestion, and Daniel was
quick to start showing him where everything
was that he would need for the day. The
employee time-clock at the rear of the store,
the storage room for the boxes of new
inventory, the gaming room for the daily RPG
sessions, and the restroom, which Daniel was
quick to remind him was for employees only.
“It being that close to the storage room, we
can't risk people sneaking in and making off
with our inventory.”


“Makes sense, but why would anyone try and
steal from storage if the front counter is, like,
twenty feet away?” Alex asked, even though he
already knew the general reason for the first
part.


“All sorts of reasons.” Daniel replied as they
headed for Trevor’s office. Knocking twice,
Trevor soon opened the door to let Alex inside.

His attention was again drawn to the rare
comics on the walls until his boss addressed
him. “Hey, Alex. You ready to start your shift?”

“Yeah, I am. Do you want me working the floor
or the register first?”


“For today, I just want you walking the floor
and getting a feel of the store’s layout. You
read over the papers I gave you, right?”
“Yeah, I did. Keep the walls tidy, replace any
comics or books that don’t belong somewhere,
and help any customers who need it.” Alex
replied, counting with his fingers each duty he
listed.


Trevor was pleased. “You got it...except for one
thing. You're also responsible for getting
backstock if we need it. Once you’ve gotten a
few days with us, we’ll train you on the
register.” Nodding to the addition, Alex was
clocked in. With his name badge hanging on a
lanyard, he started his shift looking around
near the front entrance.

Half an hour later, the store was still full of
customers; a crowd of around six people in
various locations. Only one person by that point
had asked him for any assistance, leaving him
little else to do. While he made another check
of the RPG and board game sections, his hand
went for his phone before he pulled it away.

Walking back to Daniel, he got his attention.

“I know it’s my first day, but does Trevor mind
if we use our phones on the clock?”

“Sometimes.” Daniel replied as he looked
around the store. “Right now’s not a good time
because it looks bad. When we’ve got, maybe,
two people in the store, then it’s fine.”

“Thanks. I’ll keep that in mind.” Alex found the
temptation to pull his phone out anyway, if
only to quickly text one of his friends, hard to
resist. Once his break came, he wasted no time
texting Marcus.

“Hey, man. Trevor called me in for a shift
already.”
Marcus’ response came a few seconds later.

“That was quick. How are you liking the place so
far?”

“It’s nice, but there’s not much to do.”
“Unlike your old job?”

“Yeah.”

“That’ll happen a lot. My advice: read some of
the new inventory and get familiar with what
the store sells.”

“Will do. Thanks.”



* * *






When his shift was over and seven new comics
were in his possession, Alex made his way to
the skate park. Parking his bike nearby the only
other vehicles in the lot, his gaze briefly turned
toward where they’d found Angela the night
before.

Hearing a pair of trucks grinding on steel as he
entered the park, one of the skaters noticed
him and offered a greeting. Returning it with a
brief wave, Alex scaled the structure with the
steepest ramp and removed his skateboard
from his backpack. It was a custom build he’d
pieced together from professional grade
trucks, wheels and bearings, with the most
often broken part, the deck, being a less
unique wooden blank.
Setting the board into position, Alex placed his
left foot first, leaving his right foot to push him
onto the incline. Coasting downwards and
gaining speed as he went, he aimed for a slight
angle off the ramp ahead of him. His direction
was good; all that was needed now was the
proper timing.


Bending his knees into the Ollie position, he
waited for his wheels to come close to going off
the edge of the ramp. As it came closer, he
started to jump, his body and left leg going up
while his right foot pushed down against the
deck's tail, making it change to a more vertical
angle. Catching the board's front with his other
foot, he leveled it out as he descended to the
ground, riding away with a set of clacks
sounding from his wheels hitting concrete.


As he continued riding around the park, despite
the tricks he was landing, he felt his drive to
skate waning. Not from being tired, but from
the memory of yesterday. Stopping himself
next to one of the funboxes, he got his phone
out, thinking some music would help. With the
screen back on, he saw two unread text notices
and another saying he’d missed a call from
Nathan, who’d left a voice mail.


He listened to the voice mail first. “Hey, man. I know you're probably not going to like hearing
this,” Alex prepared for the worst.

“But
Angela...I don't know how to say this but...I just
heard from a friend who works at Methodist,
and she's gone.”


Alex exhaled slowly at that statement. His
sadness came back and a fist was made with his
free hand. But the message continued.

“Not gone as in dead, though. I mean gone
gone, like she's gone missing.” Hearing that
sentence, Alex's face contorted and his eyes
narrowed. Stopping the message mid-play, he
redialed Nathan's number, and within two rings
he picked up. “Hello?”


“Hey, Nathan. It's me.” Alex replied, his voice
deeper than normal from the onset of
emotion.

Nathan's tone didn't shift as he replied. “You
got my message, didn't you?”

“Yeah, I did. Are you sure about that?”

“Very. Her body turned up missing when the
staff did an evening count of the morgue.”

For a second, Alex was stuck between sadness
and confusion. “Then she didn’t make it.”

“No.” Nathan replied, his tone drawn and
somber. “Pronounced when the ambulance
arrived.”
Alex exhaled again. “Damn it.”

“I don't get it, man.”

“Organ stealing, maybe?” Alex said, grasping at
conclusions.

“I wouldn't rule it out.”

“If that’s what happened, I hope they find out
who did it. Sick bastard.”

Neither of them said anything until Nathan
attempted to change the subject. Alex
exchanged some small talk with him and a few
details about his first shift at Blue Moon before
the momentum of the talks was spent. After
they hung up, he gathered his stuff and headed
home.

As he came inside, Bailey was waiting to see
him, his tail wagging while his tongue lolled
from his mouth. “Hey, boy. You miss me?” Alex
asked as he crouched to rub his dog's ears,
receiving a slight groan in response.

Heading
back to his room to drop off his stuff, he
returned to the kitchen for a plate of spaghetti.

His father was the first to ask him something.
“So, how was your first day?”

“Kind of slow.” Alex replied.

“Did you do any training?”

“Not really. Someone else was running the
register all day.”
This time, his mother spoke. “So, what did you
do?”

“Mostly organizing inventory on the shelves.”

“Well, at least you’re enjoying your job.”

“Yeah. I think I’ll enjoy working there.”

Finishing his meal with a glass of water, Alex
was reminded of the two unread texts he’d
received after getting his phone out again. They
belonged to a two-part message from
Catherine, sent at least an hour before Nathan
had tried to call him.

“Nathan just told me what happened. Are you
okay?”...“If you want to talk, I'll listen. You have
my number.”

Smiling at the message, Alex knew Catherine
was sincere about the request, but to risk
getting emotional again talking about the event
wasn't how he wanted to handle things.

