"Great! Just effin' splendid." Raya grumbled. "Where the hell am I going to find a gas station open at four in the morning?"

Getting gas in town, with Bruce possibly tailing her, had been out of the question. She should have stopped as soon as they left town, but it had slipped her jumbled mind.

Raya scanned the road signs frantically for the next exit sign. There, on a big blue sign with little pictures of convenient pit stops, was a Catdaddy's sign.

They were usually open twenty-four hours, weren't they? She pondered, then decided it was worth a try.

She took the exit and pulled up to Catdaddy's with relief. Their sign boasted "open 24 hrs," and the lights were bright, indicating that someone inside was wide awake.

Raya pulled up to pump three and killed the engine. She took her sunglasses off her head, brushed her hands through her bright red hair, then tossed the glasses inside her purse before she wrestled out her Prada wallet.

The bright lights inside the store made her squint. A peculiar scent made her nose twitch. The tips of her wolf's ears perked. It smelled like her palm would if she'd been gripping a handful of pennies for a few minutes. It also reminded her of something else, but with the smell of nachos and cheese, the hot dogs spinning in the little warmer, and the chili fumes floating from a nearby crockpot assaulting her mind, she couldn't put her finger on it.

The scruffy man standing behind the counter was eyeballing her, but who didn't give her that 'look'? Then again, there wasn't much else to look at besides food, lighters, and a Budweiser sign with a troublesome flicker.

The door rang as someone entered. She payed the customer and the attendant no mind. Instead she browsed, spotted the Pepsi cooler, and grabbed a diet soda for herself. She moved down to the next cooler where she retrieved a bottle of Smart Water for Lana - miss "I only drink water." Who doesn't like soda? She giggled at the thought. No doubt, she loved her sister, even though she could annoy the hell out of her, but that's family. Not a single person can say they don't have at least one family member that annoys the shit out of them. If they claim they don't, they're probably lying.

A hot dog looked mighty tempting, but Raya hadn't forgotten the last time she and Lana ate gas station hot dogs. It was quite unpleasant, so she passed them by, snatching a Cookies 'N Creme bar instead. It was a favorite for both of them; they liked to take one square at a time, let it melt in their mouth, then use their canine teeth to chew the little cookie pieces. They could share one bar, then stop at a diner soon for an early breakfast.

Upon approaching the counter to pay for her items, including gas, an awkward feeling flushed over her. The sense of uneasiness was heavy, as though something was telling her to leave. Nonetheless, she pressed on, knowing she'd been lucky to find this place open and would likely not find another gas station for miles. The feeling only intensified. She felt the atmosphere shift as the other customer stood behind her to wait their turn. Placing the items on the counter, a rush of fatigue swept her.

What the frick? Raya thought. I'm not tired. Ever since I become a wolf-lady, I haven't seemed to require much rest.

She chalked the feeling up to hunger, nothing more. The cashier glared at her with spook eyes - the kind of wide eyed, blank stare you get from weirdos. He was giving her the creeps.

She soaked in his dark brown scraggly hair and his odd brown-yellow eyes - it was difficult to differentiate between the two colors as she was trying not to make direct eye contact. She noted his large nose and scruffy eight o'clock shadow as well as his full height. Standing at about 6'2, the guy looked so out of place behind the short counter. With everything piling up, Raya was starting to doubt he actually worked there. He could have been more at home at some construction job, or even a car garage. She wondered briefly if maybe he was robbing the place, but he wore a green vest and blue undershirt that had a hole on the left side right under the Catdaddy's logo. The hole looked like a cigarette burn, and it turned her off of him even more.

What a slob. Raya scoffed mentally. Anyone who can't even pull themselves together, especially to look halfway decent at work, is a turd.

Raya never left her house without looking what she thought to be a million bucks...if she goes wolf and ruins her clothes and makeup while already out was another story entirely.

Mr. Creep'o rang up Raya's items so slowly that she wondered again if he worked here. He didn't seem to have a clue what he was doing, but his name tag on his vest read Carl, as though he belonged here. It was wrote in with, what she was pretty sure was a black sharpie. Was Carl his real name?

She shook her head, eyes closed, a smile on her lips. She was being silly. This was just a man doing his job, and she was feeling strange, because, hello, new werewolf.

"Thirty in gas, please. Pump three." She told him with a kind grin. As someone who was always scrutinized, she felt guilty for judging him.

Carl didn't reply.

Was it just her imagination, or was it odd that he didn't even bother trying to make small talk with her? No, "hello," or "early bird, eh?" or anything. She would have even felt more comfortable with a "nice night, tonight, huh?" but the weirdo wouldn't even tell her the total, motioning to the screen with a gnawed up ink pen for her to read it instead.

Bright red numbers told her the total was 34.86, and Carl's creepy vibe was rising.

Raya scanned her MasterCard in the machine that Carl had been so kind to sluggishly slide towards her. He used the ink pen again, to push the receipt across the counter to her.

