{Synopsis: The good news is that the suspect list is narrowing down...The bad news is that with less people to be killed, the odds of cleared crewmates dying next are becoming greater.}

{Location: Polus outpost}

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The crew gathered in the Office after they all heard the news, and they waited for Engineer and Sheriff to finish their search around the cabins for more evidence. No one really said much of anything; Dum felt guilty for having asked for the extra protection; if she'd have known MrEgg was going to be left with nothing but a weak scented candle for protection, she'd have offered him hers back...Maybe that would have saved him.

TheGentleman was slumped against the wall, holding one of his top hats in his hands and tears in his eyes.

"I...I could have done something...I could have double-checked to make sure he still had something that would work, o-or given him something to defend himself with like Captain did for Dum..."

"TheGentleman?" MrCheese asked him. "A-are you okay?"

"Why...Why am I so selfish, MrCheese, why...!?"

He hid his visor beneath the rim of the top hat in his hands, letting his tears flow freely without having to make anyone else witness them. MrCheese kneeled beside him and wrapped him into a hug, assuring him that it wasn't his fault, and that he wasn't selfish, and that they were just trying to stay safe.

"Hey...How 'bout I get you a cup o' tea, hm? That might help calm you down. Do you want that?"

He nodded in response, and the orange crewmate stood up and headed over to the coffee station to brew TheGentleman a hot cup of English breakfast tea...And it was the moment the tea bag started to steep that Sheriff and Engineer returned, the former carrying a few pieces of paper in hand. He motioned for everyone to come to the meeting table, and once everybody was seated and attentive, he began.

"Alright...First off, we'll have you know that MrEgg's remains have been buried alongside Veteran and Stoner, and their graves have been marked in case anyone might want to visit them...But there is good news. And quite a bit of it."

Everyone leaned in.

"First of all, We've learned that our defenses have worked to an extent; MrEgg was an easy target, but the buildings that were boarded up remained intact, even when the werewolf made an attempt to enter. Sheriff, show everyone the picture you took a minute ago."

He picked up one of the papers he had with him and showed it off for everyone to see.

"This is TheGentleman and MrCheese's window. As most of you know, the boards were put up on the inside to reduce the amount of broken glass that would likely end up on the floor. And as you can see, the werewolf managed to make a sizeable hole in the window...but whoever it was couldn't get past the wood quite so easily."

Just inside the gaping, jagged-edged hole in the glass window were several crooked rows of deep claw marks scraped into the wood.

"That was all the damage it could manage," Sheriff nodded. "Now. Since the glass is broken, we'll have to patch the hole up with somethin'; we ain't got any spare window pane in Storage as of right now, but we've got the whole day to think about that."

"And that's not the only photo evidence of the culprit we have," Engineer added. "...As we'd hoped, Sheriff managed to catch the werewolf on camera last night."

"You did!?" TheGentleman piped up, suddenly regaining his energy. "Who was it!?"

"Welp, there's good news and bad news 'bout that," the tan crewmate replied. "...Critter was mighty quick, and they hid behind the rock by the Office before I could get a close 'nuff look at the face. Here, take a looksee."

He slid the werewolf photo across the table and towards TheGentleman and MrCheese...It was in black and white, slightly blurred, and the only parts of it he captured were the creature's back leg and tail, which were a bit difficult to make out against the white background.

"Hey wait, so, if Sheriff is the one who took this, then that means it's not him, right?" MrCheese asked.

"Absolutely right, MrCheese; Sheriff is officially off the suspect list," Engineer confirmed. "I'll update my crew chart as soon as we finish up here...And there's more."

"There is?" Gnome asked him. "What else did you find out?"

"TheGentleman, MrCheese...Take a good look at what we got of the werewolf. What can you tell me about it?"

The two of them peered at the photo, comparing the blurry leg and tail shapes to the rock that the creature was darting behind, the dark terrain and the snow...He could just barely make out the slightly darker, circular shapes of paw pads on the back of its foot as he examined it.

"Well...I know the picture is in black and white," the black crewmate told him. "But the werewolf's color appears to be barely darker than the snow on the ground, which means whoever the werewolf is must be a lighter color."

"Exactly," he nodded as TheGentleman slid the photo back to Engineer. "Which means..."

