NOT EDITED
ENJOY
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Beau and I decided to do some investigation on our own after the reminder last night that the hunters and the rogues were still after us. After all, we were Wrodes and Wrodes do not like to just stand around and wait for something to happen. Beau and I were taking actions into our own hands.
“That asshole was lucky that there were no hunters or rogues in the woods last night,” Beau said, sitting comfortably in the passenger seat.
“Tell me about it,” I muttered, clutching the steering wheel. “I don’t know what I would’ve done if he died.”
Beau simply sighed, staying quiet. This whole morning, he’s been overprotective of me, casting deadly glares at Weston. He complained more than I did about this whole situation. Everyone complained more than I did. Obviously, they weren’t too happy with him at the moment.
When I found out he made it home safe, I cried tears of relief. I was worried sick and if he died, I would’ve hated myself for the rest of my life.
I pulled into the small parking lot of “The Big Shot”. It one of the three stores that sold guns in Huntstown. We investigated one of the other two gun stores prior to approaching this place. However, it was shot down the minute we saw how rusty their guns were and how bad business was running in the place.
I looked at the small, rectangular shop with fear. Leave it to me to think of the worst-case scenarios every single time. I was scared that somehow these humans would find out what we were. It was risky walking into a place with guns. We could be dead any minute if they found out.
When Beau and I entered the shop, the small bell on the door rang signaling our arrival. My stomach clenched when my eyes saw the various guns sitting on the shelves and hanging on the walls. Beau – who always stayed calm – snorted at a picture of a man next to the bear he shot, smiling proudly. My eyes widened when it rested on spears identical to the ones I saw the night of the warehouse incident.
“Beau,” I whispered, gripping his forearm. “Those are the ones the hunters used when my dad planned the attack on us.”
His eyes widened slightly before he smirked. “Then I think we found the right place.”
“How could you be so ca –“
“Hello,” a raspy voice greeted. We turned around to face a skinny man dressed in faded jeans and a flannel shirt. His dark, curly hair was pushed under a blue, faded cap. He smiled, showing a set of yellowing teeth. According to his worn out tag, his name is Ron. “Do you need any assistance?”
“Yes,” Beau said looking around the place with confusion. “I don’t know much about guns, but we just moved in with our family. We’re trying to get rid of dogs that we’ve sighted in our back yard. We have a little sister and we’re concerned about her safety. What are your suggestions?”
I tried to hide the smile on my face. Beau was good at acting. I wouldn’t be surprised if he made it into Hollywood with his charming good looks and his acting skills.
“Ah,” Ron muttered, smiling wider like he knew something we didn’t. “Dogs. That is a big problem here at Huntstown. Follow me.”
We followed him towards a set of rifles hanging behind the register. He went behind the counter, taking a gun off the rack and handing it to Beau. Beau took it cautiously, examining the gun.
‘Does this look familiar?’ Beau asked through the mind linked, fingering the black metal.
‘No. You would smell the wolfsbane. This is not what we’re looking for. It’s just a regular rifle.’
“So, why did your family decide to move to such a small town?” Ron asked curiously.
“Our father is a geologist. We move around a lot to small towns. We usually stay for two to three years and then we move again,” Beau lied smoothly.
“How old are you, son?” Ron asked, scratching his wrinkled face. “Are you aware that we can’t sell guns to minors and you must present a valid gun license when purchasing a gun?”
“I’m nineteen, sir,” Beau smiled. He pulled out his wallet and showed his gun license to Ron. Beau didn’t lie about that one thing. He actually possessed a gun license, but did not own any guns.
“So, tell me about these big dogs,” Ron suggested, leaning over the counter.
Beau put down the gun and looked at him, “Well, I don’t know what steroids Huntstown feeds them, but they’re huge! This one I saw was the size of a bear and it growled constantly. We locked up the house, scared that it was going to attack us.”
“It didn’t leave for about an hour,” I piped in for the first time. Ron looked at me with curious eyes. “We called the police, but they thought we were crazy.”
“That’s what the police always say,” Ron finally said. “They don’t believe a single thing about those huge dogs.”
‘Bingo,’ Beau said excitedly through the mind link.
“You’ve seen these huge dogs too?” I whispered.
“Countless of times,” Ron waved off. There was a mischievous look in his eyes. “Have you guys ever heard of werewolves?”
“What the hell is a werewolf?” Beau asked, looking at Ron weird. I almost laughed when Ron smirked.
“Come on, kids,” Ron said smugly. “You guys have a lot to learn.”
‘This guy is so gullible. Any werewolf could walk into here and find his secret stash of wolfs bane,’ Beau laughed through the mind link.
