Life With A Werewolf

Voice From The Dead Finale

          It was so good to be back at camp. I had only been gone a couple of days, but it felt like an eternity. An eternity lost adrift a drug induced haze, and running from the monsters in the dark. As apposed to the monsters that I felt comfortable being around. In some ways, we are all our own monsters and saviors at times. Both the best and worst possible things around. A dichotomy of existence that we each willingly blind ourselves to, perhaps.
          Or perhaps I was just waxing more poetic than usual due to barely surviving my second encounter with The Nobility. On other occasions when I'd survived the worst that this world could possibly throw at me, it had given me some perspective on life. That was the reason I'd given up drinking after all. Reflecting on life with the clarity that only just surviving a horrible encounter can bring you. So, as everyone sat around laughing, hugging, talking, I found a quiet corner. I sipped from a root beer as I let my mind wander, searching for what profound thing it could glean from everything.
          Sophia walked over dressed like Laura Croft, only with longer shorts. "So, you're alive," she said. "You managed to get the girl back and keep yourself alive. I was not expecting that."
          "You managed to get your boyfriend back," I said.
          "Means to an end," she said, then took a long pull from her beer. "We just needed you."
          Instead of responding, I took a long pull from my root beer. See? Progress. I'm slowly learning to choose my words carefully. I looked around the room instead. Crash was over with Sean and Kris, talking about the night. Zack was next to Eleanor. Wasn't sure if he was just into her tech, or being shy around someone he liked. Knowing Zack, either could have been possible. Tanika and Roam were in the kitchen. Half cooking a spanish dish of somekind, half talking and laughing. Killian was teasing Evelyn, but she was enjoying it and teasing him right back. No one was paying attention to us in our little corner of the world. Or so I thought.
          "I commend you for being resourceful enough to stay alive. Perhaps you can keep Crash alive. You have so far."
          I turned to her. There must have been a fire in my eyes, cause she paused a moment. Then grinned. "Oh, I think I finally hit a nerve. How quaint."
          Out of respect to Tanika and Roam, I walked outside. I had expected to be alone, to calm down, gather my thoughts below the stars. Sophia though was determined to have her say.
          "Look," she said, "I don't care if you're his little chew toy or not. But I have to shatter him tonight. So you better step up."
          It was then that I turned vicious. "I've seen a thousand people like you. No care for who you step on or over to get what you want. A heart of pure ice water. So, you got Evelyn back. I'm glad. A little girl shouldn't be dragged into the middle of a war. But don't stand out here and lie to my face that you give a shit about that man in there. Baby, I may have been born at night, but it wasn't last night."
          She grabbed my shirt and pulled me towards her. Her eyes growing dark and red. "I care. I am sick and tired of everyone treating me like the ice queen cause I want to win the war. I care. I do what I need to win. And you? What the hell have you done?"
          Not backing down, I nodded towards the house. "I've taken care of him. Picked him up when he's fallen down. Helped nurse him back to health. He's done the same for me. We've stood in front of the gates of hell together and smiled. Yes, smiled." She growled in my face. I ignored her and continued. "That's something that you'll never know. Cause for you, it's about winning. Not about caring. Loving. Having a bond with someone else. You have to win. And you have to fight. You never care about the casualties you leave behind."
          "Oh God," she snarled, a muzzle beginning to form on her face, "you sound like him now."
          "That's cause he knows something you don't."
          "What," she snarled.
          "Relationships matter. People matter. They're more than just chew toys."
          She threw me backwards at that and looked to the sky in disgust. Half transformed, trapped a bit by her clothing. She must have started forcing a change backwards. "I ought to kick your fucking ass."
          It was then that Elouise stepped in. She had already started going green. I didn't even see her arrive. "Your mangy butt will have to get through me," she snarled.
          I patted her on the shoulder. "It's okay," I told her. "I don't think she will."
          "Let the record show, that I do care. I just do the calculation. Every battle has one. The only way we got Evelyn back alive was with the trade. The only way we could get it was if you did it willingly." She pointed towards the house. "The only way he stays alive is if I stay out of his life. I do the math. Go, enjoy your little party."
          "Where are you going," I asked.
          "Away until you leave." She turned and gave me a half smile. "Crash was right about you, you know." Then she headed towards the woods. I knew before the hour was up, we'd hear a lone howl out among those trees.
          "Crazy flea-bitten," Elouise muttered and snarled.
          "That's twice you saved me," I said to her. That interrupted her muttering.
          She looked down at the ground. "Well, it's like you said. She wasn't going to hurt you."
          "Still, you saved me."
