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Chapter 5: Monsters
Wyatt did not know how long he eventually had to wait, all he knew was that the sun was already up and shining brightly by the time he woke up. As a hiding place, he had chosen the school's ridiculously spacious air duct system, which was a place he figured no one would look. After hours of trying to stay awake, he had eventually dozed off and had thus spent an entire night cooked up in a small metal box.
The sunlight, accompanied by loudly talking people and the shrill ringing of a school bell woke him up, though he did feel somewhat groggily. He had strategically crawled out to a certain point in the ducts where he would be able to spy on the main doors through the tiny slits in the vent.
Now, he saw dozens of people flood in through the doors, all talking loudly and enthusiastically to each other. Most looked like normal humans, the ones the elders had always described to the pack. They wore plain and boring clothing and all looked sort of similar to him…
There were others among that group as well though. These all had green hair, pale skin and completely mismatched outfits. They looked just like the guy he had seen in the woods along with the girl he presumed to be the great alpha, or the little girl he had met in the town during last night. Wyatt had no idea what these people were, if they even were people…
That girl from last night had mentioned the word zombie, which wasn't a word he had ever heard before…
Wyatt kept looking out over the entrance, where the steady flow of people kept growing smaller and smaller. He saw several humans in the same type of pink uniforms he had seen them wear in the woods. These people were often in groups and Wyatt kept his eyes peeled for the possibility that the great alpha would be among them.
She did show up eventually. In the crowd of brown, black, blonde and green hair, she stood out like a lily in a field of grass. Her hair was just as he remembered, as white as snow and just like the prophecy had described. Aside from her hair, Wyatt had to admit that she was very beautiful, especially the way she kept on smiling. She walked into the school with another girl in a pink uniform and two of those green-haired people behind her. Wyatt growled a little to himself as he recognized one of them as the guy who had shown up out of nowhere in the woods, the other one was a girl. From this distance, Wyatt had no chance of understanding what she was saying, so he simply kept his eyes on her.
When she and her group walked off to another hallway, Wyatt hastily scurried through the air duct in an attempt to keep up. He was so close! He could not let the great alpha out of his sight now!
By using a few more vents, he managed to somehow keep an eye on her. He watched as she waved goodbye to her human friend and the green-haired girl. She and the green-haired guy did walk on together for a little while longer, before they also eventually said their goodbyes and went their separate ways.
Wyatt's heart started beating faster as he realized that this was his chance. For now, the girl was all alone in an empty hallway, and he had no idea when other people could possibly walk by and ruin his plan.
The girl stopped at a notice board and examined some of the things written on there, so Wyatt searched for the nearest vent and slowly opened it. The soft creaking of the vent was almost enough to give away his position, but sounds from elsewhere in the school overshadowed it. He climbed out and landed on the floor below him almost soundlessly, looking over to make sure the girl had still not spotted him.
Before he could even make an attempt at an attempt to get to her, she turned away from him and walked off. Cursing to himself, Wyatt kept low to the ground and pursued her, making as little sound as possible. There was still no one else in the hallway aside from him and the girl, which was basically the only thing he had going for him as she kept on walking.
She eventually entered one of the first doors to the left and disappeared inside. Wyatt again cursed to himself and pressed his ear against the door, but heard nothing… Taking the risk, he slowly turned the handle and pushed the door open with as little sound as possible. Peeking around the corner, he saw what he could only describe as a dressing room, filled with pink lockers and benches.
She wasn't inside though, and Wyatt groaned in annoyance as he slipped into the room and closed the door behind himself. He quickly moved across the room, checking behind himself almost obsessively to make sure that he wasn't followed. On the other side of the room there was another door. Again he pressed his ear against the door and again he heard nothing. Again he opened the door almost painstakingly slowly and again he carefully peered around the corner.
The room the door led to was extremely large, with large windows letting in an abundance of sunlight, stands for people to sit on on either side of the room and a meticulously polished wooden floor. She stood in the middle of the room, dragging some kind of mat behind her. Wyatt looked around one more time, and then he shut the door behind him when he realized that they truly were alone now.
The girl looked up when she heard the door close, as Wyatt had made no effort to stay silent this time. She examined him, obviously a little thrown-off by his strange attire. Then their eyes met, and he saw her initial look of surprise and intrigue immediately be replaced by a look of pure fright.
