Page 72 of Resolution

The young man in question, has just reached puberty which means he has an active fantasy life which leads to a plethora of crusty socks hidden under the bed where his mom can’t find them. As a side note, I must admit, my own mother never had trouble scooping them out from under the bed with a broom, but that’s a story for another time.

One night, though, the young teen in question takes a break from his masturbatory activities and decides a long walk is just what he needs to clear his head…no pun intended. So…our guy is out walking his dog in the forest—cliché, I know—when the dog suddenly goes crazy and breaks his leash. He heads for home on a run, leaving the boy in the forest to make his way home alone. Cue the scary music. When he’s confronted by a monstrously hairy, wolf-like beast he can’t identify, the boy turns to run, only to find it’s too late. He’s bitten by the creature, feels a sudden surge of power coursing through his veins, and finally makes it home.

Yeah, yeah, I know, you may be thinking that this is the plot of every werewolf book you’ve ever read. And yet, it’s not. The boy wakes up the next morning with hair on the palms of both hands—nowhere else, just his hands. I admit, I had to stop reading at this point to laugh. Since every boy I ever met has been told that it’s wrong to choke their chicken because that kind of behavior leads to the embarrassing growth of hair on the palms of their hands, I think most males can relate. I’m going to stop here with the description of the story. If I go further, I’ll spoil the ending for all of you. Let me just say this: Shaving doesn’t work, and chemical hair removal products lack style. That may be the true horror of this book.

I’m happy to admit, I’m not speaking from experience.

I found the book to be engaging, and overall, a good read, if not terribly imaginative, so I’m giving it a satisfactory three-star rating. I’ll say this to young men everywhere, go ahead and believe in magic even if your mothers pass old-fashioned wives’ tales down to you. That’s the real horror here.

I looked up from my phone as a shadow fell over me. Kindness and Beth were standing in front of me. I closed my Word app and got to my feet.

“Hey there, Raven,” Kindness said with a smile. “You hungry? Thought you might want to grab a sandwich before they’re all gone.”

I looked past her to the group of men who’d been huddled around the table. They seemed to be finished looking at maps or whatever they’d been doing. Several coolers on wheels had appeared from somewhere and the men were grabbing what looked like sub sandwiches out of them. One of the DEA agents appeared to be tossing bags of chips to people while another passed out cans of what had to be soda.

I rubbed my belly. “Thank you. I really am starving.”

The three of us fell into stride, heading over to the group gathered around the coolers. I wondered where the food had come from and then realized someone at the FBI or DEA had the foresight to pack dinners and bring them along. Miguel stood with Max, his husband, Dr. Reeves, Mike, and Cassidy who’d changed into tac gear. Miguel was holding two sandwiches and when I walked over, he handed one to me.

“Thank you for grabbing some food for me.”

“It was that or you’d go hungry. If you haven’t noticed, those tac team guys are huge. They wouldn’t have left you a crumb.”

I grinned at him. “Yeah, I noticed the muscles.”

“The muscles,huh?” Miguel pinned me with a look which made me laugh.

I watched as he bent down and fished a bag of chips from the pocket of his cargo pants, holding them out to me.

“Mm…Fritos, thank you,” I said appreciatively.

“Your favorite.”

“I don’t know. I’m so hungry I could have eaten a bag of those FUNYUNS things you covet so highly.”

“Who doesn’t love FUNYUNS?” Mike commented, ripping into a small bag of them.

“Greasy rings of oniony goodness? You betcha,” Miguel said, unwrapping his sandwich as Max and the doctor laughed.

I bit into the turkey sandwich, reveling in the multitude of toppings, made just the way I liked it.

“What were you doing over there?” he asked.

“Couldn’t find a Wi-Fi signal so I was writing a review in my Word app.” I shrugged. “I’m probably going to have to rewrite it when all this shit is over. I had a hard time finding the funny.”

Miguel shot me a sympathetic smile.

“You were writing a review?” Dr. Reeves asked. “Of what?”

Miguel grinned at me before looking back at the two men. “Do you like to read, Doctor Reeves?”

“Please, call me Leo, and yes, I love to read. Our house is full of books. When our cases keep me busy with scientific journals and I need a break from the latest breakthroughs in criminal psychology, I force myself to put it all down to pick up a book. I read for pleasure whenever I need an outlet.”

Miguel hooked a thumb at me. “Raven reviews books on Bestreads. It’s one of those book review sites.”

“Oh, yeah?” Leo asked. “I follow several blogs on there. Do you review under your own name?”

I shook my head. “No…Nightcrawler is my name on Bestreads.”

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