by H. T. Night
“Am I a wolf? Look, guy. I know you’re drunk as shit, but make sense, will you?”
This guy knew zero about the immortal world. I decided it was about that time to join Danny in his imaginary ring on the sidewalk. I looked out for police or security. This fight wasn’t going to last long. But I was going to need a safe route out of here because I was going to give this fucker a fistful of pain.
Danny started circling me. Typical wrestler bullshit. They thought moving around in circles would help. All it did was waste energy. I stood still until it was time to strike my opponent. I didn’t do those little dances like a classic boxer.
Then something was said out loud by someone watching the fight. “Hey, look! It’s that MMA fighter, Tommy Jenkins.”
Are you kidding me? I get recognized like once every two months and it happens out here in Vegas? Right now? I couldn’t worry about that at the moment. I had an ox coming after me like he was the Incredible Hulk himself.
Danny ran at me. I knew he would have great balance being a wrestler. So, I was going to have to beat his ass senseless.
I threw a right cross and hit Danny in his temple before he could grab me with his burly arms. I knocked him to the ground. It wasn’t going to take much for either one of us to hit the ground. MMA fighter or not. Wrestler or not. Drunk was drunk and this was a drunken fight.
Danny hit the sidewalk and bounced right back up. Just like a typical wrestler. Then the two of us squared off. I knew that punching would feel unnatural to him because he had been taught to use all this aggression and anger when he wrestled, but he could never strike his opponent in a wrestling match. He didn’t give himself permission subconsciously to throw blows and to kick. I wasn’t saying I wasn’t planning on him throwing punches. I knew he would. But he would hesitate. That’s when I would strike. That’s when I would pounce.
As Danny came at me, I looked at Annie out of the corner of my eye and I saw her walk away. Crap, she was taking off. Dammit, I needed to kick this guy’s ass fast. I was hoping to savor some of it and just make the guy beg for mercy. But I didn’t have time.
I was able to get in close with Danny and I grabbed hold of him. I knew this was a risky move because if he was stronger than me, I’d just give him the upper hand and put myself in a vulnerable position.
This was the test. I grabbed him and I squeezed for dear life. I picked him up and I knew quickly that I was much stronger than him. Even though I was smaller in size, I threw him around like a rag doll.
It surprised the hell out of him. He had no idea that he’d bitten off way more than he could chew. That surprised me. That extra strength I was given in my human form because I was a werewolf made me pretty damn strong.
I slammed him to the ground. Then his buddies all grabbed me and pulled me off of him. One of his friends jumped right in my face and blasted out like a lawyer, “Isn’t it illegal for a professional MMA fighter to fight a civilian?”
“I don’t know. Maybe that’s something you should look into.” I backed off, though. A tad.
“What the fuck?” Danny said.
“Danny, this guy is an undefeated MMA fighter. I just Googled him. He’s 6-0.” His friend had obviously looked me up on the internet on his cell phone when that guy had yelled out my name in the crowd.
Danny looked at me and shook his head. “No wonder you’re a beast. I’m out of here. I’m not going to get into it with a professional mixed martial arts fighter.”
That was all it took. Danny walked over to the ladies he’d wronged and apologized and then he and his friends took off, going down Las Vegas Boulevard to find some other night mischief. I was sure they were acting the fool. I couldn’t follow them around all night, though.
I had two things going on. The full moon would be rising soon. I could feel it prickling the hairs at the back of my neck.
But more importantly, I needed to find Annie. I didn’t want that last thing she had seen me do to be our goodbye.
I had seen her go up these escalators that led to a second floor. From that spot, she could have gone to any of four different casinos.
I had a 25 percent chance of picking the right one.
And just a short time before I turned into the werewolf.
Chapter Ten
I needed to at least say goodbye to her.
I was going to head for the casino on the right. In a world of decisions where humans were forced to take random directions, if given a choice, most people would go to the right. So, that was the way I went, too.
