A chapter 1 collaboration with Weretabby! The first chapter written by him and edited by me. More to come soon! O: What a world what a world what a woooooooooorld!
Chapters:
1)http://www.furaffinity.net/view/3129108
2)http://www.furaffinity.net/view/3129144/
3)http://www.furaffinity.net/view/3912603/

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“There's a spark inside us which we can all ignite, and all the stars inside will flicker into light. There's a power in every breath, there's a power in every note, a power that comes up through the heart, a power that comes up through the throat! And when it sails up through air, more beautiful than any prayer! It tells a right from wrong, and it will always thrill the ears of those who pass the time to hear the magic of the song!”


“What song are you singing, Wrath?”

"Spark Inside Us. It's from a movie called The Princess and the Goblin. Kind of a kiddish movie, but the song is so inspiring. I guess I'm a bit of a sissy, but I'm an appreciator of the animations. Well, I'm actually quite a fan of Don Bluth. You ever heard of him, Alan?"

“Sounds familiar. Wait, wasn’t he the guy that created The Secret of NIMH?”

"Yes! Yes! He directed that movie. To me that's his strongest work yet, a story of super intelligent mice who have to make a decision on how to use their gifts and stuff and…”

Wrath continued to talk about the animated movie as Alan intently listened, tripping across a pot hole at one point along the leafy trail as they headed towards the campsite they had reserved for the weekend. Wrath pauses to help Alan up to his feet, the two letting out a short spout of laughter. Alan dusts himself off, rubbing his ankle and flexing it out until it’s confirmed nothing is sprained or broken. They press on to the campsite as Wrath returns to explaining his musings on animated movies.

Despite Alan’s own appreciation for them it was one of the few things on his mind he was focused on. While Wrath talked about NIMH Alan peered around the woodland setting, scanning the trees and grass and the hilly woods beyond, keeping an eye out for particular tracks or evidences of the thing he was more focused on. If the rumors were true then tonight could be the night that one of the most sought-out questions in the world, at least to him and a few others, would be answered. Kind of strange how he and Wrath were the only ones that made it out here.

The plan had been to meet up at the airport. A camping trip to Vermont had been decided between Wrath, Alan, and a few other friends for the last month. The main reason for the location regarded the particular interest the group had.

Werewolves.

There had been stories lately of some of the townsfolk claiming to have seen a pack of wolves roaming near the outskirts of the town that dwelled near the forest. Those that had seen them said they weren’t your typically set of wolves, some stating to be much bigger as a human or bear. One or two said they’ve seen one stand on its hind feet like a man. One of the biggest stories though cycled around the disappearance of a elderly, same say loopy, woman. She was told to have be some kind of mystic nut that claimed Beasts would end the world one day. When the old lady vanished reports said that her house looked torn up as if by wild animals and that there was something weird about her basement. These stories are what got the group interested in wanting to check out the woods near Vermont, a hope that maybe they would see real live werewolves. Though Wrath had his own reservations about the existences of these creatures, Alan had his own reasons to hope.

“…my god,” Wrath suddenly exclaimed, having still be talking about his movies, “I’m rambling again, aren’t I?” Wrath chuckles to himself. “So sorry, this is just something I happen to do once in a while.”

Alan, having been mildly distracted by his own thoughts, quickly returns his attention to Wrath, laughing nervously. “Nah, that’s cool. You’re not rambling.”

Wrath grins, though feels a tad ashamed, thinking he might have bored Alan. This was the first time the two have ever gotten together outside of a chat screen, but it seemed they had a few things in common that warranted a solid friendship. Alan did, though, acted a bit timid and shy when it came to talking, unlike himself. Maybe this was a good time to try and find out more about his online buddy…besides the werewolf stuff.

“Well, why don’t I let you have the floor,” Wrath said, grinning back towards Alan. “ Tell me a little about yourself.

Alan’s mouth hung open as he contemplated what he would say, unsure how to describe himself without sounding like a weirdo or a bore. “Well, I’ve got my own quirks. You at least sing better than I hum, and man do I annoy people when I hum…at least I think I do.”

“Oh?”

“Yeah. I use to hum out loud to myself often back while I was in school, especially elementary. Back then I use to get this one girl flustered every time I hummed during class. I didn’t mean to make anyone mad, but I remember one day it finally got to her and she yelled at me to ‘Shut the Hell up!’ in the middle of class. I wanted to shout back what her problem was, but seeing how the eyes of all the other students and the teacher was on us I kind of just sank into my desk and apologized sheepishly. Strangely, we became friends right up to the last week of 6th grade before graduating.”

“Oh, really?” Wrath said. “You got yourself a mate, then? What’s her name?”

