A/N: Thank you all for your reviews so far! Seeing feedback from others really makes my day. This here is a very long, rather dialogue-heavy chapter, perhaps the longest chapter yet, but things are about to get interesting very quickly. So enjoy!

-CCM

Chapter 21: Homecoming

"You want some breakfast?"

"No."

"...Me neither."

Claire and Jack sat across from each other at the dining table in silence. Beautiful early morning sunshine filtered into the room through the open window, which allowed for the flow of a warm, gentle breeze, but neither sibling took any notice. Claire slouched forward at the table, her eyes, reddened by crying, focused on the polished wooden floorboards beneath her feet. In contrast, Jack sat straight-backed with his hands clasped together, eyes trained on the ceiling. Even Bailey, who would normally be bouncing off the walls this early in the morning, made nary a sound as he snoozed peacefully in the blankets at the foot of Claire's bed.

They just didn't know what to say. And honestly, there was nothing to say, in Claire's opinion. They both knew what had happened – they each saw the results with their own eyes. In fact, nearly everybody in town had seen the aftermath of the Cow Festival, and those that hadn't learned of the disaster soon enough, especially with a professional gossip like Manna in town.

A large portion of the Mineral Town villagers had no idea what to make of the attack. Initially, rumors spread around that someone from Claire's past had murdered her cow as an act of revenge against the young farmer, which was obviously untrue. These fabrications were quickly debunked after Officer Harris had examined Clementine's body with the assistance of Doctor Trent. That, and it would be extremely difficult for anyone to make out Claire's cow specifically from the crowd in the dying evening light.

Clementine's body...

Claire shivered at the very thought, fresh tears beginning to well up in the corners of her eyes. However, they did not fall. She didn't seem to have enough tears left in her to cry outright anymore, and was instead left with a feeling of intense hopelessness in the very pit of her stomach. Her eyes burned and she blinked them hard, trying to rid herself of the discomfort with little success. Her body felt numb.

Jack had listened to his sister sob in bed for hours after the incident, but for once, he had no sarcastic retorts to offer. Instead, he had wrapped his arms around her in a hug, stroking her hair back to calm her down like he used to when she was just a little girl, crying over something as trivial as a broken doll. It was an extremely loving gesture, coming from him. Eventually, her sobs quieted, and Claire had drifted off to sleep. Jack had then set her down gently on top of her bed, lifting the covers over her, and finally settled down in his own makeshift bed on the floor where he sat awake for hours, thinking.

The results of Clementine's necropsy had determined that the cow was not killed by stab wounds made by a knife or similar object, nor was blunt force the cause of death. No... actually, as Doctor Trent had explained to Claire and her brother the night before, the animal had been slashed open by what seemed to have been another animal, something with dangerously sharp claws and teeth...

No. Claire didn't want to think about that. She had to stop thinking about that. There was no time to mourn any longer, at least not when there was still a mystery like this on their hands... Because something had to be done. She had been warned, she had seen previous results, she had new information regarding the attacks, and yet it still happened again. It was just as though Mary's words had rung true: the villagers of Mineral Town had all been lulled into a false sense of security.

It can't happen again... It won't happen again... Claire wouldn't let it.

After this most recent attack, Claire had been forced to tell her brother everything that happened since her initial move to Mineral Town, which was quite a lot – from the terrible golden-eyed creature that stalked her in the night, to the slaughtered chickens of the Poultry Farm, to the horrendous attack Ann had suffered... She even mentioned that mysterious book that Mary had discovered in her library, under the strangest of circumstances...

Claire had feared that Jack would make her come back with him to the city after learning of the dangers lurking in this small town, but Jack had merely listened in silence, his eyebrows furrowed in thought. And neither one of them had said a word about it since.

It was nearly lunchtime before Jack and Claire finally got up to begin their day, and only because they were interrupted by a knock on the front door. Claire answered it to come face to face with Officer Harris, who looked saddened by the very sight of her. Claire knew he was imagining her crying her eyes out over her dead cow the previous evening.

"Oh, er... Miss Claire, I just wanted to let you know that Mayor Thomas has arranged for another town meeting. Every citizen of in Mineral Town is to come to Doug's Inn at four o'clock this evening for the very important news."

Claire nodded. "Thank you for coming to tell me." Her voice came out in a hoarse whisper.

Officer Harris merely shrugged in return. "Just doing my job, ma'am."

"So..." Jack said as he came up behind Claire, his eyes following the officer's walk back down toward the street, "What do you expect this particular meeting will be about?"

