Bart

  I walked around Dad’s campsite looking for anything I could use. I needed something stronger than the hatchet and the machete, but I couldn’t find anything. Dad had a 7mm Mag rifle, but it was out of ammo.

  Starla came out of an old hollowed out stump and approached me, chittering as she walked. When I scooped her up, I started feeling the confidence boost she exuded.

  Quick thinking was essential. I wasn’t sure about my father’s strength in human form, but as the rougaroux—werewolf, or whatever he truly was, his power was undeniable. The duration of his transformation was unclear, and I didn’t know if he could shift again immediately, or if there was some kind of cooldown.

  Before casting it on my dad, I had never used the whisper spell. I didn’t know how long the effect would last. It worked the first time, but would it work again? My biggest concerns were the amount of magic used up to cast, and how long it took to affect the target. My magic was regenerating much faster since my last level, but I wasn’t sure if it would be enough. The tree cast it on me, and then not long after it cast the spell on Keith, so if it worked the same with me, then there shouldn’t be a waiting period or cool down.

  My dad was already extremely confused. He thought we were fighting spies and Vietnamese. He killed the Fontenot’s for crying out loud! God knows what he would have done with his prisoners had we not come along when we did.

  My initial thought was to convince him to go back to town and get him help, but now that I knew he could turn into a ravaging Louisiana myth, there was no way I was going to take him to Pierre Part unrestrained.

  How was I even going to restrain him?

  Maybe I can tie him down in his human form…maybe after I cast Confusion on him again he won’t be able to resist…if that even worked a second time.

  Jeremy! Dear God, please let Jeremy be okay.

  My hope of finding him here with the others faded. After taking care of Dad, I would have to search for him. Maybe I could get a quest to find him. I had to hold on to the belief that he would be okay.

  Part of me hoped Dad had thrown him into the whirlpool. So far, out of the people who have gone into it, all came out magically evolved; four came out normal, while two came out changed for the worse somehow. It would suck if Jeremy came out as some freak mutation like Dorien had, or if the process somehow screwed him up mentally like it did my dad?

  I was really starting to hate this whole magic thing. There was way too much to grasp, and I didn’t have the first clue!

  When I found Dad, I would have to convince him somehow to help me find Jeremy, and I would have to convince him to not pursue my friends.

  Hopefully, Steve’s pirate abilities helped to guide them to the boat.

  My mind was all over the place.

  I heard a rustling behind me.

  “Wh…What happened?” My father said, grabbing his head as he came towards me. He was back in his human form. Did my confusion ability force him back to his human form, or did the magic wear off? I didn’t know his current level, but if he was at a similar level to me, then his spells should only last for a few minutes. Why couldn’t I examine him like I could enemies?

  I went over to Dad and held him by the shoulders. “Are you okay?”

  “I’ll be alright. Where is everyone? Where are my prisoners?”

  “They got away. We’ll have to go after them, Dad. But first, we've gotta go look for Jeremy. I thought he would be here. Do you remember him? You took him a while ago. He’s a tall, skinny black man with dreadlocks.”

  “Yeah. A little. It’s a bit foggy, but he attacked us and…and…and I had to get rid of him…didn’t I…because da other spies attacked us…right?”

  “I think you were right about the spies. Jeremy is also very important. We need to find him. He knows too much, and he’s one of the leaders. I’m sure of it. The others—”

  “Da others,” he growled at me. If looks could kill. “YOU let da others escape!”

  “There’s nothing we can do about that right now,” I said calmly.

  “How could you?” He seethed, “If you weren’t my son!” He stomped around almost throwing a tantrum like a toddler, mumbling obscenities and curses.

  “You were right…all of my friends were spies. I’m sorry, sir. I…I just didn’t see it.” I didn’t have to fake my emotions. What I was saying was bull, but the feelings were real. “We have to find Jeremy, then we’ll find the rest. Jeremy is the key.”

  “It’s good to admit when you’re wrong, soldier,” he replied in a military matter-of-fact tone, “but don’t let dat demoralize you. We have an important job to do. As for waitin’, I’ve considered it, but I don’t tink it’s a good idea. I believe we can catch dem others if we leave now. I don’t tink dey are very smart. And Jeremy, we’ll have ta deal wit’ him when we get back.”

  With that, he started grabbing some supplies and headed off towards the boats.

  I followed. I had to think of something. I had to give my friends more time.

  “Dad. What level are you?”

  “What do ya mean, level? Always talkin’ this stupid crap.”

