Return to town with Grace

You went back to town with Grace at around 18:00.

"Did you warn Fran about what's going on?" She looked at you curiously.

"Well, I tried, but she didn't answer the phone. So I just texted her." You answered. You did call Fran twice on your way back, but you believed that she was either busy or still angry with you.

"Maybe you should-"

Suddenly, a deafening explosion came from the south, startling you and Grace terribly.

"Is that... the direction of the police station?" Grace looked up puzzled and murmured to herself.

"Let's go!"

Without wasting a moment, you hurried toward the direction of the explosion. You went to the police station minutes later, only to see it in shambles, its doors and windows shattered.

How is this happening? You wondered as you rushed into the police station to see if anyone needed help.

You began coughing once the smell in the air struck your nose. Was it gasoline? Was that what caused the explosion? The scene before your eyes was terrible. The explosion erupted in the middle of the main hall, and all the police officers nearby were killed.

The most severely injured among the dead, the one whose face had been burned to a bloody, mangled mess, was probably the one closest to the blast. Judging by the gold badge on him, he must have been the police chief, Thomas. You also found Hannah's corpse behind a desk on the floor. The right half of her body was almost gone, and you saw terror and disbelief in her eyes.

But you didn't have the luxury of time to figure out what had happened here. You turned around a corner and found the records room. It was swallowed by the fire. Whatever had once been kept there, you had no hope of getting it now.

Following the trail of blood, you headed to the detention room. When you got there, you realized that the situation was worse than you thought. Grace was completely shocked by the scene as she couldn't help screaming in panic.

A giant gray-furred werewolf was standing there. Judging by its large penis, you knew that it was a male. It must be a pure werewolf, since it could transform into a full-on werewolf even if there wasn't a full moon. But who was it? Your mind was swarmed by questions.

Leonard was lying on the floor, while blood was pumping out of the cut wound on his neck, and he was desperate for air.

Ben was sitting by the fence, gravely wounded. His abdomen had been torn open by three deep gashes. Blood kept rising in his throat as he coughed, and it was clear that his time was running out.

Valerie was here. She grabbed a pistol from a dead police officer and fired at the werewolf, but that didn't do much damage. The werewolf just looked at you with an evil smile. You saw brutality and savagery in its golden eyes.

"James Wilson. You're too late."

It spoke.

"What? Who are you? What do you want?" You were frightened that the beast could actually talk. Its voice sounded familiar, but you couldn't place it since it was twisted a little bit.

"You know nothing, detective. Everyone must pay." It laughed.

Before you could do anything else, the werewolf jumped out the window and ran away.

"Don't you dare!" Valerie didn't care about the wounded as she immediately chased after it through the window.

It all happened so fast that you didn't know what to do. You ran towards Leonard and checked his pulse, but you found none. He was already dead. You didn't have time to mourn him as you quickly went to Ben. The cuts on his stomach were deep and he suffered severe internal injuries. It didn't look good.

"James..." Ben whispered to you while coughing blood.

"I'm here. Stay with me, okay?" You tried to comfort the old man.

"It's Bruce..." He tried to breathe more air.

You were shocked. Did Ben just say that the werewolf was Bruce, Sherry's boyfriend? But his voice... You realized now that the man on the other end of the walkie-talkie was Bruce. How was that possible? What did it mean? Everything was out of your control, and you felt totally powerless.

"Please, Ben, you should stop talking." Grace nervously pressed the wounds on Ben's stomach, trying to stop the bleeding.

"Save Sherry, please... It's all my fault..." Ben held your hand tightly as he looked into your eyes with guilt.

"What are you saying?"

"My sister, Karen, was a werewolf... She gave birth to a girl 18 years ago... named Sherry." Ben spoke, and what he said left you stunned. "She transformed after that... went on a frenzy... and attacked a nearby village, killing almost everyone there..." His voice grew fainter.

"Oh my God..." Grace couldn't believe what she had just heard.

