AN: Here's the next chapter, and as it seems there will be one more. You can call this an experimental chapter: I wanted to use an outsider's POV. I don't know how you will like it but the idea somehow didn't let me alone, nor did this character.

Thank you for reading, and please leave a review if you liked it!

Chapter 4.

Richard Logan has lived in the small town of Milford for the past thirty-three years of his life except the five that he spent with his studies in Boston. He was twenty-four when he moved back and he got a job as deputy in the sheriff's office. Then when the elder Sheriff Logan – who was his uncle, by the way - retired he was chosen as his successor. The job simply ran in the family. He took his job very seriously: he loved this town even if there was nothing special about it and nothing excited has happened in the last fifty years, or so. He cared for the citizens and they respected and liked him despite his relatively young age.

So it was natural that he went to visit Rose Turner as soon as he heard that a stranger was seen around her house. Yes, it was natural – it had nothing to do with the fact that he found Miss Turner quite attractive and even asked her out a few times. Those tries were not very successful though as Rose always had something else to do or at least so she said.

The cottage was well out of town, about three miles from town-centre and half a mile from the nearest neighbor. He still walked out there at least three times a week because– as he told himself and everybody else who asked – it could be dangerous for a young lady to live alone, especially as this young lady was blind as well. Most people only laughed about this. First, there was nothing really that people should be afraid of in this part of the country. And second, Rose Turner wasn't exactly an average woman – as the older inhabitants of the town used to say, she was one of those modern women, who were wearing trousers and talked like men and sometimes even smoked… in one world she washorrible.

Nevertheless he decided to visit her when Andrew Lloyd said that he saw an unknown man in her garden. It was part ofhis job after all to know about every single visitor who came to Milford.

When he arrived he found Rose in the garden while she was collecting some of the strange plants she cultured.

"Good morning, Miss Turner!" he said to gain her attention.

"Sheriff Logan! What brings you here?"

"I was just doing my usual patrol and wanted to make sure that everything is all right with you."

"Why wouldn't it be?" she asked putting down her small basket and walking over to the fence.

"Mr. Lloyd told me that he saw somebody lurking around your house."

"Lurking?" she echoed with a strange smile.

"Yes."

"And you wanted to check on it?" He never could know when she was sarcastic but this time he thought he recognized the tone.

"Well… I was worried about you…"

"That's really nice, but I'm all right. I'd told you before that I can take care of myself."

"I know, it's just…"

In that moment a man walked out of the house, carrying a book in his hand.

"I think I found…" then he trailed off as he glimpsed the visitor.

"Cole, this is our sheriff. Richard Logan" Rose said immediately. "Sheriff, this is my brother. He's staying here with me for a few days."

The two men shook hands, and Richard couldn't repress the jealous thought: Is he really her brother? But he had to admit that they looked similar in a way. He still looked the man up and down. He looked quite ragged: walked with a limp, there was a bandage around his left wrist and his face was bruised and cut in more places.

"Did you have some kind of accident?"

Turner raised an eyebrow and for a moment Richard thought that he wouldn't answer.

"You can say so" he told then. "Industrial accident."

"Really? What do you do for living?"

"What's your guess?"

"If this happened during work, I would say you're a boxer."

"It's a close shot." But he didn't say anything more. There was a short uneasy silence.

"Well… I better get going…" Richard said then. "I hope I see you later on the festival."

"I don't think so" Rose said quickly. "My brother needs his rest after his accident and we have a lot to talk about."

"Yes I can imagine. You surely don't see each-other so often, as we haven't seen him around in the last five years."

"You know, I travel a lot" the mysterious brother answered. Richard didn't like how this man eyed him. Not at all.

"I'm sure then that you will appreciate our little town… and the fair. We like visitors…"

"We might go, but I won't promise anything" Rose said, obviously just to get rid of him as soon as possible.

"All right… I better get going then" he said with not much enthusiasm. "Good bye."

He shook hands again with the brother and waved at Rose, then left. But he stopped after a few meters to turn into the woods. He didn't really know why he did it but he hurried forward and arrived at the back of the garden where the hedge was saw high that he could calmly stand there without being seen.

He was suspicious about this man. He looked as if he had been in a battle. What 'industrial accident' can cause such injuries? Richard couldn't think of any. And Turner had the eyes of a predator – Richard saw such looks in Boston during his training for the police. Those were the eyes of a criminal.

The siblings were still in the garden and he could hear every word clearly.

"Don't do this, your wrist is still broken…" Rose was telling at the moment.

