No Where To Run

Matt Donner, Sheriff of Wolf Lake, sat down in his police car with his daughter, Sophia. It had been a heck of a day and confusion reigned supreme. It seemed that every one was going crazy tonight including himself. He glanced over at his daughter who had run into the police station fifteen minutes ago, crying and asking for help. He was still in shock over what she presented him with and he did not know how to handle it at the moment. It was much easier to delve into the town's problems. But when it came to personal stuff, like with Sophia, he found himself at a loss.

Now she sat next to him as he drove to find a girl's missing boyfriend. He had a good idea where to look, as he knew who it was that did it. Tyler Creed and Buddy Hooks were soldiers of the clan, but whether they were acting on orders from the Alpha or on their own, Matt did not know. Matt always tried to promote non-violent methods of dealing with threats to the pack and felt it was his duty to try and prevent the others from choosing violence if there was a better way to handle it.

Matt pulled up in front of his own home to drop his daughter off. She was angry at him, he knew it. He was not giving her what she needed at the moment, but the truth was he wasn't sure how to handle this situation yet. He grabbed her wrist before she left the car.

"Sophia, we'll talk about this when I get back, I promise."

She looked at him angrily with tears in her eyes, "Your always running off to work! You never have time for me! Can't you see that I need you right now? What am I suppose to do Dad? What if I flip while your gone?"

"I promise you, I'm going to hurry back as soon as I can. If I don't get to Tyler soon, who knows what he'll do to this guy. My cell phone will be on if anything happens with you," he tried to reassure her.

She tugged her hand free and Matt could feel the strength of her otherness. Dear God, this was really happening to her! He watched her run up the walkway to the house and slam the door closed.

Matt drove off towards Tyler's property. It was much easier dealing with killers and criminals than with the anguish of his daughter's pain and the overwhelming feeling of guilt that it was his genes that were the cause of it.

He refocused on the goal of saving this outsider before it was too late.

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Sherman Blackstone, the high school Biology teacher and pack keeper, was enjoying a quiet evening at home with his favorite book when he heard Tyler Creed's truck approaching. He got up from his recliner and looked out the window with a frown on his face. Tyler was not exactly on his list of welcome visitors.

He went out the front door to meet Tyler outside, thinking that Tyler would leave quicker if he did not have to invite him in.

Tyler and Buddy got out of the truck and walked to the rear, waiting for Sherman to approach.

"Well, what are you two fine gentlemen doing out on a night like this," Sherman joked. Sherman had always got a kick out of making himself laugh.

Tyler and Buddy were not amused. They pulled the tarp off the cage and revealed a sleeping teenager.

"Nice pet. What you planning on naming him?" Sherman said.

"Well, we were hoping you could give us a name, seeing that you seem to know everyone in every pack around," Tyler drawled. "Ever seen this one before."

"Nope. Can't say that I have. But I think I can find out for you," Sherman replied happily.

"How long will that take?" Tyler asked impatiently.

"Oh, about five seconds," Sherman said as he stuck his hand through the bars and pull the boy's wallet from his back pocket. He held it up with a big grin on his face.

Tyler swiped it out of his hand and opened it, revealing Oz's California Driver's license. The kid wasn't lying after all. He was from this Sunnydale, California place.

"Do you know if Van Halen had helpers with him? Like this kid here? Or perhaps a red haired ungulate girl?" Tyler questioned.

"Don't know," shrugged Sherman. Sherman gazed at Oz again. "If he was helping Van Halen, then the crazy old loon should have filmed this," he said pointing at Oz.

All three of them watched as Oz's body transformed into his creature. None of them had ever seen a flip like this. Hair grew all over Oz's body, as it did with the skin walkers, but he never completely changed into a wolf. His face was one of distorted viciousness, of fangs and crazed eyes. His body stooped and curled, with arms that grew to the length of his legs. His clothing tore at the seams but Oz was still under the effects of the tranquilizer and did not awaken.

"Now that's not normal," Buddy commented to Tyler, distaste on his face. "Maybe the drug is preventing him from flipping all the way."

They both looked at Sherman to provide some sort of answer. "Well, Mr. Biology teacher, what the heck is it?" Tyler finally asked.

"Well, right now, I'd say that it's awake," Sherman said as he backed away. Tyler and Buddy looked now at a very awake and angry werewolf, starting to snarl and shake the door of the cage.

