This story is a work of fiction solely from the twisted mind of Chromex. Any resemblance to any persons living or dead is purely coincidental. All characters are of at least 18 years of age unless otherwise specifically mentioned. Please do not copy/redistribute the story, in part or total, without the author's permission.
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They say that no good deed ever goes unpunished and so far today was no exception. The uneasy silence that had followed my knock on the cheap aluminum door should have been my first clue. With my old human senses, I would have never noticed the subtle scent of gun oil or the faint click of twin hammers. Even still, with the hairs on the back of my neck popping upright, I barely had enough time to move out of the way before the trailer door exploded outward, shredded by the twin rounds of twelve gauge buckshot screaming through the thin aluminum. "Fuck you bitch," the voice of Riley Williams screamed from inside the trailer, "there is no way in hell you are taking me in."
"Fucking awesome, thanks Guido," I muttered to myself, the blast from the shotgun ringing in my ears. This wasn't even supposed to be my retrieval, I had been at the compound for nearly three weeks when Guido called and asked me to pick this one up after Frank broke his arm. Don't laugh, but he was taken out by a rogue squirrel while climbing out of his truck. The fact that Frank would be dead had he been standing at that door didn't escape me.
"Baby, grab the bags. I'm going to make sure this bitch is dead and then we've gotta get out of here."
"Be careful, something out there doesn't feel right." Awesome, I'd watched the trailer for hours and never saw any sign of another person. This day just keeps getting better and better and as it was none of this made any sense to me. From the notes in his file, Riley was wanted for skipping on bail for a series of petty theft charges, nothing that deserved to be greeted with a buckshot hello. First-degree murder was a bit of a jump from petty theft, especially in a small town like this one, there had to be more going on than I was aware of.
Crouching with my back against the trailer, I watched as the ruins of the door flew open and crashed against the cheap siding. I half expected him to leap out onto the landing, but instead, the twin barrels of his sawed-off shotgun slowly appeared first. It was obvious he was smart enough to realize I was still out there somewhere, but he wasn't sure where. Using my speed, I reached out and snatched the barrel of the shogun hoping to pull Riley out onto the landing where I could deal with him more easily. Instead, I sent the gun flying through the air to land on the far side of the clearing, as all resistance ceased the instant my hand touched it.
I was so surprised by only getting the shotgun that I froze for a moment, it was only when I heard scrambling from the interior of the trailer and realized they were trying to escape that I regained my composure. "Riley, I think we've got a dog after us." Did she just call me a dog?
Moving into the trailer, I saw Riley and a blonde woman making their way out through the back door. Quickly moving through the jumble of furniture, I had almost reached the opposite door when I found myself falling face down on the floor. Twisting around, I saw that I had managed to get my foot caught in what appeared to be a wooden arm. While it only took me moments to free myself, I would have sworn I could feel the grip around my ankle tighten as I yanked myself free. Scrambling to my feet, I burst out through the back of the trailer only to see Riley and the blonde climbing into an old beat-up Chevy pickup.
"Fucking stop," I yelled as I ran towards them.
"Don't worry baby," the blonde said stepping out of the truck, "I've got this. The arm should have held her up longer." Raising her empty left hand towards me, I heard her begin to mutter something I couldn't understand. I didn't know what she was doing but I'd read enough science fiction and fantasy novels to know it wasn't good. My sights were settling in the middle of her chest and I was about to put two rounds into her when the faint scent of ozone hit my nose and I felt the hairs on my body stand on end.
What I can only describe as a bolt of lightning flashed from her hand and instantly arched towards me. You know how in the movies when the evil wizard throws lightning bolts and the hero somehow manages to dodge out of the way? It's utter bullshit. My mind barely had time to recognize what was happening when the pain began. I'd been hit with a taser in the past and that was a gentle tickle with a feather compared to this.
