Chapter Text
The pair froze.
Seconds after they heard the porch door creak open, the barking sound made its way to the back of the truck. Each cry was shrill and insistent. Courtney moved to cover her ears. Both of their hearts were beating so loud.
Carly Beth gulped before handing her phone over to Courtney. She watched that perfect nose wrinkle in confusion before leaning forward.
“Get it,” she whispered.
Then she pushed herself up and rolled out the side of the truck bed.
Dr. Deep swung his cellphone flashlight towards her, blanketing her in brightness. Her landing was hard, but she ended up hunched with her feet beneath her. In the split second she had before she had to run for her life, she swung her arms up to cover her face. Some part of her hoped that would prevent Dr. Deep from recognizing her. The rest was just happy to block some of that light.
She pushed off her knee and scrambled up to start running along the shore of the lake. Though she didn’t have time to look, the deepening bark was steady behind, and she could just barely hear the patter of paws underneath the heartbeat ringing in her ears. The lake smelled worse the closer she got to the water and her stomach lurched.
The porch light grew more distant in her periphery, making the landscape in front of her muddy in the dark. It was difficult for her to distinguish what was solid ground and what was water, but that mattered less and less to Carly Beth as she ran. She had to buy Courtney as much time as possible before passing out herself, and there was only one direction to go.
With a last grunt and a silent wish that the dog didn’t know how to swim, Carly Beth ran into the shallows of the lake. She tossed off her hat and sweater and then turned to stagger a little. The dog lowered its head and picked up the pace upon seeing its opponent slowing down. She hopped on one leg, then the other, working as fast as she could to loosen and kick off her shoes. One of them flew off and splashed into the lake while the other flopped next to her on the shallows as it peeled from off the tip of her sock. Just before the dog closed the distance and snapped at her with its jaws, she jumped in.
Her remaining clothes clung tightly to her as the chilly water swarmed over and soaked her to the bone. She shivered once, then started the butterfly strokes that Sabrina showed her when they tried out for their High School’s swimming team. Rather than focusing on whether the dog followed her or not, she concentrated on form and speed, letting adrenaline take over. Her will to survive led her deeper and deeper into the engulfing void.
When she eventually stopped to look back, the world had almost frozen around her. The dog wasn’t barking anymore. She couldn’t see the porchlight on the shore. Everything around her rippled and undulated, and all she could make out were shadows in the distance.
She started to tread water as the adrenaline tapered. There were a few stars out, but not as many as the previously sunny day would imply. The chill stung even worse with the lack of activity, and soon her teeth were chattering. Her sense of direction drifted off as she desperately looked for some sign of where to swim next.
Before settling on which way to go, a wave rose up around her and she scrambled to keep above water. It briefly covered her head, making her brain feel like cracked ice, before she was able to push up to the crest of it and ride it down.
As the momentary swell abated, a bright light suddenly bloomed in the distance. With a chattering squeal of delight, Carly Beth forced herself forward towards it. The light seemed warm with all the comfort of a Summer day, if only she could reach it before the cold or exhaustion took her. It was hard to gauge how fast she was going, but the light was getting closer and closer with every stroke.
When her eyes adjusted, she could see the outline of a boat surrounding the bright light. She paused to tread water for a moment to make out more of the details. It was the same dilapidated vessel that was parked by the shore when she and Courtney first arrived, complete with tangled netting hanging off the side and mismatched paint from a recent repair. The masthead light was stationary and didn’t seem to be sweeping the water. Carly Beth hoped it wasn’t searching for her.
She picked up the pace again towards the boat, avoiding the cone of light on the surface of the water. The engine sputtered and started to quiet, slowing the boat’s advance towards the center of the lake. With a deep breath in and another shiver, she forced herself to the ship’s portside and clung onto the netting for support.
Though safe from the waves and able to rest a bit, most of her body was still submerged in water. Bracing against the boat’s side did little to address the chill, and the thought crossed her mind that she would develop pneumonia, hypothermia or worse if she stayed in the water much longer. With a grunt, she pulled herself up just enough to peek over the edge of the boat to see if there was anywhere she could hide.
