Monster

Carter had called me unexpectedly. The ring was the thing that pulled me out of my trance-like state. I had been inside the house, just frozen… replaying the event over and over in my head. I feared that, if I left the house, or moved from my position in any way, it might take control again. I just stayed still and tried not to move. I was lying on the floor of Martin's safe house when the phone rang.

The call had come, and I winced at the name on the screen. Did he know? Did they find out somehow that I had murdered a man in cold blood? How long had I been in the safe house? Hours… days? I was terrified at what the call would bring… but the tiny shred of humanity that remained needed an anchor to hold onto to survive. I had to answer.

The call was quick, a request for a meeting. I jumped at the chance, but as soon as I agreed, I regretted it. But I had to see him. I had to feel human again. I needed a human connection. In just a short while, I found myself standing on the small road in front of the overgrown home. I waited amongst the brush as Carter came to pick me up.

I wasn’t sure what Carter wanted when he called, or what he knew, but I was uneasy at his approach. I worried I might lose the things I had worked so hard to gain again. If they knew… what I’d done… it was over.

After only twenty minutes of pacing through the leaves and greenery, Carter's black SUV pulled down the street. He stopped on the road right in front of me. I opened the passenger door to the rumbling vehicle. It was only Carter inside. I figured it’d be just him, but I still eyed the back seats for others.

“Sam,” Carter greeted enthusiastically. His smiling face brought warmth into my soul. It made me start to forget about the weight I was carrying around.

“What’s going on, Carter?” I asked, stepping into the enclosed cabin with a façade of the old me.

It felt good to be back with him. It reminded me of simpler times with the family. He seemed in a good mood, so my stress level eased to meet his. I pushed my memories away and tried to forget what I’d done.

As soon as my door clicked shut, Carter pulled away from my home. We accelerated through the tunnel of trees back towards the highway.

“I feel like every time I see you, I have to thank you, Sam,” Carter smirked. “Clara wouldn’t have made it without your intervention that night.”

“I’m glad I made it. I hope she wasn’t too hurt,” I said.

“She’ll be okay, but really, Sam,” he reiterated, “thank you.”

I nodded in the car, not saying anything to ruin the moment he was creating.

He had spilled out too many emotions with me lately, and it seemed like this time he was trying to maintain his composure. I understood better than he realized. He didn’t need to spill his guts for me to grasp the magnitude of how grateful they were, again.

“I have a proposition for you,” he said as I cruised within the cool enclosure of the vehicle. “Everyone knows about you now. There isn’t any point in hiding you anymore, and with everything that’s going on, we figured you should just come over… openly. Zeke and Arthur know everything now.” Carter explained it all. “But don’t worry, we haven’t told them about your family.”

I eased my breath out at his words. He had me coiled in my seat, about to spring out in anxiety.

“Annabelle and Bartley talk to you?” I asked.

“Yep,” he answered quickly with a nod. “Shelta came too. We all know what she saw when you went with them.”

I gritted my teeth in preparation.

“If it’s true, and the Grimwoods are behind everything lately, then we’ll need you, Sam.”

I was shocked… stunned at his words. He glazed over it so seamlessly. Did he really not know? Did the Wicklows… or maybe just Shelta, keep what she had seen inside of me a secret? I shifted focus, forcing myself to stay on the topic at hand.

“How do they know it was him?” I asked, still uncertain about the effectiveness of their abilities.

“Their ways are hard for even me to understand. In my years, I’ve learned to just trust them. They protect everyone in their own way, and sometimes it’s better to just believe in what they understand,” he explained.

“Even Annabelle seemed pretty sure that it was Peter, even before we went to see Shelta,” I told him.

“Yeah, she told us the same,” Carter informed. “They can feel something that reminds them of their time with the Grimwood family. But Peter was different. They say his presence is specific, and they say they can feel glimpses of his presence.”

“Did they say anything else about how he was still alive? Do they still think that he lived through what I did to him?” I asked.

Carter nodded, “They know it was him there at the brewery… and at the cave.”

“The cave? He wasn’t there,” I said, pretty sure of myself.

“He was,” Carter assured. “There was this moment when we were running away that I saw something. It was a person down at the cave entrance. They were standing beneath the Olitiau, almost telling it what to do… controlling it. He was in the woods that night, talking to us somehow as we ran. I could hear laughing. The one standing with the creature had these eyes… they were glowing green. It was… weird…” Carter trailed off in thought.

“And the Wicklows think that was him?” I questioned again.

“Yeah,” Carter nodded, “but his current status is still unknown.”

I sighed with worry. I killed evil in the world without hesitation. I always had since I became a monster. But I had never come across someone that wouldn’t stay dead. I was a beast formed and fed by the deaths of others; how was I supposed to fight something that didn’t stay dead? What power did I have against someone like that?

“Nobody knows anything for sure, but we’re keeping our eyes open. If we hear of any more missing people, then we’ll have Shelta and Annabelle reach out. They’ll be able to see if Peter’s back. Until then… we can’t really do anything?” Carter admitted.

“So… what are we doing?” I asked, curious about where he was taking me.

“Our family’s leaving the area for a little while. It’s kind of last minute, but we wanted to get out and blow off some steam,” Carter explained. “Others in our family want to meet also. Word has spread throughout the family we still have that’s scattered across the country. They know about Allen, and they know something happened with Eleanor. They don’t know about you yet, not like Zeke and Arthur, but it’s only a matter of time.”

“How did they take it?” I asked about his cousins.

“Zeke was pissed once he found out the full story about Eleanor. They’re struggling with the specifics, just like the WIcklows did. But, it's mostly just the fact that I kept the truth from them. Also, it’s hard for him to understand how I tolerate having “monsters” like you and Martin around. They don’t know everything… not like I do. Arthur… well, Arthur doesn’t speak his opinions often, so he’s hard to read. I think he’s just observing, waiting to see what happens with you, and Martin.” Carter added, “They’re confused. They don’t know what to make of you and what you’re capable of, so that makes things harder for them… considering our occupation.”

