Chương 10: Wolfsbane

As dawn broke. The Tale property has turned into a crime scene. With handcuffs on, Autzee is escorted to a police car by a Deputy, while Crimson watches from near Churro's jeep. He swiftly taps out a message on his phone: "Ok, go." Inside the police car, Auztee looks up from the backseat behind the partition as Churro slides into the front passenger seat.

"Just so you know, I'm not afraid of you." Autzee nearly cracks a smile. Almost.

"Okay, maybe I am. Doesn't matter. I just want to know something. The girl you killed..." He casts a quick glance around to check for anyone approaching.

"She was a werewolf. But she was a different kind, wasn't she?" He looks to Auztee for a nod of confirmation but gets none before continuing, "She could turn herself into an actual wolf. I know Crimson can't do that. And I think you can't either. Is that why you killed her?"

"Why are you so worried about me when it's your friend who's the problem?" He steps closer to the cage, making Churro recoil.

"When he shifts on the field, what do you think they're going to do? Just keep cheering him on? I can't stop him from playing. But you can. And trust me. You want to." The passenger door swings open, and Churro is hauled out of the car by the back of his jacket. Sheriff Valentine drags him over to Crimson.

"What the hell do you think you're doing?"

"Just trying to help."

"How about you help me understand exactly how you came across this?" the sheriff ordered.

"We were looking for Crimson's inhaler. The other night." Churro confessed.

"The other night when you came out to look for the first half of the body? The night when you told me you were out alone and Crimson was home?"

"Yes. No. Crap." Churro said, slapping his head.

"So you lied to me?

"That depends on how you define lying." Churro said, being sarcastic.

"I define it as not telling the truth. How do you define it?"

"Reclining your body in a horizontal position?"

"Get the hell out of here."

"Absolutely."

Churro takes the wheel while Crimson scrolls through his phone.

"I can't find any info about Wolfsbane being used for burial."

"Keep digging. Maybe it's some kind of ritual. Like they bury you as a wolf. Or maybe it's a special ability. Something you've got to master." Churro said, still driving along. The drive dragged on, filled with dull activities like browsing online or staring out the window.

"I'll add it to my list. Right below: Figure out how the hell I'm playing the game tonight."

"Maybe it's different for girl werewolves..."

"Okay, cut it out. Stop saying werewolves. Stop having so much fun with this." Crimson interrupted him. Crimson presses his palm to his forehead, rubbing his eyes. Sweat forms on his brow. He blinks rapidly. Ensure your favorite authors get the support they deserve. Read this novel on Royal Road.

"No, I'm not fine. I'm nowhere near fine..."

"You've got to accept this, Crimson. Sooner or later..."

"I can't..."

"You must..."

"No, I can't... I can't breathe." He jerks forward suddenly, head snapping back, mouth gaping as if a blade had just pierced his spine.

"Pull over!"

"What's going on?" A screeching noise cuts through his mind. A high-pitched throb that drives his hands to his ears. He bends over and spots Churro's school bag at his feet. Crimson rips it open. Inside lies the wolfsbane twine.

"You kept it?"

"What else was I supposed to do with it?" He lifts his gaze to Churro, eyes now blazing Yellow.

"Stop the car!"

The Jeep screeches to a stop on the roadside. Churro leaps out, clutching his school bag, and hurls it deep into the forest.

"Okay, okay, it's gone." Yet as he spins back toward the Jeep, Crimson's door stands ajar too. The passenger seat sits empty. He freezes in place. He strains to hear any sound in the stillness.

"Crimson?" A rustle catches his ear, and he whips his head around. Suddenly aware of his quick breaths, Churro tries to peek around the Jeep's corner. But then he spots... Crimson on the opposite side. His form is a dark outline, save for his eyes. They gleam yellow and bright through the grimy windows. He shifts left, slow yet deliberate. Churro sidesteps right, using the Jeep as a barrier between them.

"Don't do this, Crimson." Another step to the left. He mirrors the move. Crimson smashes his fists into the Jeep in fury. It tilts toward Churro, rocking dangerously.

"Crimson!" He pounds the vehicle repeatedly, nearly tipping it over to crush him.

"Stop!" With claws gripping the side, Crimson vaults onto the roof. Churro stumbles backward, landing hard on his rear. Looking up, he sees his friend as a full werewolf for the first time, and terror grips him. Crimson stretches out his arms, releasing a pained roar to the heavens. Churro scrambles across the pavement and dives back into the Jeep through the passenger door. He shoves the gear into drive and stomps on the gas. As Crimson's footsteps thunder overhead, he floors it.

Twisting to glance out the window, he catches Crimson's silhouette landing mid-road. Churro slams the brakes, halting at a safe distance. When he looks again, a shadow vanishes into the trees, Crimson seeking the refuge of darkness.

In his Jeep, Churro tears around corners at reckless speed, roaring down the road. He lifts his cell phone to his ear.

"Churro, you know you can't call the dispatch line when I'm on duty."

"All I need to know is if you've received any strange calls." He asked his dad.

"Strange how?"

"Like a strange person or... dog-like individual... wandering the streets?"

"I'm hanging up on you now."

"No, wait, wait..." But the line goes dead. Letting out a frustrated sigh, Churro tosses the cell phone onto the passenger seat, landing on top of printouts from his latest werewolf research. One particular image depicts a fierce werewolf, with a beautiful young woman fainting in its arms. Through the open second-floor bedroom window of her house, Willow can be seen settling at her desk with an open box. She takes out a simple unframed photo, reading the words on the back: "Philly Girls 4eva. We'll miss you!"

She flips the photo over, smiling at the image of her and her friends from her previous home. Then she tucks it into the corner of her mirror, completely unaware the figure perched in the tree just a few feet from her window... Crimson, still a werewolf. In the shadows under the setting sun, his breathing grows hollower and more ragged as Willow approaches the window.

Crimson moves forward, creeping out of the darkness as if in another second he could leap into her room, and Willow pulls the window shut, the glass revealing a sudden reflection to himself. The face of a monster staring back at him. He retreats back into the shadows, scared by his own reflection. He leaps down from his perch on the tree, dashing away from the house and into the street just as headlights appear. A car screeches to a halt. Crimson slams into the hood, rolling over it and tumbling to the pavement.

Ash hops out of the driver's side.

"Oh my God..." He has his phone out, already dialling 9-1-1 as he crouches over Crimson. But the boy's hand comes up, gripping the man's arm. When Ash looks down at him, he's back to normal.

"I'm okay."

"Dad? What the hell are you doing?" Willow called out and comes rushing out the front door to Crimson.

"He came out of nowhere..."

"Are you trying to kill him?" Crimson glances up at the ironic question.

"Of course not. He ran out into the street..."

"I'm sorry. It's my fault." Crimson said, finally breaking the argument.

"Are you okay?" She says, kneeling over him, gently brushing dirt from the road off his brow. Ash looks on, a different kind of concern on his face now as Crimson and Willow gaze into each other's eyes.

"I'm fine. I swear." He said to Ash, concernedly.

"I'm sorry I hit your car. I was just coming to say hi." Willow helps him to his feet as Ash asks, "You're sure you're okay?"

"Yeah, completely. I should go. I've got a lacrosse game to get to. You're still coming? Right?"

"Of course, I'm coming." She said as her hands linger on him as Ash peers in between them.

"We both are." Crimson and Willow turn to him, each with a look of surprise. This is news to both of them and neither seems to like it.