The Wherewolf
The WherewolfWhoever said, "No good deed goes unpunished," was a cynical bastard though it fits reality well. I definitely got messed up doing one. How? What's wrong with me? Don't know. I should be relaxed, but every time I close my eyes and open them, it feels like I was moved into another room that looks exactly like this one. Should be comfortable, and used to this place by now but no. It feels like at any moment, while I'm not looking, something will change that I can't see, but feel.What the hell happened to me? Was it that thing? No, let's start from the beginning...It started at the church, Our Lady of Hopeful Mercies. I looked into Father Dominic's tired brown eyes. They're not that different from mine, we just have other concerns stealing our sleep. Been friends since kindergarten. Life was somewhat good to us, and it was easy to keep in contact."Ian, I need your help," Father Anthony Dominic said.My gut dropped. Oh yeah, this is not going to be fun. After the fried chicken incident, I learned to listen to my intuition. Guys call it their gut. Being a homicide detective for about ten years, I got a feel for when assignments were okay, or ones that resemble a roller coaster ride with no constraints and no bar to hold on to. The type of case that would use my sanity for toilet paper, and give it back to me. Sorry, but I like not being crazy, well, at least sane enough to be seen as highly functional.Late afternoon sunlight shone through the window, and bathed Anthony in its glow as though the guy upstairs, the one I was unsure I believed in was trying to convince me to do what he wanted me to do."No promises, but tell me anyway," I said. Yeah, I was getting bad vibes. I'm no psychic, but I was definitely not feeling comfortable. Then again, Anthony is a friend, and I can't say I'm his if I can't help him when he needs me.Anthony frowned.Oh yeah, I was real subtle. Should've been a bit more tactful. Did I tell you, I don't have a poker face?"I understand that your caseload must reach to the ceiling of your office, and you're Homicide and not Missing Persons. So I'm not asking you to dive right in, and solve the mystery. Just sniff around, and if you find something, pass it on to Missing Persons. It's their area," Anthony said.For a moment, I felt relieved. Just do some poking around. What could go wrong? My unease was still bugging me. Probably the act of investigation could get me messed up or worse. Can I reject this one in a way that won't hurt Anthony's feelings? No, I can't be a dirtbag. Gotta back my friends or what am I?"Ian?" Anthony leaned in close, and peered at me."Huh? Yeah, well give me the details, and I will forward them to Missing Persons," I said. Maybe I have a chance?Anthony sighed. "After hearing your stories about the job, I know there's little that Missing Persons can do. I or you need more info for them. It's all hearsay and anecdotes without real proof."Crap, I thought I could skip this one. "Tell me what you have, and I'll decide."Anthony nodded. He looked away like he was getting his mental notes ready. "Are you familiar with Our Lady of Sorrows homeless shelter?"I nodded.He looked back at me. "Every other week I go there, and check the status of our guests, and the shelter. As you know, it's the middle of winter, and there usually a lot of the unhomed here. But for some reason, there were not that many people. I asked the Director about the situation. He replied that the shelter was in good shape, and it was just that we had less guests coming in. Something about that didn't feel right. You know the feeling. I wanted to make sure that the guy wasn't hiding anything. After pushing him a bit, he told me that there were vague rumors that something or someone was preying on the local unhomed."My misgivings grew. Another serial killer? The shelter was at the edge of a decaying industrial area. A relic from when the city was a manufacturing powerhouse. Blocks and blocks of abandoned warehouses and factories to hide in. "Do you have something more definite or maybe someone I can talk to?" Maybe I would be lucky, and there would be little for me to do. Yeah, that sucks but I would rather be alive to regret than the alternative. Too bad, I didn't bow out of this gracefully or not.Anthony shook his head. "I'm sorry. Maybe there's not enough for you to work on."Maybe I can get out of this?"Please see what you can do," Anthony pleaded. He locked his eyes on me again.I nodded, and pushed down my misgivings. "I'll see what I can do. See you later," I said then stuck out my hand.Anthony gripped it, and gave my hand a firm squeeze. "May God bless, and protect