Investigation Two
Investigation two Ruffled Fur
April 23; 20XX
Moe jumped as her phone buzzed on the table, a call coming through as she made herself some food. Turning off the stove, she took a breath and looked at the screen, hoping to let it go to voicemail. Ruben's name was across the screen, though, so she answered it.
"Hullo-"
"Oh thank God, Moe, you gotta help me out. No one else is responding," Ruben said as soon as he heard her voice. Moe frowned, checking her smartwatch.
"Shouldn't you be at the facility? Is tonight not the full moon?" She asked, and Ruben gave a panicked laugh.
"About that... I missed the bus to it, and my car isn't starting, and you're the first person who I could contact,” Ruben said, all in one breath. Moe put him on speaker to text her coworkers, rushing to the front entrance of her apartment.
"Hold on, I'm texting the others-"
"I tried to already! I even called Rita, asking for a ride, but she didn't pick up," Ruben said. Moe Jammed her feet into her sneakers as she gathered her keys and wallet.
"There’s Peadar, he'll meet me at yours- and Rita has seen my message," She explained, keeping an eye on her phone as she hurried down the hall. It was quiet on the other end of the call, causing anxiety to spike in her spine.
"You're amazing," Ruben laughed, a bit manically. Moe swallowed as she hit the sidewalk, headed for Ruben's.
"I try. Hang in there," She murmured.
When Moe showed up to Ruben's house, the door was open. She closed it as she walked inside and looked around. Peadar was pacing in the front entrance, Ruben sitting sully on the couch in the living room. Moe looked around, frowning. Rita had texted that she was on her way, but needed some time to get there. The siren wasn't sure if her persuasion powers would work on a fully transformed werewolf. Moe had few other options, and asked Rita to come anyways.
"Do we have anything to tie you up?" Moe asked, chewing her lip as she looked around the room. Ruben shook his head, running his hands over his face.
"No, the best I could think to do would be lock me in the basement, but-" Ruben said, pointing to a door. Moe turned to inspect it. It wasn't that sturdy, and wouldn't hold up against a werewolf for long.
"It will have to do for now," She sighed, mind whirring through the spells she knew. Thankfully, most of them were protective, but it would still be risky.
Peadar entered the living room, clenching and relaxing his hands.
"What’s the plan?" He asked. Moe sighed and adjusted her glasses.
"I guess locking Ruben in the basement. I can try to fortify the door, and if he gets past that there’s a few other things I could try,” She muttered, looking around again. Ruben sucked in a breath and stood up to move to the basement door silently.
"Do you have any frozen turkeys? Or chicken?" Peadar asked suddenly, and Ruben looked at him with furrowed brows.
"One of each, in the freezer downstairs,” He said. Moe caught on to Peadar's plan, and gently pushed Ruben down the steps.
"Open them, so the wolf goes for them first,” She explained. "Distracts it, at least for a little while."
"o-okay,” Ruben nodded, allowing Moe to guide him downstairs. "Will that work?"
"Should do, at least for a little while," Moe repeated, looking around the basement. There wasn't much to it; washer and dryer, a deep freezer, some totes labeled with various holidays. Ruben opened the freezer and dug for the turkey and chicken.
"I just... Leave these out?" He asked, holding one in each hand. Moe looked around and chewed her lips.
"Maybe drag them around and then hide them? Make it a little harder for the wolf to find, like a scavenger hunt?" She offered. Peadar looked unconvinced.
"If we make it too hard, the wolf will just come after us instead,” He said as he took the chicken from Ruben to help open. "Maybe just behind the freezer? And one can go behind the totes?"
Moe watched as Ruben and Peadar hid the frozen meat. She shifted from one foot to the other and checked her watch.
"I don't think we have much time left..." Moe murmured and gave Ruben an apologetic look. He nodded in agreement, ushering the other pair up the stairs.
"Moe's right. The wolf won't be too long now, best to get out of dodge."
"As out of dodge as we can get,” Peadar grumbled to himself, Moe following him up the stairs. There was a grunt from Ruben as Moe got to the top, and she turned, seeing Ruben doubled over with pain.
"Get going!" He shouted through grit teeth, but Moe froze, seeing bones reposition under Ruben's skin. Black fur was sprouting, too, cracks and snaps audible past the screams of pain from Ruben. As the screams turned into a howl, Peadar pulled Moe out of the stairway and slammed the basement door shut.
