2025: Year of the Helix. After decades of government fighting about genetics. World opinion has turned against geneticists. There is passing of laws in the United Nations that would eliminate everything concerning genetics. However, a grace period has been granted. Until these laws passed, scientists and citizens could do what they want without threat of prosecution. Unbeknownst to anyone, nuclear war was adverted by an unknown visitor who claimed to be from the future.
Susan Jecong gave birth to a healthy baby boy, but the doctor summoned the new parents. Dr. Milo Burnett has some bad news for them. Mrs. Jecong said, "What is it. You said my baby was healthy." Dr. Burnett said, "Yes he is. However, you Mr. Jecong aren't the father." Mr. Albert Jecong almost hit the doctor, but said flatly, "I'm not?" Dr. Burnett presented a chart. He said, "This sequence in the middle is your son's. The one to the right is your wife's but the one to left is not you." Mr. Jecong asked, "Well who does it belong to?" Dr. Burnett said, "It belongs to a person of Asian descent, specifically from Japan. You know, It's kinda odd because this sequence looks familiar. Oh, now I remember. The cops found a man bearing the same sequence. A man living in the country thought he saw some kind of wolf attacking his chickens. However, when he stepped in for a closer look, he saw a dead man. He had no identification We've been unable to even find anyone bearing his sequence. My recommendation, sir, is to love him no less."
The Jecongs went home. They could of argued, but they both knew that she couldn't of had an affair. They said nothing and the issue was over.
"John, do you want any friends over for your birthday party?" Susan Jecong said to her son. John said, "No, family's enough." 5 year old Joey said, "Happy Birthday, Big Brother." John said, "It's not my birthday yet. There's seven days to go." Joey had some difficulty understanding time and a few hours later he wished him a happy birthday again. He also didn't know why his older brother looked so different from him. In fact he bore no resemblance to neither of his parents. The only thing that looked like his mother's what his ears and nose. In fact, the only way that you could tell that John was related was through a DNA test. They could tell that everything else came from his father. His little brother however looked more like his parent's child. Someday Joey would be told, but that would be years from now.
Johnny Jecong was a nice kid in school well liked by many. He played baseball in school and did well in his studies. Life in a little town was better than living in stuffy city, yet over the years, his town was becoming crowded as apparently others thought of the same thing. So maybe moving to a larger city would be best. His birthday was celebrated without much surprise. Then one night soon afterwards, he had the strangest dream he ever had.
He saw a boy that looked exactly like himself. He saw him grow up and go to the past? The young man died 21 years from his present. Then the scene switched with a first person perspective of running swiftly through the forest. Then he saw the full moon and heard an unnatural howl. It all seemed so real.
He woke up and was troubled by the dream, but didn't tell anyone. His brother had woken up first and started to put his things in his backpack for school. His mother dropped his little brother off at Elementary School and then dropped him off at Junior High. Next year, he'd be moving on to High School and he was so excited. That night, he ate more than what he usually ate for supper and his mother said, "Stop wolfing it down." His father said, "He's a growing boy. Let him be." After supper, the brothers went up to their room to do their homework. John had real homework that took a while to complete. His little brother however, didn't have that much homework. His parents insisted that they go to bed at the same time, so for the rest of the night, Joey would draw pictures. It made him feel older.
Suddenly he was gripped with burning pain and he fell out of his chair. It was more intense than the time that he broke his leg after falling from a tree. He screamed out in pain as his vocal cords changed. His little brother was too terrified to do anything but cowered in the corner in extreme fear as he heard his brother's screaming turn from sounding human to something not quite human, but not quite animal. John's body then underwent horrifying changes that were very overwhelming. Hairs started to sprout all over his skin. His t-shirt bulged and started to tear. His tennis shoes split as paws escaped from them. He thought he'd faint, but the pain stopped before he could. He was weak from the changes that he had difficulty standing. He slowly walked to the mirror while his vision adjusted. Everything he saw was monochrome, his vision was just as sharp if not sharper. Sounds and smells bombarded his ears and nose. He then saw his reflection in the mirror and he howled in sadness because it was the most shocking thing he had ever seen. His parents ran into the room and screamed. His father ran to the closet and got a bat, but Joey regained his senses and pointed to him and said, "Johnny." His father laid down the bat and they said, "Johnny?" He nodded and said, "It's me alright. I'm afraid to look at myself again. This must be some horrible nightmare." However, it came out as wolfish sounds and they didn't understand. He righted is chair, sat in it, put his big paws under his changed face, and cried out howling in anguish. His mother slowly approached him and patted him on the shoulder. His spirits were getting a little better and his furry tail twitched. He knew that they couldn't understand a word he said, but he was hungry, so he pointed to his mouth. They said, "He must be hungry." He then looked at himself. He took off his shirt and cast his ruined socks and shoes aside. He followed them downstairs getting used to walking on two misshapen legs. His parents looked in the fridge and found the chicken that they were going to have for the next day. Johnny took it, went outside, and devoured it. He walked back in with the bones and went upstairs after he put them in the trash can. His parents wanted to keep a close eye on him, but the bathroom door then locked.
