image [https://cdn.midjourney.com/1f33cf0d-312f-453d-b4a4-9df5a2a77058/0_3.png]
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Regina's parents arrived on a private plane coming to pick up someone else. By happenstance, the girl's father knew the pilot and had called in a favor. Peter and Regina rented a car and went to pick them up.
"Cher catin," Regina's mother opened her arms wide, hugging her daughter. The girl's father offered Peter a handshake and smiled, but his eyes remained cold and scrutinizing. Dressed in generic tactical khaki clothes, the man didn't display any rank emblem. His wife was the exact opposite. Very energetic, she talked non-stop, looking in turn at Peter and Regina. By all standards, she was a beautiful woman in her mid or early forties.
Peter helped the pair to put their luggage in the trunk of the rented car, then drove back to the Campus. They were supposed to have lunch before setting in, though. A couple hundred feet before the entrance was a Steak restaurant, and a Thai one. He expected his 'father-in-law' to opt for the Steakhouse, but Regina's mother said they preferred the Thai.
"Pa was stationed in Thailand for a few years, before the Awakening," Regina said.
"We have bases in Thailand?" Peter wondered.
"Shoot, the secret is out, now I have to kill you," the girl's father said deadpanned.
"It's a joke," Regina hissed, attempting to strangle her father with her eyes. "He was at the Embassy."
For Peter, the man's blank expression didn't look funny. He shivered.
What are you doing here? Go sit in Naomi or whoever. Shoo!
"So, how are you doing in school?" Regina's mother asked.
Fortunately, that changed the direction of the conversation and things went smoothly from that moment. In the afternoon, Regina wished for some time alone with her parents. Peter went to his apartment to wash or throw away his dirty clothes, and walked Shredder. After that, he lay on the grass for a nap, letting the warg play with a group of younger students.
Rejoining Regina and her family in the evening, they ate dinner at Garcia. The restaurant was crowded and noisy, so he was spared embarrassing questions.
Regina's parents went to bed early, and the youngsters followed soon enough. Although he was intimidated by the guests' presence, Regina's body next to his was enticing, so they made love slowly, trying to be noiseless.
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At four in the morning, soft noises woke him up. Moving in silence, Peter went to the living room. Dressed in a khaki T-shirt, shorts, and sandals, with a backpack on his back, Regina's father was exiting the apartment, with Shredder on a leash.
"Err… morning," Peter whispered, but got no answer. He followed the man outside. "What are you doing?"
"Going hunting," the man said.
Peter pointed to Shredder in silence, a deep furrow on his brow. "Regina said the dog's owner trained him."
"Who?... Oh… She meant Ariana," Peter hissed in anger. He still saw himself as Shredder's master.
Meanwhile, the man walked his eyes over Peter, inspecting him. "Regina told me you hunt."
"Yeah… sometimes..."
"Wanna join?"
Fuck! He wants to check if I'm manly enough to take care of his daughter.
"OK," Peter said. "Let me grab some clothes."
Peter picked up a camouflage T-shirt and a pair of tactical pants from his dimensional storage, plus some reinforced boots. A minute later, he caught up with his possible father-in-law, who was already in the rented car, starting the engine.
"Where are we going?" Peter threw his backpack on the rear seat, next to Shredder, then put on his safety belt.
"Woof!" the dog barked.
"I'm asking him," Peter said.
"Name is Marius," Regina's father said, driving toward the town's exit. "I spotted a marsh fifty miles away. Good chance to pick waterfowl. Are you OK if I go faster?"
"Sure," Peter said.
What Marius meant by faster was not what Peter had in mind, by any means. How a rental car, and an older model, with a gearbox could go over a hundred miles per hour Peter couldn't imagine. The forest and landscape were passing near them in a blur. The most frightening thing was when the road made a turn to the left or right, and Marius was turning the wheel in the opposite direction.
"I learned from a rally driver," Marius said deadpanned.
"Amen," Peter said. It was not a bright answer, but he was so shocked he couldn't find something smarter. He grabbed the armrest tightly and prayed. The fifty-and-some miles took them twenty-five minutes. Half a mile before the Hoit Marsh, the road was blocked by a concrete barrier. Marius stopped the car in the middle of the road. "Get out, please."
