Fifteen minutes before sunrise,
Anas and Kali were stealthily converging towards a commun point behind a considerably large metal container.
"For how long do you think you'll be able to hide, Derek?" asked Jennifer, she was still standing in her spot, unmoved.
The two werewolves advancing suddenly stopped, an air of confusion plastered on their faces, an air that didn't go unnoticed by Jennifer, "What is it?" she asked again.
Instead of words, actions answered her questions. It all happened very fast; a black fluffy shape jumped out from that blind spot and landed right onto Kali, she dropped to the floor, struggling to get rid of whatever had her arm clutched in its jaws.
Anas ran forward and grabbed the animal, only to swing it away a few seconds after that. It didn't take them much time to distinguish what it was. It was a large black wolf, it stood on all fours again and staired intensely at them.
An unhinged giggle reached all of their ears at that moment; they turned to find an amused Jennifer, "So it's true! You have evolved!"
"Nobody thought about telling us?" groaned Kali as she tried to stand back on her feet.
"It wouldn't have been very fun if we did. The look on your faces is priceless, worth almost as much as watching him die," she pointed at Derek in his wolf form as she said those words.
Anas hastened and thought he cornered the wolf seeing that he was trapped between them and a wall. He ran at full speed towards him, but it seemed Derek hadn't given up yet. He launched in Anas's direction just as fast as him, but right before their collision and in an instant, Derek made the choice to shift back to his human form, wrapped his two arms around Anas's waist and tackled him to the ground, then, just as he shifted, he transformed back into a wolf again and scurried back into hiding.
"Ow! he is giving you two hell," the druid mocked.
"Well, just stand there, don't pitch in whatsoever," Kali complained.
"Seriously, what is the point of the two of you? I don't understand why they brought you back, you're as useless as you've always been,"
This narrative has been purloined without the author's approval. Report any appearances on Amazon.
"Just how useful do you think you have been so far?" Kali turned her hostility towards Jennifer, getting fed up with the treatment she was giving them.
"Ow, you really want to try that now? Remember how it ended the last time you turned on me?"
"You had your revenge!" spat Kali at her.
"Yes, I did, and if that was what I could do then, when I was on a few sacrifices, what do you think I can do to you now?"
Jennifer's words sounded like a threat, one that Anas wasn't ready to downplay or risk taking, "Now is not the time!" he interfered.
"Then when is the time? I think we played good puppets for long enough," Kali responded, her eyes beginning to glow.
Derek's suspicions were confirmed, even though they were there for a shared purpose, the animosity between them truly was palpable, they never resolved their preceding issues, they still dwelled on their past. That was to his advantage, had they been working in harmony, they'd have probably succeeded in their mission by then, which he suspected to be his death.
Unfortunately for him, his plotting was cut short. As soon as he'd began to think of a way to retreat from the distillery altogether, he started to feel an unpleasant tingling that quickly turned into searing pain. It felt like having a parasite... A million small parasites crawling beneath his skin, fighting for dominion over his own body. His breathing grew irregular, his vision became blurry and soon after, voices were ignited in his mind, they were whispering at first, but then they turned into full blown loud screams.
The pressure was too high for Derek to handle, he dropped to the ground struggling to keep his eyes open, his muscles spasming in their places.
"As much as I wish to rip both of your heads clean off your bodies, I can't do that, not just now at least, not while we have a spectator," stated Jennifer looking in the direction of Derek's hiding spot.
Kali and Anas's expressions changed once more, as they followed Jennifer's gaze, they realized that something had changed about Derek's heartbeat, his scent too was different. They both grimaced as if they smelled something that made their nostrils curl inside out.
"He's... Dying!" exclaimed Anas.
"You're doing that?" asked Kali, just as surprised and even though she wouldn't admit it, just as scared as her partner.
"Yes, I can do that... I can do a lot more than that," she spoke, her words sounding like a warning to their ears.
Right at the end of her statement, she slowly lifted her arm; before they started hearing the sound of metal under growing pressure, they both looked ahead as all the metal in front of them was bending and warping out of its original shape, for a moment they thought they were looking at mere pieces of paper being squeezed into a fist fitting ball.
Finally, Jennifer made a sudden movement, with the same arm she'd lifted before, and just as suddenly as her movement, all of those metal containers and pipes were no more, she'd sent them flying out of their way, only to reveal Derek helplessly lying before their eyes, fighting to stay alive.