by Joshua Grove
“He said that Alan Brickton is the one who attacked him,” Jake said. “So I think he’s a little delirious.”
“He must be,” Anna said. “I just left the morgue where his body is lying on a metal slab. Dr. Styles is working with the body as we speak.”
“Copy that,” Jake said. Anna could hear Michael in the background, disagreeing with her and becoming frantic. The radio was silent for a moment. “They’ve taken Michael into the library and heading toward the cruisers. I’m still here in the backroom.”
“What’s happening with Michael?” Anna asked, looking at Anish as she spoke.
“It’s more than just thinking that Brickton attacked him, Anna. He also said that you were in the woods beside the Laundromat. He said that was what lured him into the woods. He keeps insisting that you’re trapped somewhere and need help.”
“Well, I am very much alive and not in the woods,” she said, wondering why she even had to say the obvious.
“He is not delirious because of the attack,” Anish said. “If it were the attack that made him delirious, then he would not be saying that you were the reason he went into the woods.”
“You can’t be sure of that,” Anna said cautiously. “His condition may be affecting what he remembers before the attack.”
Anish nodded, but she could tell he was holding fast to what he had said. She wondered if he knew something they didn’t. Of course he does, she thought to herself.
“Sheriff?” Jake said, again reacting to her radio silence.
“Join the others,” she ordered. “I will send Geraldine and Aaron, who are at the Laundromat. When they arrive, you, George, Rick, and John can bring Michael and the civilians here to the hospital. Tim and Lionel can stay at the house and keep it secure.”
“Copy, Sheriff. But I think you should know something.”
“What’s that, Jake?”
“I don’t think anyone can secure this house and survive long enough to tell about it.”
“Copy that, Jake. See you soon.” She radioed Geraldine and Aaron, giving them their orders. She put the radio back on her belt and shrugged at Anish.
“Any thoughts about that?” she asked, assuming he wouldn’t have anything to say.
Anish had many thoughts, the foremost of which was it would take all of his expertise and knowledge to win this battle should the beast be the one he suspected it to be. He shivered slightly remembering the old chief’s horrifying legends around the campfire. He gave voice to the only reply he could at this point.
“I think it is best to save our thoughts until after we have spoken to Officer Mullins,” Anish said.
“Michael? But he’s out of his mind,” she argued.
“Perhaps, perhaps not,” Anish said.
“Alrighty then,” Anna sighed. Although she hadn’t smoked since she had first gotten pregnant nearly seventeen years ago, she really wanted a cigarette. As if reading her mind, Anish offered her a smoke.
“You smoke?” she said.
“No, but people tend to smoke when they’re in my presence,” he said with a grin. Although she didn’t take the cigarette, she laughed harder than she had in a while.
His grin grew wider, but it also had a hint of concern. He patted the pack of cigarettes once he returned it to his flannel shirt’s front pocket. “By the time this night is over, you may change your mind.”
CHAPTER EIGHT
Grounded Theories
1
Trevor was getting insanely bored. He was stuck eating pizza and doing homework while all the action was outside.
“Story of my life,” he said to himself.
“What did you say, dude?” Tommy asked, looking up from his book chronicling the life of Abraham Lincoln.
“Uh, ‘dude’ isn’t really a word that fits your uptight personality,” Trevor shot back. Tommy stared at him for a second, then went back to his book.
This f’ing sucks, he thought to himself. He never got to do anything fun. His dad had always been the fun one, taking him to the shooting range, hunting, teaching him woodland survival. He thought back to the shadow that was running in the woods. Trevor watched as Sam and Damien left the video room and walked out of the office.
“There goes your boyfriend,” he said to Trisha, who had a crush on Sam. As usual, Trevor used that knowledge to his advantage. “Why don’t you go see what you can find out.”
“Whatever,” Trisha hissed. But, as he expected, she walked out of the office. Whether it was to talk to Sam or to get away from her brothers he didn’t know. He didn’t care.
