11:45 pm

I could barely keep my eyes shut long enough to doze off. I watched as the minutes went by on my digital clock. What would school be like now that I knew what Chase and his gang really were? How can I move forward with these powers at my disposal? I rolled on my back and raised one of my hands above me. The light from the moon outside was enough to illuminate my tattoos.

As a werewolf, I should have been able to change parts of my body. Maybe that was the sensation I felt in my fingers. I didn’t get a good look back then, but they definitely felt different and they changed at my will.

12:00 am

I gave up trying to sleep. I pulled up a chair and began looking through the brochure again. Surprisingly, the content of the book was different. There were still no pictures, but the brochure didn’t talk about White Castle as a school anymore. The white letters now described an actual castle on a mountain, places that were known as Shadow Relms, and painted a secret world of “monsters” and magic. The way it was written implied that what I was reading was only the bare minimum of what I needed to know to ground my expectations.

As interesting as it all was, I was scanning each page down to the word trying to find something that involved me. I tried to remember the name that Chase’s friends brought up and looked for that. Nothing. If I wanted to know more, I had to go to White Castle.

I looked up at the full moon through my blinders. What I read was nonetheless very enticing, but I wasn’t ready to leave my parents. If I leave to do this, it may put more stress on them after everything they had to deal with.

My thoughts were cut short. As I was looking out the window, I saw a dark figure standing on the grass in the backyard. As if that wasn’t already a cause to be alarmed, he was looking up at my window; at me.

I stepped away from the window in shock. Who is that? I asked. Looking back outside, he hadn’t moved from his position. With my new powers, there was no reason to be afraid of a random stranger. No, he could still be a threat, but at least now I was better equipped for taking damage. Just in case, I grabbed my machete from my closet and made my way outside. As I walked out the back door, the figure smiled. His hair was long with a bang covering his right eye. He was wearing a long-sleeved shirt and I could tell with the help of the wind that he was also missing his left arm.

“So I did get your attention.” said the figure. “Took you long enough to get out here.”

“Whoever you are, leave my home before you get hurt.” I didn’t care who he was. I had dealt with too many weird and--in my opinion--poorly explained events that day. Just to show that I wasn't messing around, I unsheathed my sword.

Upon seeing the polished steel in the moonlight, the figure reached for his empty sleeve and clenched it. Dread covered his face for a moment, but somehow collected himself as he must have realized I wasn’t trying to attack him. “So you really don’t remember me. It’s as he said.” He began to think but quickly redirected his attention back to me so as to not get sidetracked. “Look, I came here so that I can recruit your help.”

Before I could respond, I smelled something bad and familiar. I could hear fast-paced footsteps rustling the grass and leaves moving toward me. I turned around as the footsteps lead into my house leaving the door swung wide open. Without thinking, I ran to the open door, but the figure stopped me by saying, “By the time you reach them, they will have what they went in there to get.” From inside the house, my mother screamed followed by her voice getting muffled. My heart was racing as I looked at the house walls wondering if I could climb them to reach my parents' room. “And don’t worry, your parents will not be harmed.”

“Why are you doing this?” I said, hoping with the help of my machete I looked more threatening than scared.

“Well, now that I have your attention, let me start by reintroducing myself. I am known as Shadow Fang. We have a history, you and I.” From the doorway, two leatherbacks in their true forms came out with both my parents in their custody. Both of them were trying hard to break free, but the leatherbacks were stronger. “Because of that history, your parents will remain safe. However, they will continue to be involved if you persist in opposing me.”

From the center of my chest, a fire ignited in me that made my breath feel hot. “Sorry, but I don't listen to guys like you.” As I faced the one named Shadow Fang, I stretched out my fingers as I did back when I fought Chase’s group. Flesh hardened into sharp golden claws and black and brown fur covered the rest of my arm. I didn’t worry about how I would change it back as my focus was locked on the one-arm stranger.

All of that was derailed when a giant black hand grabbed me, lifted me into the air, and slammed me into the ground. All around me, dust kicked up in response to my impact. I could hear my mother scream my name. Surprisingly, I was in less pain than I thought I would be, but I was still pinned down.

