by Magnum Opus
Beau stopped by the counter, bought a cola (a.k.a a coca-cola) bottle, paid the cashier, and turned to walk out towards the door but when he saw Aradia he froze, and his eyes met hers. She fully expected him to pull a face or something else that would be just as insulting but instead he just stood there, looking right at her. For a brief few minutes Aradia felt the world melt away. There was only her and Beau left. She could not explain but Aradia felt this tug toward him, drawing her to him like a moth to a flame. Whether it was attraction or intrigue that drew her to him Aradia did not really know. Beau just stared at her for a few more minutes and then spun on his heel, and walked out of the diner. Aradia stared after him, still entranced until Roy gave a gruff annoyed cough under his breath. "So..." Roy began with his voice dripping with disdain and sarcasm, "it appears you developed a thing for one of the 'copper tone boys.'" "The who?" Aradia asked. "Is one of the greatest rock bands ever? I know this well," Roy quipped with a smile. "No, no," Aradia responded with a few shakes of her head, "what I meant was...” "I know what you meant!" This time Roy responded with a scowl and not a smile. "Well what did you mean?" Aradia snapped. Roy sighed and with a shrug of his shoulders explained, "We call Beau and them the 'Coppertone boys' because he and his kind always reek of sunscreen." "His kind?" Aradia repeated.
Looking as flustered as she had when Roy first questioned her, he doubled back by saying, "I mean friends him and his friends not his kind. Slip of a tongue, Rai my bad." Aradia just nodded but after a few moments asked, "why do they reek of sunscreen?" Roy then said, "Well you see some of his friends have real problems with the sun like if they walk out in the sunshine with no sunscreen they get horribly burned. Hence why most of them practically bathe themselves in sunscreen every day before or after school. Hell they bathe in that stuff so often me and my friends can smell them twenty miles away." "Your sense of smell is that good?" asked Aradia.
Roy shook his head and said, "You know what I mean Rai." Aradia said nothing although she had not mentioned what she had seen, the boy and girl in the alleyway, before she was arrested to anyone she could not shake off the feeling that what she had seen had not been a figment of her imagination. In the back of her mind it sort of all made sense, the "too perfectly" looking people, the vampire murder her father had started investigating in his spare time (still unsolved), and from what Roy had just told her about Beau and his "kind" needing sunscreen it all started to make sense of what was really going on in Salem. The logical side of her mind wanted to argue that such a thing was impossible. However, the more logical side of her mind would counteract by stating that girls who can do the things that Aradia could do were supposed to be impossible as well.
"Well I would love to stay and chat with you Roy but I got to get going."Aradia grabbed her backpack that was hanging on the back of her chair. She started making her way to the door when Roy called out, “hang on I will ask my brothers to give you a ride." Aradia shook her head in response and said, " I got to stop by the forest before I get home I need to gather some herbs for biology class. This week we're studying plants and I had seen a particular type of plant on my way to school that I thought would be perfect for a future project!" "The forest? Tonight?" Roy's face, before bright and cheerful, now suddenly became ashen gray and frightened as he added, "but there is a full moon tonight!" Aradia turned to look at Roy with an expression that clearly said you-got-to-be-kidding. "Yeah I know but that's when the plant reaches its full bloom, by the light of the full moon. Sounds kind of mystical I know but hey I guess Walt Disney had to get his ideas from some facts."
"But Aradia..,"Roy started, "you can't go into the forest at night."
"Why not?"
"Well," Roy paused searching for an answer that would satisfy her enough to make her call off the need to get the plant, “going into the woods at night with a full moon is dangerous because the full moon is...is...when the weirdoes come out!" Aradia raised an eyebrow and said, "Roy what are you really afraid of? A werewolf might get me?" There was no mistaking it now, Roy had gone completely white. The look he gave Aradia was as if he had suddenly turned into five year old seeing a live-action reenactment of Bambi's mother getting shot! Aradia noticed the change in Roy's demeanor but realized that when it came to choosing between getting a good grade and making friends feel better... one of her favorite sayings was "friends may come and go but the grades you get in high school really do last forever!"
"Well anyway thanks for the concern Roy I will keep it in my mind."
"So you're not going?" he asked hopefully. "Of course I am still going," Roy's face fell as Aradia uttered these words, "I need the plant for this project which is due next Thursday and it counts as 40% for my grade and no offense Roy but my GPA far out ranks your fears of the woods at night." Roy looked like as if he was about to cry. Aradia ran back from the door, hugged him and whispered in his ear, “don’t worry Roy I will be okay I am a lot tougher than I look."