I ran up the escalator and went to the right. I walked into the casino and there was a sea of slot machines. At the end, I could see a woman sitting by herself with her back to me—she looked like Annie.
I hurried over to her. I looked around the woman’s head to see if she was Annie. Yup.
“Annie! Why did you leave so suddenly?” I asked.
“I don’t like fighting. Who likes fighting? It’s senseless.”
“I like fighting,” I said.
“Then, you’re a psychopath.”
“I don’t want to kill anyone. I want to win fights. It’s my job.”
“A job that you choose. And tonight? Was that part of your job?”
“No. That was me blowing off some steam.”
“To beat up another person is a way for you to blow off steam?”
“Both parties agreed on it ahead of time. It’s not as if I was attacking strangers on the street.”
“What do you call what happened tonight?”
“That guy asked for it. I gave him every opportunity not to fight with me.”
“Did you win?” Annie asked sarcastically.
“I was about to lay a beat down when one of his friends pulled me up on his cell phone’s internet and called me out, saying it was illegal for me to fight his friend.”
“Seriously? So, you seriously are a professional fighter?”
“Have you not believed anything I’ve told you?”
“I have. But a lot of guys just think they are MMA fighters.”
“Just because you work out at a gym doesn’t make you an MMA fighter. Do you have a phone?”
“Of course,” Annie said.
“Does it have internet?”
“Yeah. It’s a smartphone.”
“Well, look me up.”
“I will. First, show me your driver’s license.”
“Why would I do that?”
“I need to make sure your name is honestly Tommy Jenkins.”
I laughed out loud and I flashed her my driver’s license. “There it is. My name. Thomas Paul Jenkins.”
She looked at it and smiled and then, she put her phone away.
“Why didn’t you look up my name?”
“Don’t you think I already did? I looked you up before we went out tonight. I wanted to make sure you weren’t a psychopath. I thought it was hot that you were a professional fighter. But, seeing it up close and personal, it’s something that makes me feel weird. I don’t want to be a part of it.”
“All right, then. Your honesty is refreshing.” I smiled politely at Annie. “Thank you for a very interesting evening.” I began walking away and heading toward the same door where I had entered.
“Tommy!” Annie yelled. “Wait!”
I turned around and she ran over to me. She gave me a giant hug. She was just as drunk as me, after all. I should know her emotions could turn on a dime. Mine certainly could.
“Take care of yourself.” She kissed me on my cheek. It was a sweet gesture. I wanted to say something. I wanted to say something that would give her comfort. If she was telling the truth, Annie only had two weeks to live.
“Annie,” I said suddenly. “I can make it so you’ll live forever.”
“Huh,” she said. “That’s what they said in church, too, but—”
“That’s not what I’m talking about. Annie, I can help you. To live.”
“How?”
“I can make you immortal.”
What the hell was I saying?
“You’re talking crazy.”
“I’m not. Annie, I’m a real werewolf. I have been for a couple of years.”
“You’re nuts. Why would you mess with me like this? I thought you were a nice guy. Why would you fuck with my fragile hope? How dare you!”
“Annie. It’s tricky. But I can help you become immortal. The catch is, every full moon—”
“Shut up! I don’t believe you.” Annie was as indignant as I had ever seen anyone in my life.
“I’m sorry you don’t trust me,” I said.
“I was wrong about you. You are a psychopath.”
“I can’t die,” I said. “At least not easily, not like humans can. Let me explain everything, and if you still don’t believe me, then you can go on your way. I have been nothing but completely honest with from the get-go.”
“Oh, God. Like I need someone crazy in my life. I only have a couple of weeks left. Please go away from me. You… you weird guy.” Annie was now crying. “Another time. Another place. I could have loved you. And now you ruined it. My last memory of you will be this… cruel lie. Tommy, how could you?”
“Annie! I’m not lying! I’m not trying to be mean. I am trying to help you. Help you live. You need to believe me!”
