He woke up the next day feeling completely fine, no pain, no hangover. He looked down at his feet to see he still hadn’t taken his shoes off. He then saw that his ankle wasn’t even swollen. It looked fine. He then held up his arm, no pain. He looked at it and saw it was perfectly fine, not even a scratch.

“Chris? You up” his mother yelled from downstairs.

“Yea” he replied.

Chris looked at his veins and saw that they were still black, but he felt his heartbeat was stronger than ever. He felt like he could run a mile, right then and there. He grabbed his phone out of his pocket from the night before. He saw that it was at 38%. He had missed eight texts from Adam, his boyfriend.

Text #1: Hey you there?

Text #2: You want to come over?

Text #3: C’mon respond

Text #4: Hey its been an hour, you alright?

Text #5: Hey

Text #6: Emily and Katelyn are over

Text #7: Hey get back to me when you can

Text #8: well I’m guessing you’re asleep by now so uh, goodnight, I love you

Chris began to reply by saying; Hey uh, sorry for kinda patching you, I was walking home drunk and something happened, I’ll explain later.

Chris was so confused. He went to the bathroom to brush his teeth. He grabbed his toothbrush, rinsed it, put the toothpaste on and looked in the mirror. He rinsed his toothbrush again and opened his mouth. When he did, he saw the inside was black, and not only that, but he had sharp teeth and a flat tongue. He blinked a few times and closed his mouth. When he opened it again, it was normal. Then, his eyes flashed yellow in the mirror, just like the ones he had seen the beast had the night before.

How was he healed? He had surely broken his foot, right? Was he still drunk? Is that why he saw what he saw in the mirror? What had truly happened last night? Was he just seeing things? Was he high somehow? There were a lot of drugs at the party, and he had only passed out for about 15 minutes before he woke up to a beer being poured on his head. Could they have somehow drugged him at the party?

This could not be happening, he thought, what did that creature do to him. He brushed his teeth as normal and used the toilet. He walked out of the bathroom and back into his room. He began to google “black veins” and all that came up were vein diseases. He then felt a sharp pain in his fingers. He looked at his hand and saw that his index, middle, and ring fingers were all the same length, which was not how it was before.

He then remembered that he had watched a tv show, where they would know if you were a werewolf based on your finger length. The index and middle finger being the same length meant that they were werewolves, but that was too crazy to be real, right? He then googled “werewolf based on finger length” and one of the first things that came up was “signs of a werewolf” He began reading through the website and saw that they used the same technique in medieval times to see if someone was a werewolf.

“Wow, I sound like a psychopath” he mumbled

He wondered if werewolves were even real, that would explain why the creature was wearing a Nirvana t-shirt. Maybe the kid got high and turned into a wolf? Wow, he sounded crazy. He looked at his hand again. He looked at his arm and then turned it to look at his black veins. He saw that his hand now had hair on it, and not peach fuzz, hair as thick as natural arm hair. But it still was crazy, because it’s impossible to grow hair on your palms.

He then got a huge migraine. Not just a normal annoyance, he felt as if his head would burst. He put his hands on both sides of his head, this wasn’t a hangover, he had felt fine before, what could this be? He felt so hungry, but not for junk food, he wanted meat. That’s all he could think about, meat and water.

“Mom, can we go get Wendy’s?” asked Chris.

“Yea, sure, do you want to come with?” she yelled up the stairs.

“Can I stay home?”

“Yea, I was just going to get me breakfast too, you want you're usual?”

“Yea,” he said finally standing up, “Baconator plain”

“Alright, I love you, bye,” his mom said as she closed the door

Chris didn’t think he could wait twenty minutes. He needed meat now. He ran downstairs and opened the freezer. He grabbed a raw steak, ripped open the packaging and ran it under the kitchen sink in the hottest water possible. Once all the ice was off of it, he bit down. He could feel… something happening inside his mouth. It felt like a movement of some sort. He carried the steak upstairs and into his bathroom.

He looked in the mirror and set the steak on the sink counter. He opened his mouth and saw the black turn to pink in his mouth. He knew something, he had retractable teeth, he pressed his tongue on the front of his teeth and quickly dropped it back into its usual place. As he lowered his tongue, his canine teeth grew twice the size, along with his lower ones. He then got another migraine. Would they ever go away?

He took off his shoes and shirt from last night, preparing for a shower. He fell to the floor, and screamed in pain. He looked at his hands, they extended and so did his feet. His spine expanded and his shoulder blades widened. His nose bridge and his chin lengthened and collided to create a snout. His hunger and migraine grew ten times worse. When he was done hurting on the floor, he moved. Every inch made him suffer more. His vision was fuzzy and his hearing was jacked. He could smell amazingly well, though. He felt like a bomb went off in the room he was in.

He slowly regained his sense of reality along with his hearing and vision. He stood up, still in pain and looked in the mirror, it was exactly like the creature he has seen the night before. He looked at the steak and tore into it. He then regained his human personality after about a minute. He looked in the mirror again. He looked at what he had become. His sweatpants had become ripped, like the shorts he had seen on the creature before. The creature he was was fit. It was very muscular and very tall.

“Oh my gos,” he said, not having much control over how to talk. “Suh, kuh, duh,” He quickly got used to talking in his “wolf voice”. This new voice was much deeper than his normal voice. Everything he said seemed to echo around his head. And his voice only got deeper.

Everything hurt. His Jaw felt like it was broken, His muscles ached as if he had just lifted a train. He moved and all of his muscles tensed up. He closed his eyes, and even that hurt. He slowly got used to this new form and the pain that came with it. But his mother would be home soon, it had already been twenty minutes, and Wendy’s was not far away. He needed to shift back.

He thought about his human form as hard as he could, every detail, but nothing happened. He fell to the floor but didn’t stop thinking. He gave up and decided he could not stay in his house. He ran out of his bathroom, into his bedroom and out to the foyer. He jumped from the spiral staircase to the first floor. He ran through the kitchen and out the back door. He ran into the forest where he had first seen the wolf. He ran as far as he could and didn’t get exhausted.

He fell and did a scorpion. He finally landed as if he was laying in bed, and the pain started again. He yelled, then shut his mouth, in hopes of not drawing attention. He tried to stand but fell. He growled, but his growl slowly shifted to a blank sound. His hands formed back to human, along with his body. His face ached and throbbed. His vision went fuzzy, along with his memory, and before he knew it, he was back home, in his bathroom.

He looked in the mirror and his eyes flashed yellow once more. His veins were still a powerful shade of black. He wanted to hunt. His mother would be home soon, he still had his sharper and longer kay nine teeth were still visible. What if he could never transform back? What if all the movies got it wrong? Then he thought of Adam.

“Deep breaths,” he once said “you don’t have to tell me what’s wrong, but I’m here for you, just take deep breaths,” and so Chris took deep breaths. He closed his eyes, and continued. He felt himself calm down, as if he was drifting into sleep. He no longer hurt, his muscles did not ache, he was fine. He slowly opened his eyes and saw the last bit of yellow fade. He opened his mouth and his teeth were normal. He continued to take deep breaths.

“Hey, I’m home, come down and get your food,” said Chris’s mom

“Be right down,” he said, he walked out of the bathroom, took off his now dirty sweatpants, and changed, then finally walked downstairs into the kitchen

“Yours is the second bag, the one close to you.” She said

“Thanks,” he said “I’m gonna go eat in my room”

“Don’t spill”

Chris walked up to his room and tore into the bag. He threw the fries into the trash and grabbed the burger wrapping. He ripped it open and only grabbed the burger out of the Baconator. He stuffed the whole thing in his mouth and chewed for a solid minute. He didn’t care about anything else but meat. He was still starving. He thought as he ate, what could he do as a werewolf?

Then he thought about the bad things, wait, how am I going to tell Adam? Do I tell Adam? What would he think? I can’t lose him. What about my parents? They think I’m strange enough. I haven’t even come out to them, how do I come out as a gay werewolf? God, they’re gonna think I’m a furry, aren’t they? Wait, when is the next full moon?

Chris sat down at his desk and powered up his desktop. He googled “when is the next full moon” and the answer came up as October twenty third. That’s two days from now, what will happen on a full moon? I barely had control this time, what could happen?

Weeks later, Chris began waking up at four in the morning. He woke up naturally, not by a loud sound or anything, naturally. He could not fall asleep again, so he decided to go for a morning run. He knew it was dark out, but it wasn’t for him, everything was under a greenish blue tint for him, but he could see everything as if it was daytime. He ran for three hours, without knowing it. He was not exhausted at all. He made his way home and tried to sleep again, even though he knew he couldn’t. Real wolves sleep for three to five hours.

He rolled over and grabbed his phone. He unlocked it and went into his messages. Adam’s conversation came up. Chris typed “Hey, can we please meet up today in Frost love park tonight? I really need to talk to you about something, and we have to do it in person, and no, I’m not breaking up with you, and I really hope it’s not the other way around.”

After a few hours, Adam finally responded with “Uhh, sure, I’ll be there at nine because I have to go out with family until then”

And Chris responded with “Alright, see you then, I love you,”

Adam finished the conversation with “Love you too.”

Later that night, Chris thought, should he tell Adam?  He had to, he had promised him no secrets. This could not go well, if he tells him, there’s a big chance of Adam breaking up with him. If he doesn’t, what if he turns, and hurts Adam? He can’t risk that.

Chris went to Frost love park and waited a few minutes for Adam. Adam’s sister drove up and walked out of his sisters car. His sister drove off.

“Hey uh, can you please give me a ride home tonight? My sister’s going to a friends party.” Adam asked

“Yeah uh, if you still want it.” Chris replied

“What’s wrong?” Adam asked

Chris began tearing up. “I have to tell you something,” He sniffed

“What is it?” Adam asked walking up to Chris.

“I’m scared to tell you, I can’t lose you,” He cried.

“You won’t lose me,” Adam said.

“You promise?” he asked.