"I don't know," the blonde girl sighed, "but I sure hope it's not any more bad news. I don't think I could handle anything else."

Claire and Jack arrived at the Inn together at exactly four o'clock that evening, wondering what the Mineral Town mayor could possibly want to talk about this time. At least, the topic was rather obvious when taking the timing into consideration, but Claire was curious as to whether Mayor Thomas would take the issue seriously or merely brush it all off as an unfortunate accident. A random animal attack, perhaps. Claire snorted at the very thought; her poor cow's death was certainly not random.

Inside the main dining room of the Inn, most of Mineral Town had already taken their seats around the wooden tables dotted across the room. After a sweeping scan of the room, Claire and Jack seated themselves at one of the last remaining open tables, where Cliff, Manna, and Duke were already seated. Cliff gave the blonde farm girl a shy smile as she sat down, which she gladly returned.

Manna, meanwhile, positively beamed at the sight of Claire and her brother, despite herself. "Oh, hello there, Claire, dear! How nice to see you out and about, even after such terrible recent events. I really feel for you, dear, I honestly do. It's horrible, what happened, it truly is. No words can describe it."

She turned to give Jack a thorough inspection, looking him up and down. "And who is this? I don't believe I've seen you around here before, young man. Are you Claire's boyfriend, by any chance?"

Cliff glanced at Claire and went very pink in the face, while Duke merely rolled his eyes with a sigh.

"No, Manna, she told us yesterday... This is her brother! Jack, right?" He raised his eyebrows, and Jack nodded. Satisfied, but a bit annoyed as well, he turned back to his wife. "See? You would have known that already if you had just listened-"

"Oh, but honey-"

"Ahem." Claire cleared her throat, loudly, and the winery couple immediately quieted. Cliff, meanwhile, was now red with embarrassment.

"Claire, um, I-I'm very sorry about that-"

His stammered apology was interrupted, however, by the entrance of Mayor Thomas, escorted by Officer Harris in his usual crisp blue uniform. Without a word, the mayor quickly adjusted his scarlet top hat and came to stand at the front of the room, where he could see and address everyone clearly.

"People of Mineral Town," he began solemnly, "as I am sure you are all aware, something utterly horrible has occurred at our annual Cow Festival just last night. It was an extremely unfortunate, inappropriate act, and I personally am sorry that such a thing should happen in our peaceful little town. And, we are deeply sorry for those who have been personally affected, especially." He glanced over in Claire's direction, and many of the other villagers followed in suit, craning in their seats to see the girl and give her apologetic looks.

Hmm... Claire pondered, ignoring the stares of those around her. He didn't mention anything about the cause of death. Though I suppose he doesn't want to concern everyone even further...

Mayor Thomas cleared his throat to continue. "Also, I would like to establish a small set of rules and reminders for all Mineral Town citizens to follow, as a means to keep our townspeople out of harm's way and prevent any such attacks from happening again."

He glanced at Officer Harris standing to his left, who nodded, and then continued on to list his new regulations. Raising an index finger above his head, he began, "Step one – an important reminder. It is suggested that all villagers lock their doors at night, from six in the evening until six in the morning. This includes, not only houses and workplaces, but barns, stables, and sheds as well. This action may serve as one extra precaution to protect yourselves, your families, and your animals alike."

He raised a second finger. "Step two – never leave your house alone. Ever, if you can help it. This is for obvious reasons, I hope, as we are all much safer in numbers."

"Step three-" he lifted a third finger, "a universal town curfew will now be enforced, with the help of myself, Officer Harris, Gotz, and Zack. Our neighborhood watch patrols will be increased as much as possible. After eight o'clock p.m., when the sun has begun to set, it is important that people leave their homes only if absolutely necessary – as in, medical emergencies. Please complete all other activities well before nightfall, as it is proven that every attack so far has occurred in the hours from late evening through the dark of night."

Mayor Thomas then straightened up. "And please, if anyone has any information regarding any of the attacks Mineral Town has suffered this past season, not just yesterday's, please come with it to me or Officer Harris to discuss. It is vital that we know everything we possibly can, whether big or small, so that we may keep Mineral Town a safe place to live. Only with your help can we find the culprit and serve justice."

Claire stared across the room where Rick was sitting at a table with Pastor Carter, Barley, May, and Stu. She hadn't forgotten his previous argument with Karen over Ann's attacker, which she herself had eavesdropped on – and it seemed that Karen hadn't forgotten, either, for she kept shooting him nasty glares from the next table over. Even Popuri didn't want to sit with her own brother, it seemed, as she was snuggly seated on Karen's left side, her hands entwined with Kai's.

