Chapter 13 - Attacking Silver Objects

Matt didn’t wait around once he’d turned that night. Still hungry but choosing to ignore it - he had enough fat to last him a while on his wolf form - he padded out onto the street and looked from left to right, scanning the area of any maybe subjects of death, though he had a feeling there wouldn’t be any tonight, as his main subject was on a date.

Unless she killed beforehand, it was unlikely that she'd strike, but that wouldn’t make much sense as Matt knew that girls took ages to get ready, especially if they were going out on a date. She wouldn’t feel like a murder when she was about to go the cinema with a boy, would she? It would be risky business, lots of planning, clearing up and disposing of evidence. It would take a while and she would more than likely be seen or be clumsy and forget something.

No, he had a feeling that if she was the culprit, she wouldn’t strike tonight. This would be the day off. He wondered what her parents would think of her if they knew she was killing people, unless she killed her parents too. That would be strange.

To think, they may have both done the same thing…

Knowing that Kristen and Gareth were going to meet soon, Matt set off at full speed, watching which way he went, as some people still went out at this time of night, usually to go drinking. He didn’t want to bump into anyone.

He took a few alleys, turned a few corners, hid behind a few bushes when someone was coming close to him. He probably looked really silly, if he was seen that is. He doubted he was. You would think a massive wolf would be seen quite clearly around town but you’d be surprised how many places there are to hide.

That, and most people didnt pay attention at night. Their senses were too weak to respond to little movements in the shadows, no matter how big the shadow was.

He got to the cinema with five minutes to spare. Not even breaking a sweat, he moved behind a bush and began to look around. Cars sat stationary in car park spaces or moved around looking for space, beeping their horns when people took their spots or when someone ran in front of them who must have been in a hurry, as there was no other reason to do so. There was shouting and honking and the sound of grinding gears.

It was a mess but at least the mess was disappearing. It was dark and people didn’t want to hang around in shops after dark. Most were shutting up anyway. It was a risky time for Matt to be out but also a good time. He could experience a taster of what life could be like at night for families.

Some families were parking up next to the restaurant next to the cinema, getting ready for a family night out for dinner or maybe a celebration of some sort. Some greeted each other with smiles and hugs while the children were left to run around on the pavement just outside the entrance. Other families were obviously on their own as they dodged the other families and quickly went inside, gently guiding their children in too.

One family was only just getting out of their car, a blonde little girl of about six, a dark haired father, a small thin mother and a little baby cradled in her arms. They locked their car doors and swiftly moved into the restaurant, smiling a welcome at all the other waiting families. Matt guessed it would be a party to celebrate the birth of this child and his eyes softened. Sweet.

A loud honk disrupted his thoughts and he shook his head before looking to see what had happened. A woman had ran across the road with her bag swinging on her elbow right in front of a moving car who was obviously waiting to go home. The brakes squealed and the man in the car stuck his head out of the window, shaking his fist and shouting loudly for her to watch where she was going. She stood on the pavement and hurled abuse back at him, flipping her hair and turning her nose up at him before carrying on her travels. The man swore loudly then went back out of view, speeding away much faster than he needed to.

Matt huffed and rolled his eyes. There was so much drama over something so little. He wondered how they’d react if they knew something huge, hairy and dangerous was crouching just a few yards away.

It didn’t take long before Gareth turned up. He wore normal blue jeans with a light blue top that had an iPod on the front. The first thing he did was check in his pocket for something and then he ran his fingers through his hair and sprayed something in his mouth. Matt felt repulsed even when he wasn’t close by. He couldn’t see why Kristen had picked him, of all people. Loads of lads in school were better than him but no, she seemed attracted to bad dangerous people who were just going to hurt her.

He should have known, really.

He wasn’t even attractive. He was ugly, in fact. He was no where near one of the nicest looking lads in school and it was obviously going to end badly for one, if not both of them. Gareth kept looking at himself in the window of the cinema to check that he looked okay and, every so often, when a girl went past, his eyes strayed to them and a smile played on his lips. Matt growled.

Kristen turned up a minute later, turning from around the corner out of nowhere. She moved towards the cinema, looking through the crowd until she spotted Gareth who looked up just at the same moment at her.

Matt grunted as she went towards him, a smile on her face. He curved around more objects, trying to get closer to see clearly.

