Lycanthrope: Cover of Night

The smell of deer was rich as Roxanne pranced the lush woods. They were miles into the park and it was still early afternoon. With adults at work and school, she knew she was free to hunt without interference while in her furs.

Roxanne climbed the lower branches of a tall cypress tree. Just up ahead, she spotted the scrawny deer grazing in a small, grassy clearing. A little butterfly landed on her muzzle. She shook her head in fear of sneezing and giving her position away. When she looked again her prey was still mindlessly wearing down the underbrush.

“Mother Wolf, please let this work. I’m starving,” she thought. Her stomach rumbled and her slender limbs ached as she clutched the rock in her hand.

It had been several months since she had hunted in her Lycan form and the lack of fresh, hunted meat had started to weaken her.

“I’ll have an edge if I can move from above,” Roxanne strategized. Keeping her balance from the branches of a tree, she made her way over to where the deer was drawing closer.

“A little distraction,” she thought.

She hurled the rock and it landed in the bushes. The deer whipped his head over to the sound of crumpled leaves.

With its attention directed, she leapt forward. Fangs and claws bared, she quickly and mercifully ended the deer’s life before satisfying her hunger.

All of her life, Roxanne had adored being a lycanthrope. She could run for hours and barely tire. If it were a stressful day at school or an argument with her parents, she could steal away happily on the long forest trails with only the moon to keep her company.

Her newly shifted four legs could carry her over any road or any height and leave her mind free of worry. She loved being respected by the lesser creatures of the forest, for they certainly knew what she was.

Not only were her physical abilities heightened but also her senses. Like an animal, she could almost feel her surroundings and pick up what was too faint for mortals, such as danger or even a storm. Where humans were too afraid to leave their houses after dark, she saw the dark as her own domain to roam and hunt. After all, who would have ventured out to stop her?

“Tread where people are too afraid to stop you themselves.”

Yet, despite her freedom, there are limits to everything. Her parents had warned her that if she were to indulge in her other form, she must mind not to attract attention from the others.

The dangerous ones were the trackers, and they were almost as malevolent as the other creatures that despised her kind. So, she took heed not to leave a trail, only change in private, and not cause too much mischief.

To have another life one must also conform to it. For Roxanne to stay strong as a werewolf, she also had to keep her animalistic side satisfied by changing form and practicing her tactics.

This was what she trying to cram in while attending a boarding school her parents had shipped her to.

With her expanded sense of smell replenished, she picked up on her friend Vera approaching.

“Well done, Rox. Feel better now?” the other young woman asked.

Roxanne changed back to her human form.

“Very much, thank you. Man, I needed that,” she sighed, letting out a small burp.

Vera handed her a sanitized wipe.

“Something else you might need.”

Roxanne pulled out her knife and gazed into its mirror shined blade as she wiped away all traces of blood.

As quickly as she presented it, she made it disappear into the holster of her convenient space. It was her body’s way of moving around atoms when she switched forms.

“That’s so cool,” Vera admired the disappearing knife.

Roxanne raised an eyebrow and smirked. “That’s cool? You just witnessed a werewolf take a deer and this impresses you?”

Vera pretended to be put off and stuck her nose in the air. “Not trying to downsize your killing ability or whatever, but I’ve seen you take down bigger game,” she replied.

Roxanne laughed. “Touché.”

“Don’t forget to take pictures,” Vera reminded her. “I’ll return to play lookout.”

“Way ahead of you,” Roxanne said, pulling out the camera that Vera had lent her and taking shots of the deer, the bitemarks, and the surrounding area.

“Take your time!” Vera called, peeping through her binoculars. “It’s clear up here.”

“Thanks for being an awesome friend and playing lookout,” Roxanne called back as she got the final shot.

“No problem, though FYI, friends return favors for their awesome friends by treating them to say…Smoothie Corner?”

“Point taken,” Roxanne called, taking a picture of her bite marks before covering the deer remains with a branch.

Vera hopped down to help her pile it with leaves.

“If anyone should find him, they will just think it was a coyote,” Roxanne explained.

Vera raised an eyebrow.

“That’s one big-ass coyote.”

***

“Pass the ketchup, please,” Vera requested.

Roxanne handed it to her after she poured the condiment over her own French fries. She relaxed back into the booth before taking a sip of her pomegranate-berry drink.

“Hmm, nothing washes raw venison down like a sugar loaded, fruit blended beverage, huh Rox?” Vera grinned.

“Gives it the flavor and me my energy,” Roxanne replied in a low voice as the waitress came over with their burgers.

Once she left Vera leaned over the table to inspect Roxanne’s meal.

“Let me guess, you prefer your burger “bloody rare” as well?”

“Ugh, such a cliché assumption. Well done and crispy,” Roxanne snorted and then added. “In human form that is.”

“Oh, the irony,” Vera declared around a mouthful and then finished chewing. “You think the pack is looking for pictures of a mauled deer?”

“I needed proof over my hunting tactics,” Roxanne replied. “Even if it was old and sick.”

“Conjuring up a resume for joining some werewolf organization,” Vera laughed.

Roxanne shrugged. “Being that my parents aren’t exactly encouraging me, it’s one of the few things I can do to keep myself busy while I’m finishing my degree.”

“Yeah, we can rule out homework, hobbies, and dating to pass the time between classes,” Vera grinned.

“For someone that literally has two lives, I think I’m very well rounded,” Roxanne remarked.

