“What’s wrong?” I asked worriedly. Granted, there were quite a few things that were generally wrong with the conversations we had been having as of late, but Simon seemed really worried as he fiddled around on his laptop.
“I’m now wondering if silver would even work to kill the alpha.”
He was right to worry. It didn’t seem that the werewolves were in any way traditional. There was no full moon to wait for, no obvious signs to reveal what the set-up guys secretly were.
It was then that I told Simon everything that happened that afternoon. In the course of two hours, I explained everything that happened with Matt. I then went on to explain what happened with Cale, how he had come to the house and just about admitted to murdering our neighbor. By the time I was finished with my story, Simon closed his laptop and gently tossed it onto his bed. His face was pale as he watched the floor beneath his feet. He was quiet for a few moments as he seemed to be digesting everything I had told him.
“I think it’s safe to assume Cale didn’t find our house in the employee records.”
“I think it’s safe to assume the whole pack now knows how to find us,” I murmured. Just like that, all thoughts of boy talk with Miranda were long gone. We were back to the ugly crux of things. I lowered my voice. “I’m terrified to talk loud in case they’re outside right now.” That wasn’t an exaggeration on my part. There was no way to tell if Cale or one of the others was still outside listening in on our conversations.
I didn’t think Simon’s face could go paler. I was wrong. His eyes were wide and bug-like, his face a sickly green color. But as disturbed as my brother was, he was quick on his feet with ideas. His eyes widened. “What if it’s like Fright Night or Cursed?” He jumped up from his spot to hurry over to his desk. Simon pulled a piece of paper out before grabbing a nearby pen. He began scribbling something.
“What are you talking about?” It was stupid to relate what we were going through to movies. Hollywood wasn’t at all the same as real life.
But Simon didn’t answer me. He raised a single finger to his lips to motion for me to keep silent. He finished his scribbling, his words a messy scrawl as I read what he wrote.
I don’t want to talk in case Cale can hear us. In theory, if you kill the alpha, everyone returns to normal. Everyone would return HUMAN.
I had to hand it to my brother, he wasn’t dumb. This was actually solid logic even if it did stem from Hollywood. I took the pen from him to begin scribbling my own message.
Great idea, big problem. We still don’t know who the alpha is.
Simon nodded as he read my message, his brows knitted as he thought.
He scribbled once more before showing off his handiwork.
Until we know more, we act smart.
As I looked at the message, I was perplexed by what he meant until he wrote some more.
We boobytrap the house and the yard and make it werewolf-proof.
CHAPTER 16
The next day, I woke up late. Simon poked me awake and then we got started on preparing the house for possible werewolf attacks. A simple Google search for “How to kill a werewolf” was less than helpful. There were hundreds of thousands of articles that popped up online, but the majority of them were just stupid forums where people discussed werewolves.
Simon’s friend Erik decided to tag along with us on our way to the hardware store. As much as I didn’t like that there was another person in on the knowledge that my old department was a pack of wolves, having someone else in on the loop was a tad comforting. Erik had the idea that the reason Old Man Thompson was killed was because he knew the identity of the alpha wolf.
“Maybe the old man knew how to kill it, too,” said Simon as we drove. The great part about being in a moving car was that we didn’t have to speak in hushed voices or low volumes like we did at home. On the highway, we could freely speak about the idea of killing the alpha wolf. If Simon’s hypothesis held any truth to it, killing the head wolf could turn the rest of the department human again. The dull voice of the radio could softly be heard, talking about a jogger who hadn’t been seen since the other day.
It was only as we were pulling into the parking lot that my brother made mention of the articles online. “You know, you can’t really tell if anyone on here has a real werewolf problem or not.”
Erik nodded. He and Simon had been reading the same articles earlier. “Some of the people on the internet could have a legit monster problem.”
The boys were probably on to something. Even though the internet was filled with whack jobs or trolls, that didn’t necessarily mean any and all forums on the internet were fake. Someone, maybe a lot of people, could be dealing with the same problems we were having.
“Possibly,” I allowed, causing Erik to beam as I half gave light to his theory. “But I doubt anyone online is in the same boat we are.”
“But what if they are?” Simon pushed as we pulled into the parking lot of the store. “What if somewhere out there people are dealing with werewolves as well? Maybe someone out there knows a sure-fire way to kill it!”
“Shooting it with a gun might help,” reasoned Erik as he slid his oversized glasses back up his nose.
“Matt said he shot at the wolf that turned him,” I muttered as I shut off the car and put it in park. “It didn’t do anything. The wolf still killed his friend.”
None of us spoke as we headed into the store with a cart and a crazy list at hand. We were going to swing by multiple places to secure everything on our list. First was the hardware store; the next was a church.
As our unlikely trio split up in the store to cover more ground, I made it to the electrical department before I spotted someone familiar. My stomach clenched uncomfortably as I spotted Perry browsing wall outlets. I slowly backed away, hoping he didn’t see me.
I shouldn’t have bothered. Perry was a werewolf. Like Matt, his hearing was excellent. “Ms. Davis.” Perry smiled as he faced me. “Fancy seeing you here.”
“You as well.” I made to turn around and leave the aisle, inwardly deciding to abort the mission of buying everything we needed from this particular store. Perry walked beside my cart. He looked as if he was still on the clock for work. His sharp charcoal gray suit and red tie stood out among the random people around us simply shopping. Perry walked beside me, inspiring me to pause. I could see Simon and Erik about to enter an aisle a few lanes over, but I didn’t want to lead Perry to them.
“Pity you don’t wish to stay in our department. Some of the boys have grown fond of you.”
That was laughable, but a smile didn’t cross my face. I really hadn’t spoken to the boys during the length of my employment. Most of the time I had been in the same room with them, I was met with silence. The occasional time Bobby or Nico would talk to me was when they would ask me to toss them a roll of tape for them to secure HDMI cables to the floor during room set up. If Cale spoke, it was almost always to insult me or someone else. I didn’t say anything to Perry, inspiring him to continue. “Are you quite sure you don’t wish to reconsider?”