He scanned over the crewmates around the table, then at the photo to compare their color values to that of the figure in the photo.

"...Player is clear."

The red crewmate heaved a sigh of relief.

"And BDay is clear."

"Oh, thank goodness...!" he exclaimed, raising his hand to is heart.

"And I know I'm clear, not only because I don't match the photo's value, but I'll have you know that I was awake during the time of activity researching more about the situation we're in. Here's proof."

He showed off his phone and displayed his history; it was full of articles about werewolves, werewolf deterrents and how the werewolf pathogen worked, all of which were visited between 1:30 and 2:30 in the morning.

"Wait," Captain spoke up. "I thought the phone signals for Communications went off at 10:30 p.m., like you said last night. How did you get on the internet?"

"That's only for the main phone signals; they prevent crewmates from calling and texting with each other past a certain hour to keep Impostors from conspiring with one another in secret during the night, since calls aren't recorded out here," the purple crewmember replied. "The Wi-Fi signals remain on throughout the night, so we can use the internet at that hour."

"Ah, I see," Captain nodded. "I might do some research on the matter myself at some point; maybe we can think up some more ideas."

"So we're startin' to really narrow things down," Sheriff added. "Considering what we know now, there are only half a dozen here who could be our werewolf: Gnome, Captain, Dum, Rose, Angel and Ninja...They're all light enough to match the photo."

The six suspects all exchanged nervous glances, wondering which one of them might be the afflicted.

"No offense, of course, and I'm not pointin' any fingers just yet," Sheriff continued, giggling slightly. "But I gotta say, it wouldn't surprise me in the least if it turned out to be Angel."

The banana crewmate slowly looked up his way, her visor narrowing at him just a tiny bit.

"Oh...?" she asked. "And why might you say that?"

"Because you're such an amazing stealth artist! Let alone a deadly Impostor," he replied. "I know how skilled you are in those fields first hand, and this werewolf we're dealin' with certainly does, too...O' course, the same also applies to our friend from the Land of the Rising Sun."

All eyes now turned to Ninja, who met everyone's gaze one by one with a steel-hard look in his visor.

"...あなたはより多くの証拠を収集したい場合があります," he said to them. "そんなふうに私を見つめる前に."

"W-we didn't mean it that way, Ninja; Sheriff was just pointing something out," MrCheese told him. "But, I mean...It COULD be you, right?"

"If we've narrowed it down to only six, then the odds are greater than what we anticipated before," Engineer nodded. "But it could just as easily be Rose, or Captain, or..."

"Or me..." Gnome finished for him, visor widening with fear.

It was then that Dum spoke up.

"Hey, um...Sheriff. When you and Engineer were looking around for more clues, did any of the other cabins look like they'd had someone break out of the window?"

Engineer frowned.

"I was just about to bring that up," he told her. "One of the things I learned last night is that werewolves tend to exhibit basic logic comprehension, and are able to manipulate their environment to an extent."

"What does that mean?" Player asked.

"It, uh...It means that, judging by the lack of forced exit in any of the cabins, the werewolf knows how to move a desk and unlock a door while in the active phase."

"What!?" Rose exclaimed, clinging to BDay.

"How did it manage to do that!?" the blue crewmate asked.

"Well, werewolves don't like being contained, and just because they're aggressive and bloodthirsty doesn't mean they aren't intelligent to a certain degree. Life, uh...finds a way, so to speak."

"And I'm guessing none of the beartraps went off, did they?" Gnome asked.

"Unfortunately, no; it seems like the werewolf either didn't bother with them and were too focused on the smell of living prey, or it thought they were suspicious and didn't go near them."

"Are there any more in Storage?" Sheriff asked him. "If we reposition them or put out more, that might increase our odds of catchin' it."

"Actually, I think there IS another box of larger ones in there. Good thinking, Sheriff; maybe we could put them by the windows and outside the cabin doors."

"NOW we're gettin' somewhere!" the tan crewmate nodded, grinning widely. "What say I stay up with my camera again tonight and see if I can get a better shot of it?"

"If you're willing to do so," Engineer approved. "Just remember to exercise caution."

"I will. Don't you worry."