John barred his fangs and took the toothbrush, put toothpaste on it and brushed his teeth. He opened his jaw and made sure he brushed all his teeth. He had the same amount of teeth, but the fact that he had a snout made things more interesting. He opened his maw and took the toothbrush deep into his mouth to make sure he got the back teeth. He then took the mouthwash. After, he realized that he needed to pee. So he did what he needed to do. After he that, he zipped back up, flushed the toilet, washed his paws, dried them with the hair-dryer because they were still damp after he used a towel, and went back to his room. Joey had changed clothes so that he could go to bed quicker. Even though he knew that his body had changed, he still needed to do his homework. Nothing would keep him from completing his task. His brother continued to color in silence which was unusual since he would hum nonsense songs that would only make sense to a little child. He would be huddled at his desk, lost in his own world. However this time he would look occasionally back at him and he looked as if he still couldn't believe it. Their room was symmetrical and thus their desks were opposite of each other next to the wall. It was difficult to hold the pen, but he managed to do it. Joey left to brush his own teeth and came back and crept into bed. John put his things in his bag. He turned off the light and got into bed. At first he put all the coverings on, but he quickly got hot so he just left the sheet over him since all that fur was keeping him warm. Joey said, "Good night Johnny." He got an animal sound for a reply which the little boy guessed was his brother's way of saying, "Good Night." He had trouble getting to sleep because he heard a lot of barks, howls, and other doggy sounds talking of nonsense things. Perhaps they made sense to dogs, but they made no sense to his human intelligence. No matter, they we keeping him awake. He slowly opened his window and shouted as loud as he could, "Shut up! Some of us are trying to sleep." The neighborhood became silent. He muttered, "Thank you." John got into bed and felt very cozy because of the fur, but it ached to turn over because of that tail. His dreams that night were the same as they always were, but John had expected them to be a little different since he was a werewolf.
He woke up to the sound of his alarm going off and he shut it off for the day. The first thing he notice was his hands were back to normal. He looked at his fingers and wiggled them. His hands ran along the rest of his body. There was no sign of fur anywhere on his body, only the hair that he usually had on his body. In fact, the only trace of what went on the previous night was a hole in the back of his underwear. However, his body was a little more muscular. He looked in the mirror, ran a finger over his chest and felt the improving muscles. Since he was five, he had been doing either martial arts or sports, but had always had a non-muscular body, but because he was different now, he guessed that his human body was going to be more developed than other guys his age. He walked to his jeans that were on the chair. It too had a hole in the same place. He took a bath and put school clothes on. He walked down to breakfast and joined his brother. His mother was making pancakes and she said, "John, was that you making that loud noise last night?" He said, "The neighborhood dogs wanted to talk nonsense to each other and prevent me from sleeping so I told them to be quite. They became silent quickly and I went to bed." Joey asked, "What do dogs talk about?" John said, "Nonsense stuff like getting their fur pulled by a baby, having to eat bad tasting food, and having to sleep in a leaky dog house. Perhaps to dogs it would make sense, but the things they talked about were so absurd that it bothered me."
That day went as normal as the day before. Even though he looked human in every way, his senses were still very much like the night before. He guessed that no matter what the form, there were some things that would stay the same, primarily his senses. He could smell everything in the cafeteria and could identify most of the smells from fried chicken to spaghetti. He knew that at this point in his life, he would begin to undergo changes, but not the kind he experienced last night. As much as he wanted to tell his friends about what happened, he decided against it. Who would believe him? Even if they did, they might be afraid of him. At lunch, he met with his friends Ted, Jeff, Louise, Rosie, and Zoe. Louise said, "So did you do your homework? I had so much trouble." John said, "Yea, no difficulties along the way." While he was listening to their conversation, his ears picked up numerous other conversations and it was somewhat difficult to pay attention to the one that mattered. The rest of the day went fine and he got home safely. He looked on his calender. He saw that last night was the first night of the full moon. He knew what would follow so he prepared for it because in science class they had studied the phases of the moon a few weeks ago. Before supper his parents called him down to talk about something.
His father said, "I'm not your real father. 13 years ago, we went camping. Your mother was attacked by some large wolf creature. She was all right, no physical injuries, no diseases, but we discovered that she became pregnant. After you were born, your doctor told us that I wasn't your father. Your father is an unknown person, but on your birth certificate it says that I was the father. We now know the truth of who your real father was because of what you have become." The rest of the night was just like last night, but they fed him after he had changed. The pain was as intense, but it seemed to be a little less painful. He knew somehow that things would get better and that he would get used to the changes. Things proceeded like that for the following months. He then started to know things that he had learned somehow, but that was impossible. He discovered that he could transform anytime he wished. The only time that he didn't have a choice was when the full moon came up. Joey had to be told why he shouldn't tell strangers, but he asked, "Can I tell my friends at school?" John said, "No. You can't tell anyone because if people knew what I was, they would hurt me. You wouldn't want to see your older brother get hurt." He shook his head. Joey was satisfied with this and felt safe. He knew that if their house was ever broken into while the family was there. The burglars would never make it out alive if they laid a hand on them because of the John's wolfen sense of territoriality. John knew this too and had to discuss it with his priest. He said, "If I kill an intruder, is it as sinful as killing in cold blood." The priest replied, "Yes. All murder is the same. However, if you are just as sorry, you will be forgiven by the Heavenly Father." Halloween was the only time that he could walk the streets the way he looked. People would tell him how realistic his costume was, but if they asked why he couldn't talk, his parents said, "It's designed to be realistic. That means no speaking."