“So, when you do meet your own kind, would you be in trouble by the fact that a human knows all about this?” Vera asked, concerned.

“Well, in my defense, your exposure to the other-worldly activity wasn’t by my doing. And believe it or not, there are some humans that live and work in the shifters’ hidden away town.”

That seemed to interest Vera.

“Really, what do they do? Ipsum is what it’s called, right?”

“Yes, and to your first question, whatever the Lycans want them to do, but from what I heard they’re pretty well monitored once stationed there.”

“Makes sense. You can keep a secret if you don’t have anyone to tell,” Vera stated.

After the meal, the girls rose from their seats and Roxanne paid the bill.

“So, what do you have planned for tonight?” Roxanne asked, making conversation as they strolled down the street.

“Austin and I were going to hang out after he’s done with practice.”

“Cool, just be careful. You’ve heard about the violent break-ins on the East View, right?” Roxanne warned.

“Don’t worry. We’re going to the drive in. Are you going to be home late?”

“Uh… I have plans to meet with someone. So, give me a heads up if y’all come back early.”

Vera’s eyes lit up. “Oh, do I get to meet this someone?” she asked, teasingly, but then stopped when she saw Roxanne’s sincere expression.

“It’s not like that or even the next thing remotely like that,” Roxanne hinted.

Vera paused and then nodded her head. “Whoever or whatever it is, just make sure it’s dead long before you lead it back to our place.”

***

The sun teased the horizon as Roxanne strolled the cemetery, examining the graves. Several visitors were busy setting flowers or paying respect. They gave her no attention and that was exactly how Roxanne planned to keep it.

“I need to pick back up on that scent,” she thought. She strolled until she found what appeared to be the fresher grave, snapped a picture and began to heighten her sense of smell.

“I can’t change completely, lest I attract attention. Just enough to get a whiff of that bastard’s smell.”

Finally, she found it. It led from a curved gravestone all the way to the southern side of cemetery and beyond the fence. She hopped over and walked pass the closing shops and bent down to appear to be tying her boot lace as a few pedestrians walked by.

“Don’t mind me. I’m just a casual little citizen,” she thought as she smelled the ground. Finally, the scent led her to a collection of houses with blue windows and doors. The darkness stretched around her as the final beams of sun rays turned in. Roxanne changed a little more as the stench became stronger in front a house that didn’t share the same color scheme.

She took one more picture.

***

If it hadn’t been for the many previous nights of terror, Jeremy wouldn’t have opened his eyes until morning. He peered over his blankets and held his breath as he tried to get glimpse of it.

Was it just his six-year-old imagination? A recurring nightmare? Or was there really something evil advancing toward him in his bedroom?

The silhouette lurked at the end of his bed stand and then leaned forward as if inspecting Jeremy. Certainly, it knew he was awake now. The young boy pulled his covers over his head and tried to block out the image and more importantly, the smell. The thing reeked like a decomposing animal.

To his horror, he felt something jump on the bed and start crawling toward him.

“Leave me alone!” Jeremy cried.

“Come now, child. Just look into my eyes and I’ll make all your fears go away,” the creature crooned.

“Why don’t you face me first?” another voice asked. The creature turned around to see a werewolf standing behind him. A coy smile spread over her furry, humanoid face.

“Where the hell did you come from?” it hissed.

“There’s a child present, no bad language,” the Lycan replied, wagging her finger. “The trail you left was more than easy to track, all the way from the cemetery.”

The animated corpse leapt at her, but she was ready.

Drawing her knife from her holster and rolling backwards, she slashed a deep gash down its chest as it pounced. With the injury from her knife, it hit the wall and landed in a heap.

Being that it felt no pain, it was about to recoil and would have if the werewolf hadn’t pinned it down with her weight.

She wrapped her legs around its repulsive shoulders and took hold of its skull. Quickly grabbing her bottle and flicking off the top, she forced the bottle’s neck into its mouth and poured out the contents. The holy water burned like acid inside the creature’s rotting skull.

Its eyes sizzled as the body convulsed and then finally settled down.

The werewolf sighed with relief. Making a gesture with her arm, she made a black sealed bag appear from her convenient space and began shoveling the corpse inside.

“Human school girls use pictures and references for their resumes, I use monster trophies and tracking tactics for mine,” she laughed as she scrubbed away the evidence from the floors.

Jeremy clung to his teddy bear protectively as he peered over the bed.

“Wh..what is that? Is it dead?” he stammered.

“Yeah, but you would think so the first time looking at it,” she replied, tying the bag’s strings.

“Well, what happens now?” he asked looking up to her.

“You’re young. Perhaps in time you will dismiss this as a bad dream,” she said, as she lowered the body bag outside. “Or sleep paralysis.”

With a leg flung over the open window’s sill, she turned to the boy.

“And if you don’t want any more of these “bad dreams”, try to persuade your parents that this room would look good with some “haint blue.”

***

“This almost smells as bad as the actual haint,” Roxanne grumbled, turning her head. The small dorm kitchen was erupting with foul odors. Being that there wasn’t a door, Roxanne had hung an old sheet between the entrances to help prevent the smells from leaking into the living room. It only did so much and wasn’t a very good act of privacy, but Roxanne wasn’t expecting Vera to be in until late.

The “borrowed” teacher’s notes lay on the table with the rest of the supplies and was opened on preserving bodies, however, she probably wasn’t expecting the instructions designed for preserving dead frogs to be used on a demon possessed carcass.