"Hey, um, Engineer?" MrCheese piped up. "Just curious, but have you been checking up on Toto at all over the past few days? I know he's supposed to be kept in Decontamination, but I mean, he gets the chance to eat and drink, right?"

"Don't worry about Toto, MrCheese; I'll have you know that he has been being looked after, albeit with extreme precautions put into place."

"I had to keep him on the end of a dog catcher pole while Engineer stuck put down a food dish, water bowl and pile o' newspapers yesterday," Sheriff told him. "Both of us were wearin' hazmat suits to boot. Darned thankful neither of us ended up gettin' bit."

"Well, I'm glad you two are taking the proper precautions when dealing with him," TheGentleman nodded. "...Engineer. I know several essential equipment in the Lab and MedBay is down, but when do you think that you could start whipping up a combatant against this virus?"

"Well, before I do that, I'll have to reboot the generators outputting power to the outpost to see if that gets the systems back online," Engineer told him. "And I plan to do that right after this meeting is over with, so make sure everyone gets to their cabins before the place goes dark."

"You can count on me," the black crewmate nodded.

"If it doesn't work, or it it only boots up a small portion of the downed systems, then there are a few things in the Specimen Room I might have to work with. Granted everything goes accordingly, my estimate is that I should have a working antiviral serum put together in another three days."

"Do you think that'll be enough time to get it done?" Captain asked him. "The more people die, the more likely is that someone proven safe will be next. And that won't help us."

"No. It won't...We don't have anything else to board up windows with, though. The larger beartraps will have to do for now."

"And cabins with stronger-smelling scented candles are still working to a degree!" BDay pointed out. "TheGentleman and MrCheese are still okay! And so is Sheriff, since he also had coffee brewing last night."

"Well, it's something we can continue doing," Engineer nodded. "...Does anyone have anymore ideas?"

"Um...Engie?" Gnome piped up, raising her hand a bit.

"Yeah, babe?"

"I...I don't know how exactly we'd do this, but..."

"But what?"

"I want to stay up with you tonight," she blurted out. "...To see if it's me."

All eyes turned to the lime crewmate as she continued.

"If Engineer can...I don't know, put me in some kind of cage to keep me from attacking anyone if I turn, then maybe that'll get us somewhere. And since he said werewolves are allergic to silver when they're transformed, maybe he can do something with the colloidal silver from MedBay to keep me from escaping it."

They all looked at one another, giving the matter some thought.

"It is an interesting proposition," Engineer told her. "And whichever outcome we get, it does benefit us. If you DO transform, then we'll know who the werewolf is for sure."

"And if she doesn't, then that'll be one more person we can clear off the suspect list?" Rose asked.

"Exactly," the purple crewmate nodded in response. "...We don't have any cages, but we do have some metal rods and platforms in Storage; if I can weld them together and apply a hinge to the top to make a cage, and then coat the bars with colloidal silver when midnight approaches, then it just might work...However, if it isn't Gnome, we'll have to try it on someone else tomorrow night; there's only enough in there for one cage."

"Hey, even if it is small, wouldn't staying in a cage like that also serve as some form of protection against the werewolf?" Player asked. "Especially since it's going to be coated with that silver stuff?"

"Likely so," Engineer nodded. "...Granted it can't get its paws far enough in between the bars to grab you, pull you in and bite you."

"Uh...Would a cage like that maybe fit in the bathroom of the cabin it's in?" Dum inquired next. "I know the bathrooms are small, but the doors open inward and there are no windows in them, so if the werewolf tried to get in and the cage was blocking the door, wouldn't that maybe work?"

Engineer's eyes widened.

"...Wow," he chortled, giving her a pleased smile. "That's actually a pretty good idea, Dum. The bathrooms in the cabins are only 6 x 10 feet in area, and the counter and sink take up a foot of that space opposite to the door, so a 5 x 5 cage up against the door? It should work."

"So are we doing that, then?" Gnome asked.

"Well, I'll have to make the cage first; from what I saw in there, there IS enough for a 5 x 5 cage, but I'll have to cut down some of the metal platforms along the edges so it can fit the size of the space...If I can get that done by the end of the day, then we'll be at least one step closer to figuring this out."

"Well, in the mean time, do you want us to help you?"

