WritOber 2022

Howling Werewolf

I shivered as another howl pierced the air, tugging my thin coat tighter. Stupid forest with its stupid man-eating wolves. The gate clanged shut behind me and I latched it, fingers fumbling as they tried to remember how the lock went. It'd been a while since I'd been needed on the warehouse site. I pulled out my clipboard, the light of the full moon thankfully enough to see by, and trailed down the list of names until I found the one without a checkmark. John Vargr, the night guard. I looked up, and, trying to ignore the eeriness of the half-lit site, followed my feet to the guard station. The fluorescent light flickered and buzzed, and I did my best to avoid the few insects still around. The door was unlocked, and I eased it open, trying not to scare the relatively new hire in the unfortunately dim space. "Ah, Mr. Vargr? I'm Christine Saol, I'm here for your six month review." Something large clattered to the ground and the figure inside slunk back against the wall. "I-I'm a little busy at the moment! Could you come back later, tomorrow, maybe?" I flicked on the second light switch, hidden behind a group of filing cabinets. The lights clunked, lighting up row by row, to reveal our newest hire, covered in fur. We screamed.

After a few minutes spent cowering(and potentially a thrown clipboard), he cleared his throat. "I, um, I swear I'm a werewolf, not, you know..."

I gingerly poked my head around the filing cabinet. "That's hardly reassuring." When he didn't respond, I drew courage from some forgotten, likely idiotic place and stood up. "So...is this...normal?"

He sighed and nodded. "Yeah, ever since I was a kid. I figured since it was the night shift, and no one would show up..." He lapsed back into silence, and I made a mental note to ask management to reconsider surprise reviews.

"Could I maybe have my clipboard back?" John blinked, but picked it up and held it out to me. "You're not going to chuck it at me again, are you?"

I snatched it out of his grip, taking a few quick steps back. "No, uh, sorry about that."

He sighed, giving me a wary smile. "Well, thanks for that. I need to do my rounds, could we do my review tomorrow?"

I mutely nodded, letting him walk past. He whistled as he left for his rounds, swinging the ring of keys around a furry finger, and leaving me unsure if I should call a priest or mark this in the special needs column.