Slowly, Shadow Fang walked up to me looking aggravated. The arm was extending from where his missing arm would have been. “You can’t even tell when you’re outmatched. Understand, please, I’m not your enemy here. All I ask is your cooperation and some time to explain. Let me show you--”

Soosh

Something came from above and cut the arm that was holding me down. Shadow Fang jumped backward while the severed part of the arm disappeared allowing me to get up. In front of me was a humanoid creature with bat wings, pointed ears, a tail that was a bit longer than his legs, and red hair. His yellow eyes glowed in the night first glancing at me and then focused on Shadow Fang. Something clicked in me and I knew the one standing before me was a gargoyle. But what was he doing here? He raised his sword towards the ghost arm fiend and said, “Shadow Fang! By order of Claymore, you are under arrest for trespassing, unauthorized feeding, and betraying your clan.” From every direction, more gargoyles came into view surrounding Shadow Fang and the two leatherbacks. The leatherbacks were horrified by the looks on their faces and released their holds on my parents. As soon as they were released, my parents rushed towards me.

Once at my side, my mother asked, “Joe! Are you alright?” Gently, she checked to see if I was in tack, and to her surprise, I was. I grabbed her hand but I didn’t answer for my focus was on what was happening in front of me.

Shadow Fang looked around at the hopeless situation. “You got in my way, but I’m not done. You can’t stop what is coming!” His ghost arm began to cover him and he shot through the gargoyle. Said gargoyle slashed at the moving blob, but it evaded the attack.

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The rest of the gargoyle force moved in at once, but most of them were pushed back by the blob using extending hands. They did their best to cut down the horde of hands, but there were too many. The blob reached the leatherbacks and scooped them up making its way through an opening.

“You two, follow them, and don’t let them out of your sights!” The gargoyle that saved my life ordered, pointing at two others with wings. They took off at incredible speeds while kicking up dust on take-off.

Without missing a beat, the same gargoyle looked at me and said, “Sir Silver, we will proceed to move your parents to a safer location on your order.”

“What for?!” my parents said simultaneously.

I assumed he was talking to me, so I said frantically, “No, let's wait on that.” The gargoyle only nodded.

My father was the next to speak. “Joe, what’s going on? Who are these...people?”

For a while, I just stared at nothing and was in deep thought. The day did not end. It only brought more problems that were not my own and more confusion. Now my parents know and are a part of this weirdness. I couldn't explain this because I didn’t understand it myself. Looking around, I noticed that all eyes were on me. For a while now, I had done my best to stay low and not call attention to myself. However, these past few days have shown how much I failed at that. So, what did I do? The only thing that made sense to me.

I looked at my parents. The fear and confusion on their faces were painfully clear in the faint moonlight. “Mom. Dad. There is a lot I need to tell you.”

Before I started to explain the situation, everyone was moved inside. The gargoyles were all over the house with orders to search for anything irregular and deal with it. My father objected to it, but eventually, I convinced him to let them in. He still wasn’t happy about it.

Once everything calmed down, I was able to ask some questions so that I could move forward with a clearer head. Turns out that the gargoyle that saved my life was named Isheram. Looking at him and the rest of his force, their skin looked more like rock than flesh. Their eyes didn’t glow in the unnatural light of the house. I didn’t notice it outside, but the gargoyles didn’t all look the same. Some of them were without wings and/or tails. Some had horns and beaked-shaped faces. One with a beak took a bag of my mom’s chips out of the cupboard. It was funny to watch my mom take the bag back leaving an uncomfortable look on the gargoyle’s face.

Getting back on track, Isheram continued to explain that his force was sent by Claymore--Professor Crown--to watch over my family and me in case something happened. From there, with the help of Isheram, I explained to my parents what was going on through my perspective starting with the brochure.

“But why does it have to be you?” My mom asked as she continued to dig in her bag for the next chip to eat. “Why can’t someone else do it who is a bit more...ready for it?”

