2025: Year of the Helix. After decades of government fighting about genetics. World opinion has turned against geneticists. The United Nations have passed laws that would eliminate nearly everything regarding altering genes. However, a grace period has been granted. Until the end of the year, scientists and citizens could do what they want without the threat of prosecution. Unbeknownst to anyone, nuclear war was adverted by an unknown visitor who claimed to be from the future.

Susan Jecong had given birth to a healthy baby boy, but the doctor summoned the new parents. Dr. Alan Emerson has some bad news for them. Mrs. Jecong said, "What is it? You said my baby was healthy." Dr. Emerson said, "I did say that, and he is. However, you are not the father Mr. Jecong." Mr. Albert Jecong almost hit the doctor, but said flatly, "I'm not?" Dr. Emerson 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. This one in the box is yours. As you can see, there's no relation." Mr. Jecong asked, "Well who does it belong to?" Dr. Emerson said, "It belongs to a person of Asian descent, specifically Japanese. My recommendation, sir, is to love him no less. It saddens me when children are shunned by a parent. However, the UN did give a grace period for genetic resequencing. I could recommend someone to swap the necessary sequences. I'll let you alone for a few minutes to decide." The parents discussed it, but they had been against it unless it was for serious medical reasons. This was not one of them. They would not be going to a geneticist to make this boy look more like their son.

The Jecongs went home. Relatives were shocked that Albert Jecong was not the father. They thought they should have resequenced the child, but respected their decision. The parents could have argued, but they both knew that she couldn't have had an affair. They said nothing and the issue was over. At least, they thought it was.

13 years later...

"John, do you want any friends over for your birthday party?" Susan Jecong said to her son. John said, "No, Mom, Just you three'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 laughed, "I know. It was just a joke." They shared their room and they were close. Joey admired his big brother and hoped to be like him. Joey could tell that he looked different from his brother and that John looked different from their parents, but didn't know the reason behind these differences. In fact, John Takeshi Jecong bore very slight resemblance to his mother in that there were hints of this maternal heritage like his ears or his hair style, but both parents knew that an overwhelming majority of his physical being came from his mystery father. In fact, the only way that one could tell that John was related was through a DNA test. However, his little brother looked more like his parents. Someday Joey would be told, but that would be years from now. John for most his life was a curiosity to strangers because he would identify his parents, and they asked a bunch of uncomfortable questions as to his appearance like if he was adopted. When he was younger, he despised the people who asked these questions, but now he understood that they didn't know him and his life. He sometimes would look at his reflection, look directly at his epicanthic folded eyes, and wish that he resembled his parents more. That way he never would have had to put up with the nagging questions from strangers. Sometimes when he had difficulty sleeping, he would lay on the bed, look up at the ceiling which bore glow in the dark space stickers, and wonder what his biological father was like.

John Jecong was a nice kid in school well liked by many. His name was perplexing to those that even knew him. His parents named him John after the man who introduced them at a Star Trek convention. The middle name of Takeshi was the name of they randomly selected out of a hat. They started with the letters of the alphabet and the letter T was selected, they threw in all the names that started with that letter and they got out the name Takeshi. They did this because they felt that since he looked mostly Japanese, it couldn't hurt if he had a Japanese name for his middle name. In a multicultural city such as Houston, it wouldn't be peculiar. His birthday was celebrated without much surprise and was mostly routine. Then one night soon afterwards, he had the strangest dream he ever had.

He saw a boy that looked exactly like himself. He saw the boy 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 that seemed to come from himself.

He woke up and was troubled by the dream because it seemed so real, but didn't tell anyone. His brother had woken up first and thus was the first to take a bath. By the time John came out, Joey 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 onto 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 homework that took a while to complete. His little brother however, didn't have that much homework, if one could call it that. His parents insisted that they go to bed at the same time, so for the rest of the night, Joey would draw pictures while humming his usual nonsense songs which were usually jingles he picked up on television.

An hour or so after supper, he started to feel mildly uncomfortable inside and thought it must have been something he ate. He tried to ignore it, but it increased to a 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 retreated and cowered in the corner in extreme fear. He was too terrified to do anything as he heard his big brother's screaming turn from sounding human to something not quite human, but not quite animal. John's body then underwent horrifying changes that to the 5 year old was just too much. Thousands of black 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. Limbs reshaped, his face distorted into a snout, and a tail grew at the base of his spine. John was so besieged by the intense pain, he had no idea these changes went on. The pain curiously stopped and he opened his eyes to a nightmare.

