Three cigarettes

Jamie squinted and checked his vision. He said to himself out loud, "No way." Looking through the scope of his rifle, he saw Talos aiming a rifle at him. Jamie instinctively yelled, "Shit!" as a bullet whizzed past him, barely missing. He quickly retreated behind cover, ducking down.

A thought came to Jamie: *Well, Talos is about as well-trained as I am. He also can't see or hear me with that damn human vision of his.* Jamie began to ponder his options. *If I find something big and white, I could hang it over my rifle as a universal sign of surrender.* Then he looked for something to use and thought, then he remembered where that big white thing was."Yeah, I'm not doing that."

His other option was to try sneaking up on Talos, but that could take hours he didn't have. Jamie muttered to himself, "Maybe a werewolf can sneak up on him much better."

Jamie began his transformation as he rested against the wall. The black fire consumed him, and out came the werewolf. He grabbed his two weapons, which were barely big enough to fit in his hands, with the holsters struggling to hold onto Jamie's new form. As he jumped down the stairs, he knocked over skeletons, furniture, and other debris before slamming through the doorways. In a single bound, Jamie leaped to the roof and began to stalk Talos. He wasn't trying to kill him—just trying not to get shot. He really couldn't afford to take any iron slugs right now.

Jamie sniffed the air, counting how many there were—about seven of them, including Talos, the Ambassador, and... His thoughts paused as he realized the French girl had survived. Jamie genuinely smiled for the first time in a long while. "She's alive," he said out loud.

Jamie began to crawl across the wall, seeing her from afar along with a few more of them, mostly men and the Ambassador. He didn't see them as humans did; to him, they appeared almost like glowing phantoms, though very visible to Jamie even in the darkest spots. He saw them bumbling around in the dark like idiots—except for Talos, who he didn't see at all.

Jamie thought, *Damn it, Talos, if I were your chief, I'd be very proud of you. But I need you to stop being so good at your job.* He began to silently jump across rooftops. Despite his bulky werewolf form, he didn't make a sound. He planned to transform back once he got close enough; his werewolf form might give them a heart attack.

Jamie spotted his little bat friend, which was busy devouring a field mouse. He snuck up on it and petted it with his massive hand. The bat, unaware Jamie was behind it, had never seen a werewolf before. It screamed in fear and flew away. The bat's echo gave away Jamie's location, and a sniper round hit the ground right next to him, barely missing. 

Jamie quickly moved out of the way, purposely jumping to the window of another building. Yelling "Talos, once I find you, I'm going to kick your ass," 

Jamie crashed and landed, Surprisingly gracefully for his size. inside a vast, empty building—the second-largest in the town. He couldn't quite place what it had once been—a school, perhaps, or some kind of state building. As his eyes adjusted to the dim light, he realized it was a gym, long abandoned and destroyed like the rest of the town. The floor was littered with debris, the walls cracked and peeling. Broken basketball hoops hung from the ceiling, and old gym equipment lay scattered and rusting. The place was eerily silent, save for the distant creaks of the crumbling structure. Dust motes floated in the air, illuminated by slivers of moonlight filtering through shattered windows. Jamie's heavy breathing echoed in the stillness as he cautiously scanned the room for any signs of movement.

As Jamie prowled through the gym, something outside caught his eye—a horse standing near the building, its head lowered as if grazing. But there was something off about it, something that made Jamie's hackles rise. The horse was alone, and the way it moved seemed unnatural, almost too calculated for an ordinary animal. It was as if it were deliberately trying to avoid drawing attention while keeping an eye on the building.

Jamie's eyes narrowed as he watched the horse. *That's not right,* he thought. The more he observed, the more certain he became: this was no ordinary horse. He knew Skinwalkers could take on many forms, and the thought of one lurking so close sent a chill down his spine. Without hesitation, Jamie lunged through the gym's broken doors and gave chase, his powerful legs propelling him across the desolate street. The horse bolted as soon as it sensed Jamie's approach, confirming his suspicions. It was fast—unnaturally fast—but Jamie pushed himself harder, determined to close the gap. He had to catch it before it could escape, before it could before it could harm the others.

As he closed the distance, the horse suddenly vanished into a migration of other horses. Jamie skidded to a halt, watching the scene unfold. Jamie had a proper look at the horse he was chasing—a brown stallion with three to four white spots on its flank. It was a strong and healthy animal. Jamie's thoughts were interrupting as the entire herd erupted in panic. Some horses reared up, their eyes wild with fear, while others stumbled and fell over each other in their haste to flee. A few fainted on the spot, overwhelmed by the sudden terror. Jamie realized the truth: these were real horses, innocent and terrified by the sudden intrusion  Skinwalker had vanished among them, blending perfectly into the chaos. All the horses try to get away from him. He looked like the big bad wolf who came to have them for dinner. 