Kristen reached Gareth and stood a foot away from him. Surprisingly for her, Gareth closed the space and gave her an intimate hug, wrapping his arms around her waist and putting her arms around his neck. He could hear and smell her gasp of breath as she realised what he did. Matt’s fur on his back stood on it's end but he refused to growl at it.

Once out of the hug, Gareth held Kristen for a few seconds, talking to her while still having his hands on her hips. She looked uncomfortable but she didn’t pull away from him and after a while he smiled and leaned in to kiss her cheek.

Matt’s back arched and a growl escaped his lips. A passing family looked briefly in the direction where he sat and he froze in place, holding his breath, praying that they wouldn’t check what it was. Thankfully they didn’t and Matt breathed out with a sigh of relief.

After being distracted he looked over at where Gareth and Kristen had been.

They’d moved.

Now they stood just outside the entrance, about to enter, standing really close and holding hands. Matt watched crefully, smelling Kristen’s raspberry scent as it floated over and hung around his long snout.

They went inside and Matt sighed, moving slowly backwards so that he was free to lie down comfortably behind a bush. His tail whipped once and then lay motionless on the greying grass. Now he just had to wait for them to come out again, which was most likely going to be in an hour and a half or so.

He rested his head on the ground and sighed quietly, closing his eyes and blowing through his nose. Though he was hungry, he didn’t want to risk leaving in case he missed something. He tried to convince himself that he didn’t want to leave because he was checking that she wouldn’t kill anyone. He obviously wanted to make sure that Gareth would come out alive, though he wouldn’t mind if he didn’t.

It wasn’t because he was worried about her. Not at all. He wasn’t worried that maybe something might attack her, that Gareth may hurt her or push her in some way, that maybe she would need his help, wolf or not.

No. It was purely because he was making sure that she wouldn’t sneak out, having killed Gareth and hidden the evidence. Wolf or not, if he found out that she had attacked him he would chase after her and make sure that she was put down for it. Though he had to admit that he cared for her safety, he would rather murder a murderer than let her survive to kill more innocent lives that he’s supposed to be protecting.

Half way through the estimated time, cars had disappeared and only a few lingered in the spaces, the owners inside somewhere, probably enjoying themselves with their families. The car park was an empty quiet place and, though it sounded a bit stupid, the sound of night filled Matt’s ears.

The sky had darkened considerably and now he lay in the black with no worries of being spotted. Even if he was spotted, if he kept close to the floor he’d probably be mistaken as a huge Alsatian dog on patrol or lost or something. No one would pay much attention to him unless they were up close and he wasn’t considering anyone doing that anytime soon.

Sighing, Matt rubbed his ears with his paw and then lay his head on the grass, closing his eyes. It was tiring doing nothing and he was getting bored. It wasn’t as action packed as he hoped and he wished he was human so that he could have gone in and watched the film while keeping an eye on the couple. Then at least he’d have a way to entertain himself.

Matt spoke too soon.

Just as he was about to decide to have a nap, something moved in the corner of his eye. Matt sat up and glanced through one of the bushes to where the cinema entrance was in plain view. There was something dark moving just at the entrance…like a shadow.

Matt sat up in a shot and a growl escaped his lips automatically. It was the shadow that had been with him in his garden, the shadow that had gotten away. His claws sprang to life and dug into the earth, ready to chase after it if it decided to move anywhere. This was what he had been waiting for. It hadn’t surprised him this time.

He sucked in the air to see if he could smell anything but all he got was the air around him, smelling of flowers beside him and grass under his paws. The shadow was such an annoying disguise. He couldn’t even tell what it was, human or animal or plant or anything, just that it was moving slowly in front of the entrance, up and down as if it was waiting for something. He had to guess that it was human, as it was quite big but not big enough for it to be worrying.

Then, as if it had sensed he was there, it moved towards him and turned it's head. It was hard to describe what that looked like, as the shadow didn’t have a solid body, so the shadow twisted in an unnatural way and something flashed inside it. It moved slowly to the side and watched Matt for a moment, smoky edges disappearing into the air.

Suddenly it bounced backwards in a certain amount of grace, turned around and flew away behind the building as fast as it could, making the shape a blur. Matt was ready. He pushed himself off the ground and flew through the air after it, his nails grinding as they hit the pavement. He launched himself around the corner and watched as the shadow flicked like a cloak and turned another corner out of sight.

