The Lycan

Chapter 13

"You don't mind if I call you 'N' for short, do you?"

"'N?'"

"Yeah! I think it suits you."

N-369 looked at Matthew, who sat next to him in his holding room. He looked down at the floor bashfully.

"N... I like it," he said.

"I know right?" Matthew said, giving him a playful nudge. "Listen, N. Mr. Carmen put me in charge of you, so if you need anything, I'll be there for you, okay? You can trust me."

...

Nero stared out the passenger window, deep in thought. Looking back ten years, it felt surreal that he was alone with Matthew once more. He thought about it for a long time, ever since his first day alone in the forest. His first ever friend, the first person he ever trusted, trusted with his life.

He decided. He was going to tell him. He had to.

...

"We're here," Matthew said. Nero opened his eyes from his sleep, blinking a few times for his eyes to adjust. He looked at the sky and could see that the sun was beginning to set. He undid his seatbelt and exited the car, with Matthew waiting in front of the hood.

"See? The forest's right over that fence," Matthew said, pointing over at the metal fence across the empty street. "It shouldn't be too hard for you to get over. And we got the pier right over there!" He pointed to the long wooden plank ahead of them.

The salty air hit Nero's nose as he sniffed lightly. Matthew walked ahead of him, beckoning him to follow. Nero did just that, sitting next to him with both their legs hanging off of the edge.

"Apparently no one's been here for a long time," Matthew said. "That's kinda why I chose this spot." Matthew pointed out to the horizon. "The sun's setting, you wanna watch it," he commented with a smile.

Nero couldn't look away, not even close his eyes. He didn't want to blink. He never imagined there was such a thing as an endless body of water. He's only seen lakes, rivers, and waterfalls, but *this?* The sun's light reflected upon the ocean and its waves, creating an unreal reflection across the horizon, beautiful colors of orange, pink, and purple, until it eventually faded into a dark blue. He could see the moon beginning to rise, but he knew he still had some time. He brought his knees up to his chest as waves began to form, crashing against one another, resulting in huge sprays of sea foam. The wind was strong, but it felt amazing. Nero had never seen anything like it. He and Matthew sat there in silence and tranquility for 40 minutes since the sun set, lost in the scenery.

Nero remembered that he had to tell Matthew about how he felt. Now was the perfect time.

"Matthew," he started.

"Hm?"

"I... think I have to leave."

Nero began to sweat slightly. He could feel that the change was close. He inwardly cursed himself for hesitating. He'd have to say it another time...

"Now? Oh, okay, we can go then." Matthew stood and helped Nero to his own feet, letting him lean on him for support.

"Thank you..." Nero said quietly as they walked. "For everything..."

"No problem," Matthew said with a smile. When he looked ahead he suddenly stopped, almost causing Nero to trip over.

"Matt..." Nero went quiet when he saw the group of four men in front of them. They were all dressed in black, with one of them carrying a bat. He was assumed to be the leader of the group.

"Um, hi?" Matthew said, hiding his anxiety.

"Hi," the man with the bat said with a smug grin. "So, you going anywhere tonight? I mean I wouldn't say being here was a very wise decision. Why don't you open up your pockets and we'll let you go wherever you need to go."

"I don't have anything, sorry-" the wind was suddenly knocked out of him as one of the men came up to knee him in the stomach. He crumpled to the ground, coughing.

Nero quickly attempted to help Matthew, but he was shoved down to the gravel by another man. Nero grunted sharply, writhing on the ground as two of the men held him down, while the other two kicked Matthew down a few times. The leader came up to him, and lifted his head up by the chin. Matthew looked up at him, his nose bloody and his face bruised and scraped in certain places.

"The hell kind of costume is this guy wearing?" One of the men chuckled, kicking Nero in the side to keep him down.

"Just stay down," the leader called to Nero. "This won't take long." He looked back down to Matthew. "So you gonna give us what we need? It doesn't need to go this far."

Nero panted, trying to get back up, but the two muggers had him pinned. His angered, concerned eyes were on Matthew, before they traveled up to the sky, and his blood ran cold. He suddenly couldn't look away from the moon above, illuminating the night sky.

Oh God, please no.

Nero's eyes began to burn. His body became unbearably hot, and out of terror and pain, he screamed.

Matthew saw Nero curl into himself and looked up at the moon himself. Oh no.

"Okay, okay, I'll give you what you want but you all need to get out of here!" Matthew said, panic lacing his voice.

"C'mon now," the man laughed. "Me and my gang can be anywhere we want."

"You don't understand!" Matthew shouted. "Something really bad is about to happen if you guys don't run!"

"Something bad will happen if you don't shut your mouth," the group's leader pointed his bat at him.

"Jesus, Donovan!" One of the men holding Nero down yelled, getting everyone's attention. Nero let out a sharp grunt as his back arched with a disturbing crunch, forcing both men off of him. Nero groaned as he scraped his claws against the ground, his hands elongating. His clothing began to tighten as his muscles strained against the fabric, drenching them with sweat. Tears began to stream down his face, and his legs began to contort, ripping the denim and shoes. He wanted it to stop. He wanted to get out of here, but he couldn't. He was going to become a beast, and chances were, he was going to kill.

As everyone around him looked on in horror, Nero screamed, a sound of anguish, fear, pain. His jaw dislocated as fur creeped up along the bridge of his nose. The shirt tore off of him, revealing the pelt of fur and muscle underneath. When his muzzle finished forming, his eyes snapped open, golden and wild, full of tears and rage.

The large werewolf panted, trembling and whining. Slowly, the beast rose up on his hind legs, clothing still hanging onto him in tatters. He looked down and snarled viciously at the men below him, his fur bristling.

The men looked upon him with a fear they have never felt before. Even Donovan stared with wide eyes.

"Holy shit," he whispered. "It's you."

Nero lost his senses to the wolf, and the lycanthrope, with tears still in his eyes, let out a vicious roar.