"Y-you…" She stammered, taking a few shaky steps back. "I-I saw 'you' in the woods…"
Wyatt raised his eyebrows, unwillingly impressed that she managed to recognize him. After all, she could not have seen more than a quick flash of him. This only enhanced his feeling that this girl had to be the great alpha. And god, she was even more beautiful up close. "Calm down…" He said taking a step in her direction.
"Stay back!" The girl warned. "Who are you? Why are you here!? I-I have a whistle!" She continued, grabbing onto the whistle around her neck.
"Okay…" Wyatt said, raising his hands in a non-threatening manner. "I'm not here to hurt you or anything…"
"Who are you?" The girl persisted. "Why are you here?"
"My name is Wyatt…" He answered. "I'm here for you…"
The girl visibly paled. "Y-you… W-what are you?"
Wyatt was a little thrown off, as this girl asked the exact same question that Zoey, that little girl, had asked the night before. "I'm a werewolf…"
"Werewolves are real!?" The girl exclaimed, her eyes growing even wider.
"Well… Obviously…" Wyatt mumbled, gesturing at himself.
"What do you want with me?" The girl went on after a moment of silence.
"I, ehm…" Wyatt began, suddenly not sure where to begin. "I saw you in the woods… I… I've never seen anyone like you before…"
The girl did not reply, and she still looked frightened.
"I'm not gonna hurt you… I don't want to…" Wyatt promised her. "I, ehm… Here, I'll sit down…" He offered, stepping back and taking a seat on the stands.
This gesture visibly calmed the girl a little, as she seemed a bit more relaxed.
"Really… I am just here to talk… I didn't mean to scare you or anything… I just preferred it if no one else saw me…" Wyatt explained. "Sorry…" He added.
"Did you follow me? All the way from the woods?" The girl asked, stepping a little closer.
Wyatt was glad to see that she was willing to come closer and listen to him, but also realized that he needed to act fast. "I sort of tracked you…" He replied, grabbing the label of the girl's uniform he still had in his pocket. "This is yours, I believe… It got ripped off in the woods…"
"You tracked me? Just with that?" The girl questioned, coming even closer.
"Impressed?" Wyatt grinned, baring his teeth.
The girl stopped approaching him, seeming a bit more cautious again.
"Sorry." Wyatt repeated. "Force of habit… Again, I'm not here to hurt you…"
"Then why are you here?" The girl asked. "You said that you were here for me… What does that mean?"
Wyatt hesitated a little. If he would tell her everything, it meant spilling the beans on their necklaces, the moonstone and the prophecy… But he was a little scared that all that information could probably throw her off… He needed to play things cool… He needed to grab her interest, and maybe even her compassion, but not scare her off…
"Okay…" Wyatt mumbled, mainly to himself. "I live in the woods… With my pack…"
"You have a pack?" The girl interrupted him, apparently interested.
"Yes." Wyatt answered. "There are a few dozen of us… We live very isolated, and we rarely see any people… We knew that the town existed though, we just never went there…"
"You are the beasts…" The girl suddenly murmured, looking away from Wyatt for the first time since he entered the room.
"What?" Wyatt asked.
"We have legends here in Seabrook… Tales of dangerous beasts that the first settlers chased away to protect themselves…" The girl explained.
"Lies!" Wyatt shouted, again causing the girl to step back a little. "Sorry!" Wyatt immediately apologized. "It's just… Those are lies… Us werewolves, we were here first… The Seabrook settlers chased us away because they wanted this land for themselves…"
"Oh…" The girl mumbled in a compassionate tone. "I never knew… I'm so sorry…"
Wyatt unwillingly felt himself blushing. All the stories he had ever heard about humans always painted them in a bad light. He would surely not have expected the first human he'd ever met to act so compassionately towards werewolves. "Thanks…" He thus mumbled.
"So… You've never left the woods?" The girl asked.
"No. Not once." Wyatt answered.
"But you have now… Because of me?" She went on, sounding a little apprehensive.
"Yes." Wyatt replied. "You were the first human I have seen in years… But you were still… Special…" He added, gesturing at her.
"What? Because of my hair?" The girl inquired, nervously pulling on one of the loose strings surrounding her face.
"Exactly." Wyatt acknowledged. "Growing up, we were all told to stay away from humans, because they hate everything that's different from them… But then I saw you, and your hair… I knew you were different from them…"
"Who's them?" The girl asked, blushing a little but also appearing calmer than before.
