The glare of oncoming headlights blinded Colin and for a split second he looked to the sky to shield his eyes. Far above him, floating a hundred feet in the air, was a man. Colin’s wolf eyes cut through the darkness and he could clearly make out the figure. He was youngish, late twenties maybe, with long hair, and he was sitting cross-legged, floating in the air. He was dressed in a suit with a black cloak that billowed out behind him. A thick chain hung around his neck, dangling what looked like a bright red rock. The man’s eyes glowed an ominous deep red, matching the color of the rock. He was staring directly at Colin.
“Who are you?” Colin shouted, but he couldn’t even hear his own voice.
The floating man smiled and then vanished, as if he’d never been there. Colin’s heightened senses returned all at once, and it felt as if someone had set him on fire. Everything hit him at the same time and he thought his head would split in half. The sound of car horns, tires screeching, people shouting, TVs blaring, the buzz of the street lights. Smells wafted over him so fast that the world became a wash of colors in Colin’s brain that made his head swim. Colin felt the creature inside him stir uncomfortably while his heart tried to beat out of his chest. He’d felt this sensation before. The first time he’d ever experienced a change, it was uncontrollable.
No! Silas! I’m changing!
Colin! What happened? You have to get off the street!
Colin’s muscles contorted and stretched. A woman in a nearby car screamed.
I can’t stop it!
Concentrate, Colin! Try to stay calm!
It’s too late.
The change tore through him like it had so many times before. All of Colin’s body expanded at once, his face elongating as sharp teeth began to line his mouth. His ears moved to the top of his head and hair exploded all over him. His hands curled, a razor-sharp claw tipping each large, hairy finger.
Traffic had come to a standstill and camera phones were beginning to pop up. Colin’s tactical suit had expanded with his body, so at least he wasn’t a naked werewolf standing on a busy Seattle street. However, he was still a giant werewolf, and that kind of thing attracts attention.
Colin crouched and leapt high into the sky and caught a window ledge on the nearest building. He leapt higher and higher up the building, reaching the roof in a few bounds. He peered back over the edge and saw people had gotten out of their cars and were looking up for the creature they’d just encountered.
A small metal device bounced off a few cars and there followed a small flash. The car engines all died at once, and the streetlights went out, along with the power to the surrounding buildings, for a full city block.
That was an EMP. An electromagnetic pulse. We just killed the local power grid. Beta Team will fry all the devices in the area next, cell phones and such. Are you okay?
I’m … I’m sorry, Silas.
His senses back under control, Colin concentrated on being human again and felt the wolf retreat back inside his body. He shrank down to his normal size, his muscles returned to their usual state, and the hair shed from his body and vanished.
A helicopter swooped overhead and came to rest on the rooftop where Colin crouched, human once again.
The door slid open and Silas, his arm bandaged, waved him over.
The chopper ride back to Elkwood was a quiet one. The members of Beta Team that hadn’t stayed behind to clean up Colin’s mess smelled angry and frustrated. Silas looked out the window.
“Silas, I’m sorry. I—”
The old wolf held up a hand. “It’s okay. I thought you were ready. You’re not.”
“I almost had him.”
“You almost ended up on the eleven o’clock news.”
“It wasn’t my fault. The floating man shut off my wolf sense and—”
“Give me a break, kid. You and I share thoughts. I don’t see a floating man in there. You screwed up, it’s okay to admit it.”
Colin felt frustration growing. “But I didn’t. He was there! The change wasn’t my fault!”
Silas placed a hand on Colin’s shoulder and he gave a tired smile. “I forget how young you are sometimes. You’ve come such a long way so fast. But you’re still just a puppy. I’m afraid I’m going to have to ground you for a while.”
“Oh come on, please!” pleaded Colin.
“Sorry, kid. You’re grounded to Elkwood until further notice.”
Chapter Two
In the Doghouse
The helicopter descended through the dense clouds that hung over Elkwood and touched down with a thump in the works yard of the old army base located on the high ridge on the outskirts of town.
