by Sarah Noffke
On those nights faceted with memories of Markie, Hugo always awoke with a brutal force. One that made him think he’d crawl outside himself if he didn’t get away, away from Thomas and his passive insensitivities. Away from the bed that sought to entomb him in a prison of loneliness.
Hugo ran out of his cabin, not shutting the door behind him, not caring if the dog ran after him. On a night like this there was no danger, except for Hugo who thought he might go crazy from the fear that forever he’d live like this. Live in a world of one, with only the animals who didn’t understand and failed to comfort him. Still in his thermal socks, he ran until he was at the top of the hill, the one with a single tree, and a view of the surrounding pastures. There, in man form, he let out a sound that was the most natural one for him, and also felt primitive and strange at the same time.
To the night, Hugo sang a song of his loneliness one howl at a time. Each one more piercing than the last. The night seemed to understand his plight. The surrounding distance knew of Hugo’s isolation. The open sky reverberated his calls for companionship with echoes of silence. And it only made Hugo feel marginally better to receive this consolation but it was enough, enough to bring him back to the cabin, where he’d continue his sentence for yet another day.
Chapter Thirty
“The men have reported experiencing an impulse toward gratifying behaviors. It is believed that in some of the men, this impulse is uncontrollable, at least at times.”
- Lucidite Institute, Werewolf Project File
Pressing his long fingers into his closed eyes, Mika breathed in deep, counting back from ten. When he opened his eyes the world was full of dark spots. He didn’t bring his eyes over to Grant until his vision returned. “You were supposed to bring Orion in alive,” he said, his voice a harsh whisper.
“I realize that, sir. I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to kill him. The werewolf just got excited and took control. Honestly, I didn’t know it was going to break his neck,” Grant said, his usual face full of color, a flush spreading its way down his neck.
“You picked him up with your mouth,” Mika said, trying to control the rage wanting to race out of him. “What did you think would come out of that?”
“It happened so fast. And once I got my teeth in him then I was gone and the wolf took over,” he said.
“Damn it, this is unacceptable!” Mika roared so loudly that the birds in the lab cage scattered, most having trouble with it due to whatever mutation had been done to them. “You have to be able to control the wolf.”
“I know. I can do it. Now that I’ve had experience with it, I’ll do better next time,” Grant said.
Mika threw a finger in the opposite direction, where Orion’s broken body lay on an examine table. “You returned a werewolf to me, but he’s dead. Do you know how much went into creating him and you just snapped his neck because you got excited?”
“I understand, sir,” Grant said, his hands straight by his side.
Mika covered his brow with his hand. Now he’d have to tell the investors that they’d permanently lost a werewolf. Granted that Orion was created for reconnaissance missions due to his innate nature but still, Project Canis Lupus was not at all going to plan. He’d stalled giving the investors for any information. Soon he’d have to sell a share of Parantaa just to buy them out of the project. He’d created the werewolves for mostly his own amusement anyway, but to have a team of werewolves with specific abilities and roles was the ultimate goal. They could be employed to do anything separately or as a pack.
“I’m going to assign you a new case but you better, and I mean it, you better not mess it up,” Mika said.
“Yes sir. Thank you, sir,” Grant said.
“Some farmers in a small town in Oklahoma have reported hearing a wolf even though they were hunted to extinction in that area fifty years ago. The town is close to where Hugo Stetson lived. Furthermore, when I sent Morgan out there to spy he found a deer carcass that had been mauled. The terrain in this area is considerably dense and overgrown but I’ve taken aerial footage and there’s a small cabin on the edge of Hugo’s family’s property,” Mika said.
“My team, we missed this when investigating,” Grant said, his face suddenly pale.
“Indeed, you did. Your list of incompetence keeps growing. But you can make up for it now if you go out there and capture him. Hugo is considered a strong man but in werewolf form you should be able to overpower him. Knock him out and bring him in. Got it?” Mika said.
“Yes sir. You can count on me,” Grant said, saluting.
Chapter Thirty-One
“The men are not able to fully communicate and therefore supply necessary answers for the experiment or upcoming phases. It’s been decided their sedatives will be cut back.”
- Olento Research, Canis Lupus Project File
He didn’t look like himself, Adelaide thought as she watched Connor sleep in his bed in the infirmary. However, that was an absurd thought. How did she suppose she knew what Connor looked like? She hardly knew him. She’d seen him when he was malnourished and also in werewolf form. Now he was fresh from a bloody coma. She knew the faces of Connor but that didn’t mean she really knew him.
Connor’s eyes fluttered a bit before slowly opening, a groan falling out of his cracked lips. Blinking several times, his eyes seemed to try to adjust before finding her, perched on the bed beside his in the infirmary, the werewolf case in her lap. She wasn’t sure why she’d had the horrible idea to work here so she could insult him upon first waking up. It had sounded like a devilish plan in her head but now it seemed sentimental, like she’d been waiting for him to rouse, longing for it.
“Happy fucking birthday, asshole,” she said.
He cracked a small smile but quickly let it drop. “Oh, you remembered. Did you get me anything?” he said.