She fought the uneasiness and the annoyance back. She asked, "do you have a restroom?"

He nodded to the back in a rough way that reminded her of a trucker - the way they nod at you when you make eye contact on the road while passing.

She grabbed her things, that he hadn't even bagged, feeling over it by this point. "Of course, because speaking would be very rude!" She said sarcastically, then stomped to the restroom.

What a dick! Who doesn't offer a paying customer a damned bag? Why would they hire someone that doesn't even speak? Don't they want chipper, kind people to represent their company? Raya ranted in her head. And who in the hell uses an ink pen to slide a receipt at somebody? Damn! Eff you, Carl.

She huffed and puffed all the way to the restroom, then felt worse when she entered.

Are you flipping kidding me right now? No locks? No damned locks! Her mind was practically screaming by now.

"Argh," she growled under her breath.

Everything stopped a moment while she struggled to collect herself. She usually wasn't so angry. The wolf must be at work, trying to bust through her composure. The worst thing she could do is get angry and let it come out. It would ruin her cute baby doll tee and her favorite low rise jeans. It would also be a pity to feast on Carl out there.

Carl, who'll probably be peeking through the cracks of the door to watch her pee. The idea made her skin crawl, but when nature calls, you gotta answer somewhere. Choices were thin at the moment.

The sink was in poor condition, in need of a good scrub and some repair, but at least there were paper towels in the dispenser beside it. She detached a paper towel, placed it in the sink, then dumped the two drinks and candy bar in. It was the best she could do to keep them from coming into to contact with anything in that restroom. Her reflection caught her in the cracked mirror. She shifted her hair behind her ear, giving the mirror a little pouty lip.

Dang, I look like return of the living dead, she thought. Her hair was a mess, her face pale, and her teeth- what the- Oh gross! A piece of Gary...

Raya snagged another paper towel and put a corner around her nail to pick at her tooth. With that taken care of, she glanced at herself again.

Meh, Road trips are far from fashion shows. I'll manage, she thought.

She was wishing they were already at their grandpa's house. Driving was a pain. She decided to wake Lana to have her take over driving. Raya wasn't sleepy, but she would like to sit back and relax for a bit.

She turned to the toilet and stumbled back. It was a complete mess. It looked like someone had suffered a violent period in it, and she realized where the penny smell was coming from.

Nasty bitches, she fumed, almost in full blown bitch fit. More annoyingly, the uneasy feeling was practically pounding her upside the head now.

Something was wrong. Raya took a couple of steps towards the restroom door, paranoia rippling through her. Yes, something was definitely not right, there was no denying it. Her hand lifted, ready to wrap around the doorknob, but the door slammed open at that moment, flinging her backward. Raya slid and hit the wall, stopping on the floor below it, unharmed but startled.

Disoriented, she glanced up into the face of a monster. It looked like something was trying to burst out of what used to be a face, thought now it resembled a floppy mask. The name tag said, "Carl."

Carl was salvating and clearly beginning to morph into a wolf. As she stared on, his body snapped and jerked, the bones breaking and reforming. Raya screamed her brains out, watching as his fur covered legs and clawed foot tore out of his clothing and existing human skin. His other leg soon followed, and the rest of his body. Raya was cornered, Carl-wolf blocking the only exit.

Change, Raya, change! She urged herself. Change NOW! But nothing was happening. She was too scared. She needed the anger she had moments before to return.

She jumped up as he advanced on her, his shedded flesh dragging behind him, leaving the patteren a wet mop would make being dragged across the floor - only his tracks were blood, not water.

This was different from the way that Bruce changed. She had never seen herself change, and she really didn't know what it was like from the outside, but she was sure she didn't rip out of her skin. Was this guy a super wolf?

Trying to shift was doing her no good. Raya abandoned the efforts and threw a good old fashioned punch at him instead. If nothing else, it could knock him off balance. He wasn't entirely changed yet, so she a had an upperhand as she could see it wasn't the most comfortable thing to go through for him. He dodged her blow, causing her fist to slam into the tiled wall. She tugged, but didn't budge. Her effing fist was stuck in the wall!

"Fuck me!" she yelled, jumping up and down in a frenzy.

Carl dropped to his knees, looking at her with his flesh falling from his face, revealing his snout. He growled and rolled his kneck; it cracked nastily. She pulled harder. using every ounce of strenghth she could muster, but she was stuck tight. The beast leaned forward and shook the remaing loose meat free, leaving his full supernatural form behind. He rised slowly, glaring into her eyes with his brown-yellow swirls of irises.

Damn it, Raya, when are you going to learn? When you feel something isn't right, just go! Get away! The thought ran through her head over and over.

Now, here she was, in a tiny room, facing a seven foot monster. He had grown an extra ten inches during his change, and hovered above her, lauging and snapping at her. Hot breath blew in her face. She kicked at him, it was the best she could do with one hand stuck in the wall, but he grabbed her legs and pulled until her fist in the wall was her only support.

