The List
Mick was in Talbot's office. It was dark. The only light in the office came from a small, Tiffany-style desk lamp. Mick was standing behind Talbot's desk. There was someone – or something – sitting in Talbot's chair (he could hear heavy, ragged breathing), but the chair was facing away from Mick. The air was thick with a horrible, animal smell.
Mick quietly angled around the side of the chair. He saw a huge, fur-covered hand holding a ruler. As he moved farther around he saw the other paw – that's what it was, after all – held a pen. There was a list of names on a piece of paper on the desk. Some of the names had lines drawn through them.
Mick was now standing next to the chair. The hair on be back of his neck stood straight up. His skin was covered in goose bumps. It was a werewolf sitting in Talbot's chair. The werewolf looked over at Mick and smiled. It set the ruler down on the list of names. Mick watched in horror as the werewolf drew a neat line through his name.
Mick sat up in bed, covered in sweat, stifling a scream with his pillow. Beth had her arms around him, holding him tightly.
"The nightmare again?" Beth asked.
Mick shuddered. "Yeah," he said, pulling Beth closer. He hoped she'd just let it go at that, as she had every time before. He couldn't imagine how to tell Beth that her name was the next one on the list.