Maya

I sent Safia back to school within a week, with a promise to increase her lessons. Learning to control her powers would take time and effort. Good thing that she's eager to learn.

It was all quiet after that. A whole month passed and nothing had happened. I was actually enjoying it.

That is until another death was announced.

Peace never lasts very long.

Drew shook his head as his favourite radio station was interrupted. I leaned against the cashier's desk and adjusted my baseball cap as I listened in.

"This just in. Ladies and gentlemen, the body of 76-year-old Wallace Fern was found dead this early morning. The authorities have not commented on the cause of death but it is believed to be related to recent wildlife activity in the area—"

"Dear Lord." Drew switched it off with a click. "What is this world coming to?"

"Beats me," I said. "What is that? The third death so far?"

"Fifth actually." He sighs. "The whole world has gone crazy. Poor bastard. I hope it was real quick."

I swallowed hard, feeling bile rise into my throat. I can't help but think of the wolves I found near my cabin.

Something wasn't right in this town.

If I didn't know any better, there was a different type of predator hunting.

It's a good thing Wanda put up a barrier. I'm not sure how long the magic voodoo will last but I can only hope it keeps the kids safe.

"I don't see how wolves can get this aggressive."

Drew gets up and turns the sign to closed. "Usually they go after livestock but this is different. Animals are scared of people, not the other way around."

"Maybe it's a lone wolf?" I suggested.

"Maybe," he said. "I was chatting with the sheriff the other day. You wanna know what he said?"

I shrugged, locking the cash register and handing him the keys. "Do tell."

I usually tune out Drew's gossip but something about this wasn't right at all. Five deaths within two months. Something stank really bad.

"Old Jimmy told me that the boys down in the coroner's office can't make heads or tails of anything." He lowers his voice slightly. "They've been mauled alright but not just by wolves."

"What does that even mean?"

He curled his lips back and pointed to his canine teeth. "Means that there were human bite marks on the bodies too."

—

Safia

Safia was wondering if she really needed an education or not.

Maya would never allow her to dropout.

The cafeteria was buzzing and she could hardly eat her lunch without catching snippets of other people's conversations. She was the new hot topic.

Samuel Grayson and his cronies were glaring at her from their table. They looked like minced meat.

She smiled and scratched her nose with the middle finger. His face went beat red. He tried to get up but one of his friends grabbed him and pulled him down.

Good choice.

Safia didn't want to embarrass him again by breaking his nose.

He narrowed his eyes at her and mouthed, "Bitch."

She smirked and stuck out her tongue out.

"You should stop antagonizing him,"

Emma sat down with her tray in the seat opposite her.

"But it's so fun," Safia argued. "Besides...he deserves it."

"It's good to see you back," she said.

Safia paused mid-bite, surprised to see her here. Everyone else left her on her own, afraid of Samuel and his goods. "Don't you know I'm a social pariah now? Won't you—oh, I don't know—taint your social reputation if you hang out with me?"

"Reputation is the currency here and I'm broke as shit." She shrugs. "You knocked Samuel down a peg." She said, pouring some dressing into her salad. "He thinks he can do whatever he wants just because his uncle is the mayor."

"Rich kid syndrome, huh."

"Something like that." She grins. "A lot of people are happy."

Safia chews through her lacklustre mystery meat before giving up on lunch completely. She slides the tray aside and folds her arms over the table.

"High school sucks," she says.

Emma pats her head. "It's only two more years."

"Yeah...of hell."

She sighs. "I wanted to say sorry."

"About what?"

"For not visiting you while you're suspended?" Emma fiddled with her spoon, nearly bending the cheap plastic in half. "And for not helping you when he was harassing you in class."

Safia shrugged. "I literally live in the middle of nowhere. It's not your fault."

"I guess but still, I should've at least made some sort of effort."

"You're here now aren't you?" Safia remarked. She popped another greasy french fry into her mouth. "Carmen fucked off but you stayed. That has to count for something."

Emma's cheeks turned red and she glanced down at her lunch, absently pushing the food around on her tray.

"Are we friends?" She asked after a long moment.

Safia chewed her food thoughtfully.

Friends, huh?

She didn't remember having any friends. Not even when she was homeless. Her mother had tried to get her to socialize but Safia would rather bite someone's hand before she kissed up to those rich kids and dick-measuring contests about whose daddy had the most money.

Ugh. Not a pleasant memory to revisit.

Safia had given up on the idea of friends. But things were slowly going back to normal. Well...as normal as things get for a super-powered teenager.

Maybe friends could be a nice start.

Maya told her that she should enjoy being a kid while she still can.

"Yes," she said. "We're friends."

Emma smiled making the dimples on her cheeks deepen.

"Awesome!"

—

Maya

Drew and I are back in the Antler bar.

I was about to eat out of the lunch box I packed but he insisted on buying me lunch.

I'm nursing a soda while he pours himself a generous helping of old whiskey. The regulars gather around him as they gossip over the latest death that occurred.