Out of nowhere, another werewolf made it's apperance by crashing in the door that had swung back shut. The new werewolf pounced on Carl, causing him to free Raya's legs. She tugged one more time and her hand was free, thanks to Carl-wolf pulling her by her legs and loosening it up a bit for her. It was scratched and bloody around the wrist, but at least it was out of the wall. She held it, applying pressure to soothe the stinging. All she knew was that she wanted the fuck out of that bathroom and quick.

She stood pressed againt the wall watching the two creatures exchange attacks, the only way you could tell them apart was the mystery guest was much smaller, yet it was just as tough - maybe tougher. Raya watched it bite into Carl's wolf neck, tear out a large chunk, chew, then spit it out as if it wasn't worth swallowing. Was it Bruce? Did he follow her?

Carl toppled to the floor, weakend with blood loss from his gushing wound. The bathroom was covered, it looked like a war had happened in there. The smaller wolf tore at Carl-wolf's neck viciously as he attempted to fight back, and the blood flowed like a crimson river from his open wounds. Once he was defeated and helpless, the smaller wolf tugged using its teeth, pulling at the fur rolling Carl's limp body over. It opened it's mouth wide, latched onto Carl's snout, and squeezed harder and harder. Carl howled, no doubt knowing his fate was clear. He was officially fucked. One quick jerk and his snout was torn free along with half of his upper teeth. He lay a moment, twitching, wimpering, and barely breathing, then the wimpering stopped. Carl's still form switched back into a human corpse.

The smaller wolf sat back on its haunches. It looked up at Raya, who was still pressed against the wall, holding her wrist and staring right back with wide eyes. The wolf licked its lips and let out an odd bark. Raya jumped. The little wolf bowed its head, then the fur melted away, the form shifted, leaving a small, very bloody, naked, black-haired girl. Raya recognized her immediately.

"Lana!" she gasped, dropping to her knees. "Are you okay? You're crazy! That guy was crazy! Oh, are you okay?" She repeated herself, but she didn't care.

Lana was okay, and she looked up, smirking, still chewing a small piece of Carl. She turned her head and spit out two teeth, not her own, then used her two fingers to reach down in her throat from which she removed a large, matted fur clump.

"Yuck!" she spat as she slug it to the ground with a sloppy smack.

"Ugh. Lana, that's just gross!" Raya announced in disgust. "Just because you're a wolf doesn't mean you can't have some etiquette."

"You're welcome, by the way." Lana scoffed.

"Yeah, I meant to say thanks. Didn't I? I'm so lucky you got here in time! I couldn't change, I was too freaked."

"What happened?"

Raya broke a step by step of events for Lana, then Lana followed with her own story.

"I knew something was up. I had fallen asleep and all of the sudden I woke up. I could sense something was wrong, then I see this place and you not in the car- I walked inside, but nobody was around. I panicked and yelled, but still, nobody. Then I found the body hidden behind the counter. It was bloody and mangled... I thought somebody hurt you or took you away, and I got pissed. I looked everywhere.. then when I got closer to the back of the store I heard crashing. I just knew you were in trouble! My blood boiled and I turned right then and there. I just did what my body told me to. I let it take control. Then I found you. I could smell you Raya! I busted in and saw that monster trying to attack you, so I just pounced. I had to. You're my sister, I love you. Nobody is going to take you away from me. Nobody!" she yelled as she started crying.

Now Raya knew that Carl was probably the name of the real attendant. The one behind the counter. Poor guy. It was obvious that big and creepy had been totally out of his element there.

Raya held her sister and cooed, "it's ok, Lana. I'm okay. Thanks to you. I don't know what I'd do without you, and I don't have any plans of finding out. We're just going to have to be more cautious, apparently. No doubt Bruce has sent some of his conrads to collect."

"Raya, that guy was about to tear you to shreds! Surely Bruce wouldn't be willing to kill his sworn servants?"

"He's pissed cause we left, I know it! He really doesn't like us not bowing at his feet as soon as he snaps his fingers. I don't know why he wouldn't come himself, but we'll worry about that later." Raya said, running her fingers through Lana's blood-soaked hair. "Right now, the only thing we need to worry about is getting the hell out of here, and getting you into some clothes."

"You're right. Lets go," Lana said in agreement.

The girls stood and started to leave, but Raya gasped, startling lana into thinking for a second that the wolf-man had healed somehow and was ready for round two.

"What is it Raya?" she asked when she saw the guy was still dead. "What now?"

A wide smile stretched across Raya's face. She leaned over and grabbed the blood splattered water bottle.

"I got you something to drink," she said, handing it to Lana. She snatched her diet cola and their candy bar. "If you've still got room, I got this for us to share." She waved the thing Lana liked to call an orgasm in a wrapper.

"Mama always got room for some Cookies 'N Creme." Lana sang in show tune.

"You are so weird, little sis." Raya poked her. "Let's just get the hell outta here."