First things first, Jack decided. He needed to somehow break the news to his girlfriend of his condition, and figure out a way to keep himself from breaking out again. As much as he admitted that his Werewolf Self mauling and tearing off Louis Clyve's arm was...satisfying after so long abused by that rat bastard, chances were the next victim would not be quite so deserving. Jack needed friends and allies who would be able to help him deal with these three-a-month lunar rampages. But he also needed to figure out a way to tell his girlfriend about all of this without her thinking he had gone out of his mind.
Sure he'd changed a bit in terms of his physical appearance, but all that could be explained away or not really noticed unless one knew what they were looking for. Jack did know that his girlfriend at least liked the werewolf movies, that was a start, and he hoped that meant if he did convince her that it wouldn't end in her going at him with a silver knife or something. Though that did raise a valuable point: how much of the mythos of the werewolf was true? Jack knew that he experienced the Change under the light of the moon, but it seemed there was also an element of "changing in times of physical danger". So it wasn't like he could bank on only having three changes a month.
But this then left silver.
How deadly was it to him? Could he pick it up and use it without any incident? Or would it set him on fire at the closest touch? There were other myths of werewolfism that had to be looked into as well. Was he also in danger from Wolfsbane? Well, there was the fact that stuff was hideously poisonous to ANYONE let alone Werewolves. Could he shrug off close to anything else except for silver? That was one thing he didn't much look forward to finding out.
Jack's thoughts were disrupted by the sound coming from upstairs. His finely tuned hearing told him that it was his girlfriend getting up from her sleep. The fact he could hear her getting up from all the way downstairs in the news room made him wonder a bit about these abilities. Eh, he started up and got himself some food - chicken and bacon, and started some coffee for himself and his girlfriend. By the time she got dressed and headed downstairs, she seemed surprised Jack had already been up and got everything ready.
"If I didn't know better, big guy, I'd swear you heard me wake up from all the way downstairs." She leaned in and kissed his cheek. Jack grinned a bit at that.
"Well...uh, I have something I need to tell you. And I figure we should try and talk it over through a meal." Jack said as he stretched his back in his seat and then leaned forward.
Seeing his current seriousness, Vicki seemed to contemplate what this could be and asked, "Is...something wrong, Jack? Or is this you wanting to know if its okay to bring another woman or a man into our bed?" She added that last bit to try and detract from the sudden weighty airs.
Jack ate down a piece of chicken before breathing and thinking how he could say it. He decided to start with a question based on what he saw of her liking for those movies, "So uhh, just for starters, I'd uh, like to ask you a question: what do you think of the werewolves from those movies we watched? Like, the actual werewolves themselves. If they were, y'know, real and all..."
"I...confess I don't know what this has to do with things, but okay." She brightened up and tapped her chin momentarily, "Well, I think they're pretty fascinating. Scary monsters, yes, but I find it so alluring, the difference between man and beast and how they blend together as the full moon approaches..."
Oh, good, Jack contemplated, she found what he was "scary but fascinating". Well, at least she didn't fixate on the slaying portion or anything like that. Considering how he'd experienced the "blending together of man and beast" during the Full Moon last night, he wouldn't exactly call it alluring. More like a combination of a weird heatstroke going into a dream while semi-conscious at best. "Well uhh, about that. I have something related to all this to tell you."
"J-Jack? What are you talking about?" Vicki seemed to scour her mind for anything a werewolf could be a metaphor for, and none of the options were appealing. "Are you trying to tell me something?"
"Yes...yes I am." He gulped and then looked down at the plate full of meat, and let himself say it, "So, two nights ago, I was exposed to...to some sort of fucked up book. And somehow it---it caused me to turn into a werewolf."
A long pause as Jack looked away from his girlfriend, not knowing if she was going to react one way or another. He'd offered no proof really, just his word that this was apparently something that happened to him. He was left wincing as he heard his girlfriend giggling a bit as if she found this all funny - that it was apparently some kind of joke.
"Ohh, sorry big guy...is this some kind of new roleplay thing you want to try out with me?" Vicki asked in an innocently inquisitive manner. She really had no idea what happened just last night.
Jack did admit he had done some rather adventurous things with her before sex-wise, and thus she might be more willing to believe this was some sort of weird kink or roleplaying thing. Though there was really nothing fun about what he went through last night. He endangered everyone who had been in the path of the Werewolf. And while it was fortuitous literal human garbage had gotten injured instead of anyone else, the fact was this town didn't need two supernatural menaces.
And if he wanted to minimize the danger to others and himself when he went into his werewolf form, he needed the cooperation of someone - preferably his girlfriend. He could not allow anyone outside of Clyve to be hurt by the Werewolf. He knew well enough from experience that it was like a whole other intelligence taking him over when he transformed. Last thing he needed now was for this to be taken as a game.
"It's...It's not roleplay! It's not some kind of sex thing." Jack looked down at the table and clenched a fist, contemplating how he could really prove to her that it really was true. He had after all busted right out of the cellar---wait, that's it! Jack realized the method he could use to convince her that this was all real. He said with an eager half-smile, "Come on! I-I can show you. Last night, I had to sequester myself in the cellar due to the Full Moon...I can show you the cellar doors!"
