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Saturday, Nov. 11th, 2011

Moon Phase - Full

Time Until Human Again - 12 Hours

The scents the front door had held back were sucked outside as soon as Shane opened it. Alex found both Shane and Michael's scents immediately, prompting his pulse to climb and his will to move to fail.

"C'mon, get in here." Shane whispered, to which Alex looked around again before obeying. More scents were processed as the door shut behind him, none that reinforced his nerves but plenty that proved how lived-in the house was, and that someone was cooking. "Dad's in the kitchen, if you skipped breakfast."

Alex waited for Shane to walk away before standing up again. The scents were making him hungry again, though part of him suspected it was the other hunger surfacing. After a minute, the scents won him over and he stepped lightly into the kitchen through the dining room.

What he found was Michael, in his seemingly eight-foot-tall werewolf form, crouched over the stove and cooking two packages of pork sausages. Despite the scene, when his head turned, Alex inched back some and his head dropped.

"You're fine Alex. C'mon in." Michael said in a half-whisper. Though his words were welcoming, his voice was brimming with growls and Alex suppressed a swallow; two links were all he took. "My friend should be here around six. As soon as he drops the meat off, you'll have your share."

"Thanks." Alex said before he nibbled the end off one of the links.

"When you're done, your stuff is in the room. Just keep quiet until my wife wakes up."

Alex only nodded.

"One last thing: Keep some water with you. It'll help distract you if the hunger lasts beyond a few hours."

Alex nodded again, to which Michael handed him an oversized cup already filled with water and ice, and a few straws.

* * *

When the real hunger emerged, Alex took a breath to calm himself. Just gotta wait it out. As he did so, the cabin fever feelings returned, and intensified faster. Staring outside was no help, and he didn't want to open the window, despite no hint of alarm triggers.

Alex then went for his water. A few sips cooled his skin and chest but did little else.

When he heard a pair of light taps on the room's door a few minutes later, he was barely on his feet before the door swung open to reveal Shane. He slipped inside and swung the door shut behind him, though not all the way.

"Dad wants to know if you want to come outside while we wait for the delivery," he said in a similar growl-laced whisper.

Alex answered in short order. "How big is your garage?"

"About as large as yours."

"If that's what you're using, that's good enough for me."

Instead of replying, Shane simply gestured for Alex to follow. As he did, he walked through a patch of scents with hints of Michael's wife and felt his stomach relax, reminding him of what happened with his mother and her scent. Did Michael already trust him that much?

Once outside, Alex tucked the question away. Shane had been more on his case than his father from minute one, though now he couldn't help feeling some sympathy for them.

As the patter of rain continued around them, Alex followed Shane into the garage. Aside from a table with stools, one of which Michael was using, very little felt out-of-place. With Michael's form illuminated though, Alex could see the color similarities in his and Shane's pelt; his was an even split of black and tan, one almost German Shepherd-like in pattern.

"You can leave the side door open," Michael said after Alex looked behind himself.

"I suppose this is where the meat stays?" Alex said after he pulled out a stool to use.

"Oh, no, we eat inside. The kitchen's easier to clean up."

Alex nodded in response before glancing over at Shane, who was already fixated on the book in his paws. The comics he brought were burned through within minutes, leaving his phone and the one paperback he'd brought.

* * *

His father became the first person to text him close to an hour later.

Dad: How are things going?

Though Shane and Michael gave only a glance at the sound of the IM tone, Alex told them who it was, and what was said, before typing out his reply.

Alex S.: Fine. Just reading something and

waiting for the meat delivery.

Dad: How long will that take?

Alex S.: An hour or two, I think.

Alex received no reply but was certain his father was satisfied.

Some time later, another phone rang: Michael's. Shane's attention was ripped from the book in his paws at the ring tone, while Alex gave him and Michael only a glance. At least until he could tell the phone was being answered in speaker mode.

"Hello?" Michael began in as human a voice as he could muster.

"Mr. Bryant?" The voice was female.

"Yes."

"This is Houston EMS. Do you know someone named Yamato Ishida?"

Alex's pulse picked up at that sentence, and when he looked at Michael, it was as if he could feel the color draining from his face.

"Yes, he's a friend."

"Then, I'm sorry to tell you, he was involved in an accident within the last half-hour."

When Michael's eyes widened, and his muzzle inched open at the news, Alex knew. That was their meat supplier.