One weekend the family went camping. It was customary to go once a year at the same time, but after they booked the campground they realized what the night would bring. However, it was too late to do anything about it because there had to be a 24 hour notice. John said, "It's all right. No one will notice me." The family packed up the van and drove to the park. They signed in at the gate and drove to the campground. Out of all the sites, John liked Site 10 the best. They brought the food in a cooler and for lunch, they had fried chicken. The rest of the day, they fished, but caught nothing. The boys wanted to swim, but it wasn't allowed because of the water's condition. For supper, the family made sandwiches, but John wouldn't eat. Why eat now when he would have to eat later. His stomach rumbled with hunger and he wished the moon would be out already. It finally got dark and the full moon started to rise. John quickly got out his socks and shoes and took off his shirt. He walked into the forest as he started to change. He got on all fours to go hunting for a suitable supper. He pointed his snout into the air and began to identify the forest animals. There were some rabbits, but he would have to catch more than one and they were fast and small. A deer would be preferable. He then smelled one and went in the direction of the smell. He saw one through the brush drinking water from a creek. He was about to leap out of it, but decided not to. Instinct told him that the deer would run away having a head start; better to sneak behind it. So he went around and leaped and killed the deer before it ran away. His fangs dug into the carcass and ripped out the meat. After a few chews, he swallowed the current piece of meat. He got full and left the carcass there. He went to the creek and drank some water and cleaned his mouth of the deer's blood. He then went back to his family's camp after going to the bathroom. He came out of the brush and found that they were roasting marshmallows.
Susan Jecong said, "Do you hear something?" Albert Jecong took a rock to throw at whatever was going to come through the brush. The figure emerged and Mr. Jecong put down the rock and said, "It's you. Do you want some marshmallows?" John patted his tummy. His mother said, "You're full?" The werewolf nodded and put his hands against the side of his face. His father said, "You're tired already? All right." John went back to his tent. He got out of his clothes, put them over his bag, curled up on the air mattress, and started to sleep. Some time later, the door's zipper sounded and by the smell, it was his brother. Joey got out of his clothes, put on his pajamas, got in his sleeping bag, and went to sleep. He said, "Good night." No response from his brother, just simple breathing. He must of been sound asleep. Joey thought that this was funny and got in his sleeping bag.
John woke up feeling cold. It was morning already and he had transformed to his human form. He put on his sweat pants and shirt and got back on the mattress. He got a few more hours of sleep, but it was then time to start the day. After a quick breakfast of eggs and sausage, they packed up and headed home. They had fun, but John loved it more because that was his first time in a natural environment.
His parents decided it was time to tell some people. They began with their immediate family. When they gathered for Easter, He showed his relatives everything. They actually saw him transform. Only the little children didn't. They were brought in afterwards and they were told that this was their cousin. John on his own decided to bring in his priest and his doctor on the secret. The priest, Father Clarence and the doctor. Dr. Alan Emerson took it quite well. Fr. Clarence was brought in because he was curious why the boy was troubled so much. John showed him in his office. Dr. Emerson noted that his patient, who he had known since he was a baby, was developing in ways that normal boys didn't. John's stats increased dramatically since his last visit. From the doctor's judgement, there was no way that his stats could of increased that much in that short amount of time. He showed him during his doctor's visit. Dr. Emerson decided to keep a secret file at home.
When he was 16, he went to summer camp. He wondered what to do, but he had developed his stealth abilities. He was sneaking out when he was stopped. The person who stopped him was a security guard who served as patrol to make sure curfew was enforced. John knew he was caught, sat down, and he started to ponder what would happen. He and his family took classes to learn how to sign so that they could communicate, but those lessons were useless because no one here knew signing. What happened next was something that he couldn't anticipate. Turns out that Animal Control was called as soon as he was found and before he knew it, he was hit with a tranquilizer dart.
John woke up in some kind of holding area, but this wasn't a police station. This was some sort of lab because he could see people go by in lab coats. Who were these people? A man looked at him pressed the intercom button and said, "I'm Dr Forester. If you can understand me, Raise your left hand." John did what he was told. He didn't know what would happen if he didn't. Dr. Forester and his group left. John was exhausted, so took this opportunity and went to sleep. When he woke up, he was back to being human. He was so hungry because he had gone though two transformations without eating. He banged on the glass door and shouted, "I'm hungry." He sat down on the bed and waited. A guard came in armed and brought an omelet. John said, "I'm harmless. Please let me go home." The guard said nothing and left. John wondered what these people were going to do with him and some time later, the guard came back to take him to a big room.
"Is he in there?" A guard said, "Yes, Mr. Sorenson. Theodore Sorenson was Chief of Special Operations of a covert group that looked out for national security. A little over 18 years ago, he was made aware of this kind of creature by his mentor General Ronald Thompson at Area 51. Back then he was a minor person there, but he rose through the ranks quickly. He hadn't believed in these things, but after viewing the footage, he set about making his life's mission to understand these creatures. They never caught a real one, so this one was the first. Gen. Thompson had told him that a creature like this was brought from the future to advert nuclear war and that he was responsible for the sending. As he looked through the one way mirror, he noticed that this person matched the description of the one who came from the future. When he was notified, he wanted to meet this young man. With a can of mixed nuts in one hand and a legal pad in the other, he then slowly opened the door to come face to face with the subject known as John Jecong.