Her eyes locked on the dog at first. Now that she had some time to look at him in detail, she realized just how tired the golden retriever was. He sat dutifully at his master’s feet with a slight wag, and the ambient light from the bow of the boat highlighted what yellow remained on his shaggy coat. Dr. Deep was seated on the chair bolted by the controls and was pulling something out from a nearby backpack. Something metal glittered in his hand.
“Stay still, Lare. Won’t hurt more than a second.”
The dog gave a startled whimper, and both Dr. Deep and Carly Beth gasped in unexpected shock. He slid off his paws and hit the deck. His yelp caused his master to drop the backpack and kneel at this side, not sure what to do or how to help.
Carly Beth pulled herself up and over the side of the boat. Though dripping wet and half naked, she situated herself beside the doctor and studied the writhing dog with a worried expression. He nearly fell over himself in shock at her sudden appearance, but their shared concern tempered his reaction.
“What did you do to him?”
“He gets a weekly shot. He has a condition. It never made him react like this before.”
His hand moved to hold his dog, but she blocked him with her arm and a scowl.
“Don’t! He could bite.”
“If anyone deserves to be bitten, it is most certainly you, Ms. Caldwell,” he scolded in a low voice, “What the Hell were you doing in the back of my truck?”
“Do you want my help with your dog or not?”
Dr. Deep scowled and stayed quiet. Meanwhile, the aspiring vet made sure the dog was lying down flat before rummaging through the backpack for supplies. She gathered a handkerchief, a can of beer, and a half empty water bottle and set them aside. Her face sank deep with a frown as the dog’s motions slowed and his breathing became more rapid.
“What kind of condition does he have? What medicine do you give him?”
“A most unusual condition that requires a rare treatment.”
Suddenly, the dog coughed. His seizures became more acute, following down the limbs in brief spasms. With each pulse, the limbs began to creep longer. Ripples along the spine were followed by the sound of cracking bone as the dog’s posture straightened. Each paw began to spread its digits out, and the leathery pads started to flake and lighten. It was difficult to see in the dim light on the deck, but another cough then yawn began to impact the dog’s muzzle inch back inch back into its skull until the shape was almost human.
“Oh, no,” the doctor sighed.
“Oh no?” Carly Beth said, “That’s it? Oh no?”
She unscrewed the water bottle and dabbed the handkerchief against it until it was damp. After reaching more towards the dog’s shifting head, she pressed it against his forehead to clean off the beads of sweat that were starting to collect there. The changes continued at a much slower pace, and any further signs of seizure were brief and mild.
“It’s that idiot Murkin,” he scoffed, “He must have sent the wrong serum. It’s going to take weeks to get a new batch!”
While the doctor stamped over to the stern with his cellphone raised high to catch reception, Carly’s nose wrinkled.
“Like a pubic wig?”
Deep turned back and scowled.
“That sophomoric comment is exactly what’s wrong with your generation! You don’t take anything seriously. But Dean Scholl is certainly going to take this bit of stalking and home invasion seriously.”
A brief whimper drew Carly’s back to look at the creature. He made a slow blink. When his eyes opened, his pupils had shrunk, allowing more white in. Even though it looked human now, she could still recognize the animal intensity behind it. It was just like staring into Grady’s eyes.
“I know what happened.”
Deep’s head rose from his phone and looked back. The shadows were deep on his face from the shallow glow of his service-less cellphone, as if he was telling a scary story around a campfire. He stepped forward and stuffed the device in the front pocket of his waders.
“Yes…?”
“Not so fast.”
Carly Beth stood and held the backpack against her chest to preserve a bit of modesty in front of the strange, older man.
“Yes, so fast. You clearly have a great concern for my dog. Using his health as a bargaining chip isn’t very becoming for an amateur veterinarian.”
