After school had ended, Blake was walking home following his usual path, but he was busy with his thoughts. For one, he was wondering what was happening to Gary. His body had clearly changed, and the young Altered Hunter had his suspicions as to why.
‘It looks like his body hasn’t finished adjusting to whatever happened to him, so maybe he’s more complete now. Only… I don’t recall any of the books mentioning such transformations… Is he some new type of Werewolf? Have they evolved since then?
‘… Most importantly, does that mean Billy might also have changed? Will Gary and I really be able to defeat a Werewolf that might even be stronger than when he fought my Dad?’’
Blake hoped that Gary was just the exception, and not the rule, but either way, it would be better if they attempted to deal with the situation sooner rather than later. If Werewolves were able to naturally get stronger as time went on… the young Altered Hunter didn’t want to finish his thought.
Although it was true that Altered could also grow stronger, in their case it had to do with the training they underwent, learning how to use their powers and fight with their new bodies. Werewolves, however, were humans who had been born with special genetics… at least that was one theory of the many from the information Blake had learned with his books. In other words, the difficulty could be compared to learning a new language compared to learning how to walk.
The equipment Blake needed to track down Billy was in the secret room at their house. He was considering many options, such as sneaking in, taking the items he needed, then later returning them before his father would ever notice.
Even if Blake might get caught and explained he was going hunting on his own, he would be cautioned, but his father wouldn’t do anything to him. Still, he would rather avoid giving his parents any reason to distrust him. In the past, he had made up many excuses not to go out on outings, so if he started to show an interest now… He wondered how his father would react.
‘I could wait until he goes on one of his trips, but who knows when that will be? The longer we wait, the worse it becomes if they really get stronger over time…’
——
The heavens seemed to be on the young Altered Hunter’s side today. As soon as Blake came home, his father informed him that he had news to share.
“I have been called.” Ozacas told his son. “Not just me, but a few of the Hunters have been called. It seems like it’s something pretty serious this time, so I don’t know how many days I’ll be gone. I’ve left you enough money on the kitchen table to last you for a week, and you know the code, in case you need more.”
Often, when the Hunters felt like they needed help, or had a big operation, they would call the senior members with high stars and experience to help. This happened quite frequently, but Blake still thought it would be awhile until he was called on another.
“Off to another Tier-2 city again?” Blake asked.
Ozacas shook his head. “No, this time it’s actually a Tier-4 town.”
This was an unsuspected answer. The lower the town/city tier, the unlikelier it was to run into an Altered. After all, they were only for the privileged, for those who had money or power to afford it, and those would usually be in Tier-2 cities or above.
“I know it’s strange, apparently something has gone rampant down there. More Altered are being spotted than usual, and not even the police force can handle it. Of course, the White Rose agents are doing nothing. If it doesn’t affect those that fill their pockets, then there is no need for them to get involved.
“After subduing the Altered, we might stick around to find out the reason for this change, so this one might take a while. I want you to continue your training while I’m away, so you better not be sloppy! Once I’m back, we will take care of the Altered here.”
The father walked past showing no emotion to his son when exiting out the door. He had a large bag with him that Blake knew to be filled with all sorts of equipment. Before he could say anything, Ozacas was already off and heading towards his destination.
‘A Tier-4 town, I don’t think I’ve ever even been to one before. I wonder what happened there? I guess after I become a full-fledged Altered Hunter, I will get called to places like that as well.’ Blake thought, as he knew that someday he would have to follow the path of his father.
He was a bit sad seeing his father go, but this was his opportunity. He and Gary had made a deal, and it looked like it was the perfect time for them to act. After hearing the sound of their car disappear in the distance, Blake headed into the training room and moved the statues to open the secret door, heading down he could see a lot of the equipment had been taken.
Fortunately, there was a double for nearly everything down there, due to Blake also getting trained as a Hunter. He looked through the items and picked what they needed to try to track the other Werewolf down and possibly what would help them subdue it.
After putting everything in a similar black bag that his father had, he checked through it again. And again, and again, until he stopped noticing he was repeating his actions.
‘I…I can do this, right? It will be the first time I go out without my Dad… and I’ll be going with Gary. What if we can’t find the other Werewolf? What if it’s a trap set up by Gary. Maybe they both plan to pincer me and get rid of the problem?’ He started to second guess if it was actually a good idea.
He picked up one of the batons from the back and gripped it tightly, strengthening his resolve.
‘No, I’m just making up excuses. I didn’t realise how much I relied on Dad.’
——
The next day had arrived, and it was time for Gary to head off to school and do his regular thing. After a stretch he looked towards Amy, once again checking she was there, something had become a habit.
‘She was acting a little strange yesterday like she wanted to ask me something, but she never did… ah, maybe it’s some girl stuff. I guess I can’t replace Mum with everything.’ Gary sighed at that thought. Thanks to yesterday’s cash infusion, he wouldn’t have to worry about the hospital bills, which was a good thing, since their mother had yet to display any signs of recovering.
He checked his phone to see if there were any messages, but naturally the club renovations would take some time. There wasn’t any news from any of the others either. However, that’s when he noticed that there was a text message waiting for him on his regular phone.
[I hope you’re ready. Tonight, we’ll go hunt down Billy!]