By the time Aradia had found the plant it was already past nine pm, and now everything had gone completely dark. However, while most girls would be freaking out and feel hopelessly lost in this kind of situation Aradia did not. In addition to her "summoning" power, mind reading, and her visions Aradia could also control the elements like earth, wind, fire, air, light, dark, metal and wood. She could create these elements out of thin air like a cool breeze or a fireball but most of all she could bend the elements to her will as well. She could stop a house fire in a matter of seconds, make a steel door bend itself in such a way that she could squeeze easily through it and so on and so forth. Since she could control the elements of dark, light, and earth she could see easily in a pitch black night as clearly as she could see things in the middle of the day. She could also summon a ball of light to float everywhere, helping her to keep an eye on predators, and because she could control earth all she had to do was place her hand on the ground and she would automatically see the quickest way back home.This explained Aradia's assurance of her being in the woods at night and feeling completely safe. Aradia had to admit that as the night fell she was kind of enjoying the isolation. While she lived in Nebraska, she had lived in a place where there was hardly any big trees or rocks blocking people's views so Aradia could not practice her powers without fear of anyone seeing her.
Although, her powers had caused her nothing but grief since she was old enough to be aware of them, she had to admit being able to do the things that she could do was amazingly cool! Aradia felt incredible satisfaction and pleasure whenever she watched TV, she saw people with superpowers and knew that she had them as well! It never occurred to her, however, to do the hero gig because she thought if you do not have a badge or are not a certified officer of the law and you were beating up bad guys you were a vigilante. It did not matter if you knew the person was bad and they deserved it: inflicting punishment or judgment on someone without proper qualifications was vigilantism, which both Aradia and her father frowned upon. After all, Aradia concluded to herself, what was the point of having laws if no one followed them? Still, Aradia thought on, with the powers that I have been given there must be something special I am supposed to do with them right?
But for now Aradia left the question of the future use of her powers hang because right now she had to get home. She was almost there too, for her house was only a block away from her father's work place: the police station. Further proof that she was near home was by the tops of some of the boulders on her left she saw the lights from the police station. However, all of sudden she stopped trudging along because like the time near the bush before Jayden's party she heard something breathing and felt something watching her. Aradia froze, and debated with herself if she should just ignore it like the last time and continue on home. However, Aradia had never being the one to leave things unresolved so she decided to find out once and for all what the hell was going on. Starting with finding out what the mysterious breathing creature was. She stayed perfectly still, shifting on the balls of her feet, letting her
senses feel the earth and everything moving around her. Sensing from the breeze to the animals trying to determine what and where exactly everything was. She was able to identify the crickets and where they were, what type of rocks were around and where they were as well, and she was even to tell where the wind was blowing and where it was from. Unfortunately, she could not identify what the breathing creature was. The reason for that Aradia determined was because she had never seen this type of animal before. But she thought that was impossible because she had seen and learned from books at school about bears, crickets, bugs, bats practically every creature even tigers. Thanks to those books Aradia could easily sense these creatures but since she could not sense this one it meant that this creature was not like regular animals. But at least she was able to determine what direction the creature was located. Figuring that this was probably a person she did not know (she could not sense people she was not familiar with) she turned around to demand answers for why they were following her. However, the moment Aradia turned around to face what she thought was a human, she instead came face to face with a wolf! Not just any wolf this one was larger than any wolf she had ever seen in her life. The wolf was huge and it seemed to have weird material hanging in tatters all around it's body. Aradia was petrified and knew that if she moved the giant wolf would probably kill her before she even got a chance to shout for help! So for five long minutes the two of them stood in complete silence until Aradia noticed the wolf beginning to crouch in such a manner that he looked like he was about to take off in a long spirited run. Or, Aradia thought warily, pounce on his prey. The wolf began to crouch lower and Aradia heard it's breathing becoming slower. After two agonizing silent seconds the wolf pounced! His jaw want straight towards Aradia's arm but with her lightening quick reflexes (yet another of her powers) she managed to spin on her right and with her left leg kick the wolf hard towards the tree. The wolf narrowly missed chomping into Aradia's arm and although it slammed full force into the tree it shook the force of hitting the tree off after a mere few seconds and turned to face Aradia once again. But much to Aradia's horror and amazement instead of attacking again the wolf stood on its hind legs flexing its front legs as if they were not legs but arms. Aradia was dumbfounded because it was one thing to find a huge wolf but a wolf that could stand on its hind legs effortlessly was completely unheard of. She did not have time to dwell on this for predictably the wolf attacked her again.