All sorts of rumours are flying around. Whatever the truth is, it ain't pretty.

I'm sure the local authorities will sell a sanitized version of events to ensure mass panic doesn't occur.

Amy passed me a plate of fries with mayonnaise on the side. "On the house, hun."

I grin. "Did anyone tell you that you're an angel?"

Amy gives me a wink before grabbing another order. "Every day, hun."

She pats my shoulder and attends to another customer.

The T.V. screen is tuned into the local channel. The same reporter stands in front of a brick building with yellow tape and cops behind them.

Their words swim through my ear but I already know all the details. It doesn't take that long for me to hack into the local systems and get all the information that I need.

The mayor and the police department have kept it quiet for now but public opinion might turn on them soon.

In total there's been five confirmed deaths including the recent ones. The victims have no relation to each other, despite being from the same town. Different ages, builds, races, and careers.

The autopsy reports are ridiculously detailed. The victim's main cause of death is traumatic haemorrhage, meaning that they bled out before they got torn to shreds. Only three of them were dismembered.

It's the bite marks that don't make any sense to me.

Possible animal bites—undermined for some reason—and human.

There are only two possibilities that I can think of.

One, there's a very creative serial killer out there who needs a bullet between their eyes.

Or two, which is stupid, that it's a freaking werewolf.

I highly doubt that there's a werewolf out there. I mean...the world is already crazy as it is so it wouldn't be that far-fetched.

Drew claps me on the shoulder, nearly making me jump out of my seat.

"You okay there?" He gives me a concerned look, his cheeks a little red from the beer he consumed. "For the last five minutes, you just stared off into space."

I nod, glancing at the screen again. "Yeah. I'm good. Just, you know, a bit spooked about all this."

Drew scrunched his eyebrows together. "I've lived here my whole life. Never saw anything this brutal before. The whole town is spooked and that shit stain of a mayor ain't doing shit about it. I'm worried about my kids and grandkids."

"Me too." I sigh and push aside my empty drink. "I'm scared for my siblings too. I just want them to be safe."

"That's natural, Maya." He said. "From what I've heard your siblings are quite the fighters."

I shouldn't be surprised. This is a small town after all.

"Oh, shit," I mutter, rubbing the back of my neck. "You heard about that, huh?"

"You bet I did!" Drew laughs. "Your sister beat the shit out of some older boys. Old Mrs. Alcott was whining about her grandbaby having a broken nose. Meh, he's always been a brat so getting knocked on his ass must've done him some good. Your sister must've had one hell of a right hook."

I could imagine Safia grinning smugly. There was no way I was telling her any of this.

"She used to be into martial arts," I explain weakly.

"Mayor Grayson nearly beat his nephew black and blue when he heard he got beaten by a girl."

"Should've put his money where his mouth is."

"If he did, then your sister would've been expelled." He steals a fry from my basket and pops it into his mouth. "By the way, how did you manage to talk that dinosaur of a principal from not expelling her."

"I...uh, well..." I stumbled over my words, focusing on the wood grain of the bar. "I may have threatened him."

"With what?"

"I said I would take the legal route and he piped down real quick after that."

Honestly, that was a half-truth. I did threaten him after I threw some money in his face. And then I called Tony—which I'm not proud of. The situation resolved itself quickly once the principal and Samual Grayson's parents realized they were punching above their weight class.

He whistled. "Well, I'll be damned."

"I'm not proud of it."

"You stood up for your kid. That's all that matters." He said. "Besides, it's nice to see someone knock that family down a peg. They think they're so high class but they're nothing more than a bunch of greedy pigs."

I'd have to look into that later.

"Mayor Grayson sounds like such a swell guy," I said sarcastically.

"I have a few words to describe him but if I say it out loud, Amy will kick me out of the bar."

—

I get home with the kids a little around 6 pm.

We stopped by the market place which was setting itself up for winter. The town committee was setting up Christmas lights and the giant Christmas tree.

It was a full-on Hallmark movie moment.

Odd. Because there have been five murders. Wouldn't that just dampen the holiday spirit?

Safia lingered behind while all the others took their bags and groceries inside. I locked the truck door.

"Was everything okay at school?" I asked. "Nobody tried to bother you."

She rolled her eyes. "It was fine."

"Just fine?" I raised my eyebrow.

"God, yes. Nothing happened. Grayson stayed in his lane and I stayed in mine." She rubbed her hands together for warmth. "If he wants to mess with me, I'll just take him to school again."

I sigh, my breath coming out in a puff of hot air. "I need you to practice nonviolence."

"Who am I? Ghandi?"

I gave her an unimpressed look. "You know what I mean. You have every right to defend yourself and I'm alright if you have to get physical to get your point across. Just, you know, pick your battles. You don't have to fight everyone."

Safia regards me strangely. "You're way too chill about this."

I shrug. "Yeah, I know. Would you rather I scream and ground you?"

"As if you could keep me grounded." She scoffed.

I nudged her with my elbow. I nod towards the cabin. "Don't tempt me, kid."