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Description
            When my eyes opened, the nightmares only continued. I hadn't been out for long; it was still light out and the rain continued falling in torrents onto my prone, sprawled out body, but I just didn't care. Lying in the mud out in the open like I was, somebody could have stumbled across me at any moment, but I had no desire to move. The only indication of life I gave to the outside world was the jagged rising and falling motion of my body as air entered and left my lungs.

            In my grimy right paw I gripped Em's small silver wolf figurine attached to the chain around my neck so hard that my palm had bled and since scabbed over. My left paw clenched only mud; deep furrows could be seen in the ground directly in front where my raking claws had taken out some of my frustration. I hadn't blinked my yellow eyes for the longest time, but I could still see the scene I had come upon earlier that day over and over again. I was only half conscious and the movie in my head had a surreal, dreamlike appearance.

Seth! Help me!
Too late.
Hold on, I'm coming!
Too late.
Her broken body face down in the mud
Too late.
Harper mirthlessly laughing in my face
TOO LATE.

            As if to ridicule me, a dazzling orange sunset burst through a hole in the clouds, pouring out a happy, mocking light on everything below. I was utterly defeated and had lost so much. I'd killed those soldiers back there; I had blood on my hands now. This was the first time I'd taken another person's life and I couldn't believe how terrible it felt. I'd fought so hard to bring Harper down, but even my werewolf strengths-which had never failed me before-hadn't been enough to finish him, and now he was gone. Emmalee? Gone. Ryan? Gone. My home, gone.

            I could hear someone approaching about a football field away, but still refused to care. Why Emmalee? I thought for the hundredth time. The footfalls got louder. We would have had a family; I would have been a father someday. That someone was coming at a brisk pace. Only at 50 feet away did their smell register through the rain as one of Harper's men. Closing my eyes at last, I let fresh tears moisten my eyelids before letting out a warning growl. I heard the footfalls hesitate as the scent of fear grew stronger. He then continued to approach me, the scent of resolve also strong.

            I leapt to my feet to face the intruder with a ripping snarl. I recognized him as the man that had been trapped under the burning bike when they'd attacked me near my house. This time he wore a camouflage uniform with the name "Acevedo" over his front shirt pocket. He was soaking wet, unarmed, and carried nothing but a framed photo in his arms. As soon as I jumped up, his whole body recoiled violently as he hopped back on one foot. One arm came up to cover his head he'd turned away while shaking in fear, but with his other hand he held the photo straight out in front of him. What a strange way this soldier was choosing to die.

            I charged towards the intruder, but pulled up short when the picture he was holding came into view. I knew this photo well; it had been hanging on the wall by the stairs leading to the second level of my house before it burned down. In the man's shaking arms was a photo of my Aunt and Uncle Davis holding my infant self in their arms with probably the only remaining photo of my biological parents wedged into the bottom of the frame. Acevedo's eyes were closed, bracing for impact, his whole body quivering from fear.

            When he noticed that nothing had happened, he chanced a glimpse through squinted eyes that had previously been screwed shut to find my bared fangs barely 2 feet from his face. My giant werewolf body must have been truly intimidating; even on all fours I towered menacingly over him.

            "Give me one reason I should let you live, Acevedo!" I growled menacingly.

            "I-I-I want to help you," he stammered pathetically. "You saved my life back in the forest with the motorcycle. I've had a change of heart, and now I can help you take down Commander William Harper, the one who's responsible for everything that's happened to you. Plus, I have information about your biological parents…" he trailed off.

            "Why should I trust you?" I enquired with another snarl, lifting him straight off the ground by his neck with one paw, leaving just enough throat-space for him to talk.

            "I-argh- come here alone, unarmed.  He doesn't know I'm here." He made no attempt to resist. "I can tell you where Commander Harper will be and help you get to him," he said desperately, eyes bulging from the pressure.

            It was true; Acevedo was the only person I could detect for miles, and he also had the faint smell of Harper on him like they'd recently shaken hands.

            "You've gotta listen to me!" he continued hopefully. "Since he failed at killing you with every method he's tried, Commander Harper has gotten desperate and decided to reveal your true identity to the media, and he has video as proof. Video I took on the motorcycle."

            I growled at the unwelcome news. So, he'd been wearing more than just night vision goggles that day; they'd held a video recorder as well. As if he hadn't ruined my life enough, Harper was now trying to take away any chance I had at getting an education or ever showing my face in public again for that matter. Alienating me from everyone I knew and forcing me into hiding would destroy my life forever (even more so than it was now). I couldn't let that happen.

            Acevedo looked like he was about to pass out, so I released my hold on his neck let him drop to the ground. "And why would you want to betray Harper?" I asked in a still dangerous tone as I began to circle him slowly.