“Neither is taking a half-naked Freshman on a boat ride very becoming for a professor, and the Dean isn’t the only one with control over your job.”
He huffed and stuffed his hands into the wader’s side pockets.
“What’s your bargain?”
“I tell you what is going on with your dog and do what I can to help. I will promise not to talk about this… whatever this is. I’ll even let you know what I’m doing here.”
He bit his bottom lip and looked off to the side.
“And?”
“You take me back to shore. You don’t tell anybody about this either, and you answer my questions about your work with Brewer and Scholl.”
He flicked out his hand to hold up one finger.
“I will answer ONE question, and it’s a deal.”
She turned away from him with a huff.
“Two, fine. Two questions.”
There was a pregnant pause. Carly Beth moved first and took a seat in front of the controls for the boat so that Deep couldn’t maneuver his way out of their deal.
“When do you need to complete your inventory list?”
He walked back over and took a seat by the dog and-human hybrid that was mostly still now, save for his deep breaths and the occasional twitch. His hand started to pet his hair back behind his ear, following the newly round curve there.
“For the record, I know what’s wrong with him. He’s having a relapse, except it’s never been this bad before. It usually corrects itself after a few minutes. And there is a fix for it, but it will take time.”
He sighed and opened one of the few storage compartments on deck. With a tug, he pulled out a blue tarp and draped it over the creature. Deep then sank back to his knees and began to tuck it around him like a blanket. Carly Beth took a moment to look down at herself, then the tarp, and frowned.
“And there aren’t too many I can go to for help taking care of him while we wait. That’s the deal. Every minute you can spare, you’re going to spend it with Lare.”
She smirked and tried to hide it with the backpack.
“...What?”
“Nothing! Nothing, you just…” she teased in a sing-songy voice, “ You can spare, spend it with Lare… ”
“I mean it!”
He rose to his full height. Even the dim light around them couldn’t hide the red that was starting to creep up behind his ears and down his neck, giving him an almost fish-like coloring as the anger bubbled. His fists clenched tightly. Her smile faded.
“You are going to make that dog as comfortable and happy as possible until the next shipment comes, and if you do, I swear on his life that I won’t tell a soul.”
Her eyes followed back down to the blanketed creature. Those human eyes were closed just above the nose that was starting to gently shed its leather. Her heart sank into her knees.
“Okay,” she nodded, “Answer my question.”
“As quickly as possible is the usual line, but the hard deadline is Winter Break. Winter brings complications.”
Carly Beth briefly pictured Dr. Deep waddling with a crate in eight feet of snow towards the tunnels and gave a sympathetic shrug and nod. That gave them some time, but not a lot of it. There would be plenty to talk with Sabrina about over Christmas, if they were able to unravel this while keeping their lives.
“I have a million other questions,” she confessed, “But I guess the one I want to know the most is…why are you helping them?”
“The same reason most of us do things like this, I guess. The money is better than an academia salary and Dr. Scholl gives me all the privileges I need along with a few minor perks. But let’s just say… Larry is not the only one I am taking care of.”
“And Larry is some kind of werewolf, right?”
“No! God, no,” he laughed harshly, “I wouldn’t want a werewolf in the same state as me, much less my living room. We would both be dead.”
She frowned deeply as her thoughts went to Grady. If her hunch was right, whatever was happening to Larry would be happening to him if they went through with their plan. Even if he wasn’t a werewolf, he was some kind of dog and is now some kind of human, and that seemed close enough in her reckoning. Would it do the same to Courtney?
She blinked in mild shock as the realization hit her.
“Wait, I just want to make sure. What you gave to Larry. Was that in the package you picked up from the mailroom today?”
“The one from Dr. Murkin, that’s right.”
The zipper squealed as she pulled it across the maw of the backpack and started to root around in it. Growing impatient, Dr. Deep stepped forward and awkwardly made a shoo’ing motion with his hands while holding them up, as if trying not to touch her. She followed the non-verbal suggestion without even thinking as she wandered toward the stern. The package with the other vial wasn’t in there.
