“Come on, you bastard,” Bernard snarled. “Come get me, you filthy beast.”
Looking for something, anything, to use to as a weapon, he grabbed his phone from his hip and hurled it. Billy flinched. The phone thudded against Billy’s forehead with unbelievable accuracy or, more likely, unbelievable luck. Billy recoiled with a furious roar and then lunged forward.
His hand struck the ground beside the flag.
A metallic clunk echoed throughout the forest, followed by a deafening howl.
Stupid animal.
Billy thrashed and pulled to free his arm, but the teeth of the steel bear trap had slammed too deep into his flesh, and probably bone as well.
Bernard couldn’t stop laughing.
Billy snapped his teeth and lunged, but the chain on the trap stopped him short. Billy turned and gnawed at the metal trap, but he might as well have been toothless.
Bernard glanced at the concrete-embedded iron post that the chain was anchored to. Billy wasn’t going anywhere.
Satisfied, Bernard followed the path to a gate covered with weeds and vines. He painfully lowered to his knees and ran his fingers through the weeds along the ground until he found a hidden lever. He gave it a yank, causing a clank at the gate’s lock.
Jackpot. After he passed through the gate, he closed it with another clank from the lock. He waited next to the gravel road as a set of headlights approached from half a mile or so away. It was his driver, right on time. Billy’s howls rang from behind like beautiful music. He grinned at the tune while he waited for his ride.
41
A HIGH PRICE FOR FREEDOM
THE deafening howls and cries of wergs throughout the forest didn’t bode well for Billy. Christine tried not to picture all the horrible things that could be happening to him, but she failed to keep the disturbing images at bay. Her progress up the hill was painful and slow, so slow that she soon heard footsteps gaining on her from behind.
She tensed in anticipation of another attack, and then Aiden shouted her name.
Thank God it was him. She was too tired and weak to fight anyone else.
Aiden limped toward her as quickly as he could. He had blood smeared across his forehead and face. He wore blood-soaked camouflage pants two sizes too large, probably scavenged from one of the rogue hunters he had slain.
“I got ‘em, Christine,” he said with a cough. “They’ll never kill anyone else.”
Barely acknowledging his words, she said, “Billy has to be around here somewhere. Help me find him.”
Distant shouting between the cries of the wergs revealed that the police did indeed have the stones to leave their cars and were not far away.
“Billy?” she quietly called. “Billy!”
She and Aiden continued up the path with Aiden in the lead. They were near the top when he stopped and looked down. She hurried to catch up.
In a deadly serious tone, he said, “Stop, Christine. Don’t come any farther. You don’t want to see this.”
There was no way she wasn’t going to see what he had found. She joined him and followed his eyes to the ground.
The air ripped from her lungs. She felt faint and stumbled backward a step. Aiden reached for her, but she caught herself.
At Aiden’s feet was a blood-covered steel trap with a mangled half-human, half-werg hand in it. She buried her face against Aiden’s bare chest. He gently stroked the back of her head.
She leaned back and tried to speak, almost unable to get her thoughts out. “He didn’t. Oh, God. Did he chew off his own hand ...?” She trailed off, unable to finish.
“It might not be his hand,” Aiden whispered.
She backed away, shaking her head. “It’s him.”
“You don’t know that. I’ve never seen a werg’s body parts change back to human. It could be someone else’s.”
She shook her head again. “I took out his chip. He’s the only one that could change. That means he was ... he was ... changing while he did it.”
With those words, Aiden fell silent. Snapping twigs and anxious shouts told her how close the police were getting, but she wasn’t leaving without Billy; she had promised she would help him.
Aiden scanned the trees and said, “I’m sorry, Christine. We have to go.”
“I know. I just can’t leave him.”
“I’ll find him, I promise. Finding wergs is what I do ....” He paused. “I mean did.”
She looked back to the top of the hill while Aiden scanned for faces in the trees. That’s when she saw him—the cause of everyone’s pain. At the end of the path, beyond the fence, Bernard stood with his back toward them.
