The Good Intentions of a Cyborg Werewolf

Full House - XXIV

The ride back to the city was uneventful in comparison to the last two days. As it happened, despite being a hasty cover at first, Erin did in fact fall asleep on the way. It was all so exhausting and the adrenaline had long ago left her system. She felt a bit guilty nodding off while Mercer drove, as he had likewise been awake the whole time, but apparently he was used to going long periods without sleep. True to her word they had only stopped once at a butcher to get food for Luke, who wasted no time recovering his lost energy, and once they made it back to the apartment Erin all but collapsed on her bed. She didn't pass out like she expected, however, and that was probably due in part to the nap during the drive, but it was also from a nagging thought that tugged at her brain incessantly.

She didn't actually do anything. All she did this whole event was sit and watch, worry, and pray that Luke and Mahi returned in one piece. It sat ill with her. It sat ill because it was familiar. Too many nights Erin stayed awake worrying, panicking, and wondering if Kyle would ever come home. Some nights she'd hear the news, hear about some horrible altercation, and imagine him mixed up in it. And when news got out that a cop had been shot or even killed she'd break down, waiting for the phone call that would come, only for him to walk through the door next morning like nothing happened. It was the only aspect of his job that she despised. The uncertainty, the danger, the idea that out of nowhere Kyle would just cease to be, and this anxiety was so great that when he did get shot and had to retire early she was almost relieved. He was hurt, but alive, and it seemed like he'd never be taken from her again.

But he was. Right in front of her. The memory and realisation hit her like a truck, and despite holding out through all this madness so far, Erin began to weep into the sheets. Even she didn't know why now, why all of a sudden after almost two weeks, the pain just wouldn't relent. Maybe it was because she was tired, maybe it was because there was no impending threat to focus on, but all she could think about was him. All she could see in the backs of her eyelids was her fiance's face buried in the shadow of that horrific creature. It felt like her heart was being stabbed repeatedly, but as quick as the sadness took over, another emotion pushed its way to the forefront: rage. She felt a sudden heat, a sudden anger, her hands balling into fists as she felt compelled to punch something, only for her exhausted body to give up. She was tired, empty, weak, and she hated it. She hated what she was, and the thought from before came back. The conversation with Mercer played in her head along with his words.

"It's his nature..." she muttered softly to herself as she rested her head in between her pillows. That simple statement seemed to hold so much in her mind, a confusing mess of possible implications, yet it was understandable. She likened it to Kyle's own nature to be what he was. He was a cop long before he ever held a badge, and even after retiring she knew that piece of him was still inside. Even confronted with that monster he put her safety first. He sacrificed himself for her, as he had been willing to do for anyone. Luke, however, was more contradictory. What he did was, at its core, what Kyle had done, but he was a different person. Hell, she thought to herself, he wasn't even a person. But he looked, talked, and mostly acted like one. Whereas Kyle had that heroic quality apparent on the surface, Erin often wondered exactly why Luke did what he did. He didn't seem to enjoy it, he seemed to treat it like a job, yet he still let himself be torn apart in pursuit of this cause. It was more like a vendetta than public service, especially after she overheard his outburst. He had talked about his kind, and Erin had to force herself to remember that this man wasn't a man. She wondered what he really was, what he looked like, and how close the resemblance was to the "fakes" they were fighting. These questions lingered in her mind even as she slowly drifted off, following her into her dreams. Lacking her critical mind they became bizarre fantasies where Luke appeared in his transformed state, only to remove his helmet to reveal the head of a real wolf. This surreal imagery seemed entirely congruent in the confines of a dream, and Erin felt only elation that Luke was seemingly displaying his true form to her. This sense of elation became warped however as the normal wolf likeness began to stretch and distort. Luke's armour shattered and split as his body grew and twisted into something more obscene. Now he resembled the creature of that night, the one who tore her entire life apart, and Erin ran from this monster as fast as she could. Where, she did not know, but she ran and ran until she felt her entire body grow weak. She turned within the void to see the creature behind her cutting through swaths of people, devouring and destroying them with an animal's ferocity, until the entire ground was soaked in blood. More than soaked, it ran freely like water, chasing her down until it reached her feet, and within its crimson mirror she saw another horrific wolf creature staring back.