Despite
the news from Nathan, he felt he’d gotten it
out his system for the time being, achieved a
bit of closure.

“I appreciate it, Catherine. Thanks.” Alex texted
back before pocketing his phone again.




* * *




The next morning, Alex awoke to find his folks
already eating breakfast. His mother was in her
bathrobe and his dad was in his police uniform
again, with Bailey sitting near the table and
watching for fallen scraps. As he got something
to eat, his gut told him his father knew about
the theft of Angela’s body and he braced for
the possible questions and discussions as he
ate.

The subject never arose, and within an hour, he
and Bailey were alone in the house. Settling
down to some time playing games on his XBOX,
Alex wondered about the string of odd stuff
that had been going on. The dead calf which the
police believed was wolves, then Angela who
looked like she had been mauled by a canine.

All within the span of ten days. A fact that sent
a chill up Alex's spine. An animal that vicious in
his hometown?

Wait. Why did she say 'Not with him around?’
Alex clenched his fist as he thought about her
wording. Not with him around. Why had she
used that word instead of something more in
line with describing a canine? Had she been
trying to warn them about someone using dogs
as attack animals? Alex shook his head. That
couldn’t be true, but as his play session went
by, that was the only possibility that came to
mind.

Tuesday, August 23rd, 2011
Moon Phase – Last Quarter 9:05 p.m.




While waiting for Nathan outside his house, Alex sat with his arms folded over the handlebars, thinking of a few tricks to try once they got to the park. They had less than an hour to do any filming, but that was more than enough time to get a few minutes of footage.





The park was often empty this late at night, and once they arrived, that was proven true. As he found a parking spot and turned his bike off, Alex heard a high pitched sound off in the distance. Wondering what he’d just heard, he pulled up his visor and listened, in case it happened again.





“Hey. What's up?” Nathan asked as he parked his sedan.




“I thought I heard something. Off that way, I think,” Alex replied, pointing ahead and slightly to his right.





“At the school?”





“No idea. I couldn't hear it very well.” Nathan shrugged. “Probably nothing.” Mimicking his friend's gesture, Alex pulled his helmet off and the two made their way to the park entrance. As Alex grabbed the cold steel of the park turnstile, the sound came again. It was brief but it sounded human, and it sent a worrisome chill up his spine. “Oh, crap.”





“I heard that, too.” Nathan said, before running off in the direction of the sound. Certain it was a scream he’d heard, Alex followed Nathan, their heads turning in all directions, watching for anything out of the ordinary around the empty lots. His heart was already pounding out of fear and the fresh rush of adrenaline it caused. Even if this turned out to be nothing, his body was prepared for the worst.





Passing one of the empty baseball fields, Alex diverted from Nathan to check it. Stopping short of running into the chain link fence, he scanned the field and saw nothing. He picked up the run and his breaths came faster, each one sucking in a lot of cold air. Ignoring the frosty feeling in his lungs, his eyes darted around looking for the source of the noise. As he lessened his pace, he felt how fast his heart was beating.





When he heard Nathan shout “Hey”, he snapped his gaze towards him. He was still heading towards the second baseball field, but his head was still turning as well.





Knowing what his friend was trying to do, Alex pitched in. “You better run.” Silence again greeted them. “See anything, man?” Alex called out.





“No. You?” Nathan replied as he pace began to slow.




“Slow down. Catch your breath.” Alex insisted as he came to a stop in the cul-de-sac near the baseball field. His muscles felt tense and rich like he could still run another half mile, but his lungs stung from the sudden stop and cold air.





Nathan took a few breaths before looking up and around again. There were floodlights and streetlights all around them, but there was no sign of what the noise had come from. “It's got to be here somewhere.”





“Follow me.” Alex said, starting off again as soon as he caught his breath. His friend followed as he made his way towards a gated pool. Beyond it was an illuminated patch of grass that led to another two baseball fields, and what he hoped was nothing.





As Alex stopped by a gated pool to look around, Nathan passed him and walked toward the grassy field ahead. Seeing his friend stop and focus on something in the distance, Alex rounded the corner and saw a girl lying in the grass near the largest baseball field. Her legs and arms barely moved, but she looked like she was trying to crawl away from something.





Alex relaxed only a second longer before he took the initiative, rushing to the girl’s side ahead of Nathan, his pulse rising in turn. He couldn't tell who it was, but as he drew closer, the floodlights revealed a several-foot-long trail of blood drops she’d left in the grass. It wasn't until he came within a few feet of her however that he saw the full situation. Her stomach and chest area were bleeding under the tears in her clothing, the arm she was wrapping her wounds with was covered in gashes, and puncture wounds dotted her face and shoulders.





Alex froze where he stood, unsure of what to do beyond calling for help as she looked up at them. Her expression was hopeful but hiding a lot of pain.





“Keep her company,” Nathan said, patting his friend's shoulder once.





“What?” Alex replied as he looked aside.




“What can I do?”





“Anything. Just...help her.”





Trembling from his chest to his legs as Nathan dialed 911, the only thing Alex could think to do was talk to her. As he crouched down next to her, his eyes drawn to her wounds over everything else, he noticed the pattern of injuries on her shoulder were similar to a canine bite. The news of the mutilated calf crossed his mind again. Had she run across the same animals? He then looked over the gashes on her arm, checking the spacing and counting each cut.






When the girl held back a cry of pain, Alex realized he’d been staring and shook his head. He wasn’t assessing an injured animal here.





“We're here to help. You'll be okay,” he quickly said, his voice shaking.





“Thanks, but...” The girl's sentence was cut off as she held back a cry of pain again.





“Hey. Stay calm.” Alex held himself back from touching her, though his arm went out toward her when she cringed. “We'll get you to a hospital...and you'll be fine.”





“No. I'll heal.” Alex didn't expect that response. He had a bad feeling this girl was traumatized by whatever happened. Even so, hearing her try to act brave helped him calm down. “Can you tell me your name?”





The girl nodded but coughed before she spoke, a bit of blood spraying from her mouth. Alex recoiled, but didn't stand up.




“Angela...”





Alex cut her off, trying not to hold her hand, even though he wanted to, or brush where he thought any blood landed. “Angela, we’ll get you to a hospital. Just stay with us.” Looking over to Nathan, he called out. “Anything yet?” “Almost.” Nathan replied, quickly going back to answering the phone.





“They'll come, and you'll be fine.” Alex said. “Not with him around.” Angela's eyes were shut tight, a couple of tears rolled down her face.




“Who? Who did this?” Angela didn't answer, instead gripping the grass with her one free hand. Alex noticed the blood under her fingernails as she did so. “You want to tell the police instead?”




“No.” Angela replied, sounding upset this time.




“I don't...want the police.”




Alex swallowed his tongue and questioned whether he was pushing her. It had to be Angela's reaction to being torn up so badly that was making her act like this, but either way it was better to stop her from getting hysterical.





