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Tuesday, October 11th, 2011

Moon Phase - Waxing Gibbous

Laying on his bed as the winds from outside began mixing new scents into the room, Alex shut his eyes and listened to the few background noises from outside; the guilt he was feeling before at not telling his friends what Shane had said to him began to lax. Two hours before he would call it a night, but how empty the house was now made him fearful of what could possibly happen before that time came.

His thoughts soon drifted to his mother, about when she'd be home for the night. The possibility of Shane coming to the house made him hope she stayed out as late as possible, or that she would be in bed before then. How concerned and distressed she'd been up to now nudged him towards expecting the latter.

The minutes crept by as Alex kept to his collection of comics; a pair of fantasy novels he'd yet to touch made it into his paws for a chapter each. With his ears tracking nearby noises, he hoped he would find some trace of Shane in the air first; the winds had been blowing south-west during his check at the door.

When he began questioning how much meat he would need to stave off his hunger, the memories of his two kills came back, prompting a chill. The doe he'd eaten a considerable amount of flesh from versus the raccoon, but he'd gone hungry for longer that time, and the raccoon couldn't have been more than seven or eight pounds.

Five...seven pounds, maybe. I shouldn't need that much if I deal with it fast enough. The idea of killing one of the animals from Kempner's stable seemed more wasteful at that thought. That ranch I found him at before... Alex recovered his phone and searched the area through his map app. Just as long a walk...but the waterways lead behind it. Hmm. His memory of the animal scents he'd found there last time shifted his decision to that location versus his high school.

As 8:30 came with no sign of Shane, an approaching car engine signaled his mother returning home. He let Bailey rush out of his room to greet her, not following in favor of waiting atop his bed.

Alex was relieved to see her expression and body lacking tension when she appeared in the doorway, despite her nervous tone. "Did everything go okay?"

"Yeah. Everyone left hours ago."

"Nothing else?"

"Not yet."

His mother held her response for a time. "Whenever it happens...stay safe."

Oh, man. "I will. I have been."

"Then, I'll see you in the morning. Love you."

"You too, Mom." After his mother departed for her room, Alex made his way to the front door. He again saw no hint of Shane and took a moment to think.

Walking to the ranch would take him an hour, maybe more; darkness would help if any of the pipes that ran under the bridges along the way were blocked. _I don't have to kill anything right away..._With that thought, something clicked. Hauling the animal he wanted back to the house alive would let him slaughter it when he needed to, with minimal risk of daytime exposure. Alex's chest lifted and he almost smiled as he returned to his room.

As the next hour ticked away, Alex occasionally snuck over to his parent's bedroom, listening for signs that his mother was dozing. It wasn't until a few minutes after nine that the first hints of it -- the light sawing sound of snoring -- came to his ears. Good. Still have some time before nine-thirty. His next stop was the kitchen for some water, and then one last check for Shane; a hint of movement in the wooded area got his attention before it was revealed as a roaming, dark-furred pitbull.

Alex stood in the kitchen for a while after finishing his drink, and then snuck over to his parent's bedroom door when the stove clock showed nine-thirty. Hearing snoring as he came within ten feet of the bedroom door, he made his move; the sliding sounds the guest room window made with each movement briefly masked the snoring.

Once outside, with how quiet things around him were, Alex made his way to the backyard gate; jumping the fence would be too noisy, he felt. When the latch was up, he inched the gate open, staying low and near his mother's sedan as he did so. Maintaining his canine stance after the gate was again closed, he began his trek down the street; twice he was forced to hide from passing vehicles, the second one's high-beams coming close to lighting him up.

When the creek was in sight, he hustled towards it as soon as the coast was clear and slid down the bank. Shortly after, now with several hours passed with no sign of Shane, he started wondering what location he called home; unless he'd yet to leave where he lived, it wasn't anywhere north or north-west. He's killed animals in the same places I have, except that market up north...hmm, I bet he lives around here somewhere.

Once at the fork in the creek, he retraced his steps from a month ago, his nose down and alert for traces of Shane's scent; despite the light breezes and his patrolling of the length of the creek's grassy bank, he found none.

Continuing his trek to the ranch after he was satisfied with his search, he soon came to the bridge just north of the library. Before he reached it, his attention was drawn to the rows of steel rods set into the concrete structure's undersides. Up close, after testing the space between them, how little room he had to get by them cast doubt on his live prey idea.

Damnit...what's the traffic density over here?_As he settled into position on the south crest of the bank, Alex snuck a peek over it. He saw a line of trees left unilluminated without one of the streetlights working or the headlights of the passing cars; within what felt like thirty seconds, seven vehicles had driven over the bridge. _I'll barely have four seconds at a time...hope that place has easy pickings.