"Hmm...Not advisable, except for Sheriff; I don't want anyone stepping on any beartraps out there, especially since we're going to be putting out more. Sheriff is going to help me build and place them down, as well as act as a test subject. Everyone else can retreat to their cabins for the day if they want...Though, Gnome, I wouldn't mind if you wanted to pick up anything from your place to take to mine for tonight."

"I'll gather some of my things up; might help make my stay in the cage more bearable if I turn out to be safe."

"I'm just glad things are beginning to come together a bit more clearly now," TheGentleman heaved. "I'll be happy when we finally find out who it is, and we can do something about it a bit more directly...I'm feeling rather drained by all of this. Both physically AND mentally."

"Aww, hey, TheGentleman, it's gonna be alright! Hey, how 'bout I show you this funny video about a duck drinking ice water from different fast food joints? That'll make you smile!"

"Hm...Well, I suppose it might help some," the black crewmate nodded, to which MrCheese pulled his phone out and tried to pull it up.

...Only to be met with no signal. And no other connections nearby.

"Oh...um..."

"Something the matter, Beany boy?"

"Yeah, uh, the internet's not working now."

Engineer's face contorted into a strange look of shock and frustration.

"Oh, no..." he lamented, getting up from his spot at the table and running out to go to Comms, not so sure that the problem was just from the wind blowing the antenna around.

"...Well," BDay remarked. "At least we still have donuts."

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"We've got 2 minutes left, babe," Engineer said to her as he checked his clock again. "Don't worry, though; the moment you transform, IF you do, I'll be the first person you see, and therefore, the first person you'll go after, and you'll run right into the cage bars, which I've recently coated in colloidal silver from MedBay."

"You sure this thing will hold me?"

"Pretty sure," he replied. "And since the cage opening should come down once you trigger the spring mechanism on the bottom platform, you won't be able to go out the way you came, either. And to top all of that off, I have even MORE colloidal silver in this bottle right here."

He grabbed a dark blue bottle off of the desk beside the door and showed it to her from the other side.

"Are you, um...gonna pour that on me?"

"Only if I think you'll escape. It should keep you subdued until I can get you to south Decontamination for containment."

"...Will it hurt?"

"Um...Well, O-only temporarily. Werewolves have fairly rapid healing properties in their bodies while in the active phase; the only things that can REALLY hurt them is if something penetrates through their skin and into muscle, like with the beartraps we put out."

"Well...Okay..."

"And you likely won't remember it once you're back to normal anyways."

"I guess that's a good thing."

He took a peek at his phone again; 11:59 p.m. And that was likely to change at any moment.

"Babe," he said to her. "...If it does turn out to be you, just know that it won't change anything between us. I'll still love you all the same...This isn't your fault. I promise."

Gnome teared up at his genuine remark, and rose her hand to wipe her visor dry.

"...I'm sorry if I caused all of this damage, Engie."

"It's okay, Gnomey...We'll fix it at some point. I promise. I love you."

"I love you, too..."

Just after she whispered back to him, Engineer's phone clock struck midnight and sounded off, and Gnome shut her eyes tightly in preparation for what she anticipated to be several long moments of agony as her body underwent the transformation, and her human mind withered away to be replaced with only thoughts of hunger, anger and bloodthirst.

...

...

...

...

...But they never came.

The lime crewmate slowly pried her eyes open and looked around. Nothing had changed.

"...What time does it say on your phone now?" she asked her boyfriend, who hastily turned it back on again to check.

"It's 12:01."

"You're sure that's the right time? That it's not off by a minute or two?"

"It's been in sync with Polus's rotation since we first got here," he told her. "I, ah...I think you're in the clear?"

"Really?"

"Heh heh, yup!" he smiled. "You're good!"

She laughed herself, then grabbed his hand from inside the cage and planted a kiss against the back of it, nuzzling her visor into it a little as well.

"Oh, w-we better pipe down," he rasped, laying the blankets he'd brought into the bathroom with them down on the floor. "Not that it can get in here so easily, but we'd still better not make too much noise."

"Do you still have your scented candle?"

He nodded, then pulled the candle from the main room from out of the pile of bedding he had with him, grabbed the match box beside it, lit a match and put the flame up to the wick to light it. Gnome took a wiff of the smell, and her eyes widened a bit.

