NAOMI REID
The sound of incessant knocking against a door had Naomi falling out of the bed, sheets tangled at her feet. Kicking free, she walks out of the guest bedroom, bumping into Calvin just as she passes the threshold.
She'd been staying at his house since her ordeal with Avery and the gas station incident. For one, she didn't quite feel safe being on her own, and two she did not want to be caught off guard by Avery at her home. "They're here! Your friend and a guy - I'm assuming her boyfriend!" Calvin says to her urgently.
"What! How did she find me! Oh crap! What do we do?" Naomi says frantically, panic creeping into her voice. "I don't think I'm ready to face her. Calvin, what do we do? Why do you have your gun?! You are not shooting my possibly Lycan best friend! Or ex-best friend! I don't know where we stand right now! Point is, you are not shooting her!" She yells at him, eyes trained on the gun in his hands.
"It's just a precaution. We don't know what they want or what they are prepared to do Naomi," Calvin responds to her, his tone calm and even.
"Would you take yourself off of cop mode for a minute and think this through!" Naomi whisper-yells at him as more knocks sound at the door. "Naomi, I know you're there, just come out for a second, please! I'm begging you!" She hears Avery's distant voice shout.
At her side, Calvin cocks his gun making her stare at him wide-eyed. "Calvin we are not shooting her!" she says slapping his shoulder.
"Then tell me, Naomi, what plan do you have to deal with the Lycan people standing outside my house?" Calvin says to her with an edge in his tone.
"I'll go talk to her. See what she has to say for herself," Naomi replies.
"I thought you weren't ready to face her?" Calvin asks.
"Well I don't have many choices here, now do I? Besides, I have a shift with her in a couple of hours. It's best to do things now," She says with a sigh.
"Okay. But if she or the boy make any sudden moves, I'm shooting," Calvin says moving to walk down the stairs. Naomi quickly grabs him by the shoulder, stopping him in his tracks, "There will be no shooting!" She says jabbing him in the chest with her finger. Taking the lead, Naomi nervously walks down the stairs, coming to a stop at the front door.
"I'm here. I'm going to open the door a crack," She shouts out to Avery on the next side. "I need you to stand three feet away from the door!"
"What! Three feet? Naomi!" Avery shouts in response.
"LISTEN THIS IS A COP'S HOUSE AND HE IS ARMED SO DO AS I SAY!" Naomi shouts out impatiently, her nerves beginning to get to her.
Avery relents with a "FINE!" doing as told. Peeking through the window, Calvin makes sure she was a distance from the door before nodding to Naomi.
With sweaty palms, Naomi slowly inches the door open, Calvin standing ready with his gun behind her. Opening the door no wider than the width of her face, Naomi greets Avery who gives her an exaggerated sigh in return.
"Naomi, you are being ridiculous," Avery says to her, flailing her arms in the air in frustration.
"No sudden moves, you might get yourself shot," Naomi says to her, Avery's jaw opening in shock.
"You'd let that guy shoot me, Nomi?" Avery asks, hurt lacing her tone.
"No. Maybe? I don't know! Are you going to turn into a wolf and eat me?!" Was Naomi's response, earning herself an eye roll.
"Naomi Trishanna Reid!" Avery exclaims making Naomi cringe at the use of her middle name. "I have known you for four-plus years! Tell me this! In all the time that I've known you – Have I ever done wrong by you?" She continues, her voice beginning to crack with emotion as tears gathered in her eyes. "I know you better than you know yourself for crying out loud! We have been through so much together. How could you just throw all that away and stare at me like I'm some type of monster? Naomi, you are like a sister to me!"
Tears were running down Naomi's face now as she stood at the door, listening to her friend.
"I've never hurt you once, Naomi. Neither has Sean," Avery says gesturing to her boyfriend who was standing vigilantly beside their car. "Why do you think we'd turn on you now? Naomi, I need you to trust us, trust me!"
"Trust you?" Naomi buts in, her resolve breaking by the minute.
"Yes, trust me. Because I know for a fact that you are confused and scared. Your introduction into this world wasn't ideal and you have a skewed picture of what it truly is. There's so much for you to learn and understand. And I can help you! Let me help you! Let me guide you through it all, hell, even your cop friend too. Let me help you to understand the truth."
