The late afternoon sun soaked Seabrook High's brick walls in a honey-colored glow. Students streamed from the front doors, their chatter mixing with the chirping of distant birds. Bucky led the cheer team in a dramatic group strut across the parking lot, while Addison waved goodbye to Bree, her backpack slung casually over one shoulder.
Tucked away inside the school, however, was the Tech Club's meeting room — buzzing with excitement.
At the center of it all stood Eliza Zambi, her dark hair pulled into a sleek ponytail, grease smudges faintly visible on her sleeves. She held up her latest creation — a sleek, metallic device no larger than a cell phone.
"All right, everybody, prepare to have your minds blown," she said, her voice crackling with pride.
With a smooth click, Eliza pressed a button on the device's side.
A hologram sprang to life, swirling into the air like a mist before solidifying into a detailed 3D model of Seabrook's town square. Every lamppost, every window, every flower bed — all rendered in sparkling, pale blue light.
The room gasped in awe.
"It's called the HoloMapper," Eliza explained, her voice steady. "It scans environments and creates real-time 3D projections. Useful for town planning, zombie-human integration projects... or, you know, just being awesome."
From the back of the room, Wynter Barkowitz leaned forward so hard she nearly fell off her chair. Her silver hair shimmered as she whispered to herself, "I need one."
Eliza beamed as she finished the demo, her fingers dancing across the device. When she finally packed it away into her locker, the meeting wrapped up. Students clapped her on the back, tossing her congratulatory grins as they spilled out into the hallways.
Eliza locked her project up tight, unaware that one pair of very curious werewolf eyes was still watching her from around the corner.
Outside, the warm afternoon air smelled like fresh-cut grass and french fries from the nearby snack stand.
"Should I?" Wynter muttered, staring at Eliza's locker. "I should. I mean — it's not stealing. It's research."
She chewed her lip anxiously for half a second. Then, her impulsive side won.
In a flash, she popped the locker open, snatched the HoloMapper, and darted outside, stuffing the device into her backpack like it might bite her.
Later that evening, back at the Wolf Den, the mood was far more relaxed — at least until Wynter decided it was time for a reveal.
The den was as cozy as ever: an old stone fireplace crackling warmly, shaggy rugs scattered across the worn wooden floors, and half-finished board games littering the coffee table. The air smelled of pine and fresh earth.
Wyatt sat sideways on the couch, strumming a lazy tune on his beat-up guitar, while Willa leaned back in an armchair, scrolling through her phone with a look of serious concentration.
Wynter practically bounced into the center of the room, her silver eyes shining.
"GUESS WHAT I GOT!" she declared dramatically, digging into her backpack.
Both Willa and Wyatt looked up — and when Wynter triumphantly held up the familiar gleaming device, their reactions were immediate.
Wyatt choked on air and dropped his guitar with a clang.
"WINTER WHAT THE—!" he gasped, scrambling to his feet.
Willa's mouth dropped open. "Please tell me that's a replica. A toy. Literally anything other than what I think it is."
Wynter just grinned wider, rocking on her heels. "Nope! It's THE one! Eliza's thing! I figured, you know, she wouldn't mind if I—"
"—Stole it?" Willa snapped, her golden eyes narrowing.
"Borrowed enthusiastically!" Wynter protested, hugging the device to her chest like it might protect her from their judgment.
Wyatt ran his hands through his hair, pacing in frantic circles. "I'm dating her, Wynter! Dating! Do you know what this means?"
"That you have great taste?" Wynter offered.
"That she's gonna think I'm some kind of tech-thief!" Wyatt wailed. "I'll be dumped faster than you can say 'zombie apocalypse!'"
"OKAY." Willa stood up, clapping her hands. "Plan: we take it back. Quietly. Quickly. Before anyone — mainly Eliza — notices."
"And before Wyatt has a full-on nervous breakdown," she added under her breath.
Wyatt grabbed his hoodie and threw it over his head. His hands trembled slightly as he reached for the device. "Let's just... let's just be careful, okay? Like super careful."
Outside, the sky was starting to fade into dusky pink and purple streaks. Cool breezes ruffled the treetops as the wolves jogged down cracked sidewalks toward Eliza's house.
They were halfway there when it happened.
Wynter, distracted by a butterfly, missed the uneven curb and went sprawling with a loud "Whaaaaaaaa—!"
Her backpack exploded open midair. The HoloMapper somersaulted out in a flash of silver, clattering to the ground with a painful-sounding thunk-thunk-thunk.
All three of them froze in horror.
"I BROKE IT I BROKE IT I BROKE IT," Wynter wailed, diving after it.
Wyatt snatched it up, pressing the activation button. The device whirred, the hologram flickered — glitching — but it still worked. Barely.
"You're carrying it," Willa said sharply, shoving it into Wyatt's hands.
"Me?!"
"You're the boyfriend!" Wynter chirped helpfully.
When they reached Eliza's driveway, Wyatt was shaking so badly he could hardly walk straight.
He raised his hand to knock, when—
THWACK.
A rogue soccer ball from the neighbor's yard slammed into Wyatt's side, knocking him sprawling into the hedges and launching the HoloMapper out of his hands.
Willa caught it — barely — but stumbled into Wynter, who dropped her bag again, causing the device to slip free and roll dramatically across the porch.
The front door opened just in time for Eliza Zambi to step out, arms crossed, eyebrow arched high.
She stared at the chaotic pile of wolves on her porch, then at the battered HoloMapper at her feet.
"Explain."
Wyatt scrambled out of the bush, twigs stuck in his hair, looking like he might cry.
"SO," he gasped. "Funny story! Great story! Hilarious, really —"
Wynter shoved him aside. "I took your thing. It was awesome. I couldn't resist. Then we broke it. But only a little bit! Please don't hate us!"
Eliza's gaze was steely. "You... borrowed my top-secret invention. And then used it as a volleyball."
"Not on purpose!" Wynter said brightly.
For a long moment, Eliza said nothing. Wyatt's knees nearly gave out from the stress.
Then Eliza cracked a grin. "You guys are lucky I zombie-proofed it."
Everyone sagged with relief.
"You're building me a new one, though," Eliza added, wagging a finger at Wynter.
Wynter lit up like a Christmas tree. "YES! Can it shoot lasers?!"
Eliza laughed. "We'll start with a flashlight and work our way up."
Wyatt groaned into his hands as Willa snickered behind him.
And as the first stars blinked awake above Seabrook, four friends — zombie, werewolf, inventor, and chaos gremlin — sat together on the porch, the beginning of another wild adventure already crackling in the air around them.