“You completely believe what you’re saying,” she said. “The only thing is, I don’t. Go away with your damn… fairy tale. Or your scam, or your bad religion, whatever it is.”
It broke my heart to hear those words come from her mouth. I couldn’t convince her to believe me. There was no magic trick that a werewolf could do to show a Tandra who they were while they were in their human bodies.
I looked at Annie and realized some people didn’t want to believe. Even on their deathbeds, they were blind to the world that was right in front of them.
“I’m sorry you don’t believe me. But listen.” I grabbed a pen and a piece of scrap paper that was in front of one of the slot machines. I wrote my name and number on it.
She looked at me with tears in her eyes. “Why would I even keep your phone number?”
“I know it’s hard to believe. But I will ask you not to tell a soul what I told you, even if you don’t believe me. Here is my number. We honestly only have one shot to do it. Call me if you have a change of heart. I want to help you.”
“You obviously believe you can. But Tommy, I think all that MMA fighting has hit your brain in the wrong place. Or losing Maya has made you snap. You poor, tragic man.” She paused. “You’re still fucking beautiful to me. I’ll take that to my grave. It’s all I have.”
Without waiting to see if she put my number in her purse, I turned around and walked away. It was time for me to go home.
Chapter Eleven
I made my way back to my hotel on foot. I was hoping Annie would come after me. But this time, she didn’t. The walk was about four miles to my hotel. That hot walk sobered me up. By the time I arrived back at my hotel room, I was ready to go home. For real.
I went up to my room, gathered my minimal stuff, and checked out. I didn’t leave anything except the betting sheet on the dresser. I was about to leave and just leave the betting sheet there in the room, but two things made me go back in my hotel room and grab that betting sheet. Those things were: curiosity and hope.
Let me look at this sheet.
Which hotel again had I apparently placed this sick $1,000 bet with what looked like someone else’s money? The Magmus Hotel in Henderson, Nevada. Where the hell was Henderson? And just how drunk was I that night? Holy hell.
I checked my GPS and Henderson, Nevada, was only about twenty minutes away. Well, that was where I’d be going before I headed home to California.
It was past midnight. I was tired. To be honest, I was exhausted. But I wanted to get out of this city. Except for Annie, I couldn’t even remember being here. Her words still rang in my ears: ‘Another time. Another place. I could have loved you.’
The entire trip had been one incredibly long drunk day that seemed to never end. They say New York never sleeps. Oh my lord, Las Vegas was a beast.
I pulled into the Magmus casino parking lot. I did recall this place in my memory bank. But barely.
I went into the sports book. I saw a guy up front and walked over to him.
“Hey,” I said. “I made a bet a couple days ago, and I have no idea who won games that day. It’s a ridiculous bet, but because I bet $1,000 when I was apparently drunk off my ass, I decided to check it out, just on general principles.”
The sports book cashier was older, a guy in his sixties. He was thin in build, but seemed to have a slight edge to him, despite the years.
I’ll never forget this moment for the rest of my life.
“On general principles,” the old man said, “let me see that ticket.” He laughed and looked at the eight-team parlay. “Wow, you did bet $1,000. Let me check that out. I don’t even want to tell you how much you’d win if it hit.” He ran my ticket through his machine. Then I saw the old man’s eyes bug out of his head.
“Are you fucking with me?” the old man said to me. “Am I on TV or something? Are you playing a joke on me?”
“No one is playing a joke on you. What the hell is going on? Did I win?” I was absolutely screaming.
The man stared at the screen and with a big goofy grin said to me, “You just won $150,000.”
I was shocked. I actually peed my pants a little. “You can’t fuck with people like this? Right? That’s like majorly against your rules. You must be telling me the truth.”