As the boat’s engine began to kick to life, she let the backpack slip from her fingers and reached into the already opened compartment for another tarp. She wrapped it around herself in a make-shift dress and tied it closed with a small length of rope through the loops at the corners. With the wind catching and drying her hair, she almost looked like a trash can mermaid amid the peeling away waters of Lake Eerie. Her mind was quiet and tired.
Then the boat lurched and she nearly found herself back in the water. Instead, she was sent flying back against the deck. Larry’s wriggling form broke her fall, and she clung onto him tightly for dear life. He was surprisingly warm, and it was a pleasant reprieve from the evolving chaos around her.
“What luck!” Dr. Deep cried out in glee. He scrambled to the port side and started to untie the net.
“Caldwell! Fetch the squid from the cooler.”
“I am not your assistant,” she said.
“You are obligated to keep my dog safe and happy, and your assistance in this moment will help make sure of that.”
After briefly wondering what else he could use that excuse for going forward, she got to her feet and scanned the deck for a cooler. One was nestled underneath the controls, and she pulled it forward, pressed the knob on the side, and flipped it open. True to his word, a half dozen squid were piled there with a stench to match. She took one in each hand, gripped tight to keep the slimy thing from sipping through her fingers, and went to Deep’s side.
He had wrangled the net and laid it out flat. With surprising speed, he matched the corners up and bundled them together before folding the net in hand over hand. He gritted his teeth in concentration and made little huffing sounds under his breath. Once the net was folded together, he went to the starboard side and pulled up a net launcher that was stored on the side. With a practiced hand, he loaded it and made sure it was ready to fire.
“Toss them overboard, as far from the boat as you can,” he ordered, “Then turn the light towards the direction you threw.”
Happy to be rid of them, Carly Beth palmed the squid together like a softball and tossed it. It landed fairly close to the boat, causing the doctor to scowl and pull one hand from his weapon to grab and throw a squid himself. It barely cleared the side of the boat. Before long, she had thrown the rest in a small cluster and was moving to the bow to help direct the light. It was heavy at first, but once it started to turn, it got easier to move.
Once their trap was situated, Carly crouched down to make sure Larry was staying asleep.
“C’mon, c’mon…”
Before he could catch another glimpse of movement in the water by the undulating squids, the boat was rocked again. He pulled the trigger a mere second after registering the jolt and the thumping sound, and the net spiraled up and forward. It caught the light for a moment before uselessly landing just beyond the floating squids. The doctor was thrown further than his makeshift assistant was and would have gone over the edge of the boat if she hadn’t reached for his leg to pull him back. He landed hard on the deck and moaned in anguish.
“That was the last of the squid, too.”
Dr. Deep got to his feet, brushed himself off, and returned to the controls. The engine sputtered a few times, then roared to life as the boat returned its short voyage to shore. He ordered Carly Beth to adjust the light back to its previous position, and she grudgingly obliged.
“You’re bad luck, Ms. Caldwell,” he muttered as he slowed the engine and carefully maneuvered the boat towards the dock, “So I will drop you off and never speak of this again.”
Once in position, the pair carefully lifted Larry, tarp and all, and helped him off the boat. The back porchlight was a welcoming sight as they passed under its glow to the backdoor. Inside was a mud room and a hallway. On the right side of the hall was a small kitchen and dining room separated by a wall with a pass-through window. The left side was a living room complete with bear rug and hunting trophies on the walls and a smoldering fireplace. They set him in front of the fireplace before Deep began to build the fire back up.
The fire felt good as it grew, and the homey environs made her think of how lifeless and artificial the housing back at the college felt. Even the G-Squad’s apartment style and personalized space didn’t share this house’s wilderness comfort. She pictured her own living room with Noah hogging the TV for his video games while her Mom worked on sewing on the recliner. For the first time since she found the G-shaped note, she missed home.
