The shotgun fires with a loud bang, the shell of which blows the shoulder of the livid werewolf. Kaitlyn breathes heavily with anticipation as the creature falls to the ground in a few seconds, now wholly motionless. Following the blast, Dylan comes out of the kitchen and into the darkened space with a frying pan clutched in his right hand, held up high in the air to strike at any given moment of danger.

He looks down at the remains of the curse whilst he makes his way over to Kaitlyn, who appears to be dishevelled by this frenzy night. "You got it?" he questions, his voice low in caution and his heart thumping rapidly with adrenaline.

The girl lowers the shotgun, sighing in relief. "Yeah. Yeah, I got it," she responds, her brows scrunching up when she side glances at Dylan with concern. "You holding up okay?"

The boy blinks and then bobs his head up and down slightly. "Uh, yeah. Sure," he mumbles incoherently, a look of nothingness on his face as he keeps on staring at the lifeless creature.

"Hey, we killed it. Look at me," Kaitlyn reassures and gently places a hand over the boy's shoulder. Dylan complies and locks eyes with her, his wary eyes staring back at Kaitlyn's intense ones. She comfortingly squeezes his shoulder once. "We're safe for now, okay? That thing is dead and is not coming back to life, not today, not forever, because I killed that motherfucker. For good," she asserts in a determined tone.

"Yeah, no! Of course, I was being thorough, that's all," Dylan shakily chuckles, but Kaitlyn only looks more uncertain for her friend, feeling as if he may not be truly fine.

"Guys?" Abi's scared voice breaks through from behind the door of Chris's office, the bleak atmosphere suddenly appearing to be less chilling to Kaitlyn and Dylan with another presence apart from their own. "You alive?" she then yells a bit louder.

"Oh, Abbs, of course, they are!" Emma interrupts her with an eye roll. "By the way, we're kinda stuck in here?" She then informs the two survivors standing near the corpse in the lodge.

"But we're safe!" Abi chirps in.

Emma looks at her and smiles sarcastically, or at least she tries to, "I was gonna say that but... whateves." She then turns her attention back to Kaitlyn. "As I was saying, we're stuck in here, but there's still a way through the bunker. If you guys can make it, then hurry over! Don't want you two to be dinners to those ugly ass monsters, you know?" Her voice softens ever so slightly, which earns her an affectionate smile from Abi.

"What she said!" Abi then exclaims entreatingly.

Without a second thought, Kaitlyn grabs hold of Dylan's left injured arm carefully, surprising him. "They're right. We can wait in there till the sun comes up. C'mon," she then begins to lead him out of the lodge as they near the exit but Dylan instantly dugs his feet to the wooden base in protest. Kaitlyn turns back to him with a dubious expression. "Hey, move it or else we'll both die. God knows how many more of those things are out there. We gotta go!" she anxiously hisses.

"U-Uhm, w-what about Ryan?"

"Okay, what about him?" she asks hurriedly, unable to comprehend his query as her brows furrow.

"We need to save him..." Dylan whispers, his face displaying his genuine fear for the boy with whom he has bonded in a matter of a few hours.

Kaitlyn clears her throat, understanding his worry now, "Look, why don't we just get to the safety first? Maybe then we can surely come up with a solid plan to save Ryan and all the other dudes and gals out there running or hiding for their dear lives." She reasons in hopes of persuading the unsettled boy, but Dylan shakes his head, clearly not buying it.

"No. No, you don't get it! He is out there and, and what if he's injured? What if Laura wasn't able to protect him, or if those werewolves got to him and he has lost too much blood and is now dying, but there's no one to help him around? But maybe if we can just find him then perhaps I can—"

"Dylan! Stop and breathe for a sec, dude!" Kaitlyn interrupts Dylan abruptly, who is now starting to panic. Dylan swallows a lump as his eyes begin to grow damp, quickly filling up with unshed tears, his breathing catching pace. Feeling sorry for him but still determined to stay alive, Kaitlyn slings the shotgun over one of her shoulders and reaches out to grip both sides of Dylan's shoulders firmly.