“Your birthdate is in your file, which I have memorized for every one of the dumb mutts,” she said. “And yes, for your birthday, I got you twelve sessions with the Lucidite’s therapist and a lifelong supply of my disappointment and disdain.”
“Sounds great. I hope you gift-wrapped it, or it doesn’t feel as personal of a gift,” Connor said.
“I bet you wished you’d never been born,” she said, closing the file in her lap. Honestly, Adelaide hadn’t really been studying it, mostly just watching Connor breathe, watching his face twitch from dreams, or probably nightmares were more likely.
“Get out of my head,” he said, running his fingers through his hair which was matted to his head from sleep. “I mostly wish now that I didn’t wake up.”
Adelaide knew what he meant and strangely she knew how he felt. Dumb regret prickled her insides at the thought of Connor not waking from his coma. That day when he stayed locked away in his head still plagued her. She supposed it was because he was important to the case. Just that morning she’d read in Ren’s book a strange passage that had eerie timing, which was typical of her father’s book. She had read:
The loner is a powerful person because they rely on little. They are governed by a higher power. A more dividing force than most. And although not adequate for leadership due to their preference to do it alone, they are ideal for creating a lasting change. Loners take the risks that leaders can never afford.
“Well, now you’re a resident of the Lucidite’s mental ward, so welcome to the waking world,” Adelaide said.
“Thanks,” Connor said, throwing the covers off his lap and pulling his legs to the side of the bed.
“Why did you do it? Why did you run away and relapse?” Adelaide said, watching Connor pin his hands beside him.
“Because I wanted to kill the wolf,” he said.
“Even if it killed you?” she said
“I actually just found that as an added perk,” he said with a morbid laugh.
The space was silent for a moment and then Connor cleared his throat. “You ever wanted to run away from your problems? I know it’s impossib
le, but still, have you ever had that urge?” he said and then after another long stint of silence he shook his head. “Of course not. Never mind. You’re a badass agent for the Lucidites and the daughter of Ren Lewis. I bet all your answers are in that book,” he said, pointing to the leather-bound book beside Adelaide.
Connor was the only one on the werewolf case who knew Ren was Adelaide’s father and the only person alive who knew the book she carried was his, and full of his secrets and specialized knowledge.
“Strangely, this book does probably have all the answers in it, however finding them and using them isn’t straightforward,” she said, picking up the book and eyeing it with a bit of annoyance. “Ren employed a bit of sorcery, it appears, when creating it.” Adelaide couldn’t believe she’d just spoken so matter-of-factly about her father to someone. That hadn’t happened since before his death.
“Well, if you read anything about how to cage a beast, will you pass it on?” Connor said, and his voice sounded more natural now, not so rough from sleep. He looked more like himself now too, and Adelaide again admonished herself for that. What the fuck is wrong with me?
“So that’s the real reason behind all this, isn’t it? You’re afraid that the werewolf is going to come out again and make you do something you’ll regret,” she said.
“Adelaide, I almost killed you and there was nothing I could do to stop it. I’m a drug addict for a reason. I can’t control myself. How is there any hope that I’ll be able to stop the wolf if he wants to tear your throat out?” he said.
“The others werewolves struggle with this too. It’s not like it’s just you,” she said
“Well, the others are stronger than me. I’m a deserter. It’s what I do. I run away from my problems. Physically or chemically,” Connor said.
Yet again the room grew quiet with only the sound of the ticking clock. Adelaide knew what she wanted to say, but she wasn’t sure she could. And she despised that the impulse was so strong in her. Shaking it off, she pinned her lips together, unwilling to allow her admission to spill to the surface. Finally she stood, collecting the file and book as she did.
“I expect you to stick around. We might need your help in the werewolf case and also I can’t have you prowling the streets or getting picked up by Olento Research,” she said, all the prior warmth in her voice replaced with a professional tone.
“I’m not going anywhere. I promise,” Connor said, his careful eyes on her.
“Don’t be offended when I say a promise from a drug addict is pretty unreliable in my book. Or hey, do be offended. I don’t bloody care,” Adelaide said, wishing he’d look away from her, look down at the ground with shame.
“Well, I’ll just prove it to you by actually sticking around,” Connor said. “I want to help now, so let me know how I can.”
“I will, when you’re strong enough,” Adelaide said and turned to leave. But then something stopped her; something in her made her turn back to Connor. And the impulse was so strong, like a river rushing through a dam. She opened her mouth and the words fell out. “I’ve run away from my problems before. I abandoned my son and tried to escape using drugs and alcohol. So I get it.”
“You did?” Connor said, standing suddenly, walking closer to Adelaide. “Why?”
Her eyes pulled to the side, unable to look at him. “I ran away because I didn’t know how to control the monster inside of me. I was afraid of what it would make me do. I truly believed it was a curse,” she said, remembering over a year ago when her father tracked her down. He told her, “We always have tomorrow to change. To evolve. But you have to come back for that to work. You have to give yourself a second chance.”