Everything he saw was monochrome, his vision sharper than ever. Sounds and smells bombarded his ears and nose. He was on the floor and he slowly got up, but he had difficulty standing. He slowly walked to the mirror and saw his reflection. At first he thought it to be some illusion, but he waved his hands and the reflection did the same. He howled in sadness because he looked like a monster. The door burst open as his parents ran into the room and screamed. His father ran to the closet, and started to come at him swinging a golf club, but Joey regained his senses, stood in front of his father and yelled, "Don't hurt Johnny." His father dropped the golf club and they said, "Johnny?" He nodded and said, "It's me all right. I'm afraid to look at myself again. This must be some horrible nightmare." However, he heard it come out as wolfish sounds and obviously they would be unable to understand. He righted his chair, sat in it, put his big paws under his changed face, and cried. His mother slowly approached him and patted him on the shoulder. His spirits were getting a little better. 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 next to it. Their fate would lead them to the trash bin after he ate. 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 and the useless clothes in the trash can after making sure he wouldn't be seen. 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 somewhat 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. He was going to go to bed, but he realized that he needed to pee. So, he did what he needed to do. After that he, 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 because he had wet his pants because of the extreme fright. Even though John 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 put them over on his chair 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." The young werewolf 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, you stupid dogs! 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 noticed was his hands were back to normal. He looked at his fingers and wiggled them. He laughed in jubilation as he ran his hands down 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 and 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, or 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 saw that his friends had already sat down. He waved to them and walked over to his friends Ted, James, 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. Before supper his parents called him down to talk about something.

His father said, "As you probably have suspected, I'm not your real father. 13 years ago, we went camping to celebrate our first anniversary. She had to go to the bathroom and went to the cabin bathrooms. On the way, she was attached by a creature. Your mother said that she 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 what your real father was because of what you have become." Mrs. Jecong said, "I don't remember too much, but I saw what looked like a wolf. It shoved me down and I hit my head. I woke up in the hospital. There was no injury beyond hitting my head, but I became pregnant. We were too afraid to say how. We now know what it was that did this." 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 and knew somehow that things would get better getting used to the changes.

One Saturday, about two months and a half after he first changed, a car pulled up their driveway. The family didn't know who owned it and were about to call the local police station when John said, "No." He felt something that he couldn't describe coming from the man and his son that were walking up the driveway. The doorbell rang. The man's voice called, "Young lycanthrope, we seek permission to enter. May we?" John opened the door and asked, "Who are you?" The man said, "I am Richard Cornwall and this is my son Wyatt. It is important that we speak with you." John looked at his parents to seek advice, but his father said, "You may." John unlocked the door and the two entered. Mrs. Jecong showed them to the living room and asked, "May I get you something to drink?" They both wanted soda, but it didn't matter what it was.

The whole family sat together on the other side. Mr. Jecong asked, "Is this a joke?" Mr. Cornwall said, "Ask the boy. He can sense it." John said, "I can sense something from you two, but I don't know what it is." The man smiled, "A werewolf can sense what another person is because of the sense of smell." John said, "Is that it?" The man nodded and said, "It's a pity that you had no idea what you were. Of course parents of type 2's can decide how to tell, but your parents were unprepared for this. I don't remember something like this happening before. Have you son?" The boy, Wyatt, shook his head and said, "We'll need to look in the histories." Mrs. Jecong said, "Uh, Type 2?" Mr. Cornwall said, "Give him The Large Lycanthrope Book son."The boy opened the bag and presented John with a book that looked old. He went on to say. "This book will tell him most things about our kind. A type two is a werewolf who only has one parent who is a werewolf. The gene will become active if the child is of the same gender as the parent who is a werewolf. However, this situation is very rare. Had we known earlier, we might have stepped in sooner, but what's done is done. In case you're wondering about my wife, she's giving a lecture to our brethren in San Antonio. Sorry, to digress, but in this envelope you'll find the rest of the information. I hope you become a productive young werewolf. Here are the books Raising your Lycanthrope Son, and A look at the Magicals-Hunters." The boy took out two more books which looked newer ,in fact they looked like they would be sold in a regular book store. They got up and left. Wyatt said, "We live a few miles away. I'll drop in time to time to say high. I hope we can be friends. There aren't werewolves that live near us who are our age." John and Wyatt did become good friends and soon they wanted to have a sleepover.

John's parents wondered why especially since he was a bit old for sleepovers. John said, "This thing is new to me. It'd be nice to have someone of my own kind my own age over." The parents gave in and that Friday evening, Wyatt came over.

Joey put up with more than a typical five year old and now he was supposed to share a room with two werewolves. He told John, "Is he going to be in our room?" John knew that his brother might be concerned and told their parents of his concerns and his father said "I suppose we could set up the tent and the boys could sleep in that. Wouldn't you like to have the room to yourself for a few days?" The little boy's eyes lit up and he said, "Yea."

They grilled hamburgers and lavishly decorated them. After supper was cleaned up, the tent was set up. After washing up, the boys entered the tent.