“Aiden,” she whispered. “Look.” She pointed to Bernard and the stretched Hummer that was coming to a stop beside him. Aiden released her hand and sprinted toward the fence.
Christine hobbled after him.
Aiden reached the fence, dropped to his knees, and dug at the ground like a dog hiding a bone. Bernard turned toward the noise, saw Aiden, and scrambled into his Hummer just as Aiden yanked the gate lever and swung the gate open.
The Hummer pulled away. Aiden chased behind until the vehicle was too far down the road. He jogged back to Christine as she reached the open gate.
“I’m sorry,” he said and grabbed her hand. “We need to go. Come on.”
She was about to step through the gate when a faint groaning stopped her cold. “Did you hear that?” she asked.
Aiden shook his head.
She released his hand. “Billy?” she whispered and took a step from the path toward an overgrown patch of brush and weeds along the fence.
A weak but wonderful voice answered, “Hey, Cougar,” and her knees momentarily gave out. She ran toward the voice. Aiden followed.
She ripped at the brush until she saw him. He was lying on his back, naked, with his left hand holding the stump of his right forearm. His mouth was smeared with dried blood. A bit of bone poked through the mangled flesh where his right hand should have been.
She put her hand to her mouth. “Oh, Billy.”
Billy grumbled, “A little help here?”
Aiden grabbed Billy beneath his good arm, and lifted him to his feet. Christine reached out to touch Billy’s cheek, but Aiden pushed past her and said, “We don’t have time, Christine. We have to leave.”
Billy grimaced. “Why do you look so pale, Chris? I’m the one missing a hand.” His voice was weak, but he was still the same cocky Billy.
Christine tore away a strip of her tattered blanket and wrapped it around Billy’s stump. Aiden lifted Billy’s left arm over his shoulder and they struggled toward the open gate. Christine followed.
Before they made it back to the path, a lone police officer approached and halted their progress. “Alright, you three, stop where you are,” the cop ordered.
The officer held a Taser aimed at them.
Slowly, Aiden ducked away from Billy’s arm and Christine took his place at Billy’s side.
The cop shouted, “I said not to move. Put your hands to the goddamn sky or I’ll Taser your ass.”
Aiden raised his hands. “We’re going through that gate,” he said and took another step toward the officer.
The cop lifted his Taser and stepped to within six feet of Aiden.
Christine waited, supporting most of Billy’s weight on her shoulders.
Aiden took another step.
The cop squeezed the trigger. The Taser popped and two needle-like prongs shot toward Aiden’s chest. Like lightning, Aiden twisted his upper body out of the prongs’ path. As they brushed past his chest, he snatched the trailing cables from midair, yanked the Taser from the stunned officer’s hand, and caught it.
The cop reached for his gun.
Aiden closed the gap between them. He ripped the used cap from the end of the Taser and pressed the exposed prongs against the officer’s shoulder. “I’m sorry,” he said and squeezed the trigger. The cop grunted, stiffened for an instant, and dropped to the ground.
Aiden set
the weapon on the officer’s chest, changed places with Christine, and they set off again.
“Is your new friend Superman or what?” Billy asked as they passed through the gate.
“Sometimes I wonder,” Christine answered with a hint of a smile.
She closed the gate behind them with a clank. Sirens wailed in the distance. Aiden tugged at Christine’s hand, but she pulled back.
“Come on,” he said, “The cops are coming.”
She shook her head. “Aiden, I can’t.”
“What do you mean?”
“I have to stay. I’ll tell the police I was kidnapped. I’ll tell them everything that happened. I wanted to bring down the WereHouse, and now I can.”
Billy spoke up. “Yeah, man. I ain’t going anywhere either. I’m feeling a little woozy. I think I need to get to the hospital. Plus, I’ll tell ‘em whatever they want to know. I’ve got no secrets.”
Aiden grinned. “So you’re going to tell them you’re a werewolf? How do you think that will go over?”
Billy paused. After a couple of seconds he said, “Well, maybe I’ll leave that part out.”
“You’re naked and you’re missing a hand. How are you going to explain that?”