He kept his mouth shut however, as he knew the police would be involved.





“Dude, they're on the way.” Nathan said after a stretch of silence. “They said we should try to keep her warm.”





“Got it.” Unbuttoning his denim jacket, Alex set it down softly over Angela, trying not to touch any of her open wounds. She only flinched once. “That any better?”




“Much.” Angela said. “Thanks.”





Alex choked back a tear of his own. “Anything to help.” Looking down over her as he listened for approaching sirens, Alex's hand crept towards hers. What am I doing? He took his hand back. As he did, he noticed Angela's arm jerk once. Thinking nothing of it at first, he heard her breathing start to become shallow.





“Angela? You OK?”





She didn't answer. Alex asked again, but all he heard from her was gasping for breath. This time, he grabbed her hand. His heart rate shot up how cold her flesh was. “Oh, shit.



Nathan!”



Alex shouted.



“What?”




“She's going into shock.” Nathan ran to his side, dropping his phone in the process. “Oh, crap.”





“What are we supposed to do?” Nathan asked. His tone grew more worried as Angela's breathing kept up its shallow sound.


“Stop the blood loss, but...”


“From where? She's got cuts all over her.”


“I know that.” Alex snapped. “Sorry.” He froze again until he remembered that they had to elevate her legs. “Get her legs up. Use my backpack.”





“And then what?” Nathan asked as he set up the pack.


“I don’t know. I guess just make sure she keeps breathing. That’s all we can do.”

“What if she stops breathing? I don’t know CPR.”


When his friend said that, Alex's growing panic worsened; he was trained in CPR for animals, not people. Still holding Angela's hand, he looked down at her as the sirens sounded in the distance. Hearing them was a massive relief for both him and Nathan. “Stay with us.


They’re coming.”


When the ambulance at last showed from behind a fence and turned down the road towards them, Angela's hand fell limp in Alex’s grip. He watched as she silently shed tears but her breathing slowed. His heart sank. His arms fell as though his muscles had given out.


“Angela, stay with us. You'll be okay.” Nathan swore out loud as Alex's eyes watered and his voice cracked.


The paramedics finally arrived and in a group of four swarmed Angela, telling Alex and Nathan to get back before giving out orders and naming off things that she needed. Pacing nearby, Alex trembled all over, unable to focus on anything besides the medical teams and his jacket held in his right hand. Nathan stood against a nearby fence, taking slow breaths to calm down. They’d done everything they could, and it was up to the professionals now, but Alex could still feel the icy texture of Angela's hand in his flesh.


Watching the paramedics bring out a gurney, unable to tell if she was stabilizing or dying, he wiped his eyes free of the water clouding them. His phone rang as they began to load her onto it, but after a glance at his pocket, he ignored it. Not now.


He then heard some address him indirectly and looked over to see a female office coming their way. Alex addressed her with a nod, noticing the sergeant insignia she was wearing.


“Evening. I'm Sergeant Hill. Are you the ones who called this in?” Alex nodded again, with a confirmation from Nathan. “Are you okay with me asking you a few questions?”



“Yeah...sure.” Alex tried to hold back his emotions.


“Hey, it's alright. They're doing everything they can...”


“So were we.” Nathan replied.


The sergeant stayed quiet for a moment before looking back at the group of paramedics loading Angela into the ambulance. When the doors of the vehicle closed, she spoke up. “Would you guys follow me, please? I just need a few questions answered, and then you can leave.”



Following Hill back to her cruiser, Alex listened as Nathan answered the sergeant’s questions.


They were the usual gauntlet for a situation like this.


“We found her at about 9:06, the same time I called,” Nathan said.

“Was anyone else around?”

“No. Just us, but she looked like she was crawling away from something.”

“Any idea what?”

Nathan shook his head, and then turned to Alex. “Did she tell you anything?”

“Not really.” Alex replied. “All she said was

'Not with him around'. She didn't tell me who attacked her.”

Hill's expression shifted to one that in line with worry. “Did anyone try to approach you while you were helping her, or did you hear anything?”


“No. We were alone the entire time.”

“I see. In that case, would you mind if I followed you both home?”

“What for?” Nathan asked. Alex replied before the sergeant could.
“Safety reasons. Because of what Angela said.”

“Yeah. I need to be sure your folks are aware of this if she claimed something like that.” Nathan nodded at that statement as did Alex before he stuffed his bloodstained jacket into his backpack.

The three were soon on their way, Nathan leading with Alex tailing him and Hill at the rear. The evening air freely whipped over Alex’s arms and chest, and as they drove, he couldn't help but think about what he’d seen. They arrived at Nathan’s place first, and from the street he watched as Hill spoke to Nathan’s folks. The conversations went on longer than he thought and while he couldn’t hear what anyone was saying, he saw a few gestures directed at him.



With a wave goodbye to his friend, Alex led Hill to his house, his anxiety from before making it difficult to not look behind him at least once along the way. As they pulled into the driveway, he parked his motorcycle and joined her as she rang the front doorbell. Inside, he heard Bailey starting to bark in response to the sound, getting him to crack a smile.



As soon as the door opened, all seventy pounds of German Shepherd jumped up to see him.


His father, David, stood in the doorway, his clothing rumpled from an earlier nap.

“Evening, Sarah. Is something wrong?”


“I'm afraid so. Alex and his friend, Nathan, called into dispatch earlier tonight. They found someone who looked pretty badly mauled, and I think he's a little shaken up.” Without missing a beat, David looked over to his son. “Alex, c'mon inside. I need to talk to the sergeant.”


With a nod, Alex coaxed Bailey inside before his father shut the door behind them. “That's my boy.” Rubbing his pet's head, Alex let Bailey lick his face before heading for the bathroom.


His dog followed and sat at his side as he looked over himself.

In the mirror, his face was still red in places from holding back tears. As he looked closer, he saw droplets of blood spread over his skin, likely from one of Angela’s coughs. As he started the faucets, he saw more bloodstains on his arms. Far larger ones, as though he’d gotten too close to Angela’s wounds. Shaking off the thought, the water removed the blood, but didn’t mask the redness in his face.


“Alex?” Looking to his side, his mother, Alyssa, was standing in the doorway. “Why did you ring the doorbell?”


“Wasn't me.” Alex replied, reaching for a hand towel. “One of Dad's colleagues did.”

His mother's eyes widened some. “You...”


“No, no. I didn't do anything. I...well, Nathan and I...we found something.”

“What exactly?”


Alex shook his head once. “I don't want to talk about it right now.”


“Well, is he still outside?”


“She, and I think so.” As his mother headed for the front door, Bailey let out a woof. Looking down, Alex saw his dog sniffing the bloodstains on his jacket. “Bailey, leave it.” Alex commanded. His dog didn’t listen. “Leave it.”