Naomi steps back from the door, standing behind it. "Do you trust her Naomi?" Calvin asks her softly, studying her features.
~
In Calvin's living room, he and Naomi sit on the couch while Avery and Sean occupy the love seat. Calvin sits on the edge of his seat, his finger still hovering over the trigger of his handgun - Sean cautiously eyeing him.
"Okay, so. Where do you want to start?" Avery asks softly, breaking the tense silence of the room.
"How did you find Naomi?!" Calvin says out harshly, his eyes darting between Avery and Sean suspiciously. "Did you... follow her scent or something?"
From his seat, Sean rolls his eye, stifling a laugh – Avery slapping him on his leg. "No. I did not smell my way to Naomi," Avery explains. "We both have the 'Find my Buddy' App. I tracked her here."
Naomi lets out a soft "Ohhh!" in realization.
"Are you a wolf too?" Naomi speaks up next, watching Avery intently.
"No, I'm not a Lycan," she responds. "I was brought up as a hunter."
"What? A hunter?" Calvin interrupts.
"Yes," Avery responds. "My parents and grandparents were hunters, so I was brought up as one. But I've never actually hunted. I have the training and the knowledge but I have never used it to – You know."
"Kill wolves," Naomi says softly, finishing her sentence. "How come?"
"Just isn't me," Avery replies simply with a shrug. "I mean I know both sides and why hunters exist. But, that life just wasn't for me. And then I met Sean."
"How'd your folks handle that?" Calvin chimes in.
"They weren't stoked about it, but they came around eventually. Sort of."
"You knew the truth. That night when I was attacked – You knew what I was saying was true and not some drug-induced hallucinatory nonsense!" Naomi speaks up, her voice rising toward the end of her sentence. "You know, I could understand not telling me this on any regular day – I can! But did you even consider telling me then! You and that doctor stood there and lied to me. Did you two come up with that explanation together?!"
"No, no!" Avery says quickly. "The doctor came up to me and told me that story. I believed him when he said that the drugs in your system made you hallucinate. I didn't think anything of it. But when you told me exactly what you saw I realized it wasn't hallucinations. Naomi that attack was brutal and scary - Definitely not a way to be introduced into this world. I could have told you what you experienced was real, but, I didn't know how you would handle hearing that. With everything, there's a beautiful side to it and an ugly side. You saw an uncontrolled shift and then he tried to kill you! You saw a monster and I couldn't just waltz in after that and tell you there's more of them out there!"
Naomi sits in her seat quietly, thinking over Avery's words. She saw the logic in her statements but part of her still felt betrayed by her best friend. She thinks back to last night and the wolf she saw in Clearmeadow as the conversation around her continues. "My question for the two of you though. How do you two know of all this? Naomi, you thought you hallucinated everything, but last night you knew exactly what you saw," Sean says butting into the conversation eyeing Naomi and Calvin. "And who is this guy really?"
"My name's Calvin and I'm a cop. With a gun." Calvin replies with a glare.
"We met each other at the library," Naomi speaks up quickly. "Someone sent us a crash course in Lycanthropy. That's how we know what we know. Plus we went to visit a self-taught hunter at a mental facility."
"What! Who sent you this?" Avery asks in surprise.
"Don't know. It was anonymous." Calvin pipes in. With a noticeable sigh, he puts the safety on his gun, resting the weapon on the side table beside him. "I have a question," He begins. "Can you guys tell who's a wolf or not? And what about the hunters, how do they know who's a wolf or not?"
"Decent questions," Sean says in return. "Yes, wolves recognize each other. It's many things. Scent, physique, their 'aura' if you want to call it that."
"Aura?" Calvin repeats questioningly.
"Yeah. Like a vibe, a feeling. You automatically recognize if another person is a Lycan. You can tell if a Lycan is strong, weak – Alpha or beta. You hear it in their voice, see it in the way they move. You just know."
"Oh, so the alpha, beta, omega stuff is real?" Naomi asks.
"Pretty much. Yeah. It's like a personality thing," Sean replies.
"And the hunters? How do they know?"