His mind wasn’t on Kristen anymore. She was safe inside with Gareth... well safer than what she’d be if she was outside. She would be able to handle herself if she didn’t want him to do anything. This shadow couldn’t be her, so his suspicions were incorrect.

Unless she was somehow able to split in two and do two things at once.

That or she’d sneaked out to do some killing. It was unlikely, though, as a killing wouldn’t happen in five minutes and any more than that Gareth would become suspicious and go looking for her.

He followed the shadow down many roads until it began to slow. Matt smirked and growled louder as he pounded his legs towards it, determined to grab it. Though it was fast, it was sooner or later going to slow down and he was only just starting.

It turned into an empty abandoned road on the right and Matt scratched his nails against the pavement, making a squealing noise as he plunged into the road after it…and just like before, it was gone.

Matt stopped and sniffed the air, looking everywhere he could. This wasn’t going to happen again. He had been so close! It had to be here, hiding in the other shadows present from the buildings. The moon shined down on Matt’s head and he shook his hairy body, causing the light to dance on his fur.

Unlike at the cinema, there were different smells this time. Earth, soil, dirt, rotting leaves, decaying insects. Matt curled back in repulse and scrunched his nose up, shaking the smell away from his nose. Disgusting. People were definitely here. More than one. Were they linked with the shadow or were they just passing through? Either one, it was too late now. They were too close and there was no where for him to hide.

Matt switched on his radar just as something smacked into his head. Shock flooded through him and he blinked in surprise as his legs collapsed under him. Ow. That hurt. He shook it off and jumped back to his feet, prepared now. Green figures were all around him. Around five lads, all in the same kind of clothes.

Not good. Not good at all. Definitely bad. He was a wolf.

Busted.

One of the lads was around six foot seven but, seeing as Matt was trying to disguise himself as just a normal dog, the lad towered over him. He held a bottle in one hand which he took a swig of, his other hand a tight fist. Matt didn’t have to smell to know that these lads were drunk. He guessed that the tallest lad had hit him, as his hand was still clenched.

“Oi. What’s this, eh?” The lad grabbed Matt’s fur on his head and Matt snarled furiously, batting his hand away with annoyance. The lad jumped back and then laughed before turning to the rest of his group. “Look here lads! Someone’s mutt has gone walk about. Nice doggy.” He grabbed Matt’s fur again with his chubby swelled up fingers and Matt snarled more, showing his canines, shaking the hand off. “Oi, doggy. That’s not nice. Come here you ugly mutt…” He reached for Matt’s head again.

Matt growled and backed up a step, his hair standing up on it's end. He tried to stay calm. He didn’t want to attack these lads but if they were a threat to him he was going to have to retaliate. The lads were laughing and coming closer, drinks in their hands, casting shadows across the floor.

“He looks nasty, Rod.”

“Aw.” The tallest called Rod shook his head and passed the drink to his friend before clicking his knuckles. “Maybe doggy needs teaching a lesson.”

Matt snapped his jaw together and growled loudly, his nails lengthening in his anger. He prepared himself for a battle with this lad, knowing that he couldn’t kill him but could knock him down if he had to, give him a few bites on his arm to teach him a lesson. He was only going to scare them. Depending on how far they wanted to take him, if they continued it was going to get ugly.

“What dog is it?” A smaller lad said and peered drunkenly around someone’s shoulder.

“Don’t know don’t care but it needs to learn some manners.” Rod stepped forward and Matt roared in his throat, his eyes flashing in the moonlight. That was their warning.

“Some big dog.”

“Doesn’t bother me.” Rod smirked with a hiccup and stepped even closer. “Good doggy.”

Matt straightened up and saliva dripped from his teeth as he reached the tallest boys height. He smirked as they all stopped what they were doing and looked at him in astonishment.

“Mate, that’s a big dog-”

“Looks angry, Rod-”

“Maybe we should leave it alone-”

“What if it kills us?”

Rod backed up towards his group and swallowed, still trying to look tough but failing in Matt's amused eyes. “Nice doggy.” He said unconvincingly as his voice wobbled.

“That’s no dog. That’s a wolf.” One of the others gasped and backed up a few more steps.

“Now, now, lads. There’s five of us.” Rod stood tall and stepped forward. “Bring it, doggy.”