“I promise, unless you cheated, we can get through anything” Adam replied.

“God, I’m going to sound insane.” He laughed “I- I’m a werewolf”

“Oh, um, you mean like a furry?” Adam asked.

“Haha, erm, no, like, I’m a real werewolf.”

“Oh uh, are you drunk?”

“No uh,” he looked at him.

“Sorry, I’m just not really sure how to reply to that.” Adam looked at him.

“I uh, I can show you, if you trust me, I can turn right now, I don’t have much control over turning back though.” Chris said cautiously.

“So you’re saying this is real? You’re an actual shapeshifter?” Adam asked.

“Yes, and you may not believe me, but you will, if you trust me, please Adam, I’m asking you to take a leap of faith with me.” Chris pleaded.

“Of course, uh, I’ll trust you.”

“Then you might want to stand back.” Chris said as Adam backed away “A little further,”

“This good?” Adam asked.

“Yea that’s good, alright here we go. God, this never won’t hurt.” Chris began taking a series of deep breaths. He fell to his knees. He pulled his shirt from over him.

“Woah, uh, you good?” Adam asked.

“Just please stand back.” He said as his voice got deeper.

Chris’s bones started to shift inside him. He took of his jacket and threw it near Adam’s feet. His hand transformed and he threw the shirt into the grass nearby. His nails turned black and grew four times the length.

“Oh my god.”

“Please don’t be afraid.” Chris said, his voice now very deep.

Chris’s shoes tore and ripped into the soles. He had forgotten to take them off.

“Your converse!” Adam yelled.

“It’s a little too late now.” Chris said.

His muscles tensed, along with his bones, his nose began to extend, and his spine began to grow. He watched as everything about him changed, again. He had done it once, but no matter how many times he did, he would never get used to the pain.

Chris stayed on his knees for a minute. He felt all his new muscles relax, and his feet had torn through the shoes. They were now on his ankles. Chris slowly moved.

“I- I uh, Chris, I,-”

“I know, you weren’t expecting it to be real. But it is, I uh, I understand if you don’t want to date someone like me, a beast.” Chris said.

“I uh, I’m just really not sure how to respond.” Adam said.

“You can uh, feel my fur if you want.” Chris said.

“I can?” Adam said, stepping closer.

“Yea, its fine, I’m in control.” Chris said.

“Its uh, soft? I guess, for a wolf.” Adam said.

“So uh, what do you think?” Chris asked.

“I uh, have no idea.” Adam said.

“Would you, will you uh, break up with me over this?” Chris asked worriedly.

“What? Oh, uh, no. It’s, uh, it’s just going to take some getting used to, a lot of getting used to. But uh, no, I won’t break up with you over this, when I asked you out I signed up for everything.” Adam replied.

“Well, that’s a relief, uh, so about that ride home, I kind of can’t drive like this, so can you drive yourself home in my car?” Chris asked.

“Oh uh, sure I just, I uh, just, sorry uh, I-” Adam stumbled over and fainted in Chris’s arms.

“Adam? Adam? Oh uh, guess I’ll have to walk you home.” Chris said. Chris grabbed his shirt, scrunched it up, and put it in the pocket of the sweatpants he was wearing. He then picked up his jacket and laid it over Adam.

Chris walked two miles to Adam’s house. His sister’s car was not there yet, but she would be home sometime that night. He walked across the street, Adam still in his arms, and he laid him down on his porch. He took his shirt out of his pocket and folded it in a way it was puffy and comfortable. He put the shirt under Adam’s head and kept his jacket laid overtop of him.

“Sleep well.” Chris said as he pulled out his phone. He texted Adam “Hey, just needed to let you know, last night was real, yes, I’m a real werewolf. I won’t blame you if you never want to see me again, but I really hope you do. You fainted tonight and I carried you home. I know you always liked that Lion king jacket, so you can have it. You can also keep the shirt if you want too, even though it’s just plain white, well, I hope I’ll see you soon, I love you.”

Chris walked off of the porch, because there was nothing else he could do. It wasn’t like his family left a key under the mat or a flower pot. Chris walked all the way home and laid down in his bed. He would have to get his car another day.

Chris woke up this morning in pain. He remembered that tonight was the full moon. He had to get out of his house, just to be safe. He had to come up with an excuse. Thankfully he had the day off. He would say he is going to a friend’s house. The only person that would possibly make an excuse for him was Adam. Chris looked at his phone. Adam had texted him.

“Hey, I told you, I’m not going to break up with you, I promise. It’s just going to take some getting used to. I’ll give you your shirt back whenever, but I think I’ll keep the jacket for a while, I like that it smells like you.” Adam texted him.

“Hey, I know this is really short notice, but tonight is a full moon, and I don’t know what will happen. I need you to say that I’m coming over to your house tonight, but I won’t. I’m going to go on that one hiking trail that we went to last year before we started dating, with Emily and Dib.” Chris replied, and waited for a response.

Within a few hours, Adam replied. “Sure, I’ll call your mom and tell her my parents will be over, and good idea. We need to be cautious about this, if someone catches you, run, please. I can’t lose you to a hunter or something like that.”

“Thank you. And please don’t come out there tonight, I don’t want anyone around when I turn, because I feel something. Something in me is trying to break out, everything hurts. I should be back to school on monday, though.” Chris replied “I’m going to leave my phone here and go now, you mind texting my mom I forgot it when I came over? Thanks, I really appreciated this. I promise I’ll make it up to you, anything you want. I love you, bye.”

And with that, Chris walked out of his house and back to Frost love park. It was only four eighteen, but he felt like tonight he would turn no matter what, he had to get away as soon as possible. He got in his car and began his journey. It was about a thirty to forty five minute drive, and Chris was worried he would turn every second.

Chris finally parked at the start of the trail. The trail expanded thirty miles in any direction. He walked all the way out, where he had never seen anybody. He heard many things in the woods, things he never heard when they went a year before. Birds, bunnies, squirrels. So many of them, he could hear for miles. The forest smelled awful, but he quickly got used to it.

He did not smell any people though. He looked at the sun through the trees. He thought to himself. What could happen to him tonight? There were no hunters in these woods, and there was a lake to get water. He could surely eat some helpless animal to satisfy his hunger. He sat and took deep breaths, this was real. He couldn’t do anything about it, he was cursed. He watched as blue turned to purple, then to black. He began to take deeper breaths. He then blacked out.

Then, it was like a dream. He looked to see the full moon, surrounded by stars, and trees. Everything was a blur. He didn’t have control. He was just watching as his wolf body moved. He ripped his shirt and pants off with his claws. And he howled. But it wasn’t him, it was something inside of him, he was being possessed. He blacked out again.

He then saw another blur, his body. Staying still in the bushes, a trailer not fifty feet from him. The wolf form walked like a normal wolf, lurking, slowly moving, one leg after another. A man walked out of the trailer, the fire in front of their trailer caught the wolf’s eyes. The man looked over and right at the wolf. Then, a little boy walked out of the trailer and looked at his dad. The boy could not be older than five years old. The wolf continued to get closer.

Chris tried to gain control. He couldn’t. He struggled inside his mind. He was fighting something, someone, and he was losing. He didn’t stop, he would not kill someone, much less a father, or a kid. He fought with this other personality. The wolf grabbed at his ears. The man yelled.

“Get inside now!” He grabbed the boy and ran inside of his trailer. The wolf howled and continued to paw at his head. Chris stopped fighting, and blacked out again.

He woke up in his car, laying in the back seat, wearing torn up clothes. He looked at his front seat, no one. He did not ache. He felt so good, but then, he remembered the night. How he almost killed someone, almost two people. What if he did? What would have happened? It would have been all over the news, or, what if it was? What if they had called the cops on a wolf trying to attack them? An abnormally large wold, no one would believe that, right?

Chris put the key in the car ignition and turned it. He looked at his little screen near the radio. It was only six in the morning. He had enough time to go home, get his phone, and make it to school in time. Chris drove all the way back, thinking. He thought about the smells that he had encountered. He was still smelling them. He could smell everything, for miles. As he drove, he began to smell more and more people.

Chris drove home, parked his car in the front, and went through the backyard. He climbed the stairs and wandered into his room. He grabbed his phone off his desk and looked at it. He had missed A few texts from Adam.

Text #1: I called your mom, she said it was alright.

Text #2: And I have a good way for you to make it up to me.

Text #3: On halloween, this friday, would you maybe sleepover?

Chris smiled, he expected Adam to dump him and leave him in the dirt. Would he have done that to Adam? No, surely he would have stuck with Adam as Adam stayed with him, right? He was a wolf, not a monster or a beast, he was still human. He began texting Adam back.

“Done, I didn’t have to be in your debt to do that, I would’ve just done it for fun.”

Chris did not pay attention at all in school. It bored him. He had better things to do now, like find a cure. He wondered, could he fix himself? Could he possibly become normal again? He couldn’t always go to the hiking trail, if reports of a big wolf begin surfacing, surely hunters would go looking for a trophy.

Chris had nothing to do for most of his classes. He did have a math test, though, mostly multiple choice. He didn’t know what, but something guided him through it all, he had never been good at math, but on this test, he did not get anything wrong. His instincts kicked in. If he could perfect this, then maybe he would not have to pay attention at all in class. But he began to dislike everyone in school even more. Everyone there let off a foul odor, besides the people he liked. Maybe senses had to do with perspective.

He slowly got through the tuesday, and drove home when it was finally over. He went through his front door this time. He noticed all new smells. He smelled all the food in his pantry and fridge. Everytime he smelled something he liked, he felt a flash of yellow in his eyes. He felt so good when the yellow flash came on. He went up to his room and laid in his bed. He looked at his phone and texted Adam.

“Hey, can I come over tonight? Or we can meetup, or, whatever you want.”

Adam replied almost immediately. “Yeah of course, can we meet at the park near my house? It’s called westwood.”

Chris replied with “Yeah, I’ll be there at 8, is that alright?”

