Just for the fun of it, thought I'd post what I have so far of that scene:
Summer 2016
It took six silver bullets to finally bring the werewolf down. Even as it lay in its death throes, Brian kept his gun trained on the beast, knowing the Hunters around him were doing the same. He’d learned by painful experience not to assume about a werewolf’s death. He still bore the scars on his back and side from that mistake three years ago, and he’d had no ready answer when Howie had asked about them the next day.
When the werewolf was finally still, Marcus and two other Hunters approached the body while Brian kept his position and studied the night around them. It was early summer in northern Georgia, and the scent of geraniums and honeysuckle warmed by the sun still tickled the air. How sad that the beauty of his adopted home state should be shattered by the ugliness of werewolf attacks. Normally the night would be filled with the sounds of crickets singing and dogs howling, but tonight it was frightfully silent. Pet owners were keeping their animals inside. Tonight’s had been the third attack that Brian’s group of Hunters and Hunterlings had been assigned to track in the last two weeks alone. Human and animal deaths were on the rise, thanks to these beasts.
They had been lucky tonight, though. Marcus had picked up the werewolf’s trail much quicker than the last two times and had led his team on a swift chase through Atlanta and the surrounding suburbs before finally cornering the beast just ten miles east of the mansion Brian shared with his wife and son. That realization had spurred Brian to put aside his reluctance to kill-—the creature was part human, after all--and add his own silver bullets to the beast’s hide.
Marcus rose from where he’d crouched beside the body that was twice as large as a normal wolf. “All clear, everybody. The beast is dead. Count off your shots.”
Brian lowered his gun and took stock as he waited for his turn. Not being a full-fledged Hunter, just a Hunterling, his report would come last. As he listened, the knot of worry in his stomach began to ease when his companions reported anywhere from one to six shots fired at the rampaging animal. He’d fired off four rounds himself, better than he’d done in the past. His skill and aim were improving.
When all the reports were in, Marcus called for a van to take the werewolf’s body away. As Brian holstered his gun, he wondered, as he had the last time he’d helped take down a werewolf, where the beast would be taken. But fear of the answer kept him silent. Marcus approached him as the group waited.
“Thanks for your help again tonight, Brian,” he said. “I’m sorry we had to pull you away from your family again so soon. I understand we ruined some plans you’d had.”
Brian nodded. “Movie and game night with friends. I don’t know what excuse Leighanne has for them tonight, but she said she’d come up with something unless I get permission to tell them about my side job.”
“Which you can only do if you ever decide to become a full-fledged Hunter,” Marcus reminded him. “Why don’t you? You have the talent, Brian. I see it every time we go out. Imagine how that would be amplified with the abilities you’d get from a werewolf. You’d be able to track the dangerous ones, lead teams—you could protect your family even better than you already do.”
This wasn’t the first time Marcus had suggested it, but Brian had always refused. He knew all that was required was to be bitten by one of the werewolves they were at peace with at midday of the full or new moon, but something always held him back. Maybe it really was fear that he’d become a werewolf instead of just taking on some of their strength, hearing and sense of smell, despite seeing proof otherwise all around him.
But tonight was different. They’d taken this werewolf down far too close to home. He glanced over his shoulder at the beast’s carcass. “Would we have been able to take this one down sooner if I’d had those abilities?”
“We’ll never know that for sure,” Marcus answered honestly, following Brian’s gaze. “But you’ll be that much more of a help next time.”
When Brian didn’t reply, he continued, “Talk it over with your wife. The full moon is in just a couple of days. You could do it then. But keep in mind that you’ll need at least three days to fully recover. You’ll spend most of it sleeping.”