"He was breathing and responsive when we got him to the emergency room, but I don't know how badly he's hurt."

Michael had to force himself to respond within five seconds, but his voice was already slipping. "Which side was hit?"

"Driver's side, at the rear. His vehicle was totaled. Same with the one that hit him."

Michael's paws clenched as he tried to relax his breathing, and get his voice reigned in. "I see."

"I'll pass along your number to the staff. They'll call you if anything changes."

"Thank you." Michael didn't wait for the other line to hang up before stopping the call. As soon as he did, and his paws were placed over his eyes, Alex could hear his demeanor slipping, even though he said nothing out loud.

It was the sight of Shane coming up to and hugging his father that got Alex to turn away, and work to keep himself from seeming anything besides sympathetic. Damn it. Now what? All he could see happening was the three of them searching out an animal and having their fills before the sun rose, all in less than two hours, three at a stretch.

Despite the assumption, Alex did not speak. Shane and his father had to have been in this situation before; they would know how best to tackle it.

After what felt like several minutes, Michael's demeanor had recovered enough to let him speak without sounding too upset. "Alex, Shane, this is what we'll have to do. We need to decide on a place outside of town where we can get a large enough animal to feed the three of us."

Outside of town? Like where?

"I do know a few places with cattle and such, but whichever we choose, we have to do this quickly and save as much of the animal as we can."

With that, Alex was quick to picture Michael's wife driving them somewhere, letting them out and then coming back for them when the time was right. What else that would entail, he could only speculate.

"Whichever place has the easiest animals to grab," Shane said after only a moment.

"If that place has sparse lighting, I'll agree," Alex said.

"Alright. I'll go wake Carol up. You two stay out here until I come back." It took Michael a minute to leave, though how tall he stood ensured Alex's attention never left him.

Shane made no remarks after his father left; Alex didn't feel like getting him to talk and stayed quiet himself. The longer Michael stayed gone however, the easier it became to fixate on the growing hunger plaguing his stomach. Both Shane and Michael's scents had turned from concerning to repulsive with the onset of the hunger, which he minded much less than the alternative and did his best to go along with.

When Michael returned, Carol wasn't with him. Instead, Alex heard her start the engine of the SUV he'd seen in the driveway, and inch backwards towards the garage door. Michael meanwhile directed both Shane and Alex to be ready, and to help him load a rolled-up tarp. As soon as the garage door came up and the rear of the SUV opened, the tarp was loaded, and Michael directed Shane and Alex into the back; he took the back seats once everything had been closed behind them.

By then, Alex was once again noticing Carol's scent, and the tightening of his stomach relaxed again.

"Alright, hon. Whenever you're ready." Michael said once he was inside.

"Where are we going?" Alex asked once he felt the SUV leave the driveway.

"It's a place west of here." Michael replied. "Close to Katy."

Alex didn't reply, and Shane kept quiet also.

"When we get there, if it's still raining, we'll decide on an animal before we leave the car. No one should be nearby, so noise won't be an issue, but we have to save what we can in case Yamato stays hospitalized for a while. The rest we can discard." Michael paused for a moment. "Alex?"

"Yeah?"

"I'm sorry your first time with us had to go this way."

Alex sighed quietly before he replied, and noticed Shane glance at him. "It's fine. So long as this hunger is dealt with."

It was a few minutes later when Alex realized he'd left his phone in the garage. A spike of cold tore through him and his pulse climbed as he thought of what would happen if his dad or one of his friends texted him and he was unable to reply.

Son of a bitch. Why did I forget that thing?

Shane noticed his change in demeanor, and increase in heartbeat, within a second. "What's wrong?"

Damn it... None of them should be up before six. "Nothing."

"Freaking out already?"

"Shane." Michael didn't need to say more to make things quiet again. "Alex, if you're worried about any of this, just lay back and breathe easy. Don't fixate on what's coming. You'll just stress yourself."

Alex took a moment before exhaling loud enough to give the impression that he was trying. By the time he felt the SUV slow down and move to drive over rougher terrain, his concerns had shifted towards his parents instead of his friends. If his father had texted him in the time since they'd left...

"We're almost there." Michael said.

Alex swallowed at that sentence. By that point, his hunger had built to where Carol's scent was drawing his attention more than the repulsive ones from Michael and Shane. The sooner that was gone, the better, and with the rain making less noise against the roof, Alex grew anxious to get out of the vehicle.

