Sam looked at the booth, sighing and reaching into his pockets. He put his hoodie over his head and calmly approached.
In what felt like an instant, he grabbed one of the men and held a switchblade to his throat, holding him hostage. The others looked at the situation blankly, without an ounce of emotion.
"Hey. Y'all are bad news for him; he's a nice guy, don't give him a heart attack."
Aubrey stood up in the booth, to which the men collectively drew guns to Aubrey's head.
"...Tch," Sam spat out, his eyes narrowing.
"Aubrey means more to you than he does to us. We are not here to harm anyone, but we are willing to. It's your choice," one of the men said, placing his finger gently over the trigger.
Sam was silent for a second before smiling with his lips, putting the knife away and letting the man go. He sat back down in the booth, crossing his legs underneath and looking at the men.
"Alright then. So, what do you, who are so well known for wanting to talk things through with monsters, wish to discuss?"
Aubrey looked at Sam in surprise.
"Monsters? Wait, you know about them?"
Sam blinked twice, turning his eyes over to Aubrey.
"Yeah, do you?"
"...Uh, yeah."
"..."
"..."
"Gosh darn it, now I look like a dunce."
"Samuel, Aubrey, you two are coming with us," one of the men said, to which the friends got up and did just that.
…
Taken to an underground facility located beneath an office building in the city, the friends were sat down in a fancy-looking room. A man stepped inside, sitting down at their table and facing them.
"Aubrey Palmer. Recently, you've become a supernatural entity, classified as a WendigoWalker. According to the Humanity Protection Company, we have decided that you have become a threat to humanity."
Aubrey nodded his head while Sam stared at him.
"You… you became one of them!?" Sam shouted, and Aubrey looked at him.
"Uh, yeah? Wait, how do you know about monsters?"
"I'm technically a monster. Not a 'monster,' just an 'elite human' or whatever."
Aubrey looked to the man for an explanation.
"Sam is a Superhuman. He was born that way. But, that is besides the point. Aubrey," the man offered, "we will let you live, so long as you use your Connection to kill monsters."
"My Connection?"
"Monsters attract other monsters. It's as if fate itself desires for monsters to interact."
"So I get to be a monster hunter, right? Kill them?"
"That is correct."
"Fuck yeah I'll do it!"
Aubrey sat up in his seat, looking at Sam. "Dude, we can be, like, monster hunters together. It'll be super cool! Like imagine walking through the woods with a gun, shooting skinwalkers; it'd be cool, no?"
Sam crossed his arms. "Well, yes, but I kinda already said no, back when I was 12. Buuut, I'll do it if you do it."
"Naturally."
"Alright, I'm in."
…
After taking a strength, speed, Ability, and regeneration test, Aubrey was given a licence.
He met up with Sam outside the office building, as he showed off his licence. "Aw, man, I'm a Freshman. What're you?"
Sam showed off his own license, flashing his pearly whites. "Boom bitch, I'm a Sophomore. One~level~higher!"
Aubrey shrugged his shoulders. "Whatever! Apparently, W.W's get stronger by eating monsters and stuff. So I'm gonna get way stronger, and I'll be the coolest one."
"Oh yeah? I'm just gonna train and get stronger! 100 pushups, 100 situps, 100 squats, and a 6.2 mile run, do it every single day!"
The two laughed together as they walked down the street, being quite obnoxious. Though, since Sam was still human, he experienced tiredness. And as such, after spending an hour walking around the streets, exploring the city like they did back in highschool, Sam decided to head home.
Aubrey walked him home, said his goodbyes, and went back home himself, smiling.
Sam's a superhuman… I never would've guessed. Why didn't he tell me? Nah, that's a dumb question. I also hid my inhumanity, so it's not that big of a deal.
I'm starting to get hungry. Maybe I should eat a monster. Maybe I should wait for fate to do its thing?
"Moo! Moo! C'mon, get inside!"
Aubrey looked around towards the sounds of a woman. Though not visible, he could tell they weren't too far away. He walked around the block, eventually seeing a woman walking around.
"Moo! Where are you, buddy? C'mon, it's late; just get inside already!"
The woman stepped out underneath a streetlight, showing her face.
Gasp. Quite literally, Aubrey gasped. It was unnatural, so unnatural, for him to do such a thing—yet he did it anyway.
It's the girl from the bookstore!
The woman looked at him, taking a step back and reaching for her pepper spray. Naturally, a woman seeing a man out in the middle of the night staring at her from across the street made her uncomfortable.
"O-oh my gosh, sorry, sorry," Aubrey said, putting his hands up before turning around. He began to walk away, his head hanging due to his embarrassment.
Oh my goodness, she hates me. I'm so stupid man, shit.
Wait, Moo? Is she crazy? Or perhaps a monster? Wait, is she looking for a dog or something?