you."I left and hoped that I wouldn't need the blessing. Yeah, that turned out alright.For a few moments, I just sat in my car as the people moved past me, and the late afternoon sunlight warmed my face. Time to do some thinking. Why was I so reluctant? Yes, my gut felt like this was going to be one messy situation. On the other hand, I had sworn an oath to protect, and serve as well as wanting to help a friend. I'm going to regret this, but I'm going to find out what's going on. Also gonna keep my head on a swivel as the soldiers in the movies say.With that kinda resolved I drove to the shelter. And I also decided if things look like I can't handle them, it's time to go! Hopefully, it won't come to that.Yeah, right.The shelter was a four storied red brick building at the edge of the industrial district. It felt like a canyon with the buildings on both side of the street. The dying sun shone down the middle. Since it was close to five pm, people would be heading home, and the area would be a dead zone. Gotta think about that later as the setting sun covered everything in a orange glow like a dying candle.Maybe I should come back in the morning? No, if people need help now, it would be too late by then. I sighed then left my car, and locked it. No one was hanging outside the shelter. I thought that was strange. Had imagined that someone or someones would be standing around. Even if it wasn't a homeless shelter people would be outside smoking, and or chatting.Our Lady of Sorrows had inspirational messages in the windows, and looked a bit shabby, but not run down. I pulled the door open, and walked inside. In front was a bunch of empty cots. Behind them were some more with a few people sitting or lying on them. Beyond was a bunch of tables, and two guys talking.One guy was white with a name tag, and the other one was black and tall. He looked like a client, you know, one of the unhomed, but he looked clean. I picked my way past the cots to eavesdrop, um, listen to the conversation."Dude, you know that things are not safe here. Right?" The black guy said.The white guy narrowed his eyes. "Really? I've worked here for five years, and change. I know a dangerous 'hood. This area isn't one."The black guy sighed. "You haven't heard it? You know.""No I haven't. Do you know what happened to everyone? The truth this time, no ghost stories," The white guy said while frowning.The black guy chuckled. "This area is too messed up for ghosts. Really Dale, you haven't heard anything strange when you go out alone on your smoke breaks? A strange howl that sounds like something from a TV show, but not quite?"For a moment, fear flicked across Dale's face.Jackpot! I knew that I would have to join the conversation soon. It was too interesting.Dale grimaced. "I just don't know what the hell that was."The black guy nodded. "I know, but we need help. It's hangin around here pickin people off when they leave at night. If we keep people in when the sun goes down, we can save them."A moment later, Dale rubbed his neck with his left hand. "I can't force people to stay here. It's probably against the law, and I don't like forcing anyone to do things they don't want to do."Time for me to step in. "Hello, I'm a friend of Father Dominic."Dale looked at me and nodded. "Yeah, he told me you would be coming. Maybe since you're a cop you could do something to help." He looked back at the black guy. "Tell him what you told me, Peppy, maybe he can help?"Peppy sized me up with his brown eyes. "You wouldn't have any silver bullets or holy water would you?"What the hell? This isn't some monster movie. I bet that there is a logical reason for what's going on. Would bet some money on that. Not a whole lot, my paygrade wouldn't allow it. "Nope. I'm here to find out what's going on."Peppy frowned. "You're going to end up like the other missing people."For a moment, I wanted to argue, but maybe that's not the way to go. "Well, if you want help, I'm here. Give me some proof, and if I can't handle it, I can get others to help. Or you could just do nothing, and have more people go missing." That's kinda harsh, but I'm not going to be dismissed so lightly.Again Peppy scanned me then he nodded. "Maybe you're right. Come into my office, and we'll talk."Dale laughed.I looked at Dale. "Do you know what's going on?"He shook his head. "There were two times I heard the howl, or whatever it was. Both were last week when I left too late, and it was dark outside. Sorry, I can't help you with this, but if you need info on the guests here and it's legal just ask. Oh, you can trust Peppy, he might be nuts, but he's good folks.""Screw you Dale," Peppy said