This story is fictional, I'm sorry (actually I'm jelous) if it resembles your life in any way shape or form. Constructive criticism is welcome. If gay relationships offend you, then "How did I manage to start reading this story?" is a good question to be asking yourself. However you're still welcome to read it!
This story is owned solely by Gaco and may not be copied by any means by any unlicensed individuals, groups, or organizations.
Copyright 2020 Gaco. All Rights Reserved.
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Chapter 11
I turned the shower scalding hot, only partly to ensure I got as clean as possible. I wanted to feel the pain, to punish the monster I had become. I deserved far worse than the burning I could feel on my skin. I had done far worse the night before.
I scrubbed my skin raw for nearly an hour in the scalding hot water. After drying off I padded down the stairs to the common area and turned on the television and booted up the game console. I stared at my options for several minutes without really seeing the titles. Finally I decided to play a racing game. I reasoned that mindlessly driving in circles, smashing into cars, and causing mayhem might help take my mind off everything. It seemed to work for about forty-five minutes, until Jackson came and found me.
"You wanna go somewhere?" He asked.
"Yeah sure, let's get the hell out of this place." I responded enthusiastically, as I realized I could actually leave and escape.
"How does Dave and Busters sound?" He asked.
"Sounds fine." I responded.
"Grab your gun." He mentioned, quirking an eyebrow.
I smiled for the first time that day. The thought of having my gun again, the feeling of normalcy and safety returned just a little bit. I ran off to grab it from the bunk room where I had placed it in the nightstand next to my bed.
"Ready to go?" He asked, as he returned to the living room open carrying his Springfield 1911.
I nodded and we walked out to his car and climbed inside.
Jackson starts driving and before long I had noticed that we passed Dave and Busters. I figured he must have some errands to run first. I was just happy to get out of the den so just thought to myself `what the hell.'
I the sun had begun to set prompting me to look at the clock in the car. It was already after six in the evening. The day had somehow simultaneously flown by and dragged on at the same time.
We began entering downtown Atlanta and got off the freeway on an exit into town. I wasn't sure where we were but Jackson silently drove deeper into town. Eventually he took a side street that lead down under the surface roads.
"What are we doing here?" I asked nervously.
I never went places like this myself. This place seemed scary. It seemed like the kind of place you'd expect someone to buy drugs or pick up a prostitute. The kind of place you got stabbed, shot, or both.
"I want to show you something." He says, and rolls down the windows in the car.
My eyes went wide, a little scared at what he was about to get us into.
With the windows down I began to pick up scents. Marijuana, gasoline, wet trees, food being cooked from restaurants up above, the overpowering stench of an open sewer main, and the occasional hint of... I sniffed again. Burnt gun powder. I heard the sounds of people breaking into cars in the dark a few blocks away. Sounds I wouldn't have heard over the roar of the city as a human. I looked in that direction and noticed someone breaking into a car.
In the shadows and down alleys I could see and smell different small groups of people; drug dealers, gangs, maybe some prostitutes.
Jackson parks the car, again making me wonder rather or not he wants drugs, a prostitute or something else. I fidget nervously in my seat, adjusting my weight so I can get to my gun more easily.
"As you can tell, your senses are already heightened. That doesn't take a rocket scientist to figure out. However, as lycans, we can tell other things beyond just basic sights, smells, and sounds." Jackson said. "Take that hooker over there for example, she's just had sex."
I sniffed the air, noticing that the wind was blowing toward me from her. I could smell some other guy's scent hovering around her, almost seeping out of her. The smell of sex was nearly overpowering. She was also smoking, which smelled horrible, and nearly made me retch.
Jackson then points out another guy to me. "Smell that one?" He said, nodding his head in a different direction.
"Yeah... " I paused. "He smells... weird, almost sickly, but... it's not natural. That smell is under the unwashed, BO smell. It's... I can't put my finger on it. It just smells wrong."
"He's likely a crack addict or some sort of drug addict." Jackson replied. "People with STDs smell sickly as well, though it's a bit more natural... more earthy scent."
"Over time you'll pick up on little things like this and will almost be able to read people's lives, history, and emotions just from their scent." Jackson advised. I doubted that but nodded anyway.
"So you see, we really do try to get people that are bad. We try not to go after good people." He said.
I glared at him. I was angry that he would bring the subject up with me, knowing my issues right now. I was just beginning to forget.
