It had taken a long time to find Moon Lake, but Tyson had succeeded. He sat idling in his car just off the road, not yet ready to drive in. The fresh scar on his forehead (from a thrown chair) still throbbed and ached. His car was overflowing with fast food wrappers, empty water bottles and soda cans, a bunch of jars, three maps, a smashed GPS and one shotgun, buried beneath it all.
"They're going to fix this." Tyson muttered to himself, pulling into drive. "They're going to fix this. They're going to cure me and give me my life back and then I'm going home. And I'm not going to be a goddamn...not....fuck!" He wiped tears from his eyes, "I want my life back. I want my fucking life back and they're going to give it to me. They're going to give it to me."
Tyson pulled back on to the road and rolled into town. People were out, walking, talking and laughing with each other. And they all looked human, though in an odd way. Men were taller, women were bustier or people had exaggerated proportions in some other way. Just about everyone had something off about them. Just like Tyson, with his overly large two front teeth. Tyson cracked the window and sniffed, trying not to give away his enhanced sense of smell.
"Animals, I can even tell the species." He rolled the window back up. "How long...when did I first notice? Ugh, this is...." Tyson's phone buzzed. He swiped it, "Hello?"
"You're there aren't you?" Tyson grinned at the sound of her voice. "You're in Moon Lake. Was I right?"
"Brilliant as always Marcie." Tyson said. "It took one whiff, yeah they're all weres. All of them." Tyson pulled over and put his car in park. "I can tell their scents, each one is like a picture even if I can't see it." He rummaged around his dirty, stuffed truck bed until he located a plastic bag with several sticks inside. Tyson fished one out and began to chew, easing the pain of his front teeth.
"You got the pin I gave you?" Marcie asked. Tyson popped the glove compartment and fished out a small box. Inside was a small enamel pin that looked like a cardinal. An utterly unremarkable thing, if not for two unique features.
On the back was a tiny button, painted gold like the rest of the back. And on the front, the eye of the cardinal was raised higher than the body. Tyson pressed the button. He heard clapping from the phone. "We got video!"
"Yeah we do." Tyson mumbled, attaching the pin to his shirt. "They can't get to you, you'll be safe. You'll be safe, I know you will." He rubbed his eyes, "I know you will."
"Tyson, I'm in Virginia, I'll be fine." Marcie said. "Besides, if any werewolves broke in they'd have to deal with me and my friend Billy the handgun." Tyson laughed, while trying not to cry. "It'll be alright. They created this mess when they let that rat-monster thing loose. And they'll fix you. And Jessica will welcome you back with open arms."
"And maybe I'll get to hold my son again." Tyson mumbled. "Yeah. I just gotta stay confident."
"I'll stay on the phone with you, until you find town hall." Marcie said. "Don't get scared, don't back down. They did this to you, you are the victim here. And remember what the Hulk said."
"Never stop making them pay." The two friends spoke in unison.
"I won't." Tyson growled, pulling into drive. "I'll make them pay for this. No matter what the cost is." He pulled back onto the street and resumed his drive.