After carefully mixing the formaldehyde in the large container, Roxanne removed the decapitated head from the black bag in the freezer. She carefully placed it in the bucket of chemicals. Knowing that she couldn’t leave while the remains soaked, Roxanne lit a candle on the counter.

“Now it just smells like lilac and road kill.”

“How long is this going to keep going on?” she thought, wafting the candle. “Am I just going to keep patrolling the streets, hunting demons, and honing my skills until someday I perhaps meet one of my own kind?”

It had been a twisted trail for Roxanne and her family. While Roxanne had dreamed of roaming in Allosfaire with her own kind, her parents were just steps from converting to remnants, or human descendants from werewolves that had long repressed their lycanthrope ways. Her parents always said that “repressing their Lycan desires was for the good of their survival. That the other realm was a death trap and their lycanthrope activities caused the arousal of werewolf hunters or Trackers.”

Roxanne had replied, “Submission into hiding won’t solve anything. The threat would always be there and we would just be left defenseless.”

Deep down in her parent’s hearts they knew it was what Roxanne desired and they truly wanted their daughter happy. So, they made the deal that if she enrolled away from any lycanthrope influence, they would consider taking her to Ipsum to see if she was qualified for the pack.

The sound of the door unlocking made Roxanne jump.

It was Vera and her boyfriend returning from a date. The only thing she had time for was to put a towel over the container and innocently step out past the sheet.

“Hey Vera. Hey Austin,” Roxanne blurted.

“How was your evening?” both asked.

“Pretty good, just catching up on a makeup lab. Y’all are home a little early, aren’t you? I thought you were going to give me a heads up?”

“Yeah. Nothing good was playing so we called it a night after dinner. Besides I called twice and left you a text.”

Roxanne checked her phone and felt like slapping herself when she realized the phone’s power was drained completely.

Austin sniffed the air. “What in God’s name are you cooking?”

“I told you I didn’t finish a lab, so I had to do it in my free time.”

“In your kitchen?” he laughed.

“I got all the stuff I need, not to mention I really don’t like being at the school any more than I have to,” Roxanne replied. That wasn’t a lie.

“Oh yeah, so when are you going to give Cameron another chance?” Austin asked. His smirk was well in view.

Vera grinned and Roxanne rolled her eyes.

“Oh, come on, you know he’s been asking at practice.”

“And I keep saying I have other things on my mind right now,” she replied.

“Like what? Trying to turn into ‘Ms. Hyde’?” Vera joked.

They all laughed.

“Well, it’s late. I have practice tomorrow. I’ll see you in the class.”

Austin kissed Vera goodnight and then closed the door behind him.

“Judging by how bad the kitchen smells, I would say I’m better off not meeting him,” Vera joked, referring to their previous conversation from earlier.

“Wouldn’t blame you.”

***

Roxanne smoothed the wrinkles from her cargo pants as she took a seat behind her desk. It was only late March and the South Carolina heat was starting up.

She fell in a daze as she lazily sketched a goat mackle in her notebook. She used as much detail as she could to capture its likeness. She reflected on the first time she had seen one of those beautiful otherworldly seal-goat creatures.

“Maybe one day I’ll get to Allosfaire and see one again,” she thought, dreamily.

A balled-up piece of paper startled her as it flew through the air and slid down the front of her blouse. She grabbed the parcel from her beneath her shirt and shot the thrower an annoyed glare. Austin and her ex, Cameron, laughed guiltily.

“You know campus security has a name for this sort of harassment.”

“Sorry, Rox. That’s a type of shot you couldn’t make in a million years if you tried,” Cameron shouted.

She shook her head and threw it on the ground.

“Oh, come on Rox, at least take a look at the art work,” he called.

She raised an eyebrow and smoothed it out.

They drew her depicted as a mad scientist, complete with her thick red hair standing up on ends as she hovered over an exploding chemical flask. Roxanne rolled her eyes as the two galoots howled with laughter.

“I swear, I thought college boys were supposed to be more mature!” she muttered, turning back to her desk.

When a dark haired, tall man entered the class and set his case on their teacher’s desk, everyone turned their attention to the front.

“Good morning. I’m Professor Andrews and I will be subbing for Professor Cannon while he is out this week,” he announced heartily.

A few excited murmurs swept among her peers, the typical student thrill with the thought that they could get away with less work when a substitute filled in.

He called roll and then rummaged through the open teacher’s curriculum.

“So y’all were in the process of studying Ancient Rome. Excellent, I want everyone to turn to page 346 in your texts.”

Everyone looked confused but obliged as they shuffled with their textbooks.

“Geeze, I thought substitute teachers just let us talk and study,” Cameron mumbled. Andrews must have heard it.

“I’ll trust you to study in free time,” he curtly replied. “Besides that’s only if the sub doesn’t know the material. Which luckily for you fine ladies and gents, I’m well versed in our ancient history.”

“My history probably goes back further than yours,” Roxanne thought as Andrews continued.

“I know how students usually hope when their teacher is out, class is dismissed, however it’s my duty to encourage you to take advantage of a free education provided by your parents.”

“Tell that to my student loans. It’s not free,” some smart ass corrected him. The professor rested his hands on her desk and looked her squarely in the eyes.

“Then that just proves my point even more,” he replied, turning back to the front.

Roxanne smirked. She definitely liked him.

“I’d like to hear the contributions from the Roman Empire,” Mr. Andrews declared. “Anyone?”

