"What?" Noah looked at his mother with surprise as he ate his breakfast. "There's no school today?"
"Yeah. Didn't you hear?" His mother said while washing her hands. "A boy from your school, Billy Becker, has apparently gone missing. I think he's in your class."
"Yeah, I know him..." Noah murmured under his breath as he slowly ate his breakfast. He had never told his mother about the bullying he received from Billy while he was in school. Noah didn't wish to make his mother worry. Moreover, he also felt ashamed of his situation. He also hadn't told his mother about what happened in the junkyard. "He's in my class." He replied.
"Really?" She looked at him with concern. "Well, there's been a lot of missing person cases lately and the Parent-Teacher committee got involved, which ultimately resulted in your school deciding to suspend classes for the time being until the issue gets solved."
"Huh, is that so?" Noah drank his coffee and nodded.
"To think it took them this long to shut down the school.." Noah's mother shook her head. "It's been two weeks since the disappearances began happening."
"You should be glad that they even considered shutting down the school, mom." Noah sighed. "Though I'm sure they'll immediately open it anyway."
"Yeah, I guess you're right." Noah's mother nodded.
------------ BEAST SOUL ------------
After finishing his breakfast, Noah left his home, but not before reassuring his mother that he would be careful while walking around the neighborhood. She was certain that the missing person cases were somehow related to human trafficking, and was afraid that someone would kidnap him and take him away. It took him a while, but Noah eventually convinced his mother to let him leave the house.
'Not that any human trafficker would ever succeed in kidnapping a superhuman like me.' But Noah couldn't reveal his secret to his mother.
As he began to walk, Noah realized that there was quite a drop in the number of people who were roaming around the streets. He attributed that to the continued increase of the missing person cases. People were getting scared.
'I wonder how they'll react if they know that man-eating monsters were roaming around the streets?' Noah thought to himself. They'll probably lose their minds.
He walked in the direction of his school. As he reached the forested area with the narrow pathway, Noah stopped in his tracks. After looking around and making sure that there were no one in his vicinity, Noah stepped into the woods and made his way towards the sequoia tree.
Clap! Clap!
"Wolfe!" Noah looked up the giant sequoia tree and clapped his hands twice, trying to call the dragon.
Whoosh!
All of a sudden, an enormous shadow leapt down from one of the tree branches and landed right in front of Noah.
BAM!
Noah couldn't help but flinch once again.
'I really should get used to that,' Noah sighed. His gaze then shifted to the gigantic creature that was standing in front of him and smiled.
"Hi, Wolfe!" Noah patted the creature's head, and it made a strange sound before trying to lick Noah.
BRRRR!
"Alright, alright! Calm down..." Noah said, and the dragon growled once before sitting down on the ground, his eyes staring right at Noah.
"Why can't the rest of the creatures be friendly and docile like you?" Noah sighed as he rubbed the dragon's back, making him repeatedly stomp his foot on the ground in a rhythmic manner.
'Wait, now that I think about it…' Noah's eyes widened all of a sudden, and he stared at Wolfe.
'Why on earth did Wolfe become friendly with me?' Noah scratched his chin as he thought.
He recalled that the dragon was acting all friendly with him the moment he met Noah, which didn't make much sense to him. After all, even normal pet animals like a cat or a dog wouldn't immediately act all friendly to a stranger. It usually takes some time for such creatures to get accustomed to a person in order to become friendly.
'It could just mean that a dragon is different,' Noah thought. After all, this was a creature that no one has ever seen before. It could just have a different behaviour and thought process when compared to something like a cat or a dog.
'But still…' Noah was still suspicious. He couldn't feel as though something was off. As though he was missing something.
'There's a chance that Wolfe could've met me when I black out…' Noah thought back to when he saw his arms transforming right before he lost consciousness. He then remembered the time when he woke up in the middle of the street at midnight, and he knew that there was something going on with him.
Noah knew that he didn't go to sleep when he lost his consciousness. It was as if something was awakening inside of him, taking control of his body as he blacked out.
'What the hell am I?' Noah stared at both his hands. He was afraid. Afraid of whatever was within him. Afraid of what he could become, if this being takes control of his body forever. Afraid of what he would do to the people around him if that happens.
'I need to know what the hell is happening.' Noah knew that he had to do something. In just a week, Noah's understanding of the world he inhabited had been turned upside down. And if he wants to survive in this world filled with beasts and beings that inhabit your body, then he must try to understand what the hell is actually going on.
'Now, how on earth do I figure out what's happening?' Noah thought to himself. After all, he was still a student. And the information that he was searching for probably cannot be found in libraries or online. As a teenager, he only had very limited resources that he could use; none of which would be helpful in this situation.
Beep! Beep!
As he was deep in thought, Noah's phone started to vibrate in his pocket. He pulled the phone out of his pocket and glanced at the screen, and his eyes widened for a second, before a smile emerged on his face.
"I guess this might be one way of finding things out," He mumbled to himself under his breath as he answered the call and placed it close to his ear.
"Noah Pemberton?" The voice on the other side said. "This is Lewis Fitzgerald. The detective that helped you and your friend reach the hospital?"
"I remember, detective." Noah replied. "May I ask why you've called me?"
"Oh, it's nothing serious." Lewis said, trying to sound casual. "We're getting the statements of all the witnesses involved in the Billy Becker incident. So, can you head down to the precinct as quickly as you can? I promise that it'll only take a few minutes."
"Of course, of course." Noah responded nonchalantly. "I'll be there in half an hour."
He hung up the call and shoved the phone back into his pocket, and turned his gaze towards Wolfe, who tilted his head and looked at him, puzzled.
"I'm sorry buddy.." Noah said. "But I'm afraid I have to go now."