Not really wanting to stir up anything else that might have been lurking around in the dark recesses of the mansion, Rusty felt that it would be better and possibly safer to stay there in his room, safe and cozy under the thick beddings. Rusty knew that this was the better option since tomorrow was going to be an insanely long day. He knew how Marcia was and she would want to scope out the every square inch of the property to find the best places where the portal may manifest itself. Climbing under the covers, Rusty found great comfort with his sleeping arrangements, now that he wasn't burning up anymore, quickly becoming comfortable and on the first step to the land of "Nod". As Rusty laid there in the dark, looking up at the barren white ceiling, he felt his eyes slowly drooping, bringing him ever closer to his next destination. Edging closer and closer, Rusty tried to force himself to stay awake, but he found that his will to stay awake was waning. In the moment before he closed his last time, entering the land of "Nod", Rusty hoped that his dreams would be unlike what just happened to him; plain, ordinary and uneventful.
Before he knew it, Rusty woke up in a bit of a hectic fit, not really sure of any of his surroundings. Looking around the room quickly, Rusty remembered where he was. Looking around the room, it was just as dark as when he fell asleep for what he thought was a split second. Wondering exactly what time it was, Rusty saw that only a couple of minutes passed from when he fell asleep and that particular moment. Annoyed that he couldn't really get to sleep, Rusty threw the covers off his expected naked body to get dressed, but found that he was completely dressed... shoes and all. Thinking that was very weird, while not really even caring, Rusty swung his lower half over the bed and let it hang loosely touching the carpeted floor. Rising to his feet, Rusty felt a little weak at the knees while being slightly woozy and braced himself in-case he ended up falling. Standing there in his poised position for what he felt was a few minutes, Rusty regained his composure, stood freely and then headed toward the door.
Opening the door and expecting to find the atrium, along with everything else that was in it's place, but instead Rusty found himself to be out on the property of the estate in the wide open clearing. Before Rusty even had the time to turn back, a gust of wind rushed past him, slamming the room door shut behind him, disappearing in an instant after its' closure. Again, Rusty was left baffled and scratching his head, but thought entirely nothing of it. Curious about the area, Rusty began to walk around, listening to the crunching of the one inch crisp blades of grass covered in the dew of the evening, enjoying the way the evening smelled and even felt. Rusty reminisced about the happenings in his room and enjoyed the fact that his current situation was completely different from everything else. As Rusty absentmindedly walked around, he noticed that the found was lit by a pale light. Looking up into the sky, Rusty saw the source, the moon was full and brightly lit by the sun that was so far off into the vastness of space, while accompanied by a clear and cloudless sky. Rusty realized that his was a perfect moment and took the time to stop what he was doing to appreciate the moment even more. Out of nowhere, Rusty's ears perked, picking up the sound of crunching blades of grass, especially since things were perfectly silent and that Rusty thought he was alone. Hearing the crunching again, this time louder and seemingly closer, Rusty looked around in his one-hundred and eighty degree current view for the cause. When Rusty found none, he turned around to see another man walking toward him.
Rusty was somewhat shocked to find that there was even another person near where he was. Rusty even wanted to ask a few things, but didn't, deciding to wait and see if the man answered them without his even asking. Rusty noticed a few things about the man before him right off the bat. He was definitely older, if Rusty had to guess, he was in his mid-thirties; he had dark brown and reddish tinted hair; he had sharp and defined facial features; he was definitely muscular with a lumberjack build; his clothes consisted of a simple pair of dark blue jean shorts and an open, free flowing, reddish plaid button down shirt; the man was also hairy and had a thick, while full, one inch beard. Come to think of it, the man had some of the same scars on his face where Rusty had his. As the man drew closer to Rusty, Rusty stepped backward not paying any attention to where he walked, tripping over a partially exposed rock, falling and hitting his head against the cold and wet ground.
Both of them exclaimed "Ow!" at the same time, confirming Rusty's first suspicions.
"You... you're me?!"
The man smiled deviously, showing his pearly white and sharper than normal I-teeth.
"Well, you have one thing right... I am you, but not until tomorrow..." The confirmed older Rusty said, trailing off.
"Wha... what do you mean?!"
"Do you see what is above us, so bright and high in the sky? Isn't it beautiful Rusty?"
"Yeah, of course I do and I was thinking the exact same thing."