Carter seemed stressed as he explained. His heart beat harder as the words were spoken.

“Where are you going,” I asked eagerly.

“We’re going to the Lake of the Ozarks. We have a house right on the lake that we don’t get to enjoy enough. We figured now was the time to just take off and go. We haven’t had a family reunion like this since Allen and Autumn were kids, and the lake house is big enough for everyone. Plus, Annabelle thinks it would be best if we left the area for a while. Not knowing if Peter is here or not… he could lash out at any moment, and we’d never know. We’re unsure if our barriers would work on him, so if he found out where we live… he could potentially walk right in.”

He was right. Peter could take them at any moment. Eleanor, Autumn, and even Carter would all be taken from my life forever.

“How long will you be gone?” I asked with worry in my heart.

“That really just depends on the rest of our family. They’re going to have questions, and we’ll have to navigate how to answer them so we can keep your secrets,” Carter said as he made a turn at a random stop sign. “That won’t be a problem. However, Zeke and Arthur are the only issues I can foresee. I’m not sure how much they’ll keep a secret for me.”

“Who is this other family? Why haven’t I ever heard you talk about them before?” I asked curiously.

“Well, without getting too deep into our family tree, I’ll tell you a little more about our family. I am one of three siblings, just as my father was one of three siblings. His name was Andrew. Zeke and Arthur had a brother, James. They were the three sons of my uncle, Art. Arthur is the oldest of the three, and his father’s namesake. It is my second uncle’s side of our family that want to meet. There are quite a few of them, unlike Art’s side. My other uncle’s name is Christopher. Those three were the pinnacle of our family when we were all kids. Frank, Clara, and I looked up to Dad, Uncle Art, and Uncle Chris like they were made of steel. They were so strong, so untouchable. They taught us how to fight, how to hunt, and how to survive in this world of monsters. When I was a kid, I thought that they’d live forever.”

Carter seemed to be lost in his mind as he spoke. There was this look in his eyes like he was back in time as a kid again. Then there was a faint hint of sadness. He missed them.

“Are you happy you’ll get to see your uncle again?” I genuinely asked.

“Yes,” he answered, snapping out of his daze. “Things are different now, unfortunately. Zeke and I are the leaders of our families. Uncle Christopher is much older, not physically hunting as much as he used to. He’s more of a tactician now. He also had three kids, two daughters and one son. He’s harder on us now. Nothing like when we were kids. Ever since my father died, and Zeke’s, Uncle Chris has been different. I honestly don’t know how he’d react to Martin’s involvement, let alone someone we still haven’t identified…” Carter looked over at me, “you.”

There was a moment of silence in the car as I processed the information Carter had just told me.

“Lakehouse, huh?” I forced a chuckle. “I never knew you guys had anything like that,” I said.

“Well, we haven’t been able to get away to it for a while now. We’ve got a boat, a pool, there’s golf… all sorts of things to do. We used to go quite often. To try and reset when hunting was a little heavier. Hunting hasn’t been as heavy these last few years, so we haven’t felt the need to hit our escape.” he explained.

“A pool at the lake?” I actually laughed.

Carter laughed at my question, “Well, sometimes you’ve gotta have a pool, too.”

We both laughed. It was nice being lighthearted and cheery with Carter again. I hadn’t felt this with him in a while. I needed it too… after what I did to that man. The quick thought made my lips seal shut again. I didn’t deserve laughter.

As the car eased to silence, Carter prepared another question. “Let me ask you something else.”

I nodded to him, prepared for his more serious tone.

“I’ve asked you this before, but… what do you want from our family?” he asked.

I was taken by surprise, and honestly not sure how to answer. I thought we were past this.

“I don’t want anything… I told you that before…” I was unsure where this was coming from.

“How do you feel about our family?” he adjusted his request.

I took a second to adjust myself in my seat. I wanted to be honest, but I couldn’t say anything that would drive a wedge between me and them. I definitely couldn’t tell him about what had just happened that night behind the convenience store.

“I just feel… I feel like,” I struggled to speak what I felt deep down. “I miss my family,” I admitted slowly. “The ones that still live on back home. I had to leave instantly… as soon as I knew. I felt the urges of this thing,” I motioned towards myself, “to actually hurt them. I cut myself off and never looked back. I was too scared of what I’d do. Every time I felt like I could go back, I pictured myself killing one of them… all of them. I’ve stayed away because I wanted to protect them. But it’s made me lonely, Carter.” I was unapologetically honest. “I’m tired… and I feel alone in a very dark world I’m still getting used to, and my world… seems darker every day.” I shook my head slightly. “Once I met all of you… I don’t feel that as much.”

He nodded throughout my slow, thoughtful explanation.

“What about Autumn?” he asked.

I wasn’t sure if he knew something about our intentions to meet up alone. We hadn’t yet, but maybe he caught wind of something. Maybe Annabelle told him… fucking bitch.

“I won’t lie to you… I care about her.” I paused. “Just saying that out loud feels wrong for me to say. I never thought I’d feel anything like that for someone again, not after I had to abandon my wife. I thought I’d be alone until the day I finally died. Sometimes I don’t think something like me is supposed to have that kind of life anymore. But now… I think about her all the time. I think about all of you constantly.” I tried to reign myself back in, “I want to protect all of you as much as I can. The little bit of good I can do with what’s left of this life…”

Carter was utterly straight-faced as we rolled towards his property.

“What is the difference between your family and us?” he asked.

“What do you mean exactly?” I asked.

“Why did you abandon them, but you’re sticking around with us?” he clarified.

I really thought hard about why I had done it. I wasn’t sure if I had ever really put it into words before this point.

“Ignorance is bliss, right? They know nothing of the real world we live in. You already know everything. It felt easier to stay with you guys since you were already so wrapped up in this world. If I were to go back to my own family… I wouldn’t just be coming alone… with whatever this thing inside me is. I’d be bringing the entire supernatural world with me. I don’t know how to do that… or if I should.” I admitted defeatedly.

