The infinite growlers

Thrain strolled along the deserted pathway of the school, his senses sharpened as his instincts resembling those of a wolf kicked in. Aware of being observed, he could sense the gazes of his fellow classmates fixed upon him. This had become a routine occurrence since the moment he had unraveled his true nature as a werewolf. Previously, he had always sensed a disconnect, but now the reason behind it was made clear to him.

As he walked, he caught sight of a cluster of boys gathered closely, engaged in hushed conversations and occasionally casting furtive glances in his direction. Hastening his steps, he couldn't shake off the burden of their penetrating gazes following him from behind. Throughout his life, he had always been susceptible to being targeted by bullies, but ever since undergoing his transformation, the intensity of these assaults had escalated to a point where he scarcely could control his urge to unleash his fury and dismantle them.

Thrain tried to ignore them and focus on getting to class. He had always been a good student, and now he needed to keep his grades up more than ever.

As he turned the corner, he saw her. Edith. She was leaning against the lockers, surrounded by her usual group of friends. She had long, curly hair that fell in soft waves around her face, and her eyes sparkled in the dim hallway light. Thrain's heart raced as he approached her.

"Hey, Edith" he said, keeping his voice steady.

"Hey, Thrain" she responded with a polite smile.

Thrain, the school outcast, could only hope for the best in his interactions with Edith, the most popular girl, who had never engaged with him beyond exchanging meaningless greetings.

As he proceeded further, a wave of melancholy engulfed him. He would never be able to blend in with this place; he was unique... because he was a werewolf.

A mystical creature that exists only in legends; a beast that howls in the blindness of nights.

As he got to his classroom, he went to take his seat, located at the extreme of the class, next to a window.

But then something caught his attention. A smell. It was faint, but it was there. Thrain focused his senses, trying to pinpoint the source, fuck! He was the worst at concentrating.

The classroom teacher came in, he could barely focus, his attention had totally been drawn, his eyes totally fixated out the window.

That's when his eye came in contact with a man outside the school, he had a mix of silver, gray red pair of eyes, and it glowed as light shown on it.

Yes! There are rare and fiery color of eyes that often associates with the hereditary gene of a human, but this was different and unique, it glowed as each ray of light ran through them.

Thrain precluded the fact that he was who he thought he was, he took his gaze back, out the window, the figure wasn't there any longer.

Thrain! Thrain!!

The classroom teacher called out for Thrain, the one lost in his thoughts.

He slowly shifted his gaze towards the teacher, the classroom teacher's hand fell with a thud on his table, he trembled slightly as he was hit with a sudden surprise.

He knew it, he was in trouble, the classroom teacher hated diverted attentions while his class was going on.

The teacher smiled and gazed down intently at him, "Thrain, can you tell me the name of the process that converts light energy into chemical energy in plants?" he asked, hoping to catch him off guard.

But to his surprise, Thrain's head shot up, and he answered without hesitation.

"Photosynthesis, Mr. Thomas."

Mr. Thomas couldn't help but feel impressed. Thrain had never been one to participate in class, and he assumed he was just another lagging student of his. But his answer had been correct and quick.

The other students in the class looked just as surprised as Mr. Thomas felt. They had never seen Thrain show such initiative before.

Right after the question came out, a student sitting in the front whispered the answer gently and continued reading her book.

Thrain tried his best and focused his concentration to the maximum. "Photosynthesis," his super hearing finally picked up something that sounded like the answer.

The sound of the bell rang, signifying the end of the day's class.

"We'll continue in the next class, make sure your assignments are all done," said Mr. Thomas. "And Thrain, my eyes are on you... do you understand?"

"Yes, I understand."

The classroom began to get noisy as Mr. Thomas left. Thrain picked up his bag and fixed it securely on his right shoulder.

"You're leaving already?" Mark asked.

Thrain looked down at Mark, who was still settled in his seat. "Yeah, something is bothering me and making me feel uneasy," he said, glancing at the woods through the window. An image of a figure flitted through his mind again.

"We'll discuss it tomorrow."

He brushed past the tables, catching the attention of a girl with thin, old hair.

"Thank you," he muttered to her.

She felt a bit creeped out at first. "For what?" she finally asked, looking flustered.

Thrain, who never stopped walking, turned back and gave her a soft wink.

"Weird fellow," she muttered to herself, finally refocusing on her work.

...

Thrain put on his earplugs as he walked along the roadside. Without the earplugs, all he heard were murmurs, whispers, and gossip from the people around him. He hadn't fully learned to control his hearing abilities yet.

Woof! Woof!!

A dog barked at passersby, but as Thrain's eyes met the dog's gaze, the barking stopped and the dog sat back down. Thrain got closer, knelt down next to the dog, and ran his hands through its fur.

"We're kind of the same species now, so let's get along well," he said softly.

The dog tilted its head in response, as if understanding what Thrain had just said.

"Good! I'll name you Ruby." The dog barked in response. Thrain stood up and continued on his journey home.