“Dude, I think it’s a werewolf,” Trevor said to his twin once Trisha was out of earshot.
“Seriously? A werewolf?” Tommy asked as he leaned over and picked up Trevor’s Stephen King novel. “I think you read too much of this crap.”
“You didn’t see it, Tommy. It was large, fast, and picked up half of Sam’s body like it was nothing.”
“Did it have hairy feet?” Tommy asked, mocking him.
“I didn’t see his feet, butt wipe,” he retorted.
“It isn’t a full moon,” Tommy pointed out.
“Not all werewolf lore has full moons. Some of them are shifters, and can change whenever they want.”
“You’ve been watching HBO too much,” Tommy said, shaking his head.
Trevor leaned back in his chair, putting his hands behind his head and grinning. “Myths and legends have to come from somewhere. Who’s to say there aren’t monsters out there?”
“In Minnesota? Why not New York, California? Someplace where there are actually people they can eat?”
“Small towns are almost always the setting for that kind of stuff,” Trevor insisted. “This would be the perfect town. It’s remote, but not too far out of the way. There aren’t too many people, but there aren’t too few people either. It’s where I would go if I were a werewolf.”
“Okay,” Tommy laughed.
“I doubt it’s a vampire,” Trevor mused. “No, no, it’s definitely a werewolf.”
They sat in silence for a moment.
“Holy shit!” Trevor cried.
“What? Jesus! What?”
“Who do you think the werewolf could be? It’s always a human. We need to figure it out. Maybe we should look at the cameras.”
“You’re a freak,” Tommy snapped. “Mom doesn’t need your drama, especially now. Don’t touch the cameras.”
“Just because you think you’re my dad doesn’t make it true,” Trevor said loudly.
“Lower your voice, Trevor,” Tommy demanded.
“No, Daddy, I won’t.”
“Grow up, Trevor. God, it’s like all you want to do is stir things up and piss people off.” Tommy lifted his Lincoln book close to his face, trying to ignore his brother.
“Up yours, douche bag,” Trevor yelled. He stood up and stomped out of the office. He realized he was being a bit overdramatic, but Tommy knew exactly how to piss him off. Before their father left they used to be as close as two brothers could be. But the last year had been bad, and he felt like he didn’t even know Tommy anymore.
Trevor walked past Janet’s desk and started to head out the door.
“Trevor, honey, where are you going?” Janet shouted after him.
“Nowhere, of course,” he spat back. “I’m just standing outside, Janet. You don’t need to call the police.”
Pleased with his sarcasm, he went outside and walked to the side of the building. From the police station he could see the lights of the high school football stadium. He could hear the band playing the fight song in the stands, and the distant cheers of students, parents, and spectators. He longed to be normal again, but after his father dumped them, he felt like everyone stared at him. After tonight, seeing the werewolf, he knew he would never be accepted in this small town.
I wonder who the werewolf is, he thought to himself. Was it too weird or stupid to think something like that? Then again, he felt confident that whatever was chasing him and Sam definitely cou
ldn’t have been human. He wondered what Sam thought about it. Just as he began pondering Sam’s thoughts, Sam showed up beside him.
“Hey, Trevor,” Sam said, startling him. “Sorry. Didn’t mean to scare you.”
“You didn’t scare me,” Trevor said defensively. He eased a little, believing that if anyone had his back or would believe him, it would be Sam. “Sorry, guess it’s been kinda crazy tonight.”
“You can say that again,” Sam sighed. “There’s a game tonight?”
“Yeah.”
“Didn’t you play last year?”
“Yeah, but my ‘attitude’ went to shit and Mom wouldn’t let me play this year.” He added the air quotes for emphasis.
“That happened to me when I was your age.”
“So, you must have seen some insane stuff when you were in the FBI,” Trevor said, trying to broach the topic of the werewolf.
“I did, Trevor.”
“Anything like tonight?”
“Honestly, no. This is new to me,” Sam said, shaking his head. “It’s, how should I say it, unique.”
