Dred was on his way home after spending six days at his usual hangout. He was in a foul mood after his big loss this evening. Dred hadn't gone anywhere like Ethan and his mother thought.
He had been in Mid-mount this whole time at a place owned by one of his buddies at the edge of the forest on the other side of town. His buddy had chosen that particular spot when building a home because of the plans he had for it.
The place had a basement that had been turned into a casino of sorts. Dred, his buddies, and a few people from town met on the daily to try their luck in a grand competition for the betted winnings.
Things had been going fine for Dred these last few days. He had been playing non-stop and only stopped to crash on his friend's sofa upstairs when it was night. He had been in a constant flow of win-lose-win.
He had made a pretty penny from all his wins and was certain he could make more, but that was when things started going downhill. He had lost consecutively and today, in a last effort full of frustration and anger at his rotten luck, he had bet everything he had on him in a last grand game but alas, he had lost spectacularly.
He had been so angry he had punched the guy who won the game. The poor man had been knocked out cold and a fight between the man's friends and Dred was about to ensue when the owner of the place stepped in and kicked Dred out.
Dred had wanted to punch his friend as well but knew that would be asking for trouble since his friend was just as big as him, maybe even bigger. And Dred didn't want to get perma-banned from the basement so he complied and had set out into the night for home with one of his other buddies tagging along.
"Chill, man... we'll definitely get that cheating bastard back soon, then we'll make him pay twice what he stole from you", Dred's friend whose name was 'Buster' tried to comfort him.
Dred only snorted in reply. twice the money he lost? what was that? He was gonna make the fool pay five times what he stole. The town was dead silent as they neared it.
As they continued their journey into town they suddenly came across a guy sitting In the middle of the road as they turned a corner into a new street. The moment the man heard the approaching footsteps his head shot up at once.
Dred and Buster paid him no heed. Dred in particular wasn't in the mood for talk. If the crazy guy wanted to sit in the middle of the road till Jesus came, then that was fine with him. But as they got nearer the man sprung unto his feet and dashed at them without warning.
Dred had had enough of small people looking down on him. If this fool wanted pain then he came to the right person. Dred threw a powerful uppercut that connected perfectly to the stranger's chin, lifting him off his feet and sending him back to his previous position on the floor.
There was no movement from the man as he landed hard on the floor. Dred was satisfied with the results of his punch. "That will teach him to attack strangers in the middle of the night" Dred said with satisfaction. Buster on the other hand was beyond worried.
"What the fuck man?!, You killed him!, Even if he's not dead I'm sure he'll never move his neck straight after that punch!" Buster said with worry as he moved towards the still man.
He placed his head on the man's chest when he got to him and listened to his heartbeat which was still beating just fine...Buster let out a sigh of relief. At times Dred made him question his sanity. Whether he was wise or stupid for associating himself with a dangerous person like Dred.
With his hand on the fallen man's chest while still squatting by him, Buster turned to Dred," he's still...Aaah!!!", Buster let out an ear-piercing scream as the man on the floor bit him deep on the forearm. He could feel the man's teeth pierce his skin and muscle like a hot knife through butter until the man's teeth hit his bone.
Buster ripped his arm from the man's mouth, tearing the skin in the process. The pain was driving him mad and the blood was gushing out. "Aaah...oh God, my arm! Fuck fuck fuck! I'll kill you, you piece of shit!!",
Buster flew at the man. Mad with anger and pain, he disregarded his still bleeding arm and proceeded to hammer the man's face with punches. Left, right. Left, right. Right, right, right, right...many 'rights' later, the man had stopped moving. His face bloody and several teeth missing from his mouth.
This time Buster didn't check to see if the man still had a pulse. He rather spat on the man's bruised and bloody face before getting up from beside him. "Stoopid asshole", he said as he turned to a now laughing Dred.
Dred had seen everything and couldn't contain his laughter as the stranger had bit his friend. He was now bending with his hand propped over his tummy. "God...that was soo funny. That dude almost had you for dinner there." He said with a chuckle.
Buster only glared at him. His arm was throbbing madly. "I think I gotta go to the hospital man. This wound is quite deep, it's killing me. Plus the dude looked like he had rabies or something. I can't believe that motherfucker will be sending me to the hospital" Buster said in anger.