“They shaped the modern world in to what it is today,” one student answered.

“Indeed,” Andrews replied. “What specifics?”

“Plumbing, architecture, and the alphabet, like the romance languages.”

“Not to mention civilization,” Roxanne added. “Despite its barbaric practices, they were the force that brought the most order to the ancient world.”

“There were indeed,” Andrews agreed. “Do you know the names, Ms…er..Gwenvi?”

“Sure. The Patricians. Plebeians. True republicans. Manichaeism. Opus Dei. Grexis…” Roxanne rambled on then caught herself at her last mention. She hadn’t meant to say that one, but it just slipped.

The professor reflected for a moment. “I’ve read about the others, but I don’t think I know much about the last one…” he said, looking at her with a question.

“I’m not sure where I heard it from myself,” Roxanne fibbed.

“Well, Rome was a mysterious and vast nation. There are probably a lot of things we have yet to uncover,” he replied.

Roxanne huddled down in her seat as the lesson continued. “Next time, Roxanne, why don’t you just spout fur and fangs before mentioning the lycanthropes’ most powerful and ancient organization,” she silently scolded herself.

The day waned on and the weight of the stolen chemistry’s textbook began to make the straps of Roxanne’s backpack dig into her shoulder.

“I need to return this thing today. I’m sure the teacher is going to be frantic when she finds her first edition simply vanished into thin air,” Roxanne thought guiltily.

“Okay chemistry lab is 207. The science teacher’s office is right next to it, so 209,” she told herself. She tried to open the door but the handle stuck fast.

“Damn it,” she growled with annoyance. “It wasn’t locked two days ago,” she growled. She laid her head against the door and wondered whether it would be worth the trouble to go the extra mile to return it. “You got into this. You can certainly get out.”

“It’s not like I can ask a janitor to open up. They’ll know I stole it. What’s the Grexis rule, don’t leave any tracks?” she said referring her early readings of the Pack’s rules. Roxanne looked back into the dark room.

“Maybe there’s another way in,” she thought, looking at the vents. Like most schools the ceiling had tiles that opened up. A mischievous idea sparked into her head. “Just like in the movies.”

While dodging the eyes of the janitors, she made her way to the custodial closet. In a quick pace she stacked the supplies and shelves so that she could reach the ceiling and crawled into one of the vents. It was black as pitch. She flicked open her lighter and noticed that the vents went out in each direction.

“I hope this will be some help,” she thought, retrieving her school planner from her satchel. In the back of it was a map of the school and all the classrooms on each floor.

“This probably won’t help me with the vents, but at least I might keep track on how far away I am from the lab by following the classrooms below me,” she thought.

Crawling on her hands and knees, she slowly navigated through the ceiling. Being very careful not to cause any attention, she didn’t linger long when peeping through the vents to pinpoint her location. Some teachers were still occupied, so Roxanne moved fast and stayed quiet.

She gasped as a sharp pain suddenly shot through her left arm. It didn’t surprise her. for some weird reason, her left arm was always slightly sensitive compared to her right. Especially when putting pressure on her wrist.

“It’s always the left one. . .”

She moved more slowly down one tunnel and peeped through the vent to see that she was facing the even room numbers on the wall.

“It’s supposed to be the odd numbers, I’m way off,” she thought turning around and heading back to the odd numbered side.

One of the classrooms she checked on was actually the temporary office that the history sub, Professor Andrews, was in.

He was seated, smoking a cigar, and reading a newspaper. The news must have disagreed with him. He slammed the papers down in a huffed manner and rose from his chair, pacing slowly while drawing from his cigar.

Suddenly, he stopped. Roxanne held her breath as he stood only feet below her. She could smell the rich tobacco seeping around her and stifled a cough.

“Don’t look up. Don’t look up,” she prayed.

After a few anticipated seconds, he finally walked back to his chair with his back turned toward her.

Roxanne sighed with relief and continued on.

“Thank God, the Chemistry lab,” she praised once she smelled the odor of chemicals.

She opened the ceiling and landed on top of one of the lab tables in the corner. Roxanne pulled the chemistry book from her satchel and walked to the office located in the front of the room. Thankfully it wasn’t locked. Not even bothering to switch on the light, she felt her way over to the teacher’s bookshelf and placed it exactly where she had taken it from.

“See? No harm done,” she smiled triumphantly.

“None what so ever,” a deep male’s voice agreed from behind her.

Roxanne jumped as the light switched on and turned to see the history sub standing in the doorway.

“Professor Andrews, please I can explain,” she cried, startled. “I had to borrow a book for a project and my teacher just asked me to put it back when I was done.”

Andrews studied her, slightly amused. “By crawling through the ceiling?”

Roxanne didn’t know how to respond but he just shook his head.

“Don’t worry. I know some of our kind have done way more questionable attempts to avoid being noticed,” he chuckled.

“I don’t understand,” Roxanne stammered.

“Would your parents go by the names Spencer and Marci, Miss Gwenvi?”

Roxanne nodded and Mr. Andrews chuckled.

“When I heard your name, I thought it merely a coincidence, but when you mentioned the order of Grexis it caught my interest.”

The man took a step forward.

“Now I have no doubt you are also of Lycan decent.”

Roxanne’s jaw dropped. “You as well?”

He nodded. “Please, if you’d follow me to my office, I could go more into detail,” he offered.

“Uh yeah, sounds good,” Roxanne declared, hardly believing the turn of events.