Adam replied “Yeah, that’s good, you going to transform?”

Chris replied “Is that alright? You should probably get used to both “forms” of me if we want to stay together.”

Adam finished it with “Aright, I’ll wear your hoodie and bring your shirt. See you tonight at 8, love you.”

Chris smiled, and felt another wave of yellow in his eyes. Then he thought more, he would have to tell Adam about what happened, how he almost killed that little boy and the man, but then, how he somehow stopped it. How he fought inside his mind, against someone else, his wolf’s spirit. It was a whole other person.

He drove to the park at eight exactly and found Adam sitting on the wooden picnic table. Adam looked at Chris and smiled. But Chris felt something. He heard Adam’s heartbeat. He smelled different.

“What’s wrong?” Chris asked.

“Nothing,” Adam said, but chris heard it, Adam held his breath, a sure sign of a lie.

“No, you’re lying, I know something’s wrong.” Chris said, and Adam got up from the picnic table.

“It’s nothing.” He said, and slightly held his breath again.

“Adam, you can talk to me, please tell me what’s wrong.” Chris said softly.

“I, nothing, here’s your shirt, so what did you come here to talk about?” he asked, handing Chris his shirt.

“Hey, hey hey, you’re sad, I can sense it. Did someone hurt you? What did they do?” Chris asked.

“No, no, I’m fine really.” Adam teared up.

Chris put his shirt on the picnic table, and walked towards Adam.

“Is it about me? I can go if you want me to, are you-”

“No, it’s not you, it’s- uh,”

“You don’t have to tell me,” Chris said as he pulled Adam into a hug. He hated to see him like this. “Here, let’s sit down by this tree,” and Chris sat. Adam laid down and rested his head on Chris’s right leg. Chris put his hand on Adam’s chest. “You don’t have to tell me what’s wrong, but whatever it is, I bet I can fix it.”

“Will you sing to me? You always calm me down.” Adam said.

“In a minute, just take deep breaths.” Chris said

They both began to take a series of deep breaths. And Chris began to sing

“I am not the only the only traveler, l who has not repaid his debt, I’ve been looking for, a trail to follow, again, take me back, to, the night we met,” Chris sang.

Adam looked at Chris, and he finished the song.

“How was that?” Chris asked. “Look, I don’t know what’s wrong, but I don’t have to. I’ll always be here for you. I want to be. I want to be the one to whisper in your ear that everything will be alright,” Chris began playing with Adam’s hair “The one you think of when you’re at your worst, the reason for you to keep going. I want to be the one person you love, because that’s who you are to me. Adam, the first time I transformed, on saturday, who do you think I thought of when I needed to turn back?”

“Did you really think of me?” Adam asked

“... If I say yes, will you give me a kiss?” Chris asked as his eyes turned yellow.

“Maybe.” Adam smiled.

“Haha, maybe huh? Then I guess you’ll never know.” Chris laughed, his eyes still yellow.

Adam laughed. “Is that like a thing? When you’re really happy your eyes turn yellow?”

Chris smiled “I think so, why do you think there’s always a yellow tint on them whenever you’re around?”

“Well, I guess you do know how to cheer me up.” Adam smiled

“I love you.” Chris said.

“I love you too.” Adam smiled

“I can tell you my problems some other day, I’ll transform on my own time, but for now, let’s just look at the stars, I know you love doing that.”

And they did, what was only thirty minutes felt like a lifetime. Adam thought anyways. He loved nights like these, being with Chris and looking at the stars, he hadn’t done it in a while.

“Well uh, I should probably go turn, get it out of me for the night.” Chris said after a while.

“Alright.” Adam said.

“But only if you’re alright, are you feeling better?” Chris said.

“Yeah, I’ll see you after school tomorrow?” Adam asked.

“I look forward to it, where do you want to meet?” Chris asked.

“There’s a place called honeycomb park about a mile from here, it’s abandoned, so we can go there and you can turn.” Adam said.

“Alright, I’ll see you then, I love you.” Chris said as he got up and walked away. Chris transformed that night, and he was totally fine. He hid his clothes under the picnic bench. He had full control, but it seemed to hurt more than normal, more bones shifting, longer snout maybe? Either way, he felt safer tonight. All night, he walked, ran a little, but did not get exhausted.

He saw the sun come up and realized it was almost seven in the morning, only about an hour before school.

Looks like he would have to skip today, at least a few classes. But then he remembered. The last time he took deep breaths, and he thought about Adam, he turned back. He began to think about Adam. He took his first deep breath. He could feel the yellow in his eyes. He continued to breathe slowly. He was calm, for the first time in days, with the spirit in him, he had not had much time to think about much else. But now, all he could think of was Adam, how he would be sleeping over on Halloween.

He fell to him knees again, his ankle was human. He put his hands on the floor, and felt less and less grass as they turned human. His bones cracked and popped. He then felt the pain of his muscles, the tensing and shrinking. Something inside him told him he was weak, and for a second he began to believe it, but then, he remembered Adam, he had to turn back, for him.

Chris felt everything shift into its place. His nose and mouth was normal. He squinted his eyes into the sunlight. He was human, he could feel it. He heard his own heartbeat, slower than it was when he was a wolf. He slowly limped to the picnic table, getting used to his human feet again. He walked to his car and then drove home. He went into his room, and realised he did not get any sleep. He would have to power through it. He then felt sick.

He walked into his bathroom and began to throw up, mostly red meat, but then, a bone came out. He began to cry, he was in pain. He thought he was going to transform back. He flushed the toilet and the bone went down with it. It was not that he was sick, but something was telling him to get something out of him. Like, a calling, someone was telling him to throw up, and he listened. What else could he do? He looked in the mirror, he was crying human tears, but his eyes were do dark. His normal eyes were red, and the rest was a shade of black. He began to throw up even more.

“Chris? Are you okay?” his mother yelled from his bedroom door.

“I can’t go to school today. I’m throwing up and I didn’t get any sleep last night, I need to stay home.” Chris replied

“Oh, well yeah it sounds like you could use a day off.” she replied. “I’m gonna call now, just let it all out.”

Chris continued to barf up bloody meat, and some fur. He heard his mother calling the school from downstairs. He continued to cry, and could feel the red in his eyes. The red was not like the yellow, but it was. The red was something inside of him. Something that guided him. He felt it, it was the wolf spirit. He looked in the mirror to see his reflection was staring at him, but was not following his movements.

“What do you want?” Chris asked while looking in his own red and black eyes.

“No, the real question, is, what do you want?” his reflection asked

“What do I want? I want you to leave me alone!” Chris yelled and was quiet for a minute to make sure his mom didn’t hear.

“No you idiot, who do you want? Who do you want to be with you right now?” it asked

Chris hesitated “Adam, what do you want with Adam?”

“You’ll find out soon enough” The mirror said, and it smiled.

Chris wandered back to the toilet and continued to throw up. His mom ended the phone call.

“Aright, there’s some food in the fridge, get some rest, go back to sleep when you’re done in the toilet. I’m going to head off to work now.” His mother yelled from downstairs.

“Arlight, I love you.” Chris replied.

“Love you too, bye.” His mom said as she walked out the front door.

Chris was so tired. He didn’t care if he threw up in bed. He kicked the shirt that he had dropped on his floor out of his door. He fell into his bed and quickly fell asleep. He then woke up at ten thirty nine and did not want to get out of bed. He got out of his bed and looked at his phone.  He had missed a text from Adam. He felt a slight glow of yellow in his eyes.

He looked at the text.

“Hey why aren’t you at school today? Can we still meet up tonight? I’m feeling much better.”

Chris smiled, he replied with; “Hey, yeah, we can still meet up tonight, I was just sick from last night and not getting sleep, but it’s fine, I had a good time with you.”

Chris walked downstairs and looked for food, but funny enough, he was full. He looked in his freezer, and all the meat was all gone. The three steaks, the four packets of ground beef, all of it. He had somehow eaten it. But he didn’t remember eating any of it. He looked in the normal fridge, and all of his leftovers were gone. He looked in his trash can, and saw all of the wrappers and boxes piled up. Chris just wanted to rest.

He walked back upstairs, and laid back down in his bed. And even though he would not fall asleep, he just laid there, and stared at the ceiling. He thought about Adam, how, he could hurt him. No, he could not give up that easy. He would find a way to stop this “inner wolf” of his.

That night, he met Adam at the time they planned. He walked in the grass with his now.

“Hey stranger.” Adam said. “I missed you at school today.”

“Hey uh, sorry about that, just wasn’t feeling the best, and I didn’t sleep at all, I was just running along the old abandoned train tracks all night.” Chris said.

“No need to apologize, I’m kind of the reason you stayed up all night, are you going to transform tonight?” Adam asked.

“Do you want me to?” Chris asked sarcastically.

“If you want.” Adam said.

“Oh really, you think you’re slick forgetting to bring your, or, my jacket tonight, I know what you’re trying to do haha.” he laughed.

Adam laughed “You got me there I guess.”

“Alright, I’ll transform in a minute here.” Chris said. “I’m gonna make sure I have all the right clothes off before hand though. These shoes are barely held together.” Chris took of both of his shoes without untying them. He then took off his jacket and his shirt, in that order.

“When I turn, I need to tell you something, but it’ll sound better in my wolf voice.” Chris laughed again.

He began to take a series of very deep breaths. He began feeling strange instantly. His bones moved faster than ever, it was only about twenty seconds to transform this time, a lot shorter time than ever before.

“Wow, I’m really gaining control of transforming,” Chris said.

“Wonder how long it will take for me to control my transformations that good.” Adam said.
“Don’t joke like that.” Chris said. “Please.”

“It uh, wasn’t a joke.” Adam said.

“What?” Chris looked confused and angry at the same time. “I’m not going to turn you. Please just drop it for now.”

“Arlight, let’s just sit like we did last night, that was really peaceful.” Adam said.

