Werewolves Don't Cry (BoyxBoy) [On Hold]

5| Wrong Place, Wrong Time

Jesse asked Emma to give him some time alone. After that painful walk down memory lane, he needed it.

Emma agreed with a sigh. She whispered words of comfort to his ear before she left him, sitting at the edge of the pickup truck all by himself.

Today was a shameful day for Jesse, for he showed his tears, first in a public place for Kai, and only moments ago in front of his cousin for his dad and little Dena. Remembering all these losses was too much to handle in a single day.

Jesse absorbed the calming nature of his surroundings, taking his eyes away from the white stuffed kitten in his lap. A breeze carried the scent of the summer leaves, a squirrel past his bedtime groomed his fur on a tree branch, and the full moon was bright up in the darkness of the sky. Every detail of this beautiful evening was enough to distract Jesse from his grief.

The peace and quiet didn't last. A commotion came from the back of the apartment building that disturbed Jesse's peaceful night. He couldn't figure out the sounds he was hearing, but he could tell that they were a bunch of boys having too much fun.

Screams? No. Cheers? Or maybe laughter?

With a frown of concentration, he turned his head around to hear the noises better. As it got closer, his eyes widened.

What on earth... They're howling?

A shadow raced down the alley where the truck was parked. Jesse immediately whirled around to catch a glimpse of the thing that ran there.

It was a tired, wounded guy, running as if his life depended on it. His white t-shirt was ripped and stained with red marks. He stopped to catch his breath, but once he glanced back, panic spiraled within him, draining the blood from his face almost instantly.

"Oh, God. Oh, please, help me."

He continued running down the alley and disappeared behind the wall to the left, directly behind Emma's apartment building.

The howls were closing in, followed by excited, manic laughter, definitely belonging to a gang looking for trouble. They crossed the alley and went after that scared guy like predators hunting for prey.

Jesse ducked behind the wheels seconds before they passed by. They were probably four or five boys dressed in baggy hip hop clothes.

"Aaaahhh!"

That chilling scream sent a shiver down Jesse's spine. His lean, slim figure was one of the main reasons he avoided getting into fights, but he had to do something to help that poor guy. He couldn't handle another guilt like what happened to Kai. If things got ugly, he would pull out his phone and simply call the police.

Jesse crouched-walked toward the intersection of the alley. He peeked, but no one was there. While watching over his shoulder for any hostile strangers, Jesse continued crouching from one alley to another, following the screams of agony. Jesse was determined to find the injured man. He got deep between the buildings of that dreadfully awful neighborhood. The screams were getting closer, too close.