“Thomas,” a voice called out, disturbing Thomas’s slumber.

Thomas opened his eyes with a jolt, coming face to face with a gaping maw. Shay’s fangs on full display, ready to sink into him. He scrambled backwards, flailing for his dagger. It was unnecessary.

Shay was still, the life gone from his eyes. Even then, Thomas wasn’t sure if Shay was truly dead. He had buried Shay in several tons of metal and he still emerged with a raging bloodlust. It was almost unnerving to see such a strong creature unresponsive. As Thomas stood up however, his worries were put to rest.

Bite marks littered the gaping hole in Shay’s chest. Thomas lowered his gaze, finding a pool of blood at his feet. As he stared into it, a pair of pitch black eyes stared back. A stream of drool flowed out of his mouth, sending ripples through the reflection.

Thomas held his hands up to discover that they had turned into claws, chunks of flesh dangling from them. He grimaced and stepped back. The claws followed him. They were parts of him. It was Shay’s fault.

Thomas cursed and kicked Shay’s corpse. ‘At least no one got caught in the crossfire,’ he thought. He paused. ‘Wait, I heard a voice.’

A quick scan of the entryway earned him a clue; a small set of footprints, outlined by dirt. They came from a Shay-sized hole in the wall. Thomas grimaced at the memory, feeling splinters in his back. ‘The voice couldn’t have been them. Just watching my fight must have terrified those kids, but there’s no one else around. Maybe it was the other survivors. I was knocked out for a time, so what if it was the group?’

As if to answer his question, he saw faint torchlight crawl into the far corners of the ruin. ‘The town guards. If I hadn’t woken up…’ he thought as dozens of voices called out, growing closer by the second. He backed away a few steps. ‘I need to get out of sight.’

Most entrances and exits had collapsed. Going back where he came from would get him back to the garden, but that was where the torchlight was. The only way left was up, through the holes in the ceiling. He took a breath and started his way up.

He had not made it more than ten feet up the wall before a pair of town guards rushed into the entryway, a man with a torch and the other, a woman with an engraved longsword. Thomas pressed himself against the wall, hoping they wouldn’t see him. He narrowed his eyes at the woman, whose brown, wavy hair bore a striking similarity to Penelope.

“By the goddess,” the torchbearer gasped, staring with wide eyes at Shay’s corpse. “I-is it dead?”

“I do not know John,” the other remarked. “Why don’t you look at the gaping hole in its side? Goddess, you new recruits need to be put through a lot more training when we get back.”

“Captain Fisher, I am a baker not a fighter,” the man named John relented. “I am not supposed to deal with…this,” he gestured to Shay’s corpse.

“I know, but the town is desperate,” Captain Fisher insisted. “That is how we got into this mess in the first place. You need to man up and face the unknown or else…Shay.” He froze, recognition flashing in his eyes. “John, bring that torch closer.”

John did as he was asked, and Captain moved her scarred hand along the lacerations. “What is it?” John asked. “Do you know this thing?”

“No, I don’t,” Captain Fisher said as he stood up with a grim look. “In fact, we never saw this.”

“I don’t know what you mean,” John said. “Shouldn’t we tell the others about-“

“No!” Captain Fisher hissed. “Listen to me, very carefully. We searched his place for survivors. We found nothing. Do you understand?” She turned his blade over in her hand.

John glanced at the sword in Captain Fisher’s hand, then swallowed his saliva. “A-alright, if you say so. B-but can I ask you one question?”

“What?” Captain Fisher asked, a vein forming on her forehead.

“What about the monster that killed this one? Do we hunt it down?”

A pang shot through Thomas’s heart.

Captain Fisher thought to himself for a few moments. “Those people we met on the road, they said that one of their people had scouted ahead.”

John’s jaw dropped: “You think a person did this? You must be joking. I fear not even a rabid animal would do this sort of thing.”

Captain Fisher scrunched her lips. “No, not a person. I don’t know what did this, just that we shouldn’t go looking for it. We should just thank our luck for dealing with our enemy.”