Alan grinned uneasily, gripping one of the straps of his backpack like he does when he starts to feel awkward. “Well, oddly I don’t really remember her name. And I can’t say we ever went out either; we just got pass the whole bickering and yelling part. I haven’t really heard from her in year since she moved a few states over after graduation. She’s probably a hot shot lawyer like her mother by now.” Alan chuckles, thinking about that girl in such legal attire shouting at her witnesses and jurors, her voice able to cause the people in the room, possibly the judge as well to shivering in fear. It actually suits her.

Wrath raises an eyebrow and smiles. “A lawyer, eh? Never trusted them. Not with how the legal system is now. But I won’t go into any details of that.” Wrath laughs to himself and says, “There’s someone in my life that I care for, too. But, um…nevermind. We’re almost at the campsite.” Wrath begins to power walk ahead, leaving Alan to pick up the pace, cautiously watching out for anymore unsuspecting pot holes or dips on the path to mess him up.

The campsite was a small one, covered in a lee of oaks, beech and maple trees, golden leaves falling from their branches and decorating the forest like troves of gold, and the trees themselves like their guardians. Several A frames were hollowed out and needed cots and tarps. Wrath and Alan would only be using one, and they actually looked quite durable. The two began to put together their tent, shaking out any dust, dirt, and bugs that had tagged along from earlier trips or recently from the inside and out. As Wrath worked on stabilizing the roof, Alan began to straighten out the bottom and pound stakes through the loop holes, securing the tent in place.

“So, any word on what happened to the others,” Alan asked. “I thought they were going to meet us at the airport like we planned?”

“I think they were, but they’re probably still in flight to over here. We just have to set up the camp without them. I’d call them but I’m not getting a signal out here.” Once Wrath was finished with the roof he immediately went to his backpack, pulling some stuff out that they could use to start the fire. “I had to stash this stuff on the cargo, but we got enough supplies to start up the campfire.”

Alan nodded in agreement as he pounded the last stake in place. He went to his own backpack, rummaging inside and took out half of a Duralog. “If we happen to need more we could possibly use this,” Alan added, smiling as he waved the product.

Wrath looked back and gawked. “What is it; Lighter fluid?” he asked, having trouble making out what Alan was holding with the sunlight fading fast into the horizon, dusk setting.

“It’s an instant lighting fire log. Might be cheating, but at least I’m prepared.” Alan started to laugh while Wrath shaked his head.

Wrath stated that he brought his own bit of entertainment, pulling out
some Starburst and a six pack of canned Pepsi…and then another pack of Pepsi. Alan looked at the cans with suspicion, grinning. “Just Pepsi?” he asked.

Wrath told him to wait and see as he places one can next to the log pile, still setting up the fire pit. While he did so Alan started to set up his bed in the tent, taking notice at how he happened to be cursed with picking a plot of bumping uneven land to sleep on again like the last few camping trips he’d been on. Alan sighed, making a mental note NOT to forget a comforter next time. Alan mentions it to Wrath as he peeked out of the tent, who then pointed toward Alan’s side of the tent, showing that uneven ground wasn’t his only problem; having pitched the tent near a fire ant hill. Alan stumbled out of the tent to take a look and groans, stating how the only thing he hated about the outdoors was all the damn bugs.

Wrath told him not to worry about it and asked if he knew where the matches are. Alan checked his pack still outside the tent, looking back to the anthill in dismay. He pulled out the matches and handed them to Wrath. They got good warmth just in time as dusk slowly turned to night. Before they lost any light, Wrath began what he had called his “entertainment”, placing a can of soda besides the fire and told Alan to get some distance. Alan’s face turned pale, wondering how this would all pan out, hiding around one side of the tent. There wouldn’t be any way that he would forget about that anthill a second time.

For a moment, nothing much happened. Before Wrath called it a bust though, the can began to swell up like a balloon until it started to hiss, finally shooting off like a rocket. It landed near the tent, making Alan jump back a bit. The campsite was silent until Wrath howled with laughter. The best fifty cents he’d ever spent, he said. Alan admitted that was an intriguing use of a soda can, grabbing a broken branch and poking at the fallen airborne object in case it was still hot or active. He mentioned an online video about the two fake scientists performing a fountain show with Mentos and dozens of 2 liter sodas, but Wrath had never heard of it.

As Wrath decided to place the rest of the six packs near the fire for an encore, saving the second pack for us, he recalled bringing along another batch of tasty drinks, IBC root beer. He offered one to Alan, mentioning he had a Tangerine Cream flavored as well. Alan took the original root beer, mentioning he wasn’t much of a fruity drinker; soda-wise, anyways. He does however enjoy a kool-aid anytime.

