When they finally reached the town, the sky began to lighten up. They were quite lucky to come across a lone driver this early in the morning. It was decided that first only Madie, Tony and Greg would go ahead. Lana, Brian, and the children had to be left in the woods by the road.
Their company already looked suspicious, and if they appeared on the road accompanied by four naked people or four huge wolves, the chance to catch a ride would be reduced to absolute zero. Fortunately, the town had a good doctor who quickly managed to straighten the injured bone, put in a cast, give a painkiller and put this troublesome patient to bed, while ignoring all the whining and curses from Meddy. One problem solved!
Tony and Greg left the town's hospital totally spent. The dawn has just lighted the horizon and the inhabitants of the town were still in no hurry to leave their beds.
"What now?" - Tony spoke in a tired voice, squinting at Greg.
"On the way, I saw a small roadside hotel. We can go there. You will reserve rooms and call the rest. Tell them that everything is fine." - Greg replied gathering the last drops of his straight for some brain activities.
"What version should I tell them, full or for the faint of heart?" - Tony specified with a grin. Greg chuckled back.
"It depends on who you call first. If Marina or mother - you can brag all you want. But if Frank or Becky - better something censored. You know how tender they are."
Tony nodded in agreement, and they set off in the direction indicated by Greg.
There was an extraordinary silence around. For a city dweller, this was almost like very sophisticated torture. But right now, none of the friends could decide to start the conversation first. It was as if the atmosphere itself suggested that it was about to happen, but each with the silence delayed this moment a little more.
And of course, the first one to give in was Tony.
"You know, Greg, I can't do this anymore. You can tell everything later to Frank or to whomever you want, but let's make it clear now." - He said firmly, not daring to look in his friend's eyes. Greg squinted at his strained, serious face. This way he didn't see Tony ever. But there was no way back now.
"You remember our little walk in the Park," - Greg began with a sigh. Anthony immediately faltered and stopped. He stared for a second with a blank look, and then abruptly turned around.
" Was it Lana and Nicky with Vicki back then?" - Tony whispered for some reason, looking with big eyes at Greg. He nodded back, giving his friend a chance to digest the information.
"Wait wait. Those wolves that attacked us were they too ... - Greg nodded again. Tony closed his eyes and began to massage his temples, trying to connect everything somehow.
"But why did they ...? Lana and everyone else seemed to be able to control themselves. Did they attack just for fun?" - Completely confused, asked Tony.
"It is possible that they were sent by Lana's ex-husband, well, not quite the husband..." - Greg said with a sigh and tried to outline in general all that he knew himself. It turned out that there was not so much useful info. Only vague guesses and theories.
"So let's first summarize all of the above," - Tony said at the end, still perplexed. - "We have, first, the disgusting ex-husband of Lana, who went totally wacko, escaped from prison and is now very much looking for a meeting with you and his ex. Secondly, her father, who once arranged a political marriage for his daughter, and now may go to any lengths to upset your happiness, because otherwise, his dirty affairs will come out. And finally, the Leib duo, who clearly did not anticipate who they went after. But with this, you are sort of coping just fine. Is that right?"
"There is one more thing," - Greg added uncertainly, glancing at his friend.
"More? Greg, Why did I miss all the fun?" - Tony puffed out his cheeks full of outrage. - "That so damn unfair!"
Greg laughed, but then immediately became serious.
"Remember, I said that I shot that werewolf when you left?" - He replied, carefully peering into the face of the guy. Anthony nodded slowly, not looking away.
" Recently, another corpse appeared in the Park. Another shifter was shot in the head. And Kiki says the bullets are identical to the one they pulled out of the body of my kill."
Tony froze, trying to digest what he heard. Greg did not rush him, letting his friend come to the same conclusions as they. Finally, something flashed in Tony's eyes. He sharply turned his whole body and stared at Greg. The guy's eyes were absolutely cold, like two pieces of ice.
"That is, that time when you asked about my pistols, you were not just merely interested, were you? Did you seriously think it was me?" - He said in a colorless tone, peering into Greg's eyes as if searching for an answer. But he didn't have to wait long. Greg winced, giving himself away and looked away.
"Listen, Tony. I'm sorry, I should have trusted you. I just ... "- Greg began, but Tony interrupted him.
"No, my friend, you're absolutely right. When it comes to the safety of your family, you should not trust anyone one hundred percent. Even to yourself. And my guns are the most definite confirmation of this statement.