Two of the smaller lads stood behind the group, muttering quickly to themselves in a drunken slur. “I heard about those deaths in those alleyways…”

“We’re gonna die. Look at it!”

“Its not happy. Lets go.”

“We cant go and leave Rod.”

“Maybe it's what killed all those kids…”

“Maybe we’re next!”

Matt snarled and bent forward, scratching his paw against the pavement as he moved closer to them.

“Come on you guys! Let's take it down! Ready…” Rod pushed his mates and put his hands up in fists.

Matt shook his fur and glared at them.

“Go!”

Matt howled and head butted Rod in the stomach, knocking the wind out of him. However, they were all going for him and he didn't have much time to watch the boy bend over in pain. He kicked his legs as they came from the front and side on. He whipped his paws in the air and whacked one of the lads with his tail, pushing him into the wall. He snapped his teeth together as one of the lads punched his neck and he turned his head, careful to grab the clothes as he flung the boy down the road into a bench.

Two others were wrestling with his paws, hitting and stamping on Matt’s feet and jabbing his stomach. Matt growled and pushed them away from him with ease, catching one in the leg with his nails, who screamed and clutched his bleeding calf as if his whole leg had been ripped off.

Rod was back, making his way under the front of Matt just under his jaw. Matt backed up a step and tried to get hold of him but it was too late. Rod had pulled out a silver object and Matt winced and snarled as Rod sliced a cut in Matt’s chest with a knife.

Rod laughed as blood dripped into Matt’s fur and onto the alleyway floor. “Serves you right doggy!”

Matt howled and bounced back, grabbing Rod with his teeth. He lifted Rod into the air, ignoring Rod’s and his injured friends’ cries, and threw Rod down the road and into a wall, where Rod lay unconscious on the floor.

The road was quiet for a moment as Matt steadied his breathing and straightened out of his crouch, ignoring the moans from the lads on either side of him. He glared at each of them and was about to move them all to where Rod sat when he heard the police sirens going off in the distance. Someone had called the police about the noise, no doubt.

Matt froze, deliberating what to do. The lads were witnesses, but he couldn’t kill them. They had evidence of a bite and scratches.

He pushed the cans and bottles of alcohol and energy drinks and lay them next to Rod, hoping that they would look as if they’d had too much and had fought themselves not a large wolf taller than six foot high.

Then he pushed himself back where he came from, back to the cinema, completely away from the scene of drunken injured lads. It was strange to realize that the whole incident had happened in less than an hour. Matt was able to be back to his original position closest to the cinema entrance by the time Kristen and Gareth had come out of the cinema.

Matt, out of breath, lay back on the grass and watched through the bush as Kristen and Gareth appeared, hand in hand, flooding out with a load of other people who went straight to their cars. He’d forgotten about the shadow as the situation he had been in had been much more important at that point. Now, frustrated that the shadow had slipped through his claws once again, he frowned and glared down at the ground.

Stupid.

He’d been distracted and now it had disappeared. It wasn’t any better knowing that Kristen wasn’t responsible.

One, the reason it should have been, was because now anyone was a suspect. He no longer had a main suspect. This wasn’t good.

Two, the reason which annoyed him was now, because she wasn’t the shadow, she was a possible victim for the next murder which made Matt annoyed that she could be selected.

Kristen and Gareth were smiling as they turned to look at each other to say goodbye. Gareth was holding her hand whilst his other was on her hip. She was laughing and so was he until he moved a hand to her cheek. Matt’s body went cold. His lip curled and he narrowed his eyes. Kristen turned serious and she stood still as stone as Gareth moved closer to her and gently pressed his lips to hers.

Then they were disturbed as a howl full of hurt boomed into the air and deafened everyone around the cinema.

They didn’t see the wolf run away into the dark of night, it's eyes blazing with ferocious fury, it's chest throbbing twice as fast as usual. They didn’t see it rip the first cow it came to in half and pull it to bits, blood on it's paws and in it's mouth. They didn’t see the pain…the pain of being unable to experience a normal life.

They didn't see Matt, streaked in blood, stumble and collapse to the floor with a feeling he didn't even understand.

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How did you like it?

Who's the killer? Do you know? ;)

Poor Matt. He goes through hell and back to help people and, when he does start to think about himself, it's always too late.

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