“Thank you.” Chris replied. He sat down at the tree they sat at the night before.

“Your voice is really deep as a wolf, like, really deep.” Adam said as he laid his head on Chris’s leg again.

“Intimidatingly deep? I don’t mean it to be.” Chris said.

“Eh, a little, but I like it, it’s just deep for a puppy.” Adam said

“Oh, did you just compare me to your dogs?” Chris asked.

“Maybe,” Adam laughed. “You’re almost as cute as them.”

“Oh, then I guess I’ll just have to become a dog then.” Chris laughed.

“You’re perfect the way you are, just wish I was as confident as you, I wish I could sing, I wish I was in shape, I wish you could give me some of your genes.” Adam laughed. “Maybe one day you can.”

“I asked you not to joke about that, I’m not going to bite you or scratch you.” Chris said.

“Sorry, I’ll stop now. Let’s just talk, what did you need to tell me?” Adam asked.

“Oh, right um,” Chris stuttered and hesitated. “On the full moon, on sunday, something happened.”

“Did you become more powerful? Is that why you can shift so easily?” Adam asked.

“No, it’s uh, actually not good.” Chris looked at Adam. “I uh, lost control.”

“Oh,” Adam looked at Chris worriedly.

“Nobody was hurt, I don’t think, but I blacked out.” Chris said.

“Are you okay?” Adam asked.

“Yeah, I’m fine, but there was a close call.” Chris said. “There was two campers, who I think was a father and his son. I, I wasn’t in control of my wolf form, there was, something or someone else controlling it. There was this, spirit. I stopped him from eating the guys, don’t worry. But it was far too close. I don’t know what else to do though.”

“Oh, well, at least you’re both okay, you and the father and son.” Adam said. “But, if this happens every full moon, and multiple people spot you in the forest, people will come after you.”

“I know, so I was thinking, I have to find some way to distract my other spirit, like, with some kind of food, because it ate all of the meat in my fridge.” Chris said.

“I can come up with a few, I have a really good one.” Adam said.

“And what’s that?” Chris asked.

“You could hide out in the sewers, they span all of the town, you could lay out some food for your wolf spirit to find.” Adam said.

“I think I’d rather be caught.” Chris joked. “I’d rather not lurk the sewers like pennywise.”

“Well, I could come up with a few more.” Adam said

“Hey, hey, it’s not for you to worry about, I’ll figure out something by the next full moon.” Chris said.

“You got twenty-some days to think about it.” Adam replied.

“Let’s just enjoy this, being together.” Chris said. “Which now that you do know everything about me, we can do much more now.”

“Yeah, speaking of, you excited for friday?” Adam asked.

“Yeah, maybe before we go to your house, we can egg a house or two?” Chris joked.

“We’ll have to see. Maybe the homophobic kids that are in my english class.” Adam laughed.

“I’ll bring the eggs, and hey, I can actually transform and seem normal. Hopefully no one looks too closely.” Chris joked again.

They both laughed. They didn’t know it, but at the moment, they were both thinking of spending friday night together, and how they could finally get some peace. They hadn’t had much time to be together, with Chris’s new “life” and him adapting to the changes. Adam slowly began to fall asleep on Chris’s leg.

“Hey, are you asleep?” Chris whispered.

Adam didn’t reply. All Chris heard was him breathing. Chris began slowly moving. He laid Adam’s head on his hand, so that it didn’t hit the dirt Chris had been sitting on. Chris picked up Adam as if he were a prince picking up a princess. Adam began mumbling gibberish and Chris looked at him.

“Hey, hey, shh, I got you. I’m going to take you home, are your parents there?” Chris asked as he whispered.

“No,” Adam mumbled. “It’s date night.” he dozed off again.

“Arlight, I’m going to take you home.” Chris said. He began walking to his car as if Adam wasn’t even in his arms. He had no problem carrying him. Chris held him with one hand and put him in the back seat of his car. He buckled him up and then began to take a series of deep breaths. He slowly heard the bones in him move and shift.

Then the pain kicked back in, throbbing, like he was on fire. He tried not to moan or yell, as he did not want to wake Adam up. He slowly regained his human senses, and opened his eyes. He walked to the other side of the car and got in. He started it up and drove to Adam’s house to drop him off. He walked Adam up to his porch and knocked on the door. His mother soon answered.

“Hi, can I come in? Adam’s asleep and I don’t want to wake him so can I take him to his room?” Chris whispered.

“Sure, in and out, though.” His mother replied.

Chris walked in and past the kitchen and into the hallway, and into Adam’s room. He laid Adam down on his bed and covered him up. He wondered if he would ever do this in the future.

“Goodnight love.” He said as he walked out of Adam’s room. Adam’s mom watched Chris walk out as if he was about to commit murder. His mom closed the door not two seconds after Chris walked out.

Chris drove home and went to sleep, unsure of what would happen tomorrow. Would he throw up bones and blood again? What about that? He hadn’t told adam about the red eyes. He doesn’t even know who the wolf that turned him was. A Nirvana T-shirt, he had seen a lot of people wear shirts like it. But the boy at the party, he had never seen him before. He remembered now, the boy had blonde hair and brown-green eyes. What had he done on the full moon? His eyes were yellow when he attacked him, was he the only one with a wolf spirit? Surely not, why would he be the only one?

Chris woke up to his mother, yelling at him, he slowly gained consciousness and her words started making sense.

“You overslept. If you keep it up with these late nights, you’re going to have to stop seeing Adam.” His mom said. “He’s the reason you’re staying out so late.”

“Mom, I don’t feel good, I’ll stop sleeping over my alarm when I feel better, I promise, just one more day off school, please?” Chris pleaded, lying. He just didn’t want to go to school today. He figured it would work because he was throwing up yesterday.

“Fine, but only because you’re already late.” His mom said, and he tried to go back to sleep. Even though he couldn’t, he liked to listen. He enjoyed the sounds of animals in the forest behind his house.

His mother finished on the phone and left. Chris knew he hadn’t had any meat left, but he needed to eat. He had to go hunting. He walked downstairs and out the back door. He took of his shirt from last night, and his shoes. He took a series of deep breaths. He thought about hunting. He blacked out.

When he woke up, he was back in his bed. Was he dreaming? No, his heart was pumping faster than normal. He got out of his bed and went into his bathroom. He looked in the mirror, all over his chin was a red stain. And on the right side of his mouth, a trail of blood. His eyes slowly faded from red back to green, as they usually are.

Then it hit him, the beast inside of him had gone hunting. He must’ve needed to get out. He walked back into his bedroom and took his phone off his charger. He looked at it and saw that it was already three forty six. School had gotten out thirty six minutes ago se he decided to text Adam. He sat down on his bed and began texting him.

“It happened again, I lost control of it, I went hunting in the forest behind my house, so I should be good for tonight, when and where do you want to meet?” he texted.

Adam texted back almost instantly. “Oh, well, at least you didn’t hurt anyone, that we know of anyways, we can meet wherever you want if you pick me up.”

Chris replied with; “We can meat at that one park by the school, I don’t know what it’s called, but no one’s ever there anyways, it’s so off road, no one should be around.”

“Didn’t know you were planning to murder me tonight.” Adam replied.

“Haha, I just plan on transforming, and it wouldn’t be the best idea for people to be around when I do.” Chris texted.

“Arlight, pick me up at 9 because I have a lot of homework that I have to make up on, cya then, I love you.” Adam finished the conversation with.

That night, when they finally met up, it was cold. Even with a jacket, Adam was cold.

“Hey,” Adam said as he got in Chris’s car. “It’s so cold out, looks like I’ll have to be close so I don’t freeze.”

“Yeah, winter’s coming.” Chris said. “But don’t worry, I’ll be your coat.” He laughed and began driving to the park.

“Why do we always meet in parks at night?” Adam asked.

“I don’t know, you’re the one who likes to look at the stars and read books.” Chris laughed again. “Speaking of books, this sounds like every young adult novel I read, or, the ones you force me to read.”

Adam laughed. “Well, you always love them when you finish them.”

“You got me there.” Chris said. “I guess it's like me with singing too.”

They drove for a few more minutes, listening to the radio.

And a new company has expanded in our little down called “Night tech industries” their new store has recently finished construction and will soon be opening to the public. They will be selling home and electrical needs like lights, bookshelves, and other things for your house. And Now Billie Eilish new song “Party favor”

“Oh hey you love this song.” Adam said.

“Yeah, I do, but I’m not exactly in the singing mood right now.” Chris said.

“Something wrong?” Adam asked.

“No, just a little tired.” Chris said.

They parked in an open parking spot, one of many. There were no other cars in the lot, he had never remembered seeing anyone there. They both got out of the car.

“Where are we gonna sit and look at the stars?” Chris laughed.

“Well can you please transform first? It’s so cold, and when you're a wolf you’re really warm.” Adam said shivering.

“Yeah, give me a second, I know it’s cold, and I have to take off my shirt in this weather.” Chris joked.

“Alright.”

Chris began his series of deep breaths. He felt something though, it. The spirit, fighting inside of him. Adam took a step back. Chris ripped his shirt off. He put his hands to his head. He fell to his knees and felt his shoes break once more. He didn’t even have a chance to take them off. He closed his eyes in pain.

“I need you to run, now.”

Chris blacked out. His body continued to shift. From his head, down to his now paws. Brown hair, mixed with gray and black sprouted. His eyes opened, black, saved for a pupil of red. The face morphed. From a nose and a mouth into one, then the ears. They pointed. A tail grew just above Chris’s pants.

“Chris?” Adam sighed. “This isn’t funny.”

The creature stopped shifting. It was finished. He began sniffing.

“Why don’t I smell fear on you.” it asked.

“Because I know you’re joking with me.” Adam said. But then he realized. This voice was deeper than Chris’s voice ever went.

“I wouldn’t be so sure about that.” and it laughed.

“Chris you’re not going to get me to fall for one of your pranks.” Adam hesitated.

