Brendan Todoroki sat on the bottom bunk of his bed, blissfully absorbed in the latest Blimey! Detectives novel. At least until his cat, a slim, beige Siamese named Buttons, hit him once on the nose. Buttons stared intently at him, made a chuffing noise, jumped onto the window ledge, and rubbed his cheek on the glass. Brendan frowned and went back to his book. But before Brendan could even finish a page, Buttons’ paw appeared in his peripheral vision and slapped him twice on the cheek. Brendan glared at him, and Buttons jumped onto the windowsill again and meowed.

This time, Brendan decided his book would be best enjoyed without company, so he got up to evict Buttons from his room. He slid his fluffy green socks on the gray carpet as he approached—Buttons was going to experience the static electricity Brendan had recently learned about in science class in the eviction process. But as he neared the cat, something plinked against the windowpane from outside.

Startled, Brendan raised his blinds, looked outside, and nearly choked. He fumbled to raise the window, forgot the window screen, and yelped as he stuck his head out. The window screen tumbled to the ground, landing right next to June. But why was June wrapped in a camouflage-colored tarp, especially when it was like fifty degrees outside? Her bare right shoulder caught his eyes and this time he did choke in earnest.

“Brendan, are you okay?” June yelled up.

He held a thumbs up, and when he eventually stopped coughing, yelled down, “Why are you wearing a tarp?”

“Because no one in Seven Falls dries their clothes on a clothesline! Throw me a hoodie and some sweatpants—this thing is gross!”

Brendan gulped; the thought of June wearing his clothes made his heart flutter. He grabbed some black sweatpants and his favorite hoodie (gray, with Gandalf’s face on it) and threw them to her. He noticed Buttons—if his eyes weren’t deceiving him—shaking his head at him in a disappointed sort of way.

June disappeared behind a tree in his backyard. She soon reappeared and yelled up, “Thanks!”

His clothes were a little long on June, but wow, just wow. She looked…No, he told himself, stop it. “Do you want to come in?” he called down.

“I just showed up at your house in a tarp, Brendan. Of course I want to come in! And hurry, this is urgent!”

Brendan rushed down the creaky wooden stairs and yelled out to his parents that June was coming in. He didn’t need to ask permission—his parents loved June. She always asked them questions about what life was like in Japan before they'd immigrated. And Brendan had yet to find anything his parents liked more than regaling June with stories about the country they had left behind.

Brendan unlocked the door and nearly fell as June pushed it open before he could turn the knob.

“What in the name of Rohan is going on?” he asked, stumbling.

“Let’s get to your room before I explain and”—June sniffed the air in the entryway—“is that teriyaki chicken?”

“I dunno, I can ask. We’ll eat in like thirty minutes?”

June chewed the front of her lip. “I can wait that long.” She started up the stairs, running her hand between the family pictures that lined the stairway wall. “Do you have any snacks in your room?”

Brendan’s dog, a blue heeler named Chloe, charged into the hallway at the top of the stairs. Puffs of hair blew off and drifted behind her. She must be shedding her summer coat, June thought. Chloe normally got so excited she whimpered when she saw June, but now Chloe growled and her fur formed into a neck-to-tail mohawk.

“It’s okay, it’s me,” June purred as she came toward Chloe, lowering her hand. Chloe growled again, deeper this time. June looked confused, then shook her head in a scolding gesture. “I thought you were better than cats versus dogs nonsense!” Chloe tilted her head, then barked again.

What is June talking about? Brendan wondered. There are no cats here to make Chloe growl.

But then a cat did appear. Buttons bounded up the steps, leapt in front of June, arched his back, and hissed at the dog. Occasionally he swiped the air with a threatening claw. Brendan stood with his mouth hanging open. Normally everyone got along, and Buttons had never done anything so brave in his life. June smiled at Buttons and he practically glowed at her.

You might be reading a stolen copy. Visit Royal Road for the authentic version.

“Keep going,” Brendan said, gently nudging June upward, since Buttons would apparently keep Chloe at bay.

As soon as they reached his room, June slammed the door shut and whirled around. “I need you to promise me that you won’t tell anyone what I’m gonna tell you.”

“I promise—”

“No, this isn’t like a normal secret,” she insisted, “this is stuff that will change your life, stuff you can’t un-know. It’s life and death stuff—are you prepared for that?”