Jackson ignores my look. "Granted we can't truly read minds, but we can discern rapists, murders, and evil people. We don't just snatch random people off the road for food; at least not those of us in our pack. In the end though, it really comes down to us or them. Humans or wolves. If we don't eat, we WILL die."
I thought that over for a bit. I wasn't sure I was willing to kill to live. One month at a time. I felt that it was a steep price. On the other hand, I wasn't sure that I was willing to give up what I had with Bryce, with the pack. I finally had a place to belong, a group to be with, and a place to fit in. I really had a tough decision and it was not something I was ready to decide on just yet.
"I'll leave that internal debate to you." Jackson said as he watched me. "I just thought I'd give you some facts before you wrote us all off as evil and tried to kill yourself."
He gave me a look that said he knew exactly the circles my mind had been going in.
We hung around a little longer, watching and smelling. When we picked up on the whispered conversations that the locals thought we were cops Jackson decided it was time to leave the area.
By then it was almost eight in the evening. We decided to head to a gun store and look at big boy toys. While browsing the vast selection I saw a few cool looking rifles that I would have loved to own.
"I brought up the subject of an arsenal with Bryce." I mentioned while looking at the AR-15 style rifles in the store.
"Oh yeah? What did he say?" Jackson asked. I was glad for the change of subject and thought.
"He said it was cool. I might add some stuff to the list we made." I said glancing over the higher caliber AK-47 style assault rifles as we passed. They really would do a bit more damage than the slightly more accurate and lower recoil AR-15s.
"Hey, I need some new carry ammo for my USP. Can you buy me some?" I asked Jackson with my puppy dog eyes as we came upon hollow-point pistol ammo.
"Sure. I'll get some more for my .45 too." He said.
I pointed out the Gold Dot ammo and mentioned that it's some of the best carry ammo. He got a box for me and a box for himself and paid at the register. I guess looking older makes it easier to buy ammo than someone who barely looks his age and has no ID since he's supposed to be dead.
"Where to now?" I asked.
"Dave and Busters?" He asked.
"Sounds good." I responded.
We drove to the local Dave and Busters and walked inside. We played a couple different shooting games and tried to outscore one another.
"I'm thirsty." Jackson said, after we had both died suddenly to an attack helicopter. "You want a drink?"
"Definitely." I responded with a grin.
We went over to the bar to get some drinks and the bartender acted like he didn't want to serve anything with me near the bar. Jackson gave me an apologetic look and I walked off. After a few minutes he found me at a racing game.
"Sorry about that." He said, handing me a drink.
"Yeah that really sucks. I'm gonna have to get a fake ID. Soon." I said.
"For sure." He smiled at me as we selected our preferred race cars.
It was after midnight when we decided to head back to the den. I wasn't terribly tired, but I was emotionally drained. I went up stairs to the shared bedroom and climbed into my bed. I tossed and turned a bit, feeling cold and lonely. I realized that this was the first time I had been alone since just after I had been bitten. After an hour of trying to fall asleep on my own I sighed and got up. I quietly walked up the stairs to Bryce's room where I found the door open but the lights off.
I went in the room and turned around to quietly close the door. Just as I turn back around I am firmly pulled into a chest, Bryce's scent washing over me.
"I missed you." Bryce said, holding me, gently kissing me on the forehead.
"I know." I responded, not wanting to admit that I had missed him as well.
"I'm sorry... I..." He tried to continue but I hit him in the chest to shut him up.
I trod over to the bed and lie down. I feel Bryce get in behind me and wrap his arms around me, holding me tight against his body. I lie in the dark, thinking over the course of the day, from beginning to end. I shivered a few times as unwanted thoughts flickered by, but by the time I'm done going over the day in my mind I'm feeling a little better. I feel Bryce's comforting grip around me and eventually drift off into a dreamless sleep.
I woke up the next morning to find two golden brown eyes, much like my own, watching me. I felt much better and more relaxed than I had at any point during the previous day. I was much more at ease with myself, lying there in Bryce's arms.
"So why did you decide to come up last night, pup?" Bryce asked me affectionately.
"I was cold..." I paused and watched his face turn into a slight frown for a split second before returning to a neutral expression. "I was also a bit lonely... I hadn't really seen you all day, and I haven't been without you since this whole thing started..."
Bryce's face lightened a little. At that point I knew that he cared about me. I did genuinely care for him, on a very deep level, but was not ready to tell him that I loved him. I knew being the straight jackass that he was, he would never say it first though.
"You ready to meet some new wolves?" Bryce asked me.
Something about his tone did not make me think everything would be peachy.
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