After joining Night Watch, one of the soldiers had informed Colin of the history of the base, that it had been built during the Second World War as a coastal outpost during a time when the US was overly paranoid about attacks from the West. The base was abandoned almost as soon as it was built. Once Elkwood became a haven for people with particular gifts, the government took over the base to use as their headquarters. Colin’s girlfriend’s father, Mr. Emerson, was stationed here as the leader of the Night Watch program along with the new commander over Elkwood, Elrick Varson.
Varson was a tall, fidgety man who was quickly balding and always struck Colin as being exceptionally nervous. Which was exactly the way he looked when Colin slid open the chopper door and stepped out. Varson and Mr. Emerson stood by the entrance to the base. Varson looked twitchy and his tie was askew. Mr. Emerson smelled angry, but Colin didn’t need any sort of werewolf sense to make that deduction: he could see it in the man’s face.
Great. Another reason for Mr. Emerson to hate me.
During Colin’s first transformation into a werewolf he had punched Mr. Emerson and knocked him out cold. It wasn’t the best first impression and Mr. Emerson was less than pleased that his daughter, Becca, was dating a werewolf.
“Hi, Varson,” said Colin as he and Silas approached. “Mr. Emerson.”
“Enjoyed our trip to Seattle, did we?” said Mr. Emerson, sarcasm dripping from his voice.
“It was nice,” said Colin. “Very friendly people. I wish we’d had more time to do some sightseeing.”
“Inside, now!” Mr. Emerson growled.
Silas gave Colin a sad sort of look.
He’s going to shout at me, isn’t he?
For at least half an hour, I’m guessing.
I don’t know, that vein on his forehead is throbbing. I’m going to bet he shouts for a full forty-five minutes.
Colin, this is—
I know, I know. This is serious.
The door to the base began to open and a scent Colin didn’t recognize wafted through. Colin knew all the scents in Elkwood. He could recognize everyone by the way they smelled. But this was someone new.
The door opened fully and a kind-looking old man shuffled out. He leaned heavily on a walking stick and was dressed in a tweed suit. Thick glasses rested on a large nose set above a bushy moustache. He was escorted by two of the base guards. The old man grinned at Colin and shuffled off to the helicopter, where the guards helped him in.
“You coming?” asked Silas.
“Who was that guy?”
“The old guy? No idea.”
“I’ve never seen him before here.”
“You have bigger things to worry about.”
Colin and Silas followed behind Varson and Mr. Emerson as they entered the large cargo elevator and descended to one of the many subterranean floors of the base. While it may have looked like a single-building base on the surface, there were a number of floors beneath the ground that housed everything from holding cells and offices to barracks and research labs. One floor existed in a completely different dimension, where a demon named Charles lived.
The doors swished open and Colin recognized the floor as the same one he and Silas had been taken to after the incident when Colin ate his biology teacher. They were led into a small gray room
and asked to take a seat.
Here it comes.
“Just what on earth did you think you were doing?” Mr. Emerson shouted.
And there it is.
“Do you realize the danger you placed the team in?” Mr. Emerson said, not waiting for an answer. “What it would have meant for Elkwood and everyone who lives here if we were discovered? We take very precise steps to hide you and the other residents from the outside world, and what do you do the first time you step foot outside of Elkwood? You go on a rampage on a busy city street!”
Mr. Emerson had begun pacing while Varson sat and awkwardly played with his tie.
“What’s the fallout?” asked Silas.
“Beta Team contained the area. The EMP they dispatched knocked out all the power for a square block and everyone in the immediate area has been detained.” Mr. Emerson added, “We’ve had to dispatch Alfred to magic their memories away.”
“Is that who the old man was?” said Colin.
“That’s right,” he nodded. “He lives in a cottage up north. Much like your grandmother, he’s an integral part of this community. He keeps our normal residents believing there’s nothing unusual about Elkwood.”
