For a split second after reading the message, Gary looked at the scene behind him. He had only partially eaten parts of Billy, but it didn’t look like he would gain any more special points or stats from his body.
At the same time, Billy’s unique body had allowed him to restore his Energy until it was over 200 points, and he had a feeling with the message he read he might just need it.
‘Is it safe to leave the place just like this? Blake already left, and he said that with their calling card, the police would just assume this was the work of the Altered Hunters.’ Gary thought.
The reason he was hesitating, was just in case anything had been left behind that could be used to identify him. There wasn’t much he could do about his blood, saliva, and other DNA evidence that was all over the scene, which had somehow become the norm.
It hadn’t mattered before, so the Werewolf didn’t see a reason why it would matter now.
The problem was there might be other items to worry about, he had picked up what was left of his bag and the packages of food he had bought, the question was if there was anything else. Gary couldn’t think straight because he was just worried about what had happened to his sister. In the end, he decided to just grab his broken bag, and phone. Only the important things and run for it.
He wanted to follow Amy’s Mark, but he appeared to be too far away from her current position to know where exactly she was. Fortunately, his sister had been smart enough to attach the location from where she had sent the message, which he assumed to be the coffee shop.
‘What happened? Why is Amy in trouble again? What does it have to do with Stacy? Who is she worried about? Is it the Underdogs? Did they finally find me? But then who is asking about their brother? Should I contact Kai?’ Too many thoughts were passing through Gary’s head, yet he just continued to run towards the location.
On his way, he sent Amy a few texts, hoping that she could update him on her situation. Text, after text, asking her to please answer if she could, yet there was no replay. In the end, Gary tried his luck by calling her phone.
‘It’s ringing… if she was captured, wouldn’t they have destroyed her phone, so she couldn’t call for help?’
However, after a few rings, just when it seemed as if she wouldn’t pick up: “Oh no, I’m so sorry, Gary! I just saw all your messages. I’m so sorry, I should have told you earlier.” Amy answered from her end in an audibly panicked voice.
Stopping in his tracks, Gary was wondering what was going on.
“Amy, are you safe? Where are you right now? Tell me, I’ll come over straight away!”
——
Gary eventually found himself in a very familiar place… in front of their own apartment building. He was glad to know that his sister was safe… or at least that’s what she had claimed over the phone. Amy had asked him to first come home, so she could tell him everything about what had happened today, in person. Apparently, it would have been too much to explain just over a phone call.
If that had been her attempt to calming him down, it had only served to worry Gary more. Still, learning that she was supposedly back at their apartment, he took that as a good sign. Nevertheless, Gary couldn’t help but feel like it might be a trap.
The high schooler started to sniff the door a few times, in case there might be any foreign scents. Unable to find any, he climbed up the side of the apartment and looked through the windows to check inside, but there were no signs of anyone being home.
‘I checked the whole area, it should be safe right, but what if it’s not? Should I call Kai? Do I get him involved in this?’
Gary wasn’t sure how to deal with this situation. The teenager had his phone by his side, ready to make the call. He unlocked the door with his key and slowly pushed it open. Taking a few more sniffs, all his nose could pick up was Amy’s scent, as well as the smell of roses and coconut.
‘Shampoo?’ Gary realised in surprise.
“Amy!” The teenager shouted as he entered the apartment, carefully looking around every corner. He hid one hand behind his back and used Controlled Transformation on it. It would allow him to deal with any intruder in case there were any, while at the same time hiding it from his sister, in case she was actually alone.
“I’m in the kitchen!” His sister shouted back.
Gary’s heart was beating fast, worried that perhaps his nose might be lying to him, but when he turned the corner, he could indeed see his sister. The teenage girl was sitting down at the table with a towel wrapped around her head.
“Amy, you’re really okay.” Gary heaved out a heavy sigh of relief, cancelling the transformation. Seeing that his sister was safe, he immediately started to inspect her for any markings or bruises. There was nothing on her at all… She looked fine.
“I’m so sorry for worrying you. I was in the shower when you called.” Amy apologised, her head buried in her hands, unable to believe how stupid she had acted. “I’m really sorry… After everything, I really needed that shower. My mind was at a loss. I couldn’t think properly, I should have explained first.”
When Amy said these words, Gary could hear her heart beating louder. She was clearly scared and worked up about worrying him, and Gary wanted to know what on earth had happened to make her this flustered.
“What about you? You look a mess.” Amy questioned, noticing that his clothes weren’t in the best shape, one of his sleeves had ripped due to his earlier instance of Controlled Transformation. To top it off, he had a broken bag on his back.
“Don’t worry about that.” Gary shook his head, pulling up a seat as he sat down opposite her. “I’m fine, so please tell me what exactly happened to you. I know you wouldn’t jokingly send me such a message.
“Who asked you about their brother? Why did they force you to come along? What did you mean by you needed my help? I need you to tell me everything.”
Amy looked to the side, and tears started falling down her face.
“I-I’m sorry, Gary, I-I tried not to g-get you involved. I r-really did! … however, they k-know about you now a-and… I-I’m worried that they might come after you next!”