My nervous system was instantly overwhelmed by the electricity pouring through it and I found myself shaking and twitching on the ground. I truly cannot say how long I laid there in the grass but the sun had made a significant change in position by the time I was able to move. Every last muscle in my body felt as if it had finished an intense workout and the faint smell of burnt hair filled my nose as I painfully dragged myself to my feet. Turning to head back towards my jeep, my foot slammed into a burnt lump that took me a moment to recognize.
Looking down at the twisted remains of my favorite gun, I saw that the plastic had melted and the barrel warped. How the rounds in the magazine didn't cook off I don't know but bullets exploding in my hand were one problem I could happily do without. Picking up the remnants of my gun, I attempted to remove the magazine with little success before giving up and carrying it to my jeep.
Setting the gun down in the back, I climbed in and began the drive back to town. Since what I suspected was a witch was involved, I was going to have to talk with Rasp and Natalie about this. First, however, I was going to chew on Guido's ear for almost getting me killed and try and get more information on this witch he had with him. The late summer air was warm and clean and helped me to shake the last bit of fuzziness from the shock.
Despite having been almost killed twice today, I was in a pretty good mood and just happy to be back to work. The three weeks I had been at the compound had flown by as Natalie had managed to keep me busy the entire time. Practicing how to use the pack bond, learning how wolves fight and teaching them a thing or two in the process, and learning the basics of pack leadership. Both Rasp and Natalie seemed utterly convinced I would have a pack of my own someday, but I found the entire idea laughable. The only reason I was a wolf was that I was too damn cheap to buy a treadmill, I had no business learning how to lead a pack.
No one had seen Watcher since we watched him walk off into the woods but I had a sneaking suspicion he was still around and just choosing not to be found. As part of my training, Sara had been giving me lessons on werewolf history but she always seemed to find her way back to Watcher. Between the known facts and rumors I swear the guy is like a werewolf Forrest Gump, somehow managing to be present for major historical events throughout history. He is known to not only have been present for both the founding and the fall of Rome, but it's even rumored that he spent time helping raise Romulus and Remus.
Pulling into my spot in front of K & K, I quickly ran my fingers through my hair before climbing out of the jeep and heading inside. I made sure to grab the remnants of my pistol as it would make an awesome paperweight now. Laura's mouth gaped open as I walked in and headed straight for Guido's office. Pushing the door open, I walked into his office and plopped down in the chair in front of his desk. I happened to catch him with a mouthful of shrimp alfredo and watched as he slowly swallowed his food. "Beth," he said wiping his mouth with his napkin, "what in the hell happened to you?"
"That depends on which thing you're talking about?" I said, examining my clothes for the first time and seeing they appeared to be singed, "Are we discussing the double-barreled shotgun blast I was barely able to avoid or the electric shock treatment I received?"
"What?" I heard from both Guido and Laura. I wasn't in the least surprised that Laura had followed me and was standing in the doorway.
"Shotgun blast? Electric shock treatment?" Guido said, "What in the hell are you talking about? Riley's not wanted for anything above burglary. There's no record of him doing anything violent."
"Well, it's time to update the records because ten seconds after I knocked, the door all but exploded in my face with two buckshot rounds coming through it. Luckily it was quiet enough that I heard the hammers being pulled back and got out of the way."
"So how did your clothes get all burnt?" Laura asked. Of course, her priority would be my clothes.
Setting the pistol on his desk, I watched as their eyes locked on it for a moment then flicked back to me. "He had some kind of trap set up out back," I said, "I was chasing after them and I must have triggered something because the next thing I remember was a hell of a lot of pain and then waking up hours later. Oh and I don't remember there being anything in the file about a girlfriend, but he had some blonde woman with him."
"Jesus Beth," Guido said his eyes focused on the lump sitting on his desk, "You need to go get checked out at the hospital."
"I will later. I need to get my gun replaced first."
"No sweetie," Laura said, "The first thing you need to do is change clothes. You can't go anywhere looking like you stuck your finger in a light socket."
"It's not that bad," I said tugging at my shirt which started coming apart in my hand, "Ok maybe it is."