5 The Vest

"Ludmilla…" The man mutters, a look of complete shock on his face.

"Mother!" The girl cries before running up to her, giving her a tight hug, "I thought you were dead..!" She sobs.

"I did too…" She replies as she hugs her daughter back, "But this man here saved me," She gestures to John who just stands there, staring at the man with the eye-path. He swears he's seen him before.

"What's your name?" The man asks as he walks up to them.

"John,"

"John...I've never heard of anyone named that. What tribe are you from?"

"Tribe? What are you talking about?"

"He was one of Edron's prisoners and test-subjects Rodko," Ludmilla comments, "He's not a garou. Speaking of garous, where's Cahal?" She looks around for him but doesn't see him anywhere.

"Cahal, he...left…"

"What?"

"We thought you were dead, your lifeless body was laying on the ground. I can't even imagine what he felt seeing you like that. He, was consumed by grief and was beginning to go on a rampage. Rafeeq, he...tried to stop him but Cahal ended up killing him in his blind rage. He left shortly after we got back saying he was a danger to us,"

Ludmilla is left speechless for a bit a she comprehends what he just said.

"...Well, he couldn't have gotten far, we need to go after him!"

"I wish we could, but not in our current situation. We've received word of Endron forces coming our way," As they stand there thinking of what to do next, Rodko recognizes John's scent, "Wait a minute, you're the garou,"

"What?"

"The garou back at plant, the one Cahal was fighting,"

"What the hell's a garou?" John asks.

"Rodko I think you're mixing his scent with mine," Ludmilla butts in, "I can assure you he's not a garou. I've been monitoring him for over two weeks, if he was one he would've just broken out of the prison a long time ago. He must've been fighting the Black Spiral Dancer that was chasing after me,"

"Right…" Rodko gazes at John skeptically, "You and Aedanna head for the barracks, I already thought I lost you once, I'm not letting that happen again. Take John with you as well and get him some clothes. I'm heading to the east sector to help set up defenses,"

"Stay safe brother," Ludmilla replies. He gives her a nod and runs off.

"Let's get you into something more, fitting," Ludmilla tells John as the three of them start walking towards a hill going up to a large cave lit with flood lights. As they walk past a large tree, the feeling of being watched lands on John's shoulders. He glances up at the tree, seeing nothing but its endless amount of branches and leaves. Nearing the cave the dog smell increases ten fold.

They enter the cave which is made up of several smaller caves making up rooms of sorts that are all connected by a large main tunnel acting as a hallway. They head over to a large room that has several bunk beds hanging off the walls. There's a large bulky container against a wall, a small table has some computers sitting on it next to the container. Ludmilla opens up the container, seeing not much has been taken from it. As she rummages through the things she gathers a small pile of clothes.

She stares at them for a few seconds, taking a deep breath before standing up and turning to John.

"...I think, these should fit," She states, giving him a weak smile as she holds up some clothes. These must've belonged to her husband.

"Thanks," He replies, giving her a warm smile as he takes the clothes, "Is there uh, some place more, private, I can go to change?"

"I'm gonna go see how my friend Ava's doing," She answers as she grabs a new button-up shirt and puts it on, "So you can change here. Come on, Aedanna," With that Ludmilla and her daughter leave the room. John peeks over the side of the wall looking into the main tunnel to make sure no one's heading his way before ducking back behind the wall and putting on the clothes.

The clothes seem to fit him perfectly. Dark grey cargo pants and a dirt-green vest are not the types of clothes he expected someone seemingly living in the forest to wear. Luckily the vest has soft wool on the inside, making up for the lack of no shirt underneath. He zips it up to just above his chest before he puts on some socks and a pair of black boots.

Stepping out into the main tunnel he looks around trying to figure out where Ludmilla went. He hears her voice coming from his right. He turns and walks up the path, the tunnel sloping upward. He walks to an opening in the side which reveals a larger room filled to the brim with computer servers. Ludmilla is talking to a woman in a green undershirt with very short black hair.

"I tried, but he left his earpiece here so I have no way of-" The woman stops talking upon seeing John, "What are you doing with that vest?" She asks, her worried expression quickly turning into a hostile one. She starts marching towards him, but Ludmilla intervenes.

"It's okay Ava, I gave him it," Ludmilla states, trying to calm her down, "This is John,"

"This, is John?" She asks, folding her arms and giving him skeptical look.

"Hi," He replies, giving an awkward wave and smile.

"You weren't kidding about his hair…" She comments as she turns to Ludmilla, "Still, why is he wearing Cahal's clothes?"

"Well, he was sorta naked beforehand...Speaking of that, why were you naked?"

"Beats me," John shrugs, "I probably sound crazy saying this, but when I found Ludmilla she was being chased by a werewolf. It threw her against a wall, and I…" Visions of what happened suddenly flash in his mind and his heart starts pounding. He groans in pain as he stumbles back a bit, pressing his hands against his head as an echoing roar bounces around inside it.

"John? John you okay?" Ludmilla asks.

He falls to his knees as he relives the fight with the werewolf in his mind, the rage flowing through his veins. Ludmilla, Ava, and Aedanna are all shocked as claws start growing on his fingers.

This feels the exact same as the time he had attacked the guard bringing him food. He tries to regain focus, blocking out the visions and pushing the anger down. He takes deep breaths, the claws slowly retracting. Little at a time, the headache subsides. He's left drained of his energy, falling down to all fours as he struggles to stay up.

"Is he, the Black Spiral Dancer that was following you?" Ava asks with concern.

"What? No! It was following me when John called me on the radio! I, I thought you were human John,"

"...I am…I think..." He mutters after regaining the strength to stand up, "I think I should go ask Rodko about what happened yesterday."