If so, then…
"Um, miss, uh… are you looking for a dog or something?" Aubrey asked, turning around and slowly walking over to her.
"Y-yeah, well, no, I'm looking for my cat."
"And he won't just come back on his own?"
"Well… huh, I guess I didn't think about that."
Aubrey held back a snort, as he sucked his lips in to avoid smiling. "Well, I can try to help. Um, wait, are you from the bookstore? I saw you just earlier today, um, I'm the—"
"Oh! You're the No Longer Human guy, right?" She said with widened eyes, getting a good look at him in the streetlight. Aubrey wasn't exactly distinct-looking, so he was quite surprised she'd even remembered him.
Well, technically the No Longer Human guy isn't wrong.
"Uh, yeah, that's me."
"Ooh! I could tell because you look like you haven't slept at all!"
"Kh… y-yeah."
Aubrey exhaled a laugh from his nose and looked around.
As a W.W, they tested my senses too. I think I also remember hearing that skinwalkers have good senses or something, probably due to animal-stuff or whatever.
Aubrey sniffed a bit. Unlike before, his nose picked up on many more scents; particularly that of animals and humans. It was a trait reserved for hunting, to be able to track down prey.
Though, unless I want to kill any chance of romance between us, I won't eat her cat in front of her.
Aubrey got a general sense for where the cat was, able to pick up the scent trail it left behind.
"Um, I think we should try to just pick a direction and run with it for a block or two. And, um, if I make you nervous, don't hesitate to pepper spray me, alright?"
I really don't know what to do here, man.
Aubrey, a plain and normal guy, did not have that much experience with women. A few women found him attractive, but only one of those developed into a relationship, back in middle-school. But, like all middle-school relationships, it lasted like a week and then they dumped each other.
"Hm? I guess I can, if that's what you want."
She pulled out the pepper spray and the two walked in the direction Aubrey picked. He made a bunch of BS turns that he half-assedly explained by him "guessing" until they did eventually find Moo, a white cat with black spots like a cow, stuck in a tree.
"Ah! Moo! There you are! C'mon buddy, get down from there!"
The woman looked up, raising her arms, though Moo refused to get down. It wasn't a very tall tree, but neither of them were tall enough on their own to get him.
And since Aubrey didn't want to risk seeming superhuman by jumping up 12 feet to grab the cat – literally a world record – he waited around as he sought any other method.
"Hm… Maybe he's scared?" Aubrey asked, and the woman agreed.
"Yeah, probably. But still… what to do?"
Aubrey stood around, unsure. There were no ladders in sight, and Superman was probably sleeping in Metropolis, so he couldn't come rescue the cat this instant.
"Ooh, I'll just stand on your shoulders," the woman suggested, as Aubrey internally agreed instantly, but had to feign consideration for the idea.
"Well… I suppose it's our best shot. If you fall, I'll do my best to catch you. Don't expect too much, though."
The woman nodded her head and Aubrey crouched down near the tree. The woman climbed up on his shoulders, and he effortlessly stood up slowly.
"Woah, you're stronger than you look!"
Oh my gosh, she said I'm strong! Tee-hee-hee!
…Shut up, man.
His inner monologues waging war against each other, Aubrey remained silent outwardly as the girl reached up. She managed to grab ahold of the cat and Aubrey gently helped her down, with her hugging the cat in her arms.
"Thank you, Yozo! You're a good guesser, aren't you?" She praised, smiling.
Though it was dark, Aubrey could make out her face, and his heart skipped a beat.
"Uh… yeah, I guess I am. Wait, Yozo?"
"Yep! It's the main character of the book you bought; you did read it, right?"
"Er, I was busy so, um, not yet. Not yet."
"Eh? It's a good read, I recommend it. Weeell, thank you for this."
"No problem, no problem."
I'm literally the coolest guy in the world.
Aubrey couldn't contain a smile, which he masked in the darkness of the night. She began to walk back, looking at him to see if he'd follow, which he obviously did.
…
Dropping her off at her home, he smiled gently. He waved and said goodbye before turning around—
"Wait!"
He looked back at her, as she remained in the doorframe.
"What's your name? I'm Sienna, by the way!"
"Oh, I'm Aubrey."
"Nice to meet'cha! Thanks for this; please, stop by the bookstore again! I might be able to work out a discount for you; no promises though!"
Aubrey chuckled, "Alright, alright, you've got me. Have a goodnight, Sienna."
He waved gently, and walked away, as she closed her door.
As he walked down the street, he looked up at the sky, seeing the cloudy sky, the moon peering out even through them.
I feel high. Am I high? No, I'm not.
I just… everything right now… it all feels so, so pleasant. The world clicked into place, everything leading to this moment; it was all necessary.
Everything just feels right.