Cyrus tugged the sheets and snuggled the blankets around his chest. There was a slight chill in the room. A soft sunlight hit his face. He frowned. He was still groggy with sleep.
He peeled open his heavy eyelids, trying to discern where the sunlight was coming from. The lazy eyes drifted through the room and then landed on the window. He had forgotten to close the blinds. And it was already morning.
"Just put your head on a pillow and it's already morning," He complained.
He looked at the clock on top of some books on the small table. It blinked at 10:31am in red. He sighed again and wobbled out of bed. His clothes littered the room.
"What happened here?" He wondered. It was then that Yesterday's events hit him.
He'd dropped Abby by the Hunter Doctor's place. The doctor had said she had a broken arm and fractured ribs.
"But she will be fine, there's no need to worry," The doctor had said.
The doctor had said Cyrus had a sprained ankle. He reached for the ankle on his left leg. Surprisingly, the pain was gone. He walked across the room. He wasn't limping either. What the hell?
"There's a wolf in you," The werewolf's voice echoed in his head. Was it true? What if it was?
"Damn me," He cursed himself.
His cell phone rang.
"Where's it?" he muttered, looking for it under the blankets. "No, it's on the floor," He thought, running his hands through his jeans. It was in his back pocket.
"Cyrus," He answered in a sleepy voice. He listened and recognized the voice on the other side of the line. It was the hunters' doctor.
"Thank God-," Then a pause. "Put her on the line."
"Hey Abby," Cyrus said in an awake voice. All sleep had suddenly drained out of his body.
"Cy- thank Goodness you're okay," cried Abby.
"How are you holding?" Cyrus asked.
"I'm hurting but I'll be fine, I guess. Doc tells me you brought me here; thanks, I owe you one."
He heard her sob.
"Don't mention it, you would've probably done the same for me."
There was a short pause.
"Cyrus?"
"Yes?" He knew what was coming next. He waited for it and it did come. Abby had become very close to Gerald.
"Did-did Gerald-."
"Don't-," Cyrus cut in. "Please don't,"
"I want to know," Abby insisted.
Cyrus went silent, pondering what to say next, trying to find the right words to say to her. He couldn't find any. "Hell! What's done is done, " he thought.
"Gerald's gone Abby-," He said finally. " The werewolf got him." There was a pause, then the sobbing began.
"I'm so-," He didn't finish. He couldn't find the right words to say. He hung up cursing himself for doing so. He wasn't sorry that Gerald had died, he was sorry that Abby was mourning Gerald.
"The doctor will take care of Abby," He thought. It was his job to do so. Anyway, he had a lot to do. He decided he'd visit the underground broker at the Chinese bookshop.
...................................
The Victoria town air was stiff that afternoon. It was very hot outside. Despite the heat, the town's folk were out in full force. The streets were crowded.
Cyrus parked his cruiser motorbike in front of a dust-covered bookstore with a broken red lightbox. He got off and stepped inside.
A bell tinkled and the atmosphere inside changed. It was much cooler inside the store. Stacks of old volumes and ledgers were neatly packed on the shelves. There was a skinny boy in glasses behind the counter.
"Ugh, Mav!" Cyrus called out taking his shades off.
"Cyrus," the boy nodded unamused.
"He doesn't like me," Cyrus thought. " Well I don't like your face either, " He said out loud.
"Beg your pardon, sir?" Mav said.
"Never mind, Mav! Is Mr Chung in?"
"Yes, he's in the back."
"Thanks, champ," Said Cyrus, faking a smile.
He went far back, to the last bookshelf on the wall. He ran his fingers along the cracked spines, found the book he was looking for, and pulled it out.
There was a sharp click followed by a hiss. The shelf slowly swung outward like a door.
He stepped inside and found himself in a dark passage.
"Fucking genius," he smiled. He waited for his eyes to grow accustomed to the darkness. They scanned the passage. The floor changed from oak wood to stone. He could make out a door at the end of the passage. He walked towards it, then knocked.
"Six seven five-?" A hoarse voice called from the other side of the door.
"One five four," Cyrus answered. It was a code.
"Come on in," the hoarse voice commanded. Cyrus opened the door.
He stepped into a wide room lit by spotlights. It looked more like a lab. Wolf trophies hung in the hall. Massive werewolf fangs were displayed inside glasses. Cyrus' eyes widened. It was as if he were there for the first time. Yet he'd been there a few dozen times before. He closed the door behind him.
