This vision was so off-the-wall bizarre that I started to question what I was seeing. Considering what had happened to Adam, I had my doubts this even took place. It could have been brain damage caused by his near-death experience.
Darryl scooped the teenager up off the ground and carried him back to his shack.
Night turned to day, and I was inside, watching Adam sleep on Darryl’s oversized bed while the werewolf lay on a tall inflatable mattress, reading a book next to an open window. This place always had a calming effect, but I never allowed myself a moment’s peace whenever Adam and I visited. There was still a lot of unresolved animosity between me and Darryl, and all of it was my fault.
A groan came from the bed, and Adam slowly sat up, rubbing his eyes.
“Good morning,” Darryl said, licking his index finger before flipping the page of his book. “How are you feeling?”
“Like I was run over. Who the hell are you?”
“Well let’s see. For some reason you were in the ocean and you nearly drowned. Oh, and the police are looking for you.” He looked up at the teenager’s widened expression. “I’m Darryl.”
“Please don’t tell anyone I’m here. I’ll do anything you want.”
“First tell me why they’re looking for you, then I’ll decide what to do.”
Adam jumped out of the bed and sprinted for the door, prompting Darryl to drop his book. With a few steps, he easily caught the boy, grabbing him by the nape of his neck.
“Don’t be stupid, kid. You can’t run from a werewolf.”
“Let me go!”
“How ‘bout you sit back down and start talking?” He dragged Adam to the bed and forced him onto the mattress. He glared, arms crossed for a few minutes before the teenager started to speak.
“My… stepmother tried to put me in Stonebrook.”
“Did you hurt anyone?”
“Kind of.” Adam looked down at the floor. “They had it coming.”
“Well, the law doesn’t see it that way. I don’t have to tell you how fucked you are, considering you’re on the run.” Darryl sighed, sitting on the bed next to Adam. “The only way out of this is to find a kuu mate. Once you do, you’re no longer in the human’s jurisdiction.”
“What the hell’s that?”
“You gotta find a werewolf to shack up with.”
“Fuck that. You guys are gross.”
Darryl laughed. “Boy, do I have some bad news for you, kid. You know what you are, right?”
Adam nodded before looking down at the floor again.
“You don’t have a lot of time to be picky, either. You can hide out here until you start showing more signs, then they’ll start to sniff you out. Once you get a piece of paper from a werewolf you like, get your kuu and I’ll pull some strings to get you out of the human’s database.”
The vision grew hazy until I was in a familiar building. My fur stood up on the back of my neck when I saw myself sitting alone at a table, drinking from an entire pitcher of beer. This was TheBoozy Beast on Ruskin Street, a place I’d visit often while trying to… self-medicate.
I remembered catching Adam’s scent, and I didn’t have long to make my move. I’d been carrying that stupid resume around for months without any luck. Every time I’d smell a fresh half-turn, I was too late. But that night, I was in the right place at the right time.
Like an out of body experience, I watched myself leer at him, now a whole year older and a lot hairier than before. I reached into the pocket of my army fatigues, grabbing a wrinkled, folded sheet of paper before walking up to the popular half-turn. Every werewolf within three blocks was in that bar that night, each one peacocking, trying to outdo the other. It was ridiculous, like watching one of those nature documentaries.
I remembered what I felt that night, not wanting to be just another animal competing for mating rites. It didn’t really take much to get his attention, the perks of being the biggest thing in that bar. He was turned on the moment he laid eyes on me. I knew I had him.
“Here,” I said with a grunt, placing the paper in his hand before walking away. The bait was set, and there was nothing more I needed to say. All I had to do was wait at my table with an extra pitcher of beer on hand.
He stared at me and then read my resume. With a smile, he walked over to my table. It was startling how accurate it all was, even insignificant things like what was on tap that night. No one would have remembered these details.
Then I had a terrifying revelation. What if this really was the afterlife? Had I died and was now being punished?