“So, what do you think that was?” Trevor was feeling nervous, not sure if he should say out loud what he had been thinking.
“I don’t know,” Sam said, patting Trevor on the back. “But whoever it was, we’ll get him.”
“So you think it was human?” He could tell his question took Sam off guard. Sam tried to act as normally as possible.
“What do you mean?”
Trevor knew Sam was fishing, probably trying to see if he had lost his mind. He had to present his theory as rationally as possible, but werewolves kind of defied logic. Trevor wasn’t sure what to say.
“Okay, then tell me this,” Sam said. “What do you think it was?”
Trevor kept quiet.
“Trevor, you can’t tell me anything that I haven’t heard before. Believe it or not, you probably won’t say anything that I haven’t already thought of in the last few hours.”
“Okay,” Trevor said. “But before I say anything, you have to promise that you won’t tell my mom.”
That made Sam chuckle. “I won’t say anything, Trevor. Hell, I might even agree with you. If I do, and I have to talk to your mom about it, I will tell her it was my idea.”
Trevor’s eyes brightened at the prospect of having someone else who might believe in the supernatural. “Well, I don’t think it was a person while it was chasing us.”
Sam looked confused. “What do you mean, ‘while it was chasing us?’ Are you saying that whatever it was is only human sometimes?”
“Yeah. I’m saying I think it’s a werewolf.” Trevor almost closed his eyes, unable to handle the anticipation growing in his chest. He didn’t want to be laughed at, or for Sam to think that he was just another stupid kid living in a fantasy world.
“A werewolf,” Sam repeated.
“Yeah.”
Sam seemed like he was actually thinking about it. “Well, I can tell you that I actually hadn’t thought of that one.”
“Of course not,” Trevor groaned. “You’re not a freak like me.”
“Did I say you were a freak?” Sam asked, somehow not sounding like a smartass. They both were quiet for a moment.
“So you think it’s possible?” Trevor asked.
“I wouldn’t have thought it possible yesterday,” Sam said, his voice trailing away.
“And today?” Trevor nudged.
“Today,” Sam repeated. “I don’t want to say that I agree with you or that I believe in werewolves,” he said carefully. “But I also know from experience that there are many things in this world that defy scientific explanation.”
As much as Trevor wanted to hear Sam’s words as supportive, he still felt like an idiot. He knew from all his books that no one ever believed until it was too late. Maybe his belief would save his life, and everyone else’s as well.
“You okay?” Sam asked, watching Trevor carefully.
“I’m good. Thanks for listening,” Trevor said. “You can go inside now. I just need a minute.” Sam patted him on the back and left Trevor with his thoughts.
Trevor began wishing that his best friend, Simon, was with him. If anyone would believe his story it would be Simon. The music from the football field sang through the wind, and Trevor made a decision. He was going to go the game to get Simon and bring him into the fold.
It was time to go hunting for a werewolf.
* * * * * *
2
Jason Styles decided to leave Anish to his father. Deep down he knew everyone expected him to follow in his father’s footsteps, but he didn’t want to deal with it. Who wants to work with dead bodies all the time? Christ, corpses were always in their basement, in the small chapel that was added to their house when he was a kid. Death was everywhere and he was sick of it. So tonight he decided to do what came naturally to him. Women.
He needed a shot of something strong. On his drive back to Crimson Falls he didn’t see the old Native American professor anywhere on the road. He had been smoked by a piece of shit, beat up truck. How does that happen? He pulled into Perry’s Pub and Grill, right at the edge of town. It was the first restaurant off the interstate on the way into Crimson Falls.
Jason stepped out of his mustang, checking the floor again to make sure there weren’t any residual McDonald’s stains. He used the cuff of his sleeve to rub the top of the window, then smiled as he admired his ride. It had gotten him more tail in the last six months than all of last year. It could only get better from here.