Jamie's trying to find a reason why there would be so many horses, but then he remembered.The Germans had been forced to rely heavily on horses after losing so much equipment in their fight with the U.S. Horses became their lifeline, essential for transport, labor, and survival. When the U.S. troops pulled out, they left the horses behind, not needing them and lacking the resources to round them up. Now, these horses roamed freely in the wilderness, forming wild herds in the abandoned towns.

He began to think for the others where they were the main priority. He got his answer: a gunshot rang out, sharp and loud in the night. He froze, his ears twitching as he tried to pinpoint the source. Then he heard Talos's voice, angry and commanding: "Don't shoot, you idiot! Not unless I tell you!"

Jamie decided it was probably better to get shot than to let someone die. He began to run toward where he thought the location was, now crawling on all fours and moving extraordinarily fast, kicking up dust and debris behind him. But when he got there, he didn't hear anything or see anyone. It was an empty, barren part of town—there weren't even any skeletons, just a fountain with a Greek-style statue pouring water from its face. 

He began to yell, "Talos! Ambassador!" As he called out, he started to notice a small crowd of horses watching him. Many of these horses seemed genuinely real. One by one, the horses began to appear, silently observing Jamie. The majority of the herd was moving in. Most of them moved past Jamie, and some even ran away, but a few remained behind, staring at him. Jamie found himself slowly being surrounded by the horses.

Jamie thought, *Okay, some of them are real horses. It's not every day they get to see a big, massive wolf creature that's not trying to kill them—that's bound to bring some curiosity. But still, this isn't right. Why are they moving in so close?* 

One of the horses came up to Jamie and sniffed his hand. He ignored it and began to move past them, but the creatures kept staring at him. As he pulled away from the herd, he checked their faces. Most of them had the same blank expressions he'd seen before, except for the last one, which greeted him with the most twisted grin he'd ever seen. Its glowing eyes made it clear what it truly was.

Jamie instinctively hit it in the face, sending the creature flying backward. The skin of the horse's face tore away, revealing the more humanoid but skinless face of the Skinwalker beneath. He smiled and laughed, saying, "Well, you didn't like that, did you?"

Jamie replied, "You know, it's rude to sneak up on people. Didn't your mother ever teach you any manners?"

The creature laughed twistedly and said, "She died in the breeding programs—never met her. But come on, man, you've got to admit, it's not every day you get to see fear on the face of a werewolf." 

The creature then ripped off its hooves one by one with it teeth, revealing sharp claws as it slumped into a more humanoid form, though its flesh still hung loosely, dripping. Jamie commented "Honestly, I think the horse's face was an improvement. I might stick it back on you once I'm done kicking your ass." The skinwalker spat some blood from its mouth. "That's a hell of a coat you got there—I want to wear you when I'm done."

The two of them lunged at each other, the impact smashing nearby windows. Jamie quickly realized that Skinwalker was a lot stronger than the others he had faced, and he was still weaker than usual, not yet fully healed. His combat instincts kicked in, and he threw punches and kicks, kneeing the creature and landing a series of precise blows and scratches, like an MMA fighter.

However, the Skinwalker began to fight back, landing its own brutal combos. For the first time in a while, Jamie was knocked to the ground. The Skinwalker stood above him and sneered, "I'd like to say I wanted a fair fight. I'd like to say I beat you fair and square. But hell, I'd be lying if I said I'm not thankful for all the abuse you took earlier. You're going to pay for what you did, bastard."

Just as the skinwalker went to deliver a fearsome blow, a gunshot rang out, and its chest exploded like a jelly donut. 

The Skinwalker staggered backward, muttering to itself, "What in the hell kind of rifle is that?" 

Jamie stood up and said, "You won't live to find out." He then plunged his hand into the wound, grabbed the Skinwalker's still-beating heart, and declared, "I don't feel guilty for killing any of you. You all deserve what's coming to you, and I'll be happy when I kill every last one of you."

The Skinwalker, now choking on blood, replied, "I... know you're a killer... just like me. You'll get your terrible death and die like an animal!"

Jamie smiled and said, "Well, on the bright side, when I get to hell, I'll find you first." With that, he ripped the heart out. The Skinwalker began to collapse, its life slowly fading. The last thing it saw was Jamie crushing its still-beating heart. The body crashed to the ground, lifeless. 

Jamie carelessly tossed the heart aside like a piece of garbage, not bothering to hold on to it. He then heard a voice echo behind him—it was Talos, calling out, "Jamie, is that you?" 

Jamie slowly turned around, covered in blood, and saw Talos clutching his rifle, his face a picture of regret, as if every choice he'd ever made in life had led to this moment. Talos stared at the blood-covered werewolf in disbelief. 

