A town like this shouldn't exist. Even for a safe town.

It's populated. Thriving. Moving. Active. Safe towns aren't supposed to be like this. Safe towns are supposed to be husk of what they were. With a few people to moderate the stores, provide services and resources. But this, this is different.

I don't know how I feel about this. Will was standing next to me outside the car, sharing the confused expression I had. His eyes were quickly studying the smiling people as they passed by. Walking around the sidewalks and passing cars with ease. Will looked like he was starting to get overwhelmed. He put his head down, going back to the car for something. Adam and Gwen on the other hand. They were less shocked from the environment, but both had unsettled expressions.

"You sure this is the place?" Adam asked.

I nodded, pointing over the giant wooden sign. The sign was planted on an island park in the middle of the road. The words, "Welcome to Crow!" were painted on with a happy flourish on the finished board.

I didn't think a peaceful town could make me feel on edge.

"Okay," I sighed, clapping the confusion out of us. "So all we gotta do is find the pharmacy and we can head out."

"Did Brew leave directions on where is it in town?" Gwen asked.

I looked back down in the spiral scratch handwriting of Brew's. Trying to quint the words into eligibility. " Umm, hang on."

Gwen let out an audible groan while Adam looked over my shoulder and tried to help. Will popped back outside with dark sunglasses pressed against his face. It took about ten minutes, eight which involved being able to translate the message and two actually get there. We had found a small oval building. A Neon Blue sign hung up across the front door reading, "Just in Pharmacy". The metal case felt like fish scales once we were in. Scraping against my skin as the handle slid around my grip. My muscles distracted from the uneasy beat in my heart

Just a simple delivery. It's just a simple delivery. So take a minute and breathe.

The inside of the pharmacy felt pretty cozy. The floor had bronze finished wood and polished carved shelves. Lined up by pills, cremes, what they were for and such. The walls had hand-painted murals of hills, people and family running, and a brown wolf. Smiling at us as it was being hugged by a child.

We all traded looks. Adam looked the most uncomfortable, he zoomed past it to the front empty counter. Looking over the cash register and an open door to the back. Will stood by the painting looking closer, his sunglasses reflecting the painting against his scarred face.

"Cute." Gwen rolled her eyes as she moved on to check out some of the canes.

My eyes lingered on the painting as I went to join Adam. You could see the brush strokes on it nestled against the fur. Filling in detail to make it look real. It felt like it was painted in a happy time. Wonder what those are.

"Um, hello?" Adam called knocking on the counter.

"Be right there!" A voice called out. "Ah jeez-Tucker, go help them please."

From the open door, a tall bulky kid walked through. From what I could tell, he could be the same age as Gwen and Adam. Maybe a year older. He reached about Brew's height which in itself was impressive. A strip of long reddish-brown hair fanned out at the center of his skull. Smooth and bulky features framed the bushy dark eyebrows and golden brown eyes. The faded, purple vest hanging around him was baggy enough to hide most of the torso.

"Hey," The man waved. "What can I do for ya?"

Adam shot me a look while I quickly shrugged. Brew gave me barely any information about this place or who we were supposed to give it to. All the note said was, "Just in Pharmacy.". That is gonna change if we do more of this.

"Um, yeah," I said, lifting the case to eye level. "We're here to-uh-deliver-"

"Dad." The kid called out to the back. "They're here."

A moment passed with the sound of thuds and sharp muttering of words. The kid gave a polite smile as he drummed his fingers. Adam and I gave him the same tired, stiff smile. Another man came burrowing out of the empty door frame. A burly, barrel of a man. A thick neck supported a square head. Brown curls bounced around his ears, looking like a fresh feather duster. Most of his face looked beaten from years of fights. His nose was crooked, leaning over to the right. Dents and faded scars blending in a rug of stubble on his face. His left arm in a wrist brace as his thumb was wrapped in bandages.

The man looked over at us, marble brown eyes flashing a smile. "Thanks, Tucker. Hey there, I'm Justin."