"Listen, I'm sure he must be fine and doing pretty okay, minus considering the situation we're in. Not to mention his ability to stay invisible since he's the most silent human guy I've ever known in my entire damn life, plus he's got Laura with him."

Still highly sceptical, Dylan mumbles, "I..."

Kaitlyn shakes his shoulders back and forth, struggling to make him understand. "Look, all I'm gonna say is, they're gonna slaughter those wereshit suckers and make them regret turning into one," she reassures, smiling. "You must have some faith, Dylan."

Dylan stays quiet, his head a mess whilst he tries to believe every single word that came out of her maw. Sensing the conflict on the boy's face, Kaitlyn takes her chance and carefully leads him to the exit, and thankfully he follows her without any more complaints. But when barely out of the lodge, they hear the roaring sound of an engine and in view comes a car with a slightly busted front.

The dirt drifts in the air as the tires screech when the car halts at the steps of the lodge. And to Dylan's pure delight, he sees Ryan stepping out of the vehicle in a hurry. Travis pokes his head out of the window with a furious look. "You do realize if we miss this shot your friends won't be cured and I've waited six damn long years for this!" he shouts, revving the engine impatiently. Laura hastily mumbles something to the man, but instead of rebuking he falls silent and waits with displease.

Meanwhile, Ryan soars the steps to the lodge and with surprising strength, he wraps his arms around Dylan in a securing hug. The full moon shines brightly above as though basking in their reunion. Feeling overly joyed, Dylan hugs him back. "Oh, shit! You're here, you're freaking alive! Oh, my God!" Dylan cries out in relief, almost again on the verge of tears.

Ryan snorts and squeezes him tighter. "Yep, still in one piece," he quips, smiling.

"But what happened out there?" Dylan suddenly worries, the creases on his forehead deepening as he melts in Ryan's hold.

"You know what, it's a long story. I'll probably tell you after I get back."

"Get back?" Kaitlyn repeats after him, her face scrunched up in confusion.

"Okay, Ryan times up! We gotta take this shit show on the roll!" Laura calls out and Travis grumbles in agreement, thanking her in a form of mockery.

"Wait, you're going back out there with those werewolves bouncing around? Are you out of your mind? Did the werewolves hit you on the head or something?" Kaitlyn questions in disbelief which makes Dylan pull back from the hug.

"Wait, what? But why?" Dylan is concerned as his face falls. But before he could reach out to grab Ryan in his hold, the boy turned back around and pranced back to the car. Dylan follows immediately, hot on his heels and grabs Ryan by the back of his shirt just as he opens the gate to get in. "Please don't!" Dylan pleads helplessly, his heart clenching with the anguish of losing the boy.

Ryan gently removes Dylan's hand and turns his head to look at him with a gentle smile, "Hey, I'll be back before you even know it."

"No no no, this isn't happening. This isn't..." Dylan trails off as he frantically looks around in distress and back at him. He fears for the worst happening out there and that feeling was reasonable. "What... What if you die? I know that's like, very pessimistic of me but I-I want you to be with me. And for that, I need you to be alive..."

Ryan fake frowns, "Hey now, that was very flattering but are you telling me that I'm weak? Is that what you mean?" He places a hand over his heart to show how hurt he is by Dylan's words.

Dylan exhales sharply with a shake of his head, "Ryan, you're not listening."

Ryan sighs, "Yes, I am."

Dylan runs his unscathed hand through his sweaty hair in frustration, "Shit, okay, okay. But you know what," he stops and once again looks at Ryan with resolution featuring on his distraught face despite dread settling in the pit of his stomach, "I'm coming with you."

Ryan's eyes pop out in alarm as he blurts, "You're what now?"

"What the hell, Dylan?!" Kaitlyn exclaims in fury, her shoulder arched upwards in incredulity. She knows he's not in the best condition to be roaming around in the woods, be it physically or mentally.

"You heard me," Dylan gulps, his legs were trembling badly but he can't back out now.

