Todd's Awakening

6. The Findings

"What happened?" His mouth tight with dryness. He licked across the roof of his mouth only to feel coarseness from both. From the side of his vision he could see the Abigail's blonde hair the rest of her didn't stand out just blur.

He shoved his elbow down into what he expected to be his bed but was met with wooden floor. "Shit".

"Sorry, I wasn't expecting you to move." She answered, "Here let me help."

She slid beside him, placing an arm around his back to gently pull him up. When she was sure he was not going to fall she moved away and left. She reappeared with a glass of water.

"This isn't only going to help the dry mouth from the change. It's going to taste weird. I'll explain later."

"Where are my clothes?"

He took the cup and held it to his face long enough to smell it. Then he drank making the horrendous face after.

"When you changed it ripped them to pieces. Too bad you weren't a shapeshifter, those guys and gals change without that worry your kind does."

"Did I hit my head you aren't making sense. But then this is the most we've really talked. Maybe you have never made sense."

"Right thanks for that. May want to work on your friend making skills, eh?" She shook her head as if to get herself back on track. "Look you are a werewolf. A bitten werewolf unless you have always been one and never told us. Were you born. A werewolf?"

"Wait what? No I've always been human." He sat the cup down sliding it away as if it too wasn't making sense, "what was in that?"

"It's to slow down your transformations until I can get you to the Vowed. There are other were-communities in the area but I trust them more than the others. Mostly due to my heritage, no one trusts us which is understandable -"

"Abigail you are rambling what is wrong?"

"Your naked and awake and it's super awkward because we are in the hallway and -"

"What the hell?" Josie voice echoed through the hallway.

" And it's a very hard situation to explain to your girlfriend when you don't know how to explain this correctly" Abigail rushed the sentence as Josie got closer to them.

"Abigail says I am a werewolf which causes my clothes to rip to pieces. Then she drugged me to slow down my transformations whatever that means. We aren't having a sexual relationship behind your back."

"He passed out and hit his head pretty hard but he told me not to take him to the ER. I gave him medication. I have made him an appointment with our doctor to check in."

*That makes more sense. $does not explain why he's naked but I am too tired to care. Todd I'll grab you some clothes."

"I had to help him get up earlier. He may need you to help him get dressed.

------

"Your girlfriend was saying some weird nonsense to me before you showed up." Todd started. He rotated gently on the bed to face her better. His lips from what she could see were more blistered than previously, almost ER levels but this round he was unfazed.

His skin was a deep rosy red when she saw him in the hallway. Now it was a thin sunburn coloring that wasn't frightening to look at. She worried the doctor decided to send him home too soon. None of the tests registered anything suspicious but some things take awhile before showing up.

"Like what?"

"Claimed that I am a werewolf. Like I said earlier."

"You probably misheard. She hasn't mentioned anything about werewolves to me." Josie paused then jumped out of her seat. "A guy named Derek stopped by to give me his number to you. I almost forgot about this he can around when you were taking a nap yesterday."

With that she pulled the paper out of her back pocket and handed to him. She watched as he stared down at the paper.

"We almost had sex." He explained. No hint of embarrassment like he usually sounded,"probably just wants to finish what we started."

"He's cute. He seemed nice may as well."

"This is the most hookup focus I have ever been." He licked his lips, "I don't know if I can."

"You don't know if he has long term goals with you yet. Text him and ask."

She gave him a government dollar a month phone from off one of the main streets. They fought and lost with his phone carrier to get a new phone on his contract. They had to wait thirty days to do it. So, he was now the owner of an older smart phone that had limits.

"Should I go? I should go so you can text privately." The words ripushed out as she hurried to leave the room.

She found Abigail in the living room staring at her cellphone. The television sat muted on PBS. She didn't like the tv to be on when she was working on her phone just in case someone video called.

"Todd has mentioned you saying he's a werewolf twice now. Did you say that?"

Abigail continued typing out something as she hit send she looked up.

"Yes, because he is one. I tried to tell him but it wasn't clicking easily for him. Now with the way you are looking at me says your sailing on the same boat."

"Werewolves don't exist. They're fairytale kind of creatures."

" There is an entire world out there that isn't human and aren't the creatures talked about in animal documentaries. It's a lot suddenly I know. I filmed his transformation as way of proof of his condition." Abigail waved for Josie to come sit by her. There was commitment in her face as Josie obliged and sat close to her. The woman turned on her video app clicking the current video at the top.

There stood Todd, his skin contorted and fur sprouting. Quickly he dropped down his hands enlarged , now paws scratching against the floor. As quick as he turned soon he was Todd again.

"Is this some weird practical joke?"

"No, it is not. He's the first created werewolf. The man who bit him turned him into this. I think he changes quickly because of this. It's why every time his skin is in worse conditions."

"If this is real is it going to kill him?"

"I don't think do. But I could be wrong. I have set up an appointment with the Vowed to help him."

"The Vowed?"

" A group of werewolves who believe they are on Earth to protect it from evil. It's the only group that I trust."

"How do you know about this? That it's all real? Can I come with you to see this?"

"I know through my Dad. Yes, I suppose you could they don't have a no humans allowed policy."

"When?"

"At the end of the week it was the earliest I could. I didn't mention Todd because even though I trust them, it's better to be safe."

"Thank you. I may not fully understand this or believe but I appreciate that you are helping him." Josie wrapped her arms tightly around Abigail.

"well we kind of need this just in case there are malfunction to his kind. Like eating people like werewolves do in stories."

"Holy cow."

Abigail leaned into Josie and kissed her gently on the forehead, "we will find a solution. We also need to talk to Todd. I was going to show him the video earlier but you walked in and that situation was a bit... iffy."

"I trust you forever and ever you know that right?"