"All right, but look at this! I think this one might work…"

What did he mean by look at this? Rose couldn't see, she was blind…

Unfortunately the hedge prevented him from taking a look at them so he just listen. They were quiet for a moment and then Rose said:

"I could brew this for you … but we will need a few ingredients so I have to go into town…"

"We could visit that festival after all."

"I didn't think you want to be seen."

"I already have been seen by the sheriff and I'm sure he's suspicious about me… or just jealous?"

"Shut up."

"Why? He seemed to be very interested in you!"

"Oh, right."

"You deserve some entertainment as well…"

"Stop this please or I'll close away all the painkillers in the house!"

"You wouldn't do that!"

"You know I would. Back to the topic!"

"Okay… it doesn't work if I just throw it at him…"

"What do you want to do then? Make him drink it somehow?"

"I studied him. He always makes some of his minions try everything before him… I thought about a syringe."

"Then you have to be very close though…"

"I can handle a little more beating."

"Sure."

"I have to win back His trust, Rose" the man said seriously.

"Has he ever trusted you?"

"As much as he trusts anybody."

Their voice came from a longer distance now and Richard guessed that they were walking back into the house. What could have they been talking about. It sounded as a plan some kind of assassination… Or it could be something total innocent, as well. He slowly moved backwards and decided that he would check on this Cole Turner when he's back in his office.

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Later he couldn't tell why he wanted to come with them. Maybe it was destiny. Maybe just stupidity. But in the end it was absolutely unimportant.

He just wanted to make sure that Rose was really okay, that this man really was his brother and not some kind of serial-killer that took her as a hostage and forced her to tell he was his brother. He also wanted to make sure that Turner didn't do anything illegal while he was in town.

Anyway, when he met them in the town coming out ofthe drug-store,he decided to accompany them home and so he was there when things turned crazy.

They were walking on the road that led through the forest when Rose and his brother stopped at the same moment.

"Something's wrong…" Rose said quietly and Cole nodded.

"There are at least five of them… behind the trees" he whispered.

"Five of whom?" Richard asked confused.

"Ssh… Let's go on!" Turner said, but they couldn't take more than a few steps when something flew out of the forest.

The thing that flew out was the strangest object Richard has ever seen: he couldn't describe it other than a ball-form lightning. He just stood there and stared until somebody tackled him to the ground. It was Turner.

The strange ball was followed by six even stranger figures… men…creatures… or whatever. They were all different in form. Two of them looked almost like normal men but wore black-leather clothes. Two others had faces like the devil itself: they were scarred, eyes sunken deep and glowing red and they claws instead of fingers. The fifth had blue skin and only one eye in the middle of his bumpy forehead. The sixth didn't even look vaguely human: it had fur all over its head and fangs in its dog-like jaw.

This must be a nightmare... Richard thought. Fortunately the creatures didn't care about him. They attacked the Turners. Cole took four of them: they were circling around him like animals but it didn't seem as if they could scare the man.

What happened next Richard couldn't really follow with his eyes. Cole Turner moved with inhuman speed as he threw some of those strange balls Richard had seen before. Two attackers burs into flames and disappeared. Richard gasped. A third one fell to the ground and didn't move. Only one of the scarred-faced stayed standing but he was much better than the others. It seemed that the two fighters were even. Cole dodged every ball the monster threw at him but the monster did the same.

Then Scarred Face – as Richard called him in his thoughts – jumped forward and pulled Cole with himself. They were wrestling on the ground and a few seconds later they disappeared behind the trees.

Richard turned and looked at Rose on the other side of the road. The furry animal was crouching on the ground growling menacingly at the woman but didn't make a move. The other, the blue, one-eyed one stood opposite her frozen on the spot like a statue with a knife in his left hand. Rose stood with outstretched arms and her eyes… well, her eyes turned into a misty shade white.

It seemed to Richard as if Rose had kept them in this state… somehow.

The confused sheriff staggered to the feet and stepped closer. Rose's head turned slightly to the movement and her eyes went back normal.

"Stay there…" she said and he stopped frozen. Not just because Rose told him to do so, but because in the same moment both creatures started to move. The blue one moved forward at Rose and the animal looked at him with his yellow eyes.

Rose concentrated back on the attackers.

"You can't move!" she ordered and the 'something' froze immediately. The animal though didn't react, it watched Richard with hungry eyes.

Richard grabbed at his belt where he usually kept his gun but of course it wasn't there. It was safely closed in, in his office. Shit!

The beast came much closer… He knew animals and knew that this one was just before attacking and he could do nothing to prevent it.

In the same second as the beast jumped at him, Rose's concentration cracked and the blue guy attacked her with the knife. This was the last thing Richard saw before the animal launched into him and tackled him to the ground. He felt hard, hitting his head into the concrete.