She followed him out in the hall as he locked the lab with his set of keys.

“If you will, my office is just down there,” he pointed.

“Don’t worry, I pinpointed it earlier,” she replied.

Once inside, Mr. Andrews re-lit his cigar and took a seat behind his desk. Roxanne studied the nameplate.

“I have to ask, is Andrews really your name?”

“No, just another alias, Miss Gwenvi,” he declared offering his hand. “Axel Mayleim, head field agent of Grexis.”

“Pleasure to meet you. Call me Roxanne,” she replied, shaking his hand. “Did my parents serve in the Pack?”

“Indirectly. A dear friend of mine worked with them through the law branch. Swaying the human minds through the legal system always helps cover our tracks,” he stated.

“They’re good at that. Currently they’re trying to sway my mind from joining Grexis, which is why I’m here until graduation. And yourself?”

Axel turned the newspaper that was sitting on his desk so that she could read the print. The title depicted a grainy shot of a rough looking blonde man leading a group of thugs through the streets. His face was hidden. The title stated, “Men Suspected of Drug Chain, citizens be wary and on the lookout.”

“Is he a werewolf?” Roxanne asked.

“No, his name is Olaf Sermis and he’s a treasurer on the west end of Anchorslotte. He’s also running a drug operation for the black market on the side.” Axel replied.

“If he’s human why does the Pack care about him in this dockside town?”

“He offers rabid werewolves protection from us in exchange for muscle in his company.”

“Trying to find him?”

“Already have. We just needed to wait to make sure the rabids are apprehended and kicked back into Allosfaire. After that, we’ll leave him free to be taken in by the human authorities.”

“And posing as a civilian teacher is better for leading attention away than an unnamed vigilante?”

Axel chuckled. “Precisely.”

“Maybe I can help? Get a number on them or something?” Roxanne offered, hopefully.

“Too risky, and I already have a partner working on the inside before I reel in backup.”

“Pfft, sounds like a lot of faith going by so few numbers,” Roxanne bluntly replied.

“You do not get to make that call, Miss Gwenvi,” he corrected.

She didn’t let it show that it stung when he suddenly addressed her unfamiliarly as she retreated back into the chair.

“I’m sorry for being rude. I’ve just always wanted to be with my own kind and serve Grexis. I’ve been hunting and tracking for some time now.”

“No one is stopping you from shifting and hunting in private here. The Grexis organization isn’t some Disney fairytale. Violence, threats, and taunting death are a part of every order. If you do manage to survive, you have to live with what we’ve seen and there’s no amount of medicine that can make you forget it.” Axel’s voice cooled down. “Besides it sounds like you will be far more well off living the life your parents have provided.”

Roxanne felt hurt as she choked back a lump in her throat.

“I don’t want that life! I want to venture into Allosfaire where we were meant to live. I want to help my own kind and stop the threats that prey on us. Not wait around helplessly until we’re extinct from being hunted and isolated. I want to be with people that I don’t have to keep half of my life a secret from every time I get an itch to shift.”

Axel looked at her for a moment, his expression stern but his brown eyes warm and sympathetic.

“You want to be a part of a pack, yet you separate yourself from your family in Virginia to prove so?”

“Better a lone wolf than the wrong pack,” she shrugged.

Axel tapped his pen against his desk.

“How old are you?”

“Twenty-two.”

“A little young, but you look well fit. Do you train by chance?”

Roxanne’s eyes lit up. “Yes, I’ve taken down whole stags and I’ve been patrolling the streets for haints. I even preserved the head of one if you don’t believe me,” she declared. “I’m not sure why there have been so many the past few years I’ve lived in Anchorslotte.

“A haint? They’d only be here if something were animating corpses.”

“Like what?” Roxanne asked.

“Never you mind,” Axel looked like he’d said too much. “That must not have been fun, I know they’re pretty nasty.”

“No kidding,” she laughed.

Axel strummed his long nails against his desk as if deciding. “Well, I won’t promise you anything, but being that nothing is going down until tonight, I have a few hours to kill,” he said rising from his desk. Roxanne hesitantly followed his lead to the door.

“Where are we going?” she asked, grabbing her bags and walking beside of him.

“The park behind the school is usually deserted this early in the afternoon. Why don’t you show me some of those ’hunting ground tactics?”

***

The warm sun dipped lazily beneath the canopy of trees. Roxanne and Axel walked beneath the thick sprouting branches.

“What are we going to do?” she asked.

Axel removed his sports jacket and rolled it up into a ball before tossing it to the side. “As you already know, the main rule of Grexis is to leave no tracks. We’re going to do a little demonstration.”

He spoke as if he were addressing a classroom, very knowledgeable and candid. He paced through the trees, steadily circling her. Roxanne kept her eyes fixed on him so she could be ready for anything that came her way.

“From experience there is nothing more important than that rule,” he continued, suddenly disappearing amongst the underbrush, causing Roxanne to look around uneasily. His voice however was still loud enough to reach her.

“Try pinpointing my location. If you move cautiously you can counter my moves and stay out of sight.”

Roxanne did just that as she kept a very large oak between her and him, which she used to circle around and back away as he approached.

His voice continued to guide her.

“Immerse into your surroundings. Go with the flow. Leave no trails that can be tracked. Because the moment you let down your guard. . .” he said lurching from behind one of the trees. “Your opponents will pick it right back up.”

