Mythical Link ▸ Link Neal {Book One}

Twenty

     Rhett held onto Link with an uncomfortable look on his face. It was the second time in the past 24 hours that he's had to hold his longtime friend in his arms, the close contact undoubtedly awkward for the both of them. He watched his sleeping face for several seconds with a shake of his head to himself. Link's default face in pass-out mode was his mouth wide open and his neck craned all the way back.

     Rhett moved just slightly to prepare himself to lay Link on the bed when Link started to move his head from side to side. He mumbled something incoherent, the babble that came out of his mouth a string of gibberish at first. Rhett narrowed his eyes before he laid Link down, then he lowered his head so he could listen more closely.

     "Werewolf... Terra... Death... Imminent deaths..." Link's eyes slowly fluttered open and were crossed before his vision came into focus. He blinked several times and looked up at Rhett's puzzled face. He turned his head from side to side and took stock of his surroundings. He was in his bed. 

     "You okay, man?" Rhett asked as his face fell completely slack. He managed to piece together his suspicions with Link's affirmations. And he didn't want to believe it.

     "Yeah. What happened?" Link grunted as he sat up. His hand immediately went to his stomach. Nausea crept up his throat and he closed his eyes with a painful swallow. When he closed his eyes, flashes of the blood and the dead animal in Terra's house crossed his conscious. 

     "I think we just discovered that Terra's turning into a werewolf." Rhett brushed his fingers through his hair and paced around the room.

     Link's eyes widened and Rhett bit his lip. He couldn't even look at Link and say that with a serious face. How often do you discover that your childhood friend is turning into a monster that should only exist in fairytales? Link flew to his feet in a heartbeat and seized Rhett by the shoulders. "What the hell did you just say?" 

     Rhett furrowed his eyebrows. "I said I think we just discovered that Terra's turning into a werewolf. You know, those human/wolf hybrids that grow claws and fangs and have a heightened bloodlust on the night of the full moon?" 

     Link released Rhett and he stumbled backward a couple steps. He gripped his hair and gaped at Rhett as if he'd just told him that the end of the world was tomorrow. "This is crazy. Rhett, this can't be real. There's no such thing as werewolves!" 

     "Link, you know what we saw! That animal that attacked her was a wolf! Her wounds completely disappeared, and it sure as hell is no coincidence that the same night the attack happens, we find her nails completely drenched in the blood of a deer carcass that was just chilling at the bottom of her freaking stairs!" Rhett heaved a breath and realized that he had yelled at Link. "I'm sorry, man." 

     "Where's Christy?" Link asked.

     The change of subject shocked Rhett. "She's in Lily's room. I told her to stay in there with the kids while I figured out what was going on with you." 

     "What was going on with me?" Link asked in disgust as he shook his head. "What am I, some science experiment to you?" 

     Rhett shook his head in disbelief and he stepped toward Link, his eyes frantic. "Link, I said I was sorry man! I didn't mean to yell at you. But... You said some things. You said some really concerning things man and—" Rhett paused and ran his fingers through his beard. "I'm worried about you." His shoulders dropped as he looked at his best friend. 

     Link's face fell and he lowered his eyes. "There is something going on with me. And it's scaring the hell out of me."

     Rhett stepped forward and took Link by the shoulders, carefully at first. "I know, and it's scaring me too. But I'm here. Look into my eyes." Rhett waited for Link to look into his eyes, and slowly he raised them so that their gazes matched. Rhett could see the agony swirling in his cerulean blues. "Listen to me. Whatever is going on with you, we're going to figure it out. But right now, I think it's trying to give us a clue. Do you know what you were saying when you passed out?" 

     Link's eyebrows narrowed with curiosity.

     "You said werewolf... Then you said Terra, and something about imminent deaths. Deaths with an S. Meaning there's going to be more than one, man. I have reason to believe that this could happen because one of your dreams already came true. You saw everything. Something is definitely out of the ordinary here." Rhett continued with all seriousness in his tone. "And I have a theory about what you said—" Rhett trailed off, and he looked away from Link. 

     "What?" Link asked, worry in his tone. 

     "Either we're dealing with a killer— the wolf that's already attacked Terra, or we're waiting for another one to rise." Rhett licked his lips as he looked into Link's eyes again.

     Link immediately realized what Rhett had meant. His heart began to pound furiously and he whipped his head around to the laptop that was on his nightstand. "Oh my god Rhett, this is bad. This is bad!" Link darted for the laptop and started it up immediately as he fixed his glasses on his face. He plopped himself down on the bed and began to type furiously, his face illuminated by the backlight of the screen. He patted the bed beside him, and Rhett took a seat and leaned close to his friend. Link had pulled up a map of the full moon cycle, and Rhett's jaw dropped. 

     He ran his fingers through his beard again and shook his head slowly. "You're absolutely right man, this is bad. The full moon is in a couple days and my gut is telling me that she's going to graduate from deer to something far more—"

     "Human," Link finished for him. The both of them slowly turned their heads to look at one another. "Rhett, we have to find a way to stop her from turning before she kills someone!"