and stared at the ceiling.
“So what am I supposed to do now guys?” I yelled out loud. “You guys really think I can do this alone? Well I have news for all of you...I can’t.” I rolled over and I got up and looked at myself in Tommy’s mirror above his dresser. “But it looks like I have no choice.”
Chapter Eleven
I felt lost. I really didn’t know what to do. I just wanted to get out of here. Go somewhere far away. I needed to talk to someone. I needed to talk to someone I trusted. I needed to talk to Lena.
I got in my truck and drove over to her house. She answered the door immediately.
“Josiah,” Lena said, surprised. “Are you okay?”
“No, I’m not.” I said. “Can we go somewhere to talk?”
“Sure.” She grabbed her coat and we both got in my truck. I drove around the corner and parked in a church parking lot. I suddenly found speaking very difficult. I collected myself and, with her concerned eyes on me, I blurted out, “Tommy is dead.”
“How do you know?” she asked.
Her question was completely out of left field. “What do you mean how do I know? I was at the hospital when he died.”
“Oh, no. This can’t be happening.” Lena covered her face and looked away.
Okay, either this girl has no clue how to console someone hurting, or something else was going on. “What can’t be happening? Lena, do you know something?”
She looked back at me. Yeah, something was wrong. “What is it, Lena? Please.”
“You’re not going to believe what happened.”
“Tell me.”
“Let’s go for a ride.”
So we rode. I pulled out of the church driveway and soon we were cruising on a mostly empty freeway going nowhere in particular. Lena turned in her seat and looked at me.
“Josiah, how well did you know Tommy?”
“I knew him like a brother.”
“Then perhaps even brothers keep secrets.”
“What the hell does that mean?”
“Tommy had a secret, Josiah. A big secret.”
I was in no mood, and, quite frankly, she was beginning to irritate me. I needed to be consoled, not presented with riddles. It took all my effort to bite my tongue, and simply growl, “How the hell would you know about Tommy’s secrets? You barely knew him.”
“Josiah, this might be hard for you to understand. This will be hard for you to understand.” she took a deep breath, touched my hand tentatively, then retracted her hand.
“Just say it, Lena.”
She nodded. Tears were streaming down her cheeks. This night was just getting weirder and weirder. “Josiah, Tommy is what’s called a Carni.”
“What the hell is a Carni?”
She was staring at me again. Even in my peripheral vision, I could see her lower lip shaking.
“Please talk to me, Lena. I’m seriously confused. What’s a Carni?”
“They’re werewolves.”
I looked at her and she was dead serious. She didn’t even blink. She was looking right through me.
“Tommy’s real name is Kyro. He’s one of the most notorious werewolves in the area.”
“Lena, listen to me. And listen to me good. You are freaking crazy. Atticai, Yari, Wyatt, Hector, all of you idiots are stone cold nut jobs. Tommy was as normal as anyone I’d ever known. I was with him every day . I’ve never once seen him become a...” I couldn’t even say it. This was all so insane.
I got off the freeway and got back on, going the other direction. I wanted Lena out of my car. She was only making a shitty night worse.
“You never saw it, Josiah, because he can control it. Tommy is an advanced Carni. The only time they can’t control it is during a full moon.”
“What?”
“Think about, Josiah. Did Tommy mysteriously leave every month for about 48 hours?”
“That’s silly. Tommy was in the reserves. Of course he would leave.”
“Other than his word, did you ever see proof that he was in the reserves?”
“In my world, someone’s word is pretty much enough.”
“Josiah, the last thing I want to do is wreck your world. But
“So what am I supposed to do now guys?” I yelled out loud. “You guys really think I can do this alone? Well I have news for all of you...I can’t.” I rolled over and I got up and looked at myself in Tommy’s mirror above his dresser. “But it looks like I have no choice.”
Chapter Eleven
I felt lost. I really didn’t know what to do. I just wanted to get out of here. Go somewhere far away. I needed to talk to someone. I needed to talk to someone I trusted. I needed to talk to Lena.
I got in my truck and drove over to her house. She answered the door immediately.
“Josiah,” Lena said, surprised. “Are you okay?”
“No, I’m not.” I said. “Can we go somewhere to talk?”
“Sure.” She grabbed her coat and we both got in my truck. I drove around the corner and parked in a church parking lot. I suddenly found speaking very difficult. I collected myself and, with her concerned eyes on me, I blurted out, “Tommy is dead.”
“How do you know?” she asked.
Her question was completely out of left field. “What do you mean how do I know? I was at the hospital when he died.”
“Oh, no. This can’t be happening.” Lena covered her face and looked away.
Okay, either this girl has no clue how to console someone hurting, or something else was going on. “What can’t be happening? Lena, do you know something?”
She looked back at me. Yeah, something was wrong. “What is it, Lena? Please.”
“You’re not going to believe what happened.”
“Tell me.”
“Let’s go for a ride.”
So we rode. I pulled out of the church driveway and soon we were cruising on a mostly empty freeway going nowhere in particular. Lena turned in her seat and looked at me.
“Josiah, how well did you know Tommy?”
“I knew him like a brother.”
“Then perhaps even brothers keep secrets.”
“What the hell does that mean?”
“Tommy had a secret, Josiah. A big secret.”
I was in no mood, and, quite frankly, she was beginning to irritate me. I needed to be consoled, not presented with riddles. It took all my effort to bite my tongue, and simply growl, “How the hell would you know about Tommy’s secrets? You barely knew him.”
“Josiah, this might be hard for you to understand. This will be hard for you to understand.” she took a deep breath, touched my hand tentatively, then retracted her hand.
“Just say it, Lena.”
She nodded. Tears were streaming down her cheeks. This night was just getting weirder and weirder. “Josiah, Tommy is what’s called a Carni.”
“What the hell is a Carni?”
She was staring at me again. Even in my peripheral vision, I could see her lower lip shaking.
“Please talk to me, Lena. I’m seriously confused. What’s a Carni?”
“They’re werewolves.”
I looked at her and she was dead serious. She didn’t even blink. She was looking right through me.
“Tommy’s real name is Kyro. He’s one of the most notorious werewolves in the area.”
“Lena, listen to me. And listen to me good. You are freaking crazy. Atticai, Yari, Wyatt, Hector, all of you idiots are stone cold nut jobs. Tommy was as normal as anyone I’d ever known. I was with him every day . I’ve never once seen him become a...” I couldn’t even say it. This was all so insane.
I got off the freeway and got back on, going the other direction. I wanted Lena out of my car. She was only making a shitty night worse.
“You never saw it, Josiah, because he can control it. Tommy is an advanced Carni. The only time they can’t control it is during a full moon.”
“What?”
“Think about, Josiah. Did Tommy mysteriously leave every month for about 48 hours?”
“That’s silly. Tommy was in the reserves. Of course he would leave.”
“Other than his word, did you ever see proof that he was in the reserves?”
“In my world, someone’s word is pretty much enough.”
“Josiah, the last thing I want to do is wreck your world. But
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