Saturday, December 10^th, 2011

Time Until Human Again = 9 Hours, 55 Minutes

Kudamon stopped behind Shane’s legs, turning his attention to what had spawned in Shane’s room. “Don’t let him eat me,” the unseen creature said after a moment.

“Calm down. He will do no such thing,” Kudamon said, Shane’s attention refocusing on him briefly.

“Don’t you dare speak for me,” Shane’s reply was laced with a guttural growl, to which the new creature began to whimper.

“Shane,” Alex then said. “Chill, and let me.”

When Shane’s attention turned to Alex, despite the wolf face and muzzle, he picked up on the defensiveness and confusion he was feeling. “I don’t think so, not just like that.”

“Look, it’s confusing and unreal, I know, but just let me handle it.”

“How? You’re no different than me.”

“Except in tone, rationality, and experience,” Kudamon replied. Alex winced at the remark; Shane growled again in response.

“That so? So you knew something about this?”

“Not much, no.” Alex said.

“He is telling the truth,” Kudamon said. “He and I met only last night and even I only know so much.”

“Then tell me: whose fault is it that these things are in our house?”

“Relax your accusations, Shane.” Kudamon said. “The only thing Alex is guilty of is keeping me with him, a request I made of him. Anything beyond that is no fault of ours.”

Shane let out an aggravated chuckle. “Then you’ll have no issue with me dealing with this thing.”

“Which is doing you no harm? If you do that, then I suppose you deserve the designation of monster.”

“Tell me that again when it’s a human, then I might care.”

Alex took a step forward. “Shane, chill out. Let me handle this.”

Before Shane responded, Kudamon added, “You have nothing to lose by doing what Alex says. I can promise that at least.”

Shane’s head and attention shifted from Kudamon to Alex to the mysterious creature for another few seconds before the sound of the master bedroom door opening sounded. “Shane, what’s going on? Who are you arguing with?” Carol asked.

“Alex, give Shane a hand, would you?” Michael asked as he stepped away to comfort and reassure his wife. Alex nodded then looked at Shane and gestured for him to get out of the way.

“Nuh uh.” Shane replied. “I’m not going anywhere. You come here, and deal with this thing.”

“Fine. Just step back.”

That was the extent of what Shane did; as he drew closer, Alex could almost feel a murderous intent coming off him, helped by the speed of his heartrate. When at last Alex saw the creature from Shane’s computer, his initial focus was on its body. It was a bear cub in appearance, paws wrapped in leather belts and easily twice as tall as Kudamon. Otherwise, it was covering its head and trembling.

“It’s okay,” Alex said as he stepped into the room. “I won’t hurt you.”

“That I can assure you of, Bearmon.” Kudamon said as he also drew closer.

That’s his name? Right away, Alex wondered if he and Kudamon knew each other.

The ‘Bearmon’ relaxed its guard for a moment, only to resume it upon seeing Alex’s werewolf form. “No, I don’t trust you.”

“You have my word. Alex means you no harm.” Kudamon replied as Alex lowered his body into a sitting position. “Or would you rather talk to me?”

“I don’t wanna talk, I don’t wanna be cornered by monsters.”

Alex sighed to himself. “We do wanna talk, though. At least find out why you’re here.” When he got no answer, Alex looked aside to Kudamon, who matched his gaze.

“I doubt he was carrying a device with him,” Kudamon said. “Otherwise, I suspect there is something here he wants and he crossed over because of it.” Kudamon then returned his attention to the Bearmon, and asked, “Am I correct?”

“...Yes.”

Kudamon gave a hum in response.

“What is it you wanted?” Alex asked.

“...Sweets.”

Alex was left surprised yet amused by the answer. Shane, however, began growling again and remarked, “That’s it?!”

“Shane, please quell that anger of yours.” Kudamon replied. “You will do no one any favors with it.”

“Bite me.”

Already, Bearmon was hinting at clamming up again. “Kudamon, how difficult is travel from there to here?” Alex asked.

“That depends on who you ask, and the method. It was straightforward in my case, but I had help and plans. For this one, judging from his behavior, it had to be stressful and done with much less foreknowledge.”

“Yeah, and ‘sweets’ is too general a reason.”

“Agreed. Bearmon, give us some more details, if you would.”

It took several seconds for the Bearmon to talk. “A place that makes sweets. I wanted to see that, try some.”

This time, Shane answered first. “Then you’re several years too late.”

“How so?” Kudamon asked.

“The ‘place that makes sweets’ around here?” Alex began. “It’s closed down, and part of it got demolished last year. Everything it used to make is made elsewhere now.”

“I see.”

“But, I was promised it was here.” the Bearmon said, his attention now on Alex.

“It is, somewhat. The main building and some other parts were left up as landmarks and historical sites, but the actual factory is long gone.”

No words were spoken as the Bearmon processed what Alex said, its head eventually hanging in disappointment, if not defeat. It sighed deeply before speaking again. “So all I was told was lies.”

“I’m sorry to say, but yes.” Alex replied.

“You have my sympathies, Bearmon.” Kudamon added.

“So, that settles that.” Shane said.

“True, but now comes our job.” Kudamon said. “Bearmon, even given your circumstances, we have to send you back.”

“Just like that? Didn’t you say the trip was stressful for me?”

“My apologies, but Alex and I have a job to do.”

The Bearmon then looked at Alex. “Please, don’t do it so soon. Even if the place is gone, I want to see it. At least that.”