The creature that was once Chris stood up. Adam uncrossed his arms.

“Ahh, there it is.” the beast smiled.

“Chris stop.” Adam said.

The beast took a step and fell back to its knees. It put its hand near its head again. It covered its ears.

“Adam this isn’t a joke, please, run, now. I mean it, run as far away as you can, now!” The beast fell to all fours, and Adam backed away, hesitated and took off running. Chris continued to gain and lose consciousness, throughout the fight in his head. The beast’s eyes flashes red and yellow. It looked like a firework show in an eyeball.

Adam crossed the sign he had seen on the way in. He ran a few blocks and jumped the fence into his school’s football field. Nobody was there, there hadn’t been a game for days now. He ran across the track and near the school. He jumped another fence and was right by the school’s window now. He pounded on it.

“Help me! Help me please there’s a, wolf after me!” He yelled.

He looked back. The beast was jumping the first fence he had jumped to get into the school’s football stadium. The beast ran along twice as fast as Adam did. Adam picked up a loose brick from the ground that had fallen off of the school’s wall. He pulled it back and smashed it through the window. Surprisingly no alarm went off. He jumped through the now open window and ran down the hallway. He soon realized he was in the C wing. This was the extra classes wing where there was the drama room, the gym, the locker rooms, the auditorium, and a few others.

The locker room, it was perfect. He ran to the right and heard the metal chain  fence rattling under the beast’s weight. He turned to the right again and quietly opened the boys locker room door. He quietly closed it it and walked further into the room. He heard the sound of glass. The wolf was in the school.

Adam opened his old locker using the same combination he had used the year before. He stepped into the locker and quietly shut it. He heard the wolf from down the hallway, his claws scraping against the floor, like a dog on tiles.

“Hiding is foolish,” it said. “I’ll find you, even if I have to look for you all night.”

Adam slowed his breath. He needed to stay calm. It can smell fear. It can hear heartbeats, it would find him eventually. He hated that, that he had to call his boyfriend “it”. It stood before him, someone he once knew as his lover.

“I smell you, I can hear your heartbeat. I can, almost taste it.” it said as it opened the door to the locker room. “I know you’re in here, I can hear you breathing.”

Adam closed his eyes. He stood totally still. The beast dragged his claws against the lockers, scraping the paint as he went along. Adam hoped the shirt and shorts he was standing on would somewhat muffle any sound he made.

“Ugh, these echos, they’re throwing me off. But I’ll find you, I’ll check every locker, and I can still smell your fear,” it smiled. “You’re probably hoping your boyfriend comes out now and says that he pranked you with all of this. But no, this is real, and when I find you, he’s going to watch from the sidelines, as I kill you.” and it laughed.

It walked, sniffing. Seeming to get angrier every second it went without eating. Adam looked through the slits in the locker. The beast was looking at the row in front of him, facing the other way.

“You’re somewhere over here, aren’t you? Should I sing to you? Will that get your attention?” it asked.

It seemed like hours, but it was only minutes. The beast walked, and roamed the locker room. Sniffing everything he could.

“Found you.” it said as it looked through the locker slits, right at Adam’s eyes. They met, and Adam saw the darkness in its eyes. Like a disease, spreading. His boyfriend was gone. He was consumed by this, creature.

“Now, you can either come out, or I’ll rip you out of there with your own arms Adam.” it said.

Adam opened the locker from the inside, and it slowly opened.

“Finally come to your senses I see.” it said. “Now, step out of the locker.”

Adam put one foot out of the locker. Then one shoulder, then the rest of his body.

“Well, your boyfriend really does have good taste. Then again, so do I, and I can tell that your blood will be very, very sweet.” It said. “Oh, but don’t worry, I’ll make it quick, I don’t need your boyfriend unmotivated to turn, unmotivated to let me out. I need him, and he needs me, but I don’t need you.”

“Turn me,” Adam said. “Turn me into a werewolf.”

“Oh, oh no no no, if I were going to turn you, I would end up killing you anyways, that would have to be your boyfriend, but I’m only here to kill you, to take you out, there’s no bargaining.” it said, and smiled.

Adam began to cry, one tear down his left cheek. He thought of Chris, how he would have to watch him die. How, he would never get the chance to tell him, to tell him everything he hadn’t told him about himself. He was too far gone.

The beast fell to its knees again. It grabbed at its head. Its eyes turned yellow and red, flashing, another fire show. The flames in its eyes.

“Adam, get out, now, I can stall him for a few minutes.” Chris said.

“He’ll find me, he’ll always find me, Chris.” Adam yelled.

“Here,” Chris said, reaching into his pocket and throwing his keys to Adam. “Go back to the car, drive somewhere I don’t know about, a relative’s house, just, somewhere I’ll never find you, go! Now!” he yelled.

Adam ran out of the locker room. He ran down the hallway, He excited through another door in hopes of throwing the creature off his scent. He ran along side of the fence of the stadium. He crossed the sign and didn’t stop running. He finally got to the car, opened the driver’s door, and got in. He started it up and put it in reverse. He backed out, and decided to take the backroad, and drive the edge of gold plasma lake. He had no idea where to go, maybe just drive around for a few hours.

He then remembered that there was a gas station near his house, one of his friends worked there, so he could hang out there for a while, then go home the next day. His friend could call his mom and say that he was staying over, it wouldn’t be the first time he lied about where he was.

Adam parked in the gas station parking lot and walked in.

“Hey Gayl.” Adam said.

“Hey,” replied a guy from behind the counter.

“Mind if I hang out here for a while? I’m in a bit of trouble.” Adam asked.

“No problem.” Gayl replied.

“And can you call my mom and say that I’m staying over at your house tonight please?” Adam asked.

“Why?” He asked.

“Just, please do it, I’ll pay you,” he reached in his pocket and pulled out a five dollar bill and three ones. “Eight dollars?”

“Alright, sure.” He replied. He called the number and Adam gave him the eight dollars. Adam spent the rest of the night looking out the window of the gas station.

“Hey, my shift’s over, and I’m locking up, you can come over to my house if you want.” Gayl said after a few hours.

“I’m good, I’ll just, uh, sleep in Chris’s car.” He replied.

Adam walked out and sat down in the driver seat of the car. He decided to just sleep in the driver's seat. He pulled out his phone and set his alarm for seven AM. He tried to sleep, but couldn’t stop thinking about Chris. He could easily get caught tonight. Unless he got it under control, then Adam was sure he would be caught. And the claw marks in the locker room, maybe he could pass them off as halloween decorations.

Adam slowly dozed off, but was too worried to fully fall asleep. He closed his eyes, and rested, but he could swear he heard a howl as he slept. Adam worried about Chris. What if he had already had been shot dead? No, he couldn’t think like that. He look a series of deep breaths and dozed into his somewhat of a slumber.

Adam woke up to his Alarm. He turned it off and looked at his notifications. He hadn’t gotten anything from Chris. He opened his last conversation with him and began typing.

“Please text me, we really need to talk about what happened last night, and I still have your car, I might skip school today, but only if you text me back in time, so please reply.”

Adam looked at his clothes. They were slightly torn, but nothing someone would question. Chris’s car was fine, not a scratch. Adam got out of the car and his phone went off again. It was Chris, texting him back.

“Oh, I was expecting you to hate me, I’m so sorry about last night, I have no idea what happened. And I know nothing can make up for what I did, but I’m sorry, I’m so sorry Adam. Are we still on for tonight? I can hold in my transformation if we are.”

Adam thought for a minute. It wasn’t Chris that tried to kill him, it was the spirit. Chris was the only reason he was alive right now, then again, he was also the reason that he had to worry about his life in the first place. Adam looked at the phone again, he began typing;

“I don’t hate you, I could never. I know it was not your fault what happened last night, but it’s been almost a week since the full moon. Yes we’re still on for tonight, but maybe transform before you meet me. Text me only if you are yourself. I’ll see you tonight, and I’m going to skip school to go get something for tonight, I’ll pick you up, with your car by the way. We can egg a house or two, then you can come over. I love you, see you soon.”

Adam got back in the car and put the key back in. He drove to a nearby walmart to pick up a few things. He soon realized he had no money, so he drove home, once he was there, he had no motivation to go anywhere. But for Chris he’d make an acception. He went into his room, and grabbed his forty dollars he had been saving up. He then drove to a nearby walmart. He walked back to the frozen section, and grabbed eggs, two philly steaks, and then walked over to the household essentials section, and grabbed toilet paper.

He checked out and had spent almost all of his money. He drove Chris’s car home and put the eggs and steaks in the fridge. By then, it was almost nine. Adam was still tired from last night. He hoped that it wouldn’t happen again tonight, but if it did, he had steaks to feed it, and eggs to throw at it. Not that they would be much help. Adam got on his computer and watched youtube most of the day.

His father got home at four, and his mother at six. The first few trick-or-treaters had already come to the house by six thirty, so Adam texted Chris.

“Hey, want to meet up now then transform in like an hour or two?” He texted.

Chris texted back almost instantly.

“Wow, great minds think alike, I’m almost there, and sure, I got you something, to, make up for last night…”

Adam texted him back saying; “Oh, well get here fast, the first few trick or treaters have come by and I need someone to scare them away because we’re all out of candy, yes, because I ate all of it.”

Chris texted back with; “Well, I kind of have to walk to your house, cause someone has my car keys, I’ll be there in a few minutes.”

A few minutes later, Adam got a knock on his front door. He opened it and saw Chris. He had a bouquet of chocolate covered strawberries, and a duffle bag in his other hand, behind his back.

“Hey, I got you your favorite, Chocolate covered strawberries, I bought it from hyvee, and it was way to expensive.” Chris laughed. “I hope you know I won’t be eating any of them.”

Chris walked in and they hugged.

“Well, I got you something too, lucky you.” Adam said, walking into the kitchen. Chris put down his duffle bag and walked into the kitchen with Adam. Adam opened the freezer and pulled out the two philly steaks he had gotten for Chris. He then closed the freezer and opened the fridge and pulled out the eggs. He held one thing in each hand.