John asked Wyatt, "When did you find out you were a werewolf?" Wyatt replied, "I didn't find out. I knew the day I was born that I was different from other babies, I just didn't know what it was until I learned to have a conversation. Then I knew what we were, but I knew my parents in both forms and I even change even before I knew what a werewolf was. You see those that are Type 3, like me, can change from the first day of life. As you know Type 2 werewolves have one werewolf parent and one human parent. They share the same gender, werewolf and child. Type 1 are born fully human but become werewolves due to an attack or through magic. Both Type 1 and Type 2 first change with the first full moon after the event." John said, "Speaking of the moon. Am I still going to change whenever it goes up?" Wyatt said, "No. With practice Types 1 and 2 can overcome that. Type 3 werewolves don't need practice." John said, "I see. What do you look like as a wolf?" Wyatt said, "Wanna see?" John said, "Won't you mess up your clothes?" "Wyatt chucked, "No. I brought a spare set of clothes just in case you asked. Did you?" John said, "Yup, right here." The boy's changed into more ragged clothes. John said, "You're the guest. You decide who goes first." Wyatt said, "Why don't you?" John concentrated on his being and he felt the change start to happen and it was finished in about a minute. Then Wyatt changed.

The two werewolves smiled and laid down on the sleeping bags. Wyatt said, "Just so you know, werewolves can change any aspect from the human to the wolf. It's most useful on very cold days." John said, "I see." Wyatt said, "You look a little nervous. You're not you scared of me are you?" John said, "A little. You're the first werewolf I've seen." Wyatt chuckled, "You've seen yourself in the mirror haven't you?" John said, "Yea, I've seen my werewolf self in the mirror, but it isn't the same." Wyatt said, "Oh, you'll get used to it and more." John gasped, "There's more?" Wyatt nodded, "You see, werewolves are just one part of the Magicals-Hunters. This group is made of beings like us and normal humans that know about the supernatural. At one time we were enemies because of misunderstanding, but now were allies. You must come to an MH meeting. We kids have our own meeting and it'd be nice to know other kids who share our uniqueness." John yawned and said, "When does this group meet?" Wyatt was also feeling tired and said, "First Tuesday of every month. When you decide, we'll come by to get you. After that, your parents can drop you off."

The next day Wyatt went back home and the first Tuesday of the next month, the Cornwalls picked him up and took him to his first MH meeting.

John was quiet, he had no idea what would be going on. They came upon a bank and got out. Mr. Cornwall got out an odd key and unlocked the door. Wyatt whispered, "This key unlocks where the meeting is to be held. The MH representative for the city gets to choose which door in the city. No matter what the destination is always the same." The parents went off in one direction. John stood there and Wyatt said, "Come on. This way." John said, "Where are we going?" Wyatt said, "To talk with those are own age."

The hall where all the youths were gathered was enormous with tables of food. They passed by the food and drinks. John was about to reach out for one of the drinks, but recoiled when he realized what it was. There was blood in the cup. Just what kind of meeting was this? An odd looking teen reached for it, turned around and said, "Hey Wyatt! Is this thrope with you?" Wyatt pointed to John and said, "Oh, him? Yea he is. John this is Damien." John reached out and said, "How do you do?" Damien shook his hand and repllied, "Fine." He took a sip of the blood and he frowned. He said, "Pig Blood again? That's the third time in a row." John asked, "What kind of blood do you like?" Damien said, "Mostly cow." Wyatt whispered, "He's a vampire." John rolled his eyes, "Yea, I could tell." Wyatt said, "There are other here I want you to meet. See ya Damien!" The vampire drank the rest of the blood and threw the paper cup in the trash can in disgust.

The two walked among the various young people and he shouted, "Mandi! There's someone I'd like you to meet." A girl with auburn hair turned around and John remembered the face, but he had never met this girl before. Wyatt said, "John, this is Mandi Mavar. Voted Best Defense Mage in Houston under 18." Mandi groaned, "I know. Just like my brother Marco is the best offense mage under 18." John couldn't shake off the feeling that he'd met Mandi and her brother before, but since he couldn't have, he dismissed the feeling.

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." The little boy shook his head. His brother was special and it frightened him to imagine his brother in a cage or something. John 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 especially if they laid a hand on them because of the John's wolfen sense of territoriality. The teen was concerned and had to discuss it with his priest.

One Saturday, before mass, he went for confession. He entered the confessional and began with the sign of the cross and declaring, "Bless me father, for I have sinned. It has been six months since my last confession." The priest, Father Clarence, asked, "What sins do you have to tell me?" John said, "I do have sins, but I would like some advice first. May I ask?" Father Clarence said, "You may." John breathed deeply and said, "If I kill an intruder who wants to steal or kill, 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. Now then, do you have sins to confess?" John said his sins and went to say prayers before mass.

Halloween was the only time that he could walk the streets the way he looked. People would tell him how realistic his costume was. After training, he managed to grow just fur. After applying make-up, he looked just like an old black and white movie werewolf.

One weekend the family went camping. It was customary to go once a year at the same time, and John was especially excited. This would be his first time he would be in the outdoors since his transformation. He knew there were animals about and wished to hone his skills. His parents were unsure about that, but it was part of who he was. 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 night would come. It finally got dark and the full moon started to rise. John got out of his socks and shoes and took off his shirt. He walked into the woods 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 while leaning his head. 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 as a werewolf.

