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Sarah ‘Tomboy’ Nakano
Farbanti, Erusia
1420 Hours Local
“You know,” I said as the four of us made our way back to my house, as Neil had decided to go and tell Cera about
what Amanda had become, “Maybe we shouldn’t do this. My parents are already on edge from when Bird Dog and I told
them I’m a werewolf. Maybe we should just do something else.”
“Like what?” Amanda asked. “Unless we go to the airport and wait until our flight comes in, I have no idea
what we could do.”
Elena shrugged. “When’s the last time you Changed, Sarah?”
“A few days ago when Bird Dog came back to Stonehaven,” I said, slightly confused. Then it hit me: a run. That
was just what we needed: a run to take our minds off things and just have fun.
Amanda looked a bit scared when she clued in. “But I really think it’d be best if we went to the airport. You
know, get the tickets now and wait for the plane to land?”
I pulled out my cell phone and called the airport. Amanda tried to convince me otherwise, but I motioned for her to be quiet.
Once I had purchased plane tickets for seven, I thanked the ticket agent and hung up. When I looked over to Amanda, she looked
worried.
“What’s wrong?”
“You guys can go on ahead. I know what you’re planning--a run, right?”
I nodded. “It’s actually pretty fun, Amanda. Besides, it’s just what we--and especially you--need right
now.”
She shook her head. “I’ve still got stuff to do at the library, so—”
“Come on, Amanda, we both know that’s not true. Besides, you can just join us later when you’re done.”
Tears started to form around her eyes. “I’ve already Changed this week, Sarah. Please don’t make me go through
that again.”
So, that’s what this was about. She didn’t want to Change any more times then once a week. From what I understood,
it was no wonder she was so emotionally frail. Amanda was always easily frightened, and for most werewolves who only Change
once a week when the need gets too strong, they get irritable or angry very easily. Now, like I said, I don’t know much
about Changing, but it seemed possible that Amanda would, as the need to Change grew, become more frightened.
I put my hand on her shoulder and said soothingly: “look Amanda, you’ve got to accept what you are, there’s
no way out of this. you’ve been a werewolf for about a year, right? Well, I’ve been one for only a few weeks,
and already I’ve managed to fight and win against you. That’s not a good sign.”
She put her hands up and covered her face. “What do you want me to do?”
Still as soothingly as I could possibly be, I said: “Simple. Just go on a run with the rest of us.”
Elena nodded. “Sarah’s right, there’s no way you can ever get back to who you used to be, and it’s
pointless to try and fight it. Believe me, I tried. The only thing left to do now is to just find a balance between you and
the wolf. The harder you try to push it away, the harder it’ll push back. You can’t win. I’m sorry, but
you just can’t.”
Amanda finally gave up and sighed “Okay, I’ll go with you. But please, let’s not kill anything. I can’t
stand killing things.”
That was Amanda also. She had no stomach whatsoever for killing. Even when we were at the movies, she’d always vote
to go for the comedy or the romance movie. She was very squeamish when it came to action flicks, and she often ran out of
the theatre during a horror movie.
Anyways, I called Jeremy and let him know where we were just in case, and then we walked to the forest. Once we got there,
we went in deeper so we wouldn’t be interrupted and then we found separate clearings.
I begun my Change, and bit down hard on a stick to prevent me from screaming. Once I was finished, I walked out, and found
that Clay and Elena where already finished but Amanda was nowhere to be seen. Now THAT was not good. I had managed to finish
Changing before she did, and I was only a werewolf for less then two weeks. Once Amanda came out, I acted out that we should
split up. I thought Amanda would be more comfortable with me, and having two other experienced werewolves in very close proximity
might scare her.
Captain ‘Bird Dog’ Roy
1424 hours
It was nearing the end of my session with Dr. Wolfe, and there would be no better time to say what I had to say. Once I explained
what I was, and after I showed her, she definitely thought another few sessions would be a good thing.
Once our time was up, I walked out of the office and just decided to go for a run. It would give me some well-needed recuperation
time. Talking about what happened the day the asteroids hit always took a lot out of me, and it always made me want to kill
myself, although from past experience, I knew that I could not, and would never be able to pull the trigger.
I called a cab to get me to the forest. Once the driver let me off, I went deep into the forest, found a clearing, and Changed.
Once I was finished, I stretched, and took a deep breath. After a couple of seconds of relaxation and forgetting about what
happened that day, I smelled something interesting.
Werewolf.
But the wind, even though it was blowing the scent in my direction, dispersed the scent so much that I couldn’t tell
who caused it. I followed the scent for a while, until I could make it out clearly enough.
Deffinantly a werewolf, although NOT one I recognized. My mind was spinning. A Mutt? HERE? In Erusia? That’s just not
possible unless… No, none of the Pack would EVER do that, but Sarah… No, she’d never attack anyone.
No, scratch that, she’d never attack anyone and let them live afterwards. We both knew what it was like to become a
werewolf, and we had no intention of letting anyone else go through the same treatment. But there was the nagging question
towards my actions in Moscow: why didn’t I kill Sarah? I had put her into this new magical world against her will, and
now it was too late to do anything about it.
Oh sure, the Soviets have the capability of time travel, but they don’t use it. EVER, under ANY circumstances. It’s
got something to do with the space-time continuum. I don’t know.