"Finally, Doug here would like to make a very important announcement for you all." The mayor beckoned the innkeeper forward toward the front of the room and stepped away so that Doug could take center stage.

Suddenly, before Doug could even make a move to leave his position behind the counter, the heavy oak doors of the Inn burst open. Doctor Trent and the nurse Elli, both in their usual clean medical attire, came strolling into the room. Elli was assisting a taller girl who held onto her arm, her long reddish-brown hair tied up in a neat braid with a pure white bow. Claire's mouth fell open in a combination of surprise and glee, and she could see that many others in the room shared similar sentiments.

"Ann?"

"It's Ann!"

"Oh my Goddess, Ann! You're back!"

As if on cue, the entire dining room burst into applause. Ann looked surprised at all the kind attention, but her wide grin gave off a sense of definite pleasure at the grand welcome back into her home. With barely a moment's pause, people began rising from their seats to run up and greet her with open arms, enveloping her in a mass of hugs. At the back of the room, behind the counter where he had been wiping down glasses with a rag, Doug was frozen in shock. In one swift motion, he set the glass he had been in the middle of cleaning down on the countertop and walked forward as if in a daze. The expression on his face was one of pure happiness as he made his way up to his daughter, and the crowd backed away to let him get in for a loving hug.

"Ann... How are you feeling?"

Ann grinned as her father took a step back, an expression of pure ecstasy on his face. "I'm doing great, Dad! Doctor Trent said that I was well enough to stay at home now, and well, here I am."

Doug smiled, and then took a sweeping look around the room. "Well then, I think this special homecoming calls for a feast!"

The idea was met with another round of applause, and his daughter laughed. "Only if I can help you with the cooking, Dad."

"You think you're up for it?"

Ann rolled her eyes and giggled. "Well, yeah... The injury didn't affect my cooking skills, right?"

Back at his position near the front of the room, Mayor Thomas clapped his hands together to quickly address the crowd once more, or at least the people who bothered to pay him any attention, as many were still enthralled by Ann's return.

"What Doug was just about to tell you all is that Ann has been finally cleared to come home! But what he didn't know was that she was coming home today! We gathered you here this evening, not only for bad news, but for some good news as well! So, party away, I say!"

For the first time that day, Claire was able to smile genuinely. In less than an hour, Ann and her exceptionally happy father had prepared a large meal to feed all of Mineral Town, though of course not without sufficient help. Half of the town's population, it seemed, had crowded into the Inn's large kitchen to help prepare the meal. Elli, Duke, Manna, Sasha, Jeff, Anna, Basil, Mary, Kai... Even Karen tried to get in on the action, but was pushed out of the kitchen by her own mother, Sasha, under the premise that there was "no more room."

"Mom, I wanna help, too."

Sasha looked at her daughter with fear clearly evident on her face. The others in the kitchen stared at the pair, wondering just what Sasha would say. Everyone knew what would happen if Karen were allowed to assist in the cooking – most of them had been to enough Cooking Festivals to know the exact results of Karen's interference in a dish.

Sasha folded her arms and gave her daughter a stern look. "Oh, no... No, it's okay, Karen, we have enough help... There's no more room in the kitchen for any more people."

Karen craned over her mother's shoulder and frowned. "What do you mean, Mom? There's enough space for one more! Let me just help with the soup or something, I bet it could use some mayonnaise. Oh, or popcorn-"

Behind Sasha, Kai let out a snort as he chopped carrots into clean, even slices with a knife.

The brunette woman's eyes widened, but she was saved from having to respond by Popuri, who took Karen by the arm and pulled her away with a wink. "Come on, Karen... Let's go say hi to Claire and her brother."

Popuri and Karen quickly joined Claire and Jack at their table, where the four young people chatted together good-naturedly. Karen got up from her seat once to sneak something from the kitchen, and hastily returned with a bottle of red wine, courtesy of Aja Winery.

"Did you steal that?" Popuri reprimand her friend. Karen gave the pinkette a patronizing glare.

"No... What kind of a lady do you think I am? I asked Doug before I took it."

Popuri sighed, though she was in much too cheerful a mood to sound sincerely angry. "I thought you said you'd lay off the alcohol for a bit."

Karen smirked as she took a gulp of wine straight from the bottle, earning her a disapproving look from Jack. "Hey, this is a special occasion! I think I'm allowed a drink to celebrate!"