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. Father Clarence, and Dr. Alan Emerson took it quite well. 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 with each visit. From the doctor's judgement, there was no way that his stats could of increased that much in that short amount of time and had coaxed the boy to reveal what he'd been doing and threatened testing. John didn't want that to happen so he showed him during his doctor's visit. Dr. Emerson decided to keep a secret file at home. Fr. Clarence was brought into the secret because he was curious why the boy was troubled so much. John showed him in his office.

When he was 15, he went to summer camp. The food wasn't enough and didn't taste good and wanted to hunt to satisfy his hunger. He wondered what to do, but he had developed his stealth abilities. He snuck out and ate and was about to go into his cabin when he was stopped. The human was quite brave, John thought that any other person would flee in terror. Then again, 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 had a system where he could communicate, but this was 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 17 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 himself 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 T. 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 felt the change starting to happen. So far, that hadn't happened 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 17 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, a future stricken from nuclear exchange. 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 yours. 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 to the medical community. 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 can change any aspect of my human body to their werewolf counterpart. This is most useful during the cold months. I had to have the will not to change during the full moon. If I change, I can't change back until the morning. 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 I can go on four. Also, my eyes are yellow and I can see better. 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." John was taken back to his room and waited for night to come so he could transform.

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. 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 medical beds. 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 like the one about Roswell, but remember you didn't hear that."

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.

John wanted to earn some money and had put in an ad through the MH for babysitting. Mandi Mavar had actually suggested it after hearing stories of how good he was at taking care of his little brother. People liked him as a babysitter and news of him found its way into the mainstream. How that happened, John couldn't say. Sitting human children was vastly different from babysitting juvenile demons and young magic users. However, he was a werewolf and relished a challenge.

The first non-MH affiliated family was the Greene family. They had only one child, Phelan, and they had to go away for the weekend to attend a funeral in Massachusetts. The Greenes had no family within adequate distance and their friends were to busy to help them out. They heard though a coworker of Mr. Greene of a teenager by the name of John Jecong. A male babysitter was perplexing, but the coworker went on and on how good he was.

Mr. Cyrus Greene and his wife Adela looked at the calendar. They knew it was safe to go. Otherwise, the would have to stay and attend to their son.

Two months ago...

Their son has gotten lost a month ago when they went hiking through the woods. They found him the next morning surprisingly well considering what he went through. The little boy said that he stumbled and scraped his knee. He cried and a wolf had come along and licked the wound. He felt much better. It was getting dark and the wolf cuddled next to him keeping the boy warm. Doctors feared rabies and ordered observation and vaccination to be sure, but the boy never tested for it. However, they were unprepared for what happened the next month. Their son was being given a tub bath when he cried out in pain and transformed. The parents were too dazed to say anything for hours. They just dried off their son and put him in his jammies after making minor alterations. They put their son to bed and talked about it a few hours later. Mrs. Greene said, "Who are we going to call about this?" Mr. Greene replied, "No one. They'd think we're crazy. Phelan seems to be okay on the inside, but outside..." His wife said, "... he looks like a wolf. I thought the doctors said there was nothing wrong?" Cyrus Greene groaned, "Nothing wrong? I doubt this is something that comes up in their journals." Days followed and their son changed during every full moon. When the moon's phase changed, the transformations stopped. Strange wasn't it. They name their son Phelan which is Celtic for "brave as a wolf" and he turns out like this.

The babysitter would be here any minute now. Mrs. Greene told her son, "Now remember don't mention you know what." The boy smiled and said, "You mean that I am a werewolf?" The mother nodded. The boy said, "Okey-Dokey." Shortly thereafter, the taxi would arrive and they would be gone. This John Jecong would stay here until they got back. They still didn't know what he drove nor did they know what he looked like. A red Volkswagen beetle pulled up and an Asian guy appeared with a backpack and a duffel bag.

John Jecong pulled up into the driveway. He got a call from a man identifying himself as Cyrus Greene. He said that he needed a responsible person to take care of his 7 year old son. He mentioned the name of a family of magic users. Just to be sure that they were not affiliated with the Magicals-Hunters, he called the father of the family that referred him and the father confirmed that they had no connection, that no such beings existed. He rang the doorbell and a man opened the door. The man said, "You must be John Jecong." John nodded and said, "Yes, sir." The man said, "Well come on in. Set your bags by the couch and we'll talk about what we want." He was let in the door and he instantly felt a lycanthrope presence somewhere in this house. The man called for his family. A woman and a young boy appeared from the kitchen. The presence was coming from the boy.

Phelan Greene looked at the teenager. He couldn't describe it, but he sensed that the young man wasn't what he appeared to be. By the looks of thing, the teen knew it too. Mr. Greene said what he wanted done and they agreed on 75 dollars for the whole thing. It was quite a deal considering that he charged 5 dollars an hour. The parents said goodbye and left the two standing in the doorway.

