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Galo’s job as a firefighter was about more than just fighting fires. He was often asked to visit schools and do educational talks, participate in events with other firefighting units, and rescue stray animals from precarious places.
So being asked by the council to investigate an odd noise coming from an abandoned building wasn’t that far out of the ballpark for him.
The house was as run-down as the council had warned him it would be. The worn floorboards creaked and shuddered beneath Galo’s feet, feeling as though they’d give out at any moment. Galo paused next to a window, his eye caught by the blood moon in the sky. Tonight was a rare lunar event. Galo was disappointed that he had to work, but at least he got to see the moon, even if he couldn’t bask in the sight.
Nighttime was an odd time to search the house, but apparently the noise only came at night.
Galo was just beginning to think that the whole thing might just be a poor joke when a mournful howl cut the air. It wrenched at Galo’s heart, sad and pained and weary.
It seemed to have come from beneath Galo’s feet. The basement, he assumed.
“Galo? Have you found anything?” Remi’s anxious voice came through Galo’s radio. Remi was waiting in the car outside the house. They’d decided that since no suspicious activity other than the animal sounds had been reported, it was safe enough for Galo to check it out alone. However, they’d stay in radio contact just in case Galo found something unexpected. If anything did happen to Galo, Remi would call the police.
“Not yet, but I did hear something. I’m going to check the basement. I think it might be a dog.”
Maybe a pet had been left here, or a stray had wandered in here and fallen through some rotten floorboards? It could be hurt.
Galo found the basement door and made his way down the concrete steps, flashlight in hand. At the bottom of the stairway was another door. Light seeped out through the crack beneath it.
Light?
Galo pushed the door open and stood stock-still, staring. The room was lit with a naked overhead bulb. Beneath the bulb was a dark shape. Chains rattled as the shape moved, a black snout coming up to sniff at the air.
A dog? A very large dog? Or a wolf? Whatever it was, it did not look friendly. Its coat was pure black and its eyes were…magenta? The colour was pretty, but it did not go with the teeth at all. And there were a lot of teeth. Very sharp teeth.
Thankfully, Galo didn’t have to fear for his immediate safety because the dog, or whatever it was, was wrapped up in silver chains. They coiled around its legs and body, weighing it down. A sturdy length was attached to a metal collar around its neck and fastened to a metal ring in the concrete floor. That dog wasn’t going anywhere.
But why the fuck was it being kept down here?
Maybe an illegal dogfighting ring?
“Remi? Are you there?” Galo asked into his radio. He got nothing but static back. Damn, the thing was playing up again.
The dog gave another mournful howl, its strange eyes fixed on Galo. It struggled against the chains, but it was no use.
“Hey, boy,” Galo crooned, approaching it. “Don’t be afraid. I’m not gonna hurt you. Good doggie.”
The dog whined, and then its body convulsed. It whimpered pitifully as if it were in pain. Galo was less than a meter away from it when its fur began to lighten. No, the fur was disappearing, Galo realised. He watched, stunned as the black fur disappeared, to be replaced by human skin. Muscles and bone rearranged themselves until no trace of the dog remained. All that was left was a human man, all bundled up in silver.
Galo hurried to try to pull the chains off him, but the man snarled at him.
“Stay back. Don’t touch me.”
The request startled Galo. “Don’t be stupid,” he admonished. “We need to get you out of here. To a hospital or something.” Because people did not turn into dogs or vice versa…maybe it was Galo who needed to go to the hospital. Maybe he’d breathed in some asbestos or something and he’d hallucinated the dog?
“It’s not over yet. It’s too dangerous… Leave.”
The man struggled to keep his head raised, though the weight of the collar threatened to drag it down again. Exhaustion coloured his face beneath his loose, sweaty strands of blond hair.
“What?” Galo asked, hesitating. He couldn’t leave anyone in this situation. The man was naked, for God’s sake, and the basement was uncomfortably cool.
“The blood moon…the eclipse. Once the eclipse is over, I’ll change back until the sun rises. It’s not safe. I’ll hurt you.”
Galo reached for the man again, his hands touching chilled skin. “Look, we’ll get you to a hospital and—“
A sharp, angry hiss. “I said no! Get away from me!”
Galo backed off, shocked and lost. He spread his hands helplessly. “What am I supposed to do?” he asked.
“Nothing. Absolutely nothing. Just keep your mouth shut and forget you ever came down here.”
The man laid his head back down on the cold concrete, his body curled and shivering. He looked so pathetic that Galo knew he couldn’t just walk away.
But he did. He headed back up the stairs and tried his radio again. When Remi answered, Galo requested, “I need you to cover for me for a little while.”
“Why?” Remi asked suspiciously.
“I can’t say,” Galo said awkwardly as he headed for one of the first floor bedrooms.
“Let me guess. You found a pretty kitty,” Remi responded dryly. “Not the four legged kind. You’re such a soft touch, Galo.”
Galo laughed awkwardly, though he didn’t deny Remi’s assumption. Let Remi think whatever he wanted, as long as Galo got the time he needed.
The house was pitch-black, the red moon having vanished from the sky.
“All right. But you owe me, Galo.”
“Thanks, Remi. You’re the greatest.”
“Don’t forget that. Call me tomorrow morning.”