When they finally reached the town, the sky began to lighten up. They were quite lucky to come across a lone driver this early in the morning. It was decided that first only Madie, Tony and Greg would go ahead. Lana, Brian, and the children had to be left in the woods by the road.
Their company already looked suspicious, and if they appeared on the road accompanied by four naked people or four huge wolves, the chance to catch a ride would be reduced to absolute zero. Fortunately, the town had a good doctor who quickly managed to straighten the injured bone, put in a cast, give a painkiller and put this troublesome patient to bed, while ignoring all the whining and curses from Meddy. One problem solved!
Tony and Greg left the town's hospital totally spent. The dawn has just lighted the horizon and the inhabitants of the town were still in no hurry to leave their beds.
"What now?" - Tony spoke in a tired voice, squinting at Greg.
"On the way, I saw a small roadside hotel. We can go there. You will reserve rooms and call the rest. Tell them that everything is fine." - Greg replied gathering the last drops of his straight for some brain activities.
"What version should I tell them, full or for the faint of heart?" - Tony specified with a grin. Greg chuckled back.
"It depends on who you call first. If Marina or mother - you can brag all you want. But if Frank or Becky - better something censored. You know how tender they are."
Tony nodded in agreement, and they set off in the direction indicated by Greg.
There was an extraordinary silence around. For a city dweller, this was almost like very sophisticated torture. But right now, none of the friends could decide to start the conversation first. It was as if the atmosphere itself suggested that it was about to happen, but each with the silence delayed this moment a little more.
And of course, the first one to give in was Tony.
"You know, Greg, I can't do this anymore. You can tell everything later to Frank or to whomever you want, but let's make it clear now." - He said firmly, not daring to look in his friend's eyes. Greg squinted at his strained, serious face. This way he didn't see Tony ever. But there was no way back now.
"You remember our little walk in the Park," - Greg began with a sigh. Anthony immediately faltered and stopped. He stared for a second with a blank look, and then abruptly turned around.
" Was it Lana and Nicky with Vicki back then?" - Tony whispered for some reason, looking with big eyes at Greg. He nodded back, giving his friend a chance to digest the information.
"Wait wait. Those wolves that attacked us were they too ... - Greg nodded again. Tony closed his eyes and began to massage his temples, trying to connect everything somehow.
"But why did they ...? Lana and everyone else seemed to be able to control themselves. Did they attack just for fun?" - Completely confused, asked Tony.
"It is possible that they were sent by Lana's ex-husband, well, not quite the husband..." - Greg said with a sigh and tried to outline in general all that he knew himself. It turned out that there was not so much useful info. Only vague guesses and theories.
"So let's first summarize all of the above," - Tony said at the end, still perplexed. - "We have, first, the disgusting ex-husband of Lana, who went totally wacko, escaped from prison and is now very much looking for a meeting with you and his ex. Secondly, her father, who once arranged a political marriage for his daughter, and now may go to any lengths to upset your happiness, because otherwise, his dirty affairs will come out. And finally, the Leib duo, who clearly did not anticipate who they went after. But with this, you are sort of coping just fine. Is that right?"
"There is one more thing," - Greg added uncertainly, glancing at his friend.
"More? Greg, Why did I miss all the fun?" - Tony puffed out his cheeks full of outrage. - "That so damn unfair!"
Greg laughed, but then immediately became serious.
"Remember, I said that I shot that werewolf when you left?" - He replied, carefully peering into the face of the guy. Anthony nodded slowly, not looking away.
" Recently, another corpse appeared in the Park. Another shifter was shot in the head. And Kiki says the bullets are identical to the one they pulled out of the body of my kill."
Tony froze, trying to digest what he heard. Greg did not rush him, letting his friend come to the same conclusions as they. Finally, something flashed in Tony's eyes. He sharply turned his whole body and stared at Greg. The guy's eyes were absolutely cold, like two pieces of ice.
"That is, that time when you asked about my pistols, you were not just merely interested, were you? Did you seriously think it was me?" - He said in a colorless tone, peering into Greg's eyes as if searching for an answer. But he didn't have to wait long. Greg winced, giving himself away and looked away.
"Listen, Tony. I'm sorry, I should have trusted you. I just ... "- Greg began, but Tony interrupted him.
"No, my friend, you're absolutely right. When it comes to the safety of your family, you should not trust anyone one hundred percent. Even to yourself. And my guns are the most definite confirmation of this statement.
