Your head feels sore when you wake up. Blinking in the glare of the morning light, you groggily redress – grateful that you took off your clothes before you lost the use of your hands. Then you jump as the nearby cordless telephone rings. The noise sounds painful to your now-sharper ears. With your heart in your mouth, you answer it.
“Umm… Hello?”
“Neil! Thank god! Are you all right?” It’s Caroline – and you soon pull yourself together, upon hearing her.
“Could be better… Where are you?”
“In a telephone box, outside of town! I’ll come over to you within the half-hour.” She pauses. “I guess you remember what happened last night.”
“I do. What…what about your clothes, Caroline?”
“Don’t worry. I’m of a…breed…that can absorb their clothing during the transformation. And I’ve slept overnight in one of my secret dens. Had money and other things hidden away. Prepared in advance for times like these! Cook me some bacon and eggs, please Neil. We’ll talk soon, sweetie.”
Caroline arrives home, via the hole in her fence – just as you pass Topaz her meal of seaweed. Inside, you and your friend gulp down your bacon and eggs, satisfying your hunger. Neither of you say much until you have finished eating.
“Now I know the reason for that fence hole!” you put to Caroline, as you slam your fist on the table in an uncharacteristic moment of anger. “You made it – maybe months ago. The pieces were broken from your side of the fence. So that you could go hunting!”
Caroline nods. She then sniffs at you, and tears start to run over her freckled face. “Oh, Neil! I really did it, didn’t I? I forced my curse onto you! You must hate me!”
The rage drains away from you. You get up from your seat and hug her. She breaks down in your arms, sobbing. Brushing your hand through her hair, you tell Caroline the truth.
“I don’t hate you. I…I just want an explanation! How long have you been a werewolf?”
“For about a year.” She sniffs. “Now you know the real reason why my marriage went ‘kaput’!
You frown. “Richard the love rat found out you were a werewolf?”
“No! He become a werewolf before me! A lycanthropic prostitute infected him, two years ago. I got to the bottom of his monthly business jaunts, where he stayed away from home…”
“During the full moons, I suppose…,” you mutter.
“Spot on! One exposed secret led to another – and Richard convinced me that if there was any chance of our marriage surviving from his curse, we had to be werewolves together. After all, wolves mate for life. So – after careful consideration – I allowed him to bite me.”
“Then what happened?” you ask.
Caroline’s eyes harden. “Wolves may be faithful creatures. Unfortunately, not all werewolves are! Richard continued to chase after other women. He also got me into the habit of patrolling the streets in town, on full-moon nights. Having started killing burglars, and liking the taste of them – he encouraged me to be his partner against crime. Now I’m hooked on the same drug as he was! I’m a killer, Neil! I’ve forced Richard out of town – but a part of him, his…disease…, will always be in me. And now, it’s in you too!”
“What about innocent people?” you ask, worriedly.
“I’ve never hurt anyone who didn’t deserve it – until last night.” Caroline gulps as she thinks about what she did to you. “And now I think this Doctor – who Topaz spoke of – has set up base nearby, because of my night-time activities. Last night, we both heard that man say that I was to be part of the Doctor’s ‘collection’.”
“Yes, I remember… But what happens to me now, Caroline. What happens…to us?”
I’ve infected you. I can smell that you’ve already changed… I’m responsible for you, Neil. And I’ll take care of you! I’ll teach you what you need to know, as a new werewolf!”
You squeeze her hand. “I want to take care of you, too, C,” you confess.
“I accept your offer.” She manages to smile. “And thanks to Topaz, we can escape our hunters. Go someplace where we can’t hurt any humans.”
“The sea!” you exclaim, realising the meaning behind her words. “But will transforming us into fully-fledged merfolk cure our werewolf natures?”
“I asked Topaz that yesterday. I told her my secret. She doesn’t know the answer to that!”
“Then we might end up killing merfolk, instead. Or infecting them!” you point out.
“The sea is a big place! Topaz says we can eke out during full moon nights far away from other merfolk. I’m now prepared to leave my life behind here – but I won’t go without you! I guess it’s your decision, Neil. What do you want to do?”
You think long and seriously about the options open to you. Then, taking a deep breath, you turn to Caroline and say, “Right! I’ve decided. Let’s…”