12 The Culprits (1/2)
Lazar was divided between hurrying to prevent the couple from being killed before his arrival and his instinct shouting him to act with caution.
He was going to attack a group of monsters for the first time after all.
'I have to start taking risks. It's my best chance to understand what happened.'
The situation was taking a bad turn.
The couple was slower than their pursuers who were only twenty yards from them.
Lazar was running as fast as he could too, but it wasn't enough to catch up with the monsters, he was even left behind.
He was barely 1 kilometer from his home and therefore knew the surroundings like his pocket.
The chase had led Lazar to a neighborhood full of apartment buildings glued together, he knew this place only too well.
He was arrested once here.
Normally it was very easy for him to sow the police. He could no longer count the number of obese police officers who tried to chase him when he was younger.
He had come to believe that when they entered the police they were given the choice between donuts every day and fighting crime.
'Obviously many had chosen the donuts.'
The reason he was arrested here was that he didn't foresee that there would be so many dead ends in the neighborhood.
Visibly, this couple hadn't anticipated it either.
Lazar noticed in front of him that the man was leading the woman down a path between 2 buildings.
'He just made a mistake that will surely be fatal.'
According to Lazar's memories, there was a dead-end on this path.
The couple was closely followed by the monsters as they rushed into the passage.
Lazar no longer had any visibility of what was going on but he knew that maybe the fight was going to start in the next few seconds.
He wasn't convinced that the monsters were unaware of his presence.
His life was more important than the information he needed, so he took precautions before entering the passage.
He moved away from the sidewalk which was directly connected to the passage, he intended to enter it by passing by the road.
This left him full visibility at 10 yards from the entrance of it.
When he reached it he was only half surprised by what he saw.
He wasn't only awaited by the 7 monsters but also by the man and the woman who both greeted him with a big smile.
It was confusing...
The passage was thirty yards long and ended in a dead-end as he had planned.
If they wanted to maximize their chances of killing him, their best option was to wait for him in the blind spot at the entrance to the passage.
'It's just a game for them.'
Instead, they were all waiting for him in the middle of the way.
Now that he could see them from the front and given what was going on, he understood what these monsters were.
There is nothing monstrous about them as long as you don't look at their legs, arms, and heads.
'It's like an approximate bipedal version of a wolf.'
Their legs and arms were similar to those of humans but were also covered with fur and their head looked completely like that of a wolf, the rest of their bodies were totally human... and naked.
Their specificities didn't stop at characteristics similar to those of wolves.
Their bodies looked much more robust than those of humans, their eyes were red and their claws, whether on their feet or hands, were much longer than any wolves that Lazar saw in his life.
'They seem more like wanting to have fun with me than anything else, let's try to make them talk. I don't want to waste my time for nothing.'
”I told myself that you couldn't be werewolves but that you weren't far from it. I was right.”
The young 'man' behind the other monsters groaned in their direction which had the effect of calming them.
They didn't seem to be able to completely control themselves in this form.
Lazar wasn't sure of the role of the 'woman', she looked rather young too, but seeing her bossy posture, he had the feeling she was the leader.
The fact that she was the one who answered him further confirmed his judgment.
She looked particularly playful at Lazar's remark.
”I told you this man was interesting Leo.”
'I don't know what the monsters all have with me. None of them take me for a threat when they see me, it gets annoying...'
”Wait a bit before making any conclusions, he could bluff.”
Lazar successively pointed to one of the male monsters.
”Ganipote.”
Then one of the female monsters.
”Garache.”
This action had the effect of triggering the laughter of the 'woman'.
”Ah ah ah ah! You see! I was right to choose him!”
'They must have noticed me for a while and set a trap for me.'
Oddly he saw a tinge of respect in the eyes of the couple, as well as those of the monsters.
”I am honored that you know who we are!”
”The honor is not shared, you seem to forget that we are enemies.”
The hostility of the monsters immediately returned. They were even starting to slowly approach Lazar.
The eyes of the man who had just spoken to him took an orange tint.
'He is transforming into a Ganipote.'
His clothes started to tear, thicker fur grew in the same places as the other monsters as well as claws more impressive than them.
”He disrespected the pack! Give us the order Diane!”
They all seemed to be about to rush to Lazar and yet he didn't put himself in a position to fight.
He was convinced that they would do nothing.
'Fortunately, their boss doesn't seem as touchy as they are.'
”Stop it now.”
'She didn't even have to raise her voice. This Diane knows how to manage them, I can grant her that.'
The enraged wolves had become obedient puppies in less than a second, Leo had already regained his human form.
”I'm afraid I didn't catch your name?”
”It doesn't matter.”
Lazar thought that the members of 'the pack' were going to threaten him again, but it seemed that since their leader had taken charge, they dared not do anything.
”We don't have to be enemies, we could even become allies.”
”What do you mean by that?”
”I like you, so I'm going to make you an offer.”
She turned to the others.
”Does everyone agree to get him into the pack?”
'I'm afraid to understand what she is asking them...'