John closed the door and the two just stood there silently for a few minutes. John then said, "So, uh... is there anything you want to say?" Phelan said, "You're not normal are you?" John said, "Let's sit down." The two sat down across from each other. John was in a plush easy chair and Phelan sat down on the couch. John continued, "What's not normal to one person is perfectly normal to another. Now then, try to figure out what I am." The boy was confused and had no idea beyond that the older male wasn't what he seemed. John said, "Since your parents seem fully human, I take it you were bitten." The boy said, "Not exactly. My knee got cut and a wolf licked it" . John asked for Phelan to describe the wolf stating, "Was the wolf human sized?" Phelan shook his head, "No. It was the size of a wolf." John remembered reading somewhere in his book on lycanthropy that if a werewolf mated with a wolf, the offspring were normal wolves who were capable of giving a normal human the lycanthropy condition through a bite, it was in the saliva. Phelan said, "You seemed to know a lot. I still don't know what you are." John said, "We are alike. You grow fur, fangs, your limbs reshape, and you sprout a tail." Phelan's eyes lit up and said, "Are you a werewolf too?" John nodded. "We can smell each other out. It's amazing you've escaped detection this long. I'm not totally surprised considering that there are no werewolves living within 5 miles." Phelan said, "There are others?" John said, "Sure. At last count there were about 1,500 werewolves. There are a total of MH registered individuals 5,000 making lycanthropes the largest single population." Phelan whistled, "That sure is a lot. If there are that many, why wasn't I known about for all this time Wait, what does MH mean?" John said, "It took awhile for the Magicals-Hunters to know about me too. That's what MH stands for." Phelan asked, "Were you bitten?" John said, "No. My biological father was a werewolf and my mother was as human as yours. I won't go into too much detail, but the one I call father wasn't a werewolf. You are too young to understand what happened. Anyhow, no one was aware until the first full moon following my thirteenth birthday. I shared the same room with my 5 year old brother, he saw the changes. He was very scared, but he protected me because my dad was going to attack me since he only saw a creature, not me." Phelan wished to know more, but John said, "If I told you everything now, there wouldn't be anything to talk about later."

That evening, they went to eat pizza at this place that catered to moppets. Sugared-up kids were running every which way bouncing on rides and assaulting video game controls. Phelan's parents had established $200 of food and activity money. John ordered a pizza with everything on it and a pitcher of Pepsi to go along with it. Luckily werewolves have good appetites and great metabolism. They were alone, all the patrons and workers were totally human. After eating, they did a couple of rides and games. Then it was time to go to the Greene Residence.

Phelan got ready for bed and John tucked him in. He would sleep on the converting couch. Phelan wanted to hear a bedtime story. John couldn't think of one and told him the story of a lycanthrope knight who lived during the Middle Ages who performed valorous deeds, altering the story a bit to make it suitable for the boy. The story ended and Phelan asked, "Can I ask you something?" John said, "Sure." Phelan's eyes shifted as if he was nervous. John reassured him, that the boy could ask him anything. Phelan muttered, "Can I see you as a wolf? I've only seen myself in the mirror. Wait, what about the full moon?" John said, "Sure. Let me go change. The moon doesn't affect me anymore." Phelan protested, "I want to see you transform here." John said, "I meant my clothes." Phelan said, "Oh." The teen left the room promising to be back in a minute.

John smirked as he changed his clothes by discarding the clothes he had on in favor of his ragged jean shorts, he wasn't surprised that the boy wanted to see a human change his shape. He returned to Phelan's room. The boy sat up, eager to see the transformation. John concentrated and transformed. Afterwards, he said, "See. Not too bad." He turned around in a circle and Phelan said, "You sound like a wolf, but I can understand you." The teen said, "Werewolves can understand each other in any form. Canines can only understand us when we are in wolf form, except for those simple human commands like 'Fetch'. We can understand them in any form." Phelan said, "That's funny." John giggled, "Yea. Well, it's bedtime. Good night." Phelan said, "Night, night." The boy turned on his side and fell asleep. John closed the door and went downstairs to sleep.

The next day, they watched Saturday morning programming while eating cereal. Something was still bugging Phelan. John asked, "What's wrong buddy?" Phelan said, "You transformed when there was no full moon. How?" John said, "Well, the full moon thing is a joke really. Only those like yourself, like me, or those that perform the lycanthrope ritual transform by the full moon. That is until we learn to control it. With practice we can overcome the moon and transform when we want. However, if we willingly change during the full moon, we can't change back until morning. Those like my old friend Wyatt Cornwall are totally unaffected by the moon and they are able to transform from day one." Phelan said, "Oh. Can you teach me?" John said, "Sure." That afternoon they saw two movies and came home to eat fried chicken.