I hung my head as we slowly pulled into the driveway of his sprawling home.

“Well… I think you don’t give yourself enough credit,” Carter took me by surprise. “You are you, Sam. That thing you turn into is still you. If it wasn’t, then I don’t think we’d still be here.” He looked like he was really thinking about his words. “That part of you still makes me worry, but knowing you’re around keeps me calm. I know you’ll protect everyone better than anyone else. We’ll try to help you in any way we can.”

Carter sounded like Frank.

I sighed deeply at his words, wishing that it was true. If only he knew what I had just done. The life that was taken by brutal, vicious force in that dark alley. That thing was not a part of me. It was something else… and I was more scared of it, and what it could do, now more than ever.

We pulled onto the property and the Chasse house came into view. The sun glanced off all the windows on the front of the familiar house. A few cars littered the driveway that wrapped around the side. We rolled into the garage quietly and out of sight of any other family members.

Carter turned the key to kill the engine. Then he surprised me.

“We want you with us… you are important to this family. Don’t forget that. We know what you’ve lost, and we won’t forget what you’ve done for us.”

I had trouble maintaining my emotions as we exited the vehicle. I stepped out into the garage, feeling disgusted by his words. Not what he said, but how I was just going along with it. I was playing pretend like I hadn’t just murdered someone.

“There is something I need from you Sam,” Carter added as he rounded the back of the car. “It’s the main reason I brought you here today.”

“Name it,” I said without hesitation. What could I refuse from him after his acceptance?

“I have an idea, but it is a very delicate matter that must be handled strategically. Eleanor, Autumn, and the rest want you to come with us and just face the rest of the family. They think we can keep your family back in Texas a secret while sharing you with the rest of our family,” Carter explained.

“But you don’t see it that way,” I assumed.

“No. Eleanor and Autumn are blinded by their connection with you, Eleanor specifically. She won’t back down when it comes to you, and she thinks she can make my uncle and everyone else see what she sees in you,” Carter said.

I felt something inside my chest when he spoke about Autumn’s connection with me. What had she said? How did she act when it came to me?

“That won’t happen, will it?” I asked.

“I think there will be too many people, and too many questions being asked to maintain your secret. They’re going to ask you to come… but I need you to tell us you can’t. I need you to make an excuse so I can work things out my own way.”

“I understand. I already planned on searching the city for any signs of Peter, or anything else that may be lingering. I was going to do that anyway, so I’ll make it seem like it’s urgent to me… if you think this is best. But why did you bring me here? We could have done this over the phone, especially since anyone could walk around the corner at any moment and hear us talking?” I asked.

“That’s another thing. Besides the fact that I wanted to see you before we left, I wanted Zeke and Arthur to see you one last time before we met with the rest of our family. They barely remember the short time they had with you at our dinner the other night. The most prominent memory they have of you is the moment they saw your other half in the brewery. I don’t want them to meet with the rest of our family, with that being the last thing they remember about you. I think if they can see you in human form again, they may be easier to sway. If we give you an open invitation, and you refuse to stay back and continue the hunt for threats in the city… it just might be what we need. Especially if you’re tracking Peter. It may be the beginning of trust for the rest of them.”

Everything he said made sense. I wanted to help him… if only to gain more trust and a deeper relationship with Carter. I felt a duty to him now. I felt like I was more in the family than ever before, even though most of them weren’t in the loop on this. I owed him this so he could make things right again, and I could continue to protect their family the way I had. I didn’t know how long they’d be gone, or what I’d do until they got back, but I’d do it. I’d miss them all… especially Autumn, and the time I still needed to have with her. But if this would help my situation with everyone…

“I’ll do it,” I said with confidence.

Carter nodded with a smile, “I knew you would. Still, thank you.”

I nodded.

Suddenly, I heard footsteps coming into the garage. I turned my head in the direction of the invaders, warning Carter of the intrusion into our privacy. He looked on with me, aware that our conversation had to end.

Allen and Eloise walked inside the garage from the front yard. They were holding hands as they paced quickly into the open enclosure. They looked unburdened. They were happy… until they connected eyes with me. I don’t think they expected to see me standing there with Carter. As soon as they saw me, they both stopped in their tracks.

“Sam,” Allen stumbled over his words at the sight of me. His face was shaved, but he had kept his hair long and tied back in a ponytail. For some reason, I didn’t think he looked like an asshole like Patrick. I guess that was because I knew Allen wasn’t going for some kind of style.

“Allen, how’s everything at Jane’s?” I asked, honestly curious about how they were adapting.

He looked hesitant to answer, “It’s good. She’s made us feel at home out there. She says that soon we’ll be able to have our own place. Once she thinks we’re ready, then we’ll only have to go back for the full moons. That way she can maintain everyone when the beast takes over…” he trailed off, looking to Eloise who was stepping forward to me.

“Hello, Sam,” Eloise stuttered in her English from beside Allen. She was still scared of what she remembered of the night I saved them. It was in her eyes. The beast still haunted her mind. Yet, she looked happier than I remembered her to be as we returned from France. Her dark hair was pulled back to flow down the white shirt she was wearing.

“Hey, Eloise,” I greeted her.

I could tell it was still hard for them to be around me. They were trying, but they still remembered things.

Carter waved me forward inside the house as Allen and Eloise packed some items into the back of the car. They both lifted large coolers that were slammed full of ice and drinks. For their size and stature, I could tell that it was their own beasts inside that gave them their strength. They were going to the lake as well. They had time until the next full moon came, and Jane must’ve been comfortable with this trip if they were here. I was curious how the others of the family, this Uncle Chris, would take Allen and Eloise’s as werewolves.

