Cole's POV
We dragged Huang to the edge of the forest and sat him up against a tree. He was still out cold. Kai, Jay, Zane and Lloyd had gone off to set up camp, since night was quickly approaching. The day goes really quickly when you're trying to carry an unconscious person away from a town when there people walking around. It took us almost an hour just to get him off the ground. Huang weighed a ton! It was as if when he turned back to human, some of his mass from being a werewolf had stayed with him. Everyone had to pitch in to carry him.
Romulus and I were alone with the unconscious form that we have lugged for most of the day. I raised the question that I was sure was on everyone's mind. "What now?"
Romulus turned to me, he hadn't spoken since Huang's rant about how many people he may or may not have killed. But that argument had clearly shaken him. There was more to him than I knew.
He rummaged through his torn pockets for a moment. He brought out a roll of duct tape, "Never go anywhere without it." He then proceeded to tape Huang's hands and feet together. He started talking as he occupied himself with tying up the enemy, "Why did you go looking for the cure? I told you not to!"
I scoffed, "You sound like my dad!"
Romulus flashed a smile, "Maybe so. But, since you are a werewolf because of me, I am responsible for you. If you make a mistake, it falls onto my shoulders."
I thought for a moment. There was definitely more to Romulus than I knew. I decided to change the subject. "Where did you get the ninja garb?" I asked, Romulus relaxed, also clearly thankful for the change of subject. "Your Sensei gave it to me, he said "I think this will fare better than a torn leather coat." What do you think?"
I couldn't help but laugh at his Sensei Wu impression, Romulus looked at me confused. "What?" he asked.
"Nothing. It suits you." I said.
"A ripped ninja gi suits me?" He questioned.
We ensured that Huang was tied up tightly and left him propped up against the tree as Romulus and I went to join my brothers. The camp was really simple but it was very comforting. It had a warm fire crackling in the centre, no doubt lit by Kai. The fire edged its way into every crevice, banishing the shadows. In a circle around the fire was a few sleeping bags, each had a color corresponding to who owned it. Everyone fell silent when Romulus and I walked into camp, then a flurry of questions were thrown my way. "How did you annoy Huang?" Kai asked.
"My processor states that it was not a wise choice to come here alone." Zane said.
"We were really worried!" Lloyd added.
"Who calls their child Huang?" Jay shouted.
Everyone fell silent, again. All eyes on Jay. He looked around as if he had said something normal. "What did I do?" He questioned.
Romulus spoke up from the last slivers of shadow. "Huang means 'Bright Yellow' in Chinese. I assume he thought it would be like a little joke."
Jay groaned, "That's a horrible joke."
Everyone laughed around the fire. Romulus smiled a tiny bit, that's all he ever seemed to do. But looking at him now he seemed to be happy that he was gaining some friends, since he never spoke of family.
Later that night...
I was finally going to sleep in my sleeping bag, covered head to toe with my robe and the cover pulled over my head to prevent the moon light from hitting my bare skin. Sleep took forever to take hold because the moon made me restless.
I heard a thud of someone hitting the ground. Then someone shook my shoulders in a mad rush. I sat up quickly, looking for who had stirred me from near sleep. It was Romulus, he had a blanket wrapped around him to protect him from the moon and he looked terrified. "Cole, we did cover Huang?" He asked as he pulled me to my feet. My brain took a while to comprehend his thoughts. "No, why?" I asked.
He held out his hand, along the back of it was a maze of black veins. I looked up at the moon, it was full and glowing with a silvery, ethereal light. We hadn't covered Huang!
The moon was out and we had left Huang in full view of the light!