Phelan asked, "Can I transform now?" John said, "I don't see why not. Do you have your wolf clothes?" The boy asked, "What's that?" The teen said, "The clothes you put for your transformation. You wouldn't want to ruin clothes after clothes. Wolf clothes are a set of clothes that you wear anytime you change." Phelan replied, "I have my jammies." John said, "That'll do for now I guess." The boy said, "What? For now, you guess? Why?" John said, "Well most werewolves choose clothes they can wear outside. Take my jean shorts for example. If it wasn't for the hole in the back, I wouldn't get odd looks by wearing them." Phelan understood. John said, "Well, whenever you want to." Phelan went to his room to change his clothes and reappeared downstairs. He was about to ask how to change when the phone rang. John went to the phone and it was Mr. Greene. Good thing the father decided to call now instead of some time later. He wanted to speak to Phelan.

Cyrus Greene asked, "So son, how are you doing?" The boy said "Fine, Daddy." He went on what they did since his parents left omitting the werewolf stuff because John had told the boy that should his father mention it, he should deny telling John what he was. The parents had enough on their mind with the funeral. Mr. Greene said, "Well that's nice. Now you haven't mentioned you know what." Phelan said, "No, Daddy." Mr. Greene said, "Okay then. We'll see you about noontime okay?" The boy said, "All right. Bye." The boy hung up the phone.

John was sitting down on the couch. During the phone call, he also changed his clothes. He guess that the boy would need help, thus he would serve as a guide. Phelan mentioned, "You changed clothes. Why?" John said, "Just in case you need help." Phelan stood in front of the teen and asked how to go about it. The teenager said, "Concentrate. Bring the beast out." The boy was struggling. John stood in front of him. He stated, "Close your eyes. Picture yourself as a werewolf." The boy saw the teen change shape. The boy tried as he suggested. He suddenly felt tingly all over. It was happening. It hurt a bit, less than it did a month ago. The werewolves looked at each other. John said, "There you go. That's all there is." They looked at the hall mirror. Phelan said, "I'm told I have blond fur. Is that true?" John shrugged his shoulders. He said, "How should I know? I only see black and white. Hold on a sec." He concentrated and the world returned to color. He said, "Yea, your fur's blond." Phelan said, "How did you do that with your eyes? John said, "The better you get at transforming, the more you can control it. Suppose you only want fur." He concentrated on his eyes again and the color was gone. Phelan said, "I guess I'll have to learn." The werewolves went to sleep as they were and in the morning they changed back before taking their baths.

Mr. and Mrs. Greene left the taxi and entered their house. They found the babysitter and their son eating sandwiches. Mr. Greene paid John after the two finished eating and thought he was going to leave when the teen said, "May I talk to you two? It concerns your son." They entered the living room and sat down. Mr. Greene said, "Well, what is it John." John breathed deeply and said, "I know what your son is." Mrs. Greene said, "Phelan, we told you not to tell him. He'll think we're crazy or something." John rubbed his nose and said, "Well, You're not crazy. We can sense it in others." The parents were befuddled. John said, "I am a werewolf also." Mr. Greene was flustered and demanded, "Why didn't you mention anything earlier?" John said, "You had the funeral on your mind. I did not want to add something of this magnitude to your mind." Mrs. Greene asked, "So how did you get it?" John stated, "I changed the first full moon after my thirteenth birthday. I won't go into detail. They are very personal, not for children to hear. I'll just say that the one I call dad isn't the one who is my biological father. Here, I want you to call this number. We need to get the boy registered." Mr. Greene said, "Registered? With what?" John said, "I belong to a group known as the Magicals-Hunters. It is composed of supernatural beings such as myself and normal humans who know about the supernatural. Since he's a werewolf, he falls under our jurisdiction. Wait, I can call right now if that's okay." The parents debated about it and Mrs. Greene said, "Go ahead." John reached into his bag and pulled out his cell phone. He pressed a button which speed dialed the local MH office.

Mandi Mavar worked part time in Houston's MH Office as Registrar's Assistant. The Registrar's job was keeping tabs on MH members. Her phone picked up and heard a male voice. Her eyes lit up and she said, "John! You don't usually call this number. What's on your mind?" John said, "I've discovered an unregistered werewolf." The young lady said, "I see. Name?" John said, "Phelan Timothy Greene" "Age?" she asked and he replied seven. Mandi said, "Poor boy, so young. Address?" John gave the address. She asked "Type?" John looked at Phelan and said, "Type One." She gasped, "Tell them not to worry, we'll catch who did it." John said, "Wait. He had a wound and a normal wolf licked it. She said, "I see. I'll write a comment here stating that fact. We don't want the entire Gulf Coast getting distressed. Any literature?" John said, "The parents aren't MH. They'll need The Large Lycanthrope Book, Raising your Lycanthrope Son, and A look at the Magicals-Hunters. Send me the bill." Mandi said, "Will do. He will have to come over here to get his picture taken." The young man said, "I know. See you later." He hung up the phone.

