"I see. I haven't seen or heard my colleagues feeling stronger," Beth said as she drove the patrol car. She glanced at the rearview mirror where Adam and Sarah sat quietly in the back. "Maybe animals are more sensitive... or maybe they just have a higher chance of awakening."
"Don't worry," she added. "We'll only patrol for about two hours for now. Just to give you guys an idea of how it works."
Adam looked out the window, watching the empty streets slide past. He then glanced at Sarah for a moment, he asked, "We are getting paid for this, right?"
Sarah nodded immediately, looking somewhat relieved.
Beth chuckled. "Yes. Don't worry — Angelo said he'll handle the paperwork since he's the one who dragged you both into this."
As she explained how patrol usually worked, the police radio crackled to life.
"Unit 14-5, requesting immediate backup on Silver Creek Street! Escaped animals spotted in the subway tunnels! Officers injured!"
Beth's face tightened. "That's near us."
Grabbing the radio, she responded quickly, "This is Patrol 16-1. We're en route."
Beth stepped on the gas, the patrol car jolting forward. She glanced back at Adam and Sarah.
"Get ready."
Adam grunted in affirmation. Sarah nodded firmly.
When they arrived at the subway entrance, two patrol cars were already parked outside. Two officers stood by the entrance; one of them was sitting against the wall, clutching his bleeding arm.
Beth approached them immediately. "What's the situation?"
One officer, looking pale and tense, spoke up. "It's a damn draw. Wolves. They're cornering it down there."
The other officer, who was wounded, growled in frustration. "I emptied a whole mag into one. Damn thing still bit me and broke my arm before it died."
Adam flinched as he saw the man's wrist — bloody and badly mangled.
"You guys medics?" the injured officer asked, his voice hopeful.
"No. We're here as reinforcement," Beth replied.
The officer eyed Adam and Sarah. "Civilians?"
"They're under me," Beth said simply, jerking her thumb toward them. "Let's move."
They descended into the dim subway tunnel, boots echoing off the grimy tiles. Gunshots rang out ahead. Picking up the pace, they soon spotted five officers huddled behind cover, keeping their guns trained on a broken doorway. Two wolf corpses already lay motionless nearby.
Beth moved up beside them.
"Beth? Where's Carl?" one of the officers asked without looking away from his sights.
"Different patrol," Beth replied. "I'm leading these two tonight."
She nodded toward Adam and Sarah.
The officer's eyes widened in disbelief. "Civilians? Are you crazy?"
"They're the same as me," Beth said coolly.
The officer stared at her, then at Adam and Sarah. "Damn. There's actually more of you? Do they have a crazy shot like you too?"
Beth shook her head. "No. Their abilities are different. But I can handle the wolves."
She crouched low, peering at the broken door.
"Where were they coming from?"
"Made a damn nest in the registrar's office. See that big hole?"
"I see it."
Beth drew her sidearm — a heavy, worn revolver. Adam watched curiously as she touched each bullet briefly before snapping the cylinder shut.
She pointed the gun at the broken door. A low growl rumbled from inside.
"I need you guys to flush them out," she ordered.
"Roger."
Two officers opened fire on the doorway, sending echoes through the tunnel. Almost instantly, five wolves burst out, snarling and snapping.
Adam held his breath.
Beth opened fire. Every shot curved unnaturally, like the bullets had minds of their own, slamming straight into the wolves' heads.
The officers around them gasped in amazement.
Then, another wolf — bigger and more menacing — lunged out of the darkness. Without hesitation, Beth calmly took aim and fired a single shot. The bullet punched clean through the wolf's forehead, dropping it mid-leap.
Adam stared in awe.
That's... terrifying.
"Is that all of them?" Beth asked, reloading her revolver with practiced efficiency. "Check inside."
The officers moved up cautiously.
"No targets left!" someone called out. "But... we found some casualties."
An officer stumbled out of the office and puked against the wall.
Beth, Adam, and Sarah moved inside — and recoiled immediately.
The room was a grotesque mess of blood and mangled human remains.
Beth let out a long breath. "More victims. We were too late in quarantining this place."