"The rest…" Wyatt sneered. "The people who only want to see my kind either in cages or eradicated…"
"I'm not like that!" The girl immediately shook her head.
"I know that!" Wyatt reassured her, standing up and feeling confident enough to try to approach her. "I could see it in you… You're special, so I tracked you down to talk to you…"
"You came all the way out here to talk to me? B-because you believe that I'm special?" The girl was now openly blushing and started showing a small smile.
"Yes." Wyatt told her, coming even closer to her. "I know that if anyone can help me and my pack, that it's you…"
"M-me… H-help your pack?" The girl stammered. "How?"
"Many of my pack, most actually… They're sick… They're sick, and we can't help them…" Wyatt spoke, seeing the girl's eyes turn sad. "Really, I didn't know what to do… But now I believe that you can help us."
"What can I do?" The girl asked, sounding both eager and terrified at the same time.
"I want you to meet the rest of the pack…" Wyatt eagerly suggested. "When I left… They, ehm, were a little cautious… A little unsure… But I want to show them! Show them that we still have a future and that we can work together with humans to get there…"
"So… You really believe that humans and werewolves can work together, even after everything that has happened?" The girl questioned, though she sounded more hopeful than skeptical.
"And I believe that you are the key." Wyatt said with a smile.
The girl now started smiling broadly, and so did Wyatt. He could not believe how well this had gone thus far. "What was your name again?" She then asked.
"Wyatt… And yours?" He replied.
"Addison." She answered with a smile, and she stuck out her hand for him to shake.
Right as Wyatt wanted to grasp her hand, he suddenly heard the loud banging noise of a door opening behind him.
"Addison!" Someone yelled and Wyatt immediately turned around to see the same green-haired guy he had seen in the woods and earlier today storm right at him.
"Zed!" Addison yelled at the same moment that Wyatt let his wolf powers flow through him, causing both his yellow eyes and his necklace to shine brightly.
"Get away from her!" The boy, he now knew was named Zed, shouted before crashing into him and sending him flying.
Wyatt nimbly landed on all fours though and immediately jumped back upright. Growling and baring his teeth, he showed his claws as he approached his green-haired opponent.
"Zed! Stop! Stop!" Addison pleaded as she went to stand in between him and Wyatt.
"Addie! Careful!" Zed urged as he grabbed Addison and pulled her behind him, away from Wyatt.
Wyatt looked between Zed and Addison. He saw a determined and angry expression on his face, and a scared but rebellious one on hers. Realizing that he should not show his violent side to her, Wyatt calmed himself down and stepped back almost apologetically.
"I am not here to hurt anyone…" He told Zed, raising his arms defensively. "That includes Addison… I don't want to hurt her…"
"W-what?" Zed mumbled, staring between Wyatt and Addison. "W-who are you? Who is he!?" He then directed himself to Addison.
"Zed! Zed! Calm down!" Addison urged, pulling on Zed's arms. "This… This is Wyatt… He's a werewolf… But really, he means us no harm…"
"A werewolf!? Addison, there is a freaking werewolf in our school!" Zed exclaimed, still not taking his eyes off of Wyatt.
"I know that!" Addison retorted, slapping Zed on the arm. "But he doesn't want to hurt us!"
"H-he's dangerous!" Zed snapped.
"He is not!" Addison argued with an annoyed undertone.
Despite himself, Wyatt felt very gratified watching Addison defend him like that.
"Zed! Wyatt was the one I saw in the woods… I thought that it was a monster, but it was just him…" Addison went on.
"So you did see a monster!" Zed countered.
"He's a werewolf!" Addison yelled.
"He's a monster!" Zed exclaimed.
"You're one to talk…" Wyatt sneered, feeling like he's watched on for long enough.
Zed stared daggers at Wyatt as he tried to rush towards him again, but Addison blocked his path.
"Zed! Stop! Please stop!" She begged, clutching him by his collar.
"Why are you defending him!?" Zed asked her.
"Because he didn't do anything wrong!" Addison answered, finally succeeding in keeping Zed at bay. "Zed! Yes, he's a werewolf, but what is wrong with that? I thought we tried to not judge anyone by what they are or what they look like…"
Zed stopped struggling and looked down at Addison with a thoughtful, but still somewhat opposing look. "B-but he came all the way out here…"
"His people, his pack needs help!" Addison tried to explain.