"Outward appearance gives them a good hint. Then they follow, observe. They have a variety of little concoctions they use to draw out evidence. Like the smells of some could cause the wolves' to slip up, making their eyes change. Or get them amped up enough to growl or let their claws out." Avery answers.
"Next question?" Sean says leaning back comfortably in his seat, his arms going around Avery's waist.
~
DEAN STRAKEN
Pulling up to the crime scene, Dean exits his car. Ducking under the police tape, he walks up to Joe and Calvin who were already in conversation. "Morning fellas," He greets with a nod. "What do we have?"
"Laney Blackwell, thirty-one. Attacked her husband and her sister earlier this morning. The husband bled out before the ambulance could arrive, and they managed to get to the sister in time. She's in surgery as we speak. Laney is nowhere to be found," Calvin says filling his partner in on the case.
The two of them look around the crime scene and talk to nearby witnesses before deciding to head to the hospital.
"So, haven't heard from you in a while," Dean comments casually, as they drive to the hospital.
"Yeah, been a busy couple of days. Had some things to sort out," Calvin replies. "What about you, huh?" He asks in return.
"Same. Had an emergency with a close friend, had to help out where I could," Dean Replies.
~
Arriving at T.C. General, they are surprised to see how busy the hospital was, nurses and doctors were running up and down frantically, the waiting room full of people. They watch as the double doors open, firefighters rushing forth with a gurney – A paramedic performing vigorous chest compressions on the person below her. "What do we have?" A doctor shouts as he runs up to meet them, guiding them to a room.
"What the hell is happening?!" Calvin exclaims, sidestepping out of the way as a nurse runs past.
"I have no idea," Dean says softly, looking around for the nurse in charge.
"Naomi," Calvin calls out to the two paramedics Dean just saw enter the hospital. He raises his eyebrows in shock, wondering since when Calvin had paramedic friends. He follows behind him, walking to the two women as well. "What the hell is going on here?" He says to them upon arrival, mostly talking to the one with short hair.
"Complete pandemonium!" The paramedic with the short haircut replies. "We've had calls non-stop. It's crazy. Domestic abuse calls, suicide attempts. What are you doing here?"
"We're looking for a victim. Sister attacked her and the husband. Husband didn't make it," Calvin replies. Dean clears his throat, drawing attention to his presence. "This is my partner, Dean Straken, by the way. Dean, this is Avery and Naomi, paramedics from Firehouse 70."
Dean nods to them in greeting as the other paramedic, Avery, goes to speak. "Your victim. A Blackwell or a Jones?" She asks.
"A Blackwell. You know them?" Dean responds.
"We were on the scene, brought her in."
"Anything you can tell us?"
~
Minutes later, the two detectives exit the hospital. Their talk with the paramedics turned out to be helpful seeing as their victim didn't survive the surgery. Realizing their case was Lycan and hunter-related, Dean made a note to contact Arrow the first chance he got. Knowing full well Elmann would not be too happy to hear from him considering their last interaction.
The large scratch marks on both the victims were raising a lot of questions. Several times, he'd notice how fidgety and on edge Calvin seemed to be – A trait he'd never seen his partner display before.
~
Back at the precinct, Calvin talks with Joe while Dean speaks with the medical examiner.
"These scratches right here," She says pointing to the bloodied claw marks across the deceased's body, "Lycan."
"So he was scratched, that part of the story I understand. But his wife, why would she turn on her husband like this," Dean comments.
"Well, if she knew what these scratches mean - I'd say she ended him before he got the chance to turn into a monster."
"Hmm, thanks Susanna," Dean says before exiting the room. Getting a text from Calvin, he meets his partner out front by their car. "Joe got us an address for Laney's other sister. She might be there, let's go!" With that, the two of them jump into the car and speed off. The ride was quiet, Calvin seeming visibly distracted. They pull up to the house, heading straight towards the front door. Dean knocks on the door, standing back with his hand on his holster. The door opens a fraction, a woman poking her head through the small space.
"Can I help you?" She asks timidly.
As Dean talks to the woman, Calvin wanders off walking to the side of the house. The sound of trash cans falling has him running to the source of the noise - Seeing the retreating figure of a woman. "SHE'S RUNNING!" He shouts to Dean sprinting off after the lady.