"Oh, wow," she responded, trying to keep her voice a whisper. "That's strong."

"Eucalyptus and spearmint," he old her as he shut off the cabin lights and closed the blinds, leaving only the flickering candleflame lighting up the room. "It should keep working pretty well if it's done the job so far."

"...Do you wanna go to sleep now?"

"Probably a good idea," he nodded, handing her a quilt to put down on the cage bottom through the bars, as well as her blanket and pillow. "We'll need the rest for tomorrow...G'night, Gnome."

He settled in on the floor, lying right beside Gnome atop his own folded quilt and looking into her eyes tenderly.

"...This feels kind of like a sleepover, doesn't it?"

"Hee hee, yeah. A campout in the bathroom, of all places," Gnome whispered back to him, sighing a bit. "...I hope we'll be okay."

"...Me too, Gnomey...Me too."

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"Hmph...Critter doesn't seem to wanna run around in the open tonight. It's been pushin' six hours, and nothing."

Sheriff kept his eyes on the terrain, his gaze darting all over the place to ensure that he didn't miss anything. He removed his visor from the camera, took another swig of coffee and then looked into the lens again...Still nothing.

"One would think somethin' like this would be runnin' around the outpost tryin' to burn some energy off," he said to himself. "It's not like these things are known for-"

Crunch crunch crunch

He gasped, then hut his mouth, held his breath and threw himself down to the floor and against the wall...The unmistakable sound of footsteps against the snow had sounded off from just outside his door, and it was a downright miracle he'd been close enough to hear them without having been caught.

...Holy moly, he said to himself, staying as still as he possibly could, his breathing slow and almost silent. He turned his head ever so slightly so that his ear was pressed against the wall' the door was just beside him. so he could better hear noise from outside at that angle.

Sheriff heard nothing else when he did, though. No breathing, no more footsteps...Had the werewolf gone away? Had he remained undetected?

"Phew..." he heaved out, wiping the cold sweat from his forehead with his hand. "Well...In just about another half hour, the werewolf will have changed back, so I'm probably in the clear as long as I keep-"

CRASH!

"WHAT THE-!?!"

His window seemed to explode, and he saw something crash onto the floor, claws scraping against the wood tile as it skidded to a halt and vigorously shook its head to reorient itself.

The tan crewmate wasted NO time grabbing his whip and coffee pot, which only had a small amount of liquid left in it. But if he could aim it right, it'd do.

The figure stood up onto its hind legs, and a low, ominous growl emitted from the bottom of its throat as it eyed its prey, each visor looking right into the other...The pale blue light of one of the moons hovering just above the horizon shone directly in through the shattered window, illuminating the pale figure that stood before the armed crewmate...Patches of its hide were stained red, particularly around its paws, and it smelled like a strange, nauseating combination of roses, cologne...and cheddar cheese.

"Well, well...It was you. Guess it figures, though, don't it?"

The creature leaned forward onto all fours, bearing its rows of pointed teeth as it shifted closer. But Sheriff stood his ground, and he drew back his whip.

"You picked the wrong house, fool!"

He flung his weapon forward with a fast, hard flick of his wrist. The whip gave off a crack as it lashed across the monster's face, and it let out a high-pitched yipe as it staggered backwards, bringing its pawed hands up to its face.

Sheriff drew his weapon back again in preparation for the next attack; if this beast got the hint that he was the one in charge, then he figured it might back down at some point.

...But the attack only made the werewolf angrier.

It lunged at Sheriff again as soon as it recovered, and received another blow to the face...It knew what to expect that time, and threw its head back in the nick of time, letting the thick hide on the back of its neck catch the blow.

It raised its head again...only to be met with something scalding hot and meeting its face.

The creature yelped again, bringing its hands up to its face to try and remove the steaming black coffee Sheriff had slung onto it, its nose and eyes beginning to water from the irritation caused by the strong brew.

If I can maybe knock this thing upside the head, the tan crewmate said to himself as the creature writhed in pain. Then I can probably make it to morning. It's not long off.

He headed to the cabinet by the mini-kitchen to see if his cast iron skillet was still in there, and sure enough, it was, so he grabbed it and stood up straight, then turned to face the beast again.

...Just in time to see it pounce on him.

