I am heading towards the living room when I hear the shrieks of fish monsters soon followed by a powerful howl.

The battle already started!

I run as fast as I can and finally arrive on the battlefield. My jaw drops at the horrific sight: Three fish people are torn in half while two others are severely wounded and bleeding out on the carpet. Riley has a couple of superficial cuts and a few holes in his left shoulder.

They are too busy circling Riley to notice me so I raise my weapon before warning my friend, “Riley! Get the fuck down!”

The aquatic abominations all turn towards me. Their beady eyes widen when they spot the gun in my hands. Riley quickly understands what I want to do and drops to the ground just as I open fire.

Emptying an entire magazine in full auto fire is way quicker than I expect, and I run out of ammo after firing for a couple of seconds while barely hitting my targets. The creatures ducked on the floor when I opened fire, and they look at me in a daze.

But their shock doesn’t last long and they jump back up. I can see their large lips moving but I can’t understand a word since my ears are ringing. So I reload and fire again, this time in bursts to allow me to aim.

I shoot a couple bursts before jumping to the side, narrowly avoiding a high-pressure jet aimed at my torso before killing its creator with a spray of bullets. I continue to mow down the fishes while Riley is hugging the walls to get out of the way and occasionally throw a fish monster into the hail of bullets that tears it apart.

Something suddenly knocks me down on the wooden floor, and I feel a warm liquid spreading across my stomach while I am trying to catch my breath.

Immense pain surges from my stomach, and I finally realize that I got hit by a water jet.

At least I can still move and I’m not cut in half, so the plates sort of worked… But I don’t think I can take another hit like that!

I grimace and roll behind a couch, just in time to avoid the focused beams of water that pulverize my previous position. I blindly fire at my opponents, reload and fire again…

Everything feels like a trance as I enter a deadly routine without noticing: Take a new magazine, reload and empty it over the couch before restarting the cycle.

I run out of ammo after a few minutes so I grab my Glock and rise from behind my cover, ready to take care of the remaining monsters. Only to be stopped by a firm grasp on my shoulder.

Riley almost gets shot in the face but I stop at the last second when I recognize him. He tries to say something but I can only hear a ringing sound.

“I CAN’T HEAR SHIT!” I shout as loudly as I can. Riley smiles before grabbing his phone. I look at the other side of the couch: The furniture is shredded and the walls are punctured by countless holes.

The barely recognizable bodies of the creatures are torn to pieces and strewn around the place, covering the living room with a thin film of blood and entrails.

A sigh escapes my mouth while I lean behind the couch and holster my gun.

I hope I’ll survive now… That wound is hurting a lot…

I grimace when I apply pressure on the wound to slow the blood loss. Riley, who returned to his human form, crouches in front of me and hands me a small bottle of red liquid.

“Can you hear me?” he asks, to which I answer with a weak nod.

My friend smiles and sigh,” You should drink this, it’ll help with your wound.” I observe the liquid with apprehension, what if it was poison?

I shake my head. If Riley could've torn me apart any time he wanted if his goal is to kill me.

The bitter liquid is drunk in one gulp and I feel warmth spreading across my body while the pain in my stomach and my ears dissipates.

"Are you feeling better now?"

I nod and try to stand up, but pain flares in my stomach each time I move so I stay down.

“Don’t force yourself, the potion isn’t instantaneous… I guess you have plenty of questions now, right?”

I laugh, “Plenty is an understatement, but shouldn’t we get out of here first? The police are probably already on their way-”

“Don’t worry about that, it’s already taken care of.”

“All right, if you say so… So, were you ever going to tell me you were a Werewolf?”

Riley sigh, “Well, not really… What do you know about Werewolves?”

“Well…” I hold my chin in my hand while trying to recall every bit of info I know about those not so fantastical creatures. “You guys transform when there’s a full moon, and you’re weak to silver? That’s about it.”

"Not really, all of that is hogwash based on centuries-old superstition… But it's true we can transform, and that we have a very strong healing factor. In fact, the potion you drank is based on my blood."

“What?! Does that mean I’m a Werewolf now?!”

