I, Werewolf

Daniel opened his eyes to see himself surrounded by five men. The room, bare from any furnishings, made the movements of the others echo loudly in his ears. He scanned the room, trying to take it all in, when a throb made his head ache. He wanted to shake it off, but a tightness across his chest, wrists, and ankles prevented movement.

"That's right, monster boy, you're all tied up."

A man waved a gun near his face, and a sliver of fear stabbed into Daniel's heart. Where the hell was he, and how did he get here? Not that mattered as he had to escape. Time was short, and as much as he didn't want to die, killing others wasn't an option for him either. At least he didn't think it was.

Another man approached and ripped the duct tape off his mouth. Daniel winced and noticed the man's eye light up in glee. Everyone had their faces covered except for their eyes, which made facial recognition impossible. However, he could still smell them. Daniel learned one thing about being who he was, a person's smell was like a fingerprint. Unique and specific to an individual.

"Did that hurt?"

Daniel sniffed the air and cocked his head. He recognized that scent, and his neighbor was vocal about his hatred for those different from himself. "Alan? I knew you were an asshole, but I never thought you'd sink this low."

Alan stepped back, his eyes widening, shock clearly evident. "How the fuck do you know who I am, you piece of shit monster? You're kind shouldn't be allowed to survive."

He pointed the gun at my head. Daniel trembled in fear, knowing he could die at this moment. Though he healed fast, specific items prevented him from doing so, and many of these would kill. If memory served, Alan wasn't the most brilliant person around. Still, Daniel didn't want to take the man's chance to do some research and had a silver bullet in the chamber.

"I've done nothing to you or anyone else."

A tall man stepped forward and laid a hand on Alan's shoulder. "Not yet. We have to be sure." The same man stared at Daniel. "You and the others have to die. This is our world, and monsters don't have permission to live alongside us."

"Are you fucking kidding me? I mind my business, yet you kidnap me and threaten to shoot me. Hell, you aren't even sure I'm a monster. Your hate has you blind as to who the real monsters are in this room."

The man snickered. "Don't argue semantics with me, boy."

Daniel hated being called a boy. He may have only been twenty, but he was still a man. Now, each one of these men surrounded him with the intent to kill him. They justified the hate in their hearts. All the stories their parents told them as children they saw as the truth. The media's propaganda and possibly their church gave them the extra push they needed to take 'justice' into their hands.

"Prove that I'm a monster. I fucking dare you."

Daniel figured he might as well defy them every step of the way. Begging would get him nowhere, and he knew it. Waking up in an abandoned room, probably out in the middle of nowhere, gave him a sense that it'd get him nowhere real quick.

If he died, it would be making as much of a stand as possible. The supernatural world had proven genuine, but unfortunately, few people accepted Daniel or others of his kind as friends, let alone equals. He did his best in hopes things would change his whole life, but for him, the monsters would always be regular people.

He sniffed at the other man and didn't recognize the scent, which meant he had never met the man. The man realized what he did and motioned for another Daniel assumed stood behind him. A loud crack and excruciating pain made the room spin, and his eyes lost focus. Part of him wanted the darkness to take him then so he wouldn't have to feel the pain.

"Be careful who you sniff, Danny boy. Now, let's see if you're man or beast, shall we?"

The pain subsided as it did. Daniel always healed fast, and with it, the pain left. He glanced up at the man who ordered the hit. "Did you get your answer?"

Alan chimed in fast. He did so with too much enthusiasm. "I told you he was one of them. Probably his whole family is like this."

Daniel narrowed his eyes, and his voice dropped. "Leave my family out of this. They've done nothing wrong and only want to live their lives in peace."

A strong hand gripped my chin and turned my head right with force. "Your kind has always been evil. Tales from past generations prove that."

Daniel spit in the man's face and sniffed automatically as the scent of his blood reached his nose. "Stories, not history or truth. You believe lies by calling me a monster when you and everyone here are the true monsters."

Daniel shivered as the full moon cast its rays through the window. He controlled the change as others like him have, but he didn't think he could this time. Stress was a significant part of the control, and no control meant the change would come fast, and Daniel would lose himself in it. He swore softly to himself.

"We aren't monsters, Danny boy. We're patriots of the human race, and we're dedicated to cleansing our world of filth like yourself."

"Like me? Are you fucking kidding me? I'm not the monster you think I am?"

A sharp pain registered in his side. Alan had punched him in the ribs, and Daniel winced more and waited for the moment to pass. They may not kill him right away, and each person here knew he could take a lot of damage. Torture was real, and Daniel had no doubt these men would use it.

He closed his eyes as energy boiled up inside him. He found his control slipping and did his best to resist the urge to change. His senses grew, and he heard the ticking of someone's watch. It wouldn't take long for this to end if he gave in his power like a countdown.

"We do, Daniel. After you, your family is next, and we can't have any more of your kind in our neighborhood."

Daniel opened his eyes, and the others stepped back. The change was upon him, and his voice dropped an octave. "You think I'm a monster?"

Alan raised his pistol, but Daniel noticed the dumb bastard had yet to take the safety off. "We need to kill him now. He's changing."

The others raised their guns as pain shot through Daniel's body as his bone broke and reformed. The sound it made caused the others to shake in fear. The same watch he heard earlier made an alarm, and everyone jumped. It was midnight, and Daniel needed to protect his family no matter. It didn't matter if they all had silver bullets or not.

"You want to see a monster, then I'll give you one." Daniel ripped at the rope binding his wrists to freedom. His nails grew and more hair sprouted on his body. "It's the witching hour, and let the show begin."

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