Bringing up Kool-aid, Wrath asked if Alan ever heard of a show called Robot Chicken. Alan says he had watched it on occasion but could like it more without all the obscene fart and crap jokes. Wrath agreed but stated that it is a much better show than Family Guy and made comparisons. He then brought up the Kool-aid sketches on the show. Realizing he might be rambling again, he changed the subject and asked Alan what got him out here camping in Vermont in the first place.

Alan grew silent for a moment, thinking thoughtfully about how he would word this. There were a couple of reasons why he agreed to come out here, but what would be the most appropriate, or believable thing to say was beyond his guess.

“Well,” Alan started, rubbing his forehead, “Believe it or not, I was actually hoping to see a real life werewolf if possible. Isn’t that why we were supposed to be out here with everyone else?”

"A real life werewolf, huh?" Wrath rolled his eyes, poking a stick into the fire. So Alan was one of these crazy folk. Wrath had heard enough crazy people search their entire lives for these kind of things for one reason or another.

Ah, well, Wrath thought, We’re all here for fun, anyway. I may as well just humor him.

"We're all out here trying to find them. But do you honestly think that you'll uncover a pack of werewolves out in the middle of nowhere in Vermont?"

Alan lowered his head, already feeling like a fool just by seeing Wrath’s expression. His mouth hung open like before for a second, wanting to say exactly how he knows there would be. Instead he clenches up and stats to ramble himself.

“Well, I mean the other guys said they were hearing stories that wolves have been roaming around here lately, which to this town it’s a little unusual. And then there was that rumor that a couple of people have been disappearing, that their clothes were left behind torn and ripped, and that there was evidence that wolves were nearby.” Alan pauses to down a gulp or two of his drink, gasping in sweet refreshment. “Kind of strange, don’t you think?”

Wrath shrugged. “They could have been attacked by a bear, but I don’t think bears live this far. Maybe it was werewolves. I don’t know.”

Alan hesitated, feeling like he was pushing it. He wanted Wrath to believe him, even though he didn’t really have any proof himself…except for one.

“A friend of mine saw one,” Alan blurted out, taking another drink of his root beer. “And she hasn’t been seen in a few weeks since.”

Wrath stopped for a second before he could respond. The first part sounded unrealistic, but the second one was confusing. “What do you mean no one’s seen her in a few weeks? Didn’t you try calling her? Emailing her? Asking her parents?”

“Of course I did,” Alan answered, starting to sound irate by Wrath’s disbelief. “Every time I tried calling her I keep getting her voicemail. She hasn’t been on the IM since the last time I talked to her. As for her parent’s, well…she never got that far to give me her home phone number or let me know where she lived. Kind of weird to ask those things when you’ve only met a few months ago.”

“If she really disappeared,” Wrath begam to rebuttal, “she would have shown up on one of the local missing reports. People in small towns don’t usually wind up missing unnoticed. Maybe tomorrow we could ask around about it.” Wrath tried to advise Alan, trying to be as supportive as he can. He assured himself there could be an actual logical view about this. It couldn’t possibly be anything so surreal as werewolves. What were we living in, the fourteenth century?

“Yeah, maybe,” Alan sighed, taking again another gulp of his drink, staring into the fire. “It’s just weird that she hasn’t gotten back to me in a month. She promised she would tell me about her stakeout in the woods the next day.” Alan emptied the rest of his root beer into his stomach, placing the bottle next to him as he continued to gaze into the dancing flames, casting an image in his mind’s eye the face of his friend.

“You know,” Alan continues, “she was skeptical too, but she liked the idea of there being real werewolves…we both did. Kind of how we met online. She liked some of the stuff I drew and posted on the web and we just started talking about the lore and stuff, what it could be like if we were to live in the wild if we had the ability to become wolves. I believed in it more than her, having her to remind me that we’re just talking about fantasy, not reality.” Alan paused as he takes his sights off the flames, looking up to Wrath to be more direct in his conversation. “And then, the last time I spoke to her she said she actually saw one. I thought she might have been pulling my leg but she was really hell-bent in making me believe. She mentioned she was walking home from work, taking the scenic route near the woods, these woods here, and started hearing howling. She got curious and somehow managed to see wolves racing by in the thicket; really big wolves. She told me she was planning on going into the woods again the next night, seeing if she can get a closer look or something, bringing a camcorder or something along to document any proof she could get. She said she would try and forward anything she caught to me that was creditable. It was the first I ever heard her sound THIS excited about werewolves, I know because we were using the mic feature that night. And then…she disappeared.”

“What do you think happened to her?” Wrath asked curiously, though he’s sure he already knew the answer. “Do you think she was taken by the wolves?”

