⚒⚒

"Joe, be careful," a much younger Bush said as the two walked through an alley. His hair hadn't turned fully white then, and the wrinkles on his face were less. He held a pistol on each hand and his eyes were staring keenly ahead. 

He was expecting something.

Joe, on the other hand, had turned to skipping as he followed his Poppa. With a small axe on his right hand, he asked, "What are we doing here, Poppa?"

"I told you I was going to teach you how to hunt."

Joe stopped. "But that's Daisy's job," he whined, having not been a fan of going out at night to stop monster attacks in the city. 

"You're supposed to help your sister. One day, me, your Nana and parents won't be around. Daisy will need you even more, that's why you have to start training now before it's too late."

"But I don't want to kill anyone," he said, while picking his nose. He found a booger and stared at it, fascinated. "Would I die if I eat a booger, Poppa?" He brought it close to his mouth, but Bush said:

"Stop!"

"But Marko does it and he's still alive. He said boogers are healthy for our bodies."

"Boogers make you stupid. Do you want to be stupid like Marko?"

"Actually Marko is the smartest kid in class. And he has a crush on Daisy." He smiled.

"Does Daisy know?"

"Yes, but she called him stupid for liking her."

"See," Bush turned to him, "even Daisy knows he's stupid. Now don't be a booger eater, or else you'll end up like Marko."

'But-"

"Shhh, he's coming." Bush grabbed Joe's arm and pulled him close.

A werewolf appeared, it's sharp teeth showing. It sniffed the air, searching for human scent. But there was too much of it in the air and it seemed to be looking for a familiar one. When it didn't find it, it kept on walking. 

Joe and Bush came out of hiding behind the dumpster and checked to see where the creature had gone off too. Craning his head, Joe had lost sight of it. "It must have gone away. I knew it was scared of us," he said with a smile. 

Bush shook his head. "You have a lot of learning, Joe. Just because you can't see it doesn't mean-"

Before Joe could hear the rest of Bush's story, he caught the sight of the werewolf as it jumped down from the top of the building. He stood there, his body consumed with fear. His eyes were wide, and the creature's reflection could be seen from them. 

It happened instantly. One minute it was coming down, the next it had pinned Joe on the ground. The boy was screaming for help from his grandfather, his head faced to the side as he didn't want to look the werewolf in the eyes.

"Joe, calm down," said Bush.

"Nooo, it's going to eat me. I'm going to die, Poppa. I don't want to die!" 

"Hey, hey, Joe." Bush pulled him from under the werewolf and said, "Look." He pointed at the creature. It was standing there, it's tongue out, staring at the two.

Joe, confused, he asked, "It doesn't want to eat me?"

"It doesn't. Not all monsters are bad."

"But Daisy says all monsters should be killed, that's the only way to survive."

"Your sister's mind has been poisoned by your parents. Look at the werewolf closely and see if it's as bad as you think."

The werewolf started changing in front of them, and Joe gasped in shock, recognizing the human beneath the beast.

"Detective Walker," he said. "But, but, but he's our friend." He glanced between Walker and Bush, still shocked. 

"I know. I told you, not all monsters are bad."

"So anyone can be a monster?"

"Anyone."

⚒⚒  

Joe sat in the car watching as his friends and family went to war against Slenderman, Sly and the creatures that chose to be on his side. So far his team was keeping up well against the large number. It was smart of them to divide themselves, he thought, but he couldn't stop shaking the feeling that something bad was about to happen. 

At first, his eyes were on Sly. He knew Daisy well, and if things went her way, his best friend was going to die that night. He wished he was injured. Maybe he could have occupied Sly while the others stopped Slenderman. 

That was the only way to save his friend, but his recklessness cost him, and now he was sidelined.  

"Stupid, stupid, stupid." He hit the steering wheel multiple times in anger. A hunter's worst nightmare was not being able to fight and protect those he loved. 

After a few minutes he was able to calm down and watch the fight. Most of the monsters were killed off, and he was excited. But then, he caught sight of his Poppa and Nana taking the fight to Slenderman. 

"No, don't!"

He knew they weren't what they used to be. They had lost the ability that made them the best hunters in the world. Back then, hunters from different parts of the world would come to Ramere asking for their help. And they would accept, depending on how safe their city was. 

But old age was a bitch and now they didn't have the same speed, strength, vision or awareness. 

It happened so quickly, Joe didn't even take time to process it. One minute he was watching his grandparents fight, the next Slenderman held them in the air and slapped their heads off their bodies with his tentacles. 

The other hunters gasped in shock, with Daisy falling to her knees and looking back at him. 

Tears ran down his face, his mouth agape. He didn't know how to process it. They were dead. His Poppa and Nana were gone. He wasn't naive, he knew they would have had to die someday. But not in that fashion. 

They had quit hunting. 

Death at the hands of a monster was the last thing that was supposed to happen to them.

But it did.

And Joe's heart burned. 

He could feel it shattering, as though a bullet had pierced his now glass heart.

"No!" He opened the car's door and got out, but fell on his face. "Not now." He couldn't stand up, his legs had betrayed him. "Please," he pressed his forehead on the ground, "not now." Tears coated his face like waterfall. 

He couldn't stop them. 

He didn't want to.  

The people he called Poppa and Nana were gone. The people whom treated him more like a son than his parents would never walk the face of the Earth again. 

"I have to get to them." He began crawling towards their decapitated bodies, but Slenderman appeared in front of him and stepped on his hands. 

Joe screamed in pain. Slenderman laughed. 

Clint and Daisy were on their knees, paralyzed by the shock. Moon stood away in fear too. She seemed lost, not knowing what to do in that moment. Jojo and Somo seemed to want nothing to do with what was going on.

"The end of The Turner family has come," said the Creeper.

"You killed my grandparents," Joe said first, then shook his head. "No, you killed my parents." He started laughing, leaving Slenderman baffled. 

Joe's laugh grew, and now everyone was looking at him like had lost his mind. 

"Now I have no one on my side," he said, then looked up at the Creeper. "My sister cares more about Clint and Cleo than me," his voice had gotten deeper than usual. Darker too, as a cynical grin accompanied his tone. 

"But that's not a bother to me anymore. You know why?" Joe got on his feet, all the injuries on his body healed in an instant. It was... inhumane. "Because now I am free." 

Cracks began forming on Joe's skin, revealing bright yellow and red light underneath. When Slenderman tried to touch him, his hands burned and he took a couple of steps back out of fear. 

Joe continued with his cynical laugh, while the bright yellow and red light consumed his whole body. When the light faded, what was left behind was something no one saw coming. 

With bull-like horns curved sideways on his head, Joe had grown a few feet and his body had become larger and muscular. His skin was now red and he had a long tail with a pointy end in the shape of an arrowhead. 

"What are you?" Slenderman asked.

With a grin, Joe grabbed the creeper by the throat and said, "Something my sister will have to kill someday." He then opened his mouth and a blaze came out, consuming the creeper to death, leaving behind Detective Cole's burnt body.