  “Could you stop for a minute! I see the same things you do. Something has happened to us. Some kind of magic has changed us. You can cast some magic, can’t you? I have healing magic. You…you can change your body into…into…”

  “A werewolf?!” He finished for me, scoffing with a short laugh. “It’s still me. It’s just a trick on da eyes. I’m not a howlin’ werewolf. I’d tink you were smarter than that, bud. I do tink dere is some weird magic goin’ on, like you said. Everythin’ is pretty weird da last few days. Animals are actin’ all wonky. People too. But dat isn’t da actual issue here. We’re deep in da jungle, surrounded by enemy forces. We have ta…” He trailed off as if listening to the wind. I heard nothing.

  “We need to move. Now!”

  He started running.

  What had he sensed?

  No time to think, he bolted like we were running from a swarm of hornets, and I had no choice but to follow. Struggling to keep up, my legs burned with effort. The speed was impossible to gauge, but my stamina bar plummeted. I couldn’t maintain this pace much longer.

  We stopped at a clearing like the one where we fought Dorien. This time I found my friends fighting a different monster hybrid created from parts of two different animals. I examined the regal anomaly.

  Regardless of the abnormal mutation and combination of two different animals, it was sort of beautiful in its own way. Part of me wondered if we should even fight such a magnificent beast. When we fought the tree, I hadn’t known it was someone who had come out to help us. I didn’t know it was Dorien.

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  What if this bear was one of us too, and now it was just defending itself?

  It didn’t matter now. The fight had started, and the bear wasn’t backing down. If we didn’t finish the fight, it could kill or seriously injure one of us.

  Dad's act of transforming and leaping into battle only made matters worse. I didn’t know who would win between the deerbear and my dad.

  I observed for a second as the deerbear fought with my dad. They were pretty well matched as far as strength, but Dad was a better fighter, cleverer. The bear half put a couple of hits on him, but he stood his ground. The deerbear stood up on its hind legs and struck Dad full force on the chest. It roared, and Steve and Keith froze in place, but Dad kept fighting. They both landed several blows, and finally the deerbear dealt a critical hit on Dad, swatting him hard to the ground.

  I cast Whisper. It didn’t work the way it should have. I was hoping for the deerbear to just lose its train of thought and wander off, but all I did was piss it off.

  It wheeled around, abandoning the others, and charged straight at me—roaring like a thunderstorm with claws wide ready to swing. Its bulk made it look top-heavy, clumsy even, but it moved with terrifying speed and precision. I sized it up in an instant: I couldn’t sidestep it, not cleanly. My best option was to vault over it or slide underneath it. Its head dipped, antlers lowered to ram me.

  I charged, sending a roar of my own. At the last second, I somersaulted through the air, twisting mid-flight.

  Eat your heart out, Simon Biles, I thought.

  I landed in a perfect straddle position on its back. I drew the hatchet and buried it deep into the base of the bear’s skull. The beast howled, reeling, but it wasn’t down. Not yet.

  The hatchet stuck firm. I crouched on its back, gripping an antler for balance, and yanked with everything I had. It tore free with a wet slosh, flinging blood and bone haphazardly. I slammed the axe down a second time. The beast froze on a dime from mid-gallop. My momentum sent me sailing ten feet like a cork out of a champagne bottle. I rolled and scrambled to my feet. I looked up in time to see it charge again, clearing the distance between us in a split second. I was too slow to react this time. I felt the tines punch into me, lift me off my feet, and fling me like flicking a booger.

  Crap! Not Bleed again!

  I saw a lightning bolt streak across the sky as I pushed myself off the earth again. The electricity pounded into John DeerBear, causing it to shudder and freeze for a second. I could smell the burning skin and hair.

  Seizing the moment, I cast Whisper again. This time the spell latched onto the deerbear’s mind like fog on a windshield—it froze, legs twitching, eyes darting in total panic and befuddlement.

  I staggered upright. Pulled the machete from my hip and lunged—driving the blade into the place I believed its heart should be. The blade sank deep before a bear paw connected with my shoulder at the same time.

  John DeerBear groaned, a low, trembling sound that rattled me. It collapsed with a thud that echoed through the swamp.

  I felt instant regret for what I had just done. We attacked a creature like murder hobos, again. As long as I was in charge, I wouldn’t let that happen again.

  I could still hear a battle raging off in the distance, so I didn’t have time to loot.

  Pow came over, offering his hand. “You gotta get up! That werewolf is attacking the others!”

  I cast healing on myself with as much magic as I could spare. I sustained three puncture wounds, each spewing blood.

  My magic was critically low, but I got the Bleed notification to go away.

  The only weapon I had left was my muscles—it would come down to strength against strength as I faced my father.