"You're not going to let me stranded here, then tell Regina you saw me leaving with a girl, right?"
"Hahaha!" Regina's father laughed. "I'll keep that in mind. Now, get out. I'll explain later."
Peter exited the car, taking Shredder with him. He didn't have to wait for long. Marius joined him and pointed to a written note on the windshield: This car is boobytrapped. Stole it at your own risk.
"For real?" Peter asked.
"Just a stun grenade. I don't want to kill some dumb kid. Now, are we going to hunt or what?"
The morning light was still to appear, barely a bluish haze on the horizon. Yet Regina's father walked on and entered the woods without any dithering. They advanced into the wetlands for twenty minutes, with Marius leading the way and Shredder at the rear. Marius stopped Peter a few times, warning him about deeper mud patches on the path.
"How do you know?" Peter asked.
"I'm a Bayou guy, son. Crawled through the mud before I walked."
"You're Cajun too?"
"Yep… " Marius paused and sniffed in the air. " I feel water… Radio silence from now on."
Yeah, Peter replied in thought, remembering the tablets tied to the trees. Never seen this type before…
You think he'd listen to reason?
If there's danger, I'll deal with it. Regina told him I got some wild magic powers. It's a good cover.
Thirty feet from the water line, Marius raised a hand to signal Peter to stop. Searching silently in his backpack, he pulled out a double-barreled sawed shotgun and looked inquisitively at Peter. The latter sighed and took out his big caliber gun, fixing the holster at his belt, and did the same with a bespoke cleaver.
Regina's father facepalmed. Peter's bet was Marius was thinking: These youngsters…
Pointing at the lake, the soldier showed Peter a flock of geese resting on the water. Ignoring every rule of sportsmanship, the older man crouched and then fired both his barrels at the defenseless birds. The flock erupted up in the air.
"I got three. Shredder, go fetch!" Marius ordered.
The pup advanced toward the water, checked the temperature with a paw, then shook his head in denial. “Woof!”
Enjoying this book? Seek out the original to ensure the author gets credit.
“Some hunting dog,” Marius sighed. “OK, I’ll swim...” he said, preparing to undress. “All OK, kid? You’re not crying over some birds, right?” he continued, noticing Peter’s widened eyes.
“Y-you s-shot them on the w-water!” Peter blurted, fists clenched. “And thinking better... it’s not even the season!”
“Sorry?” the man mirrored the youngster, furrowing his brow.
“It’s illegal!” Peter shouted, deciding lack of sportsmanship was a motif to give his girlfriend’s father the scolding he deserved.
“Really? Pfff... All these Cultivator rules...”
“It was always illegal!” Peter raised his voice. “Haven’t you heard the expression ‘sitting duck’? They have no chance on the water.”
“Sorry, son, had no idea... For us, it’s hunt or starve... No one reads the law,” Marius said while advancing into the water. Peter noticed at least a dozen scars on his back. Some were round, like bullet entries, but others were like someone took time to carve Marius' skin with a serrated knife. The geese were not very far and the water only reached the man’s chest.
There was a strange noise approaching... Loud rhythmical flappings. "Get out! Incoming!" Peter yelled. The geese were now back with a vengeance, diving toward them, a cloud of angry beaks and talons.
Throwing the geese on the shore, Marius plunged forward, pulled himself on some roots, and reached his gun, turning toward the menace. Amazingly, Regina's father managed to recharge and shoot his shotgun twice before the flock arrived. Peter discharged all his bullets too, adding Impulse to enhance penetration and get more targets. Before attacking the two men, the birds screamed. Peter froze in place, chills running down his spine.
You have been inflicted with Debuff: Goosebumps
A second later, the flock arrived, hitting them with the force of dozens of fists. Hard. Recovering first, Peter channeled a curtain of lightning all around him, taking care not to hit Marius. Water and lightning were not best friends. Or maybe they were... The flock retreated, but only to come back for another round.
"What the fuck are those?" Regina's father yelled, recharging and shooting his gun anew.
"Mutated geese," Peter yelled.