Alan shook his head. “I’m not really sure. The only thing that cross’s my mind is that she really found werewolves and…well, either they killed her or something. I try to think that maybe she just got lost or she fell or broke her leg and just waiting for help, but the more I think about that the more I get worried she’s really dead. I guess the only positive thing I can believe is that, well…maybe she found them and they turned her.”

No, no, no, that won’t do, Wrath thinks, shaking his own head. He can’t let Alan think so negatively just when they got here. He wouldn’t have any drama. Standing up Wrath goes to pat his hand against Alan’s shoulder.

“Everything will be ok,” Wrath assured him. “I’m sure she’s fine. Maybe she’ll come out to surprise you out here or something, I’m sure.”

Alan sniffled, fighting back tears as he chuckles, wanting to believe that.

“So,” Wrath started up again, “You came out here with the hopes you might find her or maybe try to find something for you?”

Alan nods his head, quietly answering. He knew that kind of hope was frail to trust in, but this might have been his only chance to see for himself, to do something about her disappearance while he had the courage. Funny how brave Alan had suddenly become, whisking away across the U.S. trying to act like a knight in shining armor to rescue a damsel in distress he only had gotten to know over the course of two months. Maybe he had gotten stricken with love with first sight…or type in this case, though the only picture of her she sent him over the IM before was enough to make him blush, feeling lucky to be talking with a beautiful girl like her, especially one that was interested in werewolves. Alan started to frown, jumping back to his smile fast so Wrath didn’t notice, guilty at the thought of his second reason for being here. She said she saw real werewolves with her own eyes.

“It’s a full moon tonight,” Alan finally spoke, grinning. “Anything is possible, right? To see some real werewolves. Real, free werewolves.”

“Free?” Wrath muttered. What does it mean to be free Wrath asks himself. Free of pain? Free of restriction? Alan sounded so optimistic while he sounds so hopeless. Why couldn’t Wrath bring himself to believe him? Wasn’t there a time at all when he believed what Alan did? “I wish that were so for everyone. Some people are just bound as they are.”

“Bound, huh?” Alan responded, almost in a mock though it wasn’t meant to be. “Well what do you believe in, my friend? Was there a special reason you wanted to camp all the way out here in Vermont?”

"Whoever talks like that anymore?" Wrath chuckles to himself, looking into the moon. "I wasn't the one who planned this, one of the other friends did. He was the one who wanted to get us all together on this. Why, I'm not sure. But he mentioned a story about werewolves being spotted in Vermont; though I'm pretty sure it was just a hoax. You know, I spent the first seventeen years of my life researching about them, obsessing over them, desiring to be like one of them. I never found any. I want to, because I identify with animals more than people. I don't even know what I'm doing here."

Alan tossed a twig into the fire, hearing the crackle and snap of the other logs. “Maybe you’re here to debunk the idea altogether; knock some sense into us…or me at least. Or maybe a part of you is holding on to that one shred of hope that there is something out there supernatural, something more than this reality we’ve been fed. I sound like some kind of preacher or something, but I’m just saying it’s hard to just toss away these ideas when there have been so many stories of creatures in the night dating back long ago.”

Wrath shook his head. “I wish I could fully believe that. It there is something out here, something not human--better than humans, even--something that I’ve been looking for all these years, I think I would die of happiness. But things are different now with me. I’ve learned to love humanity as it is, and I have friends and a life now. I can’t just simply throw it all away for some teenage dream of mine. Besides, what do I know about being a wolf? What do you know?”

Alan tilted his head to a side, nonresponsive as Wrath sighed, rubbing his face and looking at his watch. “It’s getting late. I’m gonna make some calls, see what’s going on, and I’ll see you in the morning.” Wrath treaded through the foliage back to the tent while Alan remained seated near the fire. He wished there was more he could do or say to ease his friend’s mind.

A quick thought came to mind. “Hey, what was your friend’s name, by the way?”

“Veronica,” Alan replied. “Her name was…is Veronica.”

Wrath smiled, “Well, like I said, I’m sure she’s ok. Don’t stay up too late.”

“Ok. See you in the morning Wrath.”

As Wrath zipped down the tent’s door Alan returned to gazing into the fire, still lost in thought. He should be getting some rest too, preparing for a long and venturous day…that is if the others ever show up soon. Strangely, Alan wasn’t as tired as he thought he would be. Maybe all that caffeine was keeping him energized, until he looks back to the bottle and realize the root beer was caffeine free. Alan turned his attention to the sky, at the full moon just starting its joyous floating over the world. He figured he’s still a little excited with the possibilities ahead. Wrath might have stopped believing but Alan couldn’t, not just yet, not until he found out what happened to her, to Veronica.

END Chapter 1