Alex looked over to Kudamon, then back to Bearmon when he continued.

“Show me this factory, what remains of it, and I’ll leave. No arguments.”

Alex waited a few moments before responding. “That sounds reasonable.”

“Except that none of us are leaving this house until the full moon has passed. Alex knows that,” Shane replied.

“In that case, Bearmon will stay with Alex and myself until we can leave.”

“Fine. I don’t feel comfortable with either of you hanging around, anyway.” Shane then stepped back and thumbed to his left, waiting until Alex was in the guest room with Bearmon and Kudamon before closing his room’s door.

“My apologies again, Bearmon.” Kudamon said.

“I’ll get over it, eventually.”

“I think he means the situation you ran into here.” Alex said.

“I know. I was expecting humans, not creatures like you.”

“As was I.” Kudamon said.

“I’ll be human again come morning.” Alex said.

“How soon is that?”

Alex checked his phone for the time. 11:15 p.m. “At least nine hours.”

“Okay.”

“That aside, I’m getting tired. I should turn in.”

“Um, is there a place I can sleep?”

Alex looked around for something to make a bed with, coming across some spare sheets in the closet. “This should do the trick,” he said as he made a simple bed.

“Thank you.” Bearmon wasted no time laying down and closing his eyes afterward.

Sunday, December 11^th, 2011

Time Until Human Again = 1 Hour, 23 Minutes

When Alex awoke, he heard Bearmon and Kudamon talking about something.

“...about this factory, but I have no reason to doubt him.”

“Huh. By the way, what is he?”

“A werewolf.”

“A what?”

“A human that takes the form you saw last night every so often. Once enough time passes, the form goes away and he becomes human again.”

“And that was how you first saw him?”

Kudamon’s response was delayed. “The moment he changes back is when I will first see his human form.”

“Oh. Crazy.”

“Indeed. Humans have more surprises to them than we all thought.”

Alex then moved his body and made a noise, silencing the two of them for a moment.

“Morning.” Bearmon said with a waving of one paw.

“Likewise.”

“You still tired? Was I too loud?”

“No, you’re fine. Just groggy, that’s all.”

“Oh. Well, I’m looking forward to seeing the factory today.”

“Same here. Though, that reminds me, I don’t think people will take it very well if they see either of you walking around.”

“I already discussed that with him while you slept,” Kudamon said. “We should look for a route to take that is away from any roads.”

“What about the device you gave me? Can’t he fit in that?”

“We tried, and it seems the device only works with me.”

Alex sighed, then stayed silent as he thought about such a route. “Lucky for us then that it’s almost a straight shot to the factory. Just a long walk otherwise.”

“Walking’s fine.”

“Though, I think it would be better if we sent you back at the house where I arrived, rather than come back here.” Kudamon said.

“That means taking a few routes I’ve used before, but it should work.”

“Good to know.”

Once out of the bed, Alex checked his phone again and set the final alarm. A little over one hour remained and it went by faster than he expected.

Barely a minute before the alarm went off, he said to both Kudamon and Bearmon, “You two might not want to watch this.”

“Watch what?” Bearmon asked.

“What’s coming up.”

The alarm soon went off, and Alex felt his heart rate increase, quickening his breathing as well. He knew what was coming first and leaned against the bed in preparation for it. Bearmon’s voice and questions meanwhile grew concerned. “What’s going on?”

“His form change.” Kudamon said.

As Alex reacted to the crunching up of his stomach, he caught himself. Once the bones of his ribcage began popping free and contracting, he let himself down to the floor. His muscle structure was next to change, reducing the weight of his body. The bones in his head and legs changed next, back to their human forms. All that was left then were his hands, ears and tail, and then it was over, his pelt the only remaining part.

As he lay on the floor, recovering his stamina and trying not to pant, Kudamon and Bearmon entered his field of vision. Both were speechless, and borderline terrified. Alex lifted one arm to give a wave to them.

“That was…very worrying to watch.” Kudamon said.

“I told you not to.”

“But what if something had happened to you?” Bearmon asked.

Alex decided to let him win that one. “Point taken.”

“I think something already did.” Kudamon said. “Humans do not have fur, much less this thick.”

“Yeah, we don’t.” Alex then, with no effort, brushed a swath of fur off his shoulder and neck, to which Bearmon seemed even more horrified.

“Your body was hiding all of that?!”

“Yeah. Don’t ask me how.”

Alex brushed more of his fur off before someone came knocking. Kudamon and Bearmon both bolted before Carol opened the door and peeked in, her expression giving no hint that the events of the previous night were on her mind. “Ah good, you’re finished too.”

“Yeah. Morning, Ms. Bryant.”

“Same to you, Alex. Here, I brought you your towels.” She then set them on the nearby nightstand. “Shane’s getting freshened up. He’ll tell you when your turn comes, then we’ll clean the fur up.”

“Alright. Appreciate it.”

Carol simply smiled and closed the door to the room. Only after a minute did Kudamon and Bearmon come back out. “I suppose that means we have to hide while you step out.”

With Kudamon’s hiding spot already decided, he and Alex soon decided on the closet as the best place to hide Bearmon. “Chances are I’ll have to say something about you two eventually, but for now, this setup should work.”

“If you have to, just tell them I’m sorry. They should understand, right?”

“Yeah, I think so.”

Bearmon nodded with a smile in response.