"Those are not mutated geese!" Marius yelled, but fighting took precedence over arguing.
The following attack split into countless tiny waves of three to five birds, to counter Peter's lightning attack. If he zapped a group, the next would arrive from another direction. Keeping his back to a tree to have cover, Peter switched to the cleaver, taking swipes to the left and right. Meanwhile, Marius used the stock of his gun as a mace, protecting his face with his free arm. Shredder jumped in the air, barking, snatching the flying monsters out of the air like frisbees.
“Good dog!” Marius yelled.
After what felt like an eternity, the last bird fell.
You have slain Crazed Goose (Lvl. 25) x 159
You are now level 36.
Shredder is now level 25
3 APs available.
Loot the bodies? Y/N
"What the fuck!" Marius exclaimed when the birds' bodies disappeared under his eyes.
"Loot Ability," Peter said. "Did Regina—"
"She told me you have wild magic powers. But… this?"
"Yeah… It’s not a big deal. Works as long as I have a magical storage. Are you hurt?"
"Only in my ego," the older man groaned, massaging his knee.
No! He'll spy on me and Regina through you.
Dads have their ways.
"I hunted monsters before, but… this is unusual," Marius said. "The level of aggressivity is off the charts."
"You hunt monsters?" Peter widened his eyes.
"Told you, sometimes the only food available in missions is game … But I never saw something like this… "
You think they put these zones around the Campuses on purpose?
"It was a nice hunt after all," Marius said, dressing back.
"Whatever," Peter rolled his eyes. "Are you done?"
"Yeah, let's go back."
The line of light on the horizon turned red, a sign the sun was about to rise. The two men returned on their steps in the same order, with Regina's father to the front and the warg last.
All of a sudden, a roar startled them, coming from the lake. And it was structured in words."Wucha ur doon wuth moo boords?" A rumbling started, like an approaching train. In seconds, a humanoid shape appeared, running toward them at full speed. It was a male if only judging from the huge dangling object between its legs.
"Rougarou!" Regina's father yelled.
"Run!" Marius shouted, taking the lead.
Peter hurried after him, as fast as possible. Behind them, the running steps sound was gaining on them.
Thanks, Hercule Poirot.
Sherlock is too cliché. "If we pass the totems, we're safe," Peter yelled.
Marius nodded and accelerated. He ran really fast. Peter Warped discreetly a couple of times, to keep up with the other. They passed the protection line, and stopped forty feet later, to assess the situation. The monster kept coming, the totems having no effect on him. It was at least eight feet tall, with five inches long claws. A moment later, Marius shot the werewolf twice in the head. The pellets all but destroyed the mutant's face, and it howled in pain. However, it remained up and alive.
"I'm out of ammo!" Regina's father said, running toward the car, which was now visible. "Hurry!"
Peter had two more clips on him, but recharging the pistol meant time, and the werewolf was on the move again. There was only one way to play it safe. Taking Shredder by the skin of his neck, he ran forward, grabbed Marius's shirt, and Warped. A moment later, they were next to the car.
“Nice magic,” Marius yelled. They squeezed inside as fast as they could, and then Marius turned the key.
For a few seconds, there was only whiteness and a deafening noise. Peter passed out. When he regained consciousness, Marius was cutting his seat belt with a machete, to pull him out of the smoking car.
"You fucking idiot!" Peter yelled. "How can such a sweet and smart girl have a total moron as a dad?"
"Sorry, I forgot about the grenade!" Marius shouted.
"Grrr!" and "Woof!" were the two interjections let out by the mutated monster and Shredder. The first had caught up with them, and the latter was putting himself in front of his master, as a last line of defense.
"Run, kid!" Marius yelled, turning to face the werewolf, machete at the ready. "Take care of Regina for me."
"Stop, stupid, I'll—"
Warp us out was lost in translation. Marius attacked the mutant. After a couple of machete swipes that didn't cut through the fur, he started boxing and then grappling with the beast.
"Can't abandon Shredder."