Roxanne rolled out of the way and brandished her sheathed knife. She wouldn’t let him have the chance to sneak up on her.

“Very good, but now I’m going to move a little quicker,” he warned, quickly disappearing again.

Roxanne crawled low through the woods, trying to see if she could pick up his scent and sneak up on him.

This time he caught her by surprise. He grabbed her arm and neck but she reacted quickly enough to break hold and give him a painful blow.

He actually stumbled back and coughed.

“Got you this time, but I’m pleased you’re equipped with some combat tactics,” he complimented.

Roxanne smiled. “The school insists that we know self-defense. I personally prefer krav mega.”

“Now that’s what you use when you’re not messing around,” he informed her. “This is just a demonstration.”

“Sorry, I’ll go easy on you if you like,” she chirped, feeling ahead of herself.

Axel raised an eyebrow. “By all means, do as you like. This is me going easy on you,” he corrected.

This time, Roxanne was the first to dart behind the cover of the foliage. She used a tree in front of her and backed away to gain some distance from him as he continued to advise her.

“If you must leave a trail, lead it to where you want your opponent to go,” he called.

She knew what he meant. He was using his sense of smell to pinpoint her and she had to throw him off. Roxanne strained her ears, but he was moving very cautiously. When she sniffed the air, she realized he wasn’t far behind.

“Track this.”

She pricked her arm with a sharpened nail. A few drops of blood seeped from the cut as she smeared it along the plates of bark. She moved a few paces away from the blood smears and did it again through the next row.

Just the right amount though, because she didn’t want to give her position away. Feeling antsy, she knew he was following the path. Now she had to take advantage.

“Wonder if he’ll expect me coming from above?” she thought, looking in to the tops of the trees. She took hold of one of the branches and pulled herself up. Moving very carefully; she didn’t want to cause a commotion and divert his attention to the branches. Roxanne looked ahead and spotted him tracking her blood trail.

“Just a little closer.”

He was directly below her as he leaned forward, ran his fingers over the smear, and sniffed just as Roxanne landed behind him. He whirled around in surprise as Roxanne brandished her sheathed knife again.

“Fooled ya,” she declared.

Axel cocked his head for a moment but smiled. “Very impressive. You paid heed to my advice.”

“The tree springing was my idea,” she corrected, making a face.

“No, I meant the false lure,” he elaborated. “Using the blood.”

“Oh, thank you.”

“If you do that, use your time wisely because eventually your opponent is bound to figure it out.”

“Understood,” Roxanne said, putting her knife away and reverting back to her more human self. Axel’s expression turned serious as he glanced into space as if listening to something.

“Axel? Axel, are you okay?” she asked, wondering what was going on. He held up a finger to signify silence so Roxanne shut up.

“Are you sure?” he asked, talking to someone that didn’t appear physically present. “Well, how many are there? Thirteen? Lord, no kidding. Are they in one location, at least?” he asked and then paused.

“Look, I know things might not go as originally planned but we’ve got to move tonight. We don’t know how long it’s going to be before they decide to pull out…All right, fine, I’ll give you some time. But we have to come up with something fast,” he finished and then looked back up.

“What’s wrong?” Roxanne asked.

“My partner Hans. He was stationed in the shipping yard and said that it’s completely surrounded by Olaf’s thugs. I wouldn’t be able to get in.”

“Couldn’t you just inform the police as an anonymous caller?” Roxanne asked.

“That’s the plan, but without Olaf, the rabids would just up and run with all the commotion. We were lucky enough that they are still together. It could be months before we track them again. We can’t have that type of liability running around, now can we?”

Roxanne turned her head and thought for a moment. “Did you mention a shipping yard?”

“Yes, the one on East View Harbor,” he replied.

A smile spread over her face. Axel noticed it and studied her.

“Why?” he asked suspiciously.

“During the long evening hours of my ‘exile’, I’ve been hunting haints for years. There’s a bunch of catacombs beneath the cemetery that leads to some of the sewers. From there, they meander through the city without being noticed, all the way to the harbors.”

“Care to enlighten me on where these catacombs are?”

“Well, it would be easier for me to show you,” she proposed.

Axel’s eyes narrowed. “You can’t come with me, Roxanne.”

“Then enjoy navigating the sewers by yourself, otherwise I’d be happy to free up my evening plans.”

“You pull a hard bargain.”

“Don’t tell me you’re going to say no to free help.”

He narrowed his eyes but knew there wasn’t an easier option. Finally, he sighed as he gave in.

“You’re not my responsibility should something happen,” he warned. “But meet me here in an hour with whatever supplies you can think of. I’ll do the same.”

Roxanne looked him in the eyes. “No worse than an internship for me.”

“Believe me, I’m just as giddy as you are.” Axel said watching her go.

***

About twenty minutes later Roxanne arrived in front of the school, all geared up. She had changed into a pair of leather work boots, dark fitted cargos, a brown handkerchief top, and military style leather jacket. Her plaited red hair hung to one side and out of her face. A leather holster hung to the side of her hip that contained a lighter, several flammable spray cans, some small bottles of holy water, her knife, and some trip wire.

She waited patiently as the sun began to sink below the Cyprus trees and Axel made his appearance.

“Next destination, Anchorslotte cemetery.”

“This is it, the Wardolf’s family crypt,” Roxanne declared outside of the mausoleum.

“How do we get in?” Axel asked, trying to see if the door would budge.