I stepped inside the house, behind Carter who led me to the kitchen. We came upon Eleanor, who was packing another cooler full of snacks for the getaway. Her long-darkened hair flowed down to the bottom of her shirt, putting off scents similar to Autumn. She was wearing flip-flops and beach clothes over a purple swimsuit. I think they were all dressed and ready to hit the water as soon as they arrived at the lake. It reminded me of trips my family would take to the beach every summer when I was a kid.

“Sam,” she said excitedly as she tossed the items in her hands to the counter and came to hug my neck. “I’m glad you made it. Are you going to come with us?” she asked hopefully.

“I honestly don’t know,” I admitted. “Carter just told me about it, so I haven’t had much time to think about if it is a good idea for me.”

“Well, if you are comfortable with the idea, you are more than welcome. It will only be our family. I’m sure Carter’s told you about the rest of our family that we’ll be meeting. The Talbots and Wicklows won’t be joining us for this… but it might get a little awkward for a little while if I’m being honest,” she said. “We all want you there… even Zeke. Though, I don’t think he’d admit it to you. Even he is thankful for what you did at the brewery. He’s come around these last few days. He’ll need more time to understand though.”

I nodded, not wanting to give her any false hope. Even if I wanted to, I don’t know if I could tame the monster within to take him on a lake trip. I honestly didn’t know if I could pull that off. I doubt the creature inside would allow me to have fun. Or if it would stay inside the cage. I was terrified it might try to take over at any minute.

Then, as I talked with Eleanor and Carter, Autumn made her way down to the kitchen. She had on a yellow two-piece suit that was barely hidden behind her cutoff shorts. Her hair was twisted around into a dark brown stream that flowed over her right shoulder. The whole upper half of her body was almost completely exposed down in the kitchen. Her dark eyes connected with mine as we saw each other again after just a few hours away. At that moment, I wanted to go to the lake with them. I wanted to abandon my plans with Carter and join them on the spot. Then, as soon as she saw me with her parents, we all four sat in silence.

The monster stirred beneath the surface, skimming past my eyes. I could feel it pushing me towards Autumn. Not trying to take over, but urging me forward.

Autumn’s face blushed as she realized I was right there, seeing her that way. She didn’t know anyone else was around, especially me. She was frozen, unsure if she should stay or turn back.

“I’m glad you're back with us, Sam.” Eleanor pulled me in for another hug. “I feel like we’re finally back to where we were before everything happened.”

I agreed, “I know. I never thought it would be this way. It’s nice to have people in my life again.”

Frank came trotting around the corner, “I knew I heard your voice.”

I smirked at his lightheartedness.

“Neat trick the other night, man. Scary stuff,” Frank joked. He walked up and patted my shoulder like he always did. “It’s good to have you back, Sam.”

“No Jane?” I asked.

“No,” Frank replied. “She’s got things to do with the pack. She has things to do after Bran, well… you know. Plus, I’m not sure how Uncle Chris would take her… with everything else.”

I nodded in understanding. Bran was a big part of her life. But he was gone now. However, I didn’t understand one bit when it came to the pack mentality. I wasn’t a part of any pack. I was a loner, and the Talbot dynamic was as foreign to me as Eloise’s primary language.

“I have to admit,” I said, “a trip to the lake sounds nice. But I don’t think I can make it either. I had planned on going back down into the caves to look for signs of Peter… or anything else down there.” I tried to be like a cold stone. Solid and unchanging.

“You really don’t have to do that, Sam,” Eleanor urged. “Shelta and Annabelle said that they’d feel him if he did somehow come back again. Now that Shelta knows it could be Peter, she’ll be able to tell if he survived and pops back up. They’ll tell us the instant they think he’s alive, but even they had to admit that they thought those odds were improbable… after what you did to him.”

A grim tone fell over us all in the kitchen. They remembered violent flashes of my monstrous form in the shadows of that crumbling building.

I nodded, “I know, but I won’t feel comfortable unless I check out everything I can.”

“You sure,” Autumn asked in a way that enticed me to abandon my plans. To everyone else in the room, it probably seemed normal. Maybe I was just reading into things too hard, but I felt like I could see what she wanted in her eyes. She had so many plans laid out in her mind, ready to finally get the time alone that we both wanted. We still needed to talk and figure out what our relationship… was. “You might like it…”

I felt the monster actually pushing me to go. I wanted her alone again… in that swimsuit. I almost thought my mouth was opening to speak on the monster’s behalf like he was in control again. I had to snap myself out of it.

Just go numb, go numb.

“Once I’ve been down all of my paths below, maybe I’ll reach out and see if you’ll still be out there. Maybe you could send me an address” I said quickly, cutting my eyes to Carter so he’d know I wasn’t serious.

“Already sent,” Carter answered as he flipped his phone closed. He didn’t send a text.

Autumn smiled through her hidden sadness. I could tell she never thought of me refusing their offer as a real possibility. However, I was feeling the reality of me surprising her at the lake becoming an actual possibility.

“This will be perfect, actually,” I said to them. “I can run down every inch of the city in the next week to look for any signs of Peter or more missing people. I won’t be able to calm down until I put my eyes everywhere above and below the city.”

“Well, do what you must, Sam.” Eleanor patted my arm, “If you decide to come, just head that way. We’d love to spend time with you at the lake… as family.”

I nodded. I couldn’t speak to that. I might let what I was feeling for them crack through. I had to control my emotions because I felt a lot after this unexpected invitation. Even though I had to refuse, the thought of the invite weighed heavy on me.

They all scattered, rushing to finish their last-minute packing for the trip. But as they drifted away, Autumn’s eyes found mine, a quick flick towards her room.

At first, I thought I imagined it, a fleeting glance. I hesitated, glancing around, unsure if I was reading too much into it. But then, she did it again, more deliberate this time, her gaze urging me toward the stairs. She wasn’t messing around.

I swallowed the knot in my throat, nodding with what little calm I could muster, and silently followed her to the upper floor. Every step felt agonizingly slow, the tension heavy between us as we moved through the quiet house. When we reached her room, she closed the door softly, almost too softly, like we both feared the slightest noise would shatter this fragile moment.

