--=-Chapter 11: That Is Not How You Address A Superhero --=-

Staring into the mirror, I pulled a drawing pad and pen from my backpack. Compared to what I was used to, both were tiny in my giant paws. Still, the pen felt familiar as it ever did, for which I was grateful. Drawing had always been an escape for me. It's why I drew comics; they were the only place the absurdities of life really fit. On the other hand, I couldn't write words any more than I could speak them.

Examining myself in the mirror, I tried to figure out how I might cartoonify or caricaturize myself into something less scary on paper. I drew a few thumbnail sketches to get the creative juices flowing.

Hands had warned me to leave the hospital, but I didn't think he would be coming after me. He'd wanted my 'shadow,' but I doubted he'd have reset my spawn point if I'd been an actual threat to him. He'd made it sound like Jon was out of reach, though, which scared me more than the threats. It was a fear I'd already had. Who would look at me in this body and see a person? Jon wouldn't have the luxury of seeing 'monster' and thinking 'friend.' He'd been trained to look for threats and react definitively. There were ways to ensure he didn't see me as a threat; I was sure of it. I just had to ease him into it.

The memory crystals were my best option for communication, but they also came with too many hurdles. More importantly, I had a better use for my two crystals. I was also pretty sure I understood how Hands had trapped the crystal to change my spawn point. There had been a sensation, a draw, when I caught the trapped crystal. The crystal I'd put my visualization in had had a similar attraction but much weaker. As I'd focused on creating a visualization, that draw had increased even before I began imprinting the scene on the crystal. If I hadn't imprinted that visualization onto the crystal, it would have felt similar to the trapped crystal. Both Nia and Maybe could definitely benefit from a new spawn point. It would be a better investment than vague visualizations that would be forgotten in the next loop.

I'd need to find a better place for them to spawn, preferably with people who could take responsibility for them in future loops. That meant I'd need to find another way to communicate.

I looked at my thumbnails. They weren't perfect, and the facial expressions sometimes looked off, happy eyes paired with a growling mouth or a lolling tongue paired with pleading puppy-dog eyes. But they acted as models, and the final caricature was pretty decent. I made my snout rounder, more like a dog's, and drew my tongue lolling out of my mouth. My eyes were large puppy dog eyes with well-defined eyebrows raised in happiness. Embracing the comparison to a dog, I drew a dog's body instead of a werewolf's, but I kept the cape. Overall it looked like a caricature of a superhero dog with a massive head. I'd kept the sketch simple and used only a blue pen, but it wasn't terrible. With luck, it would convey my harmlessness to a frightened child.

Exiting the bathroom, I checked on Maebe. She was still sitting in the chair, unmoving. I'd need to take her with me to see Nia. Wheeling her around in front of me risked making her a meat shield the next time a monster attacked, but leaving her here put her in at least as much danger. At least if something attacked while we were out and about, I'd have a chance to intervene.

I was in a similar situation with Nia. Taking her with me was a risk, and leaving her be was a risk. I could at least give Nia a choice and options, even if none were good. I didn't know what Nia saw when she looked at me or why she'd called me Oberon. Between taking care of Maebe and showing her a caricature of myself, hopefully, I'd dispel enough of her fear to get some answers.

Part of me wondered if there was any point to this. My track record against the dangers of this new world wasn't great, and whatever I managed to accomplish this loop would just need to be redone next loop. The only meaningful change I could make would be changing Nia and Maebe's spawn points.

It was half-tempting to just grab Nia and change her spawn point to the lobby bathroom. I could do the same with Maebe. Of course, then they'd spawn in the bathroom without knowing a monster was just a few yards away. Maybe it would be a better starting point, but they'd still need my help, especially if Maebe remained catatonic in future loops.

I might get to the point where that was the best option. As things were, if I just grabbed Nia, she'd be terrified and freak out. It would feel like a nightmare to her. Even if she wouldn't remember it in future loops, it wasn't something to do lightly.

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As I approached the car, Nia was once again wedged in the footwell, trying to stay out of sight. I still caught glimpses of her peeking out from the bottom of the window; she looked confused, but I took that as a good sign. After all, the wind was blowing my cape back. I had to imagine the flannel cape flowing back from my glowing werewolf form was pretty bizarre, if striking. Then again, her confusion might be because I was wheeling Maebe around. She had seemed to know her in that first loop.

