Wayward Guide for the Untrained Eye 30 Day Prompt
(This takes place after Episode 10)
(I do not own any other characters or place names outside of Shelby St. Ranger, this is just for fun)
By the time we had a wild eyed Aubrey sitting in the bar, there were a number of people standing outside. Desmond had locked the door, which was the only reason they werenât inside. Helen and Olivia were inside with us.Â
âAubrey.â Desmond said with his arms crossed. âWhat were you yelling about out there?â
âAs if you donât know.â Aubrey snapped.Â
âIs this all because we wouldnât let you write about us?â Helen asked, in a tone that suggested she already believed that herself.
âNo.â He said running his hands through his hair. âThough I do believe that set off this little rampage I have just gone on. I am sorry for declaring that werewolves were real, but I couldnât watch it fade away again.â
âDid you tell anyone like who they are?â Olivia said nervously.
âOf course not. I justâŚI just said they exist. That the LSD story was just that, a story.âÂ
Aubrey calmed down and Helen walked him back through the now dwindling crowd back to his house. The town seemed to tuck itself back away.Â
As soon as they were gone, Desmond shut the door and locked it again. âDamnit, Aubrey.â He came back to the bar and placed his hands on the bartop. âWe were so close to this beinâ over.âÂ
âWe werenât though.â Olivia said. âIâve gotten a lot more silver bullet orders than Iâve ever had before. I tried to make excuses not stock them, but Iâm running out of good reasons.âÂ
âThat could just be coincidence.â Desmond said.
âSome coincidence. Anyway, I must get back to Riley. Goodnight.âÂ
Desmond went and locked up behind her again. While he was at the door he asked, âDo you want to leave now?â
âDo you want me to go?â
He smiled and came back to the bar. âYou can stay, Shelby.â
âYou didnât tell them?â
He shrugged. âYou can tell them some other time.â
I continued to drink my beer which had only lost some of its chill. âDo you think theyâll believe Aubrey?â
âWith his family history, I donât think they will.â He cleaned a glass with his towel. âBut Iâm afraid he might just get the doubt started.â
âAt least he didnât name names.â
âHeâs still a good person, just had a rough go of it is all.âÂ
âI shouldnât have agreed to the book in the first place.â
âOh that wouldnât have stopped him, Shelby. And I think youâd write a fine book, with or without him.â
âYou want me to write the book?â
âOf course it would be dangerous, but Iâd be curious to see how youâd write all out.â
I sighed. Me too, I thought. âIt wouldâve been nice.âÂ
âYou think more about those experiences you were tellinâ me about before?âÂ
I looked up at him, surprised. âIâd almost forgotten. With everything,â I waved at my body, âHappening.â
He grimaced and nodded. âMight be good to think on it a little. Seems to me, you already had some power before you got scratched. Might mix together. Might wanna be careful with it.âÂ
âDo you know about this kind of thing happening before?â
âItâs less a matter of what happened before and more like just figuring.â
âI see.â I finished my beer. âAnother.â
He refilled my glass. âSeeinâ as weâre closed now, mind if I join you?â
We moved to a booth and Desmond broke the silence as I kept circling around what heâd said in my mind. âIâm glad you told me.âÂ
âHm? Oh yeah.â I nodded. âMe too. I didnât like lying.â
âYouâre not that great at it either.âÂ
âI thought I did okay.âÂ
He smirked. âAlright.âÂ
âI did!â We both took sips of our beers. âHonestly, I didnât think anything would happen to me when she scratched me.â
âThen why did you lie about it at all?â
âNot sure. It just kind of happened.âÂ
âFear makes us do strange things.â
âThatâs what Iâm afraid of.â I gestured behind me, to the front door. âWith the town.â
âAnd that worries me more.âÂ
âI just hope weâre wrong.â He drank some more and then sat back into the booth. âWhyâd you move to Connor Creek, Shelby?â
Surprised by the change in topic, and doubly so that it was a personal one, I drank a large sip to give me a chance to think about what to say. âWell,â I began, âI wanted to write.â
âI know that. But why did you really?â
âI liked it here. Something about this place, felt right.â
He nodded. âThat makes sense.â
âDoes it?â
âThe people drawn here arenât just everyday people. You think every town is like this?âÂ
âI know theyâre not. But I mean every place has their eccentrics.â
âBut almost every person?âÂ
âAlmost? Who isnât eccentric here?â
âMe.â He said this like it was obvious.Â
I couldnât hold in the laugh. âYouâre a werewolf, Desmond.âÂ
He looked around with a shine of panic and remembering we were alone, relaxed into his own chuckle. âI guess that gives me a little.âÂ
âStill, with or without me, thatâs a lot of special people out here drawn together. And we were drawn here, the Connors.âÂ
âWait, were you with the original Connors?â I asked, suddenly posed with the possibility of sitting across from an ancient being.
Desmond just laughed. âNow Shelby, you really think we live that long?â
I tilted my head as his eyes sparkled at me. I couldnât tell if he was just avoiding the question or if the question was just that ridiculous to him. âWill I live a little longer now?â
He shrugged. âMight do.â He took another sip. âHave you transformed yet?â
âNot yet.â I thought of my experience in the bathroom. âAlmost. How much am I supposed to change?â
âRemember me the other night?â
âLike that, but less hair.â
âWhat can trigger it?â
âAnger, sadness - any real strong emotion, âsides happy ones I guess. Itâll be easier on the full moon, I imagine. But once you get the hang of it, especially living where you do, should be easy enough to control.âÂ
âIâll take your word for it.âÂ
âYou should stop by next full moon. I can close early, help you learn how to do it.âÂ
I was touched by the thought. âThank you, Desmond.âÂ
âOf course. Youâre one of us now Shelby.âÂ