The older version of him chuckled and continued in his gruff and deeper voice. "I thought you would say that, after-all we are the same Rusty. I am what you are becoming while staying in the mansion."
"What am I becoming? You mean I will go from how I am now to how you are overnight?"
"Not quite... actually it will be even quicker than an overnight thing."
"When will this happen tomorrow?"
"You will change when you and Marcia near the opened portal. You will first sense something, but you wont know what it is. Then, near the time of the full moon rises the portal will be visible to you both. You, Rusty, will be drawn to it and Marcia will prepare to close it. When she does, your opinion on the portal will change, Marcia wont relent on wanting to close it and that's when it will happen. You, Rusty, will change into a powerful werewolf to protect it!"
"No way, there is no way I could even change into a werewolf, I have never been bitten or scratched for that matter."
"I wouldn't be too sure of that! Why don't you check out your right leg?"
Rusty lifted his right pant leg to find the remnant of what had to have been a huge and deep gash along the back part of his ankle.
"How... how did that happen?"
"Do you remember the hell hound that visited you earlier."
"Yes I do! How could I forget a thing like that!? However, I stayed away from it and the hell hound never came near me."
The other older Rusty raised a now clawed finger in opposition. "What about when you were unconscious from the intensity of the odor from the hell hound?"
"Well... I don't really know, as you said yourself that I was unconscious."
"That's my point! The hell hound had specific instructions to pay us a visit, wait for us to pass out and then infect us. Hell hounds are the catalyst for the first lycanthrope or werewolf since it is undead and we are living."
"So I don't have any choice in the matter?"
"Well we are to protect the portal for this place to become a permanent gateway. Should you choose to destroy it, things will change, but I don't know how. I will say this though, once you change for the first time you will not want to lose what you will feel. If you let Marcia destroy the portal, you may lose the lycanthropy and again... you wont want to chance it."
"What did you do... older me?"
"I killed her by throwing her into the portal, well at least I think I killed her, she could still be alive over on the other side."
"So... what happens after you leave me here?"
"I have no idea to tell you the truth. Once I threw her in, I was called by a voice from the portal telling me to step through. When I did, I ended up here with you in human form as you see me now. I suppose the portal will reopen and then whatever happens, happens."
"You do understand this is all really hard to believe. I am pretty sure this is a dream now and all this stuff..." Pausing while pointing around to his surroundings " is created by my imagination. So I will need some hard evidence that you are telling me the truth."
The older Rusty just chuckled and as he did, it became darker and more evil sounding, like something straight out of a horror movie. His bones shifted, popping and cracking as he changed. His muscles grew even larger pushing the fabric of his shirt and pants to split at the cuffs. His ears grew longer to a point, while his teeth grew longer into fangs while his face pushed out into a muzzle while his tongue flattened to become more canine. His hands and feet shifted into human like paws, fingernails and toenails lengthening into sharp claws, while rendering his shoes useless and mangled. Looking down, his sneakers were completely shredded with his toes, claws and all, sticking out of them over the sole. Thick and reddish dark brown hairs sprouted all over his body, Rusty realized quickly that it was his fur! The last thing to happen was his tail forming while sticking out from the waistband of the jeans.
In his own way, he grinned sheepishly at his former non-werewolf self. The werewolf quickly flexed all of his muscles, showing them off to the current Rusty, just so he could get a clear idea of what he was going to receive. All of werewolf Rusty's actions were even more proof that werewolves did exist... or at least it would begin with him.
"Well... do you believe me now?" He asked in an even more gruff and animalistic voice.
"Yeah... I believe you! How does it feel?"
"You will know soon enough, it's time for me to go."
Not wanting the conversation to end, Rusty yelled out while reaching toward the werewolf walking away, but it was already too late. Much like before, being completely disoriented when he woke up in bed, Rusty frantically sought to regain his whits about him. Realizing where he was and it was all a dream, Rusty threw the covers off to reveal his still naked body unscathed and undamaged. Like Rusty saw when he first disrobed, nothing was wrong with his entire physical body... but then he did notice something that he hadn't before. All the way at the heel of his foot, along his Achilles tendon, there was a tiny and thin scar line. Rusty realized that who or whatever planned this knew that spot would be one of the most unnoticeable places to inflict slight damage on someone... or at least knew that Rusty wouldn't look there. Conflicted by this slight issue, Rusty quickly got dressed without showering, then went to meet Marcia in the main hall of the mansion where they had agreed upon before they split up for the evening.