Lauren was lying face up on a stretcher in Axel's living room, still in her pajamas, IVs and drips running to and from her. Her tiny body was pale and coated in a sheet of cold sweat. Her throat, or what was left of it, was heavily bandaged and soaked through with blood. Tiny, green branched veins showed through her papery eyelids, and the eyeballs underneath them were moving to and fro rapidly. Occasionally her limbs would jerk violently, and she would let out a whimper of pain.
Beth watched the little girl from a safe five feet away, too scared to go too close. Gasps of tears escaped her lips as the girl thrashed and turned on the stretcher. Axel appeared behind her. He'd changed from his lab coat into a homely black sweater, and his blonde hair was up in a ponytail. He held a mug of something hot in his hands."Here, drink this," he murmured coaxingly "You'll feel better."She collected the mug from his hands without giving him so much as a glance and took a thirsty gulp."Dr Makovsky is looking for you." Axel informed her. "He asked me to find out where you are."Beth sighed. "I'm not surprised. He wants me around him. I hold too much valuable information to just escape from under his nose.""How much pain is she in?" She asked."I cannot tell for sure. The lycanthropy virus is going to take effect much faster on her, given that she's just a little girl. But I have given her all the painkillers her body can take. Let's hope for the best." They continue to watch the girl as the pain coursed through her and the drip drip of the IV periodically broke through their shared silence.After a while, Beth sighed and rubbed her eyes. "You need sleep," Axel noted "You can crash in my room. I'll look after her, don't fret.""No, but I can't leave you here with a werewolf. What if she wakes up?""I can take care of myself pretty well. Believe me, I did with her father. I shot him–"Beth turned at him abruptly "You shot her father?!"Axel scoffed "He isn't hurt, I'm very sure. Werewolves heal very fast. The point is, you should go to bed and I should watch over her.""Alright." Beth said "But let me know when she's up. I want to see her." She placed the mug on the coffee table and crossed slowly to the staircase leading to the bedroom."Beth?" Axel called her back.She stopped, one foot on the staircase "Yeah?"He shifted on his feet and looked up at her "If there's one thing I know working in that laboratory, it's that Dr Makovsky positively hates being challenged. He's going to come for us, and the little girl too if he finds out what she is now. With a Werewolf he created roaming free and several of his scientists decamping, he is at his lowest right now, and rightly so. He is going to take this out on you."Beth frowned and folded her arms "Do you think I don't know all this, Axel? The thought has haunted me ever since I left him. So what are you saying?""We need to keep you and the girl safe." He said "Run to a new town, start a new life, with a new name. Nobody has to know who you are. If we are ever going to successfully keep the girl away from that laboratory, you'll have to skip town. God knows what they'll do to her if the Doctor gets his claws on her."Tears welled up in Beth's eyes again "I'm scared. I've never been scared of anything in my life like this!"Axel crossed the room and took Beth's hands in his. "I know. But we have to do it. For your safety, for the little girl's safety, God, for all of us. You don't have to be scared. You don't have to do anything. I'll help you.""And what of you, Axel? What will he do to you if he finds out?""He has no reason to believe I'm in liaison with you. He'll think you're doing this solo. I'll stay back in Perkins and be your in-man from here. You don't have to worry about me. Worry only about yourself and the future of that little girl on the stretcher over there." He rubbed her hands in both of his as they both stare into each other's eyes. "Promise me you'll keep yourself and the girl safe. Say it."After a moment's hesitation, Beth said "I promise, I–"She was loudly interrupted by a low, childlike growl from the direction of the stretcher. They both whirled towards the noise, although a part of them already knew what they would find.A child-sized werewolf sat on her haunches on the stretcher, her pajamas in shreds around her, the IV and drip lines ripped from her body and laying on the floor like white tendrils. Her fur was deep brown, the colour of melted chocolate, the colour of the hair of little Lauren that laid on the stretcher only a minute ago. Her eyes had turned yellow and slitted. She could have been a cute little wolf if not for the inch-long canines that was visible even from that distance."Axel..." Beth whispered."Run!" Axel yelled.They both took off running up the staircase, but the little werewolf paid no attention to them. It leapt down from the stretcher and sauntered out of the living room, into the kitchen and out the back door, howling as it ran off.The pair stood at the head of the staircase and watched as the changeling disappeared into the woods. "Should we chase after her?" Beth asked."No," Axel replied, holding her back by the arm "She's in a state of bloodlust right now. It's a wonder she didn't kill us. But if we chase after her, she just might. And a Werewolf's speed is seven times that of any average human. We'd never catch up to her. Let's just hope she kills an animal or... or something, and not people like her father."She buried her face in Axel's sweater as he held her close "I hope she's not in too much pain""Yeah," Axel replied "I hope so too."The little she-wolf continued to run into the woods, her sight blinded by bloodlust. Her vision was red, with black dots representing distinct objects, like the reddish-black coals of a dying fire. Run! A voice in her head screamed over and over again and she obeyed, racing as though trying to tear herself from her skin. The pain was intense and overwhelming, and all she could think of was the pain and flesh: delicious, intoxicating flesh. She reached a clearing in the woods and stopped, her little wolf heart racing unnaturally. She let loose a scary howl that could be heard from miles away, and staggered as though drunk, the pain wracking her bones. It bent her unyielding body until she was on the floor, whimpering in agony, her sight still tinged with red. Suddenly her head snapped up. She'd heard a sound. It could have been easily missed by a human but her wolf ears had picked it up. Her eyes adjusted and located the source of the sound: it was a massive moose, night-grazing an