Jamie responded, "No, asshole, it's Weird Al Yankovic."

Talos lowered his rifle and then began to laugh. Both of them did. Then Jamie asked, "How the hell could you tell it was me? Do we all just look the same to you?"

Talos replied, "Well, you're the only werewolf I've ever seen, and the only one I know who goes around kicking Skinwalker ass, so I made an educated guess—and I was right."

Curious heads began to pop out from an alleyway, one of them being Ambassador Kelly, who was mostly all right, though her beautiful dress was now thoroughly ruined. Jamie then asked, "There should be an engineer with you. Where is she?"

Jamie then got a good look at the other survivors—mostly civilians, though there was one soldier, wide-eyed and looking like a new recruit, wearing an American Army outfit. In the man's arms, he was carrying the French woman Jamie had seen before. She was still alive and conscious, but a piece of shrapnel had lodged in her throat. Her neck was bandaged.

Talos then said, "She's all right, but she can't talk right now."

Jamie tried to walk over to her, but as her eyes narrowed and she saw his horrendous form, she began to scream, as if waking from a nightmare. It took a moment for her to realize it was Jamie, and she calmed down, though fear still lingered in her eyes. 

Talos noticed and said, "Come on, man, she's clearly not—none of them, for that matter—used to seeing you like this." 

This was another reminder for Jamie: hated as a man, feared as a monster. He sat down and muttered, "Better to be feared than loved, if you can't be both."

"Talos," Jamie called.

"Yeah?" Talos responded.

Jamie smiled and asked, "How many cigarettes you got?"

Talos pulled out a pack and said, "I've got about half a pack."

Jamie nodded. "I'm going to need three of them."

Talos looked at him, puzzled. "You need exactly three?"

"Yeah," Jamie replied. "That's how much I need to feel like I'm getting a good smoke when I'm this size."

Talos laughed and handed him the cigarettes. Jamie put all three in his mouth, and Talos lit them. Jamie puffed on all three at once, drawing laughter from the group.

"You're all looking at me like I'm a damn unicorn," Jamie remarked.

Talos chuckled. "You're a werewolf smoking three cigarettes at once—you might as well be."

Jamie found this especially funny, nearly choking on the smoke. But then, the aches and pains he'd been feeling all day began to flare up again. He blew a massive puff of smoke into the air and sighed, "Damn it, my everything hurts."

Talos commented, "Maybe you should, you know, transform back into a man. Might be easier on you."

Jamie shook his head. "It would just make the pain worse. Besides, I don't know if any of those things are still out there, and I can't fight them in my human form."

Talos suggested, "We need to get moving then. Maybe that castle over there—it's predictable, sure, but it might be a place we can barricade ourselves until we find some help."

Jamie nodded. "Maybe you're right. I did catch my uncle's scent over there. I don't know exactly what he's doing, but I know his scent."

Talos asked, "You think we should wait till daytime? At least we'd have a better chance of seeing them coming."

Jamie replied, "I can see them just fine, but they'd be able to see you much better too. So no, I think we should move now."

Talos then wondered aloud, "There's a full moon out, isn't there? Where the hell is it?"

Jamie looked up and saw massive storm clouds rolling in. A flash of lightning lit up the sky, followed by a downpour. The rain began to fall in a symphony of raindrops, each member of the group reacting differently, though all were negative. 

The Ambassador was the most vocal. "You've got to be kidding me. If I needed another thing to ruin my dress…"

Talos tried to reassure them. "The rain is a good thing. It'll hide our scent."

Ambassador Kelly protested, "We're all going to get a cold. We're all going to get sick. All of us are going to get sick."

Jamie cut in, "Well, it's better than dying, isn't it?"

Kelly realized he had a point and, in a moody tone, muttered, "I suppose you have a point."

Jamie stood up, collecting his thoughts, and flicked away the last of his three cigarettes. "Alright, everyone, we're leaving while it's still raining. The rain will cover our scent, and if we move quietly, it'll hide our footsteps too. I'll lead up front, Talos, you cover our back—you've got the second-best set of eyes. We're heading toward the castle. My uncle's there. Maybe the two of us can get an old radio working—he's pretty handy with older tech. Once we've got that, we can radio for help. Ambassador Kelly, I'm sure you can negotiate with someone to pick us up."

Kelly replied, "I can get someone from Shanghai to pick us up if I really wanted to—so that shouldn't be a problem."

The soldier holding the French woman spoke up, "That's a predictable target. It's the first place they're going to look."

Jamie nodded. "Yeah, I'm aware of that. But it's the only place where rescue can find us quickly, and it's where the tools and weapons I'll need are. Plus, there might be a vault where we can lock you in and keep you safe."

The group fell silent. Jamie sighed and added, "I know it's a big risk, but what choice do we have?"