“I don’t know, man. Relax. I’ll figure out something.”
Aiden rolled his eyes and turned to Christine. “Come on, Chris. You know I can’t go to the police. Who knows how they’ll view what I’ve done. No, I need to stay under their radar. They probably don’t even know who I am. Besides, I want to free as many of these werepets from their implants as I can before the government starts hunting them.”
“Promise me you’ll come back when you’ve finished.”
“Of course.”
The coming lights of the cruisers bounced against the trees. Aiden backed up a step, but Christine held his hand. “Chris. I gotta go.”
“I know,” she said and pulled him closer. “I won’t tell them about you. I love you.” Before he could answer, she kissed him. He smiled, pulled his hand free, and disappeared into the opposite tree-line.
The cop Aiden had zapped spoke up from behind the gate. “Don’t move, you two. I’m not messing with Tasers anymore. This time I’ll shoot both of you. Where’s your friend?”
Christine raised one hand in the air while holding her blanket with her other. “I don’t know who you’re talking about. It’s just us two.”
As he pointed his gun, he examined the gate. “How the hell do you get out of here?”
“There’s a lever in the ground by your foot.”
As he fumbled through the leaves, two police cruisers pulled alongside Christine and Billy. Her friend, Brian, hopped out of one of the cars. He pulled off his coat and wrapped it around her shoulders.
“Hi, Brian,” she whispered.
“What the hell, Chris?” he whispered back. He turned to the other cops. “Hey guys, I got it. She’s a friend.” He helped her and Billy into the back of the cruiser. “It’ll be alright, Chris. I don’t know what the hell has been going on, but you’ll get your chance to explain. For now, let’s just get you some help.”
He removed a blanket from his trunk and gave it to Billy before he shut the door.
42
SOMETIMES SECRETS NEED KEEPING
BRIAN escorted Christine and Billy to the hospital and stood guard while they were treated for their injuries. Christine received a ton of stitches, but other than the lacerations, she wasn’t injured too badly.
When the doctor finished and left, Brian peeked past the curtain. “Hey, Chris. Just a heads up. A couple of detectives are headed over to talk to you.”
She mentally scrambled for what she was going to tell them. What she came up with had plenty of holes, but she vowed to stick with it no matter what.
She would tell the detectives how she was kidnapped and kept in a horse stable for several days. If they asked about Brian seeing her at the Penrose Lodge, she would tell them that the owner of the WereHouse forced her to accompany him and told her if she tried to escape, he would feed her to one his creatures. If they pressed her about Brian seeing her driving the medic, she would tell them that Bernard, the owner of the WereHouse, made her drive as he hid in back so he could escape the coming scrutiny. When they asked about her injuries, she would tell them that when the gates magically opened tonight one of the wergs attacked her while she was escape.
If they poked too many holes in her flimsy story, she would drop the bomb about what the werepets really were. If that didn’t buy her some time, nothing would.
Instead of a detective leaning past the ER curtain, a guy dressed in a black suit looked in. He flashed some credentials, and Brian smiled and stepped out of his way.
With her eyes, Christine screamed for him not to leave, but he said, “I’ll be right out here,” and left anyway.
Christine panicked. Did this guy work for the WereHouse? Was he there to silence her?
After Brian nudged past the man, he held the curtain back and Senator Wooten entered. Oh no. Worse.
“Christine,” he said with his politician smile. “How are you doing?”
“What are you going to do to me?” she blurted.
He chuckled and said, “Don’t worry. I’m not here to hurt you. We just need to talk.” He motioned to the chair beside the bed. “May I?”
She nodded, still not trusting him.
“As you might imagine, you and I share a couple of secrets that I would like to remain between us.”
Screw him. “I’m telling the cops everything I know about the WereHouse. I don’t care what you say.”
“Just settle down for a minute. I don’t give a damn what you tell them about the WereHouse. That Bernard was a psychopath. My intentions are strictly self-preservation.”
“What do you mean? You’re here because you don’t want me to tell them what you are ... what we are? That’s it?”