Galo retrieved a worn, faded quilt from an old, rickety bed and shook dust off it. He coughed.
It wasn’t much, but it was better than nothing.
Galo carried the quilt back down the basement stairs. When he entered the room (or cell?) his host stared at him with ill-concealed disgust.
“Don’t you ever listen? I said I don’t need your help.”
Galo ignored his protest and spread the quilt over him. The young man stared at Galo as if he’d turned bright purple.
Galo seated himself against the wall, a safe distance away from the chained man.
“I don’t know what’s going on here,” he said, “but I can’t leave you. I’m going to wait here until…until whatever this is is over.”
“I hate good Samaritans,” the blond muttered, eyelids closing bleakly. “Do whatever the fuck you want, but don’t say I didn’t warn you. Stick your hand too close, and it won’t be my fault if you lose it.”
“Science has made great progress with prosthetic limbs,” Galo said blithely.
The man groaned. “I knew tonight would be bad, but this is just rubbing salt in the wound. Shut up or I might just decide I don’t give a shit if you or anyone else dies tonight.”
The man looked frighteningly serious, so Galo shut up. He sat, arms crossed, and watched the man curl up beneath the quilt, golden hair shimmering in the light.
Far above their heads, above the wooden ceiling of the house, the first sliver of moon showed itself.
Morning found Galo dozing against the wall. He woke to the clinking of chains and a groan. Galo opened his eyes and raised his head to see that the dog/man was now a man. He squirmed in the chains, as if he were uncomfortable.
Galo ignored the crick in his neck and got to his feet, hurrying over to the man. He pulled the ratty cover over the blond, who was shivering.
Unlike the night before, Galo didn’t receive a verbal lashing for his effort, so he began to pull on the chains.
Galo hadn’t made much progress when the door banged open.
“Lio, we bought—!”
Two men came tumbling into the room. Both froze when they saw Galo. Their postures quickly turned defensive.
“Get away from him,” the red-haired man said, shifting his bag as if he planned on throwing it at Galo.
Galo’s anger simmered into a boil. The blond had been left alone all night, chained up on the floor. Okay so he’d been a dog for most of that time, but still—
And these two thought they could just barge in here and demand that Galo leave? No fucking way.
“I’m not going anywhere,” Galo snapped. His hand rested protectively on the head of the blond, who seemed to be having trouble staying awake. Galo couldn’t really blame him. The dog/man had spent most of the night howling mournfully at the ceiling. Galo doubted that he’d gotten any sleep at all.
“You—“ The red-haired one took a step forward. Galo caught a whiff of fast food, presumably from the bag in his hand. Galo’s mouth watered. He suddenly realised that he hadn’t eaten anything for hours.
The blond’s head raised, and the red-haired man cut himself off, his expression softening into concern.
“Is that…?” the blond asked, eyes fixed on the paper bag as if it held the secret to immortality.
“Hot and spicy chicken,” the red-haired man responded. His friend edged around to the blond’s side, making sure to keep his distance from Galo.
Galo watched with confusion as the purple-haired man slipped out a key from his jacket pocket and used it to unlock the collar around the blond’s neck. He then made quick work of the other chains, and Galo was envious of the ease with which he dispatched them. Galo had been trying to untangle them for a few minutes, and yet this guy got them off in just a few seconds.
The blond eased himself up into a sitting position, one hand braced on Galo’s knee. He reached for the bag, seemingly transfixed. Galo wrapped the cover around his shoulders, though the blond didn’t seem to notice.
The red-haired man handed the bag over with another suspicious look to Galo.
The blond wolfed down the food, and Galo, who had won last year’s Titan Burger challenge at the local eatery, had to admit that he had nothing on the ravenous blond.
While the blond’s mouth was occupied, the two newcomers seated themselves on the floor and stared at Galo.
“Who’re you?” the purple-haired man asked, eyes narrowed unkindly.
“I’m Galo,” Galo responded. “The world’s best firefighter,” he added proudly.
The two exchanged looks. “Modest, too,” said the red-haired man.
“Who’re you?” Galo questioned in return, choosing to ignore the snarky comment. His hand rubbed the blond’s back, noting how tense and tight the muscles were. Poor guy.
“Meis,” said the purple-haired man.
“Gueira,” the other answered. “And that’s Lio.” He gestured to the blond.
The blond swallowed, then said in a raspy voice, “What makes you assume I didn’t introduce myself?”
“Wolves can’t talk,” Gueira pointed out.
“Wait, are you friends?” Galo guessed.
“Wait, are you stupid?” Gueira returned. “Why else would we be here?”
Galo’s anger rose again to sweep over his face in crimson. “Then why weren’t you here last night?” he demanded.
The two looked taken aback, but neither of them had the chance to answer. It was Lio who spoke, his voice tired.
“I told them to leave,” he said. “Unlike you, they respected my wishes.” Lio tore another piece of chicken off the bone with his teeth.
Lio’s two friends stared at Galo like he was a worm that ought to be squashed, but Galo wasn’t sorry in the least. He only had to hear that sad howl once to know that he couldn’t turn his back on it. Lio had been hurting. Lio had needed someone to be with him—even if he had been too afraid to admit it.
Galo was still confused about a lot of things, like how could a man turn into a dog or wolf or whatever? But one thing he knew for certain was that he’d made the right choice to spend the night here.