John sat at the table reading a book. He wasn't sure how much time had passed, but the only way he knew time had passed was when he transformed. So far he hadn't since he was brought in. So it was still the second day of him being here. Then he became concerned for his parents. Who know what they knew about his whereabouts. The door opened to reveal a middle-aged man in a suit. He held out his hand and said, "I'm Mr. Theodore Sorenson." John stood up and shook his hand. Sorenson was amazed. This young boy conducted himself very well despite what he was and his current predicament. Sorenson said, "I must thank you for doing what you did almost 19 years ago." John was shocked. This man was thanking him for something that he couldn't of possibly done. Sorenson caught on to the boy's confusion and said, "At that time, my mentor General Thompson got a visit from a 21 year old man who claimed to be from the future. While it was a longshot to believe, it was even harder to believe that he was a werewolf like yourself. However you and him bear a strong resemblance to each other." He then went to the disc player and showed him amazing footage. This man he was talking about was himself, but older. Then when the man transformed into a werewolf, his markings were just like his. John couldn't deny it. Somehow a version of him came from a postapocalyptic future to a time before he was born and the destruction of civilization never happened, but what happened to him? John asked, "If that's me, what happened to that me?" Mr. Sorenson said, " You were going to be transferred to a safe house so that you wouldn't be bothered by the outside world, but you were killed by men working for another country." John had a tough time accepting that he was killed, but that was someone else. That John didn't exist anymore. The two lived different lives. He then asked, "Why am I here?" Sorenson said, "Following that initial encounter and the loss of the only werewolf recorded, I rose through the ranks for the sole purpose of trying to understand beings like you. Tell me something. Tell me about your parents." John said, "My mother and my legal father are Caucasian. My real father, the one that gave me this ability through his genes was Japanese. My parents requested a gene scan which revealed that, but it also revealed an unknown gene. My doctor didn't know what it was. He cross-referenced it with all known patterns, but came up with nothing. Of course he now know what it is, but for confidentiality purposes, he can't reveal it. My parents requested it almost immediately after I was born. You can look at me and see what feature tipped them off. Also, lycanthropy isn't on either side of my parents family." Sorenson said, "I see. Now about your transformations. Explain them." John said, "Well, I can change anytime I want except during a full moon when I change involuntarily. I can change any aspect of my human body to their werewolf counterpart. This is most useful during the cold months. While my friends have to wear heavy coats, I just have to wear a sweater over my shirt which is over my fur. Once inside school, I just have the fur retreat back into my skin." Sorenson noted this down. He then said, "Let's discuss physical stats." John said, "Well no matter my form, I can hear and smell as good. I'm perform better at athletics than other guys my size. When I'm in my wolf form, my stats are tripled . I can walk on two legs, but the faster I go, the lower my arms are to the ground until I'm running on all fours. Also, my eyes are yellow and I can see in the dark. I guess that's it. I'm decent in either form, but when I'm a wolf, I do tend to forget myself in primal urges. Total id especially hunger. However, my human intelligence is still dominant. When I'm a werewolf, I still have to do my homework, but it is difficult to write." Sorenson wrote this down and said, " How do you see better?" John said, "Well human eyes can't see good in the dark. I use my wolf eyes to see in the dark when I need to." Sorenson wrote this down and said, "Well that's about all the questions I have. Tonight, after you change, we'll go run some tests. We will also film your transformation. Is that fine with you?" John said, "Yes, but after I change, I'm going to need to eat." Sorenson asked, "What would you like?" John said, "Raw meat if you have any. If not, then an uncooked whole chicken will do." Sorenson pushed a clipboard to John and said, "These are the tests that we will be conducted. If you have a problem with some of them. Speak now." John looked at the list and said, "No one will know, will they?" Sorenson replied, "The information will only stay in this department. There is nothing to be embarrassed about. These are perfectly legitimate tests and normal functions." John was taken back to his room and waited for the moon to rise.
The guards came and they were new because they were shocked at his appearance. They said, "Come along peacefully. Supper is waiting." John nodded and walked with them. He could hear the guards' heartbeats. They were scared of him much like prey was of their predator. He was led to the same room and he saw a big chunk of raw meat that was the size of a watermelon and a half. He his eyes grew big and he started to salivate. John then remembered his manners and licked the saliva from his lips. He sat down and dug his fangs into the meat, ripped the meat out of the chunk, chewed, and swallowed. It tasted so good. When he was done, he used the napkin to clean his mouth. He was now ready for those tests. The guards then led him to a room full of workout equipment and biobeds. Doctors were everywhere and they were ready to conduct the tests. If he had any second thoughts there would be no way to communicate that, but he didn't have any. If they wanted these things done, then who was he to argue with?
They hooked him up to some of the workout equipment and were amazed at the strength he had. They then showed him to a treadmill. At first it was slow so John walked, but the speed increased and he got lower and lower to the ground. Eventually, it went so fast, he had to run on all fours to keep up. Then it slowed and stopped. They took x-rays and collected various fluid samples.
John was tired and indicated this to the scientists. One of them said, "You've done good work. A guard will take you back. Tomorrow we will conduct the same tests in your human form to analyze the differences." He followed the guards back to his room and he collapsed on the cot and slept soundly. In the morning, after breakfast, they put him through the same tests.
Over the next three days, he waited for the results. At that time he met with Sorenson as the doctors announced their findings. The fluid samples were the same in both cases, but in instances of physical prowess, he performed better as a werewolf than as a human. The only senses that improved upon transformation was sight, touch, and taste. Smell and hearing remained the same. Sorenson thanked John for his time and said, "We'll be driving you back home now." John said, "What are you going to do with the tests?" Theodore Sorenson said, "Well, once the report is drawn up, we're going to destroy the samples. The report will be filed with all the other secret documents."
John was led to a car and the driver took him home. When he got there, his parents were glad that he was alive. They asked where he had been, but John told them what he knew, which wasn't that much.