"Wait, really? I---I didn't even know the cellar had doors leading out. Kiiinda spooky now that I know." Vicki got up from the table and promptly followed Jack down to the basement, leaving the food on the table for their return. Jack looked around as he opened up the heavy door to the cellar stairwell, noting that Vicki seemed ill at ease with the place. He thus led the way down there, the lights flickering all the way as they usually did.
"S-Sorry Jack, I just really don't like this place. It's why I didn't even know there were doors down on here. Always figured it was haunted." Vicki said as she watched the flickering light before stepping down to the cellar. She could already smell something unusual down here. Something definitely happened down here, and there was a stirred sensation in the air. She had been afraid of how still and cold it was down here - now there was a different feel to the whole place.
As the two lovers entered the cellar, Jack became aware of just how eerie the place really was. No wonder that Vicki didn't like it down here. There were too many shadows in all the wrong places, which could give the illusion of things lurking in the far off darkness. Well, at least now there was one spooky thing down here that had her interests at heart. Looked like whoever lived here before also kept a lot of stuff down here. Plenty of crawlspace entries here as well. Jack examined a couple of them just to be safe. Never know what might be lurking in a crawlspace. He set it in mind that once things settled down he was going to give this place a look over.
Before long Vicki came to see what had happened to the doors leading out from the cellar and out into the more wooded areas - as well as the claw marks and slashes in the doors. Jack walked over and gestured at it all. There wasn't much denying the reality of these marks and the damage to the doors. "See? Not a roleplay. Not a game. I'm a werewolf."
Vicki slowly turned to him and asked in a very cautious way, "Do you...know what might've happened? To uh, to Turn you? I mean you mentioned an evil book. What was that about...?" She laughed awkwardly and looked around, "You know it's kind of funny. We were joking around and talking about werewolf stuff just yesterday and I didn't even consider you might've...I uh, I didn't offend you at all with any of the jokes I made, did I...?"
"Offend me?" Jack chuckled and shrugged his shoulders, "No way no how. It just makes these movies a little...odd to watch now. Can't help but compare what goes on to my own experiences."
Vicki seemed to figure something out, and snapped her fingers. "That...that modeling shoot, the alleged modeling shoot down in that tunnel...what really happened down there? I---now that I know about this, I just...have to wonder."
"Well, I Changed down there when I was suddenly ambushed by these...these zombies." Jack paused and realized it might be a bit much to bring that up now. He looked at her and she shrugged her shoulders and smiled somewhat bitterly.
"Keep going - trust me, if I can accept werewolves are a thing now, I don't think zombies would be too much of a problem."
Jack then crossed his arms and kept going, remembering as much as he could about the fight, even though it was like he was observing through the lens of a dream, "Well, anyway, I was ambushed by a bunch of zombies. I got trailed by this car shortly after I left the diner. I tried to escape down into the tunnel when it let out those creeps. And then yesterday again when I went out to fight off the intruders in the backyard, again it was zombies. But I saw some guy stumbling over the gate to the backyard. And then I guess the police you called in arrived---"
Vicki held up her hand and seemed to go a little white in the face, as if she was just realizing something, "Wait. Jack. Hold up. You said I called the police yesterday during that fight in the backyard. I---I didn't call the police. I panicked, I'm sorry - I shut down."
Jack stared off into the distance at that information drop. She had not called the police. She had not called in the presence of Eric Battle. There was no impetus for the police to show up. And if the police hadn't been called, then there was really no way of Battle let alone the police to know that Jack had been attacked in the backyard! He specifically called it an attack! It was probably not a neighbor, these kinds of places weren't immediately stacked up next to each other.
Then how in the world did Eric Battle know and how did he show up so soon at the scene of the crime?
"If you didn't call the police, Vicki, then how'd the cops show up like that?" Jack contemplated, and started trying to put things together. There was a lot he didn't know about Eric Battle. And the man HAD been very suspicious and kind of antagonistic a bit. It might be about time to look into the life and practices of that cop. This was all too suspicious and out there.
Vicki cupped her chin and paced back and forth, thinking about some different kinds of zombie movies, "Well, I don't know much about zombies, but I do know when there is someone responsible for them, that person's basically a zombie master. A...A necromancer. It's a word that used to mean a sorcerer who just communicated with the dead. Pop culture made it mean person who controls the bodies of the dead. Maybe there's someone out there who's controlling these undead. And I think Eric Battle is probably involved somehow."
Jack sighed, looking out at the forested area, "I really don't want to put you in any danger, Vicki. We know now whoever it is - Battle or whatever The Necromancer is - he's not afraid to strike close to home. He isn't bound by any notions of fair play. He goes after loved ones most likely out of spite or to draw out his victim..."
"Then," Vicki said and looked back at her place, "I'll look into fortifying the cellar and see about turning it into your ah, your wolf den when the Full Moon's out. And I'll be doing research and keeping you informed on any goings on. I want to help you in any way I can, Jack."