"Ugh Cyrus, my favorite werewolf hunter," The hoarse voice exploded from behind a desk. It belonged to a stout man in a shabby suit, tinted hair, a sharp jaw, and a neatly groomed mustache above the outlines of a small mouth.
"Chung, you half-assed piece of shit," Cyrus barked. Unlike Mr Chung who was happy to see him, Cyrus was furious at the very sight of Mr Chung.
" Now Cyrus- we don't have to go there-,"Mr Chung stammered. Cyrus' face flashed, eyes burning with anger.
"What did you send us to you devil spawn mother fucker!"
"What are you talking about?" Mr Chung asked with an almost confused face.
"Don't play dumb with me Chung. I'm talking about yesterday's job. That werewolf was old and experienced. Did you know?"
Mr Chung shook his head with great effort. " No, I didn't; I wouldn't send you to your death, you know me."
"I could have died, Chung!"
"Yet here you're standing right before me," Mr Chung pointed out raising his hands.
"Abby's hurt, seriously hurt," Cyrus snapped. The thought of it quadrupled his anger.
"Abby? - Good God! She's not gonna die is she?" Asked Mr Chung with his eyes wide open in disbelief.
"Gerald died Chung," Cyrus said, his voice cracking. "That bastard managed to get himself killed."
Mr Chung read the sadness in his voice. " Well, sit down, Cyrus, please. Take a seat," He begged. Cyrus obeyed, his anger subsiding.
"I'll pour us scotch," Mr Chung said already pulling out two glasses from his drawer.
"I'm a gin man," said Cyrus
Mr Chung let out a small hearty yet apologetic laugh.
"Since when?"
"Since now," Cyrus answered. Mr Chung ignored him and filled up both glasses. They sat staring at each other for a while. Both were willing for the tension to bleed out.
"You were close, you and this fella?" Mr Chung asked breaking the silence.
"No! Not even," Cyrus said.
"So why do you talk like you care?"
"It's because of Abby, she's hurting," Cyrus replied, his voice now low and calm. The anger was finally fading.
"I see," said Mr Chung, nodding his huge chunk of a head.
"So we are not mourning then?" said Mr Chung raising his glass.
"No, the dead are dead; we focus on the living," Cyrus said firmly.
"To the living then?" Mr Chung said still holding his glass in the air. Cyrus hesitated.
"To the living, " Cyrus returned and gulped the whole glass. The tension had finally bled out, Mr Chung observed. They could now talk business.
"What do you have for me this time Cy?"
Cyrus grinned, all the violence gone. They were back to being buddies now. He pulled out a pair of werewolf fangs from his jeans.
"They belong to the old werewolf I killed yesterday," he said placing them on the table.
Mr Chung picked them up and studied them.
"I'll give you twenty-five hundred,"
"Don't mess with me, Chung; l almost died because of you. You owe me. I also gotta pay Abby's doctor. Now I say five grand," Cyrus said, half rising from his seat.
"Three point five, " Chung said.
"Four point five."
"Deal," Mr Chung sighed, collected the fangs, and then counted Cyrus's dollar bills. They shook hands then Cyrus stood, ready to go.
"Cy-there's a new job; I don't know if you're up for it. Given your current situation- the unfortunate tragedy-."
Cyrus grinned and then sat down.
"What kind of job are we talking about?" He asked.
Mr Chung hesitated but then decided to tell him anyway.
"A girl came in this morning - beautiful, walked like a cat, oh she had cat eyes too. Said she was a Hunter Scout. She tracked a werewolf living in an abandoned house up north, just a few miles outside town."
"An omega?" Cyrus asked, eyes sparkling with interest.
"Probably yes. Judging from the expression on your face, you're gonna take this job, yes?"
"Hell yeah."
"What about your team? You will probably need a new team?"
"Hell no," Cyrus said." I'm flying solo on this one."
"I will send you the details later, but going alone is like signing your death sentence, son. Don't come nagging me about sending you to your death when you're dead."
Cyrus rose and then walked to the door. " Just send me the details Chung, " He turned, a menacing grin on his face. " There's something I want to try out, Something I can't let people see. It's a new resource that I recently tapped into." He opened the door and then went out.