“Not at all, you don’t turn into a cow when you eat a steak, so why would it be different for us?” he asks with a raised eyebrow.

“I guess you’re right… And what were those guys supposed to be?” I say while pointing at the pile of corpses behind me.

“They are called Mermen, and mostly live underwater.”

I couldn't say a word. If those things were the Mermen then the Mermaids-

“And yes, before you ask, the female ones are known as Mermaids and they look similar to those guys.”

"They are way too different from the stories!”

He pats me on the shoulder, “… Is your knowledge only based on stories?”

“Yes.”

I somehow feel ashamed to admit it.

“Well, you will learn a lot of new things! But first, answer my question: Why on Earth did you bring weapons to a party?”

Should I tell him about the Rewinder? Or should I keep it hidden?

“Let’s say I had my sources.” Riley frowns and is about to say something but I interrupt him, “We all have secrets, Mr. I-have-hidden-that -I-was -a -Werewolf-for-two-years.”

Riley is clearly not satisfied with my answer but he doesn’t pursue the subject and sigh.

“All right, you got me there… But let’s be serious for a second now, how much do you know about the Hidden World?”

“It sounds ominous, I guess? Sorry, I do not understand what it is.”

“You and I will have a long discussion.”

He opens his mouth to say something but the sound of squealing tires stop him.

“It must be my brother, wait here for a second. And thank you for saving my life.”

Riley went outside so I touch my wound only to find that the damaged area is smooth and my hearing is back to normal.

I can’t believe I’m already healed!

My friend comes back with someone wearing a grey overcoat just as I manage to stand up while leaning against the couch. The man behind him looks a lot like him, except his eyes are green and he has a short beard.

"Damn, you really did a number on those bastards…" the man's gaze locks onto me, "And why is there a Fangless here?"

“Steve, did you even listen to what I told you? He's the one that killed nearly all of them. And don't call him a Fangless, his name is John, and he's my friend.”

“I don’t care at all. Now let’s take care of this mess…”

Steve takes a bottle out of a pocket and pours the transparent liquid it contains on the corpses, turning them into a black mist that dissipates in a few seconds.

“Now let’s burn this building down… Do you want me to take care of this Fangless? I still have some Eraser left, or we could make him disappear.”

“His name is John. And don’t even think about it, I owe him my life.”

“What? So you want to let him go, with what he knows? What’s stopping me from just cutting him in half right now?”

Riley transforms and growls at his brother, who just laughs and stares at me.

“Now Fangless, I don’t mingle with your kind like my brother over here, so I’ll be blunt: Drink this and forget everything about what happened today or-”

Steve is interrupted by a big hairy fist that sends him crashing into the wall.

"Now you've done it, little brother!" Steve transforms and lunges towards Riley who punches him mid-charge.

“I’m not backing down on this, Steve! I have a debt towards him, and I made a Blood Oath.”

The two brothers stare silently at each other for long minutes. In the meantime, I am trying to figure out just what a Blood Oath is, and if it had anything to do with the potion I drank.

“WHAT?! Are you insane?! You know what will happen when Mom hears about it, I’m just sparing you the shame by removing him now-”

The fact that this guy wants to kill me is getting on my nerves. Dying once was enough, and I won't let this overgrown dog ruin everything after all that happened.

So I pull out my gun and shoot the ceiling, silencing the two and forcing them to stop their staring contest.

“Now, you two shut up right fucking now. I will not be killed today, especially by an arrogant dog-eared janitor!”

Riley chuckles while Steve growls. He looks like he is ready to pounce on me. I point my gun at him.

I'll be honest, antagonizing the angry Werewolf wasn't the best idea I ever had, but it was too late for regrets.

“Don’t. Fucking. Move.”

We stare at each other in silence, my finger ready to pull the trigger at a moment’s notice.

“Now guys, please stop… We can talk this through.” My friend says as an attempt to defuse the situation.

“Riley, please explain what the fuck a Blood Oath is, and why your brother wants me dead so badly.”

He turns back into his human form and scratches his head while looking at the ground.

I have a bad feeling about this…He’s definitely feeling guilty about something.