The parents were very confused, could the boy be cured? They asked John and the teen said, "No. The lycanthrope condition is the most invasive known to us. From the time of infection, one has only a few hours until the condition has fully set in. There is medicine made from wolfsbane to slow it from setting in, but one can't stop it. One can only stop it through the bloodlines. It takes seven generations of werewolf/human pairings to eliminate it. I'm sorry, I wish I had the answer you want. Don't worry, he's in good hands." The parents looked at each other and they agreed that at least their son was going to be looked after. John wrote the address down commenting, "They know you'll be coming over. They are open until 6 tonight. Just knock 3 times on the side of the building. You'll know where to knock when you see it. It's a different colored brick. The building is made of red brick, but the special brick is a bit darker, sorta brown. If you need anything, just call." He put his stuff in his car and waved good bye. Phelan shouted, "Thanks a lot Johnny. Hope to see you later."

John Jecong still wanted to tell his friends all the way through High School, but he didn't want to take the risk that they would leave him. They would likely view him as a freak. He kept his secret even until the Senior retreat. It was at the same place he went to summer camp. None of the camp staff was familiar and they had never heard of the wolf like creature. John felt that he could live through the food, but he was a werewolf. This food was just as unsuitable as before. Just one night of the two would be enough. On Saturday night he passed his friends Ted, James, Louise, Rosie, and Zoe playing Monopoly. He changed clothes and had a quick bite to eat in the forest. He returned before anyone knew he was gone.

After high school, he enrolled in a small college in his city of 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. True he could control his transformations, but what if he went out to hunt and came back and found his roomie in the room awake? 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 probably happen. His roommate's name was Mike Sloane. His favorite thing was mysteries. He'd read mystery books, watch mystery movies, and even a very old show called Scooby-Doo. John declared while they were watching an old movie, "I'm a werewolf." Mike laughed. John said, "I really am 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 the disk proving." 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. I don't want to change if it's unnecessary." 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. If I do, it'll be taken out of my allowance." 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. After throwing the bones away, 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 wolfen 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." The werewolf opened the sliding door and was gone in a flash of light. He 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 roof 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. 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 most likely be 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.

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 Randolph 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 because 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 works of fiction.

College was fine and no one knew about John's secret except Mike. John roamed the streets less and less. He didn't know why, he just felt it was necessary. One night changed his life.

Lucy Anderson was walking back to the dorms from the parking lot after attending a function that her employer put on. She was very interested in the law and was working to gain a law degree. Her employer was one of the best in Houston. The walk back was eerily silent and she wanted to get back as soon as possible. A masked man jumped out from behind a car and demanded her purse. He tackled her, took out a knife and tried to stab her, but she dodged and it created only a slight gash. She screamed, but it was the middle of the night, no one would be here. She closed her eyes and began muttering a prayer. Lucy felt that her end was coming. She heard her attacker scream. She opened her eyes and saw a great beast pummeling him. It was too much to bear and she fainted.

"Lucy, wake up." She slowly opened her eyes and saw John Jecong looking down at her. His shirt was torn a bit and looked down at her arm and saw that he used part of it as a bandage. John said, "You're going to be all right. I've called for help." He looked at the unconscious attacker and went to him. He scowled and muttered, "You have no honor. Attacking a helpless female. If it wasn't for my honor, I would of mauled you like the animal you are." An ambulance and police came. They wished to question him, but he said, "All right, but not until I know that Lucy is safe." The paramedics assured him that she was safe, but he was adamant declaring, "You can question me at the hospital." The police guessed it was okay. They took the attacker away who was still unconscious.

"That's your story?" John said, "Yes sir. I forgot something from my car and I went to get it. I heard a scream and I saw Lucy Anderson laying unconscious hurt and the man against a light pole also unconscious." He knew more, but he didn't say because they wouldn't believe him. They tested the weapon and knew that John wasn't the attacker. The attacker was officially arrested the instant he woke up. He had no idea what happened to him. All he remembered was being thrown against the light poll and waking up to find the police over him.

Lucy recovered, but one thing bothered her. The beast that saved her. John was dressed like the creature was, but it was dark and she couldn't be sure. One night she went to his room.

John and Mike were playing Tetris when they heard a knock. Mike went to the door and found Lucy. He said, "How are you?" She said, "I'm fine. I'd like to thank you again for your help John." John smiled, "Think nothing of it. I was just in the right place at the right time." Lucy sat down in a chair and said, "That's what I wanted to talk to you about. The thing is that the creature that was wearing the same clothes as you and your clothes were a mess. Tell me, is there a connection?" The two young men exchanged glances, chuckling nervously. Lucy said, "Something is up. You can tell me. I won't tell." John said, "Come here so I can whisper." She leaned in and John whispered, "I'm a werewolf." Lucy said, "Oh, all right." Mike said, "You're not surprised?" Lucy laughed, "No. I have a good memory. It was too much of a coincidence." John said, "So it wasn't legal trickery?" Lucy said, "No. They haven't taught legal trickery yet." The three laughed.

John, as soon as he could, got an apartment. Mike joined him as they continued their odd friendship.

Seven years later...