"Lord have mercy on me. You guys done or are there any more of that cliche drama opera you gonna perform?" Travis mocks in an exasperated tone. Knowing the essence of time that's remaining, instead of discussing things any further Ryan reluctantly takes hold of Dylan's hand and drags him inside the car to have them settle in the back seat.

Kaitlyn only stares at them, dumbfounded but without waiting for any of her queries, Travis hits the gas and speeds off onto the trail which shall lead them to their destination, soon disappearing into the night.

"Don't you dare die, you dipshits!" Kaitlyn hollers and then hastily makes her way over to the bunker to reach Abi and Emma in Chris's office. She carefully climbs the ladder and once she reaches the trap door, she knocks on it rapidly.

"Hey, open up!"

In a second the trap door is lifted open by Abi while Emma helps Kaitlyn up. With Kaitlyn now safely inside the office, Abi closes the door shut and with the help of the other two, they slide the heavy desk on top of it, securing the place all to themselves.

"God, this thing is heavy!" Emma huffs out, slumping on the chair placed behind her.

"Yeah, well, wasn't exactly made to be moved around this much," Kaitlyn remarks, gasping for air. But Abi suddenly springs over to her and engulfs Kaitlyn in a bear hug, almost crushing her ribs.

"Wow, okay, I can't breathe, I can't breathe!"

Abi chuckles apologetically and steps back, "Whoops! Sorry, I'm just... I'm so happy to see you!"

"Yeah, and we're glad to see you in one piece," Emma empathizes.

"Yeah, me too." Kaitlyn expresses her relief with a heavy sigh.

But after a few seconds, Emma suddenly springs to her feet, alarming the other two gravely. "Holy hell, where's Dylan? He was with you, was he not?" She points out her worry but Kaitlyn waves her hand dismissively as she strolls over to the now vacant chair and slumps down on it.

"Hunting the werewolves, probably."

"What?"

Kaitlyn groans in frustration, "I don't know, okay! An old car came in speeding out of nowhere and Ryan was with a man and that infamous girl Laura. Then Dylan pleaded with Ryan to not go out in the wild but then Dylan himself changed his mind out of the blue and now he's gone with them."

"Uhhhh, who's Laura?" Emma points out with a confused smile.

"Oh, I know her!" Abi exclaims in recognition. Emma eyes the two patiently, waiting for the explanation.

Kaitlyn rolls her eyes. "The missing counsellor who now chases those creatures with a man to hunt them down. Now before you ask, she was being held up in the cell down at the station along with her boyfriend Max who is now a freaking werewolf so... she's out there trying to find a way to change him back. And also, I don't have a freaking clue who that man was. Maybe I do but I'm not so sure, so." Kaitlyn raps out an explanation and dangles her head back with a loud sigh, the chair leaning back by her weight.

"That was... Yeah, maybe you should rest. It's been a bizarre night after all," Abi suggests, eyeing Kaitlyn worriedly while she fidgets with a photo frame on the desk.

"Okay, that's a nice suggestion, Abbs. But I still have a good amount of questions to ask Kat," Emma objects and crosses her arms. "Besides, I don't love this whole 'staying in the dark' concept so I want the deets."

"Are you..." Abi points a finger at Emma questioningly and continues, "Doing this for your loyal subs?"

Emma shrugs, "Yeah well, for them too."

"Okay, you both. Firstly, do I look sane enough to think back to all the shit that's happened tonight?"

Emma pouts her lips as she looks Kaitlyn up and down. But the girl puts up a hand to stop Emma from saying anything, "Not now, Emma. But secondly, why the hell would I care about your loyal subs right now when I've just gotten away from that wereshit and killed it right behind that freaking door?" Kaitlyn jeers, the exhaustion pouring out of her as her face scrunches up in annoyance.

Emma holds up both of her hands in surrender, "Woah, tiger, chill. We can conduct this interview sometime later if that's what you want."

Kaitlyn only grumbles as she shuts her eyes and leans back completely into the chair. Emma and Abi exchange a look, the taller now being prudent as she leaves Kaitlyn alone, for now.

♢

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