then laughed.I followed Peppy to the back of the building. Was quite sure Peppy wasn't his real name, but whatever. We sat at a table that had a pack of cards on it."Do you know where this thing or person is? Do you remember where you encountered it?" I asked.Peppy glanced away from me.Not a good sign. Either he was lying, or maybe he didn't get a good look. "Hey, I promised Father Dominic that I would look into this problem.""Fine. All I remember was running, and hearing the thing howling behind me. Knew better than to look," Peppy said while his eyes looked out the window.I followed his gaze. The sun was close to setting, and it was getting dark outside. "Where did you find the thing?"Peppy sighed.Yeah, he was onboard rather reluctantly."I'll show where I thought I found the thing, and you can take care of it while I head back," Peppy said.I nodded. "Fair enough." What's going on? I hope my gun will work on it. Nah, that's crazy talk.We left the shelter, and walked down the block.It was quitting time, and folks streamed out of the buildings, or stood and waited for buses, or drove by us. One thing I noticed that they all were hyper-vigilant like it was enemy territory, and death was as close as the next breath."You see it don't you?" Peppy asked."Yeah, folks seem to be on alert here. Is it really that bad here?" I asked.Peppy nodded as we crossed the street. "Word gets around. It's just a few more blocks from here then I'll head back."At first, the buildings looked like well maintained factories or office buildings, but as we crossed blocks the area got more shabby, and run down. Oh yeah and we could see less people.We stopped next to a graffiti covered metal fence. Peppy looked around. "Yeah, this is as far as I go. Good luck."I could feel the relief in his voice. Since he didn't have a gun, Peppy would be a liability. I’d have to watch two backs instead of one.. "Enjoy your evening.""Thanks m-"Something like a howl in the distance stopped Peppy.It sounded like it was distorted, like the sound was being run through some sort of cheap speakers. I guess it was show time. Damn.Peppy looked at me as fear crossed his face. "Nah, man, ain't doing that dance again. Bye!" He turned and stopped. "What the hell?"I looked behind me. What? The street we had been walking on was gone! All we saw was a chain link fence in front of a towering red-brick building with shattered windows. No way! I had been keeping track of the streets, and landmarks before we got here. Where did that building come from? I turned, and looked around. A chill raced down my back.This is not good. Nothing seemed familiar. It was like we were picked up, and dropped in a different area of the industrial zone. Except we kept our eyes open all the time. There would've been some clue or something. Right?"Shit, shit, shit. It's happening again. Holy shit, we are-" Peppy said as he swept his gaze all over the place."Keep it together man!" I screamed."You clueless mother-" Peppy started."Don't bug out on me now!" I interrupted. "You survived this before. Which way now?"For a few moments Peppy just stood there gasping like a beached fish.I wondered if I would have to slap him. "Well?""The last time I was drunk so everything jus blends together. I just remember streets and streets and buildings. Luck or something else was with me, and I got out. This time I won't be so lucky. I don't wanna die here!" Peppy screamed, and leaned against the fence.I looked around again, and picked out something wrong among the other messed up things. The sky, it was pitch-black, no stars, moon or anything. Another chill raced down my back. I've been out at night plenty of times, and this wasn't normal. To crank up the oh crap factor, the hairs on the back of my neck were bristling. That happens when I'm being watched by someone or something. Might be a really good idea to pick from the smart actions list.We need to go somewhere, and not stay on the street. Maybe we can figure things out indoors. "Come on, let's go!""Go? Go where? How do you know you're not walking into the wolf thing's lair?" Peppy asked as his eyes flicked all over the place."I don't, but do you want some cover or at least a wall at your back? Maybe we'll find the other missing people," I said as I pulled out my gun.Peppy just shook his head then he got up."You're good?"He shook his head."Let's go anyway," I said as I walked down the silent street. After a few moments or maybe hours, who knows, I really began to wonder more about this place. It was nothing, but abandoned buildings and fences and of course, cars that were more like rust buckets and flickering street lights. Also there