The edges of my ear picked up a muffled groan as the sound of canes clattered to the ground. Gwen shouted out some curses as the sound of more stuff falling followed. Adam looked like he bit down on his bottom lip to keep a smile from forming. The kid, Tucker, did nothing as a smirk popped on his face behind Justin.

Justin shrugged, keeping the smile. "Tucker, you think you can help-"

"On it, dad." Tucker coughed walking around the counter to Gwen.

Don't look back. Don't look back. Eyes forward, and don't laugh.

"Hi, I'm Bailey." I waved.

Justin's face brightened. "Oh, you're Bailey!"

My back gave a knee jerk response to lean back from the sudden cheer. Will took a casual step forward as Adam shuffled back a little. Don't meet alot of people that are happy to see me. It gets worse when they recognize my name.

"You-"

"Oh yeah, Brew talks about you guys all the time." Justin waved. The friendly smile beaming."We've been friends for years. He's been my supplier since I've opened the place."

"It's a nice place." Adam nodded politely.

"Thanks! So you brought the wolfsbane?"

I dropped the briefcase on the counter so Justin could grab it and put it behind the open doorway. I looked over at Gwen who looked like she was having a fun time chatting with Tucker. The two were laughing at something that flew by my ears. The building annoyance that was latched on her face since morning had slid off. Her smile looked easier to keep up than the rest of us. Becoming a normal person for a couple of seconds once again.

I'm glad she's still able to smile like that. I will never let anything touch that.

"So were you guys gonna stay in Crow for the night?" Justin asked, back to the counter.

"Oh, uh," I muttered looking back at him.

We deserve a break. Especially Gwen from Brew. But we just got the house to the standard of us living there. And the longer we're gone the bigger the risk that Brew will tear it back down. And then Gwen will kill Brew. I don't think I'd be able to stop that with Will's help.

"Unfortunately no." I finished. "We left a Brew back home and-"

"Oh yeah," Justin laughed. "I understand. Being roommates with him was hard enough."

"You lived with him?" Will asked.

Justin nodded. "Yeah.When I was in my twenties. He actually used to live here in Crow for a while."

Twenties? That would make this man in his forties, fifties at least. That means Brew is....how the hell does look so young? I've never asked how old he is cause it never came up but now. Oh my god, this opens a lot of questions.

Adam, Will, and I traded looks as the revelations built up. We're gonna have an interesting conversation with him when we get back.

"So was Crow always like this?" I asked, pointing outside.

"Yup, Crow was one of the first safe towns back in the day. We had a lot of people pass by for help and we made sure we did what we could."

"Don't you have to worry about hunters?" Adam asked. "Or when they...."

"Well no not really," Justin sighed, crossing his arms. "We've been an official town since 1823. All the local cops here make sure to keep an eye out for any hunters that may pass through. They make sure to lead them in the wrong direction. They have reports on specific hunters so they know who to look for. So they provide a cover. And for a full moon-"

Justin gestured around the store, his smile brimming. "Well, that's where this place comes in. The concept of using wolfsbane was pretty new back in the day. Most still thought it was poison. Brew had to take some in front of everyone to prove it wasn't. He helped me build this place, and my wife helped me run it."

The more he talks about Brew, the more I learn about that walking order cloud.

"So did Brew painted that?" Will asked, nodding over to the wolf mural.

"No my wife did. She loved to paint."

Justin's beaming eyes dulled as he looked at the painting. His smile twitched to a frown for a second before stapling back on. My cheeks winced from the sight, I know that pain too well.

"Well thanks again for bringing this." Justin picked up, forcing up his smile. "Tell Brew I said hi and hope you guys come again soon!"

"Oh, I'll make sure of that." I nodded over to Gwen and her new friend.

Justin let out a laugh and offered his hand. I took it and shook it swiftly. It was soft. No malicious grip. No scars. No dirt. Not soaked in sweat or blood. No other hand clutching a weapon or gripping my throat. A friendly, warm, handshake. From a regular human being. I choked down a knotted ball that twisted itself around in my throat.

I don't think I can remember the last time I had friendly human contact. A regular human being contact that wasn't trying to kill me. Or afraid of me.