“You’re literally the best.” Chris laughed. “But uh, are we going to talk about last night?”

“What about it? It was a one time thing, right? No need to linger in the past. I know you’re new at being a werewolf, but I know you’ll gain full control of yourself soon.” Adam said as he put down the eggs and steaks on the kitchen table. “So, do want to eat first, or go egging. I also got some toilet paper, if you’d rather be in charge of that.” Adam smiled.

“Well you better eat these strawberries before the chocolate melts off, they were just outside for a little while.” Chris said.

“Only if you eat one with me.” Adam said.

“C’mon, you know even when I was normal I wasn’t much for chocolate or fruits. And plus, aren’t wolves like, allergic to chocolate?” He asked.

“Oh yeah, kind of forgot about that.” Adam said as he grabbed the bouquet. He grabbed one and bit of all of the chocolate covered part. He then put the rest on the table. He opened the steak packaging and walked to the sink. He put it in the sink and turned on the hot water. He felt it to make sure it was hot.

“Hey, I can do this myself, go eat your strawberries.” Chris said smiling. “Let me spoil you like you deserve.”

Adam smiled and walked back to the strawberries and continued eating.

“How did you not like these when you were human?” Adam asked.

“They didn’t make my mouth water, I guess you could say.” Chris smirked. “I don’t know how you like them, I just don’t care for them. Sorry.” Chris turned off the water and began tearing into the steak while it was still raw.

Adam and Chris ate at the table.

“So where’s your parents and your sister?” Chris asked.

“My sister’s staying over at a friend’s house, and my parents will be home soon, so we should go out before they get home.” Adam said.

“I don’t think your dad likes me.” Chris said. “He always gives me dirty looks and stuff.”

“Really? I figured my mom liked you less.” Adam replied

“Oh, your mom? I guess that makes sense.” Chris said.

They both finished eating and stood up. Chris threw away the fake roots that came with the bouquet. Adam picked up the eggs and Chris got the toilet paper. They loaded it in Chriss’ car. Chris got in the driver’s seat and Adam gave him his keys.

“Feels good to have this back.” he said.

“Yeah, it was fun while it lasted I guess.” Adam said.

Chris and Adam set out for a night of egging and tping houses. They only did it to the people who deserved it. The ones who had made their life a living hell before. The ones who would literally make fun of them every day.

When they were done with their night of egging and vandalising, it was time for Chris to transform. They went to the park behind their school, as no one was there again. Chris transformed as normal, with all the pain and throbbing from before. It was all accompanied by his yellow eyes.

“Oh thank god.” Adam said and hugged Chris.

“I thought you couldn’t drive like that.” Adam said.

“I can’t, which is why you’re going to drive.” Chris said.

“Me? You’d trust me with your car?” Adam asked.

“Of course, I’d trust you with anything.” Chris smiled.

Chris gave Adam the keys back and Adam started driving home. It was already ten at night, so his parents would be asleep by now.  Adam parked Chris’s car down the block and walked to his house.

“We need to sneak in the back door so our dog won’t bark and so my parents don’t wake up. Be quiet and don’t touch anything.” Adam said.

“I know, it’s not the first time I’ve snuck in.” Chris said.

Adam and chris quietly and slowly walked through the kitchen into Adam’s room.

“Woah, I never really saw your room before, only in the dark, it’s a lot better in the light.” Chris said.

“Do you not like it?” Adam asked.

“No, no I like it, especially this in Sync poster.” Chris said.

“Are you a fan?” Adam asked.

“Not really, just surprised that someone still has one, its very, late nineties, early two thousands.” Chris said.

“I wish they still played together,” Adam said. “But I still like Justin Timberlake on his own.”

“Yeah,” Chris said.

“So uh, there’s something we really need to talk about,” Adam said. “So, I have been thinking recently, that maybe, sometime in the future, that maybe, you might turn me into a werewolf…?” he said cautiously.

“What? Adam I said don’t talk about it.” Chris said.

“Chris, we need to, I need to talk about it with you.” Adam pleaded.

“I won’t do it. End of story. I can’t Adam. I can’t feel your skin break beneath my teeth. I can’t do it to you. I can’t cause you pain. I would do anything for you, but this, this is different. I’m sorry.” Chris said.

“Chris, I want you to, you’re not dragging me into this.” Adam replied.

“I know, I know you want it but I just can’t.” Chris said. “Please just respect that.”

“I want to be like you though,” Adam said. “I want to, it’s my choice. I’m sorry, I’ll drop it for now, but please talk about it with me in the future.”

“I will, and don’t be sorry, I know that you just want to be with me, to hunt with me, to, suffer with me.” Chris said.

“Can I ask something crazy?” Adam asked.

“Sure,” Chris said.

“If I asked, in the future, would you marry me?” Adam asked.

“Oh, uh,” Chris stuttered.

“Sorry, was that, ok?” Adam asked.

“Yeah, I just, uh, I’m just a bit shocked, I figured I’d have to asked you that, yes I would marry you someday. And this kind of leads into something I was going to say in our little argument, I have thought about what it would be like if you were a wolf.” Chris said.

“Oh,” Adam looked at him.

“To hunt with you, too live with you, maybe even start a pack of our own,” Chris looked at him. “If, I did, turn you in the future, would you promise to do everything I say, without hesitation? If you hesitate for even a second, you can die. Or, what if, what if you have an inner beast too? That’s another thing, I think, that when we talk about this, it makes him want to attack you more. Just the thought of it.” Chris said.

“I promise,” Adam said.

“And another thing, what if, oh god, what if you get bored of me. Or mad at me for turning you. What if you decide to leave me, what then? I can’t lose you.” Chris looked at him again.

“You won’t, Chris, I want to marry you, and I mean it, I want to be with you for the rest of my life.” Adam said.

“Well, there’s no stuff in the books or movies about this, do I marry you first then turn you or turn you then marry you?” Chris asked.

“Do you have a ring?” Adam joked.

“No, I don’t have a ring, but one day I will, and I hope you’ll never take it off.” Chris said.

“Alright well right now we need to get to bed.” Adam said.

“Did you set your Alarm?” Chris asked.

“Yes, for seven thirty am.” Adam replied.

“No, no no, pull your phone out and show me, I need to see that you did it. I don’t exactly want to be caught by your parents in your bed with you tomorrow morning.” Chris smiled.

“Why? You’ll be human by then right?” Adam asked.

“Yes, but don’t you think that would almost be worse? Either way, your parent’s first reaction would be “Get the shotgun”. And I’m not really here for that.” Chris said.

“Don’t joke like that.” Adam frowned.

“Sorry, sorry,” Chris said. Adam showed him his phone with an alarm set for seven thirty am. “Thank you.” Chris said.

“Now let’s get to bed I’m so tired.” Adam said.

“Alright.” Chris said.

They both slept in the same bed that night. Both thinking about their future together. How maybe, one say, that they might be married. That one day, Adam might be a wolf. That one day, they might have their own pack.

“Good morning,” Chris said. “Hey, wake up, you were supposed to wake me up.”

Adam sat up in his bed. Chris was standing right beside it. He was a human, and he was only in his sweatpants.

“What? Oh, oh I’m sorry, what time is it?” Adam asked rubbing his eyes.

“It’s fine it’s only seven thirty six.” Chris said. “You’re lucky I woke up before your parents did.”

“Sorry, but good morning to you too.” Adam smiled.

“Now, where are my extra clothes?” Chris asked.

“Oh, uh, they’re still in the living room.” Adam said.

“What? You left them in there?” Chris asked angrily.

“Sorry, I’ll go get them give me a second.” Adam stood up from his bed.

“Hey, uh, maybe later we can go hiking on the trail from last year, where I went on the full moon?” He asked.

“Sure, when do you want to pick me up?” Adam asked.

“Would three work? I can just eat until then.” Chris said.

“Sure, now let me get your clothes then you can sneak out the window.” Adam said walking out the door, and closing it behind him.

“Here,” Adam said walking in the door with Chris’s duffle bag. “Now change in here then go, my parents are up.”

“Yeah, I could hear your dad snoring all night, how does your mom stand him?” Chris paused. “I guess when you’re married to someone for a long time, you get used to the little things, do uh, do you think you’ll ever get used to me being a werewolf?” Chris asked.

“I’ll be one too.” Adam said.

“Oh, yeah, I forgot.” Chris said putting on his shirt. “Let me get my shoes on then I’ll go.”

Chris grabbed his converse, put them on, and tied them. He grabbed his duffle bag and walked over Chris’s bed and jumped out the window. Adam walked as Chris jumped the fence off his property.

Adam went back to sleep, still thinking about Chris. He could swear he dreamt about running through the woods as a wolf, with Chris by his side.

Adam woke up at around eleven and had lunch. He packed his backpack for his hike with Chris later. He told his mother he was going to another friend’s house. His mother had no way to contact that friend so he slipped by.

Adam waited outside his house for Chris to pick him up at three. He watched a few cars go by, and eventually his mother left to go shopping. Half and hour had passed, and Adam looked at his phone. He began texting Chris.

“Hey, where are you, you were supposed to pick me up at three.”

He waited outside for almost another hour, with no reply. He eventually went inside, and laid his backpack on the living room couch. He waited for Chris to text him the whole day, and nothing. No phone calls, no texts, no snapchats, nothing.

Adam became worried. Chris was nowhere to be found, he tried to use snapchat locations feature, but nothing came up. Chris was gone. Adam looked that night on Chris’s snapchat, but he couldn’t even find it. It was like it had never existed.

He looked at night, tried to use everything, he had sent at least twenty texts by now. He slowly cried himself to sleep. But he could not rest. He knew that something was up.

Adam woke up, and instantly checked his phone, still nothing. He waited all morning, and no texts, no calls, nothing. It was as if Chris had disappeared. What could have happened to him? Could the beast have taken control of him? No, no, the beast would’ve come after him. Could he have been seen? Was he just laying low? If he was seen, why didn’t he text Adam.