And then, finally, we were alone. Just us.

She turned back to me slowly, unsure of what to say now that we were in the situation.

"I really wish you’d come," Autumn said, her voice tight with frustration. "I don’t know if I can wait to see you again. There’s so much I need to ask, so much I want to say. If you came with us… maybe we could find some time alone at the lake.”

I tried to speak, “I know. I want to talk to you too. I just won’t feel like it’s safe for you all to come back until I check things out more.”

“Thank you,” she said. “But you really don’t have to worry. We’ve been living like this our whole lives. Sometimes you have to just stop and smell the roses,” she urged, pushing herself off the door towards me.

My heart started pounding, beating like it was in overdrive. I tried to remain calm, but the closer she got, the more I felt my blood pressure rise.

She stepped toward me, slow and deliberate, like she was testing the air with each inch, making sure it was safe to come closer. The space between us felt electric. I could sense everything about her. I felt her pulse flickering beneath her skin, the steady rise and fall of her chest, her breath mixing with the quiet air around us. Her dark brown eyes locked onto mine, intense in the dim light of her room, drawing me in.

The proximity was overwhelming, her skin exposed in just shorts and a bikini top, every subtle movement magnified in my mind. Her toned muscles flexed and relaxed beneath her flesh. When she finally stood face-to-face with me, her lips brushed against mine, soft and hesitant, like she was feeling her way through the moment. The connection hit me like a shockwave, a surge of something too powerful for such a gentle touch. My insides churned, a mess of confusion and need as if that brief kiss had set everything inside me into a chaotic spin. The monster was pushing for more.

“I’m sorry,” she slowly stepped back, taking away the closeness I wanted so badly. “I don’t know how I’m supposed to feel around you.”

The blood pulsing in my veins barely slowed.

“I know,” I agreed.

“I’ll be honest. The things I felt before are… still there. I still feel a certain way for you, but I just don’t know what I’m supposed to do,” she shook her head as she leaned back against the wall by her door. “What do you feel?”

I took a deep breath, “I…” I caught myself. I didn’t know if what I wanted to say was what she needed. Maybe she needed something normal, like Patrick; maybe not. “I still think of you the same as I always have. Nothing has changed for me, but I know that might not be true for you. I wasn’t honest with you… you didn’t know me. You still don’t… not fully.”

Autumn nodded, looking strained in her mind.

I eyed her intently. It was hard not to look at her half-naked body. I found myself looking too much, so I tried to not look directly at her. She noticed.

Autumn looked down and smirked, “Sorry. This probably isn’t making things easier for you.” She walked over to her bed and picked up a white V-neck shirt. She slid it on over herself before returning to me. “As soon we get back, if you can’t make it out there, let’s make the time. While I’m gone, I’ll make sure I know what I want to say to you.”

I nodded, “Okay.”

Autumn stepped back up to me, slowly running her hands over my arms and wrapping them around me. She squeezed me tightly, again examining what she felt around me.

I could feel every contour of her entire body pressing into me with my acute hypersense. I didn’t want it to end. I just wanted to stand there forever. I sucked in a deep breath through my nose, taking in her scent as much as I could. It was a little token of her I could hang onto until I saw her again. My heart was pounding again. I didn’t want her to leave.

“I’ll try to hurry. Maybe I really can meet you all out there,” I offered, hoping Carter could work his magic and call me unannounced.

She smiled, “I hope.” She pulled away from me, unfortunately, and walked around to grab a few small bags that she’d need for the week. I took the bags from her and followed her out of her room.

I was sad to leave the very short moment in her room, but we had no time. They were literally about to leave, and every second I was out of sight was another that they knew I might be off somewhere with Autumn. We couldn’t hide in her room for long. Only long enough to get her stuff.

I took her bags to the garage, where I packed them in behind Eloise and Allen’s stuff.

Everyone had met up at the house and was ready to head to the Lake of the Ozarks. There was a convoy of vehicles ready to pull out of the driveway. Wayland and Clara walked into the garage with little Delilah, who had goggles and floaties already slid up her tiny arms.

“Auti-Auti,” Delilah squealed as she saw Autumn standing in the garage. “Are you going to go swimming with me?”

She was adorable.

“Yes, I am,” Autumn laughed, hugging her cousin. She tickled her neck as she ran up to her.

“Is Mr. Sam coming, too?” Delilah asked as she looked straight at me.

It hurt to interact with her. I thought of Caydee… what she’d look like in a few years, and how she’d sound. Delilah still brought out the pain and loss that I tried to keep buried.

“No, not this time,” Autumn answered her as I just smiled at the little girl.

“That’s okay, Mr. Sam. Sometimes we don’t always get to go swimming,” she informed me. “But maybe if you’re a good girl like me, then you can go next time.”

The entirety of the Chasse family looked at me after Delilah’s comment and burst into laughter. I joined them all instantly. The irony of her words and just the tone of what she said was hilarious, considering who she was talking to.

Wayland stepped up to me as soon as the laughter cleared, “You’re looking into Peter?” Wayland was smart.

I nodded, “Yeah. I’ll see what I can find out while you guys are gone.”

Wayland nodded in agreement, “I think that’s a good idea.” He looked at Carter and Frank as he spoke to me.

They all agreed with his statements. We needed to be certain of his whereabouts, just in case we were dealing with someone who couldn’t be killed.

“We would love it if you found the chance to come,” Wayland added. He had come a long way in his opinion of me.

“We’ll see,” I said. “But I appreciate the offer.”

He nodded, accepting my thanks.

Just then, Zeke, Arthur, and Kayla stepped out into the open garage with the rest of us. Zeke and Kayla walked into the lightly chuckling group, unaware of my presence. Arthur seemed aware of me as soon as he walked into the area. Then, Zeke and his daughter realized what was going on as soon as they were fully down in the garage.

They all walked over, slightly hesitant but calm at the state of everyone else. Carter saw them approach and prepared.