“I have my ways,” Roxanne replied while walking around to the side. She crouched next to the stone wall and pushed away the tall grass growing on the side. Beneath was a small opening. Roxanne squeezed into it and disappeared from Axel’s sight.

“Roxanne, I’m not as nimble as you. I doubt I’ll get through that way.”

“I know that, silly,” she called from the hole. “Go back around to the door.”

Axel obliged and sure enough the latch clicked as Roxanne opened the door to reveal herself standing triumphantly with her lighter framing her smile.

“Have I been useful so far?”

Axel laughed. “So far. How did that work anyway?”

“The owners get in by using a key. However, the crypt can also be opened from the inside. I guess it’s for safety measures so someone doesn’t accidently lock himself in.”

“Where did that hole that you used come from?”

“Guess the haints found a different way to let themselves out.”

She led him to the back between the coffins where the two pried an iron door open. The stone steps drifted lazily down into the encroaching blackness.

“After you,” Axel offered.

Eventually the catacombs drifted into the ancient sewers and Axel borrowed Roxanne’s lighter to scavenge the debris to make himself a torch.

“I do have a flashlight,” Roxanne protested.

“I find fire is much more comforting,” he stated. He had a point. The sewers were damp and gloomy and the smallest sounds ricocheted off the tunnel walls. “Lord, whatever possessed you to come down here by yourself?”

“Believe me, I wasn’t nearly as eager about this in the beginning, but one night I ran into one of those things and I had never been so scared before in my entire life. It just came out of nowhere and probably would have dealt some major damage if I wasn’t who I am.”

Axel listened sympathetically. “What happened?”

“When it saw that I wasn’t an easy target or human for that matter, it jumped off and crawled back to the cemetery,” she told him. “I remember lying in that street, claws and fangs bared and hair sticking on end. I felt paralyzed. Finally, I found my feet and ran home and tried to forget about the haint.”

“But you didn’t?”

“No, I had nightmares for weeks. I was always looking over my shoulder or calling it a night, hours before the sun was even down. It was a miserable time, but one day after I had an argument with my parents, it occurred to me I should look at this as an opportunity. As long as I was confined here, I might as well establish my turf and keep those ghouls on their toes.”

“So, you decided to venture down here?” he asked.

“I learned what I could from old myths and rumors of the old residents. I stalked them in the cemetery and eventually had my first kill. After a few months when the rainy weather picked up, I decided it was time to push them back.”

“Ah the rain, made it harder for them to cross, right?”

“Pay heed to my surroundings,” she quoted another guideline from the Pack.

“Good point, you might be Grexis material after all,” he replied.

His words were warm, but the next thing that followed iced her blood. Up ahead in the darkness, a silhouette of a hunched, humanoid figure leapt to the side of a wall and crawled into the drain.

“You might just get to give me another demonstration. Weapons out,” he commanded.

Roxanne stretched the atoms to reveal her knife and blow torch. Axel pulled out a pistol from his coat and rolled on a silencer.

“Good call. We don’t want them all pouring in here,” she said, noting that their weapons would make minimum sound.

There were about four in front, their eyes glowing and claws outstretched as they engaged the two werewolves. Roxanne and Axel carefully took aim as they crawled in and out from the drains and pipes. Roxanne had to make each flame count. She scorched them just enough to rush forward and slash her knife below its neck.

Axel took aim at one’s head and splattered the wall as the pistol made contact. Two haints lurched from behind but he deflected them with his torch and smashed their heads in. The ones that appeared dead, she lit them on fire by holding out her lighter in front of her can of hair spray. Axel did the same thing with his torch until they sizzled.

“Did you get in trouble or something, is that why they didn’t want you getting involved?” he asked.

“No, it’s all a part of their deal. If I agreed to keep away from Lycan influence, they would consider taking me to Ipsum upon graduation,” Roxanne declared and then grinned. “Oh, the irony of their efforts.”

“They’re your parents, I think they’re just trying to keep you safe.”

“They’re not far from converting to remnants, pretty soon they won’t be able to change at all with their rate of repression.”

They hugged the wall while maneuvering around a deep septic pool.

“Do you disapprove of their actions?” he asked.

“No, it’s their lives and choice. I just wish they would see that I could make my own.”

Axel smiled. “I admire your spirit, but I admire even more that you have the control to choose what arguments are worth pushing for the time being.”

“Thanks, March isn’t far from graduation.”

They took a left down the sewers and to their disappointment, the straightaway had been blocked off due to the ceiling collapsing.

“Oh, for the love of. . .” Roxanne grumbled.

Axel scoffed. “I hope some humans take a look at the foundation soon, otherwise the whole street is going to cave in.” He turned around to examine where the sewers went.

“It’s all right. I saw another way that might lead us around,” he suggested, reaching for her hand.

“Wait, we might be able to get through,” she said, moving away the rubble only to find that a bent-up collection of iron was held firmly in the way.

Axel shook his head. “Forget it, we’ll have to back track around.”

Roxanne studied the small opening and placed her hands around it to see if it would budge.

All of a sudden, a grotesque rotting arm lurched its hand through to grab her wrist.

She screamed and tried to pull back. Axel quickly brought his foot down on it and snapped it hard against the jutting rocks. The ragged remainder of the haint’s arm retreated back through the hole.

“Thanks,” she panted with relief.

“Don’t mention it,” he said, lifting her to her feet. A few paces back, they found another way that made a long detour around the septic pools. There was at least eight of them crawling along the walls and sizing up their prey.