Jack let out a breath of relief. She believed him - it took leading her down to his den. She believed him, and now he just needed to focus on finding out who was responsible for these zombie attacks. It was doubtless that there was some connection to the police. There was no other way that Battle would just show up like that. Maybe Jack needed to go and look into trying to figure out where Battle's car was, and what was going on with it. If the smells matched up and he could get a positive match, he could further confirm the cop's involvement. It had been difficult the other day but maybe with some practice...
Vicki seemed to get an idea and said, "I'll look into the records and news reports about Detective Battle and anyone involved with him. It's never just one thing with these guys. Can you look into what happened with that young couple?"
"I'll check it out. See what kind of things I can dig up about them. I'll be home before the night. Since it's a Full Moon tonight, I'll be staying down in the cellar." Jack started to go back into the house, deciding he was going to need to check and make sure about some other security measures. Looking around in the cellar, he found an old baseball bat laying around. Hoisting it, Jack went back up into the house and promptly made sure the backdoor was locked fully by setting up the baseball bat in case the door lock got unhinged by anything.
Vicki followed shortly behind and noted what he was doing. She decided she was going to need to invest in some security cameras. If that person who'd been around yesterday was creeping around homes like this, she couldn't know if she was truly alone and if that person hadn't already been inside or might have someone else lurking.
As Jack got ready to leave, he kissed Vicki goodbye, "Sorry that I brought all this craziness into your life. You...really don't deserve all this shit courtesy of me."
Vicki kissed him back and responded, "Don't worry about it. It wasn't your fault the book did that to you. Even though you're howling at the moon now, nothing changes between us. I love you, Jack, and I will always love you."
With that Jack started to walk off before taking off into a run toward the Make Out Point, breaking into a sprint before long. He was rather surprised by the speeds he could reach and the endurance he now had. Prior, he'd been strictly training for appearances, being a model and all. But now he could run and sprint at speeds which would've winded him just a week ago. It appeared lycanthropy did wonders for your cardiovascular fitness. Maybe it was some element of lupine physiology. He remembered from some class that a Grey Wolf could run something like 31-37 miles per hour at full speed...
'There has to be a commonality. I'll check around the Make Out Point, see if anyone else knew the couple and make sure if there's any indication about a repeat performance. Then I'll head in to the police station. No problem asking some questions.' Jack thought as he raced off toward his destination.
-----------------
A few sniffs around the Make Out Point confirmed a few things for Jack.
He could smell the noxious remaining stench of the zombies and some hint of them even still, and there was a *lot* of sex going on around these parts, once the sun went down. It was either in cars, out in the old camping areas (hopefully with towels), or in any random clearing. And Jack could smell where the violence had occurred. It hit him that he was getting better at using his nose. These senses were really quite useful... well, when they weren't telling him the sheer volume with which the people around here fucked.
Because all that was doing was making him want to dart back to Vicki's place and take her right then and there on her bed... well, it was all well and good that he was distracted from that train of thought. Jack approached the site of the incident, seeing there was still police tape all around the area. And a pretty obese cop standing around looking bored. Jack decided to try his luck and see if he could get any info.
"Hey, officer, hey excuse me sir..."
The man seemed almost relieved he was talking to anyone even though he knew protocol, "Are you some friend of the deceased?"
"Yeah, I was just...devastated, you know..." Jack paused and looked away, "Just...how and why could this happen? He seemed like such a great guy."
The cop contemplated and then shook his head and said, "Well, I shouldn't be tellin' ya this, and don't be telling anyone that Officer Detmer went and did you this solid, but these kids were a bit of a spooky coincidence for us. We had to get called in when a party went south six ways from Sunday, and the vic, he was just panickin' cuz he slugged a preppy! Man, Battle got pissed at the arguin' and shit. 'Tween these kids and that poor unlucky wanderer the night before...seems like somebody's targetin' the hard luck sorts."
"...Thanks, Detective Detmer. I won't say a word."
"And thank you for makin' my day a little less fuckin' boring."
With that, Jack walked off and into the woods, thinking about what he knew from this. It seemed the guy from two nights ago and the two teens from last night did have something in common, at least one of em. They were all it seemed pretty "hard luck". They were poor, and probably destitute in the case of the guy who got chomped on. Seemed the targets were people in poor economic brackets. Really made this all seem extra lowly on the behalf of the people responsible for this.
Maybe it was opportunity based killing, but it seemed that the whole thing was possibly based in prejudice. Now he just needed to figure out who was responsible. He had some leading suspects already, and he just needed some confirmation. Irrefutable proof. Maybe he needed to catch the bastard in the act. Jack looked around the Make Out Point. He could probably bet on the Necromancer deciding to try for this place again, or maybe he'd aim for somewhere his preferred targets hanged out at.
Jack heard some rustling nearby, and he pressed himself up behind a nearby tree. He heard a car come by, and it looked like there was someone already coming up here to get their make out on. And as Jack concentrated, he realized he could smell the scent of the dead in the air. But not around here in the immediate area. He thought about it. He could wait until the dead freaks came out and rescue whoever was in the car, or he could warn or scare them off from the area and sabotage the Necromancer's plans.
But he knew he was gonna need to decide on a course of action fast.