He managed to push the night’s events out of his mind. “I’ll deal with that freaky nonsense tomorrow,” he said to himself. He definitely didn’t want to deal with another lecture from his father, but having great sex tonight would provide the necessary memories to focus on when his father chewed him out in the morning.
“Jason!” many people cheered as he entered the pub. It was almost like he was Norm from Cheers, just skinnier, younger, and much hotter. He took a few minutes to greet his friends, scanning the room for any new women he hadn’t yet met or screwed. As he was talking with Jed, another EMT, he noticed a middle-aged woman standing near the jukebox.
“Damn!” Jason said loudly to Jed. “Who’s that fine, mature lady?”
Jed laughed. “Dude, that’s Jake O’Reilly’s sister. How did you not know that?”
“Shit! That’s Mary O’Reilly? Wow.”
“Yeah, man. You’re an idiot. Her son, our friend, is in Afghanistan.”
“Jesus!” Jason yelled. “I know who she is, dumbass.”
“You have that look in your eye,” Jed warned.
“What look?” Jason smiled innocently, still staring at Mary.
“That ‘I’m gonna bang you tonight’ look. She’s married, dude. And her brother is Jake O’Reilly. You know him, right? The huge, arrogant police officer?”
“Yeah, yeah,” Jason said as he waved a hand of indifference at Jed.
“This gives a whole new meaning to the word ‘cougar,” Jed joked.
“Watch and learn, son.”
Jason walked over to Mary, noticing the women that watched him as he passed them by.
“You’re looking good tonight, Ms. O’Reilly.”
Mary turned around and smiled, almost dazzling him out of his pants.
“Hi there, Jason,” she said seductively. Jason was shocked at how hot she was. Even though he had grown up with her son, he had never really noticed. And now, with a short skirt and a tank top that barely covered her large breasts, he was having a difficult time remembering that she was twice his age.
“How’s Jim doing over there in Afghanistan?” Jason asked, not sure what to say. He wasn’t used to being nervous around women.
“Let’s not talk about that,” she said with a wry smile. “Did you drive here?”
“Uh, yeah, sure. I drove.” Jason was dumbfounded. Was she hitting on him?
“Then let’s get out of here, shall we?” she said, using her finger to tw
ist the small tuft of hair sticking out of his t-shirt.
“Sure, I can give you a ride,” Jason said, feeling like a teenager again. Just like the upcoming lecture he would get from his father, he pushed the fact that she was married out of his mind. Not to mention the mother of one of his friends. He nodded to Jed on his way out, who just shook his head.
“Is this your car?” Mary said with a gasp as they walked up to the mustang.
“Yeah,” he said as smoothly as he could without his voice cracking. His mind was working overtime, trying to figure out how he would measure up with a woman much older and experienced than him. He had heard rumors that she used to bang all the football players back in the day. Being a football player himself, he held the record for the most yards rushed in a single season, not to mention the most overall yards during his tenure at Crimson Falls before playing in college.
“I hear you scored a lot in high school and in college,” she said as she sat down.
“Uh, yeah,” he said, unsure what she meant.
She laughed. “I mean you were quite the football star.”
“Yeah, football is my thang,” he said as he walked around the car. He smacked himself in the forehead for saying ‘thang.’
When he got into the car, her hand was on the shifter. “I like sticks,” she whispered.
“Me, too,” he said, then closed his eyes when he realized what she meant. She giggled like a schoolgirl. He could feel himself becoming aroused.
“I like sticks that make me go fast. Nice, long, rides.” Her words were almost more than he could handle.
“I know a place we can go,” he said as he hurriedly started the car. He peeled out of the parking lot and quickly merged onto the interstate. Three miles up the road was a small park and ride, almost always vacant since there weren’t any bathrooms or vending machines. During the drive, she feverishly rubbed his legs and front pockets. He was so hard he wasn’t sure he would make it.
When they finally arrived at their destination, he pulled in, parked, and got out of the car. He dropped his keys and leaned down to pick them up. His car door was open, so he was hoping she was taking a long, good look at his firm butt.