He still wanted to tell his friends all the way through High school, but he knew that there almost no chance that they would accept him. They would likely view him as a freak. Then there was that ultimatum. Every senior must go on the senior retreat or they don't graduate. The only way they could get out of it was if there was some serious ailment. John could of asked Dr. Emerson, but didn't want the doctor to misuse his authority. John didn't want to go because there was going to be a full moon on all the nights of the retreat. Just how was he supposed to not have people notice? He thought about it until that very first night. After the last time he went to summer camp, he wasn't sure just how were his friends would accept him if they found out. His friends Ted, Jeff, Louise, Rosie, and Zoe were with some of their other classmates playing Monopoly. John knew the sun was going down. The full moon would rise in a few hours and he still didn't know what to do. He sneaked back to the cabin and changed his clothes. He went through the change alone and was about to step out to go roam the forest until everyone was asleep when the door opened and Jeff came in. He shouted, and yelled for help as loud as he could. John was surrounded. The window was closed and he couldn't get it opened in time. Some of the teachers came in and looked at him. John didn't know how he was going to get out of this one, but then he thought of something. He went to his bed, opened his suitcase and took out his Student ID. He pointed to his human face and pointed to his wolfish face. Ted was there also and he said, "John is that you?" The werewolf nodded. Jeff said, "Can you talk?" John replied in grunts and other animal sounds. The people guessed not. He said, "Give him some room, he looks uncomfortable." The people went out the door and gave him enough room. The student dispersed, but his friends stayed with him. Louise asked, "Why didn't you tell us?" John just whimpered. They guessed that they would get their answers tomorrow. The next day while they ate sandwiches, they asked the questions that they wanted to ask. John managed to answer all their questions. All his classmates accepted him and he went about normally for the remaining nights.
After high school, he enrolled in a small college in a big city, Houston. Since he was required to have a roommate that first year, he wondered just how he was supposed to prevent his roommate from knowing his secret. However, try as he might, he knew that there was no way. He thought that he'd go out and roam the streets at night, but college was more intense than high school and thus he needed to stay in his room to study.. Luckily his roomie had a DVD player. He recorded one of his transformation because he knew that this would happen. His roommate's name was Mike Sloane. His favorite thing was mysteries. He'd read mystery books, watch mystery movies, and even a show called Scooby-Doo. John said, "I really an a werewolf." Mike said, "Sure, perhaps Freud was right." John said, "I'm fully aware of that particular diagnosis, but I speak the truth. Here's this disk." Mike put in the disk and couldn't believe his eyes. Even with today's technology, this would be hard to fake. He even scanned it to make sure. His computer said that it was real, but he wasn't satisfied. He said, "Go on change." John said, "Not right now. Wait until the night of the full moon. Transformations take a lot of energy." Mike agreed and a few weeks later, he said, "Aren't you going to change now?" John said, "Yes, but let me put my other clothes on." Mike said, "Why?" John said, "I have a set of clothes that I do my changing in. The clothes I have now aren't suitable. My parents said I can't mess up anymore of my clothes." He then went into the bathroom to change clothes and he came out wearing worn out clothes. He smiled and said, "Don't be too scared now." He was overcome by a tingling sensation and started to change.
Mike was starting to wish that he hadn't said that wanted to see the transformation. He saw his roommate's shirt expand as fur started to sprout from his bare arms. The ears started to get pointed as his head changed into one that was more wolfish. A furry tail sprouted from his seat of his pants and his legs and arms reshaped themselves. John stretched a bit. Mike was stuttering, "You were telling the truth." The werewolf nodded. Mike said, "Well say something like told you so." Johnny spoke, but it came out as wolf sounds. Mike said, "In that form, you can't talk in a human language?" Johnny shook his head. He then went to his fridge and got out some fried chicken and ate it. He then got on his bed, laying on it with his belly on the mattress. He reached over to his backpack, took out a book, and started to read it; his tail occasionally moving. Mike went back to doing his own homework, but occasionally looked back at him. He knew that a college roommate might be strange, but he didn't expect this. Soon it was time for both of them to go to bed.
John looked at the clock. It was getting late. He yawned and got ready for bed. He went to the bathroom to do what he needed to do, then came out. He took his shirt and jeans off and put them in the drawer. John then pulled the sheet over his furry body and started to sleep. He made sure that the door was locked so they would have some time to prepare for unexpected guests. Mike got in his bed and looked at his roommate thinking he was acting so very human despite having a nonhuman shape. Just as he was closing his eyes, the fire alarm rang. John opened his eyes and the sound was bothering him so much he started to howl in pain. It was annoying to Mike's human ears, but was much worse to John's different ears. It was a good thing the alarm was loud enough to drown out the howling. John thought quickly and put his pants on. Mike said, "I guess you don't want to be seen. He opened the sliding door and was gone in a flash of light. John stayed in the shadows where he could see the people and not be seen. Soon people started to go back to their rooms. John crept slowly along the room and dropped down to the ground floor and stepped back into his room. With the fire drill done, he got into bed and slept.
In the morning, he woke up being human again and went to go take a bath. Afterwards, he got dressed and went to the cafeteria to eat breakfast. Some students saw him eat and were amazed by the amount he ate which was a lot for one person, but not that much. He knew that he could basically eat anything edible in any form and that his metabolism would process it. Most of the energy gathered from consuming biomaterial was used for transformations and a special move that he coined the Beast Rush, but he wondered where he got the idea for the name for a move that he never learned. The rest was used for normal activity. For most of his life, he undertook martial arts lessons, but here he didn't have the opportunity to continue, so he built upon what he had learned and exercised each day in both forms because it felt necessary. Statistically, he was better than any human of the same age, height and weight. Also, he could probably outperform anyone he came across, but he didn't exploit his seeming superhuman abilities. In his wolf form, those physical abilities were tripled. He often explained to Mike that he was always careful because he knew that if people found out what he was, the reaction would be extremely negative. They would seek to capture him and put him on display like he was some freak. He even told him the dreams he had.