He saw the face of the creature in front of his eyes and he tried to somehow push it down but didn't manage. It was too heavy and too strong, he could barely breathe under the weight. This was obviously the end.

The creature's claws stung into his shoulder and its jaw tightened around his left forearm. It hurt more than anything else in his entire life. He cried out in pain.

Then he heard some sizzling sound and the weight suddenly disappeared from his chest. Together with his consciousness…

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When he woke up, he felt warm and he was sweating heavily but he was lying in a bed, that much was sure. He heard voices but didn't have the strength to open eyes and look at the speakers. But he could hear them clearly.

"What did you find?" a woman asked.

He recognized the voice: it was Rose Turner.

"Was he bitten?"

"Yes." A man answered.

"Shit…"

"Yes."

"I'll bring something for the wounds. Take care of him until then…"

He must have fallen back into oblivion because the next time he became aware of his surroundings he felt bandages around his shoulder. But he still couldn't open his eyes and his whole body was trembling.

He could hear them talking again.

"… you did well with that Zaphire-demon" Cole said.

"Thanks. I thought I'm not in practice anymore. Zankou sent them?"

"Yes. I asked the derox before I killed it. This means I have to work quicker…"

"I'm already brewing the potion for you. It will be ready in a few hours…"

Richard fell back into the darkness.

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"How is he?" the man asked and Richard realized that they were talking about him now.

"Not well. He won't change now, though. But he will next month… I have to take him away…

What the hell were they talking about? He wanted to ask but he managed only a short moan.

"Sheriff…" Rose was at his side and he felt gentle fingers on his forehead… With some struggle he managed to open his eyes.

"What…?" he stuttered.

"You got injured, but everything is all right now. Just rest!"

"No!" He tried to sit up, but Rose pushed him back. "What were those creatures?" he whispered.

"Demons." It was Cole who answered.

"What?"

"Demons from the Underworld. Or hell if you want."

"Oh…my…" he breathed. Are they mad? Or is he? Could he believe this?

"And you? Why… did they attack us?"

He wanted to hear that they were the good guys but he didn't have that luck…

"I'm a demon as well." Turner said simply. "And now you're one of us."

"W-what… do you mean?"

"You were bitten by a werewolf."

"I… can't believe this…"

And with that he blacked out again.

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They were still there… He heard them again: those crazy people who talked about demons. But why was he so hot? And why did his arm throb with pain? He has never felt such pain in his life, not even when it was broken in two places…

"You shouldn't have told him so straightforward" Rose told accusingly.

"He should be aware of his situation. Do you really want to take him with you?"

"I can't leave him here. He wouldn't want to endanger his home-town…"

"Since when do you care for humans?"

"Since I have to live amongst them. And don't tell me that you have never done anything 'human'. On the other hand Richard isn't human anymore!"

"Is he Richard now? It's dangerous to pet a werewolf…"

"Stop this right now, okay?"

"All right. You don't have to bite down my head. Do you need help with the moving?"

"I think I can arrange that much!"

"Of course, you can."

"I'll go into the mountains for a while and then move into another small town."

"Where?"

"No idea. What do you think about Derry?"

"Isn't it too close? And I heard that it's not a very good town…"

"It's good enough for our kind. And I like Maine."

"What about your stuff? And mine by the way."

"I can hide everything. These people don't know about magic. I could come back for them later."

Magic? Richard opened his eyes and looked around. He felt a little bit better now.

He was lying on an old couch, in a room he has never seen before.

"Where are we?" he asked making the others aware of himself.

"In my house. In the basement to be precise" Rose answered.

The walls were packed full with thick books and different kind of vials, in some of them were very strange ingredients, like different kind of bugs.

"You're really demons, aren't you?" he asked.

"Yes."

"What have I fallen into?" he buried his face in his hands.

"I'm sorry." Rose sat down next to him. "How's your arm?"

He just shook his head.

"You still have fever" the woman noted.

"Is he really your brother?" he asked hoarsely, looking up at Cole who was standing at the wall leaning against one of the full-packed cupboards. He looked even more battered than before.

"Yes."

"Then you're…"

"Yes."

"I better leave now" Cole cut in before Richard could ask more questions.

"The potion is ready" Rose answered. "Try not to die."

Cole smiled slightly, took a small bag that was at the feet of the couch and just… vanished.

"What the hell…" Richard exclaimed involuntary.

"It's called shimmering. Demons usually travel this way" Rose explained.

"Where did he go?"

"Finish his assignment."

"Which means?"

"Which means that he might die tonight…" Rose answered sadly.

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