The old memory made her throat feel tied in two. “Connor,” Adelaide said, trying to breathe past the old pain, “you have a wolf in you which makes you powerful. It makes it hard for you to always be in control. I get it. What you’re going to have to do is embrace the wolf or it will corrupt you.”
“Is that what you did? You embraced the monster inside of you?” Connor said.
She nodded. “I owned my power and all the burden it creates for me and the divisions it causes for those around me. But every day I still struggle with the monster. We are constantly reconciling our differences, but I try not to give up. To run away.”
“This power, was it similar to your father’s?” he asked
Adelaide knew Ren’s skill set was included in his biography in the Dream Traveler Codex because it was only distributed to Lucidites. Otherwise, Ren would have never divulged such information to other societies of Dream Travelers. Also, Ren was proud of his powers, never modest about them, like Adelaide.
“Yes, I have most of his powers,” she said.
“Oh,” Connor said, his eyes falling down to her hand, the one she couldn’t touch anyone with without being burdened by their thoughts. “Then you must really know what it’s like, the struggle. How it cuts you off from others, makes it impossible to feel normal.”
“Unfortunately, I do,” she said and turned and walked away, leaving Connor standing alone.
Chapter Thirty-Two
“UPDATE: Kaleb Magner – Age: Eighteen. Height: Five foot, eight inches. Weight: One hundred fifty-five pounds. Hair: Brown. Eyes: Brown. Ethnicity: White. Employment: None/High school dropout. Skill: Time-Stopper. Rank: Huge Pain in the Ass.”
- Lucidite Institute, Werewolf Project File
“Wolf X,” Adelaide said, tossing a folder down on the conference room table. It slid until it rested in front of Zephyr. “That’s what the head officials and I have termed the big bad wolf that you found in San Francisco. The one who took Orion and will surely be back for more of you.”
“So, you and Trent and Trey sat around reading my notes and the best you came up with was a name for the grotesque beast who broke Orion’s neck?” Zephyr said, his eyebrows knitting together and his voice bordering on hostile.
“Actually we didn’t just name the freakish monster. Aiden also figured out a potential way that it was genetically created at Olento Research. And then we detailed ten different ways that you all were screwed. We sipped our tea and contemplated your demise. It was all very boring,” Adelaide said, her eyes seeking to look anywhere but at the back of the room where Connor clung to the shadows. He’d asked for that hidden position so he could observe the pack without being inundated by them. Adelaide recognized that he needed time to assimilate back into the Lucidites and this time might be harder than the first.
“How did this thing know Orion was going to be there? You all have clairvoyants. What do they have at Olento?” Rio said.
“Olento Research probably relies on police reports and real news. We relied on it before Roya was back in action. However, using real news makes it difficult to simulate a thousand dots into one in order to tell a story. We are better off relying on the news reporters from now on,” Adelaide said.
“So there’s a gigantic werewolf snapping necks and taking names? What’s the plan?” Rox said, earning a look of punishment from Zephyr. He obviously didn’t appreciate her overly casual nature right then.
“We wait for Roya or another news reporter to get insight on a case,” Adelaide said.
“How can we just sit around when there are werewolves out there potentially being hunted?” Zephyr said, standing from the conference table.
Adelaide swallowed, trying to figure out how to answer that. How could she assign them on the case when there were no leads? How could she put her team in jeopardy just so they’d be doing something? She picked up her book and thumbed to a seemingly random page. It read: “Those who can’t believe in their full greatness will never experience it.”
Well, that was a bullshit line if ever she saw one. Adelaide thumbed through the book, stopping on the chapter for teleporting. If only she believed in her own greatness she could do something amazing like teleporting.
“We don’t sit around,” a voice said from the back of the room.
Everyone looked up to see Connor, who stepped out of the shadows, the bags under his eyes not as bad as they were the day before.
Zephyr stood at first seeing Connor, stalking over to him. “You’re up? I didn’t know you were in here.” The alpha wolf looked over Connor, finally bringing his eyes up to meet his with a satisfied smile.
“I am,” he said, extending and shaking Zephyr’s hand.
Then Zephyr turned, his arm sliding around Connor’s shoulders. “Rio, meet Connor, the second werewolf. The one who survived even though we left him behind,” he said, his voice neutral, his shoulders held back, like he had a renewed strength.
Rio was up, his hand in Connor’s at once. Even Kaleb had stood, greeting Connor with a small smile. The four werewolves all exchanged looks of a shared camaraderie, something Adelaide couldn’t relate to. But it felt right amongst the men, like they deserved it, were owed it.
“So you were saying,” Zephyr said to Connor. “You said we shouldn’t sit around. What do you propose?”
“I propose we train. We work together as a team so when Wolf X shows up again we have the skills to take him down,” Connor said.
Zephyr nodded. “Each of us could benefit from combat training,” Zephyr said.
“Or some weight lifting,” Rio said, pinching Kaleb’s bicep.
“Ha-ha, yeah, I’ll totally get to that, Dimples,” Kaleb said, pulling his arm away from Rio with an only half-offended look.