            Acevedo massaged his neck while sprawled on his back, glancing warily at my claws and swallowing before answering. "William Harper is the real monster here; he stops at nothing to achieve his ends. He wants to murder all werewolves in cold blood and eliminate your species! He's captured some of your kind to research and learn everything he can about them to look for weaknesses, but then just kills them in the end. I've got nothing against werewolves; I thought you were all just mindless killers before, but after you saved me I thought differently. I'm good at what I did as a hired mercenary, he paid me well, and I had perfect cover doubling as a soldier, but now I've seen the error of my ways. I want to stop his madness; I want to make him pay for what he's done."

            "Go on," I breathed into his ear during one of my passes.

            Acevedo flinched, then closed his eyes and swallowed hard. "Okay, it's like this. Harper's HQ is located at these coordinates." He pulled a handheld GPS from his pocket and tossed it towards me. I caught it in one paw without taking my eyes off him or missing a beat in my pacing. "I'll disable the cameras at the entrance remotely and escort you inside. This is the layout of the compound," he produced what looked like a somewhat blurry, hastily taken photo taken of a fire escape plan. He pointed to a spot and said, "This blue star is where he should be, and I'm the only one with an access badge for that high-security office besides Harper. He won't suspect me; once we're both in the room and I have him distracted, you can take him down. Harper always carries two pistols; one has regular hollow point rounds, the other has straight silver slugs." That was good to know; I'd already felt what silver could do.

            "And what about you? After I have Harper, I won't need you anymore. What are you going to do then?" I sneered.

            "Actually, I've thought it over very carefully and decided I want to become one of you. I've embraced the idea, and if you could bite me, that would seal the deal. I'd be permanently on your side without any way to go back."

            "What, and let you become strong like me? Gain these senses, instincts and strength so you could come after me even easier? How stupid do you think I am?"

            "I knew it would be hard to trust me," he said getting slowly to his feet once more. "That's why I've already told you everything without any guarantees from you either way. I've left it completely up to you to decide what you want to do from here."

            I stopped pacing to consider. It sounded solid enough, he was referencing his Harper as if they were on a first name basis, and he smelled of truth and never-ending resolve. But hadn't I just had everything taken from me by the very man he was working for? I didn't full trust him, but this seemed like the only way to redeem my lost chance at getting to Harper.

            "You said you had information about my parents. What do you know about them?"
He looked up at the sky, then closed his eyes and slightly shook his head as if that were the last thing he wanted to talk about right then. He sighed, then looked me straight in the eyes.

            "There's no easy way to say this, but I helped kill them."

            I got right in his face then. "Liar! They died in a car crash; I've seen the police report myself!"

            "It was my first job with William. We planned it out that way to avoid the publicity an unsolved disappearance would bring. Making it look like an accident would close the incident to any further investigation. Back then, William cared about things like that, but not now. Not with the way he burned down your house and brought the chopper out in the open like he did."

            It was my turn to stutter as I was taken off guard. "B-but, there's no way! How can that be? All my life I've known they were killed in a car accident and you're telling me none of that is true?"

            "There was a car wreck all right, but it wasn't an accident. I rigged their car with remote charges and William hit the button right as they were rounding that turn... I'd watched from my position on the side of the ledge to make sure the job was done; when I saw the flaming wreck hit the ground 150 feet below… Well, there's no way any living thing can survive something like that, even a werewolf."

            I began hyperventilating. Harper had taken much more from me than I'd known. That brought his murder count of people I was close to up to 3 now, 4 if you counted Ryan. This was just too much to take in; finding out most everyone I'd ever loved or would have loved were all killed by the same person that was still trying to kill me now, and to find it all out on the same day…

            "Seth? Are you oka-"

            I yelled in anger and punched into the nearest tree with all my strength, sending splinters of bark in all directions. I hit that tree again and again, my knuckles cracking and healing over and over, not stopping until I felled the tree with a thunderous crash. Still not satisfied, I grabbed Acevedo-struggling not to outright kill him-and slashed him across the face, then roughly threw him headlong into some nearby bushes. I let out a last snarl of rage which gradually altered in tone to the second long howl of anguish that day as I fell to my furred knees once again, open palms outstretched toward the sky.

            My howl faded, replaced again by the sound of precipitation punctuated every few seconds by Acevedo's scared, jagged breaths and occasional twitching struggles from within the branches and dead leaves.

            Making my decision, I got up and stalked forcefully through the bushes with limbs flying and tearing in my wake. I fiercely ripped him from the branches with both hands as I reached him, twisting him into a reverse bear hug so my arms made and X across his chest to hold him in place.

            "This will hurt. A lot." He screamed.