This time, Bailey sat down and turned his gaze up at him before Alex rubbed his head. “Good boy. Let’s go. Back to the bedroom.” His pet wasted no time obeying the order, and when Alex walked into the room, Bailey was already laying down on the foot of his bed, wagging his tail.


“Good boy.” Bailey gave a slight woof in response as if to say ‘thank you’ before Alex scratched him between the ears. The dog laid his head down on his paws and noticeably groaned out of pleasure. “Yeah. I’m glad to be back home, too.”


The sound of an engine turning over outside made Bailey lift his head, as did the opening of the front door. “Stay, boy.” Alex said as he kept stroking his dog. Although he was preparing for a talk with his parents, he hoped he could convince them to let the issue slide for the night.


When they came to the doorway, his mother spoke first. “Alex, do you...”

“No, Mom. I don't,” Alex replied without hesitation.

“Son, you can talk to us about it. You two did the right thing.” “I know Dad, but just humor me. Tomorrow I'll talk.”

“Isn't Nathan talking to his parents about this?”

“I don't know. Maybe after I left, but...let's just leave it for now, alright? I really don't want to talk about this.”

“Okay. Tomorrow, then.”

Nodding his thanks, Alex hugged his folks and settled into bed. He didn't want to think about what had happened, but as he lay in bed stroking Bailey’s pelt, the thoughts wouldn’t leave him. Even thinking about playing a game or two didn’t help.

Looking over to his phone, Alex picked it up and wrote a quick text to Nathan. While he waited for a reply, Bailey stood up and moved closer to him. Taking a new spot at his side, his dog kept his head up, his tail laying still and his large brown eyes barely looking away. As though he knew something was wrong with his owner.

“Nothing gets past you, does it boy?” Alex said. Scratching his dog's ears again, the telltale sound of a message reply got him to look at his phone. “I'm fine. You?”

“I'm managing.”

“Good. I'm gonna sleep. Talk to you later.”

“Same here. Later.” Turning off the phone, Alex hoped some sleep would help.

Tuesday, August 23rd, 2011 – Sugar Land, Texas Moon Phase – Last Quarter 3:43 p.m.






Listening to the voice of his potential new boss as he read off parts of his application, Alex Stryker shifted in his seat and straightened his back. Trying his hardest not to adjust the clip-on tie on the neck of his shirt, he let his eyes wander, looking around the room he was in.






Boxes of comics stood stacked near the walls
decorated with single issue sleeves, the familiar smell of yellowing and aging comic
print filling the room.






“So, Alex, if I hired you, what could you offer
me as an employee of this shop?” A pause of
nearly two seconds followed.






“I'm not sure yet,” Alex said, his normally deep voice wavering. The question was one he hadn’t thought about much. Thinking the initial answer sounded stupid, he continued on with the first remarks he could think up.





“But I'll offer everything I can provide… Food and drinks even.”






The final remark got the person he was talking to, Trevor Young, to smile a bit and chuckle.






Alex mimicked it lightly. “That wouldn't include wine spritzers, would it?”






Alex raised his eyebrow at that and his face
showed confusion. He was only 19, nowhere
near old enough to buy alcohol.






“That was a joke. You don't need to do that.”
Letting out a small laugh with a smile, Alex was starting to get a picture of the owner’s
personality. “I was about to say.”






“Anyway, let's move on.” Trevor set the
application aside and interlaced his fingers in
front of him. “I’d like to run some questions by you.”







“Sure.” Alex replied, ready to answer something about his past work history.







Trevor nodded to him. “Then, can you tell me
the full oath of the Green Lanterns?”






Holding back a direct laugh, Alex’s lips curled
up some. He did know the oath, mostly thanks
to his friends. Clearing his throat, he acted like he was wearing one of the rings and recited the oath.







“Not bad, but your delivery needs work,” Trevor said.






“Eh. I'll work on it.”







“OK, next question. What is your first thought
when I say 'Dungeons and Dragons'?”






“Medieval fantasy.”
Trevor nodded again. “I take it you’ve role-
played before?”






“Yeah, but that one’s not quite my kind of
game.”







“Alright. Last question.” Trevor paused for a
second, as if he was thinking of a tough one.






“Would you want to work here?”






Alex replied without hesitation, and with a
smile. “You bet, I do.”






Trevor held out his hand to Alex, who took it in response. “Then, when can you start?”






“Immediately.”






“Would that include today?” Trevor asked with a smirk.







“Depends. I did have plans to hang out with my friends after this interview.”







“Fair enough.” As Alex let go of Trevor's hand,
the two stood up from their seats. “Let me get you one of our T-shirts and a print out of the store's rules and expectations, then you can be on your way.”






Before he started to answer, Alex felt a jolt of
horror when he realized he’d forgotten his new boss’ name. As he tried to recall it without avail, he knew he had to say something, not shut up or freeze up.





“Awesome. Thank you, sir.” Even if he didn't remember the man's name, 'sir' was a nice replacement. Once he was alone in the room however, Alex began to search the pockets of his jeans to find the shop’s business card, locating it in his right pocket. Trevor Young. Damnit. How did I forget that?







As Trevor returned with the stuff Alex needed, he thanked him by name and headed back out to the sales floor of the shop, walking past the racks of singles issues and counters full of trading cards on his way to the front. His good friend Marcus was working the front counter, reading a trade collection of Mass Effect comics in-between looks around the store. At least once during his visits with him over the last month, Alex wondered if the name of the shop, Blue Moon Comics, had been influenced by the number of seemingly rare trade-ins and items he would find.







Flinging the two T-shirts over his shoulder, Alex approached the counter as Marcus looked up and set the book aside. “So, how'd it go?” he asked.






“Looks like you and I are co-workers now.” Alexreplied, holding up the T-shirts.







Marcus's face barely budged from the
expression he wore; he’d recommended Alex
to Trevor, and he knew how easy-going his boss was with new hires. “See? Told ya.”






“That was easier than I thought, except I almost forgot your boss's name.”






“Don't sweat it. He kind of doesn't care
anyway.” Alex shrugged. “Maybe, but thanks Marcus. I appreciate you helping me get the job.”






Marcus nodded once in response, and the two
exchanged a quick handshake. “You're welcome, man. Are you going to hang around for a while?”






Checking the time on his phone, it was just past 3:50. Bailey was likely sleeping in his room at home, but his dad would be off shift soon.






“Yeah, sure. I've got time.” Stepping out of the
way for a customer behind him, Alex headed
for the role-playing section nearby and picked
up the first book that got his attention. A
rulebook for Mage the Awakening.
Flipping through the pages a few at a time, he
took more notice of the artwork than the rest
of the game's content. Much of it detailed the
use of magic by characters in the game world,
and how the artists perceived it. Moving his
right arm, he imagined casting a create-fire
spell on his hand before chuckling under his
breath. Ever since Nathan had run this game
with him onboard one of his groups, it had
slowly become his favorite RPG, even if he
didn't own the rulebook himself.






