The Wolves ✓

24; fire

That night, Greg followed Ace past a set of large metal gates and down a stone path. Ace led him inside the dark building and snapped his fingers, lighting the lanterns that hung by the wall.

"What is this place?" Greg asked, looking at the stone statues that decorated the corridor.

"This is my home," he answered after a while.

"Your home? I thought you lived in that cabin."

"I told you, I move around a lot."

Greg stayed silent, looking up at the chandelier as he passed from under it.

"This place is huge, if this was my house, I'd never leave."

Ace stopped in front of a door and turned the handle, revealing a large study. It was dimly lit with a single solar bulb that sat near his desk while candles decorated the rest of the room. Greg began to notice the weapons on the walls, when he realised it was more than just a study.

"You like guns?" he asked.

Ace shrugged, "I like to collect them."

"So you don't use any of these, right?" he asked, looking closely at an old looking shotgun.

Ace watched Greg intently.

"Not lately. Have you ever shot one?" he asked instead.

"No, my mum doesn't like guns."

"Your mum."

Greg stayed silent.

"Well, you don't really need a gun to defend yourself," Ace said.

"I don't?"

"You're a wolf. You can defend yourself without weapons."

Greg felt slightly uncomfortable. He didn't want to have to defend himself against anyone but sadly times were dangerous.

"You're a wolf, Greg. There's nothing you can't do. Do you have any idea how strong you can be?"

"I wouldn't mind being just Greg," he said seriously, looking Ace in the eye.

"You can still be Greg," Ace sighed. "Were you attacked? Is that how you were turned?"

"I was shot," Greg said after a pause. "I was bitten to save my life."

"And your mum? How does she feel about you being a wolf?"

"I don't know, I haven't seen her."

Ace nodded to himself.

"How do you know so much about the smoke?" Greg asked after a while.

"What do you mean?"

"Well, you know how to get by it. And you're not as scared as everyone."

"It's the battle of the fittest, evolution. If you're worthy, you'll survive it. The world is being cleansed as it has been many times before, Greg. The only difference is that we're here to watch it happen."

Greg shook his head, "None of this is supposed to happen though, is it? I know about floods and I know that people die but not like this. The smoke isn't natural."

"How is this any different than what we've seen before? The plague wasn't natural to those who lived it."

"Because zombies don't just appear and start killing people."

"Get used to the new reality" Ace told him.

Greg blinked, "Yeah but-"

"Look kid, the way I see it is that the most powerful of us are still alive. The humans," he paused. "They die, they've always been dying because they're weak."