“Is he a wizard or something?”
“That’s not what we’re here to talk about!” Mr. Emerson shouted, the vein in his head throbbing again. Colin could hear his heartbeat thumping a mile a minute.
Colin filed Alfred the Wizard away; he would ask Becca about him later. The last thing he wanted was for Mr. Emerson’s head to explode.
“Alfred will cast a spell over the detained residents of Seattle,” Varson said while tugging on his tie. “They’ll believe they were caught in an electrical blackout and none of them will have any memory of a young boy turning into a giant werewolf in the middle of their city.”
“Sounds like all’s well that ends well,” said Colin, repeating something he’d heard his grandmother say once or twice.
Mr. Emerson stopped pacing and slammed the palms of his hands down on the table with a bang. Colin had never seen him this upset.
“All is not well!” he yelled. “You lost control in the middle of an operation.”
“He hurt Silas,” said Colin.
Mr. Emerson turned to Silas. “And you! You assured me he was ready, that he was prepared, that he could handle being out in the field. Not only did you lose the man we were tracking, but your young protégé almost destroyed the Night Watch operation before it even had a chance to get started!”
Colin could feel the anger bubbling in Silas, could feel the centuries-old werewolf twitch under the pressure.
“I didn’t lose control,” said Colin. “There was a flying man who blocked my senses.”
Colin felt the fight go out of Silas. Varson leaned forward with interest.
“A flying man, you say? What did he look like? How was he flying?” said Varson.
“He was sitting cross-legged, high in the air above me, when I was in the street. His eyes glowed red. And—”
“Enough,” said Mr. Emerson. “Silas, did you see any evidence of this flying man?”
Silas glanced at Colin.
I’m sorry.
“No,” said Silas. “I didn’t see him.”
“Silas, I promise, I’m not making this up,” said Colin. “One moment I’d almost caught the Butcher and the next minute I couldn’t hear or smell anything. My senses were completely gone. Then all at once they flooded back so much louder and stronger than before. It was him, it was the flying man!”
Silas turned to Colin and placed a hand on his shoulder. “Colin, you understand our connection better than anyone. You know I can see your memories and thoughts, the same way you can see mine. I don’t see anything like what you’re describing. I see you were chasing the Butcher, and then you lost control and changed.”
“Then it’s settled,” said Mr. Emerson triumphantly. “Colin is grounded to Elkwood until further notice. I’ll see if we can track down the Butcher again, and hopefully we can salvage some of this operation.”
Mr. Emerson turned and left the room, slamming the door behind him. Colin could smell the smug satisfaction waft off him as he left.
“Well,” said Varson as he straightened his tie and edged his way around the table, “I suppose that’s it for tonight. You two should get some rest. If I’m not mistaken, Colin, you have school in the morning.”
Varson nodded politely and exited.
“You really don’t believe me?” said Colin.
“I want to,” said Silas. “But I see what you see. And I don’t see this flying man.”
“It was the strangest sensation. It was like my senses of smell and hearing were gone. I was cut off from my wolf senses.”
Silas sighed. “I should get you home.”
The pair drove away from the base, taking the old forest road around the ridge and down into Elkwood. Colin would have preferred to run home but Silas insisted on making sure he got there safely. Silas’s old Jeep bounced along the rocky service road.
You won’t be grounded forever. Emerson will come around.
Oh yeah, I’m sure he’ll let me off the leash again real soon. Like when I’m thirty.
He’s just concerned for the mission.
Silas spun the Jeep around a sharp corner and accelerated over a small hill. The town of Elkwood sprang into view through the trees. The dim lights of the small downtown core glowed through the fog and Colin could make out the blinking neon sign of the gas station.
You wanted to bite his head off in there. I felt it.
Silas glanced over at Colin.