Description
            When my eyes opened, the nightmares only continued. I hadn't been out for long; it was still light out and the rain continued falling in torrents onto my prone, sprawled out body, but I just didn't care. Lying in the mud out in the open like I was, somebody could have stumbled across me at any moment, but I had no desire to move. The only indication of life I gave to the outside world was the jagged rising and falling motion of my body as air entered and left my lungs.

            In my grimy right paw I gripped Em's small silver wolf figurine attached to the chain around my neck so hard that my palm had bled and since scabbed over. My left paw clenched only mud; deep furrows could be seen in the ground directly in front where my raking claws had taken out some of my frustration. I hadn't blinked my yellow eyes for the longest time, but I could still see the scene I had come upon earlier that day over and over again. I was only half conscious and the movie in my head had a surreal, dreamlike appearance.

Seth! Help me!
Too late.
Hold on, I'm coming!
Too late.
Her broken body face down in the mud
Too late.
Harper mirthlessly laughing in my face
TOO LATE.

            As if to ridicule me, a dazzling orange sunset burst through a hole in the clouds, pouring out a happy, mocking light on everything below. I was utterly defeated and had lost so much. I'd killed those soldiers back there; I had blood on my hands now. This was the first time I'd taken another person's life and I couldn't believe how terrible it felt. I'd fought so hard to bring Harper down, but even my werewolf strengths-which had never failed me before-hadn't been enough to finish him, and now he was gone. Emmalee? Gone. Ryan? Gone. My home, gone.

            I could hear someone approaching about a football field away, but still refused to care. Why Emmalee? I thought for the hundredth time. The footfalls got louder. We would have had a family; I would have been a father someday. That someone was coming at a brisk pace. Only at 50 feet away did their smell register through the rain as one of Harper's men. Closing my eyes at last, I let fresh tears moisten my eyelids before letting out a warning growl. I heard the footfalls hesitate as the scent of fear grew stronger. He then continued to approach me, the scent of resolve also strong.

            I leapt to my feet to face the intruder with a ripping snarl. I recognized him as the man that had been trapped under the burning bike when they'd attacked me near my house. This time he wore a camouflage uniform with the name "Acevedo" over his front shirt pocket. He was soaking wet, unarmed, and carried nothing but a framed photo in his arms. As soon as I jumped up, his whole body recoiled violently as he hopped back on one foot. One arm came up to cover his head he'd turned away while shaking in fear, but with his other hand he held the photo straight out in front of him. What a strange way this soldier was choosing to die.

            I charged towards the intruder, but pulled up short when the picture he was holding came into view. I knew this photo well; it had been hanging on the wall by the stairs leading to the second level of my house before it burned down. In the man's shaking arms was a photo of my Aunt and Uncle Davis holding my infant self in their arms with probably the only remaining photo of my biological parents wedged into the bottom of the frame. Acevedo's eyes were closed, bracing for impact, his whole body quivering from fear.

            When he noticed that nothing had happened, he chanced a glimpse through squinted eyes that had previously been screwed shut to find my bared fangs barely 2 feet from his face. My giant werewolf body must have been truly intimidating; even on all fours I towered menacingly over him.

            "Give me one reason I should let you live, Acevedo!" I growled menacingly.

            "I-I-I want to help you," he stammered pathetically. "You saved my life back in the forest with the motorcycle. I've had a change of heart, and now I can help you take down Commander William Harper, the one who's responsible for everything that's happened to you. Plus, I have information about your biological parents…" he trailed off.

            "Why should I trust you?" I enquired with another snarl, lifting him straight off the ground by his neck with one paw, leaving just enough throat-space for him to talk.

            "I-argh- come here alone, unarmed.  He doesn't know I'm here." He made no attempt to resist. "I can tell you where Commander Harper will be and help you get to him," he said desperately, eyes bulging from the pressure.

            It was true; Acevedo was the only person I could detect for miles, and he also had the faint smell of Harper on him like they'd recently shaken hands.

            "You've gotta listen to me!" he continued hopefully. "Since he failed at killing you with every method he's tried, Commander Harper has gotten desperate and decided to reveal your true identity to the media, and he has video as proof. Video I took on the motorcycle."

            I growled at the unwelcome news. So, he'd been wearing more than just night vision goggles that day; they'd held a video recorder as well. As if he hadn't ruined my life enough, Harper was now trying to take away any chance I had at getting an education or ever showing my face in public again for that matter. Alienating me from everyone I knew and forcing me into hiding would destroy my life forever (even more so than it was now). I couldn't let that happen.

            Acevedo looked like he was about to pass out, so I released my hold on his neck let him drop to the ground. "And why would you want to betray Harper?" I asked in a still dangerous tone as I began to circle him slowly.