Adam's face darkened. Sarah turned pale.
Beth gave them a grim look. "Let's head back."
Leaving the crime scene to the arriving responders, they made their way back to the patrol car. Sirens wailed in the distance, merging with the cold night air.
Once inside, Beth started the engine. She glanced back at them.
"You think you can handle this kind of stuff?" she asked bluntly.
Sarah gave a small, slow nod. Her face was unreadable.
Adam stared out the window, lost in thought.
Beth sighed. "You guys can rest for now. I'll talk to Angelo. Maybe... maybe we can get some government funding for this kind of thing."
Adam gave her the address to the bar. The rest of the drive was silent except for the faint sound of sirens.
Adam leaned against the window, sighing inwardly.
I swore I'd stop hesitating... but now, I'm doubting again.
What the hell do I even want? What do I want to be?
He barely registered the world around him — until Sarah screamed.
"IN FRONT OF YOU—!"
Adam jerked his head up just as something massive slammed into the patrol car. The vehicle spun out of control and flipped, the world turning into a blur of metal and glass.
-----------------------------------------------------------
Adam groaned as he blinked awake, the sharp tang of blood thick in the air. Shards of glass glittered like stars around him. For a moment, he didn't recognize where he was — until the crushed roof above him, now the floor, came into focus.
The patrol car was upside down.
Adam coughed, shifting slightly. Pain lanced through his body — or it should have. When he looked down, he realized his seatbelt had snapped during the crash. He had been thrown against the roof... but aside from faint aches, he was uninjured. No. He had been injured — but he had already healed.
Gritting his teeth, Adam turned his head to the side. Sarah hung limply from her seatbelt, unconscious, a trickle of blood running down her forehead. On the other side, Beth was in a similar state, dangling by her belt, head slumped forward.
Panic tried to claw at him, but he forced it down.
Moving carefully, Adam crawled through the shattered window, wincing as glass sliced into his arms and legs. His hands bled freely — and then, as if time itself refused to let him suffer, the wounds stitched themselves closed in seconds.
Standing shakily, he took in the scene.
The patrol car, wrecked and smoking, lay abandoned in the middle of the road.
And a few meters away, the culprit — a massive bison — struggled on the pavement, spasming uncontrollably. Its flanks heaved. Blood dribbled from its mouth. It tried to stand but only managed a pitiful stumble before collapsing again, dazed from the impact.
Adam's hands balled into fists. He looked around, spotting a large shard of glass nearby. It was jagged and sharp — a weapon born from the crash.
Without thinking, he grabbed it.
Blood immediately welled up from his palm where the shard bit into his skin. And stopped.
Adam walked toward the bison slowly, every step deliberate, his shoes crunching over the broken debris. His heart hammered, but his mind was a cold, still void.
He stood over the massive animal, raised the shard with both hands, and drove it down into the thick muscle of its neck.
The bison roared in agony, thrashing violently.
Its massive head slammed into Adam's side, sending him flying across the asphalt. He crumpled to the ground, bones likely broken — and then he stood up again moments later, breathing heavily, body mending itself with sickening speed.
His face twisted into a snarl.
With a roar of his own, Adam charged back, seized the shard again, and stabbed down harder, deeper. Blood sprayed across his arms, soaking him. The bison thrashed, kicking and struggling as Adam climbed onto its side, using his weight to drive the shard further into the beast's neck.
Over and over.
Over and over.
Over and over.
Over and over.
Over and over.
Until finally, with a low gurgling sound, the bison shuddered one last time — and lay still.
Adam staggered back, chest heaving, his vision swimming in a haze of rage and adrenaline.
For a few seconds, he just stood there, gasping.
Then clarity slammed into him.
The patrol car.
Sarah. Beth.
Without wasting another moment, Adam spun on his heel, sprinting back toward the wreck. He yanked out his phone, now with a broken screen, fingers trembling, and dialed for emergency services.
"Come on," he muttered hoarsely, heart pounding as the phone rang in his ear. "Pick up..."
The night was alive with sirens in the distance, but here, for now, it was just Adam, the broken car, and the two people who needed him.