Brendan’s heart, which had finally returned to normal after giving June his clothes, jumped around in his chest. Life and death? He had never known June to exaggerate—it was one of the many reasons he appreciated her. “What do you mean ‘life and death stuff’? What did you do, June?”

“It’s not what I did—well I did do something—but it’s more about what—who I am. I need your help—”

“Then the answer is yes!” he interrupted.

June grinned. That grin alone made facing danger with her worthwhile. “I haven’t even told you what I need help with. I have a gift, an ability, to do what me and Cordelia call Shifting. There’s a lot to it, but basically, I can transform into a large cat.” She paused, and when he didn't say anything, she went on. “I need to find someone tonight, and I don’t want to do it alone. We need to hurry. After dinner, that is.”

She looked at him with hopeful eyes, and he knew she was watching for his reaction. Brendan stared at her blankly, wheels turning in his head. In years of history with June, he could recall a few jokes and pranks, but never anything mean-spirited. The tarp made more sense now; this had to be a prank. Still, whatever was happening had been pretty fantastic so far. Finally, he spoke up. “I don’t see how this will end…but I know you’re playing a joke on me.”

“Ugh, I am not!” she said, shoulders slumping. “I ran all this way because I need you.” She paused for a few seconds, and Brendan could tell from the twist in her eyebrows that she was formulating a plan. “I guess it’s a lot to ask anyone to believe without seeing it. Is your house pretty solid, like pretty well-built? I don’t want to fall through the floor.”

“What?” Brendan said, then laughed, as if June was joking. Her expression remained dead-serious, and his laughter stopped. “Wait, you’re serious? Uh, I dunno, I guess it’s okay? I’ve jumped a lot and never fallen through the floor.” Why was she asking about the sturdiness of his house? He had to give her credit; he definitely couldn't see where this joke was going.

She stepped around a bit, then jumped a few times. “Okay, that’ll have to be good enough. Now turn around and don’t look until I tell you.”

“Why do I need to turn around? This is how—”

“If I just Shift right now, I’ll destroy your clothes.”

Brendan’s neck caught fire and burned up to his cheeks and ears. He hoped his face wasn’t bright red. “So you, umm—you are going to—umm—remove—right here—um, in my room?” he stuttered.

“Yes! Why can’t you talk? Now turn around.”

Brendan tried his best to smile casually as he turned around, but the lump in his throat made it difficult. He had never known June to go to such great lengths for a prank. Maybe he’d turn around and she’d be just as she was and yell gotcha! and he’d laugh with her, because she had got him. He heard clothes ruffling. He fought to look straight ahead, but curiosity pulled at him with irresistible force, and he was certain she was doing anything but removing any clothing…

“BRENDAN! Face forward! DO NOT turn around until I tell you!”

He whipped his head back so fast the white walls in the room spun, his neck popped, and he saw the vivid image of himself in a neck brace and a wheelchair. He put his hands on his wood dresser to catch his balance and test his arms and legs—they still worked, and the sharp pain in his neck subsided. Phew, no neck brace, he thought. I hope June isn’t that angry—

“And remember that it's always me, okay?” June said, interrupting his thoughts. She sounded nervous. “It will always be me, your best friend, June, no matter what I look like.”

“Okay…” he replied, waiting for the punchline to come. Soon he heard a noise that sounded like a wet, gross, snapping, and a slight breeze ruffled his hair. The floor beneath his feet groaned like it was painfully dying. And then something like the growl of a tiger making human words came from behind him, but there was an echo of a human voice deep within it—June’s voice.

“Okay, turn around,” the growling tiger-June voice said, and a jolt of fear shot down Brendan’s spine. He scolded himself as he turned—this was just a harmless joke and there was nothing to be afraid of. But wow, June must’ve snuck in a voice modulator or something and he never even saw—

His thoughts died and his heart stopped. His brain struggled to make sense of what had replaced June. He couldn’t do it. It was just a massive hulk of black fur and muscles so big they looked like they had their own muscles, and the eyes…they were strangely familiar, like June’s eyes, if she had been cursed by a witch to live as a—a werewolf. That was it! Some kind of werewolf, but with a shorter snout and longer teeth? The revelation did nothing to stop his shaking legs, his weak knees, his urge to pee—no wait, he hadn’t done that since first grade, and he wasn’t about to start now.

“Brendan, it’s me, June,” rumbled the monster.

And with that, Brendan had the strangest vision of falling down a tunnel with black walls while a monster with June’s eyes stared down at him until the walls crashed in on him and the world went dark and soundless.