He then decided it was time to see how the hunt against the demonic was going. He surfed the Web and used the access code that he remembered somehow. He promptly got a response. It was a message that the main point was, "How did you learn of us?" John made his case that he just knew, but didn't know how. He got another message that he would receive a visitor by the name of Mandi Belades. She touched his head and seemingly impossible memories came forward. She then told him. He said, "Oh." She said, "Well as a member of the Hunters, I will talk to those in charge. Since you know so much, I think you will be a member." He kept a watch on his computer and soon a message came back that said that despite being a werewolf, there was no denying his memories of a past, yet present lifetime, so they made him a member. John finally knew just how he knew what he knew. Somehow, someway, his spirit of this other life became his spirit of his present life. Everything Sorenson said was true. He kept in close contact and offered information that the other Hunters didn't know. Everything was going fine, but then he heard rumors going around that someone spotted a creature roaming the rooftop on the night that they had the fire drill.
A girl named Valerie said, "I heard from my reliable sources that some kind of wolf creature was stalking the rooftops." A guy named Bobby said, "Right, and I'm a Klingon." Another girl, Suzie said, "There was. It had fiery eyes, drooling fangs, and the darkest fur." John groaned to himself. Those were all stereotypes of his kind. They might be true, but almost everything that common people knew about werewolves were from the movies. If only they got to know the real him, but he knew that would never be. Most people thought werewolves were bloodthirsty and cold-blooded killers if they really existed, but common people thought that they only existed in the movies.
One morning, John woke up and stretched to begin the day. He opened his eyes, but something was wrong. His vision was monochromatic. He ran to the mirror and yelled, "Oh, no!" His roommate woke up and said, "What's wrong? Hey, I can understand you." John realized that he could speak normally, but he was stuck in wolf form. Out of all days this had to happen. He had to give a short presentation in his Astronomy class. Was he losing control? Mike ran to his computer and turned it on. He quickly searched for recent stellar phenomenon. He said, "Turns out that the planets and the moons are arranged in this way." John asked, "How long will they stay like that?" Mike said, "Through the rest of the day." John said, "I must go through this day as best I can which means I must go out." Mike said, "What about your secret?" John said, "That's something that I have to live with." He went to the bathroom and took a bath. It was very odd because he had always been human when he took a bath. He used the towel to dry himself as much as he could, but his fur was still damp. He plugged in the blow dryer and dried off his fur fully that way. He put on his clothes and looked his best, but there was that face of his. Mike said, "So I can't convince you to stay?" John said, "Not really." He made sure he had everything, took a deep breath, and walked out the door. No one was in the hall. He walked down the stairs and walked into the courtyard. He saw no one yet, but he could hear numerous sounds of students getting ready to start the day. He walked to the main doors, no one yet, but that would soon change. He passed in front of the front desk and heard a scream. John turned and waved saying, "Hello, Nancy." John then went out the double doors to go have breakfast. Things were calmer than he thought they were. He got mostly stares. He entered the Cafeteria and he piled his plate with everything he could manage: two over-easy eggs, 2 sausage patties, a scoop of hash browns, a biscuit with jam and butter, a big glass of chocolate milk, and a bowl of peaches. The cook made the eggs without questions, but remained quiet. He handed his student card to the cashier so she could cross off a meal. It took her a while to complete the task. Johnny scanned the large dining room. He then spied his friends. None of his high school friends had come to this school, so he made new friends. At one of the large round tables he saw, Amelia, Barbara, Clara, Terence, and Verne. John made a beeline to them. They were paralyzed with fear, but he then sat down and started to eat. Verne got the courage to ask, "Who are you?" John said who he was. At first they didn't believe him, but he managed to convince them. His wolfen nature would of had him only use his mouth, but he used a knife and fork so that he would appear civilized to the other people in the cafeteria. He even used a straw for the milk. He tried to be as neat as possible. He then took out his watch from his pocket to see what the time is. He had the watch in his pocket because his wrist was too big. John has enough time to make it to class and get ready for his presentation. He waved good-bye to his friends, but they were still much in shock. He walked up the stairs to his classroom and entered. Luckily, there was no one there yet. He got out his books and prepared his notes. Gradually students began to come in. John could tell he was making them feel uncomfortable, but John had work to do. The professor, Dr. Matt Jackson kept calm when he saw him. He took role and then said, "Is that you John?" he said, "Yes, Dr. Jackson." The professor checked him off as being there. When he finished, he said, "John are you ready?" The werewolf nodded and proceeded to the podium to give his talk. At the end, he asked, "Are there any questions? And please don't ask me why I look this way." He got real questions and he answered them. For the rest of the day, he acted as normal as possible. He managed to get through the day without being attacked. He called his parents to tell them what happened. They were glad nothing bad had happened. By the next day, everyone knew so he didn't have to keep his secret. It didn't matter if the full moon was out, if there was some dorm activity, he was at least going to watch. This one girl Lucy Anderson, who was their nosy roommate had suspected something since she lived in the room across from them and was relieved that it was nothing serious.
John, as soon as he could, got an apartment. Mike joined him as they continued their odd friendship.