Popuri rolled her eyes. "Every day is a special occasion for you, huh..." she muttered under her breath, unheard by anyone but Claire, who sat to her immediate left. The blonde girl let out a snort, which made Popuri smile.

"Anyway..." Claire began, "I'm really happy for Ann! She looks so much better from when I last saw her, even."

She straightened up in her chair to see over the throng of tables toward the back of the room, where Ann had just exited the kitchen to grab some ingredient from the shelves behind the counter.

Jack followed his sister's gaze and looked over at the innkeeper's daughter with interest. "So... that's Ann right there, huh?"

Popuri glanced in the direction that he was facing and then bobbed her head happily. "Yep, that's Ann all right. She's one of my best friends!"

"Have you met her before?" Karen asked. "Like, have you two actually spoken?"

Jack shook his head, and Claire realized that she had never bothered to introduce her brother to the girl. Not because she didn't care about Ann, as she had visited her at the Clinic multiple times on her own and cared for the girl immensely, but because she hadn't wanted Jack to learn too many details of the girl's injury. It might get him thinking... like how he was now.

"So she was the one who was attacked walking home one night..." he said thoughtfully, "the girl who's been staying at the Clinic all this time?"

Claire nodded apprehensively, and Jack frowned. "And nobody knows just how she was attacked? It's still a mystery? That doesn't sound safe, what if-"

"Well, let's not talk about that now, shall we?" Karen interrupted, raising her bottle of wine. ""This is a time to celebrate! I said it before, and I'll say it again! A happy occasion for once – Goddess knows we need it!"

Claire shot her friend a grateful smile across the table – the last thing she wanted was another lecture from her brother about how unsafe Mineral Town was, and how she would be much better off coming back home to the city with him.

Jack took one last look at Ann, who was just retreating to the kitchen with a jar of strawberry jam in her hand, her long braid swinging at her back. "She does look better... She looks great."

His sister raised an eyebrow, but said nothing. It was a funny thing to say, coming from someone who hadn't even seen Ann at her worst. In fact, it was the first time he had seen her at all.

Within the hour, all the guests were served a large variety of dishes provided by the many willing volunteers – steaming vegetable soup, refreshing fruit salad, deliciously spiced curries, and crusty dinner rolls that were fresh out of the oven, perfectly soft and warm on the inside, and topped with butter and jam. Though Karen still looked a little miffed that she hadn't been able to aid in the cooking herself.

"I'm telling you, this vegetable soup could have definitely used some popcorn," Karen interjected as she stealthily splashed a bit of wine into her bowl, stirring it into the broth with a spoon.

Popuri giggled, slightly unsure of herself, while Claire and Jack merely shared a vaguely amused look.

Halfway through the meal, Ann came bouncing over to their table and, laughing, pulled up a chair right between Claire and Jack. "Hey, guys!"

"Hi, Ann!" Popuri beamed, quickly looking the girl over. "Hey... You're looking so much better!"

Ann nodded. "And I feel a whole lot better, too."

She looked toward Jack on her left and smiled, holding out a hand in friendly greeting. "Oh, hello! I'm afraid we've never met before. My name is Ann. And you are?"

Jack froze, but quickly regained his composure and shook hands with the girl. "Jack. I'm Claire's older brother... Came in from the city to visit her farm for a few days."

Ann nodded. "That's nice... I hope you like it here so far." She shrugged and gave a short, nervous sounding laugh. "It's a pretty good place to live... Well, except for what happened to me, of course."

She quickly glanced away, a serious, faraway look in her eyes, and Jack gently set his hand over hers in an attempt to comfort her. "Hey, it's okay... You don't have to talk about that now. It's all in the past, right? We already know what happened, and it's time for you to move on."

Ann smiled gratefully, her eyes meeting with Jack's for just a moment.

Contentedly full, Claire's mind began to wander off as Ann and Jack continued their conversation that she herself was too distracted to follow. The blonde girl's eyes began to close sleepily, but when she heard the whisper coming from somewhere behind her, they jerked open as she looked around in surprise.

"Claire!"

A soft feminine voice called out her name, and Claire turned in her chair to find Elli beckoning to her from a secluded corner of the Inn. Confused, Claire rose from her seat and approached the brunette girl, leaving the table unnoticed. Popuri and Karen had wandered off somewhere in the dining room with Kai, and her brother Jack was currently still immersed in conversation with Ann, both of them talking animatedly. Claire could only guess as to what they were discussing without her.

"Elli? What is it?"

Elli quickly glanced around, an apprehensive expression on her face as if she feared being overheard. "There's something you should know..." she said hastily.