John and Mike continued the lives of bachelors. Mike got his degree in criminal psychology and John got his degree in business. Through John, Mike got to be a member of the Magicals-Hunters and counseling those in the MH in addition to those that had no idea such a group existed.. 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, and they wanted John to be part of it. John took a leave of absence from the bookstore. 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 himself, and three other, Mandi Mavar and her twin Marco as well as Derek Jones, a monster hunter whose face he somehow remembered. 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. They each showed their boarding passes and boarded the plane bound for Paris. 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." John said, "Wouldn't there be snakes and stuff?" Marco said, "I could just freeze the water and we could walk on the ice." They spent the next few days talking about the best route to the central tower where inside sources said that was were Dracula's Crypt was.

The sun had just gone down, things were going to get intense. Derek took off his sunglasses and said, "What a horrible night to have a curse." John gave him a odd face. Derek said, "Nothing." Along the way, they fought all sorts of monsters, most of which John had never even heard of.

They climbed it and came upon a big door with the crest of Dracula's clan. Marco cast a spell to destroy the door because as much as John and Derek budged the door, it wouldn't move. They entered a big gothic room and in the middle was a casket. Derek, being the leader, was given the option of opening it. He did so, but it appeared to be empty. Marco said, '"He's gone." John growled and looked around. Mandi said, "No, he's still here. I can feel it." Derek shouted said, "Come on out vile fiend!" A haunting voice said, "Why should I listen to the voice of an impudent hunter 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 off his attack and dived for the air. The copies groaned in pain and disappeared. Dracula knocked John back with a blast and shouted, "How dare you. wolfman." Dracula then shook as he summoned the powers of darkness and took on a more demonic figure. They all attacked with all their might and the demon then began losing energy. Sunlight peeked through the window when Marco blasted it with a fireball. Dracula's body started to wilt. He shouted, "I'll return some day. No one can put down me for the count." Mandi said, "I don't think so." She reached into a pouch and tossed herbs about and said, "Never again." They left the chamber and saw the sun rising higher and higher. Derek said, "The morning sun has vanquished the horrible night". John again looked quizzical. Mandi said, "Don't mind him. He just loves saying nonsense phrases from the past."

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, but nevertheless, his castle is still being monitored." 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 thereafter, they had a son. They named him Joshua Ryota. 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 business in another town. They thought that Josh would eventually catch on before he turned 13, but thankfully, he didn't.

Time was running out because 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." 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 on his bed reading his geology book when he was gripped by unnatural pain and wondered what was happening to him. It was as his body was on fire. The pain as unexpectedly 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 as his heart raced. When he reached for the knob, he looked at his hands and was horrified. They looked like paws. He turned his head right and looked in the mirror and saw a wolfish face looking back at him. He though that this was all a hoax as he shook his head and thought that this couldn't be, yet the image in the mirror did the same thing. He howled in sadness. Thankfully his parents weren't there, it'd be horrible to face them in this state. Why was this happening to him? His parents had told him they'd be home soon because his mother had called before he changed into this monster. He went to the bathroom, 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 he didn't dwell on these thoughts because he wanted to get away from his house, his destination unknown to him. He passed the yard of a neighbor's dog named Dixie. She was very curious as to what passed her and felt pity when she learned who it was beneath that fur. Josh said his goodbyes and made his way, 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 replied, "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 was leery of going on all fours, but the other werewolf was farther away, so the boy got on all fours and raced to keep up with the stranger. He realized that he was home, the place he feared.

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 Joshua, 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 big roast in the oven, so you two will just have to wait." Josh said, "Mom, who's this other werewolf?" Lucy Jecong said, "Sorry son, but I don't understand you just said, but 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. I don't want you to lose control." 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 and thus your mother and I felt that the best way for you to be introduced to being a werewolf is if you transformed for the first time alone." 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, our priest, and our doctor since they are the only ones who know."

They then spent most of 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. There's a book in the attic. I was given it by a special friend of mine. Her name is Mandi Mavar and she's a sorceress. She gave it to me on the day you were born. It's time you read it. There's another book you need it to read. I was given it some months after transforming" Josh said, "I don't want to kill anyone, 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." Josh said, "So you're saying Dad, that nothing really has changed except my body?" John said, "That's right. From now on until you learn to transform on your own, 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." Josh said, "Uh, Dad. When, am I going to go back to being human?" John said, "Well, in the morning. A werewolf can't go back to being human on the first moon, but with practice you'll learn to control yourself so that when the full moon rises, you won't change. However, if you start to change when the full moon rises, you'll have to be like that until it sets. I'm like this out of courtesy. Right now, just go back with your normal routines. 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 looked at her son walk up the stairs quietly and then 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, "Then, I guess we'll have to take it one day at a time."

It was difficult to concentrate, but the young werewolf managed to get it done. He was amazed that despite his form, his brain hadn't changed much, but his senses were tunned into the world. He finished and got ready for bed. He bushed his teeth, and used the toilet even though he didn't want to because he was afraid to see what his private parts looked like now, 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 and became sad. He looked down at his rest of his body and 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, people would view him in the same way. He sighed, "Why me?" as a tear flowed down.

To be continued...

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