John and Mike continued the lives of bachelors. Mike got his degree in psychology and John got his degree in biology. Through John, Mike got to be a member of the Hunters. They then got a message that there was going to be an expedition to Europe. They decided it was time to put Dracula to rest forever. John took a leave of absence. He said that it was personal, but in reality it was something else. He traveled to Philadelphia where he met the others who would be going. There was Brent DyNasty a pirate, Travis Oldrey a soldier, and Damien a vampire who was the grandson of Alucard who was perhaps the most well known good vampire. Mandi Belnades went along. Their leader was Derek Belmont. They had traveled here from all parts of the nation. They had roots from all over the world and their destination would be France where they would take a train to Romania where the ancient land of Transylvania laid. John thought that Damien wouldn't last in the daylight since all vampires turned to dust in sunlight. Mandi said, "He's quarter vampire and 3/4 human. He has all the powers of a vampire, but none of the weaknesses." He said, "Oh." They each showed their boarding passes and boarded the plane. They were all seated next to each other in the first class section of the plane. They went through the entire journey to Romania without any problems. After a few days travel by bus, they made it to Transylvania.
This ancient land hadn't changed much in the centuries since it became famous. The people in the village eyed them suspiciously. They paid for rooms that were next to each other. They met in the middle room to plan their strategy. John hadn't faced this stuff before so one or another had to explain things to him. Derek said, "The best way is through the sewer. There are less monsters. Brent said, "Of course there is. What about serpents and such?" Travis said, "Well, I'm sure that you'll just stick with the ceilings avoiding the slimy water." Damien said, "I could just turn into a bat, fly up to the highest tower and destroy him." Mandi said, "No. He takes on many forms. He's too much for one being to handle Isn't that right Derek?" He said, "Yea. Reinhardt and Trevor needed help. We all need to attack him at the same time." John said, "Yea, but that leaves us with the question of how to get in." Derek said, "We will break into teams. John and Damien, I will team up with Mandi and Brent will go with Travis. We know where he is, the highest tower." They dispersed going through different routes and promised to meet each other at the base of the highest tower. Getting there was no small feat since the castle was fortified with various creatures.
The sun had just gone down, things were going to get intense. Damien and John, in his wolf form went in first. Damien took off his sunglasses and said, "What a horrible night to have a curse." John gave him a odd face. Damien said, "Nothing." They each went their separate ways. It was many hours before they all reached the base of the tower. On the way to the central tower, Derek and Mandi had the unfortunate opportunity to have met the Grim Reaper, Damien and John came face to face with Dr. Frankenstein's long forgotten monster, and Travis and Brent met up with a couple of mummies.
They climbed it and came upon a big door with the crest of Dracula's clan. John and Damien pressed upon the door. They entered a big gothic room. In the middle was a casket. Derek, being the descendent of the legendary Belmonts, was given the option of opening it. He did so, but it appeared to be empty. Travis said, '"He's gone." John growled and looked around. Mandi said, "He's still here. I can feel it." Damien said, "Come on out." A haunting voice said, "Why should I listen to the voice of the offspring of a impudent son or the growl of an ornery werewolf." A shadow appeared on the floor and the Count rose out of it and started his attack. He split into multiple copies of himself. Each hero had to deal with a separate copy. However they seemed to be invincible. John sensed something was odd. He broke of his attack and dived for the air. He performed his most powerful Beast Rush and instead of a blue aura, this was had a red one. The copies disappeared. Dracula knocked John back with a blast and shouted, "How dare you. wolfman." Dracula then shook as he summoned the powers of darkness. He became this hulking gargoyle. They dispatched that form just as easily. The monsters head split open as the brain flew out and grew larger. It then grew four heads one to each side. The heads spit out acid that burned into Travis' armor, he threw it off as the acid ate the rest of it. Mandi used an ice spell and froze the demonic entity. She then summoned a bolt of lightning which shattered the thing. The castle shook and they were transported to some place. Globs of goo coalesced. The goo became bigger and formed a dragon. They all attacked with all their might. The dragon then began losing energy. They returned to where they were. Sunlight peeked through the window when Mandi blasted it with a fireball. Damien put on his sunglasses. Dracula's body became many bats but they all burned up in the day light. She reached into a pouch and tossed herbs about and said, "Never again." Derek looking towards the window with the morning sun rising, said, "The morning sun has vanquished the horrible night".
They went back to America and parted their ways. John came back to Houston. Mike asked him, "So did you win." John said, "Yes. Dracula will torment this world no longer." There was then a knock at the door. It was Lucy. She said, "I heard you went to Transylvania." He said, "I did." She then did something unexpected. She hugged him and said, "I thought you'd never get back." She then told how she had feelings for him.
They dated for a while and married once they turned 25. Soon there after, they had a son. They named him Josh. Years later, they would discover that he had the same talent as his fathers before him.
John and Lucy debated on what to say. They clearly had opposing views which they had been discussing for nearly 13 years. Josh didn't know the truth because his parents were able to hid it. John simply told his son that he had an extra job that he worked at during the night. They thought that Josh would eventually catch on before he turned 13, but he didn't since it seemed so random that his father wasn't there. It never occurred to him that the full moon was a factor. It was soon approaching Josh's 13 birthday and the couple knew that they had to decide soon or else. John said, "I had to sort everything out for myself at that age. I think we should allow our son the same thing." They then agreed finally. They would be away so that Josh would think that his parents weren't home. A few hours before moon rise they left, but to the street behind their house. They could still keep a watch on the house. John got out the car and said, "Wait here for about an hour after the full moon rises and go back home." In the shadows, he transformed and knew what his son was going through.