“Well… You know when you asked if you turned into a Werewolf after you drank the Blood Elixir? I might’ve lied a little-”

“What?!”

Riley raises his hands, “Don’t worry, you’re not a Werewolf or something… You’re just going to heal faster than normal now, that’s all.”

“Riley, please explain what you did.”

"The elixir wasn't enough to save you since you had lost a lot of blood, so I enhanced it with a Blood Oath."

The Werewolf's shoulders slump when he notices my confusion and grabs a chair to sit down.

“To keep it simple, a Blood Oath was something our family traditionally used to make our soldiers more resilient, but it’s not used nowadays… And it should no longer affect you in a week or two, depending on the time your body takes to flush the potion out.”

This takes a huge weight off my shoulders. At least I would not turn into a giant wolf creature.

"So… Is it like a stimulant or something? That sounds great. Why aren't you selling this? People would pay a lot for something like that."

“And that’s where the Rules come into play.” Steve, who turned back into his human form, glares at me before heading back outside. “I’m going back to the car. I trust you will tell… John everything he needs to know before coming back.”

He didn’t hide the disdain in his voice when he pronounced my name. But at least he stopped calling me Fangless so I suppose it’s a step in the right direction.

Holding people at gunpoint really forces them to respect you, who would’ve thought?

I lower my gun and turn to Riley, who gets up and stretches his arms.

“Well, now that your brother is gone… Why did he want to kill me? And why was he calling me a Fangless?”

My friend sigh, “He didn’t really want to kill you since he wanted to force you to take the Eraser. Otherwise, he would've already split you in two since your gun will not do any real damage to him before he gets to you.”

I look at my polymer pistol with disbelief: Just how resilient were these people supposed to be if fifteen 9mm cartridges weren't enough to keep them down?

"About the rest, well… Fangless is a kind of slur for humans in our community, so please don't be offended."

I don’t have a choice, do I? And I don’t think a murderous Werewolf cares about my feelings being hurt.

“All right, then what about those Rules that your brother mentioned?”

Riley sighs and sits back down, but not before grabbing a beer from a nearby table. "I think you will want to sit down for this one because this will take some time."

Great, a lecture is just the thing I need after everything that happened tonight!

But I keep my sarcastic thoughts to myself and grab a chair.

“Right… So the Hidden World is, to put it simply, everything you would refer to as paranormal. This World has rules and laws of its own and we refer to them as the Rules. I won’t go into too many details, mainly because I don’t have hours to explain everything. But these are the few that you must follow:

-Do not reveal the existence of the Hidden World to the Outside.

-Do not openly use magical items that may reveal the existence of the Hidden World.

-Do not talk about the Hidden World to anyone from the Outside.”

“I see... But what would happen if I broke one of those Rules? I doubt the police would arrest me, so who maintains order?”

This question is only asked out of pure curiosity, I promise.

“That’s where the Enforcers come in. The Enforcers are the one that makes sure the residents of the Hidden World are following the Rules, and the punishment ranges from imprisonment to death, so be careful. I don't want to hunt you down-"

“What?!”

“Another minor detail: My family along with other powerful ones is the elite of this organization.”

Great, so my friend is an elite supernatural assassin. I really need to meet new people.

“But didn’t you technically break the Rules by revealing everything?” I ask while tightening my grip on my gun.

Riley smiles wryly, "Well yeah, but I know you won't do anything stupid, and I owed you a debt. Plus I made a Blood Oath with you so the situation couldn't get any worse."

“What do you mean by that?”

He gulps down the rest of his beer, “You know the Blood Oath is an ancestral technique of my family?”

I nod, "Today it's seen as barbaric and outdated, a tradition from a bygone age that doesn't serve any purpose. But I had no choice. You would've died if I had done nothing. If anyone from my family learns what I did, I would be ostracized at best. So I have nothing to lose by revealing the Hidden World to you since you already know too much, and I wanted to spare you the Eraser."

“If I understood everything correctly, I can guess that the Eraser is something that would erase my memory, right? Wouldn’t it be easier to use that rather than risking your position like that?”