Roxanne reached into her holster and pulled out a few bottles. “Here, this might help,” she offered one to Axel.

“Is this…?”

“Holy water, if you splatter them it makes all the difference,” she proposed. Sure enough, when she flung the bottle, the blessed liquid burned into the haint’s bodies. They lost their grip as the glass shattered and down they came, making it easier to deliver a blow from above.

“Good thinking. Where did you find holy water?” Axel asked.

“Hmm, little donation from St. Marlowe’s cathedral,” she replied. “I told the priest there were a bunch of individuals who were in need of purifying.”

He kept her under his scrutiny until finally he burst out in a laugh. “I take no responsibility of what you did before I arrived,” he said and then drifted off. The two walked forward until they were on the straightway path again.

“Dangit, another block off,” Roxanne said when they found a gate lowered in front of them.

“At least it’s attached to a lever,” he noted looking at the pulley system. “If we find a way to get some leverage. . .”

“There’s nothing to hold on to,” she said, noting a slot where a crank might have fit.

Axel walked forward and peeped through a small space above the gate.

“Be careful. You saw what happened last time,” Roxanne warned, while holding up her arm to show the still visible grip marks.

“It appears there’s a crank on the other side,” Axel stated.

“Won’t do us a bit a good over here,” Roxanne replied grumpily. “I’m sorry, this wasn’t here the last time, I don’t know what’s happening.”

“Maybe the haints don’t want a thieving little werewolf roaming through the sewers anymore,” Axel chuckled.

Roxanne laughed at her own expense. She was just pleased that Axel could have a humorous side.

“Let’s check down here. Maybe we’ll get lucky,” she offered.

The tunnel came to a dead end. Roxanne surveyed the walls. Far up there was a hole just big enough for her to fit through.

“I’ll give you a boost,” Axel offered.

Roxanne hesitated, but then obliged. She didn’t want to imagine the type of ecosystem that dwelled in the dark, cool cracks of a sewer.

“Haints aren’t the only things that make my skin crawl,” she grumbled.

Axel leaned up against the wall and cupped his hands over his knee and then hoisted her up as she pulled herself into the hole.

“Please be careful,” he called.

Roxanne stuck her hand back out and gave him a quick wave before tunneling forward.

The fit was so tight she had to crawl on her hands and knees. To make matters worse, the haints were in there as well. She blow torched the ones in front and swiftly kicked the ghouls that grabbed her from behind.

Finally, she pulled through and came out into another tunnel.

“Please let me be on the right hall. Please let me be on the right hall,” she prayed as she turned the corner. Sure enough, she was on the other side of the gate. Axel was reloading his pistol and smiled with relief when he saw her.

“I had no doubts,” he declared.

“Why should you?” Roxanne grinned. As quick as his smile came it was quickly replaced with dread as his gaze shifted.

“Roxanne, behind you!”

There was at least six scurrying toward her.

“Lighten up, assholes!” she cried, taking aim. Axel made sure to back her up with his own shots, until they cleared the hall.

Roxanne went to the crank and began turning it. Slowly the gate lifted and Axel joined her.

“Should we prop it up with something?” Roxanne asked.

“No, we’re not coming back down through here.”

Up ahead, there were four more lying in wait. Roxanne used the remainder of her hair spray on two of the ghouls while Axel tore the heads clear from their bodies. Three more intercepted them from behind. Axel was low on ammunition.

“Give me your hand, and keep your legs out,” he said as they approached. Roxanne did as she was told. In one quick motion, he held on to both of her hands and swung her in a circle as the haints lurched. With her heels pointed, she drove the sharp end into one and made the other two collide from behind. The haints hissed in anger but were silenced momentarily.

“Cool move,” Roxanne said giddily. Axel smirked.

“It works with an agile partner,” he replied and then his serious demeanor returned. “Not trying to sound impatient, but how’s our progress coming?”

“We’re really close, there’s a big channel up ahead that filters into the bay. The harbor is after that.”

“Ladies first.”

The two walked forward and the sound of rushing water was drawing closer.

“Hear that? It’s the channel, let’s go!” Roxanne called.

The sound of croaking whispers skittered though out the tunnel and the echoing of claws against stone was undeniable. The two hesitantly turned around to see an endless wave of crawling corpses advancing towards them.

“We can make it! Hurry!” Axel cried.

With the adrenaline and horror of what fate awaited them if they lingered, the two transformed into their wolf forms and sprang down the tunnel.

The haints were rapidly encroaching them and began popping out in all places along the tunnel only hand reaches away. Their skin crawling voices were deafening, and their pace was quickening, but the two Lycans didn’t dare slow down.

With a leap, they reached the safety of the current and dove in.

The horde of ghouls halted to a stop. A few weren’t so lucky and skidded over the side. The ones that fell in struggled to keep above the surface but the water quickly took its toll and began to deteriorate their limbs.

When they seeped below the current, they didn’t appear again.

Roxanne and Axel swam to the other side and collapsed on the concrete bank. They lay there for a few moments, catching their breath and watching as the territorial haints retreated back into the sewers. Eventually the silence claimed their skin crawling whispers.

“Phew. That was a close call,” Roxanne laughed with relief.

“We get a lot of those,” Axel agreed standing up. Just like a gentleman he offered his hand and helped the young woman to her feet.

“I hope there aren’t anymore,” she signed, walking along side of him.

“You never know, but at least we can rule the ones out from behind.”