were no side streets. That was also strange. I've checked a map of the area once, and it was only like five or six blocks of buildings in a grid pattern, and then the on-ramp to the freeway.What the hell?For a second, I had an image in my mind of a huge treadmill. New buildings were made in the front while the old buildings we couldn't see were destroyed. Reality crushed down to just five or so blocks. Nah, that's crazy talk. I glanced behind me. The scene there was unfamiliar. We just were there."Don't bother lookin back. Just keep goin forward," Peppy said while he walked on my left.Yeah, we were in the Twilight Zone, and I wanted to punch Rod Serling in the face. Hard. There had to be an exit somewhere. As if something heard my thoughts, we heard the howl again. It was a bit louder like the thing was closer."How about we pick up the pace?""Yeah, yeah, maybe we can run it over and escape like we're in a cartoon," Peppy said, but he did walk faster.Again, I looked around. There had to be a doorway, or an entrance to these buildings somewhere. Again, I saw nothing but fencing. All I saw was rusty metal fences, chain link, faded brick or cement walls. Of course, none of them were climbable. They were either too tall or covered with razor wire whose edges gleamed sharp and dangerous. Actually now that I think about it, there were no openings to the fences that faced the street either. How do people get inside?"Wake up, someone cut an openin in the fence over there," Peppy said and pointed across the street.What? I looked at the fence. It was rusty and some of the paint was peeling off, but Peppy was right. Down the block more buildings loomed. Had to check. If this was the lair, why bother to show that there was more to this street? Then again, maybe there was nothing down the block. You know, an illusion. Well, there's only one way to find out. Wait, there's another way.I jammed my right hand in my pocket, and pulled out my phone. Maybe I can get some useful info from the map app? Nope, there were no bars. After a few moments the screen faded to black. What the hell? Guess that's it. Freakin tech, you can't trust it!"Come on!" Peppy said as he held the fence open.I ducked under the part that Peppy held, and stepped past the fence. Another building with broken windows was in front of me. The concrete was cracked with dead weeds pushing through the cracks. There were no sounds other than the noises we made. Near the roof was some sort of logo or name of the building in faded red, but I couldn't read it. Of course, there was no door facing us. Thought about smashing through a window, but maybe that might make too much noise. If someone had cut the fence maybe they had found an easier way in, or maybe this was the lair of the howling thing and any way in would work. One way to find out. "Left or right?"Peppy shrugged.We went left. There was a rusty metal door. When we got closer to it, I saw that the lock had been shot out. Well, maybe the fence cutter had a gun. Have to be careful. "You ready?""Right, like I have a choice," Peppy said.I almost wanted to reply that you always have a choice, but decided not to. Was surprised that the door opened without creaking, and we were in. Since there was light from outside from the streetlamps, we didn't walk in total darkness. I pulled out my flashlight, and swept it around. Dusty furniture and an equally dusty floor met my gaze. Footsteps in the thick dust led further into the room. I pointed at them and glanced at Peppy.He just nodded.We walked among the heaped junk until we found a staircase leading up. I hoped that the mystery person just stopped at the next floor. Unless it was a trap. I glanced at Peppy.He pointed at his ear and then upstairs.A few moments later, I heard it too. Someone was pacing back, and forth. It would be a good idea to take this slow, and easy. When we reached the landing, I could see rows of cracked cement pillars and at the end of the room some guy was facing us. And yeah, he had a gun in his right hand, but it was facing downwards. That's a good sign."Did you see it? Who are you guys?" The man asked as his eyes scanned back and forward.He wore a plain navy blue suit, and black shoes. No badge or ID on his suit.I raised my hands slowly. "I'm a cop, and this guy is helping me."The guy put his gun in his side holster. His hands trembled when he did it. "Did you come, and rescue me?"I slowly shook my head then brought my hands down. "No, we got sent or brought here by something." Took a quick glance at Peppy.He had his hands down already, and was looking around.The man strode forward and stuck out his hand. "My name is Vince