Anyways, I managed to catch up to the new wolf, and the wind was still blowing in my direction. Good, unless I made a noise,
this mutt wouldn’t know what hit her.
Wait a second: HER!? I recoiled in shock at the realisation that this wolf was a female. But how the hell…?
She was running behind Sarah, as if trying not to enjoy the forest as a werewolf should. I stayed in the underbrush, and started
sneaking up on her. Eventually, she stopped altogether, and barked. Sarah heard the bark, and turned around. When the brown
wolf managed to sniff out my hiding place, I jumped out, and stood there, growling at her.
I only had two mutt fights up to that point, but I felt that those two had been at less then one hundred percent. Well, this
brown wolf would be my first real fight, and as such, it was going to be a fight to remember.
All first fights are like that. To this day, I can still remember the very first air battle as though it happened only yesterday.
Anyways, the brown wolf looked simply terrified for a couple of seconds, then her eyes turned red, and she leaped at me! Not
ready for the attack, I was slammed down, and she was now on top of me, going for my neck. I twisted, and squirmed evading
her attacks, until I managed to get in a position where I could wiggle free.
I did, and bit at the brown wolf’s front left leg and went to the right, dragging her off balance. Obviously, this one
isn’t fully trained yet. A smart wolf would attack me while I was clamped on. Damn and I thought I was going to have
a challenge.
I let go after the she had fallen down, but she got back up again. Although, I noticed something else: she wasn’t quite
used to the way her wolf body moved yet. That might be another break. Being more experienced, or at least better trained,
I could easily outmanoeuvre her.
I was about to go in for another attack when Sarah tackled the brown wolf to the ground, and started growling ferociously.
The brown wolf tried to snap at her, and throw her off, but eventually, the blood-red eyes faded into a sort of hazel-ey colour
(I couldn’t tell from my position and with wolf vision.) and she went submissive.
When the brown wolf stopped attacking, Sarah let her up, and she looked at me with perhaps a trace of embarrassment as she
passed by me. Sarah gave me an angry look, but that faded seconds later, and she nuzzled me. ‘I missed you.’
I returned the gesture, and then pointed in the direction of the brown wolf, and grunted curiously at her. ‘Who is she?’
I knew of course that Sarah couldn’t answer in wolf form, but it she’d remember it when we Changed back and met
up again. Sarah and I took off to find our new friend, and sure enough, we found her chowing down on… well, I guessed
it was a raccoon. The brown wolf looked startled to see us, and for a second looked like she was going to run away, but Sarah
gave a reassuring wolf-grin, and she calmed down.
Geez, I thought. Talk about the wrong person in the wrong place at the wrong time. This wolf, whoever she is, looks like she’s
about to faint whenever I get near her. I shook my head. Not to mention how nervous she looks just standing there. I took
a sniff, concentrating on the brown wolf’s scent. But she’s old. Well, older then me. About a year or so. So why
does she act like she’s completely new to this? she had to have gone through at least a couple hundred Changes by now…
I shook my head again, and Sarah nudged my on my right side and gestured with her muzzle towards the brown wolf. She looked
scared… again. Sarah tried her reassuring grin, but the other wolf started to back away slowly, as if not wanting to
make any sudden movements.
I thought of something, and tried it: I laid down on my belly, and lowered my ears flat against my head. I also let out an
exaggerated yawn, and closed my eyes. Taking gentle breaths in, I knew that what I was doing was working. The scent of her
fear was now lessening, and it eventually went away. A few seconds later, I heard her coming towards me, and eventually sniffed
me.
Almost tentatively, she pulled back, but she came in again. almost like an animal smelling another one that’s new. Eventually,
that stopped, and I was nudged again on my side. I opened my eyes slowly, giving the brown wolf time to adjust and then slowly
rose. Once I was filly up, I turned, saw the brown wolf, and licked her muzzle. I really wanted her to trust me.
In the base, everyone there treats me like I’m some kind of God and either fears me, or tries to get onto my good side
as though it can earn them a promotion. I HATED that. Sarah knew that, and as such, she treated me just like she would any
of her CO’s. a little attitude sometimes, but generally nice, and self-assured.
I hated carrying that baggage around with me wherever I went. That wasn’t a real issue in the Pack; because of everyone
else having years of experience over me, but to see it here, in another werewolf was just damn irritating.
Once I gained the brown wolf’s trust, we continued our run until we had to get back. I went back to the clearing where
I had Changed, and I eventually met up with everyone again, including a brown-haired woman that had the exact same scent at
the brown wolf.
I smiled and said: “You must be the new huntress I met a few seconds ago in there.” I held out my hand. “Captain
Patrick ‘Bird Dog’ Roy.”
She took my hand, and shook it. “Amanda Nakano. I’m married to Sarah’s brother.”
I pulled back and nodded. “So, where is everybody else?”
Elena filled me in on the situation, and pulled out her cell phone again. she called the airport, and got another ticket on
the next flight to Yuktobania.
I called another cab, and got him to take me first to the apartment I rented, and then to the airport after I had everything
packed. (this was only about a few seconds because I hadn’t had a chance TO unpack.)
Once I was at the airport, I collected my ticket, and went through Airport security. Once that was over and done with, I went
to the waiting area for our flight to arrive.
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