"Why? What's wrong?" Claire frowned. "...Is it about Ann...?"

Elli nodded solemnly, refusing to meet Claire's eyes. "Doctor Trent didn't want me to tell anyone... This is personal information about a patient, after all..."

"But you seemed so adamant about solving the Mineral Town mystery," she added insistently, her voice coming out in a hoarse whisper, "and after what happened yesterday night... I think I can trust you."

The young nurse looked so concerned that Claire couldn't help but worry with her. "Is Ann all right? I mean, she came home, so she must have recovered well... You and Doctor Trent wouldn't release her from the Clinic unless she was definitely much better..."

The brunette nodded, though her expression didn't get any more hopeful. Almost the opposite, in fact. "Yes, we released her... Her wounds have been healing up quite nicely. The infection is gone. Of course, she'll have a good deal of scarring in the abdominal area for an indefinite amount of time, possibly the rest of her life, but there's been no permanent damage to the area, luckily."

The look on her face darkened considerably as she continued, "But that's not what I'm worried about. She's fine, physically. It's just – you see, I don't think Ann is her usual self. I mean, she's still the friendly, outgoing, tomboyish Ann we all know and love, but there's something decidedly different about her. It-it's as if her personality has been altered ever so slightly. I don't know if it's just a result of being cooped up in the Clinic for so long with a critical injury, or what..."

"Wait..." Claire paused in thought, her eyes trailing in Ann's direction. "Different how?"

"Well..." Elli glanced around the room again to be sure that nobody else was listening in, "She's been a lot more… irritable lately, for one thing. The old Ann was fiery at times, yes, but she would never snap at her friends." She frowned.

"But now, ever since her injury, she's had an especially short fuse with everyone. I dropped her medications on the floor one day, and the pills rolled under the bed, and she shouted at me for it. She apologized immediately afterward, of course, but the outburst was very uncharacteristic of her."

Claire shrugged, doubtful. "She seems fine to me. Right now, at least. She looks so happy... and she's really getting along well with everyone." Like Jack, for instance.

"Well, what's even stranger," Elli continued, "is her appetite lately, ever since she was attacked."

"What do you mean?"

The young nurse anxiously bit her lip. "She's had a craving for... raw meat."

"R-raw meat?" Claire spluttered. The brunette nodded.

"Ever since she could sit up and eat solid food at the Clinic, a little over a week after the initial assault, rather than just soups and oatmeal, she had insisted on eating steaks. Cooked rare, of all things!" She shuddered, a disgusted look on her face. "Extra rare."

A sudden thought came to Claire.

"Is this what you were discussing, that one night I came over for dinner?" she asked slowly. "When Doctor Trent stopped by and asked to speak to you privately?"

Elli nodded in one smooth, deliberate motion. "Please don't say a word to Doctor Trent." She wrung her hands nervously. "I don't want him to know what I've done, handing out secrets like that – it could cost me my job, technically. I-I just figured that this might be important to know, if we're going to figure out what attacked Ann..."

Claire took one last look at the red haired girl, still seated at the table with Jack. "I promise I won't tell."

As she and her brother walked home that evening, Claire couldn't help but wonder – just what had attacked Ann? The innkeeper's daughter had acted perfectly fine at her homecoming party, as far as Claire could tell, but what if Elli really was telling the truth?

She sorted through the clues in her head as the pair walked down the road toward Sunshine Farm in silence, with only the faint sound of their footsteps on the pavement reaching their ears. According to Elli, Ann was suddenly prone to snapping at people with little provocation, and now had a troublingly strange taste for raw meat, though that all remained to be seen. Neither detail had been proven to Claire; that was all dependent on whether she took the nurse's word for it or not.

However, Claire did have her own proof of one thing; something large and strong, with vicious claws and teeth... Shivering, Claire remembered the hulking shadow with piercing eyes of gold that had followed her home what seemed like so long ago, the one that Cliff had also witnessed. Could it be...?

She remembered the book that Mary had found in the library, telling of a curse on Mineral Town. Mary knew something about it that she wasn't telling... Something strange about that particular book.

She remembered the unnerving picture on the cover of the ancient tome, an image of what looked like a wolfish demon... something huge and dark...

She froze, her eyes widening.

A/N: Just wanted to add that the raw meat craving mentioned in this chapter is made even stranger by the fact that everyone in Mineral Town is pretty much a vegetarian, with the exception of fish sometimes. In case you didn't pick up on that detail. So wanting to eat a big, bloody steak is even more of a big deal to them.

-CCM