As four forty-five came around, Alex felt a
vibration in his pocket, accompanied by a quick tone that told him he had an instant message from someone. Unlocking the screen to check the message, it was Catherine, reminding him they were supposed to meet up at six thirty.






“That from Catherine?” Marcus asked from the
register.






“Yeah,” Alex replied. Pocketing his phone as he stood back up, he licked his lips a bit.





“Man, am I gonna be sad when summer's over.”






“Not me. I'm looking forward to getting back to class.”






“Because you graduate in a year. I’ve got three of those left.”






“Enjoy the easy years while they last, man,”






Marcus said as he stepped out from behind the counter to get another book.






“Yeah,” As Marcus returned to his spot, Alex
closed and replaced the book he had, offering
Marcus another handshake before asking for
his backpack and helmet. “I'm going on ahead,
so I'll see you guys there,” he said, stuffing the backpack with the clothing he received.







“All right. Later.”






Leaving the shop in the glare of the setting sun, Alex was met by the familiar sounds of vehicles driving on the highway as an evening breeze swept past. Hearing a car horn some distance away, he snapped his head in that direction as he walked towards his motorcycle. Except for the days when it was raining profusely or bitterly cold outside, the bike had helped him through his final two years of high school and into his now sophomore year of college.






Despite his folks saying he should move to a
sedan for safety, and insurance, reasons, how
long he’d had it and how much like riding a
skateboard it felt to him made him resist the
idea. That and it already did the job of getting
him from A to B.






Brushing his blonde hair aside as he slipped his helmet on, Alex checked his backpack for
anything left unzipped, buttoned up his denim
jacket and took a seat on his bike. One turn of
the ignition key cranked the engine and
brought it to life with a brief high-revolution
noise, the rumbling that followed drowning out most of the background noise. Once the
kickstand was raised, he revved the throttle
and headed towards Highway 59.
Fifteen minutes later, he was the first to arrive at a place called Steakhouse Burgers and claimed a four-seater table with his removed jacket. Several groups of people were spread around the restaurant, with the television playing something from the Sci-Fi Channel.







With one week left before classes began, he
intended to make sure the time with his
friends was well spent, starting with this group dinner.






As he waited for them to arrive, Alex pulled
out his phone and a set of headphones. The
blaring notes of his metal selection silenced
much of the chatter around him until he pulled up a news article from the week before. As gruesome as it was, the report of a calf found mauled and gutted near his high school was one he couldn’t help coming back to.






When Nathan arrived half an hour later, Alex
waved him over. “Did the interview take that
long?” Nathan asked as he walked over.






“No,” Alex adjusted his tie. “Just didn’t feel like going home and getting changed.”






“All right. I’m getting an appetizer while we’re
waiting. You?”






“Just a drink for now.”






With their orders soon in hand, the two
exchanged small talk until Marcus and Catherine arrived. “Hey, guys,” Alex said, glancing over at Nathan’s plate. Nathan had
nearly finished the appetizer, but still looked
hungry. Alex tapped his shoulder and asked if
he was going to order any more food.






“Sure.” Nathan stood up from his seat and Alex followed suit, joining Marcus and Catherine as they placed their orders. A large cheeseburger and fries was the most enticing to him, and the four of them wasted no time indulging in their food once it came.






“I’m kind of looking forward to class next
week,” Catherine said before she took a bite of her meal. “What about you guys?” Marcus
responded with a confident 'Yes', Nathan with
an indifferent 'No', Alex just shrugged at the
question. “Not even one class?”






“Maybe College Algebra, if that,” Nathan
replied.






“Obviously.”






“I’m registered for a couple of English classes,
so I guess I have something to look forward to,” Alex said.






“Beyond your new job?” Marcus asked.






“Oh, that's right.” Catherine said. “How did the
interview go?”






“Pretty well.” Alex said. “Trevor’s got an interesting way of interviewing people.”






“That’s what a comic store owner looks for. If
you know your stuff.” Marcus adjusted his chair as he finished talking. “You going to miss
working at the vet, though?”






“I already do,” Alex replied. “Three years is a
long time.”






“There’s nothing stopping you from walking in
and saying hello, you know,” Nathan chimed in.






Alex acknowledged his statement. “But since
we’re talking about animals, did your dad find
out anything new about that calf from last
week?”







“No.” Alex quickly answered with a slight shake of his head, causing Nathan’s expression of interest to lax. He looked towards Marcus and Catherine immediately after, seeing only
Marcus with any hint of interest on the subject.






Because of his father’s rank of lieutenant in the Sugar Land Police Department, when anything gruesome or strange happened, the curiosity of his friends followed soon after.





“Dad hasn’t said much about it to me, but the general opinion he’s heard was wolves killed that calf.”






“Wolves, huh?”






“Can we save this talk for later?” Catherine said, sounding a bit defensive. “We're eating.”






“So says the woman eating a dead cow.” Nathan retorted, getting the rest of the group to start laughing. Catherine in turn shot him a look that simultaneously said “Shut up” and




“Very funny.”






Alex cleared his throat to stop his laughter.
“Seriously though, wolves that close to our high school?”






“There’s a park across Highway 6, don't forget,” Marcus said.






“Yeah, but that area isn’t that big,” Nathan said, rubbing his stubble as he spoke.





“Someone would have seen something before now. Or heard something.”






“No. I don’t think anyone would hear anything,”






Alex replied. “Canines don’t howl for no reason. Certainly not wolves that come close to cities.






That attracts attention.”






Nathan shrugged and a short silence followed.
Catherine took that moment to start talking.






“So, aside from the big bad wolves in town,
what do you guys think we should do before
classes begin next week?” Suggestions for the
coming week were exchanged before small talk took over for the remainder of their stay at the restaurant. Outside, the last quarter moon was cresting the treetops and insect noises were competing with the sounds of light traffic in the distance.






As he mounted his motorcycle and put his
helmet on again, a hand tapped Alex’s
shoulder. Looking over, he saw Nathan standing nearby. “Hey, are you and I still filming tonight?”






Alex made a hard nod. “You want to meet me
there?”






“Yeah. I need to stop by my house and get the
camcorder.”






“On second thought, I think I’ll just follow you.” Alex then dropped the visor of his helmet.

PROLOGUE

“Imagine that. Everyone's gone,” Angela said
quietly in her growl-laced voice. She’d been
expecting at least one strong human scent to
begin drifting on the breeze at this time of
night, more so with a high school less than a
quarter mile to the west. The lack of one was a good sign, as the meal opportunities for both her and Shane were less than a hundred feet ahead.