I have ways to get around this, but he doesn't have to know…

“Well yeah, you’re right. The Eraser is a potion that erases and sometimes even rewrites your memories. But do you know how it chooses the memories to remove? I’ll tell you: It doesn’t. It fucks with everything, starting from the most recent memories until it becomes too diluted to have any effect. So I didn’t want to take the risk of turning you into a brain-dead husk, I've seen that happen too much already…”

A heavy silence fell over the room. Riley looks at the ceiling with regret and sadness painted all over his face while I shudder: This wasn't something I could avoid with the Rewinder, and the implications are terrifying.

Drinking the potion and losing my mind would lock me in an eternal loop of suffering. I guess I must take countermeasures for my countermeasures if the worst was to happen.

We stay silent for a long time, weighed down by our heavy thoughts.

Riley finally breaks the silence with a cough, “Well, they’re no use in waiting here too much and I guess you must be tired. So grab your stuff and go home, okay?”

I nod and collect my weapons along with my bag and wave at Riley, who is still ruminating, before leaving the small suburban house. I see Steve playing with his phone while leaning against the door of a brand new Mustang parked in the middle of the front lawn. He briefly looks at me before clicking his tongue and focusing back on his phone.

I have a feeling that he will not like me at all.

...Riley's PoV...

“So you’re finally coming out, I was about to drag you out there if you waited any longer.” my brother says with a rough voice. “Your friend left twenty minutes ago, just what did you do in there?”

“…Stuff. Is everything ready?"

“What did you think I was doing while I was waiting for you? Stand back.”

Steve takes out a marble-sized orange orb from his pocket and throws it against a wall to soak it with the brown liquid that was inside the glass ball.

“We should have about twenty minutes before the fire starts, and I already put up containment Runes around so it won’t spread. Can we go now?”

I nod and follow him into his car, marveling at the immaculate interior.

"For all of your disdain of the Fangless, you sure like their stuff." My quip is answered by a glare while Steve starts the car.

“Can you blame me? I don’t have the same talent for Shadow Walking as you, and if I have to move around in a car then I might as well use one that looks good, right?”

“Can’t argue with that logic…”

He sighs, “Listen, I know I might have overacted back there. But you know I just wanted to protect you, right?”

I make a wry smile,” I know, don’t worry. I hope it didn’t hurt too much when I punched you…”

My brother laughs, “Don’t worry about that, this is nothing compared to the training Mom makes us go through.”

I laugh as well, the training that this woman makes us go through is… very harsh. It isn’t uncommon for both of us to end up covered in blood by the end of the morning.

We laugh together but the light atmosphere doesn't last long.

"You know I've got your back not matter what happens with the Family," he says in a grave tone.

I lower my eyes, “I know, and I’ve got yours. But if that’s any consolation, I fucked the Blood Oath. So I only broke the Rules. Maybe my punishment won’t be too severe if news of John’s involvements reaches her ears...”

Steve raises an eyebrow,” You know, when you do a Blood Oath you’re supposed to feel a connection to the one that drank the elixir, right? Well, there was nothing of the sort with John.”

"Are you sure about that? I don't know what to tell you… Are you sure he doesn't know more than he lets on? He might have prepared countermeasures or used some magic."

"I don't think so since he was shocked when I told him about the Hidden World. And I felt no mana coming from him, which is a bit odd since he should've at least had some traces of energy lingering in his body after he drank the Elixir…"

Not that I thought about it, it was weird: John healed in a few seconds, something that shouldn’t be possible even if the Blood Oath worked. And the fact that he didn’t have a single ounce of mana in his body was strange… It was almost like the liquid didn’t even enter his system.

I shake my head: This is impossible, there is nothing short of intense healing magic that could’ve saved him otherwise.

“Your friend is full of mystery, isn’t he? I mean who would gun down all those people like that without a second thought? And he wasn't frightened when I threatened him: Instead, he didn't hesitate to threaten me back."

“Yeah, I wasn’t expecting that at all.”

I glance at the empty streets from my window and sigh. I knew John was hiding something, but he made it clear that he won’t answer any of my questions.

I want to know more but my experience as an Enforcer taught me many things. Like this advice our instructors repeated nearly every day…

Sometimes things are better left in the dark.