After going back down the bank and getting past the bars, the brightness of the lights on the other side, and how much of the basin they lit up, got him to stop briefly. Traffic's going north...if I stay close to the bank... A squealing of tires then got his attention before he heard the double blip of a police siren. In a second, his pulse jumped. When the walls he could see above the bank flashed red and blue, his legs turned to lead. Gah, shit, where's it stopping?

As the cruiser drove over the bridge, the flashing lights he could see moved further north, slowly fading until little hint of them was left. His assumption that the officer had made a right-hand turn urged him down onto all fours before moving again. His still racing heart got the old feeling of many eyes on him to resurface; until he felt fully hidden in the darkness, it didn't subside.

The next road he came to, following a wide circling of spotlights from a baseball field, was devoid of dedicated lights; after the passing of a minute to gauge traffic density, he crossed it on all fours and slipped into the treeline just beyond it. The darkness under the trees got him walking again, the occasional pause to listen for strange noises not revealing anything along the way; crickets masked the sound of his steps after the cheering crowd from the football stands faded.

When Alex saw the first hints of the ranch ahead of him, a shift in the breeze swept the animal scents past his muzzle. The place was housing at least three horses, some pigs, a cow, chickens, and a goat. A single chicken became his goal within seconds.

As he continued sniffing at the air and inching closer, some of the other scents sent a chill through his back. There was gunpowder, gun lubricant and leather among the animal scents. Fuck. As Alex's pulse rose, his legs almost unwillingly lowered him into a crouch, the crunching of dried leaves sounding much louder than any time before.

Although he heard no footsteps anywhere around him, even after several minutes, he didn't dare move. The animal scents were sapped of their previously hopeful perceptions at the same time, leaving Alex dreading any sudden signals of hunger or being spotted and having to flee. In turn, the stable felt much safer than remaining near the ranch. The foal should still be there... That idea was gradually tossed as he thought back over his route to the ranch, and the possibility of the mare, or the police, being there.

He felt his blood run cold as another thought crossed his mind: Was an officer holding the gun he was smelling? A glance around him, at all the dead leaves and dropped twigs and branches, kept him in place. If any officers were near the ranch and watching it...

Alex turned his head in shock when grassy steps sounded behind him. Shit. Fuck. He bolted left, keeping on all fours and not looking back. Not stopping either until he was through the other cluster of trees he ran into. By then, his pulse was so accelerated and his stance so wobbly, any sense he had of being hidden was dashed.

And then he heard the footsteps coming his direction.

He inched back, keeping parallel to the treeline. How many were following him? Could he fool them at this point by acting like a dog?

Can't act aggress...shit, my necklace. Alex almost didn't resist reaching for it.

He inched back further and then looked down at his paws. He couldn't disguise that hand-like shape...could he?

After tucking his thumbs under his palms, the abnormal length and mass were still noticeable. Damnit...

Alex fought his urge to flee back the way he'd come as the footsteps closed in. He was faster than whoever was following him. More mobile too, with the bulk if he needed it. His back arched, almost by itself, and his body braced for a decision to move.

It was then that he saw a dark, animal-looking mass coming closer between the trees. When it stood up and he could see the tan fur, he eased only briefly.

Shane said nothing as he emerged from the treeline. He continued to be silent as he went down to all fours again, his expression doing all the talking once Alex made it out; "The hell was that" summed it up.

At the same time, Alex became lost in questioning how he'd not seen Shane before now. Or smelled him. Had he been followed? Or had Shane been hiding somewhere nearby and he'd not noticed?

When Shane broke eye contact with him, his attention seeming to change to the trees nearby, Alex followed suit, wondering if someone was close. He heard nothing, but did see Shane's left paw lift some.

A 'come closer' gesture followed. Alex couldn't help recalling Marcus' warning to him at that point, and in turn didn't budge. Even when Shane shot him a look seconds later.

Shane's head turned one more time towards the trees before he began closing the distance on him. A single step back was all Alex got before Shane got within breathing distance of him, his ears folding back and his head tucking some in turn.

"Guess you had the same idea I did." Shane said, keeping his voice down.

"I can't risk it." Alex replied, the calmness of Shane's voice delaying his response for a moment.

"I figured."

"Could be the police."

"It could..." Shane looked around some, then tossed his head. "Back that way. Circle around and check." Alex hesitated again, slowly turning his head to look behind him. "You want me to do it?"

"No. I'll do it."

Shane looked over him briefly. "If it is them, we can wait them out."

"Maybe."