“I’m telling you the truth. The owner of this ticket won $150,000. Luckily, we have surveillance cameras and with a payout this big, we need to double-check our cameras and make sure you were the one who placed the bet. If it wasn’t you, then there are a lot of hurdles you’ll need to jump through to collect. But we’ll worry about that if it happens. I need to call both floor managers to come over here. This will take a bit, until we can pay out a sum like this. If everything goes your way, we will need to write you a check.”
He looked at me expectantly, as if I should remember if I bought the ticket or not.
I said, “I only vaguely remember this place. I was drinking heavily that night. So, hopefully, your cameras will show I bet on the Platypuses. Whoever the hell they are.”
He laughed. “Take a seat and don’t go too far. I’ll have someone bring you a drink. What do you want?”
“Ice water, with a twist of lime. I’m driving right home after this. No matter which way it goes.”
“Sounds wise,” he replied.
***
It took three hours and 45 minutes, but they handed me a check for $150,000 and change. I had to fill out a tax form and show my driver’s license. I had never had to show my driver’s license this much in years. After taxes, I would have over $112,000. They wanted me to pay the tax, but I told them I had to talk to my attorney before I did that. Somehow, I squeaked by them on that. I fully intended to pay, just not now.
After I was given the check, I went straight to my bank. I was lucky they had a branch in Henderson. That’s why I liked the nationwide banks because you could find one anywhere.
I deposited the check. They told me there would be a hold for five days. Are you kidding me? I’d never deposited a check anywhere near that big, so I guess that was the protocol when a poor chump like me popped in with a check for $150,000. I’m sure it was a reasonable hold time, but I was impatient.
Suddenly, I wasn’t done with my trip to Las Vegas.
I needed to go back one more time and pick something up.
I went to the motorcycle dealership. After a few phone calls to the bank, we worked out a way where I could ride the motorcycle out of the shop. I gave the guy the three grand I had in my pocket as a down payment and my signature promised that I would pay the difference in ten days.
I was going to leave my car in Vegas and ride my bike home. I found a secure parking lot where I could park
it until I could come back and get it. I put the Club on the steering wheel and said to my car, “Now, don’t be jealous. This just means you will last longer because I will be driving the hell out of the bike and driving you real easy from now on. No more 100-mile-an-hour trips.”
I hoped that was true. It was more like a promise to myself not to tear up my classic Mustang and make it into a piece of shit like I had all of my other cars.
I rode my hog home. It was the most beautiful ride I had ever experienced. Why the hell hadn’t I had a bike before?
It took me just under three hours to get home. My new ride was so sweet and it was so freaking fast. I was surprised I didn’t get pulled over, but thank God I didn’t. I wasn’t drunk any longer, but I didn’t have a motorcycle license yet. And I wouldn’t trust a blood alcohol test right now with all the binge drinking I’d been doing the last couple of days. The only time I had even consumed any water was when I was waiting to find out if I was the big winner.
I arrived at the house and I decided that the boy needed to hear some good news.
I was sure that, in time, Josiah would get his life insurance settlement for his parents’ deaths, but I didn’t know how much it would be. I had no idea what kind of life insurance Josiah’s parents had in place when they’d died. I didn’t want to have those types of conversations with him just yet. Just like me, he was going to be in mourning for a while. This was his life now. Parentless. Sisterless.
Maya had been my life and though I thanked God that Josiah still walked the Earth, I missed her so much that about every twenty seconds, I thought of her.
I guessed that Fate had put me in this position to watch over this wonderful kid for a while. He had been well-raised with morals and values that I didn’t possess, so I didn’t know if I was the best candidate for a role model for Josiah.
All I did know was, I loved this eighteen-year-old kid, but I didn’t deal well with this kind of stuff. And by stuff, I meant: responsibility.
As a matter of fact, I’d never dealt with anything like this in my entire life. Shit, I hadn’t even heard of someone losing their fiancée in a car crash. I couldn’t be expected to know what to do. Neither could Josiah. I guess we were going to have to figure this out together.