| Bored And Dangerous

'Here,' Jack muttered, dumping Bobby in his mother's arms without another word.

'Thanks, mister,' the woman called gratefully, but Jack was already walking away. The crowd began to disperse.

Ava appeared, carrying his rucksack as well as her own. 'What am I, the porter now?'

Jack slumped down on another bench and sank his face into his hands. 'I … I thought maybe I could find something good in all this mess,' he whispered. 'That perhaps I could help.'

'You did help,' Ava said softly, joining him. 'You were right about the boy and you sniffed him out.'

Jack pressed his head into his palms. 'I wanted to eat him.'

'But you didn't,' Ava said quietly. 'You drew on the wolf in you without letting it out. I've never seen that before.' She smiled at him. 'Hey, Boon. A perfect synthesis of man and wolf … '

'There's nothing perfect about me,' Jack muttered. 'What if next time that hunger hits me, I can't control it? Can't stop me?'

Ava was silent for a long moment. 'Come on,' she said at last. 'It's almost five. We should get ready to board.'

Jack closed his eyes. You didn't need to be Einstein to know why Ava hadn't answered his question. She didn't have an answer.

*****

The journey through Oregon passed slowly. It was midnight now, and they were nearing Ontario. The bus was comfortable enough but Jack was miserable and self-absorbed; too restless to settle.

The moon glowed slyly in through the thin curtain Ava had dragged across the window. Jack's face itched and tickled in its faint light. 'You don't think I'll change, do you?' he whispered to Ava for the twelfth time.

She didn't look up from her book. 'Jack, if I knew, I promise I would tell you.'

He sank further down in his seat. 'The moon's not even full anymore.'

Ava sighed. 'The moon is a big influence on werewolves all the time. The reason the full moon is associated with the most is that it's the 'wolf Sabbath. A day of ancient rituals. Now come on, Jack, try to relax.'

'I can't.' He shook his head and pushed back his dark hair with sweaty fingers. 'I feel that if I just let myself go I could slip over the edge. Can you imagine what I might do to these people?'

'Yes,' said Ava simply. 'Listen, we hit Twin Falls in five hours. Happy Homecoming to me.'

'Great,' he snorted. 'I can take on anyone your mom missed.'

'No you won't,' she told him flatly. 'And since my mom ran amok there, kicking up all that fuss, I don't think any other self-respecting 'wolf would go there either.'

'Not till Wolf Time, anyway, right?' Jack sighed. 'What is that, anyway?'

Giving up on her book, Ava slapped its yellowed pages shut. 'Okay. Wolf Time. It's a time described in an epic poem called Bas Ceitelter Sor Res Werwolfs – in which werewolves gain dominion over the world. Full of werewolf warriors, strange portents and signs in the sky, destiny, the overthrowing of humanity, coming out of the shadows and bathing in the blood of man, yada yada yada … It's a big thing in werewolf literature. Some see it as prophetic of a real-time to come.'

'Werewolf literature?' Jack looked at her skeptically. 'Maybe I could major in that when I get into Princeton.'

'A lot of it's beautifully written, in a sick kind of way,' Ava said.

Jack rolled his eyes. Like he'd been serious. Ava was happy to dish out the sarcasm but never seemed to see it herself.

'Bas Ceitelter Sor Res Werwolfs is a good example,' she continued. 'It's German, 16th century. The author's unknown.'

'I guess it's the werewolf version of Planet of the Apes,' said Jack, earning himself an 'I-give-up' look from Ava.

'It's all a bunch of crap, anyway,' Ava said dismissively. 'No one believes it. I mean, they'd like to … but then I'd like to believe in the Tooth Fairy. What can you do?' She turned back to her book.

Jack saw that the subject of Wolf Time was officially closed.

Soon bored and edgy again, he turned his attention to their fellow passengers. To distract himself, he tried to focus on the sounds around him, zeroing in on different voices. He smiled wickedly. He could do it, too – tune in to intimate conversations like they were secret live broadcasts going on all around him. If anyone was tailing him and Ava, perhaps he'd hear something that would give them away.

After 'station-hopping' from a woman going on about her holiday photos to a man talking about the problems he was having with his boss, Jack listened in on two guys a few seats behind him.

'Take it now.'

'Not yet.'

'Now, while the dumb bitch is sleeping, go on.'

Jack grew instantly alert. The guys had boarded at the last stop and had looked innocuous enough. But clearly, they weren't …

Casually he turned around like he'd dropped something. He saw that the elderly black woman seated behind him had fallen asleep. The overstuffed bag lying on the empty seat next to her had fallen open, revealing a thick roll of banknotes wedged in a side pocket.

Jack looked away. Maybe they wouldn't do it. He kept on listening.

'Do it now! She won't notice until we're gone.'

One of the guys got up from his seat. Jack's mind raced through his options. He could wake the old woman; or he could just turn around and stare at the guy, show him he'd been seen. The guy was an opportunist – he'd probably back down.

But instead, Jack got up, grabbed hold of the man's neck, and bared his teeth.

Passengers yelled in alarm, and the man shrank back, shocked and frightened. 'Whoa, mister,' he gasped, trying to prise Jack's fingers from his neck. 'Get the hell off me!'

Jack shook his head. He couldn't stop. And he couldn't speak. Every word he tried to form came out as a growl.

Ava grabbed hold of him, pulling on his arm. The thief's friend stood up from his seat, shouting out threats from a safe distance.

And that was when the bus driver slammed on his brakes.