This time it succeeded in biting Aradia but it was her hand and not her arm to which it's teeth sunk right through. Aradia howled in pain, using her other hand she tried to beat the wolf's face in an effort to make it let go but as she hit its face something incredible happened. The wolf turned to look at her, and Aradia managed to look straight into the wolf's eyes. She stared long and hard into them not just surprised because they did not seem like really wolves eyes but shocked as well because she felt as if she knew this wolf from somewhere. Hoping to God she wasn't doing anything stupid or something that would cost her life, she grabbed the wolf by its muzzle, wrenched it's teeth off her hand, and stared into its eyes once more. Only this time Aradia used her mind reading power to search the wolf's mind. After a few seconds of reaching into the very depths of its conciseness, Aradia's mouth fell open in disbelief. "Roy!" she practically shrieked,"is that you?!" Although when Aradia read someone or something's mind she was rarely ever wrong, she still could not believe that this giant wolf who was trying to eat her was really of one her new friends!
The wolf wrestled away from her grasp, and bore it's teeth growling viciously. Aradia felt around quickly for a tree branch. Once again the wolf stood on its hind legs ready to attack its prey. After using her power to sense a good thick tree branch that was fully capable of being able to accomplish what she was about to do, Aradia pressed her back against a tree and slowly inched herself up to look Roy straight in the eye. If she was hoping that looking at him would make him stand down or remember who she was, Aradia was sorely disappointed. Roy (the wolf) lunged itself right at Aradia who raised the branch and knocked Roy out cold. She heaved a couple of breaths after the agonizing and traumatizing event. At first, she contemplated just running home but then Aradia realized that she could not possibly just leave Roy out here all alone. She also realized that once Roy turned back human for he was bound to do so eventually Aradia could finally get the answers she was looking for. So with a heave and sigh, Aradia grabbed Roy by his ankles and proceeded to drag Roy through the forest. All the way to the police station where she locked him in one of the jail cells. After finding a chair, Aradia propped herself against the wall and waited for Roy to wake up.
Chapter Fourteen
It wasn't till very early the next morning that Roy finally did wake up. Aradia had already been wide awake by that time. Aradia stared at him as he started to grunt and move in the usual waking manner. It was so hard for her to believe that the guy now lying on the floor of her father's jail had been a werewolf last night. Looking back now, however, she supposed it did make some sense. It explained his keen sense of smell, his ability to keep up with Aradia at running (which was no easy thing to do) but most of all his strange warning to her at his family diner to stay out of the woods. Aradia looked and studied Roy's form thinking back on the stories she had read about werewolves. Most of the legends were true like them looking just like wolves except bigger, them being able to shift to wolf form during the full moon, but the one legend that did not seem to be true was when the werewolf turned back into a human he would be completely naked. Roy still had his clothes on, tattered but still on his person. His jeans had holes on his kneecaps and were ripped along the seams. No doubt a result from when Roy shifted. In addition, his shirt had humongous holes on his front and back and on his shoulders too. So all in all he was fully clothed but still could be considered in a state of undress.
After rubbing the sleep out of his eyes, Roy slowly stood up. He stopped, however, as he started to realize where he was. "Why am I in jail?" He was probably just thinking out loud and fully expecting to have no one else there to answer him. So needless to say he was surprised when Aradia did. "Would you rather be at the animal shelter?" She asked. He jumped and spun around to face her. The two of them stood perfectly still, looking at each other. The awkward silence between them so thick that you could cut it with a knife. Until finally Aradia asked, "so are you going to tell me what the hell you are or do I have to bother by asking the question out loud?" Roy just continued to stare at her until finally he asked, "What do you mean?" Aradia rolled her eyes and said, "C’mon Roy I know what you are or at least I think I know what you are." "What do you mean?" Roy repeated. Aradia heaved an exasperated sigh and said, "I know you are a werewolf Roy." Roy stared at her and burst out laughing. After a few minutes of loud highly amused laughing where Aradia kept her face stony straight he lifted his head to look at her once again. At first, he was shocked that his laughing had not discouraged her and her theory. Instead she looked like she had anticipated him doing exactly this when she confronted him. "Aradia," Roy began holding up his hand, "look I do not know what drug you are currently hopped up on but I am sure once it's worn off you really going to laugh about this." "Roy I saw you," Aradia stated. "Saw what?" Roy asked. "I saw you transform back into a human, I saw you as a wolf, I read your mind when you were in your wolf form, and I know that you are indeed a werewolf!" Roy opened his mouth to argue you again but then clamped it shut after her words reached him, “what do you mean you read my mind?" Aradia had considered not telling Roy about her own powers but upon realizing that after all the freaky stuff that had happened like seeing her best friend turn from an animal to a human that it was better to take the gloves off and be perfectly honest with each other. Or at least Aradia would try to be honest with Roy. "I said I read your mind that's how I knew you were the wolf that attacked me." "Attacked you?" Roy repeated but all of a sudden his face turned as white as a sheet of printer paper. Aradia expected him to deny it even more furiously but quite t