Turning her head to check on him, his body was positioned as though he’d already singled out an animal for them. With the full moon casting a silver sheen onto what the other light sources didn’t reach, she noticed the twitches of his nose and his thousand-yard stare.





“Ready?”





Shane gave her a glance, and then looked back.





“The doe.”





“The calf would feed both of us,” Angela said,
after another sniff.





“So would the doe.” Shane said, licking his
fangs. “And it’s weaker.”





“But it’s the only one that stable has.”





“So?”





A weak, rumbling growl came with Angela’s
sigh. “The calf will work.”





Shane shrugged and waited for her to start
moving. Keeping close to each other, they tried to keep silent amidst the chirping crickets and other insects. Every few steps, they heard a few of them stop chirping, as though they were living alarms in the grass.





As they drew closer, a few sounds came from
the stable. Braying sounds akin to deer. One of them wasn’t asleep, and Angela saw it looking their direction through the steel bars.




Shane didn’t turn his head; his attention was focused on their real prey.





Seeing him maintain attention, Angela turned
back towards the calf. It wasn’t moving, despite the noise. Seeing her chance, she took off ahead of Shane, bounding off the dirt onto the bars of the stable, a loud clang sounding in turn. Until her body was on top of the calf and her claws dug between its ribs, it didn’t make a sound.





Shane entered a second later as Angela tried to get her jaws around the calf’s neck. The move was met with one of the calf’s thrashing legs impacting her thigh, the sharp stings of an opened gash and pulled fur following; for half a second of adrenaline fueled tension, she felt nothing from it.





Once she did, she rolled aside to get away from its legs, and her claws slipped from its flesh.





Seeing the calf get up, she tried to ignore the
pain and correct herself.





Shane however was at the ready. With his paws arched at the digits, he slashed at the calf’s face. His claws hooked behind its skull, forcing it off balance, exposing its stomach.





Angela got up, shaking off the pain from the
gash. With the calf crying and baying out of pain and fear from the assault, she worried about getting too close to its legs again.




Around them, the rest of the stable was giving rise to a cacophony of noises, enough to alert anyone that something was going on if they were close enough to hear it. That mix of anxiety and worry made her stall.





As she did, Shane kept his grip on the calf’s
skull and his eyes on her. What was making her stop? The noise? No one would hear them
killing this animal until it was too late, and both of them were firmly built werewolves of at least 230 pounds each. More than enough to stop any human that thought to come their
way. When Angela winced a second later,




Shane saw the blood from the gash in her leg.
Seeing Shane move to hold down a few of the
calf’s legs, Angela saw an opening. She held
onto the animal’s ribcage to steady herself, the baying making her ears ring. She shook it off and readied herself. Separating her jaw, she went for the calf’s neck, hoping to cut in enough to make it bleed out.





She pierced its flesh easily and could taste
more blood over her tongue, but her fangs hit
something further in. Biting down again, there was no leeway given. Likely bone. She
repositioned and tried again. This time, her
bottom fangs hit something hard while the
upper ones cut into what felt like a vessel.
Shane quickly noticed their prey start to bleed
profusely from Angela’s second bite. Telling her to let go, she didn’t pull away immediately. As though she was freezing in action again. “Let go of it.” Shane repeated in a more demanding tone. Angela eventually did, and the calf’s cries for help began to weaken. The young bovine slowly thrashed less and less against Shane’s grip.





Looking over the calf, Angela licked her fangs.
With a pool of red forming nearby, and things
around them no quieter than before, they
couldn’t wait too long to eat. Releasing the calf’s ribs, her leg stung from the gash as she stood up. Limping to the gate, she pushed against it and felt resistance, along with the sound of a metal lock stopping her. She expected the gate to be locked, but she still felt annoyed.





A loud crack sounded behind her, making her
jump before looking back towards Shane; his
jaw was around the calf’s neck.





“We’re locked in.”





“So?” Shane said as he sniffed the carcass.




“We’ll be fine.”





For a minute, Angela thought to debate him.





From where she was, there seemed to be enough room under the enclosure’s bars to
slide the calf out, but the animals were also
starting to calm back down. She heard no footsteps nearby. Only animal hooves against
concrete. No sirens in the background either.
With a quick look over the gate to assure
herself, Angela dropped back to all fours and
approached the calf’s chest, eyeing a spot at the base of its ribs; Shane was still sniffing around the calf’s pelt. The taste of blood before had triggered her stomach to begin growling, and her fangs cut the flesh and surface muscles of her chosen spot easily.





Instead of joining her in the act, Shane pulled
his lips back and snarled. Thinking he’d seen
something, Angela stopped and looked up to
find him looking right at her, showing his teeth and flashing his tongue. The noise and his stare made her quiver, but she couldn’t wait any longer to calm her stomach. Not with them in this position.





Before she could take another bit of flesh from their kill, she felt claws sink into the scruff of her neck. Shane pulled her to her feet, snarling in her face.





Angela flashed her fangs back at him with a
slap-away of his arm. “What was that for?”





“I didn't say you could feed yet,” Shane’s voice
had deepened since he’d last spoke.





“Then say that before picking a place like this
next time,” Angela said, waving one arm
around as she spoke.





“Why should I have to?”





Instead of answering him, Angela crouched
down, drawing a set of growls. She was, once
again, unable to take a bite before Shane
forced her back up. This time however, his paw was at the ready and he slashed at her face, drawing blood. Reeling from the slash with a paw over her face, Angela made eye contact again as Shane continued snarling.




What the hell is wrong with you?





It took a second for Shane to speak after his
snarls stopped. “There aren’t any sirens, and
there aren’t any voices. If you’re that scared of being caught...”





“Why shouldn’t I be?”





“Then claim your own kill,” Shane said, his tone giving off an expectation of compliance.




“If you want any more of mine, you’ll wait for it.”





With another look at the calf, something she
felt was as much her kill as Shane’s, Angela
shuffled on her hind paws and lunged at him,
slamming him into the walls of the enclosure.





A snarl of her own quickly followed, but Shane
was too close and retaliated. His claws raked
the skin between her ribs as he shoved her
backwards, her injured leg doing much of the
catching of her weight. She barely had time to
notice him lunge at her in turn, but the impact threw them both to the ground.





A quick snarl from Shane was followed by his
muzzle, opened wide enough to enclose her
own, coming within inches of her head. Flat on her back, Angela jerked her head up to snap at him before he did. He recoiled and she followed with another shove, this time to her right. His body tumbled over and she rushed him before he got up. Her weight was heaved over his chest, with her paws wrapping around his muzzle and one of his arms.