“I know you’ve all met before, but… obviously, things are a little more out in the open now. Apologies,” Carter didn’t like having to keep his family in the dark, but I could I knew they had already spoken about me before.

“Thanks, Carter. We appreciate it,” Zeke warmly accepted Carter’s initiative to tell the truth. “Hello, Sam. It’s nice to meet you again… knowing the full truth.” He looked over to Eleanor, “Knowing what you did.”

“Sam,” Arthur spoke, actually stepping up and acknowledging me, unlike our first interaction. I shook his hand quickly, but I could tell he was gripping harder than usual, trying to gauge my strength. “Good to see you again.”

“It’s strange… to know that was you,” Kayla slowly reached out with a quivering hand, “the other night.”

I shook her hand gently, seeing the fear in her blue eyes, and a slight shake in her bones as she made contact with my hand.

“So, you’re not just some regular monster… are you, Sam?” Zeke asked.

“No,” I returned. “It’s complicated.”

“That may be true, as are my thoughts on you, Martin, Jane, and this new Alex character,” Zeke said out loud. “But I’m starting to see things… differently,” Zeke admitted. “If Carter trusts you, then I am trying to keep an open mind.”

“Silver doesn’t affect you, huh?” Arthur asked me.

I shook my head, “Nope.”

Arthur nodded with steady eyes.

“In any case,” the tall Zeke cut in, “you’ve done a lot for our cousins, and we thank you for it. I think we still have a lot to understand first, but I hope we can develop a relationship with you as they have.” Zeke seemed sincere in his words; Arthur seemed calmly observing and calculating, and Kayla was fearful at what she saw the other night in the brewery.

“Well,” I said to them all, “don’t let me hold you up. You guys get out of here. I can head back on foot,” I offered.

“Oh no, Sam,” Eleanor choked out, “we can take you back.”

“No, really, it's okay. I’ll start my hunt down in the caves. Don’t worry about me,” I assured them.

After they all said their goodbyes to me, they piled into their vehicles and buckled up. Autumn looked over to me one more time before she got into the Suburban. Then, she joined her mother and father inside the vehicle. I paced towards the woods as the Chasse convoy sped away from the sprawling hunter’s home. I could see Autumn and Eleanor waving to me as their car passed me right at the tree line where I’d disappear into the growth.

In a quick moment, they were all gone, and I was sprinting through the solitary greenery at breakneck speeds. The Chasse family had left the city, and I was all alone again. I needed to hunt for any sign of Peter.

It was night again, and the Chasse family had made it to the lake. Autumn had sent me a selfie of her sunbathing on a lounge chair beside their pool. It was very unexpected, and I wasn’t sure what to say back to her.

She said, ‘Hope you can make it.’ I could see some sort of drink I knew probably had booze in it. Autumn and Kayla were probably cutting loose with a few drinks by the pool. Her skin already looked darker, with a hint of red. I could see Kayla right beside her in a similar chair. It seemed like they were relaxed and free of the stress their lives carried.

Maybe she had spilled the beans to Kayla about our moment in her room. I wondered what Autumn said about me.

I wanted to finish my hunt, call Carter, and cancel the agreement we had so I could be right there beside her. When I was in her room, I wanted to rip that yellow top from her body to expose the rest of her to me. I felt a rush in my mind to get there for her. I wanted to see her. I started feeling my mind abandoning the hunt for Peter.

The beast was stirring, my teeth were burning through…

Stop… what am I doing? I’m in control!

I felt the monster trying to shift my mind and subtly make decisions for me. It was using my own memories to entice and move me in the direction it wanted. Was I still being affected? Was the monster about to rip me from my mind from my body? Was it about to take me somewhere and murder again> Or… was Peter still alive, reaching out to me with his unseen power, looking for a crack in the monster’s armor? If he even was alive… how could he be? How could he cheat death… there was supposed to be no way, or I would get the name… from him.

I doubted the Wicklows. Once, they claimed no one could return from the dead, and I proved them wrong. Now they said death couldn’t hold Peter, and I wasn’t sure. But if it was true, I had to keep hunting him. Jon, the entity, warned me to kill the one provoking the monster inside. Peter could be dangerous for me. I needed control. I had to do this for Carter. He had a plan, and I had to follow it.

The whole time since they left, I had been underground. I fell beneath the city only minutes after I saw the blacked-out Suburban passing into the cloak of the forest as the rocketed away down the roads out of town. The craggy pathways beneath the city were slick with condensation and moisture. Yet, the deeper I traversed the stable stone caverns, the colder it got. I did what I always did; heightened my senses as far as possible without transforming so I could retain my small size and speed. I wasn’t small myself, but compared to the monster I changed into, I was able to navigate certain areas much easier. Yet, no matter how fast or how far I went, I couldn’t find anyone else. I only ever found traces of scents or footprints that would disperse into the darkness of the caves.

Just beneath the Lemp Brewery, I caught an odd scent that led me to something unusual in the depths below. The tunnel I followed twisted through the dark, descending into a cavern that was vast at first, with the ceiling lost somewhere high above in the shadows. As I ventured deeper, the space narrowed, the wide void shrinking to a man-sized slit in the stone wall. I had to force my way through, scraping my face and shoulders against the rough, jagged mineral deposits lining the entrance. The rock was cool, gritty, and unforgiving as it pressed against me.

On the other side, I emerged into an unexpected sight: a hidden river, running fast and deep beneath the city. The cavern opened wide again, forming a cylindrical chamber that stretched in opposite directions as far as I could see. The river sliced through the center of the cave, its waters dark and turbulent, rushing past with a force that echoed through the hollow space. The air was damp, and cool, and carried the unmistakable scent of fresh water and ancient stone. I couldn’t help but wonder where that river came from, or where it was headed, hidden away beneath the city like a secret.