There was a loud thud as the two forces tumbled to the ground, and the next thing Sheriff felt was a sharp, searing pain in his side. He wrestled the beast off of him, then managed to get a good aim with his skillet, which he'd thankfully been able to hold onto...

...And he sent the hard metal pan FLYING into the werewolf's skull.

"AYP!!"

It staggered backwards, holding the affected spot...Sheriff could see blood coming from the spot on its head where he'd hit it. He could just about smell it, even.

...Almost like a...big juicy steak, it smells like, Sheriff thought to himself.

"It's...makin' me...hungry," he continued, his mouth watering as the smell of fresh meat intensified. He noticed his empty stomach, almost completely unaware of the itching sensation he felt across his body...His ears perked up when he saw the beast face him again.

...The beast that smelled like food.

...Kill it.

EAT IT.

Sheriff bore his own, brand new set of sharp teeth and sprung forward, claws out and ready to maul. The enemy retaliated with its own attack, and the smell of blood intensified as it continued to spill across the floor and spatter onto the walls.

The tan-pelted werewolf finally saw an opening after what felt like forever, and he fell back slightly...only to push himself at his rival again and break past the door he was blocking.

Broken boards and splinters of wood landed everywhere, on both the floor and in the snow. Both werewolves had flown right over the doorway, and were now both outside.

Sheriff pushed himself back onto his feet quickly, shaking the snow off of his face, and regained his footing just as the enemy stood up to face him again...He wasn't about to let him attack again so quickly, though, so he backed away one more time to get another good lunge at him to ensure-

SNAP

"YIPE!!!"

A long series of high-pitched yelps rang out across the outpost as the huge beartrap clamped down onto Sheriff's right ankle, breaking past the pelt and pushing almost as far down as the bones beneath.

The enemy saw his sudden helplessness as an opportunity, and it lunged at him again...The sound of crazed screaming only grew louder as chunks of flesh and fur were ripped right off of him, his vital fluid melting the white snow around him and turning the doorway a deep red.

...And then, just as suddenly as it'd started, the assault stopped.

The victor rose its head, then ran off, leaving Sheriff hapless, wounded and trapped on the ground at his own front door.

...His wounds were too great to heal quickly enough. He'd already lost too much blood. And there he lay, emitting agonized, raspy, gurgling howls as he began to succumb.

"What's going on out here!?!"

His ears perked at the sound of a voice...He saw two people coming towards him. People that he...knew? One purple and one lime.

"What!?! B-but I thought Sheriff was cleared!!"

"He was...But now he's been infected; survived the attack, but got bit, it looks like."

...They sounded so familiar.

"Sh...Sheriff...?" the lime one asked.

And then, just as the last sliver of Polus's second moon disappeared beneath the horizon, it dawned on him.

Everything came back.

He exclaimed weakly as his fur suddenly vanished, his ears and tail dissipating and his teeth shrinking back down to their normal size. He gasped for air, suddenly finding it very hard to breathe.

"Gn...ome...I..."

The two of them approached him, knowing it was safe to do so...Engineer assessed the damage dealt, but only frowned and shook his head after a few seconds.

"We...don't have enough blood in MedBay for a transfusion," he said grimly.

"Reckon...I'll die here then...?"

Sheriff coughed up a spray of blood, and Gnome held his hand and shushed him to try and offer some form of comfort.

"Spare your breath, Sheriff," Engineer whispered to him, propping his head up in his hands to try and make it easier for him to breathe...if just for a bit longer. "Sheriff...who did this to you?"

"It...it was...Guh-"

He coughed again; this time, the red liquid flowed from his mouth, and his visor glazed over.

"Sheriff, Sheriff, please...It's all we ask. Say they're name."

He tried to...He really did. But he had no more strength, and his lungs were too filled with blood to draw in any more air to put a voice into.

As the world around him turned to black, the light in his eyes faded, and his form fell limp...His agonized breathing came to a stop, and his heart was the next to follow.

Gnome let go of his hand and placed it down in the snow, and Engineer gently closed Sheriff's eyelids...They both stood up and took hold of one another, staring down at the deceased, weeping quietly.

...Little did they know that Sheriff hadn't been the only loss that night, but they would find out soon enough.