“Exactly. I’d say it’s mutually beneficial that we keep that little secret between us, wouldn’t you?”
“I suppose.”
“Wonderful, then. We are on the same page. But this is where I need to add a little insurance, and I don’t enjoy this part. Your secret isn’t the only thing I’ll protect if you keep your end of the bargain. Do you understand what I’m telling you?”
“I’m so sick of threats, Senator. Just do—”
The Senator calmly held his hands in front of his chest and shook his head. “Now, now, now. Let’s not get angry. Let’s just leave it be. I think you understand, and that’s all that matters. In return, I’ll keep some of the heat from the cops away. Just answer their questions. But if they start digging too deep, clam up and have your lawyer call me.”
“I don’t have a lawyer.”
“You do now.”
Christine didn’t see any other choice. This was the best offer she had had yet. She looked at the wall for a minute and contemplated all of the angles. Then she said, “I’m not telling anyone.”
He clapped his hands together. “Perfect. Then I guess that’s it.” He stood up and reached into his inside pocket. “Here,” he said as he handed her a business card. “This is my personal number. If you ever need anything, don’t hesitate to call. It seems you and me are going to be friends for a long time.”
He started to leave as the curtain whipped open. Two police detectives stood next to the Senator’s personal bodyguard. “Good evening, gentlemen,” the Senator said.
“Senator,” one of them said with a nod. “Is there something we can help you with?”
“Oh, no, no. I had just heard that my old friend, Christine, had been injured, and I wanted to check in on her. I’ll be leaving now. She’s all yours.” As he walked away, he paused and turned back. “Hey guys. Take it easy on her. She’s been through a lot.”
43
SPARKS OF NORMALCY
CHRISTINE lay on the TV room couch at Station 22 as a relatively slow first day back to work wound down. A couple of weeks had passed since her orde
al and all of her physical wounds had mostly healed. The psychological ones still needed mending, but it was a day-to-day battle. She hadn’t told any of her friends about her secret, and wasn’t sure if she ever would. Billy had taken a job at the administration building, which meant she could visit him at his new assignment once in a while.
Her lieutenant, Alex, passed through the TV room on his way to the kitchen. He picked up the TV remote from the desk. “It’s 11 o’clock. Wanna watch the news?” he asked and flipped on the set without waiting for her answer.
“I guess.”
The lead story was basically the same as it had been for the past two weeks. A reporter stood outside of the burned-out WereHouse. At the bottom of the screen, it read Breaking News, but everything on the news seemed to be “breaking” nowadays. As the reporter spoke, the screen went to wobbly footage of an empty field shot from a helicopter.
The reporter said, “This is footage from earlier today outside of Newark in Licking County. Now watch the bottom of the screen closely as the camera zooms in along the creek.”
A werg burst into view in the bottom corner of the screen, and then disappeared again. Seconds later, a man appeared in pursuit of the werg, and then he disappeared from the screen as well.
Christine couldn’t contain her smile.
The reporter continued, “The authorities say that the man you just saw chasing that werewolf is wanted for questioning. They say he isn’t a suspect, but he is a person of interest. They believe he has hunted wergs everywhere from Tiffin to Athens, with some reports that he has been seen as far as Indiana as well. The authorities want to know who he is and what he does with the werewolves once he catches them, since they seem to mysteriously disappear with no evidence of foul play. If he’s not killing them, where are they?”
The short video clip repeated over and over until finally it stopped and was replaced with a grainy enlargement of the side of Aiden’s face.
“Also,” the reporter continued, “the Werewolf Oversight Committee, or WOC, in conjunction with CPD and the FBI, is requesting that anyone who comes in contact with this man or with a so-called rogue werg notify the authorities at once. They stress the danger in startling the wild creatures until more is known about their state of mind. They insist the official rabies story the founder of the now-defunct WereHouse released two weeks ago cannot be entirely discounted just yet. So again, if you come across a lost werewolf, leave him alone and call the authorities. Now we join Mindy outside the former WereHouse for more on this ever-breaking story.”
Tamed Page 22