The pup was trying to help, biting the werewolf's ankles. Extracting a magazine from storage, Peter recharged his gun, ready to shoot the monster with silver bullets. The problem was the two were clewed together in a mix of arms, legs, and teeth. The werewolf's jaws were clenched around Marius's shoulders, and the latter was showing quite a bit of grit, trying to bite off the monster's throat.
Hoping to scare the mutant for a second, then follow up with a better shot, Peter fired in the air. The noise did the job. The monster jerked for a second, allowing Marius to extract himself from the grappling situation and duck-roll away.
"Shoot it!" Marius heaved.
"Doon't shoot!" the monster yelped, protecting his head with his arms.
That made Peter reconsider things. "You're sentient?"
"Doon't shoot!" the werewolf repeated.
"Give me the gun, I'll do it," Marius forwarded his hand.
"I so swear, if you don't shut your mouth, I'll blow your kneecaps off," Peter yelled at his potential father-in-law. "You, the hairy one. Who are you?"
"Huy… changed… not knuw…" The beast raised his hands up, in a surrendering gesture. "Pleais, doon't shoot… me angur you kulled boords. Boords muy food."
"Hey, furry," Peter yelled at the werewolf. "You have two choices. One, I shoot you. Two, you eat a medicine I'll give you. It will make you feel better."
"…Medicine," the creature said after a pause, opening its jaws like a dog waiting to be thrown a bone. Peter obliged.
"It doesn't work," Marius said. The werewolf was staring into nothingness, chewing on the pill, but without any visible change.
"I'm back to normal!" the monster yelled all of a sudden. "I'm back to… normal?" it continued, patting his body, which was still the same. "Fuuuck… noooo… What do you mean I'm normal on the inside?.... That doesn't matter… I want my life back, man… I'm a ladies' man, man…"
What the fuck is happening?Who is he talking with?
"Let's go," Peter said to Marius, grabbing his arm. "The creature is back to normal."
"Doesn't look normal to me," the man replied.
Peter opened the doors of the car to let out the smoke. "Trust me... I’m the magic specialist, ain’t I?"
"Good point," Marius nodded, getting in the car. He started the engine and drove on with the window down, there was still a bit of smoke, and it stank of rancid oil. "Made in China…" the man wrinkled his nose. "Last time I buy those."
"What's your deal, dude?" Peter asked while the terrain started to blur again, from the speed. "You're an adrenaline junkie or something? "
"Hey, this is slow driving, for my standards,” Marius protested. “And if you want to know, when I invited you, I was hoping for some quality time, with my… err…"
"Possible son-in-law?"
"Yeah," Marius nodded.
"I love Regina," Peter said.
"It shows all over you," the man smiled. "Listen... I’ll tell you a secret. I know you saved her life... and that you took good care of her during the trip... A friend of a friend told me."
“But that doesn’t matter—”
“It doesn’t?” Peter jerked.
“—as much as something else she told me. That your presence around her feels... normal. Like you were a part of her she didn’t know she had until you appeared, and now, it’s ingrained in her life... I suppose that’s true love. I feel the same about my wife.”
"Yeah…" Peter sighed. "Here," he offered the man a Health Pill. "Eat this. Your shoulder is still bleeding."
"You think I'd turn into one of them?" Marius asked, his voice a bit apprehensive.
"Vaccine," Peter offered a second pill. "Don't tell anyone I gave it to you. And… I'd appreciate it if you kept what you saw for yourself. My powers are a bit… stronger than what I leave the others to believe."
Marius shrugged. "I don't have the habit of talking about other people's businesses. You shoot and fight well enough… for a beginner."
"Does it show I'm new at this?" Peter asked. He suddenly realized Marius had survived fighting a beast three feet taller and much heavier with only a bite.
"It's my job to observe this kind of thing. I'm… don't ever repeat this to anyone," Marius turned his eyes toward Peter, frowning, "Special Special Forces."
"Special Forces?"
"Special special. Yeah…. Now…" the man mimicked zipping his lips.
"That's how you learned grappling with monsters?"
"Not really... mostly men... But all things that have a body have to move in some way. It’s about joints. You know what? What if I teach you some real moves?" Marius's eyes glittered.
“Sure, I could use some training... Wait, you meant now?” Peter panicked, as Marius stopped the car near a meadow.