Adam went to Chris’s house, he used the key Chris had given him a while ago, and looked everywhere. No one was home. Adam looked in his room, the basement, his sisters room, everywhere. But Chris was missing.

Adam walked home, his feet aching and him starving. He opened his door and closed it behind him. His parents would still be out, his dad at work and his mom with his sister at the mall until at least six.

“Well now, don’t look so down.” a voice said.

“Who’s there?” Chris asked. He grabbed a lamp off of a nearby table.

“Now now, no need to worry.” Said a man as he stepped around the corner. He was wearing a suit, as if he was rich. Dress shoes, everything on his was some shade of black and white. “The one who should be doing the worrying is your boyfriend.” said the man. Adam noticed the man’s southern accent, and his bad breath. “Now, put the lamp down, and let’s have a little talk.” said the man.

Adam did not put the lamp down, but instead carried it and he sat on the couch. The man sat on the char opposite of the table in between them.

“Now, your boyfriend. Really, a great specimen. You have good tastes.” said the man.

“What do you know about him?” Adam asked.

“I know that we have him held captive.” said the man.

“You can’t do that, I’ll call the cops.” Adam said.

“Go ahead, try, because me, and everyone else involved, is a part of the US government.” said the man. “Now, this isn’t going to be what you think, we’re not going to cure your boyfriend, or put you in the witness protection program.”

“Then why are you here?” Adam asked.

“Because I was supposed to capture your boyfriend without any witnesses, but you, you are a witness my friend. And that, is a problem, a complication, and I don’t like complications. Over my time, I’ve seen many things, demons, black magic, witches, skinwalkers, but a werewolf, I mean some people I know have but me! This is the catch of a lifetime. And that spirit inside of him is exactly what we’re looking for. Now here’s my offer to you. If you help us unlock the secrets of this beast, we’ll kill you both quickly. But if you don’t, I’ll kill you right after I kill him, and no one will ever know what happened to the gay boy in school.”

“Why do you need me?” Adam asked.

“Because you are the key to your boyfriend’s heart, I don’t get it, really, but the first thing he asked when he woke up was if we had hurt you. You can get him to unlock his secrets, and that is exactly what we need. But if you refuse, then we will never be able to know what goes on in his head. Then, he has no purpose to us, so we’ll have to, get rid of him, and trust me, you don’t want that, not for what’s to come.”

“Let me think about it.” Adam said, a tear rolling down his face.

“Oh, now now, there’s no need to cry, either way, neither of you will make it out of this alive.”

The man stood up and began walking out.

“How did you know?” Adam asked. The man turned around.

“Well, the animal mutilations in the forest, two campers being attacked, and what really set us off was the claw marks in your school’s locker room. Thank you, for leading us right to him. And the broken window also helped.” Said the man smiling.

“Give me til tomorrow.” Adam said.

“Meet me here if you decide to live a little longer, if not, we’ll be here tomorrow to kill you and your entire family.” Said the man, and handed him a piece of paper.

“This is an abandoned military base, why are you there?” Adam asked,

“Because no one questions it. We’re just off all of the maps” Said the man. “Now, I expect you’ll do the right thing.”

The man walked out of the house and looked at the paper. He knew where this military base was. He had passed it while going on a roadtrip with his family. What other things were in that base? He couldn’t help them with what they were doing. He needed a plan to get Chris in and out. It had to be soon. And what about his family? The man clearly doesn’t care who he has to kill.

If he threw his family off, though. He had to get them out of the house tomorrow, at least. His sister will be leaving her car home tomorrow, because she is going on vacation with her friends. But his parents, he needed to distract them. Somewhere far away. Canada, that was about a days drive. He knew his sister’s car keys would be in her room as usual tomorrow.

He had no idea how he would get his boyfriend out. If it was part of the government, they would have heavy security. But he had seen the base before, it was no bigger than a small school. They couldn’t fit a ton of people in there. Was the man bluffing? He obviously didn’t care who he had to kill.

Adam knew how to pick a lock, his father had shown him how when he was little, in order to get downstairs when he lost the key. All he needed was a paperclip. But if he did get Chris out, he needed to prepare for the future. And not just a week, a month, a year, but this would change his whole life. If he decided to do this, he could never return to this town. He’d be on the run for the rest of his life from these people.

Adam thought for the rest of the night, his parents got home. He prepared for school tomorrow morning. Even though he would probably never go again. He had to disappear. He knew the ins and outs of the base. His grandpa used to tell him stories of how he used to work there. He remembered his grandpa talked of a hallway that lead to all the torture chambers for the terrorists they planned to keep there.

He scheduled his whole day tomorrow. He would wake up at four in the morning, write his note saying he ran away to Canada, go to Chris’s house, grab Chris’s backpack from his house, fill it with clothes, water, food, and money, then, break him out. He had no idea how dangerous it would be. The man could be lying about everything. He had never showed him a badge showing he was with the government. He would have to leave his phone, and all of his electronics at his house. He needed to vanish.

He looked in his parent’s room. Right on top of the dresser, as usual, was a handgun, a machetti, and a stash of throwing knives. He grabbed them and put them in his backpack. He grabbed all the waters from the fridge, all the food that wouldn’t spoil, and hid it under his bed. He wrote his note that night.

“I ran away to Canada, don’t try to catch me on the way there, you’ll never find me, I’m sorry I have to do this, I just, I don’t want you to feel like any of this is your fault. And one more thing, I’m gay, and I’m sorry I never had the guts to tell you. Chris is my boyfriend and he’s running away there with me. I love you, -your son”

He cried and folded the note. He hid it under his bed for tomorrow morning. He set his alarm, preparing for battle tomorrow morning. His whole life was about to change. The course of the next day would alter the course of his whole life, and his family’s. He drifted to sleep.

Adam woke up without hesitation. He grabbed his backpack and note out from under his bed. He got dressed with the few clothes he had left. He dressed in all black, black converse, black jeans, a black t shirt and a black hoodie. He put the note on the living room table for his family to find. He grabbed his bag from his room and put it on his back. This was happening. He grabbed his sister’s keys from her room, being careful not to wake her.

He looked back at his house. He began to tear up.

“I’m sorry, I love you.” He whispered. He closed his eyes and a single tear fell down his cheek. He opened his front door, took one deep breath, walked out, and closed it behind him. He refused to look back.

It was still dark out. Adam got in his sister’s car, and drove to Adam’s house. He snuck in Chris’s window he had always left unlocked for him. He dropped his bag on the grass outside and left it. He crawled over Chris’s bed and stood on the floor. He grabbed Chris’s backpack and dumped it out on his pillow. He went to the closet. He grabbed all of Chris’s clothes that would be good to move fast in, sweatpants, track pants, sweaters, hoodies, jackets and t shirts. He left the jeans and button ups. He put Chris’s extra shoes in another pocket of the backpack. Adam looked at his room.

Adam crawled out his window and down the stairs. He grabbed his bag and put them both in his sister’s car. He drove for what felt like days, when in reality, it hadn’t been close to an hour. He parked a few blocks away from the base, in the woods. He grabbed the paperclip he kept in his pocket and slowly walked up to the base. It was dark, but Adam could see great. He saw no visible security on the outside.

He had left the bags in the car so they were less to carry. He looked all around, and no one. Either they were very hidden, or no one was really there. Adam got to the only door he had seen. He picked the lock for a good minute until the door finally creaked open. He heard an echo of some kind of shriek.

In the doorway was a hallway. Glass on both sides, looking into different rooms. Adam was too terrified to look into any of them. He stepped in the door and got light headed. Something guided him. Something inside of him told him exactly where to go. He turned right, then right again, then took one left. Each one leading into different hallways. Then he heard it.

“We’re going today.” he heard a voice say. It was the man’s voice. “He’s going to accept our offer, if he doesn’t then why are we here?” He asked.

“I wouldn’t be so sure, I bet he’s probably setting a trap at his house for you right now.” He heard a woman reply. He looked right around the corner of the wall to see the man, and a woman. The man was standing, drinking coffee, and the woman was sitting.  

“I’ll bring extra men, if he doesn’t join us, we’ll kill him right there. And he has school, so I’m planning on leaving now. If he’s not up, we’ll wake him up. I could care less if I wake his parents up, I’ll kill them too.” he yelled.

“Well then what are you waiting for?” the woman asked. “Here, come with me, we’re getting an alert for four oh one.” The woman stood up and walked with the man, past a cage, and into another hallway.

“Then, you can go and get the boy.” She said.

Adam looked closely at the cage near the series of desks and chairs. He saw Chris, shirtless, laying on the floor, bleeding. Adam quietly creeped up to the cage. He saw Chris. He was almost asleep. Chris looked like he hadn’t been fed in days.

“Chris, Chris!” Adam whispered. “Chris wake up, come on.”

“Adam?” Chris asked putting his head up. “Is, is it really you?” he asked,

“Yes, I’m here to get you out.” Adam said.

“No, no, Adam, you need to go, now.” Chris said. “Adam, please go, please leave.”

“No, I’m not leaving you here. Chris, if I don’t do this, then we will both die today. Chris, they came to my house, they want me to join them, I can’t stay here, and neither can you. We’re leaving this town, today.” Adam said pulling out his paperclip again.

Chris stood on his knees.

“Adam, they put silver in me, right in between my ribs, and behind my ear. I can barely move.” Chris said.

“This shouldn’t take too much moving, just walking, can you do that? Chris, please do this, for me.” Adam said.

Adam continued to pick at the lock. He realized he had left the gun and knives in the car. He fiddled with the paperclip for almost a minute. The cell door opened.

“Oh my god.” Chris smiled.