More so when he began to ask himself if Michael and Shane were feeling the same way he was.

When the vehicle finally stopped moving, Alex heard the parking brake being set, and then the headlights switching off. Michael then shuffled his position to peer out of the nearest window, speaking up after the rain seemed to end. "I don't see anyone. Let's get out and go closer."

Shane wasted no time opening the rear door, though only a crack at first. The scents from outside washed over the ones inside the vehicle cabin as Alex waited for Shane to move. He found ones from horses, pigs, and at least two kinds of cattle, along with the other kinds of scents such a location housed, some urging a covering of his nose.

Once Michael had left the cabin, Shane followed suit. Alex then followed, but slowly, his attention shifting from thing to thing as he let himself down onto the soggy, stone-strewn ground. They'd driven quite a distance from the nearest road, but the still existent lightning was randomly lighting the area up and playing havoc with his nightvision when it flashed.

The next rumble of thunder was when Michael spoke up, telling Alex and Shane to follow him. As he did, Alex let his attention focus on Shane. Unless Michael did all the work, which Alex doubted would be the case, Shane would be getting a part of his wish.

Otherwise, the winds were in their favor, and so was the seemingly empty area. The animals would be more focused on the weather, and what noise they would make wouldn't reach anyone of note.

As they drew closer to the stable, Michael led Alex and Shane in the direction of towering oak tree, coming half out of his all fours stance to look around again. "No one still," he said as he lowered himself back down. He then turned to face Alex and Shane. "I can see at least nine animals from here, but there's a lot more in there." Alex swallowed and licked his muzzle before Michael continued. "Remember, nothing too big, and Alex?"

"Yeah."

"Before we do this, I want you to keep in mind: When you make your move, at any time when you must do this, go for the throat as quickly as you can, and do not let go until you know you're winning, and your prey is giving out. It's hard to do, and I understand it's gruesome, but if you hesitate, you could wind up chasing a wounded animal, and they will tire you out doing everything they can to keep away from you or fight you off. Do you understand?"

Alex nodded.

"Are you nervous about this?"

Alex nodded again.

"Do you think you could do it if I let you choose the animal?"

This time, Alex took a few seconds. The biggest he'd taken out was the doe, something much lighter than him. "I don't know," he eventually said.

"Then, how about the alternative I mentioned to you before?"

_Alternative?_It took a second longer for Alex to remember what that was. "Probably."

This time, Michael nodded. "Then, I have an idea. You two, wait here." When Michael returned, he was walking on one paw, the other holding a leather holster and the pistol sheathed within it.

It was a .44 chambered revolver, with a trigger guard barely wide enough to let one of Michael's digits slip into place. The rounds were all hollow points, which Alex knew would tear through flesh with little issue.

After the cylinder was locked back in place, Michael sheathed the weapon. "Here's what I think we should do. We all decide on the animal, then you, Alex, take a shot at it. Shane and I will then go after it, if it survives the shot." Michael then turned to Shane. "Are you fine with that, Son?"

"So long as he doesn't point that thing at me." Shane said, his attention not wavering from the revolver.

"I know how to use these things." Alex responded.

"Then, is this something you're willing to do?" Michael asked.

Alex stared at the revolver as his answer was formed. When he nodded once again, it was accompanied with a 'Yeah.'

"Alright, then." Michael said. "Let's go."

The animal the three of them decided upon was one of three older calfs. Despite the unnerved noises the animals began to make at the presence of the three werewolves, the calf stayed asleep, or so it seemed to Alex.

His pulse remained elevated as he unsheathed the revolver and steadied his aim, his index claw set in the gap between the trigger and guard. His emotions picked up slight strength in turn.

For what felt like minutes, he didn't fire. Behind him, Shane and Michael stayed silent, waiting for him to act. Alex meanwhile kept watch on the flashes of lightning through the corner of his eye. One moment was what he was waiting for.

And when it -- a loud, cracking boom of thunder -- came, his claw and digit depressed the trigger. The gunshot stood out very little in turn, and the calf lay dead after only a few twitches.

The animals around them reacted in terror at both loud noises; Shane and Michael gave him only quick congratulations before reminding him that time was of the essence. With that, Alex sheathed the revolver. The deed was done.

All that was left was to feed.

FIN