Chapter Fourteen

Lights flashed on the inside of the fire station. Fire at sea. Explosion reported near the quay. Sam slammed his hand down on the red button. "Fire at Sea. Explosion reported near the quay." Arnold and Ellie poked their heads in. "come on you two. Let's head to the Ocean Rescue Center. I'll take Mercury. You two follow me in Venus." Ellie and Arnold both nod. "Rodger that Sam."

Hoshi rushes down the steps. He gasps when he sees the fire overtaking his father's boat. "no. no. no." He takes off his shirt. He changes into his wereotter form diving down into the ocean. Please be okay dad. Please be okay. He swam as close as he could get to his father's boat which was half submerged in water. He used his whiskers to detect his father's body heat. Something a few feet below caught his attention. He dove downwards some more. The current slightly tugging him upwards. He fought against the current. The figure's silhouette showed through the murky depths. His heart stopped. His father's body was half burned to a crisp from the blast. He let out a small cry of pain. He grabbed the back of his father's shirt. He swam upwards.

His body broke the surface of the water. A loud siren noise invaded his eardrums. He quickly swam to shore. He had to get his father help. He pulled his father's body up onto the beach. He gave his hand a small nuzzle with his snout. Adrenaline coursed through him. His feral side threatens to break through its chains. "come on Dad. Come on." he begged. He changed back. He fell to his knees. His body trembling and shaking. He began doing CPR. "come on!" he yelled. "Dad don't do this! We need you! Come on!" he shouts. He put his ear to his father's chest. Charlie laid still on the sand. Hoshi stared at him in disbelief. He put a hand over his mouth. Sobs tumbled out of his chest.

"Hoshi?! Charlie?!"

Hoshi got up from the sand. He had to get away. His control was already slipping. He phased and disappeared off a different side of the beach. His back claws clipped the rocks behind him leaving three huge claw marks.

Sam and the team managed to put the inferno out. "Charlie?!" Sam climbed aboard of the burned vessel. He frowned when he couldn't find his brother anywhere on the boat. "Ellie to Sam, I found Charlie. He's laying on the beach but.." the radio went silent for a moment. "it's really bad. I've contacted Nurse Flood and she's on her way." Sam's heart was missing beats. He headed back to the shore. Ellie waited for him at the top of the stairs. She had a grave look on her face. Sam felt his heart fall to his knees. "is he okay?" She shook her head. She motioned for him to follow her.

Helen laid a blanket over the top of Charlie's body. She looked up at him. Sam fell to his knees. "I'm sorry Sam. I did all I could." Tears welled up in his eyes. He bowed his head. Bronwyn joined Sam on the beach. He wrapped his arms around her. She sobbed into his neck. "I should have made him stay home." sobs Bronwyn. "Bronwyn, please don't blame yourself." rasps Sam. "this isn't your fault. I promise you I will find the man responsible for this."

Anika met up with Sam and Bronwyn on the beach. She hugged Sam gently. "I'm so sorry Sam." Sam buries his face in her shoulder. "I know who did this." Sam looks up at her. "a man named Cren. He was hired by Mandy to hurt Hoshi. She isn't too happy that he has his son back." Sam let out a small growl. "how come you kept this from me?!" he snapped. "I could have protected him!" Anika flinches. "I needed to investigate it further. I didn't want to believe it at first." Sam looked at his brother's body. "I want you to find this man. Don't stop until you do. I want him dead." snarls Sam. "I want him to feel every bit of pain Charlie did." Anika nods. "understood Sam." "Hoshi." whispers Bronwyn. "where's Hoshi? He left this morning to help you guys out but he isn't here now." Sam frowns. "we'll find him Bronwyn." He pulls away from Anika. "Anika, keep an eye on Bronwyn and James. They'll be next on Cren's hit list. Ellie and Arnold, I want you two with me. I'll radio Tom."

Hoshi ran into the woods. He slammed his whole body against trees shattering them in half. He took swings at some of the larger rocks leaving huge claw marks in them. He let out a thunderous roar of anger. Tears blurred his vision. Damn it. Damn it. Why didn't you go with him? He turned his head. He brought his fangs down onto his flank drawing blood. He bit every part of his body over and over again drawing blood and leaving teeth marks. He grew dizzy from the blood loss. He swayed. He had blood on his maw from the wounds he had inflicted on himself. His ears perked as the faint hum of a helicopter drew closer. Shit...it's Tom. I need to hide. Hoshi scrambled to his feet. He dragged his body smearing blood onto the ground. He found a ravine and climbed down it. His claws gripping the rocks. He squeezed his body into a small tunnel made in the ravine.

Sam and Arnold searched the ground. Arnold rode on the back of Mercury with Sam. "I see damaged trees ahead, Sam." Sam slows Mercury down to a stop. He turns the motor off for just a second. "Hoshi must have come this way. There's blood on the ground too. We'll need to be careful." Sam got off of Mercury. "um Sam..what are you doing?" Sam removed his helmet. "Hoshi could be in primal rage mode. I'm not taking any chances." Sam then took off his Mountain Rescue uniform. Arnold looked away politely. "must you take off your clothes?" Sam chuckles. "when I change it's not like I can keep my pants." At this point, the only thing Sam had on was his boxers. He tucked his clothes into the storage box on Mercury. He backed up just a bit. Sam started changing forms. Ginger fur grew on his body. He grunted in pain feeling his bones pop and shift back into place. Horns grew on the front of his face. He got down on all fours. Sam felt his fangs grow out of his mouth. His senses were keen to everything around him. He finally finished changing. Sam was in his Tiefling Cat state. He looked at Arnold. "alright I'll follow behind you on Mercury. I just hope you know what you're doing."

Sam took off running. He followed his nephew's scent. He got to the edge of the ravine. He motioned for Arnold to wait with his tail. He climbed down the side of the ravine carefully. His claws dug firmly into the rock face. The scent grew stronger near the edge of one of the tunnels. The fur on the back of Sam's neck stood up. He sensed danger. He let out a wildcat-like screech into the tunnel. The walls of the ravine began to shake. Golden eyes glared back at Sam. A deafening roar greeted his eardrums as Hoshi burst forward. Rage and hatred coursed through his body. He lunged at his uncle. Sam jumped onto the wall dodging the incoming attack. He then flipped landing on the back of Hoshi's shoulders. Hoshi let out another roar of pain. He slammed his back against the side of the wall.

Elvis woke up. He felt the air being knocked out of him. He held his chest. He rushed over to the window. "Sam..."

Bearclaws

Thank you so much for the review. I'm glad you are enjoying the story so far. If you want to check out the very first story in the series, the first one is located on Mo Will's page.

Guys I do encourage you to show Whisper some love too. She's been going through a lot the past couple of weeks and it would mean a lot to see positive reviews being posted on her stuff too.

Until my next chapter

Peace and be kind to each other

-G