For this question, Isheram took the floor. “Those who are chosen are chosen at random. They receive the power of Silver at birth so that the two souls can merge safely. To my knowledge, there is no real way to determine how the Spirit of Silver chooses its host.”

It was my father’s turn to speak. “So what does that mean for Joe? What will you do with him?”

“Joe, as you call him, will be referred to as Silver to those who see him as such. That much is certain. As far as everything else, that rest is on Silver alone. If he chooses to stay, then we have no authority to go against his wishes in any way. If he wants us to leave, then that’s what we will do. In other words, Silver defines his own destiny.”

Somewhere in the middle of the explanation, my mom ran out of chips. Before she could get up and get another bag, one of the gargoyles had a bag ready to give her. He retreated a bit once the bag was in her hand. (Looking back, I feel like he meant it as a joke, seeing what happened to his friend. The look on his face, however, made it unclear.)

By this point, everything that needed an explanation had been said, so my father stood up and addressed Isheram.

“We thank you for your ad and all, but I’m going to call the local authorities. As for you, I would kindly ask you to leave my house.”

“You’re right. It is wise to get law enforcement to help where they can. We will set up a watch for the night.” isheram began to order his men to post in different places around the house, but my dad interrupted his order.

“I meant for you to leave the premise. I don’t want to see you or anyone associated with this around my house or my family.” My dad was getting agitated. His voice was losing its diplomatic tone and only got worse when Isheram decided to stay put.

With much authority, Isheram said to my father, “We cannot leave until Silver has made a decision on what he wants to do. Until then, I am following the orders of my king.”

“I don’t care whose orders you are following, as the owner of this house and property, I’m ‘ordering’ you to get out.”

“This is not for you to decide. By order of Claymore-”

“I’m not losing another son!” the shout from my father silenced the whole house. Isheram was stunned, most likely realizing how insensitive he was being in the situation. Me and my mom both flinched at the reminder of my dead sibling as the dead eyes flashed once again in my mind and my hair stood on end. Despite the emotional transaction, Isheram didn’t look to be backing down. If this was going to be resolved, it had to be through me.

“Can I have a moment with my family?” I asked Isheram. He nodded his head and, with a single order, all of the gargoyles were out of the house. The room was quiet and spacious now holding only my parents and the weight of my decision. “I’m going with them.”

“Are you serious?” asked my dad.

“That thing threatened you guys and I want to know why.”

“But is that the only reason?” My mom had placed down her bag of chips and was making eye contact with me. “I have no idea what is going on exactly, but the way I see it there is absolutely no reason for you to do anything involving this. These...men seem capable of taking care of that man who attacked us while you could barely get close enough to tap him on the shoulder. So tell me, what can you do as you are?” My dad put his hand on her shoulder. She was getting worked up about this and, after settling down, she leaned back on her chair looking worried.

My dad took up his chance to speak up. Unlike last time, however, he was a lot more sure of what to say. “Joe, you always want to help people and do good things for others. But you can’t keep jumping into a situation and expect things to fall into place.”

“I didn’t go looking for this fight, but it’s here because of what I am now.” Looked at my shaking palm not sure how to stop it. “I-I don’t know what I’m going to do when I go with them, but I’ve already tried hiding from my regrets.”

Even if that was how I felt, I couldn’t say that my parents were wrong. I might as well have said, “Prepare to lose another child”. Just like last time, this was completely out of their hands and I was sure it more than frustrated them.

From there, not much else was said between us. I told Isheram that I would take some time to think about the decision some more and he said he and his men would wait as long as necessary. Even if I decided to stay, they would remain as protectors of my family should I request it.

Once everything had been said, I went back to my room and avoided any more conversations. Now that I was alone again, I went over what happened and what my parents were saying. I didn’t completely trust Isheram and his gargoyles, but I trusted him more than the black-armed guy. If he could take me to the place where Claymore was… what would that solve? My parents were my only known family and, without the luxury of having a lot of good and consistent friends, they were the only people I cared about. I felt like I was being too selfish. I stared at my tattoos looking at each detail until I finally fell asleep.