“C’mon, we don’t have time.” Adam said. Adam put Chris’s arm around his shoulder to help him walk. Adam put his arm around Chris’s back to help hold him up. Adam began running while dragging Chris. He walked the way out the same way he had walked in. This time, he couldn’t help but look in the other cells. Some were pitch black, others, had strange creatures in them. He saw a woman, dressed in all black, with a bloody face. He saw pale white creatures with no featured. He saw things he shouldn’t have.

He got to the exit door and stumbled out. He dragged Chris against the dead grass all the way to the car. He knew he couldn't take the car. They could easily track the license plate. He grabbed both bags out of the car and put one on both arms.

“Chris, I’m sorry, but I need you to walk on your own for a bit, I need to carry the bags, and I won’t be able to help you walk, can you walk?” He asked.

“Yes, I can walk, but we need to stop soon, at least to get this silver out of me.” Chris held his hand to his rib.

“Here,” Adam said opening Chris’s backpack on the grass. He pulled out a plain black shirt. “Wear this, tie it around your injury, it’ll help the bleeding.”

Chris tied it around his ribs and moaned in pain. They picked up the bags again and walked further into the forest. It was daylight now, they had been walking for a few hours.

“Stop, please, Adam,” Chris sat down on a log. “I need to stop.” Adam looked at him. Chris put his hand to his rib again.

“Alright, alright, I’m sorry.” Adam said. “We’ll rest here for an hour or two.”

Adam pulled out a water from his backpack, opened it, and handed it to Chris. Chris began to chug all of it down. He drank like it was the best thing in the world. Almost eating the bottle with it.

“Chris, you do know, that we’ll have to get the silver out of you, right? That means that it’s going to be very painful, and we should do it sooner than later.” Adam said, looking at him.

“Yeah, yeah, I know, let’s do it tonight.” Chris said. “My wound, it’s not healing, when I had broken my foot, it healed in one night. I’ve had this all of yesterday and today. I think it’s the silver, maybe the movies were right about something. Silver weakens me for sure.” He said.

“They’re probably after us right now.” Adam said, looking at the oath they came from.

“You, you knew that we would never be able to go back, didn’t you?” Chris asked. He looked at Adam. “You went to my house, got all my clothes, oh my god Adam, what about your family?” Chris began to tear up. “Chris, they’ll kill them.”

“I gave them a distraction, and yours too, I said we were running away to Canada together. Hopefully they’ll go looking for a while.” Adam said.

“Where exactly are we going? What is your plan to escape? Just be on the run for the rest of our lives?” Chris asked.

“I don’t know, but we’ve come this far. With our money combined, we’ve saved almost a thousand, guess that summer job really paid off. Maybe we could go to the Chicago airport and find a flight? I know some flights only cost like three hundred.” Adam said.

“We’re a hundred miles away from Chicago, how do you expect to walk there, let alone me?” Chris asked.

“Well,” Adam paused. “Chris, I know you won’t like this, but hear me out, I was hoping that you would bite me”

“What? No, this is the worst time for me to bite you.” Chris said. “Adam, the first few times you turn, you have almost no control. You can be set off by anything and you’ll be eating every hour. I’m sorry but I can’t, not right now.”

“Chris you promised.” Adam said.

“I’m not going back on it, but I said sometime in the future, this would be one of the dumbest times for me to turn you.” Chris said.

“Fine, but Chris, we need to start thinking about how we are going to defend ourselves. If they captured you, then they can easily capture both of us.” Adam said.

“That man with the coffee breath has been hunting mythological creatures all his life, if he is the one that comes for us, then I wouldn’t even try to fight back.” Chris said. “Adam, if he does, capture me again, I need you to run, forget about me. Leave me like you left our home, promise me.”

“No, no Chris I’ll come back to get you like I did this time. If I don’t, then he’ll find me and kill me anyways.” He said.

“Adam, promise me.” Chris said.

“No,” Adam replied. “I can’t, because I know there’s a chance that I’ll break that promise. But here’s something I will promise you. I promise you no promises.”

“C’mon, this is not the time for song references.” Chris smiled.

“Looks like it distracted you.” Adam smiled.

“You always do.” Chris said.

“Adam, this doesn’t make sense, if they are a part of the government, why are they using an abandoned military base?

“Well, Chris, I know you’re in pain, but we need to move. At least until nightfall.” Adam said.

“No, wait, Adam, there’s a train track near here. It's a freight train that comes from here to new york, but it stops at Chicago. We can hitch a ride on it.”

“Oh my god, you’re right, alright, we’ll set up camp here, and when you hear the train, we need to run. Rest for now, but we will need to run Chris, which means, we should probably get the silver out of you.” Adam said.

“I know.” Chris said. “I don’t know how to do something like this.”

“I can try, but Chris, it’s going to hurt. Do you trust me?” He asked.

Adam pulled a knife out of his bag. He held it in his right hand slightly behind him.

“Yeah, just, please be careful, I don’t know how deep in it is.” Chris took off the shirt he was wearing. He held his hands in the air near his wound. Adam kneeled down right beside him, and laid him down so his back was resting on a log.

“Ready?” Adam asked. Chris nodded his head and laid it back on the log. Adam held the knife near the wound. He looked deeply into it and saw light. The bullet was only about an inch in. He pressed on the top with the knife and used his hand to lure the bullet out. Chris moved his head in pain, scrunching his face as he moved.

Adam suddenly pressed twice as hard and the bullet popped out into his hand. Chris’s wound began to bleed and he grabbed a shirt and wrapped it back around it. Chris took a deep breath.

“Jeez, that hurt a lot more than I thought it would.” Chris laid his head back.

“Hey, now we gotta do the one in your head, where is it?” Adam asked.

“It’s behind my left ear, here’s the scar.” Chris said as he felt behind his ear. He sat up and turned away from Adam. Adam put the bullet he dug out of Chris on the dirt. He grabbed his now bloody knife and put it over the healed scar behind Chris’s ear. He dug out the healed scar so it bled again. Chris tensed up.

Adam looked in this wound, and saw the bullet was deeper. He pressed the knife harder than he did on his ribs. He barely saw a shimmer. He pressed harder and harder until he could see the outline. He pressed Chris’s ear to fold into itself. He dug the bullet out of his head with the knife. The bullet finally fell out and onto the ground.

“Oh my god.” Chris grabbed the back of his ear. “That was almost worse.”

“Sorry, but it had to be done sometime.” Adam said.

“I need to transform, right now. I heal quicker when I transform I think.” Chris said.

Chris stood up and walked into a small clearing. He took of his shoes and unwrapped the shirt from around him. He threw both into a little pile. He began taking his usual series of deep breaths.

Adam watched him. He saw his ears turn first, then his hands. Then his nose and mouth. He could see how weak he was. He took almost a minute to turn this time.

“Alright, I’m okay.” He said. He looked at Adam. He looked at him with red eyes.

“You,” Adam took a step back. He grabbed his knife and his backpack. “I have a gun in my bag.”

“Calm down, and I’m not scared of you, you probably don’t even know how to use that gun. But I’m not here to attack you. No, that wouldn’t be in my best interest, or your boyfriends.”

“Then why are you here?” Adam asked.

“Because your boyfriend couldn’t handle it, he passed out right as he transformed.” He explained. Adam dropped his bag and held the knife at his side. Chris’s body walked and sat down at the log he sat at before.

“Why is it suddenly not in your interest, it was before. What changed?” Adam asked.

“You saved me, and your boyfriend, and for that, I owe you one.” said the beast. “So I’m going to give you some information. When your boyfriend was asleep, I listened, as I always do, and I heard the man with the coffee breath say something about a wolf pack somewhere in New York.” The beast looked at Adam. “And, you can sit down, I told you I’m not here to attack you.”

“In New York? We’re on our way to Chicago, though, go to an airport, and-”

“The train you plan to catch a ride on, it’s only stopping at Chicago, the final destination is Brooklyn. Go there, there will be a symbol, I’m not exactly sure what that symbol will be, but you and your boyfriend will know.” Said the beast.

“And what about this pack makes us want to meet them?” Adam asked.

“They are a pack of rebels, other werewolves, at least twenty spread out through the whole city. And before you ask, I’m not going to turn you, I’ve said before and I stand by it, that needs to be your boyfriend. Now, the train will be coming tomorrow afternoon, go four carts back if you can. No one will check on it for the whole time you’re on it. But you need to move to the other side of the tracks tonight, or the people will catch you.” The beast said.

“So we just look for a symbol? Where at? We can’t just search the whole city.” Adam said.

“That’s all I have, but I’m telling you, this is what’s best for you and your boyfriend.”

“And what about the full moon? It’s coming up in a few weeks now, what will we do then?” Adam asked.

“The others figured it out, and you will too, now, I’m going to let your boyfriend rest now, wake him up in two or three hours and walk, that will be a safe distance from the man with the coffee breath.” It explained.

“Wait, before you go, do you know if our families are okay?” Adam asked.

“Not sure, I only know what the man said while I was captive, then, I was busy guiding you to your boyfriend, telling you exactly what to do, and thankfully you complied, now, remember, two or three hours, then, go to the other side of the tracks, tomorrow, near noon, the train will pass, catch it, to New York, and find the pack. I don’t want you to die as much as your boyfriend does right now, we need you. But you don’t want to be around when I no longer rely on you. Now, stick to the plan, goodbye.”

Chris’s wolf body collapsed. He passed out right then and there. Adam thought, this was going to be his life. And for some reason, he was okay with that. He would forever be on the run. In New York. He looked at Chris. He wondered what they would do when the full moon set in, they would be in the city. All time seemed to move faster. But they were already used to running. Adam sat, and waited, for the train to New York.

Adam began slightly singing.

“I’m sending the Raven, black bird in the sky, sending the signal that I’m here, some sign of life, I’m sending the message, of feathers and bone, just let me know I’m not forgotten out here alone. The air is cold, the night is long, I feel like I might fade into the dawn, fade, until I’m gone. I’m so far from home, so far from home. Not where I belong, not where I belong. I’m so far from home, so far, from home.”