"Buddy, grab the tranq gun!" Tyler yelled. Buddy ran to the passenger side of the truck, noticing Sherman running back into his house. Tyler sprinted towards the drivers seat as Oz easily broke the lock of the cage and leapt out. The two men only had enough time to get into the truck and close the doors as Oz came at them with a vengeance. He sprang onto the hood of the truck and let out a blood curdling howl, banging his fists on the front windshield and cracking the glass. "Shoot it!" yelled Tyler.

Buddy had only one good hand, as his other hand was deformed and useless, and he was reluctant to stick it out of the window and risk having it bitten off. Oz, however, was distracted by the running of Sherman Blackstone into his house and jumped off the truck in pursuit. The beast had total control of Oz and followed whatever instinct it felt. Sherman had not had to run this fast in a very long time and felt his old muscles straining to make it up the porch stairs.

Oz was gaining on him quickly and Sherman grabbed a chair he had on his porch and flung it at the beast to shield himself. It was just enough to give him the extra second he needed to get in the house and slam the door. The creature flung itself against the door and howled angrily at it's failure. It backed away from the door and made for the nearby window. Sherman had grabbed another chair inside the house and held it towards the window with the legs out.

Just as the beast leapt through the window, shattering glass in all directions, it fell to the floor. The pursuit of Sherman had given Buddy enough space to get out of the truck and aim. Sherman didn't realize he had been holding his breath until then and now he let it all out in relief.

Buddy and Tyler came walking into the house and now stood over the werewolf's body. "We're going to need a stronger cage," Buddy said.

"Go back to my place and get the restraints," Tyler ordered.

"Your not leaving him here!" Sherman exclaimed.

Tyler rolled his eyes. "Fine! Let's dump him back in the truck for now. Buddy, you sit back there with him and shoot him again if he even blinks. Thanks for your help, keeper."

"Sure, anytime," smiled Sherman.

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Willow had finally made it to the Wolf Lake Police station and opened the glass door, causing the little bell to tinkle. A police woman was sitting at her desk and rose up to meet Willow at the front counter.

"Hi, I'm Willow Rosenburg, I called a while ago about my…"

"The missing boyfriend," said the woman, smiling at Willow.

"Yep, that's me. Have you heard anything yet?" Willow asked anxiously.

"Not yet, the Sheriff is still en route. Why don't you have a seat while we wait for news," Deputy Molly offered.

"Oh, all right," Willow nervously smiled. Her eyes darted nervously out of the window. Then she jumped up out the seat, surprising the Deputy. "You know, I think I'm going to make a phone call home. I'll be right outside here."

"Do you want to use our phone?" Molly asked.

"No, no, it's long distance. Got my cell," she said, holding her little phone up.

"Well, if you can't get through on that then come on in and use ours," the Deputy offered.

Willow stepped outside and dialed Buffy's cell phone number. She really didn't want Deputy Molly to hear this particular conversation so she walked around the corner as Buffy's phone rang.

"Come on, answer it," Willow pleaded to no one. She felt her heart sink in disappointment when the voice mail service went on. She waited through the message, anxious to begin speaking. Finally the beep came.

"Buffy? This is Willow. We are here in that place I told you about, Wolf Lake, and it's been a total disaster waiting to happen. Some werewolf's kidnapped Oz, and the moon is full here and I don't know how that can be and I'm at the police station and…" Willow couldn't seem to stop the flow of her words. Buffy was her best friend and if there was anyone who could understand her, it was Buffy. She poured out her fears in that message and asked her to call her back immediately when she got the message.

When Willow hung up the phone she walked back into the police station, feeling a bit of relief at having been able to tell someone her feelings, even if it was a machine. She jumped in surprise when Deputy Molly was standing just inside the door with a pair of handcuffs. She grabbed Willows wrist and said, "Your going to have to come with me." Gone was the easy hospitality of a few minutes ago. Deputy Molly now had her police face on. She snapped the cuff on Willow's wrist.

"What? What did I do?" Willow cried out in surprise. But Molly would not say more. She took Willow's bag away and pushed her in front of her towards the holding cell. Once Willow was in, she undid the cuffs and locked her in. "I don't understand? Why are you doing this? I haven't done anything."

Deputy Molly went back to her desk and ran a hand through her hair. She had heard Willow's phone message with her keen hearing and now knew she had to contact the Alpha. Vivian had to know that there was another threat to the pack. After she called Vivian, she would have to call Matt as well.

What a night this had been. First Van Halen and now this. This was way too much activity for a small town like this. But then again, this was no normal small town. Molly sighed and dialed Vivian's number, ignoring the pleas of the red haired girl.

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