I waded into the water without a second thought. The current surged with such speed, it had to lead somewhere… maybe straight to the pits. If Peter was down there, lurking in the shadows, I’d find him. And I’d kill him. But it wasn’t just Peter; something else ancient could be waiting, something twisted and dangerous, hidden deep in those forgotten depths. Something had sent Mercy, Phineas, and Charles up from the depths. If I could ever make my way down there, I could slaughter whatever hid beneath the city.

The water pulled me under before I could dwell on it. My feet lifted from the rocky riverbed, and I was swept away, the current violently dragging me into the unknown, rushing toward whatever waited in the dark below. I smashed my head, back, legs, and arms against rocks and spikes of stone as the river pulled me into darkness at unimaginable speeds.

I flailed around like a ragdoll underwater, smacking into things way harder than I was. In the middle of getting absolutely pummeled, a scene from an old movie popped into my head. Black Sheep, when Chris Farley is tumbling down that hill, getting the absolute shit beat out of him. Despite getting the snot knocked out of me by boulders and stalagmites, I couldn’t help but laugh, picturing myself as the aquatic version of Farley, just bouncing off everything like it was a slapstick routine.

Wherever it was taking me, I was going fast. The sound of the rushing water filled my head, only interrupted by the grunts of pain from the brutal ride. I changed directions hard like I was being sucked up into a different path than I started on. Then I changed directions again, and again, smashing into the walls of each tunnel as I went. Suddenly, the pressure I felt from all the rushing and changing water got really tight… and then disappeared. I felt like I was in a new place. I was still underwater, but this was a much slower-moving body of water. I could see a light dimly lit and gleaming off the surface very far above me. I swam up to it.

My head broke the surface of the water, and I sucked in a sharp breath. It smelled like shit. The foul water covered me in its wretched odor. I looked up at the darkened sky, only seeing the moon’s light breaking through the smog of the city. That was the light that led me up from the bottom. I knew immediately where I was now. I was back above ground, in the Mississippi River.

“What the fuck?” I choked out as I swam to the riverbank, still slightly laughing.

I swam to the edge, clawing my way up through the muck and grime on the side of the river. I was just south of the city, not very far from downtown. If I was human, getting out of all the grime and brush with sopping wet clothing would have been a real bitch. Luckily, I had stamina for days, but even still; I kept tripping over stuff on the side of the river. At one point I actually slipped and fell into the mud on my back. It took me a minute to get out.

If only the people so afraid of me could see me now.

I didn’t know what had just happened. I couldn’t explain it. How had I gone from deep underground to being spit out in the river far above? How did that subterranean river flow up to the surface? Where was it fed from?

The caves beneath the city were beyond me. It was like things were keeping me from finding anyone or anything down there. It seemed like it didn’t matter what I did, I couldn’t find my way into the pits. I was being misdirected and turned around to keep me away.

I gave up for the night, deciding to head home. The city around me had come alive since I dropped beneath the city surface, bathed in the soft glow of streetlights and neon signs. The nightlife stretched across the streets like a living thing, sprawling through every corner as the younger crowds moved from bar to restaurant, and back to bar again. There was a particular scent on nights like these; part sweat, part food from late-night vendors, mixed with the faint musk of the river nearby. It was the smell of the city pulsing with energy.

A low hum settled over everything, a constant undercurrent that filled the streets. It wasn’t just noise; it was a combination of voices, laughter, music spilling out from open doors, and the subtle rhythm of footsteps on concrete. It was life, vibrating through the city like an unbroken chain of sound. Everyone seemed to be searching for something, drifting through the night with quiet desperation. Searching maybe… for connection, excitement, or a way to forget. It was always the same; they wandered the streets, chasing a feeling, hoping to find it in the next drink, the next conversation.

But I wasn’t searching anymore. The restless energy of the night no longer had a pull on me. I had already found what I was looking for. And they… they were all at the lake, waiting.

Then, for the first time in a little while, I had shameful thoughts about what I was doing. I started to think of Vicky… my wife.

Thinking of her hurt me, especially when I knew my thoughts and actions regarding Autumn. I abandoned Vicky, and my entire family, after I was transformed. The way I was acting and staying near the Chasse family felt increasingly wrong the more I thought about what I had left behind. I had always felt this way a little, but more so lately after I returned to Chasses after they accepted me as a monster. Who’s to say my own family wouldn’t do the same… What was I doing?

I know what I said to Carter earlier that very same day, but I couldn’t help but think… was it all just an excuse?

I started to wonder if Vicky, Seth, and my family knew I was alive and living with another family… what would they feel? What would my parents think? I started feeling a knot in my throat. That’s when I pictured Caydee dressed as silly as Delilah was in her floaties. I pictured sitting at the beach like when I was a kid. Right on the beachfront in one of the rental houses we’d always get for our whole family. I pictured looking out to the ocean in the sand as I watched Caydee and Delilah playing in the shallow water. I imagined both families together in a massive gathering, linked together by an inhuman creature that lurked between them.

A thought crossed my mind for the first time in my whole life, and it scared the shit out of me. I tried to push it away as soon as I felt it. I tried to convince myself that it was just a passing thought, but I knew deep down that it was already eating away at my resolve to stay true to my decisions. I thought… what if I revealed myself to my parents… Seth, and Vicky. What if I could meet little Caydee in person and hear her, one day, speak to me…

Tears snuck from the corners of my eyes as the knot in my throat tightened even harder. The thoughts came out of nowhere and shook my mind in a way I hadn’t prepared for.

But what about my most recent kill? What would they think, any of them? My family? The Chasses? If anyone knew that I had lost control, and the thing inside of me just up and decided, “time to die” for some random stranger… What would they think?

Jon, the original Jon, told me that I would live for a long time. He told me I would have hard, dark times. He told Eleanor to stay close to me, to help me in my darkest hours. He had many people he cared about through the years, it seemed, so why couldn’t I? What would I gain if I stayed away from my family for the rest of their lives… just to let them die? Then I’d never have that time again… The thoughts were getting deeper, and hard to process as my mind swam through the chaos of possibilities. I had time to think about them.