‘He’s smarter than you think. Once he finds out they’re a wolf, he could just grab one of those guns from hell and shoot them dead in a couple of seconds.’
‘Oh,’ Beau realized, looking at me with fear.
We followed Ron, going through the door behind the counter. He led us through a long hallway and into a door that read ‘Caution: Electricity panel. Enter at own risk.’ Ron took out a key, opening the metal door.
“Um,” Beau said simply, looking at the wires and panel box in the small room. “You wanted to show us the power room?”
“Watch, kid,” Ron winked. He went to the far right of the small room and took out one panel from the wood wall. My eyes widened when a hidden white door appeared.
“Where are you taking us?” I asked, pretending to be scared. It was all part of the act.
“I want to show you kids the guns we use to take down those we – big dogs,” Ron said excitedly. He opened the door, which had a small staircase that led to another door a level down. We followed him in the dimly lit passageway to a metal door. “You’ll be amazed.”
Ron opened the metal door and I cringed as the familiar smell hit me like a freight train. Each inhale burned holes in my lungs slowly. The amount of wolfs bane found in this room was enough to drain the energy from my body slowly.
Beau cringed when he smelt it, grabbing my arm in fear. ‘Calm down, Beau,’ I reassured him. ‘You’re going to make it obvious.’
Ron turned on the lights of the room, my stomach twisting when it landed on each deadly weapon piled up inside the room. I gasped lowly so only I could hear it. This definitely is hell on earth.
Ron inhaled deeply and said, “Personally, I love the smell of wolfs bane. What do you guys think?”
“It smells like flowers. I’m not really a flower person,” Beau dismissed, beads of sweat forming on his forehead.
“What’s wolfs bane?” I asked curiously, my eyebrows knitting together.
“It’s a rare flower grown underground,” Ron states as if it was his prized possession. “We boil it to mix its essence and herbs with the water. We soak the bullets and knives in them for a total of forty-eight hours so it is useful.”
“I don’t understand,” Beau acted. “What’s so special about wolfs bane?”
“Wolfs bane is a powerful medicine,” Ron smirked. “We’ve been trying to get rid of those big dogs for years, but regular guns weren’t working. We found out that once this medicine makes contact with those dogs, it is enough to sicken them and kill them.”
My wolf growled, but I forced it down. I wanted to smack Ron for being so evil. After all, what did werewolves do to harm humans?
Beau and I look at the guns, but we refused to touch it.
“How much is your cheapest gun?” Beau asked. I looked at Beau with shock.
‘Play along,’ Beau linked.
“The AR-15 rifle is around nine hundred sixty-five dollars.”
Beau whistled, running a hand through his light brown hair. “That’s a lot for a gun.”
“We charge a lot because of its wolfs bane.”
“Could we possibly get a better price?” I asked Ron, giving him a pleading look. “We really need to get rid of those big dogs around our house for the safety of our baby sister and we don’t have the money.”
We were heading back up to the main store already and I was nothing but glad to get out of that hellhole. Ron was quiet for a moment before he walked us to the entrance. “Well, my boss will be here on Wednesday if you kids are willing to come back and buy it. I’m pretty sure he’d make a deal with you guys.”
Beau nodded, looking over Ron’s head at a big portrait on the wall. There were about fifty guys with guns and big smiles on their faces. “Do you guys have a mafia or something?” Beau joked, pointing towards the portrait.
Ron laughed and patted Beau’s back. “That is my crew, son. We love hunting. It’s our passion. Just the other day, we attacked those big dogs. We lost a few members of our crew, but that is our motivation to get back at those creatures. We have to do it for our fallen heroes.”
I resisted the urge to roll my eyes. He talked about his crew as if they were the military, protecting the United States. At the same time, the hairs on my arm stood on end. Once again, we were faced with the reality that there were people who wanted to abolish us.
“Great,” Beau plastered on a fake smile. “We would love to talk to your boss.”
We left the store, driving away as quickly as possible. Beau slumped down in his seat giving me a tired look. “I can’t believe we got a lead. All we have to do is meet the boss and see where to go from there.”
“Yup,” I said, popping the p.
“That’s what you had to go through?” Beau whispered after a minute of silence. The tears threatened to spill any moment from the raw memories. I blinked it back, swallowed hard, and nodded. “I’m sorry you went through a lot.”
I didn’t know how to reply, so I nodded again. Beau sighed and decided to change the subject. “So anyways, Eli and Weston,” he said on a lighter tone, spitting the name Weston out. “asked if we could show them the basic training that Healers undergo each week. So we’re going to train the representatives’ tomorrow morning.”