I’ve been doing this a long time. Centuries. I survived the old west. I’ve been stabbed, shot, hung, hit with multiple vehicles, dropped off a cliff, and set on fire more than once. I don’t like someone who’s 187 years younger than I am talking down to me.
Colin smiled. Mr. Emerson should really learn to respect his elders.
Yes, he should. I’d hate to have to eat him.
Silas laughed at his own joke and Colin couldn’t help but smile. Silas had come a long way from the gruff, angry man he’d been when Colin first encountered him. Now he was a gruff, angry man with a sense of humor and was, thanks to Colin, much more knowledgeable about movies. He’d already watched Gremlins, all three Lord of the Rings movies, and was working his way through the latest series of superhero movies. Colin had tried to get him to watch some classic horror movies like The Exorcist and A Nightmare on Elm Street, but Silas laughed too much. Colin had to admit, after having encountered real vampires, witches, and other creatures of the night, seeing them in a movie was actually boring, bordering on funny.
Silas raced through the deserted nighttime streets and screeched into the small suburban area where Colin’s house was located.
Colin’s grandmother’s house was a small two-bedroom, two-floor, Victorian-style townhome. His grandmother was technically blind but, being an all-powerful witch, she got by with very little problem. Colin had never asked her about it, but as far as he could figure, she had some sort of extra sense that allowed her to get around, cook, and take care of herself.
Her main power resided in the weather. She represented Elkwood’s first line of defense by keeping the weather perpetually grim and overcast so there was no chance of anyone ever spying on the residents with satellites, drones, or other sky-bound technology. The bad weather generally discouraged visitors. Occasionally someone new would move to Elkwood, but they quickly fell under the spell that the rest of the normal people were under. The town was the perfect cover for creatures like Colin and Silas.
The Jeep stopped in front of Colin’s house. “I’m really sorry, kid. We’ll keep training and get you back out there. Don’t think I’m not thankful for what you did back there, chasing that man. We’re a pack. When I get hurt, I know you feel it. Not physically, but in here.” Silas tapped his own chest. “I appreciate your reasons but you’re going to have
to get those kinds of feelings under control.”
“Are you really telling a teenage werewolf to get his feelings under control? I’m nothing but feelings. I’m just a big mess of feelings and hormones. Oh, and let’s not forget the giant werewolf lurking around inside me.”
“It’s not just a control issue,” said Silas.
Colin could feel the worry pouring off the older wolf. “What is it, Silas?”
“You’ve been doing so well, I didn’t think I’d need to bring it up.”
“Bring what up?”
Silas sighed and looked Colin directly in the eye. “There’s a reason most werewolves go bad. They get a taste of this new power and they give themselves over to it, they give the werewolf too much control. The six months after the first change is the most dangerous time for a young werewolf. A lot of them can’t handle it.”
“You’re saying I might go crazy? You think that’s what happened tonight?”
“I don’t know what happened tonight, and I’m not saying you’re going crazy. I’m just warning you.” Silas smiled. “You’re a good kid, Colin. Go get some rest. Try to stay out of trouble. We’ll talk more tomorrow.”
Colin climbed out of the Jeep and waved to Silas as he sped away down the road.
Pushing open the front door, the smells of home filled his senses. His grandmother had eaten steak for dinner, medium rare, with roast potatoes. His stomach rumbled a little. He could also smell the leftovers in the fridge. One drawback to being a werewolf was the overactive metabolism. He needed to eat every few hours to stay full and keep any urges to eat people at bay.
Moving down the hallway toward the kitchen, he could hear the rhythmic heartbeat of his grandmother.
Is she asleep? Heartbeat is a little fast. She must be dreaming.
The clock on the hallway wall showed it to be a little after one o’clock.
Stepping as lightly as he could into the kitchen, Colin flicked on the light, and had a small heart attack. “Gran!”
The little old lady was sitting at the kitchen table in her nightgown with her hair in curlers, a cold cup of coffee in front of her.
Hair in All the Wrong Places 2 Page 2