The boy looked up at the tall, forbidding Russian facility, a cap and nose mask protecting his face from the howling wind. He sank his hands into the pocket of his leather jacket and walked forward, ignoring the two security guards at the front door. They approached him with their guns outstretched and pushed him back, their faces grim and rigid. "Who do you seek?" One, a bald muscular man growled. "Who's the boss around here?" The boy asked, staring defiantly at both of them. The security guards exchanged amused stares and shifted on their feet. "You want the boss around here?" The second guard asked, thrusting the head of his gun in the boy's chest "Trust me, you'd be better off not knowing who that is." His colleague chuckled and muttered something about puny teenagers. "I heard that." The boy said "And I'm not just a puny teenager. I'm more than that." "Oh, are you now?" The bald guard mocked, then pushed the boy forcefully "Get out of here, kid." The boy smirked and
"Yeah, yeah I know." Sixteen-year-old Lauren said, her phone lodged between her ear and her shoulder "Beth, I'll be back home before seven. It's just a date. Don't make my dinner. Yeah, love you too." She resolved and cut the call, shutting the door of her locker as she did so. She let out a whoosh of breath and laid her forehead on the cool metal of the locker, her dark brown hair shielding her face like a curtain. Tonight was the full moon, and she had to be home before her Change came. She remembered the first Change she had in this new town, four years ago, like it happened yesterday. Beth had locked her up in the attic and made her wait it out. She'd had to stand naked and face the milky moonlight until it happened. Hot currents of pain had ricocheted up and down her limbs, stretching them as far as they could go. Her real canines had fallen out, and new, longer, sharper ones had taken their place. She remembered screaming Beth's name in terror over and over again till she'd los
Lauren hopped down from the bathroom window on the first floor and landed on her feet, unscathed. She crouched and waited in the bushes, hoping no one saw her make that brave leap. Slowly she counted to twenty, stood and walked slowly out of the bushes. She made her way to the parking lot where her bicycle was parked, unchained it and tore out of the parking lot. She could feel her phone vibrating in the pocket of her hoodie but she ignored it. Her thoughts were with the caged werewolf at the station and how she could free it. In a matter of minutes she arrived at the station and saw a group of policemen gathered at the entrance, sipping coffee from mugs and talking. She approached them with what she thought was an innocent school-girl expression and cleared her throat. "Yes, miss?" A dark-skinned one asked. "Good morning, officers. I heard a wolf was captured last night? I was wondering if I could be allowed to take a look at it." The dark-skinned policeman looked at his co
Axel watched as Beth paced the kitchenette of her house, barely minding the cup of brew in her hands as its content spilled with every pace. Her bathrobe swished as it scraped the floor, her reddish hair cascading down her back like a fiery waterfall. At intervals she would roll her eyes and mutter murderously. "Stop it." He said "You're driving me nuts." She let out a groan and slammed the cup on the kitchen island. "No. Lauren is driving both of us nuts!" "Not me." Axel quipped. "I am perfectly calm. And I think you should take a break." He added. "Besides, what if she's just out with friends, doing normal human stuff? She's a teenager, you know. Try to calm down." Beth gritted her teeth, her hair like strands of flames "I am calm. This is me being calm." Axel smiled to himself as he watched her resume her pacing. He couldn't help but admit—to himself of course—that Beth was one attractive woman when she got all worked up like this. He remembered four years ago when he'd c
Lauren woke suddenly to the loud snores of someone else in the cabin. She groaned and turned, but her movements were restricted by the sleeping bag she was in. The sleeping bag itself was in near tatters, long tears running up and down the body. She rubbed her eyes and rolled out of the sleeping bag. The corners of her vision was blood-red and blurry, like her memories of the previous night. She turned around, looking for the other werewolf, and found him lying on the other end of the cabin, half out of his sleeping bag and snoring thoroughly, his arms flinged every which way. She groaned again and shuffled to the door, opened it and went outside. The morning was full of floating mist and the croaks of frogs, the trees whispering as the soft breeze went through their branches. She breathed in and closed her eyes, letting the breeze caress her, washing away the lingering soreness from the full moon. Last night had been thoroughly eventful. After her fight with Beth she had barely ma
Katherine was sitting cross-legged on the bed with a book in her laps. She looked up as her guard let the doctor in, the metal grate clanging behind him, her serene expression changing to one of distaste at the sight of his old face and white hair. Unusually for a prisoner, she was well taken care of. Her cell was clean and free of clutter, albeit sparse and quite ugly. Her lush brown hair was well combed and fell down her back in spirals. She was dresses in a white pair of trousers, white flannel shirt and an intrepid pair of white shoes. Dr Makovsky stopped before her, his expression bland, save for a noncommittal smile. He looked around at her cell and remarked. "Your wallpaper needs to be changed. It is quite—boring, is it not?" "I agree. Same as every other thing in this room, including my clothes. But then you have never liked flashy things, have you?" She replied and smiled at him with a hint of repulsion. "You know me too well, Kat dear. Little wonder we get along so well
Mike Sommers stared at the gloomy twenty-foot tall Russian facility from the safety of Scott's car. A ball of sadness and guilt formed in his throat as he wringed the soda can in his hand, his heart aching for his daughter. God, his daughter. Everytime he thought about her he remembered the look of fright on her little face as he had done the irreparable physical damage to her that fateful night. He hadn't remembered much, in fact he had remembered next to nothing from that first night, but the frightened look on Lauren's face still followed him around and haunted his waking moments till this day. "Have you seen enough?" Scott asked from the driver's seat, his hands on the wheel. "No. Let's wait a little more." Mike replied as he pushed his hair from his eyes and drank deeply from the can in his hand. He'd grown his hair out, from his characteristic policeman crew cut to a fuzzy hipster-like haircut. His previously clean-shaven jaw sported a full beard now. He looked older, leaner