Josh was gripped by unnatural pain. It was as his body was on fire. The pain as unexpected as it started, it ended. He opened his eyes and something wasn't right because he was seeing everything in black and white. His legs wobbled and he went to the bathroom to see if he was okay, but his heart raced. As he reached for the knob, he looked at his hands and was horrified. They looked like paws. He rushed in and looked in the mirror and saw wolfish face. He though that this was all a hoax so he moved his arms about and the image in the mirror did the same thing. He howled in sadness. Thankfully his parents weren't there. Why was this happening to him. His parents had told him they'd be home soon because his mother had called before he changed. He sat down on the toilet and cried. He then heard a car pull up. He looked outside became horrified because his parents were here. He took off his shredded shoes and shocks and took off his shirt, opened the bathroom window and jumped out.
Strange smells and sounds became known, but that didn't matter. All he wanted to get away from his house. He dropped down into his neighbor's yard and was greeted by a female terrier named Trixie. She said, "Who are you?" Josh was stunned. The dog was talking to him. He said, "It's me Josh. I live next door." She said, "But Josh is human." So he said, "It turns out I'm a werewolf." She said, "Where are you going?" Josh said, "I'm running away from home." I don't want to see my parents seeing me like this." She said, "Good luck." Josh climbed over the fence and Trixie sighed, "How sad that a boy has to put up with that." The neighborhood dogs were all wondering the same thing and they felt sorry for him.
He didn't know where he was going and he didn't care but he was soon blocked by the strangest sight. It was another like him, but how was that possible? Then it hit him, he answered his own question, if becoming a werewolf was possible, anything was. The bigger werewolf then opened his mouth sounding just like a wolf, but Josh realized that he could understand.
The werewolf said, "What have I told you about going out on a school night, hmm?" Josh said, hearing how he talked, "What are you talking about? Who are you?" The werewolf said, "Let's go home." Josh was so confused that nothing made sense, but he felt that he should stay with this werewolf rather than go home. The other got on all fours and ran in the direction that his home was, but hopefully it didn't lead directly to his house. Josh got on all fours reluctanly because all this time he had been going on two legs and followed the stranger. He realized that he was home. The werewolf climbed the tree and jumped to the second floor and he said, "Come on. Your mother's probably worried about where you are." The werewolf knocked on the window and it opened. He heard his mom's voice and it said, "Come on in son, it can't be that bad."
Josh wondered if his parents knew what was going on. If so, who was that wolf? Some relative of his? Josh climbed the tree and almost lost his footing, but he made it. He walked the halls and found his mother with the werewolf at the dinner table. She said, "I'm sure you're hungry. I got a roast in the oven, so you two will just have to wait." Josh said, "Who's this other werewolf?" Lucy Jecong said, "You're probably wondering about all this. As if adolescence isn't difficult to begin with. You probably haven't even recognized your Dad yet." Josh groaned, "Is that you Dad?" John said, "Sure is, welcome to the start of a new phase in life." Josh's confusion was lessening, but other emotions were starting to surface. John said, "I'd watch my emotions if I were you, young man. They can be very intense in that form and at your age." Josh tried to calm down, but he still was very frustrated. He said, "Why didn't you tell me anything." Lucy kept to the roast, and as much as she wanted to, she knew that she wouldn't be able to participate in the discussion since it was going to be one-sided. John said, "The reason we didn't tell you Josh was because I didn't know what was going to happen to me either." Josh said, "What about Mom?" John said, "She's human all the way. This condition is passed down on the Y chromosome and as such it can be passed from father to son. Your grandfathers, don't have it. The one who was my real father is the one who had it, but to this day, I don't know who that would be. The best thing would be to keep it a secret and only discuss it with my side of the family, your mother, your priest, and our doctor."
They then spent the rest of the night, after supper, talking in the basement which was their comfort room. John said, "You see son, werewolves have existed for a long time, at least that's what I'm told." Josh said, "I don't want to kill, even if I am one." John said, "Your statement is a rational one. Most people think werewolves are evil, but like people, we have our good points and our bad points. If you are a good person, you'll use your powers for good purposes. Only evil people would exploit being a werewolf. The only thing is that when you transform, you need to eat." Josh said, "So you're saying Dad, that nothing really has changed except my body?" John said, "That's right. From now on, we'll be eating later than normal and it will be mostly meat for obvious reasons. When we are human, the only thing that remains is our heightened senses and attributes. During your free time, I'll teach you how to shift between forms at anytime and how to use the technique called the Beast Rush." Josh said, "That reminds me. When, am I going to go back to being human?" John said, "Well, in the morning. Right now, just go back with your normal routines. You see while the full moon is out, werewolves can't go back to be human, but at other times, it comes with practice. So do you have more homework to do?" Josh nodded. John then said, "Well, hop to it, young man." Josh went back to his room and started back on his homework.
Lucy looking at her son walk up the stairs quietly asked her husband, "Did you to talk it over?" The older werewolf nodded. She said, "Do you think there will be problems?" The werewolf replied with a shrug. She said, "I guess we'll have to take it one day at a time."
It was difficult to concentrate, but he managed to get it done. He was amazed that even though he was a werewolf, his brain hadn't changed much, but his brain was feeding him more information than usual because of his enhanced senses. He finished and got ready for bed. First he bushed his teeth, and used the toilet even though he didn't want to, but he really needed to go. He then went back to his room and got in bed, but he had to sleep on his side because of his tail.
Josh, even though he was in bed, didn't want to sleep just yet. He was troubled. He wished his father would of told him sooner. He was angry and growled lightly. He brought his paws up to his face, looked at them and became sad. All that fur made him feel worse. He liked being normal. Just how was this supposed to be normal? He read the news about the increase of people with strange powers, about mutants. The rise had been in young people and the news wasn't positive. Common people feared them, and he felt that they would fear him. Even though he wasn't a mutant, he felt that people would view him in the same way. He sighed, "Why me?"