It was night and Chief of police Anston was driving home in his small Cadillac convertible. Today had been his first time at the station after his 'accident' the previous week. He smiled as he thought of the welcoming reception he had received this morning as he finally returned to the station. Everyone had been happy to see him fit again since to them, the Chief had gone down with a bad case of the flu.
Anston had given them that excuse so that he could take a week off after he had been bitten by that strange large man and also so that none of his colleagues from the station would try to visit him as he recovered. His hand unconsciously brushed against his neck as he remembered what had happened that day.
He remembered that the large man, after sinking his wolfish teeth into his neck had reverted to his human form and hoisted him into his broad shoulders with a single arm. Anston remembered that even in his weakened state, he had felt offended at how the large man tossed him unto his shoulder as If he was weightless. Any other day and the chief of police would have complained, but that night he had been unable to. He was losing blood from the gaping wound on his throat and was only semi-conscious so complaining had been out of the picture.
Anston remembered being told by the large man as he lay on his broad shoulder that he was now like him and that he would undergo an irreversible change soon that would give him great power. The large man had also said something about meat and lust but he didn't remember much after that. This information had saved his life in more ways than one the following day.
The large man had carried him a few feet away when he stopped suddenly and started sniffing the air. Anston had not been surprised at the action.
The man had transformed his head into a wolf's not long ago so what was sniffing the air to him? The man must have sniffed out something for he had started running full speed in the direction of the woods at the far end of the town high school. Anston remembered being tossed like a rag on the man's hard shoulder. The man's speed had not gone unnoticed by him. By god was he fast. Again, Anston had not been surprised. His mind was too far gone for him to register much. A few distances to the woods, his vision had started going dark, and just as the man entered the woods, he lost consciousness.
Anston had come to the following morning deep in the woods. He had been surprised he hadn't been eaten or hurt by any of the animals that wandered the woods. The first thing he had noticed when he woke up was that the wound from the previous night was not hurting as much as it was the previous night. He had brushed his fingers lightly over the wound on his neck and had been greatly surprised to find it almost completely healed. He had been very shocked but had not dwelt too long on it because he had felt an unnatural hunger that made him moan in pain.
The first thing that had come to his head was to get home so he could cook something but that thought had vanished the moment he remembered the man's words about change and meat the previous day. He had stood up and made his way out of the forest unto a farm belonging to an old couple. In there he had done something that still haunts him to this day. He had killed all their fowls and eaten all of them raw. The old couple had come to check what was happening to their fowls only to catch the chief of police tearing them to shreds and eating them whole, feathers and all.
The couple had been more than shocked. They had stood transfixed as the cop chased, caught, and devoured their poultry like a wild animal. The Chief of police had to his senses later to see the man and wife hugging each other as they quaked in their boots. He had apologized mid tears and asked them not to tell anyone. He had given them all his money and asked them to forget what they had seen. That day, he had been unable to sleep. He had worried greatly about this change the man had talked of and how it had turned him into a rabid animal at the sight of 'meat'. He had asked himself if that was what had happened to the other people who had been attacking others on the streets the previous night.
The following day, he had called in sick and demanded that no one come to look for him. He had Experimented with his new body and it was nothing short of a curse. At least to him. The man had called it a blessing but he thought otherwise. How could it be a blessing if he was growing more animal than human with each passing day?.
His palette had changed, and even though he could still eat normal food, the taste wasn't the same anymore. Everything tasted bland in his mouth except for meat. Raw bloody meat that was yet to be processed had somehow turned into his favorite overnight. Alcohol also maintained its taste but he found out that it took a lot to get him drunk. His senses were also getting better and better with each passing day. He could now see farther than he could before and his ears had even grown sharper. All this would have been exciting for some, but for Anston, it was a cause for worry.