I had my backpack hanging from the back of Maebe's chair, and I reached in to pull out my notebook, flipping to the page with my caricature. I did my best to match the facial expression, held the picture next to my head, and waited for Nia to peek. After a moment, I saw her phone rise from below the window sill. Clever, she was using her camera. I wondered if she could still make calls.

Nia must not have trusted what she saw because she sat up higher a moment later to look through the window with her own eyes. I gently patted Maebe on the head, and Nia ducked back out of sight.

I considered leaving Nia to bring back help, but eventually, I would find a safer spawn point for her. In Nia's case especially, there really wasn't a worse option, but even Maebe's situation was pretty bad. I needed both crystals to give them a better start. If nothing else, it would give me more freedom to change my own starting point in the future. For now, though, I wouldn't burn a memory crystal to tell Nia why she should trust me.

The crystals did seem like they could be reused, but I also knew those uses were limited, and it didn't seem like a good idea to find that limit until I could lower the stakes a bit.

Nia needed to know the hospital wasn't safe. I didn't know if more monsters were out there, but it seemed likely. I also didn't know if Hands was a threat to her too, or just me. I had no reason to think it was safer anywhere else in town, either. Considering where Slender Hopper and Tickles had spawned, danger could be anywhere. Nia's safest option might be to stay in the car.

There were two problems with that. First, I didn't actually know if it was safe. If it wasn't, then I'd have left Nia trapped and in danger. Second, if the time loops continued, she'd spawn back in the car with Tickles, and I might not always be able to save her. Her best option was to come with me and find people who could better help her.

I had to consider whether that meant abandoning the hospital. I immediately dismissed it. I didn't think Hands would be coming after me now that he knew I didn't have what he wanted, but I couldn't be sure.

Also, while it seemed unlikely that Nia had anyone waiting for her inside—not when escape from the vortex had been so close—she had asked me to save her sister that first loop, so presumably Alice at least was running around in there somewhere. It did mean Alice probably wasn't in a position to help Nia or Maebe. Still, Nia had been as insistent as Titus that they come to the hospital. I wasn't going to get her to leave the hospital behind, which was just as well because I wasn't abandoning Jon on the word of a murderous stranger.

Besides, there was no reason to think anywhere else was safer than the hospital. At least the hospital had medical supplies and maybe personnel.

I slowly approached the car, leaving Maebe behind. I looked down and away, trying to appear less threatening, but I could see her pulling back and away. As I opened the front door, she began shaking her head, and I heard her croak hoarsely, "No no no no no." No doubt she was about to shriek at me again. I quickly held up the caricature again and opened the notebook so she could see I had other drawings.

Her breathing was still harsh and near hyperventilation, but she just watched as I put my back to her and sat down. I held up the notebook and flipped through a few pages of sketches of "Oberon the Superdog." They weren't good, but I only needed her to be more curious than afraid.

I watched her eyes in the rearview mirror. They were still red and damp, and her nose was running. She scrubbed the back of her hand across her eyes and nose and then glanced at the mirror.

She was shaking, but her eyes also scanned my face as though looking for some bit of familiarity there. I considered trying to draw myself turning into my current werewolf self, but I decided that might be too hard to believe right off the bat.

"Oberon?" she asked as she looked into my eyes.

Close enough.

I tried to nod but, once again, the communication seemed beyond me; the intended motion came out as a general bobbing of my head that could have meant anything.

"Oberon, is that you, boy?" She asked.

Okay, now I'm confused. That is not how you address a superhero come-to-life. Like a miracle, my head cocked in a genuine reflection of confusion.

She sighed. "You're not, are you?"

I had no idea what she was talking about, and my head cocked the other way.

"Oberon was my dog. He died a while ago, and it wasn't fair. He was a good boy, and I thought maybe you were him."

That was sweet and sad and didn't at all explain why Hands had called me the same thing. It made me wonder if Nia and Hands had met.

"Maybe… are you a good boy?"

I didn't have a way to respond with words, but it wasn't the kind of thing that could be answered in words anyway. I closed the car's front door and demonstrated reaching out my window to let myself out. Then I closed my window and lowered hers.

Nia sat there looking back and forth between me and her open window.

Slowly, she uncurled in her seat, never taking her eyes off me. She reached out her window and grabbed the car handle, cracking the door slightly and watching me for a reaction. Nia's eyes darted away for just a moment to check her progress. Then she flung open the car door and leaped out, bolting for the hospital.

Shit.

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