McDonnel. I'm with the FBI."I walked forward and shook his hand. "Ian Roberts, Broughton PD."Peppy walked up. "I'm Peppy."Vince reached into his jacket and showed me his ID.I showed him my badge. "How did you get here?"Vince shrugged. "I was looking for a friend of mine, she had been sending me emails about some weird stuff about missing employees. Do you know about BKT Holdings?"BKT? That rang a vague bell. I remembered that there was a fuss about a Japanese company buying up one of the abandoned industrial blocks, but that was several years ago. "Didn't they buy up a block in the industrial area?"Vince nodded. "Yeah. For a while they were doing fine then about a few months ago people started disappearing. Then she stopped answering my emails. So I decided to check things out myself. I heard some weird howl, and I was in this area. I tried to go back, but everything has changed."I glanced at Peppy.He looked back.Vince scowled. "What? Do you guys know something?"I shook my head. "We were investigating some missing homeless people from the shelter, and ended up here. Wherever this place is.""Great. Maybe whatever brought us here is an aggressive bastard, and will come for us soon. I don't want to die of thirst. There's no food or water. No rats or bugs either," Vince said as he swept his tired eyes around the area again.Something about that made me take a look around too. The cracked concrete pillars had changed to pink tiled pillars though they were also battered. Even the floor had changed, now it was scuffed wooden tiles. "Wasn't it -"A howl interrupted me. There was more distortion in it. It sounded closer like a block away.Peppy looked out the window. "Check out the street!"I looked out the windows. The buildings had changed to ruined factories. Huge holes had been blown into walls. I'm quite sure they didn't look like that earlier.Vince took out his gun, and flicked off the safety. "You need to get ready."He didn't have to tell me twice. I pulled my backup gun from my leg holster, and gave it to Peppy. "You know how to use this?"He nodded. "Yeah, I went to a public school!"The howling got louder, and the room went through a bunch of changes.I got queasy seeing the area twist, and melt like ice cream in the blazing sun. Didn't want to do it, but I just closed my eyes.There was a loud growl and then gunshots.I could feel something cold and heavy in front of me. You know like something big was in front like a moving truck or a bus, and the wind from it pushes you back.There were more gunshots and screams.Even though somehow I knew not to look closely, I just had to take a peek. Definitely shouldn't have done that. I partially opened my eyes, and got quick flashes of black fur darker than night, red eyes brighter than flame and other things that threatened to make me throw up what little food I had in my stomach. Gasping, I closed my eyes, and fired away at where I guessed the thing was as hot stinking breath blew in my face...I woke up in a bed looking at white ceiling tiles. Was this Heaven?A voice asked for Dr. Kirchen over an intercom.Yeah, if Heaven sounded like a hospital. I doubted that. Checked out my body. Other than a small bandage on my head, I seemed okay. Inside my head was a different story. What happened? Is Peppy and Vince alright? How did I get here? I sat up and flinched.A guy in a brown suit sat in a chair across from my bed.How long has this guy been here? Wait, didn't my room change? Looked around again. My bed was next to a pale blue wall. On my left side was another wall and my night table was on my left side of the bed. Typical hospital room setup."Excuse me, I just need a bit of your time, and we can go on with our lives," The man said.I narrowed my eyes, and looked at my visitor. The guy looked so average, plain oatmeal would seem like an exotic dish next to him. Anyway, let's hear what he has to say. "Who are you?""Jakub Brinn, I work for clients that wish to remain anonymous. I propose an exchange. I need to know what happened to you, and maybe I can give something to cure your ailment," He said in a quiet voice that had a bit of strength underneath it.Something in the room changed. I could feel it. Again, I looked around. It seemed the same, but I still felt like everything had moved or changed in some subtle way while I wasn't looking. Maybe I should get a ruler to check the distances?"Mr. Roberts, the faster we discuss what happened, the sooner you can get your cure," Brinn said."Why don't you give me the cure now?" I asked.Brinn shook his head. "I need to be sure about the nature of your symptoms, and what infected you."Something about that sounded kinda