"Well, I gotta get home now. You better get that wound checked. Don't get near me until you're fine Buster or you'll get more than a sucker punch", Dred said as he turned to head home. "Fuck you Dred!", Buster shouted after Dred before he turned to head into a different street. The hospital in his mind.
Unknown to them, similar things were happening all over Mid-mount. People were getting bitten by 'rabies-infected people everywhere. The police were at their wit's end. What at all was this? When did rabies become so prevalent in Mid-mount?.
The chief of police in Mid-mount, Mr.Anston had put himself on such a case and was on his way to investigate. It was quite late. The time read 10:47 pm but he didn't want to wait until the next morning. From what he had gathered, the call had been made by a young boy who claimed a girl had attacked him.
According to him, he had knocked out the girl and wanted the police to come take her over for questioning. Anston was in a hurry. He quickly made his way into one of the police vehicles, started the car, and made his way unto the road.
He was paying rapt attention as he drove through the town. looking everywhere to see if he could see any of these rabies-infected people, so he didn't miss the large man who was making his way towards his car as he drove forward.
Just what was wrong with this guy?, Did he have a death wish or something? To be walking towards a moving vehicle this calmly, he was sure the man was suicidal. Before he could hit the man, Anston slammed the break and the car came to a grinding stop right in front of the man.
Now that Anston could see the man up close, he realized the man was gigantic. 'By the gods this guy is huge. What does he eat? popeye's spinach?' Anston shivered in fear.
He was a large man himself but this guy made him feel small. Maybe he should let the guy go on his way and he on his own. But the guy wasn't moving. Anston waited for about a minute but the man still hadn't moved from his previous position.
Anston swallowed his fear and decided to step out. "Chief of police Anston here. Please move from Infront of the car or I'll have to book you for obstructing police business", Anston bluffed. He doubted the man would even fit into the car. As for his cuffs, he was 100% certain they wouldn't fit the man's mammoth hands.
The man smiled as he heard Anston say this. "So you are the one my children told me about. I have been looking for you. I thought for a second there you wouldn't come out of your metal horse. I would have been forced to rip you from it bodily. Anyway, I need you in my ranks. Don't even try to ask anything. You have no say in the matter.", The man said with a smile as his eyes glowed a bright yellow.
Anston immediately went to grab his taser by his side. cursing himself for not bringing a gun instead. He had seen enough horror movies to know this guy was a dangerous freak.
His hand found his taser handle and he quickly made to pull it out but before he could lift the taser from its holster, he felt one of the man's giant hands wrap around his throat tightly.
"what is it with you mortals and violence, eh?. I was going to bite you on the arm, but now I'll just bite you on your neck. I have to say there's no guarantee I'll not end up ripping some flesh here or there in the process but don't worry, you'll heal." The man's face started to transform as he said the last part.
His face was growing longer by the second. Fur was covering his face at an alarming rate as his skin visibly peeled off his face, falling to the floor. His neck was also growing thicker and hairier. His ears were growing pointed and his bared teeth were sharpening until they were rows of 'shark-teeth'. His nose turned into a large snout and his mouth stuck outward a bit as long whiskers grew from both sides of his face.
The transformation was complete and Anston couldn't believe his eyes. This thing was going to bite him? On his neck?. Anston was shaking in fear. Every fiber of his being wanted out, even his bladder which agreed with him wholeheartedly chose that moment to release its content, seemingly unable to continue its job anymore in the face of such horror.
The man with the now wolf-like head lifted his head to the heavens now that his transformation had come to an end and gave a mighty ear-splitting howl. "HOOOOOOOWWWLLLL!!!!".
Anston knew he was done for and chose to close his eyes. He knew what was coming. The man had already told him. Now that the transformation was done, the wolf-man wasted no time and lunged at the chief of police who now had his eyes shut tight.
Anston felt the hot rancid breath hit his face as the creature lunged at him. A millisecond later and a loud yell that sent nearby birds flying away into the night broke out from Anston as the creature's teeth sank deep into his neck. "AAAAAAAHHHH!!!!".