“Oh my stars! Jean! What are you doing? What's going on?” Casey asked from her seat, looking horrified as Jean pushed in a naked, mud covered male into her car.

“Not now, Casey!” he snapped at his Uber driver just before stuffing the guy into the back seat, pushing the long legs inside and not caring about the…whatever he is, getting cramps.

Jean slammed the door closed and jogged to the passenger seat, pausing to look around the empty highway then the woods, mind expecting to see something else that would make him piss himself.

After a minute of nothing, Jean shook himself out of his thoughts, entered the car, buckled his seatbelt and faced forward, left leg shaking rapidly as he waited for them to move.

When they didn't, he turned to his left to see Casey looking at him with wide brown eyes, her greying brown hair escaping her usual bun and she looked both confused and terrified.

“Come on, Casey!” Jean yelled. “We don't have all night!”

Just like he expected, the mousy woman faced forward and started her car, moving down the road to enter the town, Arkvale, headed for his apartment.

“Oh Jesus. Oh my lord and savior,” she kept repeating, her button nose twitching as she sniffed and began to chew on her lower lip.

Jean could've told her something to calm her down, something like he wasn't some creepy murderer that lured his victims into the woods and took them home for some creepy sex thing before killing them.

That sounds like a good plot actually.

Maybe he could've told her his friend just got a little drunk and he had to help the guy, something to calm her down and not call the cops, but he was too busy trying to understand what he had seen and what he was taking to his home.

First off, what the fuck is this guy?

Jean looked behind him, thumb in his mouth as he chewed his nails and began to piece together what his mind was trying to reject.

The naked dude had previously been a lycanthrope. A werewolf. With the ears and the tail and the eyes and the whole shebang. There was no doubting that. Jean was the smartest person he knew and he didn't deny what he saw for himself and what he had seen was a humanoid canine covered in black fur with claws and teeth made for tearing bones to shreds and red eyes resembling blood transform into a naked man with a shaved head.

“Oh gods above,” he said as he faced forward, drawing out his words shakily as he pressed the palms of his hands on his face and took deep breaths.

What was really fucked up about the whole situation was that Jean was excited. He was terrified beyond all belief, sure, but still too fucking excited and he wondered if that was even appropriate.

But it's a fucking werewolf! A legend! I met an actual horror legend! And it's not some wolf that had too many growth spurts! An actual monstrous lycan!

He laughed loudly, unable to keep the excitement in, ignoring Casey who began to cry and do the sign of the cross.

“But wait,” he said as he sobered up quickly, turning to look out the window as they passed trees and furrowed his thin eyebrows.

What do I do now? Is taking him to the town a good idea? What if he can turn willingly? What if he's out of control? What if he remembers I shocked him? What if he's crazy? Who is he anyway? Does he have a family? A…pack? How did he become this way? What—

“We’re here,” Casey said, voice shaky and full of tears.

Jean turned his head quickly to look out her window, blinking rapidly to look at the glass door into his apartment building with its lit lobby and ever awake front desk man that Jean had not thought about.

“Jean?”

He turned to look at Casey who grasped his hands, looking very worried for some reason.

Well, she doesn't know the reason why my hands are warm and wet so that's not it.

“Now I know that you can be a bit…odd—”

Excuse you? You throw holy water at random people and say ‘you're welcome’ so don't call me odd, lady.

“—but I know you're also a sweet boy and I am not sure what you're doing here but before it goes too far, think about what you're doing and end this!...I promise not to tell.”

With furrowed eyebrows, Jean asked, “Casey, what exactly do you think is going on here?”

“Well, I do not want to jump to conclusions…but…Are you going to…harm this young man?” she asked, sobbing her words out.

Jean nearly rolled his eyes at Casey's stupid question. If you suspected someone of being a killer, it was more than stupid to ask them straight out. Especially if they were.

And she promises not to tell. Now I'm wondering how many killers she let go because they pinky promised not to do it again.

My God, Casey.

But he couldn't say all that as he had to put on a show for the naive woman.

“Oh my fucking God, Casey!” he yelled, removing his hands and looking at her like she was insane. “Where does that mind of yours go? Here I am helping a drunk and passed out friend get better and you're going to crazy town? What even, Casey?”

He quickly got out of the car before she could say or blubber anymore, running around it to get to the back seat.

He looked down his street, left then right then forward, and sighed with relief. There wasn't anyone out around. Lucky him. He was smart enough to live far away from campus, not enjoying the noise when he was trying to focus. And sleep, of course. And sleep. When he remembered to anyway.

“Alright,” he mumbled, opening the door and wincing soon after when the guy just fell down onto the sidewalk like a lump of meat.

“Here we go,” he said, grunting as he bent down and lifted the heavy stranger from under his smelly pits, using his leg to shut the car door as he began to drag the guy into his home without really thinking it through.

“Make sure he takes a warm bath!” Casey yelled from her seat, windows rolled down and a small smile on her face.

“Yes. Thank you!” Jean snapped, using his back to push the door open and nearly falling down on the black tiled floor.

Jean wasn't usually this cruel to the woman, who was way too trusting for her own good but that was just his opinion, but by God. She was getting on his last nerve.

“Uh-” a deep voice said from the door, and there stood Paul, the security guard, stretching out the word but Jean cut him off quick.

“Drunk friend. Now can you stop standing there and help me with the elevator, Paul?” Jean asked, close to yelling.

The overly muscular man quickly moved away from the door and rushed to the elevator, but even bothering to help Jean with what was obviously difficult.

“Thanks,” Jean said sarcastically as he pulled the body into the elevator, ignoring the girl that shrieked and ran out of it.

He was so tired that he dumped the werewolf on the carpeted floor without a care, feeling a bit lightheaded as he pressed the button to take him to the third floor.

With the doors closed, Jean put his hands on knees and took deep breaths, pulling out his inhaler again for a few more puffs before slumping onto the ground himself and trying to relax his breathing.

He was covered in sweat, mud, vomit from before Casey arrived and his drying piss, and had dragged the body of an unconscious and groaning werewolf into his apartment building full of people that could possibly turn to victims.

But it wasn't like he could've just left a naked legend out in the cold woods to die.

Right? But then what if he kills me? Is learning about one of the unknown, previously thought of to be fictional, supernatural beings I've idolized since I was a child worth that huge, dangerous risk?

Thinking his own question through as the elevator reached his floor, at last, the answer looked to be as clear as day.