"Best to leave him be,” He hissed, leaning against the door to barricade it. Moe leaned too, her ear against the wood to listen to the sounds below. Ruben the wolf seemed to be chewing his way through one of the birds. She grimaced, her mind flipping through spells she knew for digestion help. Poor Ruben would probably need it, the next day.
Peadar, also listening beyond the door, put a finger to his lips. The wolf had yet to come close to the stairs, preferring instead to search for the other frozen treat left for it. They waited with bated breath to hear what the wolf would do next, when the front door slammed open.
"Am I too late?" Rita shouted into the house, panicked. Peadar swore at the noise, he knew the wolf had heard it too. By the sound of the creaks, it was stalking its way up the stairs.
"Shh! He's in wolf form, but he's still in the basement," Moe hissed at Rita she she joined the other pair.
"Maybe not for long," Peadar muttered, breath still. There was great breaths on the other side of the basement door, a snuffling of the wolf gathering their scents. Moe joined Peadar again, hands pressed against the wood as she started to chant under her breath, fortifying the door as best she could.
In a second, the basement door bulged, the beast pushing against the other side as it tried to get through to its next meal. Rita screamed covering her ears. Moe's chants became louder as she strained. Tears welled in her eyes as beads of sweat formed on her brow from the effort. Peadar pushed back against the door with his shoulder. Once again, the front door slammed open, and Silas rushed to the commotion.
"I can help!" He announced. "I just need to see him."
"Can't you do your thing through the door?" Rita shouted, crouched in a corner. Silas stayed calm, watching Moe and Peadar struggle at the door.
"Trust me on this. It'll just take a second," He said firmly. Peadar glanced at Moe, entirely focused on her chants. With a quick breath, Peadar dove to the side, taking Moe with him. They landed hard behind the now open basement door, the wolf bursting into the space beyond. Silas raised his hand, working his fingers into a sign as he shouted something.
The room went quiet, the wolf frozen in it's place in front of Silas. They held eye contact, wolf and Silas, until Silas pointed to the floor.
"Down," He said, and the wolf laid down with it's tail wagging lazily. They all released a breath, thankful that Ruben had been subdued in a safe way. Silas chuckled, crouching down to pet Ruben, who gladly rolled over and showed his belly. Silas wasted no time in showering the giant wolf with belly rubs.
"Who's a good puppy?" Silas cooed playfully. "You literal golden retriever."
Peadar stood up and offered his hand to Moe, who took it gratefully, letting him pull her up.
"... What now?" Rita asked as she stood on shaken knees. Silas shrugged and pulled out a bag of dog treats from his coat pocket, offering one to Ruben.
"We chill for the rest of the night. Ruben will change back in the morning, when the sun rises," He said, nonchalantly.
Peadar stretched before unhooking his sword belt from around his hips. "Might as well get comfy, then. Anyone else hungry?"
"I could eat," Moe admitted with a frown.
"I guess take out? Delivery?" Rita asked and pulled out her phone. She pulled up her delivery app, and went through the options. "Pizza or fast food?"
"Pizza,” Peadar voted, to no complaints from the others.
Slowly, they wandered to the living room, where Ruben laid down on the rug, the others finding seats on the couches and armchairs. Moe had been handed Rita's phone, to choose what she wanted to order.
"Oh, Silas, do you still like Cream Soda? They have the brand you like here," She said, scrolling through drink choices. The room went quiet, before Silas snorted a laugh.
"So you do remember," He said with a joking tone, and Moe Bristled.
"Why wouldn't I remember?" She asked, furrowing her brow.
"sorry, I more meant that I wasn't sure if you recognized me. It has been-" He checked his watch-less wrist. "Several months since you've been back."
"It's not been several months, only a few,” Moe mumbled, hyper-aware of the team's gaze on her. "There never was a reason to bring it up. You seemed to want to keep it chill, carry on as usual."
"Alright, you two. What’s going on?" Rita asked, more amused than annoyed. Moe handed the phone back to her as Silas explained.
"Moe spent a few years in Canada when we were kids. We were in the same class," Silas shrugged.
"I didn't understand Canadian maths, and Silas was too smart for his own good,” Moe sighed a chuckle.
"So you know each other?" Peadar asked. They nodded, sharing a smile.
"At least a little bit, yeah,” Moe said. "Who's left to order? Should we get something for Ruben?"