Dean and Calvin run after the woman, chasing her through traffic and crowds of people - Calling out for the woman to stop as they chase her. The woman runs into people, pushing some of them onto the floor.
"I'm going right!" Calvin shouts out to Dean, breaking away from their current route. Keeping on her trail, he continues after her. As she approaches a corner, Dean sees Calvin appear from an alleyway, tackling the woman to the ground. He reaches them just as Calvin places the handcuffs onto her, panting heavily.
"Nice."
~
ARROW BERLIN
The room is uncomfortably silent, only the occasional rustling of clothing sounding now and again. Arrow stands at the doorway of the bedroom, watching as Beau and his father tended to Bell. Minutes pass before Mr. Valentin lets out a heavy sigh, ushering his son out of the room with him.
Arrow follows them to the living room, sitting beside her brother who was typing away on his laptop. The Valentins take a seat in the room as well. Beau runs his hand over his face, letting out a shaky sigh. "Tell me again what happened, please," Mr. Valentin says in a strained voice, glancing at Arrow.
Arrow gives him a nod, "We were leaving the gym. We successfully planted all the bugs. We were leaving but we heard talking coming from the back of the building. Bell wanted to check it out so we did. Looked like there was some type of confrontation between the Lycans - They were, I don't know - I guess arguing with these two girls. Then I grabbed Bell to leave but she pulled back from me. She accidentally made a noise and one came to us. She shot him and we made our move to leave but more arrived. One got away, we managed to kill two. We tried to leave again but two fighting Lycans ended up in front of us. The fight ended with one wolf killing the other. Then, one minute I was looking at it, the next I was on the floor. There was another Lycan. It came up from behind, that's when Bell got bitten." They lapse into a silence processing Arrow's story.
"Guys," Andrei interrupts. "There's a lot of chatter. It looks like several hunters were attacked last night. Even those not on missions! Some were bitten, some were scratched," He says still typing away at his computer.
"So this was their big plan. This is what they were preparing for. Turning us into one of them!" Mr. Valentin remarks. "They turned my daughter!"
"She hasn't turned yet," Andrei defends softly.
"She's already one of them, I'm afraid. She and all the others who were scratched or bitten. The change already started taking place on a cellular level. It will manifest, whether or not they decide to fully change on the next moon or not," Mr. Valentin replies.
"Do we think Bell would?" Andrei asks curiously, getting a hard nudge and glare from his sister.
They all lapse into more uncomfortable silence, the elephant in the room hanging over their heads.
"No, what the hell!" Andrei exclaims angrily tapping the keys on his laptop. "Arrow, I've been locked out of the system. My passcode, username, everything says invalid!"
"What?! Let me see!" Arrow hisses taking the computer from her brother. She re-enters his information before trying with her own, seeing the same 'ACCESS DENIED!' messages.
"How the hell are we locked out of the system?!" Andrei questions angrily.
"Elmann," Mr. Valentin pipes in, a disgusted look on his face.
~
Ignoring everyone around, Arrow angrily stomps her way to her uncle's office. Opening the door without knocking, she barges straight in, interrupting what appeared to be a private meeting.
"Kids. Sometimes they forget the art of manners!" He says jokingly to the other man in the room before apologizing for the interruption. After kindly suggesting they pick up their conversation later, he walks the man to the door, watching him leave.
"Arrow! My darling niece, to what do I owe the pleasure of seeing you after so long?" He says to her with a smile, gesturing for her to take a seat.
"Why can't my brother and I access the system?!" Arrow asks with a hard glare.
"Well, because I simply did not know if you two had been compromised," Elmann states simply as if it were no big deal. "I couldn't get in contact with either of you. You weren't at your house, your brother wasn't at any of his usual hideouts. His friends didn't know where he was at. No calls were going through. I had no idea where you two were or who had access to your information. So, with the organization's interest in mind, I had to."
"Where are you two?" He continues speaking. "As an uncle, I'd like to know where my niece and nephew are. Are you staying with the Valentins? Are they still in town?" He asks.
"Put us back in the system! Are you even aware of what happened last night?" Arrow says angrily, ignoring all questions.