“But what if it hurts someone in the future?” John countered. “It seems dangerous if it can take down a direwolf this big. Maybe it’s injured right now.”

“Do you want to fight it?” Captain Fisher asked. John shook his head. “Then shut up and head back to camp. I’ll be there in a bit.” John did as he was told and started back. Captain Fisher waited until John was out of sight before walking to a pillar and reaching behind it.

Thomas nearly lost his grip as he saw a pale-faced Penelope be pulled out by the wrist. ‘So it was her,’ he thought.

“Let go of me,” Penelope said as she tried to struggle out of her mother’s grip. Captain Fisher let go without a fight. “How did you know I was here?”

“Junior said you came this way,” Captain Fisher explained. “He said you just ran off without a word. Why? What was so important that you had to risk your life? You were always adamant when I brought you to sparring sessions but this is just reckless. Do you know how worried I was about you?” She knelt down to hug Penelope, but she pushed away from her.

“I-I,” Penelope stuttered, pointing to Shay’s corpse. “I want to know what happened to him. I heard you call him Shay, like father did. You know what happened, don’t you?”

Captain Fisher blinked twice. “That is not a story to tell to children-“

“I don’t care,” Penelope stubbornly insisted. “I know now. I know why you don’t tell us stories. I saw things here. Horrible, awful things. Those kinds of things happen to you guys, don’t they?” She blinked through tears to stare her mother in the eyes.

Captain Fisher looked her daughter up and down, lingering at her swollen feet. “I’m sure you’re confused. You’ve seen a lot of horrible things today, but we need to get you treated.”

Penelope crossed her arms. “I want to hear stories.”

Captain Fisher wiped her eyes and smiled. “I’ll tell you all the stories you want.”

“Not those,” Penelope snorted. “I want to hear the real ones. Thinking back to all the other stories you’ve told me, I can’t pretend they’re real anymore. Please.”

Captain Fisher’s smile faltered. “I’m sorry I excluded you. Fine. It’s not like I can keep this a secret any longer.” She swept Penelope off her feet and started back towards the garden. “You know the swamp that no one is allowed near?”

“Yeah.”

“There’s a hag there, and if you offer her the right price she’ll…” as Captain Fisher relayed Shay’s story, Penelope looked right at Thomas. Tears streamed down her eyes, she mouthed words of thanks.

Thomas waved goodbye, then clambered up to the roof where he stood for a few moments, etching that look into his memory. The fight with Shay suddenly didn’t weigh as much. It was still in the back of his mind but it was…lesser.

His work done and over with, he was about to head back to the carriage when a faint laughter caught his attention. Curious, he trudged across the snow topped roof over to the metal array which hung over the garden. Light shone through the vacant gaps.

Bright torches had been set within empty pots, chasing the cold darkness out of the garden, in which a makeshift shelter had been constructed. Friends and family sat around a warm fire, huddling under thick blankets.

Town guards were like ants. They set up places for the survivors to rest. They lay others to rest. It was a gloomy victory, filled with mournful sobs and quiet reuniting. Thomas spotted Olpi taking care of the injured. The Fishers hugged each other as Olpi cauterized their father’s arm. The Fishers smiled and thanked her.

‘So Shay was telling the truth,’ Thomas thought, remembering the last question he had asked Shay.

…

“Tell me one last thing,” Thomas had said as he knelt over Shay’s weakened form. His consciousness faded by the moment. He gritted his teeth and used every ounce of control he had left to stay still. “Mr. Fisher, did he look like he was going to make it?”

Shay let out a dry chuckle, which turned into a fit of coughing. “Even now, you still ask about humans like you care about them. Just give in. It’s easier.”

“I don’t know what I’m going to become after today; the monster I never thought I’d become or the hero I dreamt I’d be,” Thomas blurted out, nearly fumbling his words. “I know I’ll hurt people in the future, but there’s one thing you can’t take away from me tonight: I saved people. I did that. I changed something for the better.”

“Aye, yet come tomorrow, you must eat.”

…

All of a sudden everything became blurry.. Thomas fell to his knees, crying, hugging himself, and most importantly, smiling.