I wasn’t sorry for what I felt for the Chasses or the whole extended family. They were like an addition to my original family. I wasn’t sorry for what I felt with Autumn. The thought of abandoning Vicky, before letting her know what I had become, was what saddened me. I never gave Vicky a chance to see what happened. I never gave any of my real family a chance. I was terrified… of myself. In the beginning, it was impossible, but now the more I knew of my situation, and the acceptance of my true self the more I thought that, if this was possible with the Chasses, why not my real family?

Of course, there were questions. What if it took over again? Why did it do that? Could I trust it around them, around my family? What would they think when they saw the real me? Would it all be worse than I thought? There were a lot of reasons to hide, to stay away.

I looked up at the smoggy sky as soon as I saw a flash of lightning. A storm had begun brewing again after I fell beneath the world for a while. When I came back up, it was a distance away, but it seemed like it was raging. I paced through the city towards my hidden home, watching the darkened clouds on the horizon twist and disperse into one another as the bolts of electricity arced and jumped between them.

I needed to call it a night. Once morning hit, I would reassess my hunt for Peter. After all the searching with no success, I was coming to a quick conclusion that I wouldn’t find anything without someone else’s help. I might have to talk with the Wicklows. Maybe together we could find him.

I walked slowly towards my home, and in about an hour, I was only another few minutes from my house. I was stepping through an open field that was only fifty yards or so from a highway. The field led into the woods that merged into the greater forest area. Those trees hid my home from the rest of the world. I stepped through the soft, uneven terrain as I made my way beneath the storm.

I could feel the thunder shaking my bones every few minutes. The lightning would arc across the city, looking like it had originated from somewhere across the world and was merely passing through St. Louis, on its way to the great beyond.

The storm seemed powerful, and it reminded me of what Annabelle had said. She thought that it could be something… or it could be nothing. However, this storm seemed to be only rising in power and intensity with every step I took.

I thought I could smell the rain coming as the winds picked up. I was almost to the trees, and I figured there would be an excellent place to hide from the rain so I wouldn’t get drenched. I picked up my stride as I tried to make it to the cover of the forest.

Then, I saw a flash of light so bright that it reminded me of one of Carter’s silver bombs that deafened and blinded me like they had before. The concussive blast was so powerful that it shook my brain inside my skull. The light was blindingly bright, not just a flash, but a heat that touched the surface of my skin. I stumbled to the ground just out of reach of the woods. I didn’t get struck, but it hit just behind me. It was so close.

That’s when it happened. I felt another flash. Except, this one hit me where I stood. The lightning strike shot out of the sky from directly above and plowed me into the dirt with unforgiving force. I felt my body turn to jelly as the raw energy collided with me. The thunderous crash that accompanied the painful arc shook every cell in my body. It felt a way that almost reminded me of the being from the fields, but nowhere near as powerful. Just a force of nature.

The physical pain was so great that my body went numb. This wasn’t like when I did that intentionally to block out my emotions. This was like my body’s defense mechanism to protect my mind from the actual amount of pain. It was all coursing through every fiber and cell of my being. I flopped and writhed in painful agony at the edge of the woods without anyone near me to help. The tree line was distant enough from the highway that even if a passerby had seen the lightning strike, they wouldn’t have bothered to stop. Nobody would stop and get out of their vehicles on a road where seventy miles an hour is the speed limit.

My inside burned like nothing I had ever felt before. Every time my body convulsed and shook from the discharging power, I felt like every cell in my flesh had a little knife attached to it. They were all stabbing me from within my tissues. This wasn’t like the constant burning of the unquenchable hellfire; this was power so intensified that the English language failed to produce a word strong enough to describe. I was in hell. The pain never stopped, nor did it slow. The ever-present torture burned my body from within as the storm raged directly overhead.

Then, slowly but surely the pain disappeared. I sucked in a breath as quickly as the agony was gone. I could feel my body stitching itself back together, already healing the damage. I panted heavily in the coarse grass of the untouched field by the highway. I waited patiently as the pain regressed. I breathed slowly, almost starting to laugh.

“Damn,” I spat out in a full breath. I couldn’t believe what I had felt. That wasn’t like anything I had ever experienced in this life. The pain I was being put through wasn’t like any other feeling I had ever experienced before since becoming the monster. Maybe if I got struck by lightning more often, I might be able to feel something. Could it kill me?

I felt a force behind me, something familiar… and powerful. I couldn’t put it together in my head before I could turn around. Yet, when I did turn around, I saw two figures standing relatively close to me. They were too far away for my eyes to recognize after the lightning strike. My brain was still fuzzy from being cooked by the energy. But I knew I saw them… both of them. I eyed them for a moment before my eyes fully healed themselves, trying to focus. I saw one of them, a shorter framed silhouette, raise a hand in my direction.

A voice from where they stood yelled out with a scream, straining to put in all the effort they could muster into something. That’s when another lightning strike appeared above me, rocketing down to the earth at my feet in a flash. Everything I had felt before… intensified. It was ten times as bad as the first. The two people standing near me were summoning the power from the sky somehow. They were attacking me with the passing storm… calling out to it somehow.

I was lying in the dirt after the quick surge of energy that cut through me like a razor. I was numb to the world after the second blast. The only reason I was still conscious and aware was because of the power of the monster. It anchored my physical form to the world, which kept my soul from passing into the next life. The beast would not let me go; he wouldn’t allow me to die.

As I lay burning, I felt enveloped by some kind of pressure. It opened and swallowed me whole… taking me. The ground on my back was the only thing I had as a reference as my senses had been burned away, but the pressure that surrounded me took me from the ground, moving me somewhere else.

I couldn’t feel the earth at my back anymore. In an instant, all I felt was a pit in my stomach, like a feeling I remembered as a kid riding a rollercoaster. I was falling… fast. My senses healed and returned to me quickly, only to realize that I was plummeting from the sky, back to the city below. I was rushing through the clouds of the night sky like a meteor crashing into the earth. This was going to hurt.