Adam shooked Justin's hand while Will nodded leading the charge for the door. I looked back at Gwen and Tucker. A giant grin was spread out on her face. Both of them. If they weren't careful, they would make someone throw up.

"Coming, Gwen?" I asked, forcing the smirk into a smile.

Gwen's eyes snapped over to us, then it washed over her again. Reality swallowed the bliss as she coughed and drew her eyes to the ground. The quick drop of her smile was enough to break my heart.

"Um, yeah," Gwen muttered, shuffling over to us. "See ya."

"See you later, Gwen." Tucker waved, his smile bright.

"Think we'll come back soon," I said, giving a wink over to him. "We could use a couple of days away from Brew."

Tucker's smile went wide before shoving it back to a modest smile. From the corner of my eye, I could have sworn I saw Gwen's cheeks get red.

"Oh-uh-okay!" he stammered, regaining his composure. "Have a-have a good day."

I waved as Will opened the door for us. "You too."

Outside, Gwen lifted her head, glancing back at the window. Tucker was still standing there, a lopsided grin as he smiled at her. Gwen quickly wave back, whipping herself forward with a spring in her step.

"He seems nice," I said, a grin eating away at the corner of my mouth.

"Uh, yeah." Gwen nodded. "He seemed pretty cool."

"Surprised that they were both nice," Adam added. "They weren't even staring. That felt pretty good."

It did. Even as we're walking, no one was staring at us. Even the regulars at our safe town would give us glances. Cautious stares as we finished our meals. They meant good and all. They had to if they wanted to help us. But there was still a small twitch of nervousness. They had the wolfbane darts to protect themselves. Still can't help but feel there was a small wall around them. Maybe not a wall, a chain fence. It had holes to touch others but still blocked them from us.

Here, I didn't get that feeling. No one gave us lingering looks as we passed by. Their smiles were warm and kind. No one was nervous as they walked along. No jumps. No twitches. They all seemed calm.

It smelled nice. It smelled clean.

It smelled....

Blood.

Sweat stained clothes. Rotten dried up blood. Gun residue. Dirt and blood. It smelled like them. It smelled just like them.

Like Lisa and Grant.

My heart shut down. All the blood in my face evaporated. A surge of thunder and tornadoes ripped through my veins. Bashing against my muscles as my nerves frantically twitched. My hands almost turned into claws from the smell. The monster sat up in its cage. Growling as it thrashed itself against the rusted bars.

My hands reached out for the back of Will's shirt as I tugged him back to me. Away from Gwen and Adam. I will not murder this time of peace cause I am smelled one familiar scent. It could be a ghost. It could be any normal thing that just triggered it. Breathe, Bailey.

"Will," I whispered, forcing my voice to be steady. "I smelled-"

"Me too," Will muttered back. The veins in his neck were throbbing rapidly. "What you want us to do?"

Fight. The monster growled. Rip them to pieces. Fight back. Fight back!

"Hell, your kind thrives on forcing people. It's what kept you from going extinct."

"Unlike you guys. You stopped being humans a long time ago."

"Keep walking," I said forcing my voice steady. "If they followed us, maybe their not interested in the town. I only smelled one."

"What about the town?"

Was it selfish to say I wanted to leave it behind? The town was mostly human with who knows how many werewolves resting up in here. They should be safe. They have things to help them in a situation like this. And yet-

"Let's make them follow us."

Will looked down at me. I could feel his eyes looking at me behind his sunglasses. He could see the ghosts that were standing behind me. All in their bloody glory. Their curse in full effect. He waited for a second and nodded, taking the keys out of my hand and walking over to the car.

I took my left thumb and pushed it into the center of my right hand. Getting the nail to dig through the tension. Not breaking the skin but just about to pierce it. I took a few seconds to get a steady flow of air into my lungs. Getting all of the thunder out of veins as best as I could. Make the blood reappear in my face. Forcing the rapid beat of my heart at a regular pulse.

"You can't get rid of us." Grant's voice slithered into my ear.

No. But I can outrun you.