Shane threw his head around, attempting free
his clasped muzzle, his one free paw digging
into what parts of Angela he could reach. The
volume of his growls grew sharply for a time
until Angela shifted her weight again, shoving
his head sideways against the ground with her
upper body holding him down there. She held
the position, waiting for him to give up. Her
ears meanwhile listened for any sound of
approaching danger beyond the startled animal noises around them.





As the seconds ticked by, Shane remained
intent on freeing himself, his claws settling into Angela’s right shoulder. The pain spurred her to talk. “Keep it up. I’m not moving,”





Another attempt by Shane to free his head followed.





“You want me off? Stop struggling,” Shane
exhaled loudly through his nose and what
openings of his muzzle were available, but
didn’t listen until what felt like a minute later.
The loosening of the claws in Angela’s shoulder signaled it.





She hesitated a minute on letting him go,
wondering why he’d suddenly tried to be so
dominating over her when it was just the two
of them. He’d taken down the calf along with
her, sure, but she’d done most of the earlier
and more tiring work of weakening and
bleeding the animal out. Far more than he did.





Without taking her eyes off him, Angela slowly released her hold on him and backed up to where she was before, resuming feeding with one paw on the carcass. As Shane got up, his paws brushed his muzzle between shakes of his head. His breathing was heavy with growls and his stare hadn’t gone away, making Angela ready herself as he turned towards her.






Once on her second bit of flesh, he joined her
in feeding on the dead calf, but the two kept
their eyes on each other for the duration.
Angela looked over him with suspicion,
adrenaline staying present in her blood in case he tried to assert authority again. Shane
however had a look of malice and hatred in his eyes, as though he’d been disrespected by
being denied the right to eat first. That piercing gaze continued even after they hid the carcass, as though he would never forgive





Angela for the deed.

After trying to save the life of the victim of a
werewolf, Alex Stryker finds himself on the
receiving end of a bite himself a few days later.



As his wounds heal, his senses sharpen, and his anxiety around strangers mounts, he prepares for what he sees as a gruesome transformation during the next full moon.



And what he may have to say if his friends or
his family ever find out what he is.

---------CONTINUATION-----------

That's how I got initiated into the Armed Group.... I lived with the group, I learnt that they never go out except on mission, we ate anything we want, and there's a beautiful girl who cooked for all of us (14 in number), the girl also serve as my "Oga at the top" girlfriend and we(others) are not allowed to have girlfriends, I strolled out in the area on a day to noticed there's no house in our environment except for the river at the back of our house....


My first mission as an Armed Robber was on a Sunday night and we were told from Friday to get ready for the mission... On the said night, I was given a black slim-fitted top and a black tight jean, a pair of black sneakers and a beautiful pistol (Revolver) "Michael Colt's Edition"... We set out around 8pm in two vehicles (Toyota Camry Pencil and Toyota Corolla).... We embark on a journey I don't even know where, we moved on to Lagos-Ibadan Expressway, we got to a certain place and the cars swerved from the main road to the an untarred road, we parked and we were told to get down, I'm so happy and afraid at the same....


I was given a mask and all others also put on their masks... We stayed beside the road for some time and one of the guys(Robbie) by name moved into the Corolla and parked it beside the road with the other of us hidden inside the bush and we wait for our first victim, he(Robbie) opened the bonnet of the car and pretended as if the car had fault, he waited for about three minutes, then a Nissan Murano packed a few metres and reversed back to him, there's a family which consists of a man, woman and a little girl, the man made his mistakes as he came out of the vehicle and asked Robbie what happened, he answered though I didn't hear him well...

Man: what happened??

Robbie: my car had a little.... (Inaudible words)

Man: what did you say?

Robbie: I don't even know, may be its the battery or something

Man: let me check it

Robbie: thank you sir, I'm here since almost 4 hours back

The man bend over on the bonnet and to his surprise, we came out of our hiding and our boss started shouting at the family, he shot the wife instantly and that's the first time a human being was shot in my presence... We collected all the man's money, wristwatch and all valuables he had... And some of our men are even handling the girls breast, I just stood there watching and actually doing nothing until my boss shouted at me and I just start helping in packing the loots..... We succeeded in the operation and we move on the highway till we stop at another road and repeat another operation, this time its a single man around the age of 45, he was killed and his vehicle (Honda Element) collected...


We later drove to a house and we also burgled the house... We later packed in a bush and changed our clothes, drove to a Beer Parlour and everyone started ordering for what they would like to take, I ordered for malt and my fellow hoodlums started laughing at me, I later collected Smirnoff when some are taking Jack Daniels and co....


We payed for the drinks and peppersoup and left for our hideout(house)


Feel free to tell me your opinions, what I should add or remove or any idea you have at all..... I'm still a novice in this game

-----------CHAPTER TWO-------------
I woke up on a very good Saturday, I couldn't finish my Secondary School Education due to lack of concentration and also due to the fact that I always stole all my colleagues books, biro, food and money which the school authority did not like at all and I was given my Rustication Letter to leave the School Premises and never come back for study which is also my happiness because I'm also tired of going to school......

I am still thinking as I went to the bathroom to bath in order for me to go out and transact some business so I would have money.....

I just remembered I want to open Bank Acct so I would be able to save some money... I quickly took my bath and went to the bank (Wema Bank)... I goy there and went to the Customer Service directly to collect the form I would fill, as I was filling the form, I just heard gunshots inside the bank, lo and behold there are ten armed to the teeth robbers... I quickly used the opportunity to pack some money I saw on the man giving me the form, I don't even know the amount but as a sharp guy that I am, I quickly put it under my cloth (I tuck it inside my belt)

I heard one of the robber shouting at a staff

Robber 1: u dey mad? Pack all the money here inside this bag(ghana must go bag) or I will blow ur brain out... (I envy the robber as I wish I'm the one in his position)

They packed all the money and as they were set to leave, I heard one of the robber saying "shey we no go collect the money wey that small boy pack?" I felt like I'm dead where I sat and they came to me to collect it but their leader (a man around age 30-35) came to me and said I should follow them)

I entered their car and we took off, to my surprise no police car or even policeman stops us on the road till we drove out of my hometown... I'm afraid as I can't see any one of their face as they put on masks.... We depart from the main road to an un-tarred road and we still move on for almost four hours and then we arrived at a building which was surrounded by a very tall fence.... We entered (the building is very fine, it was painted dark green and light green, the interior decoration was out of this world, the chairs are black leathered....

They all removed their masks and that's when I knew that there are handsome men behind veils, they start talking when I noticed their leader is called Reaper(which means DEATH)

Reaper: we go share this tin 40:60

All: no p

Reaper and I will give dis guy 5%

Thief 1(Silencer): haha!! Reaper baba, dis guy don pack his own money nw and we never collect am from im hand

Reaper: dat money wey I'm pack, na I'm own surplus be dat

All: okkk boss

I'm so happy to be given that huge sum of amount and still would collect another 5% of the money I don't even know the amount.

