We ran toward the commotion. Lacoco’s flashlight illuminated Ed with his back to us. He had a sword in each hand, one raised over his head to slash downward, one extended in front of him to ward off danger. He moved slowly, legs bent, gradually setting his weight on his toes. On the other side of him, something growled and slinked along the ground. I lifted Abomination and flicked on the big light.

Something furry was crouched on the other side of our orc. It was low and ready to pounce, but not wanting to impale itself on Ed’s sword. Bright yellow eyes were unblinking as it prepared to strike.

It was a werewolf.

I was no stranger to werewolves. I’d killed a few of them and I was absolutely terrified of the savage things. It was a werewolf that had nearly killed me and introduced me to the existence of monsters. Werewolves scared the hell out of me. The Nachtmar was getting personal now. “Out of the way, Ed!” I shouted as I searched for a clear shot. Ed leapt smoothly to the side. I pulled the trigger.

My buckshot tore a dozen holes in the ceiling. Lacoco had knocked my muzzle aside at the last second. “Hold on. I recognize her. Hey, Red! Is that you?”

It was red. I’d never seen a red one before. The werewolf tilted its head to the side, nostrils flaring as it smelled us. Ed kept his swords up. I put the monster in my sights again, but kept my finger off the trigger. Lacoco had better know what he was doing.

“It’s me, Jason. Can you hear me, Deputy?”

The werewolf stood upright and dipped its—no, her—head, seeming almost calm. I’d only been around a few fully transformed werewolves in my life, but I’d never seen anything like that before. Normally they were all fury and snapping. Edward, totally confused, even lowered his swords a bit.

The change back into a human was incredibly rapid. I’d seen fast werewolf transformations before, but never anything like this. It made Earl look sluggish. Bones popped out of now ill-fitting sockets. Fur receded. “What the hell?” Within thirty seconds there was a naked redheaded woman standing in front of us. When she lifted her head, her eyes were still glowing gold. “Damn.”

“Jason Lacoco?” She still sounded too deep.

“This is the second time I’ve seen you naked. I’m starting to think you like me or something.”

“Are you real?” she asked suspiciously, her voice already returning to a normal tone.

“Are you?” I asked her back. I wasn’t ready to believe anything here in crazy world.