fishy. "I'm in a hospital, the docs and nurses here probably checked me out, and know my situation."The room seemed to change again, but I kept my focus on Brinn. Barely.Brinn sighed. "Yes, I've checked your records. You're in very good shape considering what you went through. But the hospital is woefully inadequate in handling certain maladies. They're planning on releasing you either today, or tomorrow depending on how the paperwork goes. But if you leave without a proper cure, you won't see the next weekend.""Is that a threat?" I asked as I looked around again to check if my room changed. Of course, it did but I have to look closer."Mr. Roberts, let's discuss what happened. I have seen many strange things, and would believe you. Again, if you answer my questions, you can be cured. Your situation if not dealt with will prove too much of a psychic burden for you to handle," Brinn said."You do realize that I'm a homicide cop?" I asked. What is this guy's deal? Then again, I did want to know what the hell was going on.Brinn nodded. "You don't want to be dealing with this along with your caseload, and your personal life."The room changed again. I ignored it, but I was wondering where I can get a ruler or a tape measure. Will I be acting this squirrely when I get home? "Fine, what do you need to know?""Please tell me what happened," Brinn said then he leaned forward.So for the next few minutes or more, I told him what happened. Brinn listened and just nodded his head. When I finished and barely managed not to check my room for changes.Brinn spoke."It seems that this area was affected by a wherewolf.""A werewolf? Aren't those fictional? You need silver bullets or something to kill them?" I asked. My earlier thought about monster movies came back to haunt me."Not a werewolf which is like a shapeshifter. A wherewolf is quite the different threat. It's not really a wolf. It's a creature that takes people away to a pocket dimension, and tortures them by showing them disquieting places before feeding. Somehow, we don't know why, it thinks that people fear wolves, and uses that to frighten them," Brinn said like this was a college lecture, all dry and didactic."Where does it come from? What is it really? How did I end up here?" I asked while trying not to check out my changed room. My room isn't really changing, my mind is playing tricks on me. Maybe Brinn is right, I won't last long if I have to worry about the changes in any room I'm in."We don't know where it comes from, and we know little about the creature other than what we find of the victims. The few we find. You're a special case. One of a very select group that have escaped, and have caused damage to the creature," Brinn said."Really?"Brinn nodded. "Some commuters saw you, and two piles of bloody clothing just appeared next to the freeway a few days ago.""How many days?" My stomach dropped a little. Could guess who the clothing belonged to. I hoped I was wrong."Four days. And preliminary forensic results were very interesting. You were covered with blood from four sources. One was from a small gash on your head. Another sample was from FBI agent, McDonnel. The last of the identified samples was from Martin Cheswicke, aka Peppy. There was also some blood that was from an unidentified source," Brinn said.Damn. Both of them didn't deserve that kind of death. Poor Peppy. Yeah, it was his choice and he chose to help me, but still I felt responsible for his death. Well, I gotta focus on what's going on now, and not the fact my room is changing. "What was the unidentified blood from? Is it dead?" I asked. Didn't want to deal with something like this ever again.Brin smiled. "I think it was from the wherewolf. As far as it being dead, we don't know. But those who have survived never encounter the creature again. Hopefully that will give you some comfort." He glanced at his watch. "Now that we know what you fought, I can give you the right cure." Brinn handed me a silvery packet, and a business card from a pocket in his suit. "Please take your medicine now. Don't worry, it won't show up on any tests, or interact with any medicine they might give you."I looked at the packet. It didn't have any markings on it. For a moment, I thought that maybe Brinn was going to poison me, but when I felt that my room had changed again, I just tore open the packet, and choked down the pill inside. It took two glasses of tepid water before it stopped feeling like a big lump in my throat. Then I looked up, and he was gone.What the hell? I lay back in bed and waited for a doc or a nurse. At least my room stopped changing.
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