          Elouise shook her head. "I just don't like head games. That crazy mongrel loves to play them. 'I do the calculation'" she said mockingly, "Huh. She plays the head games. And hates being called out."
          "I hope we don't interact much."
          "Those types," Elouise said, "They always come back. Can't stand to lose a battle. She'll consider this one a loss, even though there wasn't a fight to lose. We'll see her again."
          "Great," I grumbled then drained the last of my root beer.
          The rest of the party itself wound down as parties do. I talked to Evelyn a bit and discovered she's a typical girl of that age. Kids seem to bounce back from such traumas, leaving them as hidden landmines later. But, seeing the way that Roam and Tanika doted on her, the way that Killian, Donte and the rest played and teased her, somehow I thought she'd be okay.
          That night held no dreams for me, except one. A lone werewolf sitting atop a cliff, looking down over it, giving over a mournful howl. When I approached it, he asked "Would you abandon me too?" His ears were back in sorrow and pain, his tail tucked. It took me far too long to recognize him.
          "Crash," I asked.
          Then I awoke. I had no idea what to make of the dream. Crash that morning seemed to want to leave quick, gathering everyone up in a hurry. Elouise cursed at him a bit in creole, using words I won't reprint. Mostly cause I don't understand creole. Crash just glared at her, and went back down stairs. "I'll be," I started to say.
          "Yeah, you ride with him," she snarled. "I'm going to head on and find my own adventure."
          She stood in the doorway wearing an old T-shirt and pajama bottoms. I hugged her tight. I don't think she was expecting that, but patted me on the shoulder and gave a half-hearted hug in return. "You okay?"
          "Just saying thank you," I said after releasing her. "You kept us all alive at one point or another."
          She laughed. "You know, Kris and Sean literally did the exact same thing last night."
          "Really," I asked.
          She nodded. "Zack was a bit standoffish, but I get the feeling he doesn't like being touched much."
          I shrugged. "That's Zack, for ya."
          "See you at home," I said. "Barbecue. Sunday. My treat. I'm going to do steaks, dogs and brats."
          She laughed. "Bring Tums. Gotcha."
          "I'm not that bad," I said.
          She patted my shoulder. "Honey, I tried giving one of your burgers to a dog before. He played with it then buried it in the yard."
          "You burn the burgers three times, you're marked for life."
          We said our goodbyes, piling into the vehicles and heading home. My last images of that property right now are Roam and Tanika standing in front of their home waving at all of us as we made our way back to the house. Elouise made good on her promise, turning westward instead of south, heading into parts unknown for her own adventure. She'll make it back for the barbecue, I know. Despite her jokes, she knows I do a good steak. When I don't burn it, that is.
          The ride back was done in silence. Crash just played the radio, and we all sat in our own thoughts. It's amazing how you can be in a crowded car, and still feel all alone. Thankfully traffic wasn't heavy on the road back home.
          We pulled in sometime early in the afternoon, with Zack, Kris and Sean walking inside not saying so much as a word. I sat in the car with Crash. "Look," I said. "I know,"
          "Save it," he growled. Taking a breath, he said, "I know what you're going to say, so you can just save it."
          "What was I going to say, then," I demanded.
          "I know that you don't like Sophia. Part of me don't like her either. Part of me doesn't understand why I keep being pulled back into her games. But part of me just wants to fall in love all over again with her and pretend the world don't matter. I let that part override my thinking. I messed up! You almost died for it."
          "Oh? I was going to say all that? Funny. Cause I thought I was going to say, I know that Sophia broke your heart again, toyed with your emotions, again, and left you screwed up, again. Take all the time you need. Cause we're here for you. But, I guess I wasn't. Good thing you corrected me."
          I got out of the car and began to leave the garage. A heavy hand landed on my shoulder, pulling me back around. "Jason," Crash said. "I'm...."
          The look in his face. The pain behind his eyes. I knew at that moment what was really eating at him. "You saved my life," I told him. "You saved me. You were there when no one else was. Literally everyone in my life had written me off."
          "Yes," He said. "I was then. I wasn't this time."
          "Go hunt," I told him. "Call Mitch and go hunt."
          "Good idea," he sighed. "He called me earlier, but I was out trying to find you. I think I'll return his phone call."
          Just like last time, in many ways we had beaten The Nobility. But in one important way, we had lost. Our family had been shaken. The pack had once again been struck. Part of me wasn't sure what this was going to do to Crash in the future. Those are questions I'm still scared to ask. Only thing we can do is be there for each other. It doesn't seem like much. But, perhaps, in some small way, it may be enough.