Three days after his accident, he had sent his son away to his sister. He had told her to take him for a while because Mid-Mount was becoming dangerous and that he was worried he couldn't protect the boy since he worked long hours. Even though this was true, his real reason was so he wouldn't hurt his son unconsciously. He could feel himself changing slowly with each passing day and didn't want to bite his son or worse eat him. His wife's soul wouldn't have forgiven him If he had. The boy had gone to his Aunt and Anston had gotten the house to himself since. Today he had gone to work after a week of resting and everything had gone on just like in the past and now he was on his way home to rest for the next working day.
Anston's car moved into his driveway slowly. the front of his house was bare unlike Hermes's and his house was only a single storey. He parked his car in Infront of his house and got out into the chill silent night. It was so cold Anston said a silent prayer for hobos and all homeless people. He quickly moved towards his front gate, opened it, and then stepped into the darkroom.
It is said that a man knows his home as best as he knows his mother. This statement would be verified by many, not excluding the chief of police. The moment Anston stepped foot in his house, he knew it had been tampered with. The whole place felt violated even though everything seemed to be just the way he had left it. moving forward as he scanned the hall, he stopped behind his couch which was a little to the center of the room as his eyes fell on a figure that was shrouded in darkness at the back of the room. The figure was staring directly at him. Anston placed his hand on his gun. He had learned from that previous incident and now carried a gun as well as a taser. He had opted for the gun though. He wasn't about to let another person bite him again.
Just as Anston's fingers touched his gun though, his arm was gripped tightly from behind him and another arm quickly pulled his gun from its holster and threw it far away into the dark hall. Anston, even though he had been surprised by the second person quickly recovered and using the same arm that was being held rammed his elbow into the second intruder's chest.
A small oomph left the person who released Anston's hand as he bent over. Anston quickly pulled out his taser and jammed it into the second guy's neck. The poor man immediately started shaking as the current rushed through him. Anston was still tasing the guy's ass when he saw a kick coming for his side, straight for his belly. He quickly left the guy he was tasing and grabbed unto the leg that had been aiming for his stomach. Again, he jammed his taser into the third person's leg, sending volt after volt through him. He hadn't done this for long though when a sweeping kick from the second guy swept him off his feet and unto the floor.
Anston wasn't chief of police for nothing. He was a boxing champion back in the academy and had quite some experience against multiple foes. He knew if he delayed on the floor, the tide of the fight would change and he'll be the one suffering. As he fell on his back, he quickly rolled with the impact backward and stood up with a fighting stance. One arm raised to the side of his head, knuckles bulging as he fixed a punch, the other which was still holding the taser was also below his chin and close to his chest.
The two men who had been fighting him though had stood still a little distance from him. They hadn't followed him at all.
"How interesting," the first man who was still in the position he was earlier said just as light flooded the room. He had turned the light on using the second switch by the wall close to the kitchen. "Brava sure picked a good one. I can tell you're skilled. You fought well even against two people and in the dark too. I'm impressed." The man said.
'So it was that giant asshole who bit me that sent them. well, bad for them I don't like him' Anston thought.
"Who are you? I don't know what you're talking about but I'll tell you this. You are trespassing on private property. You have 30 seconds to leave before I bring you pain." Anston said with great anger as he pretended he didn't know who or what they were talking about.
"Look, there's no need to get hostile. Brava said you're the Chief of poni..sorry police and that you could help us find someone. It's a direct order from him. You have no choice in the matter." The first intruder explained. '
"I always have a choice and I choose to follow no one. Now get out!!" Anston shouted.
The first intruder sighed as he heard this. Why couldn't things be easier for any of them? He asked himself.
"I see how it's going to be. We can't go back without our man and you don't want to help. There's only one available option. We force you" the man said coldly as he dashed forward.
The two people who had also just stood silently as the conversation went on also dashed toward Anston. The Chief of police gripped his taser lightly as the three intruders ran toward him. He knew he wasn't going to come out of this without injury but he would give them worst before they could make him do anything he didn't want to. He was tired of that large man. This was payback.