"S-so why did he sneak in here?" Zed questioned.
"Because most people here would throw me in a cage simply because I'm a werewolf." Wyatt answered. "But not Addison, she's special…"
"Why do you know her name?" Zed asked.
"I told him!" Addison groaned. "Zed, he's not a bad guy…"
"You believe him? Seriously?" Zed sputtered.
"Why would I lie?" Wyatt retorted, though he did blush a little. Everything he had told Addison was the truth, it just hadn't been the whole truth… "Why would I risk my hide coming here if it wasn't for something serious?"
"B-because you want to get to Addison!" Zed said, pointing his finger.
Wyatt pretended to sigh in disappointment, even though Zed wasn't that far off the truth. "Yes, I am here for her! But because I believe she can help us! Addison is special! She's not like other humans… She's understanding, she's kind and she's brave… Wouldn't you agree?"
Zed opened his mouth, but no words came out as he shifted his eyes between Addison and Wyatt. He naturally could not disagree, especially since Addison began smiling broadly after Wyatt's words. "I mean…" Zed mumbled, visibly confused. "I mean, she is… But I still don't get why you would come all the way out here…"
"Because we need help…" Wyatt explained, a little annoyed that he had to tell the entire story again. "Our pack is sick… We grow fewer in numbers with every passing year… We need help from the humans, and I believe that Addison is the key…"
"You got all that from seeing her once in the woods?" Zed asked skeptically.
"Yes." Wyatt answered. "I saw her… And her hair… We've never seen anyone like her before…" He added, pointing out his own small lock of white amidst his otherwise brown hair.
Before Zed could once again rebut, Addison spoke up. "Zed, I know that you have a lot of questions… But Wyatt has told me about his life and the other werewolves… Zed, I want to help him…"
"B-but…" Zed still stammered.
"He asked for my help! I want to help him!" Addison clarified.
"But it's, ehm… It's too dangerous!" Zed replied. "You going out into the wilderness with just a bunch of werewolves…"
"Who said anything about her coming out into the wilderness?" Wyatt spoke up, causing both Addison and Zed to look at him.
"What do you mean?" Zed questioned.
"Wyatt! What happened? Did everything work out? Where is the alpha!?" Willa bombarded him with questions as soon as he had sufficiently stepped into the den.
"There were, ehm… Some complications…" Wyatt explained as the pack gathered around him.
"She's not the alpha, is she? What? Did she chase you away?" Willa asked with a grin.
"I do not know for certain yet if she's the alpha…" Wyatt answered. "But we can still find out…"
"What?" Willa questioned.
"I have talked to her… I was right, she is not like all the other humans at all… She's not scared of werewolves, she wants to help us…" Wyatt spoke.
Most of the werewolves began whispering to each other excitedly, most with broad smiles on their faces.
"Did you ask her about the moonstone?" Willa inquired, stepping closer to Wyatt.
"No. I did not tell her about the moonstone, or the prophecy for that matter…" Wyatt replied.
"Then what was the point of your little visit?" Willa spat.
"I first needed to earn her trust…" Wyatt explained. "I could not just lay out all that information before getting to know her!"
"You could have taken her here! You know, like we planned?" Willa sneered.
"There were too many people there, I had no chance of taking her here. I met other people too, people close to her, they wouldn't let me take her here as well…" Wyatt grunted.
"In other words, you failed your mission…" Willa sneered.
"Not yet…" Wyatt repeated.
"Our deal was that you would bring back the alpha! Our deal was that she would take us to the moonstone!" Willa now started shouting.
"Deals change! I am very sorry, Willa… Things don't always go the way you plan them…" Wyatt replied.
"So, what changed? What genius plan did you come up with?" Willa challenged.
"We…" Wyatt began, already groaning inwardly from the inevitable reactions he knew he would get. "We are gonna join their school…"
For a second, all wolves just stared at him. Then they all burst out in a giant fit of laughter.
"Us!? Join their school!? Have you gone crazy!?" Willa howled, pressing a hand to her stomach in a somewhat exaggerated manner.
"It was the only way…" Wyatt said while the rest kept on laughing.
"You're joking, right? I mean, you have to be…" Willa snickered. "Tell me, are you joking, or have you actually gone crazy?"
"Neither, but thanks for the support…" Wyatt snarled.
"It's a pretty dumb plan, dude…" Wynter said from Willa's side.