Finally, he arrived home, but it was already late since he had stopped at a friend's place to play a Nintendo game...

"Thrain! You came home late again!" his mother shouted at him, causing him to cover his ears.

"I was busy studying with Mark, Mum!" Thrain said, putting his earplugs back in.

"Once your dad is back, he'll hear about this," his mother said, glaring at him intently.

The stairs creaked as Thrain slowly ascended them, his feet dragging along the rough carpet. He was exhausted after a long day of playing video games, and all he wanted to do was collapse into bed and forget about everything.

"Feel free to tell him, it's not like he has time for his family," he muttered to himself.

He reached the top of the staircase and, with a sigh of relief, headed towards his room. The sound of the door creaking was heard as he pushed it open slowly.

"What a naughty one, to make it my first."

Thrain's room was dark, and as he laid there, thoughts swirled incessantly in his mind. He felt an unshakable sense of loneliness. There was no one here to share his pain, no one to listen to his problems, and no one to tell him that everything would be alright.

He rolled over, burying his face into the unyielding pillow. His nose caught a familiar scent, the same one that lingered from school. It made him feel uneasy. He quickly rushed to his wardrobe, searching for any sharp object he could find. Finally, he grabbed hold of a chisel.

"What's a chisel doing in my wardrobe?" he thought, but he didn't have time to process it.

As he slowly shifted his gaze towards the window, he was met with a pair of glowing silver and gray-red eyes.

Thrain had never felt like that, ever since his first transformation. That feeling, a sense of oppression, like being looked down upon. All he wanted to do now was obey every command. At the same time, a thought rushed through him - his mother, was she safe?

Finally, the figure took off at an insane speed, barely visible to his eyes. He felt relieved, as if released from some sort of bondage.

"Now, it's clear, we are the same!" Thrain muttered to himself.

He regained his composure and headed into the bathroom to calm down. As he finally cooled off, he laid on his bed, pondering the situation. "But what does he want?" he wondered until he fell into a deep sleep.

...

¶Sometimes in our lives we all have pain¶

We all have sorrow

But if we are wise

We know that there's always tomorrow

Lean on me, when you're not strong

And I'll be your friend

I'll help you carry on

For it won't be long

'Til I'm gonna need

¶Somebody to lean on¶

Fiona and Ethan drove at high speed near the woods. The suspenseful song played loudly, heightening the tension in their hearts.

They entered the path that led into the woods, gradually slowing down. The trees began to blur together, and soon they were surrounded by darkness, making it hard to see beyond the road.

Suddenly, they noticed movement in the direction of the woods. They paused the song and listened intently. All was silent, except for the sound of crickets chirping in the background.

"Did you see that?" Fiona whispered.

"I don't know, let's keep going. Who the heck goes into the woods for something as lame as a picnic?" Ethan replied, his voice slightly raised. "I'm beginning to regret this decision."

Fiona turned off the engine and stepped out of the car. "And now it's my fault that you're here, huh?" she said, hitting the hood of the car in frustration.

Ethan was starting to get really angry. He wanted to shout at her, but there was one thing that was keeping him calm - the strange vibes emanating from the woods.

"If only that mystical legend-reading freak had agreed to come with us," he muttered, running his hand through his sandy brown hair. He paced back and forth in frustration.

"Yeah, Mark would have been better than you, a guy with anger issues. This is probably why you haven't found a girlfriend all this while."

"What did you just call me...?"

Once again, they noticed movement in the woods as leaves rustled. Ethan stopped his sentence halfway, spotting the glowing red eyes again, staring at them from within the tree line. Both gasped and quickly got back into the car.

"What? Now, of all times?" Ethan exclaimed, frustration evident in his voice. But the car wouldn't start.

The creature was already sprinting towards them. Ethan grabbed Fiona's hand. "There's no time for that, run!"

They both took off, running heavily without looking back, knowing that something was chasing them. They could hear the creature's feet thudding behind them. Fear fueled their desperation to escape.

After a while of running and panting heavily, Ethan finally came to a halt. The loud thuds made by the creature's feet were no longer audible. "I think we lost it!" he said, taking deep breaths with his hands on his knees.

"Fiona, let's find our way out of here. We'll come back for your car first thing after class tomorrow."

He turned his head to look at Fiona but found her frozen in fear. Her gaze was intense, piercing, and filled with fear. Slowly, he turned his head to see a towering, seven-foot tall, hairy wolf standing behind him.

"Fuck! This can't be real," he murmured under his breath.

Fiona snapped out of her frozen state and began to run once again. She was filled with a mix of desperation and adrenaline, not even sure what kept her moving - the will to live, perhaps? "Is Ethan still alive?" she wondered as tears streamed down her face.

Eventually, she couldn't gasp for breath anymore. Her legs grew sore, and she collapsed onto the ground, lying on her back while staring up at the starry sky.

"That was fast... and truly, it's my fault," she whispered to herself, hearing the heavy breathing of the creature above her. The creature swiped its hand across her head, knocking her out.

An alpha werewolf.