            Acevedo massaged his neck while sprawled on his back, glancing warily at my claws and swallowing before answering. "William Harper is the real monster here; he stops at nothing to achieve his ends. He wants to murder all werewolves in cold blood and eliminate your species! He's captured some of your kind to research and learn everything he can about them to look for weaknesses, but then just kills them in the end. I've got nothing against werewolves; I thought you were all just mindless killers before, but after you saved me I thought differently. I'm good at what I did as a hired mercenary, he paid me well, and I had perfect cover doubling as a soldier, but now I've seen the error of my ways. I want to stop his madness; I want to make him pay for what he's done."

            "Go on," I breathed into his ear during one of my passes.

            Acevedo flinched, then closed his eyes and swallowed hard. "Okay, it's like this. Harper's HQ is located at these coordinates." He pulled a handheld GPS from his pocket and tossed it towards me. I caught it in one paw without taking my eyes off him or missing a beat in my pacing. "I'll disable the cameras at the entrance remotely and escort you inside. This is the layout of the compound," he produced what looked like a somewhat blurry, hastily taken photo taken of a fire escape plan. He pointed to a spot and said, "This blue star is where he should be, and I'm the only one with an access badge for that high-security office besides Harper. He won't suspect me; once we're both in the room and I have him distracted, you can take him down. Harper always carries two pistols; one has regular hollow point rounds, the other has straight silver slugs." That was good to know; I'd already felt what silver could do.

            "And what about you? After I have Harper, I won't need you anymore. What are you going to do then?" I sneered.

            "Actually, I've thought it over very carefully and decided I want to become one of you. I've embraced the idea, and if you could bite me, that would seal the deal. I'd be permanently on your side without any way to go back."

            "What, and let you become strong like me? Gain these senses, instincts and strength so you could come after me even easier? How stupid do you think I am?"

            "I knew it would be hard to trust me," he said getting slowly to his feet once more. "That's why I've already told you everything without any guarantees from you either way. I've left it completely up to you to decide what you want to do from here."

            I stopped pacing to consider. It sounded solid enough, he was referencing his Harper as if they were on a first name basis, and he smelled of truth and never-ending resolve. But hadn't I just had everything taken from me by the very man he was working for? I didn't full trust him, but this seemed like the only way to redeem my lost chance at getting to Harper.

            "You said you had information about my parents. What do you know about them?"
He looked up at the sky, then closed his eyes and slightly shook his head as if that were the last thing he wanted to talk about right then. He sighed, then looked me straight in the eyes.

            "There's no easy way to say this, but I helped kill them."

            I got right in his face then. "Liar! They died in a car crash; I've seen the police report myself!"

            "It was my first job with William. We planned it out that way to avoid the publicity an unsolved disappearance would bring. Making it look like an accident would close the incident to any further investigation. Back then, William cared about things like that, but not now. Not with the way he burned down your house and brought the chopper out in the open like he did."

            It was my turn to stutter as I was taken off guard. "B-but, there's no way! How can that be? All my life I've known they were killed in a car accident and you're telling me none of that is true?"

            "There was a car wreck all right, but it wasn't an accident. I rigged their car with remote charges and William hit the button right as they were rounding that turn... I'd watched from my position on the side of the ledge to make sure the job was done; when I saw the flaming wreck hit the ground 150 feet below… Well, there's no way any living thing can survive something like that, even a werewolf."

            I began hyperventilating. Harper had taken much more from me than I'd known. That brought his murder count of people I was close to up to 3 now, 4 if you counted Ryan. This was just too much to take in; finding out most everyone I'd ever loved or would have loved were all killed by the same person that was still trying to kill me now, and to find it all out on the same day…

            "Seth? Are you oka-"

            I yelled in anger and punched into the nearest tree with all my strength, sending splinters of bark in all directions. I hit that tree again and again, my knuckles cracking and healing over and over, not stopping until I felled the tree with a thunderous crash. Still not satisfied, I grabbed Acevedo-struggling not to outright kill him-and slashed him across the face, then roughly threw him headlong into some nearby bushes. I let out a last snarl of rage which gradually altered in tone to the second long howl of anguish that day as I fell to my furred knees once again, open palms outstretched toward the sky.

            My howl faded, replaced again by the sound of precipitation punctuated every few seconds by Acevedo's scared, jagged breaths and occasional twitching struggles from within the branches and dead leaves.

            Making my decision, I got up and stalked forcefully through the bushes with limbs flying and tearing in my wake. I fiercely ripped him from the branches with both hands as I reached him, twisting him into a reverse bear hug so my arms made and X across his chest to hold him in place.

            "This will hurt. A lot." He screamed.