The Brother

I tried to relax my muscles, I tried to calm down, but it wasn't happening. Halvor's voice keep getting more distant as he tried to reassure me. My name was becoming a foreign language before my ears. It was a miracle I haven't passed out. But other things were needing to be addressed, like the ten-foot-tall black dog in the backyard.

A werewolf? Here of all places and right next to me of all people for it to happen to.

I couldn't recall the last thing I did to deserve this. I don't think I ever did anything for karma to come back like this. But I guess life has a different plan for me, a plan I really would like no part in.

I took in deep breaths, not for the sake of calming down but to prevent hyperventilating. I would like to live until homecoming. Whether it be a werewolf to tear me apart or I suffocate, I'm not going out today.

"That's right, in and out, Lindsay." Halvor coached, I turned my head towards him and the wolf, his name, Kenneth.

"Shut the fuck up." I mumbled and inhaled deeply then exhaled. "Now, someone has to start telling me what is going on before I scream and get a middle-aged man with a shot gun out here in two minutes."

"That's a nice hello to you too." I froze and my eyes sped through my skull, searching every corner for the voice that just spoke.

"In front of you. Linsday, I believe it is?" No way. It talks.

"Y-yeah, and you're Kenneth... right?" I stood there nervously. What does someone say to a talking wolf?

"Werewolf, thank you. Don't lump us in with wild dogs please." Kenneth stated, like he read my mind.

"Yeah, we can read minds too. It helps with being able to talk during hunting and stuff. Well, we can talk to each other, and Kenneth can read minds, that's the joy of being the leader of the group." Halvor explained. He sounded ecstatic at first but lost it as he spoke, realizing being younger in this situation sucked, big time.

I nodded, not really wrapping my head around any of this. "Cool, so it's you that's gutting the neighborhood pets." I state. remembering the dismantled pile of who knows what now.

Havlor and Kenneth both looked over to the pile I referred to.

"Oh yeah. That." Kenneth started. "Honest, I only take those that don't have tags and look like they're on their last leg."

"I call bull on that." Havlor butted in, squatting down and taking a stick, pulling out a dog collar from the pile. He sighed as he tossed it to the side. Halvor got up and faced us, his eyes focusing on Kenneth.

Kenneth rolled his eyes at this. "That one was blind and was missing a leg."

"It still had a collar, Kenneth! Dammit. we can't keep doing this!" Halvor shouted, he then shrunk back into his skin, as is he stepped out of place. "We can't keep doing this to every town we come across. We're gonna get arrested or killed for this shit, man."

Halvor slumped, then he looked at me. "Sorry for all of this, really. I could walk you to school tomorrow if you'd like." He offered, ignoring his brother's existence. How someone can calmly ignore a giant wolf is beyond me.

"I appreciate it, really. But even if I wasn't suspended for three days, Tiffany would hand me my ass on a silver platter by tomorrow's chemistry class." I smiled, it might have come off a bit rude, but I didn't care right now. Right now, other things like the freaking wolf and its brother being neighbors with me mattered a bit more.

Halvor appeared confused when I said I was suspended. "What happened? I literally left school after lunch."

I wore a sarcastically cheery tone when I replied with a "Hey, me too!" I then told him what happened.

Halvor listened in shock before speaking.

"Wow, you want me to possibly pretend to be your boyfriend? Would that make her quit her shit?" Halvor offered. I chuckled.

"Hardly. If anything, it would make her hammer down on me harder. I really do appreciate it, Halvor."

"I can eat them if you want." Kenneth snickered to himself when Halvor called after him for such an offer. Kenneth stopped snickering. "But for real, I'll eat them if you want. Human flesh tends to taste the best anyways. You can imagine why it's a hassle to get any." I laughed nervously at this.

"Yeah but eating the mayor's daughter isn't the way to go either." I informed. If Tiffany disappeared, they would first start a search party then they would suspect me, even if I had nothing to do with it.

Halvor's eyebrows raised. "The mayor's daughter? Tiffany is the mayor's daughter?" I nodded.

"Yeah, weird how that happens, huh?" I tucked a stray hair behind my ear. I noticed that Kenneth was staring at me.

"I wish I could do something to help this problem, I really do, Lindsay." Halvor started, sounding guilty as hell. Good, he was. Even if I'm guilt tripping him about it, this was his fault because of his stupid face.

"There is." I responded.

"Really?" Halvor's face lit up.

"Yeah, stay the hell away from me at school. That will get Miss Perfect's posse off of me for a while at least." His face went back into a depressed state. That wasn't my problem. Mine was not breaking Tiffany's face.

"Okay. Can we be friends and talk when we're home? I don't know many people here besides, y'know..." Halvor shrugged towards Kenneth while sounding defeated.

I sighed eternally. These two are gonna be the death of me.

"Yeah, we can be friends outside of school."

Halvor now was beaming, Kenneth kept staring at me. He was analyzing me. Kinda like a cat watching a puppy be in its territory. With caution and ready to pounce and destroy in a blink. I needed to wrap this conversation up.

"Anyways, I need to go help my parents with whatever nonsense they have planned tonight so I got to get going, sorry." I politely said, stepping back slowly, making sure to not step into a pile of guts and puppy heads.

Halvor understood and was ready to let me go but Kenneth had a question.

"You know if you got any bloody meat, you guys don't want?" Halvor hissed at him like a mother does a child when they ask for free things, but Kenneth didn't care.

"No, but I do know that there's a killer butcher shop in town. It's the only one in town square."

"Okay." Was the last thing Kenneth said to me that night. Halvor said bye as I walked back to my house. I waved while I smiled as I got in the door. As soon as they were out of eyesight, I flopped to the floor. My legs were so weak with fear, it was a miracle I made it to the door.

Lovely, something else I have to worry about now. A freaking werewolf living next door to me, and his stupid brother is the new boy in town.