"She couldn't take the guilt... and killed herself... I brought Sherry here, and asked Leonard to adopt her... I thought she was just a normal child... She grew up like one... for 18 years. But I was wrong..." Tears began to roll in Ben's eyes as he spoke. "She transformed that night... I only found out after she hurt you... I'm sorry..." He coughed up more blood.

Sherry is the werewolf that attacked me that night? Your eyes widened in disbelief.

"Please, James... Sherry didn't know what was happening to her... Stop Bruce, and..." Ben passed out from the blood loss before he could finish.

"James!" Valerie came back with an angry face, "It fled north out of town, I lost it. Come on! We have to catch it! Why are you still here?"

"Ben is seriously injured. We-" Grace tried to explain the situation, yet was interrupted.

"We don't have time for this!" Although she said that, Valerie still ran over to examine Ben's wounds. But his condition was not promising. "He was clawed by a full-on werewolf, and those are fatal wounds. You know what that means, James." She pulled out the pistol and looked at you.

You knew pretty well. There was no cure for Ben, and he would turn into a lycanthrope in several minutes, just like Donna. If you left him here, he would just cause more harm after he turned. There was no other option.

"What are you doing?" Grace looked at Valerie in terror.

Valerie didn't even bother to explain. She aimed the pistol at Ben's head and pulled the trigger without any hesitation. Grace screamed in shock when the loud noise of the gunshot almost deafened her. She stared at Ben's lifeless corpse in front of her and was completely speechless.

"Valerie was right. We don't have much time." You collected yourself and got up. After seeing the wreckage of the police station, witnessing so many deaths, you just felt numb.

You went back to your Sentinel and drove back onto the mountain road, heading north, while Valerie kept texting Nathan, asking him to meet you at the Smith Mansion. You were getting more and more nervous.

"That was a male. Have you seen it before?" You asked Valerie, who was calibrating her crossbow.

"No." She shook her head, "Did the old man say something to you before he died?"

"Ben was Sherry's maternal uncle. His sister, Karen, was a werewolf, and probably the one who attacked your village and killed your family." You tried your best to explain that to Valerie.

"What... WHAT?" Valerie was shocked. She held the crossbow tightly, and all you saw in her eyes was fury. "Where is she now? I need to kill her!" She shouted.

"Ben said that she had committed suicide right after that because she couldn't live with the guilt." Grace said in the back seat.

"He lied! He must have!" Valerie yelled louder. She couldn't believe it.

"Maybe, but there's more to it. Sherry's mother was a werewolf, which means that Sherry is a pure werewolf, right? We might be able to extract the pheromone from her and make the cure!" You tried to calm Valerie down by talking reason to her. "Ben thought Bruce was that male werewolf, and he was targeting Sherry. We need to go to save Sherry before he gets her." You said.

That being said, you still had no idea what you were dealing with. How come Bruce was a werewolf? Why did he kill Leonard and Ben? Why was he targeting Sherry? All these unanswered questions were making you anxious. And you were too anxious to notice how Valerie felt.

"Are you telling me that, you want ME, to help save the daughter, of THE ONE WEREWOLF WHO KILLED MY PARENTS AND MADE ME A MONSTER, so that YOU can live happily ever after?" Valerie grew more and more agitated as she spoke, and fixed you with a murderous glare.

You remained silent, as you knew that you were in no position to reply.

"Valerie... James... he didn't mean that. But we do need your help to put down that werewolf who slaughtered a bunch of innocent people. Please..." Grace cautiously laid a hand on Valerie's shoulder.

Valerie didn't reply, and you didn't need her to. She just continued adjusting her crossbow, and you continued driving. Grace knew that there was nothing more she could do, so she just sat back there in silence.

You haven't felt such despair over your own powerlessness in a long time. All you could do was drive faster and hope that you could turn the tide against all odds.

You had a strong feeling. Whatever happened tonight, it would bring an end to this whole affair.