Simon wasn't one to believe in nonsense like Santa Claus or the tooth fairy, but when Austin said the word werewolf, something in his chest tightened. Still, he couldn't stop the doubt from creeping onto his face.
"You don't believe me," Austin said, his voice steady.
"Would you believe you?" Simon countered.
"Yes."
Simon shook his head. "And that's why you're an idiot."
Austin wasn't provoked. "We both know what we saw in the woods. Can you even doubt your own eyes? It was a beast!"
Simon noticed the seriousness in Austin's eyes and spoke hesitantly, "I can't remember most of what happened that night. It's clear we encountered something when we went off course."
"Really?" It was now Austin's turn to show doubt.
Simon closed his eyes and thought deeply, but each time he tried to pull at the memory, he felt a sense of foreboding. Instinctively, he pressed a hand to his temple, feeling a growing pressure behind his eyes. Every time he tried to grasp the memory, something dark and cold gripped his chest, stopping him in his tracks. His breath quickened. "I—I can't remember. I really can't."
Austin grabbed his shoulders and said, "Hey, calm down. If you're telling the truth, then forget it. But what are we going to do?"
"What do you mean?" Simon frowned.
"What do you think happens when someone is bitten by a werewolf?" Austin's eyes showed a trace of hesitation and an underlying, indiscernible emotion. Simon felt his pulse quicken. He couldn't laugh it off as a joke. He spoke, his mouth dry, "You turn into one."
Although he wasn't a fan of supernatural stories, he knew enough to grasp the important details.
"We can't continue this conversation outside. Let's head up to my room," Simon said, opening the front door. They walked in. Molly was nowhere to be seen, so they made their way to Simon's room.
"Tell me what happened. Leave nothing out," Simon demanded, unable to sit and pacing around the room.
"If you had your memories, you wouldn't doubt it," Austin answered without hesitation.
Simon crossed his arms and closed his eyes. "If what you say is true, we should already be turning or undergoing some kind of transformation. Why didn't the doctors notice anything?" he asked.
Austin smiled. "Maybe that's not how it works."
Simon's headache worsened. "Is this a prank? Is this funny to you?" He'd been asleep for days, yet he already felt exhausted. His expression was furious.
"It's not a prank! We could turn into one by the next full moon!" Austin grew equally frustrated.
"According to who?" Simon clenched his fist, then sighed. "Fine, I'll choose to believe you for now, but why do you know so much?"
"I've researched this stuff. When the full moon is at its peak, the transformation happens." Austin stood up from the bed. "And the next full moon is tomorrow night. We only have a little over 24 hours to prepare."
Simon felt like he'd been struck by lightning. "Isn't this too much? Do you even have a plan?" He wanted to believe it was a lie. But what if it wasn't? If not for the lingering doubt, he might have already panicked.
"We'll have to return to the forest." Austin said, sending a list of what to bring to Simon's phone.
"And get attacked again? Do you have a death wish?" Simon's expression turned hesitant.
"You don't get it. If we're anything like the werewolves I know of, we'll go mad and bloodthirsty under the full moon." Austin pointed toward the door. "Do you want to rip your sister apart?"
Simon glared at him and said, "We don't have to go into the forest. We just have to make sure we can't harm others, right?" He tried to think of a solution but couldn't come up with anything. Feeling weak, he finally sat on the bed.
"Are you starting to get it, smart ass?" Austin interrupted his thoughts. He walked to the door and opened it. "Whether something happens to us or not, we can only accept it and move on. I've said what I came to say. I'll be at school tomorrow." He looked at Simon.
Simon sighed. "Then I'll see you tomorrow."
With a nod, Austin slammed the door and left.
Simon slumped back onto his bed and stared up at the ceiling, feeling exhausted. He glanced over at his desk. Should I do some research, too?
Simon's eyes slowly shut as he drifted off to sleep.
---
Beep! Beep! Beep!
An alarm blared. The black-haired youth shut it off as soon as he woke. "Shit," he muttered.
It was Friday, and he knew he had class. Checking the time, he saw it was only 5:00 a.m. Simon liked getting up early; it was a habit he'd picked up from his mom. But now, he could barely resist the pull of sleep.
Summoning his willpower, he got up. His motivation wasn't from a love for school or the thrill of learning. He simply wanted to do what he'd failed to do the night before—research werewolves.
A part of him felt ridiculous, but it was better to be safe than sorry. He sat down at his desk and typed "werewolf" into his computer. When he hit the search button, he was hit with an onslaught of texts and images.
Werewolves, also known as lycanthropes, are beasts in folklore. They are people with the ability to shapeshift into wolves, usually during the full moon, and are often seen as murderous monsters.
Is this what Austin read? Simon wondered.
He scrolled down and clicked on a random website. A bipedal beast with wild black fur stared back at him. It had dark red eyes, dreadful fangs that looked sharp enough to tear through flesh, and hands that resembled a human's—only much larger, with claws extending out from the fingertips. It moved through a forest, hunched over. Werewolf Sighting was printed in large text above the images.
Simon began reading.
December 18th, 20##, a towering beast, about seven feet tall with lupine features, was spotted in Mason Glades on the night of the full moon. It hunted animals indiscriminately, as if feeding a deep hunger, but even after it seemed satisfied, its killing didn't end. This led to a noticeable drop in the local wildlife. A hunter, who claimed to have heard howls that night, took this picture.
Simon checked the comments, finding mostly mockery but a few defending posts. A comment by Unfettered_SunFlower caught his attention
"Its true, i know the hunter"
When he checked the replies he saw even more hate and mockery that even Simon was amused. "I guess this is a start".
In the next hour Simon scoured the internet, uprooting whatever information he could find. He found sites that depicted them as monsters, some showed them as cool mythical being others showed a more inappropriate depiction. But the general consensus was monsters, even the movies and book series thought so.
Simon streached and stood up from his desk, he was done with his research. His stomach rumbled "Ah, did i have dinner? My pizza is probably still downstairs" without brushing his teeth Simon left his room and descended the stairs.
As he approached the end a figure was reflected in his vision. A handsome, gaunt man with a clean shaved face. He also had black hair like Simon, the man wearing a fitted dark suit was already looking in Simon direction with a cold light flashing in his brown eyes.