Chapter 3

The next morning, Jay, Moses, and Harriet gathered the other party members at Senel's house.

"All right, is everyone accounted for?" Jay asked.

"We're still waiting on Will," Senel said.

"Well, you see, our reason for calling everyone here is concerning Will," Jay said. "According to Harriet, you and Shirley went with him to the Great Hollow in search of a rare monster, correct?"

"That's right. Will was bitten by the rare monster once we found it."

"So that explains it..."

Senel gave Jay a stern look. "Jay, what's going on?"

"It seems that the bite had a dramatic effect on Will's genes," Jay explained. "He transformed into a savage beast and attacked Harriet."

"Oh no, how horrible!" Shirley cried. "Are you all right, Hattie?"

"Yeah, I'm fine," Harriet said. "Jay and Moses saved me."

"But where is Raynard now?" Chloe asked.

"We locked him in the jail cell beneath his house," Jay said. "He should be safe down there, and he shouldn't be able to attack anyone else."

"So what are we gonna do?" Norma asked.

"Perhaps Alcott can create a medicine for him," Jay said. "Let's head for the hospital."

---------------------

The party headed for the hospital and explained the situation to Arnold Alcott.

"I see..." Alcott said. "That's definitely a new one on me. You did the right thing by keeping Will confined."

"Can you help him?" Shirley asked.

"Hmm..." Alcott paused to think about it for a moment. "If you can get me a sample from the creature that bit Will, I might be able to create a serum that will reverse the transformation."

"All right, Senny, we have our next destination!" Norma called. "Onward to the Great Hollow!"

Chloe turned to Moses and Jay. "By the way, why are you two chained together like that?"

Jay looked at the chain binding him to Moses. "I was hoping you wouldn't notice."

"How can we not notice?" Norma asked.

"It was another one of Moses' brilliant ideas," Jay added.

"See, I knew you'd like my idea!" Moses grinned.

Jay looked at him, thoroughly irritated. "Don't you know sarcasm when you hear it?"

"Sarcasm? What the hell is that?"

"Can't you take it off?" Senel asked.

"There's no key," Jay said flatly.

"Uh, Red...what exactly were you thinking?" Norma asked.

"He wasn't thinking at all, as usual," Jay told her.

Chloe pulled out her sword. "Here, hold the chain out. I'll cut it off with my sword."

Jay stepped away from Moses, stretching out the chain between them. Chloe raised her sword, and then brought it down, ripping through the air. However, instead of cutting the chain, she yanked it to the floor, yanking Moses and Jay down with it. Chloe stepped back, amazed.

"Wow, that's a really strong chain."

"Harriet said it was really strong," Jay said.

Chloe examined the chain closely. "There's not even a scratch on it!"

"So what are you guys going to do?" Senel asked.

"Don't worry, we'll find a way out of this," Jay said.

"Well, I, for one, don't mind bein' stuck like this," Moses said.

"Of course you don't, Red," Norma said.

"Jay and I have a strong bond," Moses continued. "We made a vow to be together always."

"Stop wasting everyone's time with your obvious lies," Jay snapped.

"Oh, well done, Jay!" Grune approached the boy and embraced him. "You may have been slow to mature, but now you've grown into a healthy man! Congratulations!"

Jay could only blush.

"He sure doesn't look too thrilled about it," Shirley said.

"Well, y'all know that Jay always hides his feelings," Moses pointed out. "That's how I know that he's really very happy inside!"

"I am not!" Jay cried, still squirming in Grune's embrace.

"At any rate, we should get going to the Great Hollow," Senel said, cutting the conversation short.

"Is it really all right to leave Will alone?" Shirley asked.

"There's no way I'm going to the Great Hollow like this," Jay said. "Therefore, Moses and I will stay behind."

"Well, we can all guess what they'll be doing while we're gone," Norma said.

"Well, your guess would be wrong," Jay told her.

"Oh Jay..." Moses gushed. "You get me so hot; I want your lips on me now!"

Everyone raised an eye at him. Jay looked at him with twitching eyes.

Moses looked confused. "Did I just say that out loud?"

Jay looked thoroughly annoyed. "Unfortunately, yes."

Senel shook his head. "Let's just get going. Moses, Jay...good luck."

The group nodded and left the hospital.

----------------------

Meanwhile, Will slowly regained consciousness, his head pulsating intensely.

"Ugh...my head..." he groaned as he stood up. "Wh...where am I?"

He looked around to find himself locked in his very own jail cell. He checked the door, and it was indeed locked tight. What am I doing here? How did I get locked on here? What is going on?

"Harriet?" he called out. "Harriet, can you hear me?"

---------------------

Jay and Moses entered Will's house and gently closed the door.

"All right!" Moses said, rubbing his hands together. "What're we gonna do now, Jay?"

"First we need to check on Will," Jay said.

"Yeehaw! We'll check on Will, and then we'll let the fun start!"

He stretched his arms out, and then Jay gave him a light pat on the rear.

Moses turned to face Jay. "Startin' a little early, aren't ya?"

Jay only smiled in response. Moses headed toward the basement, jerking on the chain and throwing Jay off balance. The pair went down into the basement and found Will in the prison cell.

"Hey, Will's back to normal!" Moses exclaimed.

Will perked up. "Moses, Jay, what's going on here? What is the meaning of this?"

"Will, are you aware of what's happened?" Jay asked.

Will pondered for a moment. "Not really. The last thing I remember is coming home and taking a nap on the sofa. And then I woke up in here."

"So you don't remember nothin'?" Moses asked.

"No, tell me what happened."

"Will...this isn't easy to say..." Jay stammered. "But you've transformed into a savage beast and attacked Harriet."

"Hmph. You sure said it easily enough," Moses scoffed.

"I...attacked Harriet?" Will asked, horrified. "Is she all right?"

"She's fine," Jay told him. "She's staying with Madame Musette."

"I see..." Will pondered again. "So what will happen to me? I can't just stay locked down here..."

"We spoke with Alcott about the situation. He said he can create a serum using a sample from the monster that bit you."

Will looked down at his hand again. The monster that bit me...so that's the cause of all this.

"All right..." He sat on the floor against the wall. "Now that I understand the situation, I'll wait here and pray for your success."

Moses grinned. "Yeah, you do that."

"We'll check on you later, Will," Jay said.

"By the way," Will said, "why are you two..."

Jay cut him off. "Don't even ask."

"Oh... One more thing: if, for whatever reason, the cure doesn't work...I'd like you all to kill me."

Moses' eyes widened. "Whoa, kill you? That sounds serious!"

"I'd rather be dead than live on as a savage beast, attacking the people I care about. If I'd killed Harriet, I'd never be able to live with myself."

Jay and Moses fell silent for a moment.

"Jay, please, I'm begging this of you," Will pleaded. "I know you're experienced in these matters. Promise me that you'll grant my request."

Jay looked down at the ground. "Will..."

"What're you gonna do, Jay?" Moses asked.

"I...I..." Jay choked up.

"Jay, look me in the eye and promise me," Will insisted.

Jay hesitated for a moment, then finally looked Will in the eyes. "I promise. I promise that we'll find a cure, and we won't need to kill you!"

Before Will could protest any farther, Jay turned and left the room, pulling Moses with the chain.