That's how I was initiated into the Reaper's Club



Please, encourage or discourage me and let me know if I'm still on track or not

----- CONTINUATION -------

I went to Don's Palace or let's say Don's Dilapidated Building.... I showed him the phone, that's when my problem really start...

Don: where you see dis fone
Me: on the road when I'm going home
Don: will u like to work for me??
Me: I can't work now, daddy will beat me
Don: but if you see anything good, bring it and I will give you money.. Do you hear??
Me: yes sir
Don: take this (he dip his hand again to the same pocket and gave me #500)

I felt on top of the world... I bought suya on my way home and when I got home I met nobody... That means my dad is still in the place he used to play his bookings... I off my clothes and slept off....

Next day, I woke up and my dad is not home... I went to the place he plays his betting.. Nobody there, I went back home to take my money and know my next destination,... That's when the unexpected happened, I can't find my money again.. The next day being Saturday, I went to field to watch some brothers playing street football, I sat gently on the block that stood as the bench for us spectators...

As I'm watching the ball, I realise that there's a particular brother dribbling everybody, but that's none of my business as my main problem is hunger... How can I eat like that yesterday and still feel hungry today? And how will my money be lost?? I knew who stole it, its no other person than my dad... I noticed the brothers piled up their clothes and valuable in a place on the fence I sat... I stylishly moved there and picked two phones and checked one of the pockets to see #3,000, I can't take it all, I picked #2,000 out of it and off I went......

That's how I loved my life till the day I was caught...

I'm 8yrs when I was caught

I went to a Viewing Centre (where we watch football matches)... I didn't go there because of watching football but to steal... Luckily for me, I took the phone but unluckily I didn't know there's someone watching as he just gave me a very sound slap which alerted all the people in the Viewing Centre and I was given the beating of my life....

I was later left to die, I got home and that's when my father taught me another lesson entirely on how to steal... He said to me

Dad: you are very very daft, how can someone catch you JJC, don't you know you are born to steal

Me: I'm sorry papa

Dad: from today on, I want you to be more vigilant and whenever anybody see you.. Run as fast as you can

Me: okk sir (I said proudly)

Dad treated all my wounds...... That's how I live my life till I'm 21 which will start in next Chapter......



Please you are free to advice me on the story, I will be happy with your corrections, criticism, enlightenment etc.... Ishilove (come and help me ooooooooo)

---------------- CHAPTER ONE ---------------

I may not remember how I was born or who my mother was.. But I will never forget I had a dad who will stand by me in any mess I find myself, he is a kind of dad who will know you did something bad but will still stay by your side and make sure you are convinced you do the right thing because the people you did the bad thing to doesn't even deserve your good deeds.....

I can remember how we lived in a town called Ayetoro (Yewa North Local Government, Ogun State, Nigeria)... I remembered what I stole first...

I was given my alias by my dad and I so much cherish the name (JJC), he would call me and said "never ever be dull in this life, life itself is a gamble and its either you kill or get killed"

MY FIRST MISSION

This happened when I'm 5 years

Dad: JJC
Me: Sir
Dad: What will we eat tonight because I no get sisi (kobo) for pocket ooo
Me: how come? Shebi I saw one 1k (one thousand) in your pocket before
Dad: I wan use the money play Baba Ijebu (Lotto) for Osama place... (Osama is a gambler's shop in the next street where people gather to play and at the same time drink all sorts of hard drinks and my dad is a regular customer who can't do without visiting there in a single day)
Me: but papa, u fit give me #100 make I use eat out of the money now..
Dad: find something to eat

That's how my miserable life started.... What would I eat?

I strolled down the street looking for anything edible to steal because I had no money with me and my dad taught me to be smart... I saw a food canteen where all sorts of food are sold, but I don't have the gut to branch their and order for food.... I continued my journey which lead to nowhere particular... My area was always overcrowded which means all I need is to be vigilant and I will see something to steal... I saw a man (Mr. Bankole) he is a banker (cashier) at the only Bank we have in the community (WEMA Bank)... I knew him just because I always see him drive-by in his Black Brand New Toyota Camry which is my dream car... I waved at him to stop, to my utmost surprise which he did...

I entered his car and the following conversation occurred....

Mr. B: how may I help you?
Me: sir, do you work in the Bank at Express road
Mr. B: yes, why do you ask?
Me: I need a little help from you sir
Mr. B: I'm all hears
Me: my name is James sir and I'm an orphan (I lied), and I just need you to give me any amount you can afford to eat sir (I saw his ROLEX Watch on the passenger seat which I am and I stylishly pocketed it)
Mr. B: are you not the son of that stupid gambler whose house is over there?
Me: I'm not
Mr. B: get out of my car (he said angrily)

I got down happily knowing I've achieved my aim of eating that night with what I have gotten from the man... My next step is how to sell the watch which I know is very simple because I knew someone(DON) who will buy it even though at small amount.

I hurriedly walked up to the uncompleted building which serve as Don's office where marijuana are sold and all other sort of atrocities are committed... The place has nothing in it except for the blocks which serve as chairs and a bench which serve as bed for Don and his touts... I got there

Don: wetin small pikin like u dey find for dis place?
Me: I wan show u somtin sir
Don: wey d tin u wan show me
Me: na him be dis (I brought out the watch)
Don: where you see this? (He asked, putting it in his polythene bag beside him) how much u want make I pay you?
Me: anything you can afford sir
Don: take this (he dip his hand in his breast pocket and gave me #500)
Me: thank you sir (I prostrate on the floor happily because I never knew I could get an amount as much as that from a single watch)

I left there and happily went back to the food canteen I saw earlier... This time I entered confidently because I know I'm loaded up to the brink like the cup in front of Jesus Christ during the last supper...

I entered the canteen and can see the place very well... The canteen was painted brown and cream and has 3 AC fitted inside (that's my first time seeing it) I took my sit and order for rice #50, beans #50, meat #100 and coke #100...

As I was battling with my food, I noticed the man beside me who was eating amala and vegetable soup with plenty bush meats left his phone (nokia lumia) on the chair he sat instead of putting it on the table where he will be seeing it... I quickly tap (took) the phone and rush my food and quickly paid and collected my change... I left the place and off to........ Where do you think??

IF YOU WANT COPY MY STORY.... ITS JUST A WORK OF A NOVICE WHO KNEW NOTHING ABOUT WRITING A STORY... I'm here so that people who are experts in this line can correct and show me how it is done


Name: Jaiyegbade James Cornelius

Alias: JJC (Johnny Just Come)

Description: Black, tall, cool and gentle face, clean shaven beard and mohawk (gallas) hairstyle.... No wife, nobody except his dad

I'm working on a story and I hope when I am ready to publish it here for you guys and gals... Please just bear with me because it will be my first story.... Thanks