"Yes, I'm aware of what happened last night, and I am dealing with it. But, unfortunately, I don't think it's the right decision to put you and your brother back into the system, Arrow. You have to understand, from where I'm sitting, it seems you two have been compromised."
"Compromised! From where you're sitting?! What the hell are you going on about?! And where the hell exactly, do you think you're sitting?!" Arrow explodes, raising her voice.
"I have to think about the organization Arrow. And while you were off who knows where, doing who knows what – I have been running things here and keeping the place together!" Elmann says, now shouting as well. "You do not care about the organization nor do you care to run it! You haven't even cared enough to check on the situation regarding your father. No! You've been too busy running around with the Valentins!"
"What situation with my father?"
"The funeral, of course. You missed the entire thing. I had to spread his ashes myself."
"Excuse me?!" Arrow chokes out, her breathing becoming ragged.
"I couldn't reach you or your brother, dear. And matters like this can't be dragged out forever. I cremated my brother, held a service, and then spread his ashes. All the while his daughter was out there fraternizing," Elmann explains, his tone taunting her.
A loud slap echoed throughout the room as Arrow's hand connected with Elmann's face. The force of the impact turned his head to the side. Arrow's palm tingles as she stands over her uncle. "YOU SON OF A BITCH!" She grounds out through clenched teeth as tears fall from her eyes. "How dare you!"
"Sir, is everything okay in here?" A female voice asks. Turning, Arrow sees the secretary standing at the doorway, watching the two of them intently.
Bending down to Elmann's ears she whispers to him, "This isn't over!" With that she marches out the room, pushing past the secretary. She makes her way to her father's office, inputting the code she set the last time she was there. Getting an invalid code message the three times she tried. With a nod of somber understanding, she walks out of the building.
~
Sitting on the couch in the Valentins' temporary home, Arrow taps on her computer.
"Where does this leave things? With so many scratched and turned. What's going to happen to them – As a person and as a hunter?" Dean asks Arrow, leaning in close to read the email over her shoulder.
"I honestly don't know," Arrow responds, eyes trained on the screen.
"I wonder if any of them will turn on the next moon," Dean comments.
"It's hard to picture any of them changing. And it's hard to picture any of them continuing to hunt. I mean, how can you kill what you now are. That'll be a little hypocritical." Arrows replies with a sigh, closing the laptop.
Moving around the couch, Dean takes a seat next to her on the couch. "And for the other hunters as well. What are they going to do now that close friends and families are now Lycans!"
"Things are so messy now."
"How are you Arrow?" Dean asks her, watching her expression intently.
"Seems like life's knocking me down a lot lately," Arrow confesses. "Feels like every time I pick myself up, ready to take things on – Something comes along and knocks me back down on my ass. I can't catch a break."
"Oh! Didn't know we had company over," Beau says entering the room startling Arrow and Dean. Only now realizing how close she and Dean were sitting to each other, she subtly puts some distance between them while replying to Beau. "Yeah, I invited him over to update him on the whole turning situation."
Beau hums in response before walking past them into the kitchen, returning with a bottle of water.
"We should be careful who we invite to the house you know," Beau says casually before taking a sip of his water. "Straken! Where do you stand with Elmann?" Beau asks, walking up to Dean.
"We aren't on speaking terms if that's what you're getting at. The last time I saw him was after we got back Arrow. I pissed him off and he threatened me. Haven't seen or spoken to him since," Dean answers casually, watching Beau with a raised brow.
"Good. Let's keep it that way," Arrow says looking to Dean. "Elmann is not on our side right now. All he wanted was to take over the organization and I have this gut feeling he's up to something more."
"Just watch your back out there," Beau says with a nod, leaving the room.
"What's your plan to deal with your uncle?" Dean asks Arrow.
"Well, for now, I'm staying out of his way and out of his sight. I've planted bugs in his office the last time I was there so – I'll just be listening."
"Are you going to fight him for control of the organization?" Dean asks curiously.
"I haven't given it much thought honestly. It's more complicated than it seems."
"Well, hey. Whatever you need, I'm here. No matter what it is, I'll have your back," Dean says to her, an unreadable expression on his face.