That’s when she caught sight of Courtney in the shadowy kitchen. She had adhered several ziplock bags of various things to her crutches, and by the way she was standing, the weight was perfectly balanced. Relief swam over Courtney’s expression as they made eye contact, and she motioned towards the back door with her head.
“I should… Probably go. Front door is this way, right?” she said, getting up from beside Larry and quickly scampering to the opposite side of the house as her squadmate.
Deep furrowed his brow.
“Don’t you want to eat something?”
Carly Beth had that insatiably hungry feeling one gets after swimming for a while.
“Nope! No food! Just want to go.”
“Right. Look, I expect you here at least twelve hours a week. I’ll leave a key in a small hole under a flower pot in the front. If you are here one minute less, Scholl will hear about this whole thing and you will be expelled.”
She nodded, but didn’t stop walking until she was out the door and on the front porch.
“Yes, professor! Twelve hours of lab work a week!”
He gritted his teeth and nodded.
“You’d better.”
After he slammed the door, Carly Beth bolted over to the side of the house. As soon as Courtney passed into the shadow past the back porch’s halo, they shared a tight embrace and suppressed giggles as the adrenaline continued to run through their glee. They spun around a few times, each almost too excited to speak.
The pair walked together a far distance privileges down the road before they allowed themselves to speak freely.
“Did you get it? Did you find it?”
“Did I find it?” Courtney said with the widest grin Carly Beth had seen from her, “I’ve struck the veritable motherlode! Not only do we have the package, but you bought me so much time that we now have unlimited access to Dr. Deep’s laptop.”
“You didn’t!”
“I did! I have a direct link set-up. Anything he knows, we know. We are about to crack their operation wide open!”
Courtney handed her squadmate back her phone before holding her own phone up to show that she was recording.
“And you, my ever-curious Muddies, are going to get all of the tea.”
“Guaranteed!” Carly Beth chimed in.
“You’ve been hanging out with Large Marge too much,” she laughed before ending the stream.
“Maybe we need to hang out more then.”
“We make a pretty amazing team, if this operation is anything to measure by. I think there’s a lot we can accomplish together!”
The water-logged squadmate frowned as her stomach gurgled loudly. Dr. Deep’s offer of food had made her painfully aware of the gnawing hunger. Courtney just smiled and opened up another one of the ziplock bags she had pilfered from the house.
When the Uber arrived, the pair were sat close together in the back seat and were sneaking a snack of saltines and Cheese Wiz.
“Did you ever see The Goofy Movie?” Carly Beth whispered.
“Oh, gosh, yes. Did you want to eat the Leaning Tower of Cheez-a, too?”
“You are smart. Read my mind.”
They were quiet for a long moment after their snack was done. The drive was much better, but the bad news that wasn’t Tiktok worthy hung on them both, even though neither knew the other was wrestling with the same topic. Courtney broke the silence quietly.
“Since it’s just us, I… wanted to talk about Grady,” she said.
“What about him?”
Courtney wet her lips a few times as though they were starting to feel extraordinarily dry.
“Do you like him? I mean, regardless of our plan or what Lucy wants, do you like him like that?”
Carly Beth turned her head to watch the streetlights fall one after the other through her vision as the car traced along the highway. All of the fluttering crush feelings still crackled like popcorn, but Larry’s pained and familiar expression made them all taste sour.
“I think he’s sweet, and hot, and dangerous,” she confessed, “Maybe too dangerous. I’m not sure yet.”
Courtney took her hand and squeezed her fingers together.
“When you figure it out, would you let me know?”
She turned from the window and gave her friend a sad smile and a nod.
“I will.”
The graduate student then reached down and pulled up the package from where her crutches and the rest of her loot rested. It was already open.
“There was just one vial in it.”
Carly Beth nodded again, weakly. Her grip on Courtney’s hand became loose, and she sank her shoulders a bit before leaning her head against the car window to let the lights paint over her.
“You’re going to have to choose to give it to Grady or me.”