he contrary Roy ran to the bars and grabbed hold of them. "My God Aradia I am so sorry. I swear to God I did not mean to turn you but don't worry I won't abandon you. I will help you adjust to your new powers and introduce to the others of the pack. We will protect you and teach you our ways. You will be fine I swear!" "Roy...Roy...Roy...dang it Roy would shut the bloody hell up?" Aradia kept trying to say in the middle of Roy's ranting. Roy looked insulted like a policeman who had taken a bullet for a kid who instead of thanking him for saving his life, actually bit him! "Well sorry Aradia," Roy responded his voice dripping with bitter sarcasm, "I was just trying to let you know that now you are a werewolf I will help you get used to it but if it bothers you so much me helping you that perhaps I won't bother and just let some random hunter take a crack shot at you...!" "But Roy I am not going to turn into a werewolf," Aradia stated in a matter of fact voice. Roy's look of insult now turned into a look of pity and said, "I am sorry Aradia but despite what you may have read in books and stuff it really only takes one bite that can turn you." Aradia sighed and asked, "How long does it take for the bite to heal?" Roy shrugged and said,"about two weeks. Why?" Aradia responded by asking, "Do you remember where you bit me?" At least Roy had the decency to blush, “I do not know. On your hand I think. I don't always remember what I do when I transform." "So," Aradia said pushing herself off the chair, walking right up to the bars, and pulling off her jacket, "by your calculations the bite should not be healed by now right?" Roy nodded solemnly. "And," Aradia continued, "If I need proof that I am turning into a werewolf the bite should still look horrible and not be healed by now?" Roy nodded again. "Well Roy feast your eyes on this (no pun intended)" and with that Aradia thrust her injured hand right through the bars, two inches from his face. Or at least according to Roy it should have been injured but now the flesh and the blood that had completely coated Aradia's swollen hand from where Roy's teeth had made contact in his wolf form was not only gone but looked so well healed that it almost appeared the hand itself had never been used a day in Aradia's life. It looked creamy pale just like the rest of her skin; her hand was its normal size with no swelling whatsoever, no calluses, no dirty fingernails, no bitten nails, nothing on her hand at all. What did remain that was proof that the Roy had indeed bitten her was a faint trace of teeth imprints making purple little dots across the back of her hand towards her fingers. Roy just stood looking at Aradia's hand completely bewildered. "But how..." he finally managed to sputter, "I mean I am sure I bit you..." "You did," said Aradia. "But it can't possibly be healed by now..." "Well," Aradia interjected, "I did say I read your mind and figured out who you were in your wolf form, and I managed to knock you out while you were still in your wolf form, drag you through the forest, lock you into my father's jail...no offense Roy but after everything that has already happened I do not think my hand healing is that big of a deal." Roy stood with his mouth agape. He was completely stunned Aradia, however, coolly walked back to her chair and asked, “so are you going to tell me what the hell is going on or...am I going to have think something extremely violent and uncomfortable to do to you to make you talk?" At first, Roy still remained silent but after a few seconds smirked at Aradia's joke and said, "ok I will tell you but on one condition." "Name it," Aradia responded eager to finally get answers. "I will tell you about me and everything if you tell me what you are." "You mean you'll show me yours if I show you mine?" Aradia said raising an eyebrow and crossing her legs seductively. Roy snorted and said, "Yeah something like that." "Ok," said Aradia. Roy was perplexed for he had expected her to be a bit more hesitant with her secrets and told her so. Aradia just shrugged and said, "Roy if there is one thing I have learned in all my years is that it's better to tell the truth especially to your friends and I mean we are friends aren't we?" Roy looked Aradia square in the eye and said, "Rai not only did you stop me from killing anyone, but you personally put me some place safe where not only everyone would be safe including me, but you also stayed by my side the entire night." His eyes grew tender and intimately locked with hers. Aradia,however, just shrugged casually and said, "Hell the real reason I did all that was because I was worried about you going crazy, killing some random person, and I stayed by your side because if you broke out of jail you might wreck my dad's office." Roy, crestfallen, asked, “really?" "No" said Aradia. He then grinned from ear to ear until Aradia finally asked again, "So are we friends or what?" Roy grinned even wider and said, "Definitely." They smiled at each other for a while. Until Aradia broke the silence but asking, "So you going tell me why my best friend is a werewolf or what?" Roy sat down cross legged and said, "ok." It took approximately three hours for Roy to explain everything to her. He explained how he was indeed a werewolf but he was not the only one. All four of his brothers were werwolves too and so was his father and mother or at least he thought his mother was a werewolf. He really did not know because she had run off right after his youngest brother was born. There were other werewolf packs in Salem besides his as well. His pack included his brothers, father, cousins, aunt, and uncles; they were known as the SilverMoon pack.