"I haven't even properly explained it yet…" Wyatt retorted.
"I don't think you have to… We've heard enough…" Willa scoffed.
"Are you all truly willing to let this once in a lifetime chance slip, just because you're afraid of going to school!?" Wyatt challenged.
"We are not afraid!" Willa immediately fell out at him.
"Then what's stopping us!? That girl, her name is Addison by the way, that girl is the great alpha! She will help us, but first we need to earn her trust!" Wyatt explained.
"By joining her school?" Willa inquired.
"She has this, uh, annoying friend who will not let her into the woods under any circumstance… The only way we'll all get to see her and get her to help us is by going into that rotten town and acting like we want to fit in…" Wyatt went on.
"And they'll let us?" Willa asked.
"I talked to Addison about it… She was on board, she really wants to help. She said that she'd talk it over with some people, but that we're already as good as in." Wyatt told the pack.
"I don't believe it!" Willa snapped. "Why would those horrid humans suddenly want to have us 'fit in' instead of wanting to skin us alive?"
"Oh, yeah!" Wyatt exclaimed. "So, they have zombies now, did you not know?"
"Zombies?" Willa pulled up an eyebrow. "What are zombies?"
"They had some weird accident in their powerplant, and some of their people changed into flesh-eating monsters! They call them zombies." Wyatt recited.
"Cool!" Wynter grinned.
"But now, the zombies have learned to fit in, and they live together with the humans. It's like the people there started accepting monsters all of the sudden!" Wyatt went on.
"And those 'zombies', they don't want to eat human flesh anymore?" Willa asked.
"No, they have these, ehm, bracelets or something… A way to keep them from running wild…" Wyatt explained.
"So, basically a leash? A way for the humans to keep them in check?" Willa spat.
"They see it was a way for them to live in peace…" Wyatt opposed. "But that's all beside the point… These zombies show that the humans have learned to accept monsters… To a certain point, that is…"
"I still don't trust it… Those humans, after what they've done to our kind… You want us to become buddies like nothing's ever happened?" Willa sneered.
"Yes! Until we find the moonstone so we can survive!" Wyatt yelled. "Willa, would you honestly let your pride get in the way of the wellbeing of the pack?"
"It's not pride, it's common sense!" Willa retorted, the other wolves again following their argument with interest. "Going out there would mean walking into one big wolf trap! They will hunt us down and lock us up!"
"They will not… They've gone soft… They like to think that they're such an evolved species, and they want to show others how good they are. They will be arrogant enough to believe that we want nothing more than to live in their 'perfect' little town…" Wyatt grinned.
"These people… Is your supposed alpha one of them?" Willa questioned.
"No… She's special… Honest… Good… How a real alpha should be…" Wyatt smiled.
Willa exchanged a quick look with Wynter, who shrugged but did appear to be genuinely interested.
"You won't know until you meet her…" Wyatt said, spreading his arms. "And the only way to meet her, is to join me and become a student at Seabrook High."
Willa blew a loose strand of hair from her face as she stood there frowning with her arms crossed. "You're absolutely certain?"
"She wants to help us!" Wyatt persisted. "How many humans do you know that have ever wanted to help us?"
Willa bit her lip and again looked over at Wynter and the other wolves. "I say we put it to a vote again… I will respect the pack's decision…"
"I can agree to that…" Wyatt nodded.
"Alright…" Willa spoke up, addressing the entire pack. "We vote again! Anyone who wants to follow Wyatt's plan, infiltrate the town and meet the supposed alpha, raise your hand!"
Wyatt immediately put up his own hand, and was immediately followed by Willa to his surprise.
"What?" She asked with a feigned smile. "You convinced me."
Aside from Willa, Wynter and about two-third of the pack also raised their hands, after which they all looked at each other somewhat apologetically.
"It's decided then…" Willa mumbled. "Those who wish to remain in the den can do so, just keep running things the way we always do. Those who wish to join Wyatt and me, pack up your stuff and get ready to meet this great alpha…"
"You won't regret this!" Wyatt enthusiastically said as he walked up to and hugged Willa.
"And you better be right, or it'll be the end of us all…" Willa replied in a darker tone.
Wyatt blushed a little, but also smiled broadly. "Wolves!" He then shouted. "We will find the power that's inside of us! We own the night!"
"We own the night!" All the wolves cheered before they all raised their head and began howling loudly.