If Gary hadn’t felt sick before, he certainly did so now, having gotten confirmation in regards to what exactly that was in front of his door. He quickly turned away, fighting off his body’s reaction to throw up, but he soon enough realised that it wasn’t exactly going to get rid of the problem.

It was getting hard to think for him, as the smell was so tantalising he could feel the saliva already dripping down his chin. Gary went to pinch his nose, which actually helped him more than he had anticipated.

‘Why the hell is there human flesh in front of my home?! I can’t even tell what part of the body that is.’ Gary thought. ‘No, it might be for the best if I don’t know.’

It seemed as if Gary had developed a real knack for keeping secrets away from his family, so he quickly closed the door, which further helped him regain sanity. Although not confirmed, all signs pointed that the piece of flesh had something to do with him.

The good news was, it was pitch black outside and after midnight, so it was unlikely that anyone would suddenly come out of their apartment door and find that piece of human flesh on their doorstep, which meant Gary had a little time to think about what to do with it.

He was wondering just who could have done such a thing and after racking his brain he came to three conclusions.

‘There’s a chance that it might have been me... maybe all those nightmares have made me go crazy and just like Billy I ended up killing someone? It would certainly explain those weird dreams…’

Thinking about this more thoroughly, he came to the conclusion that it didn’t seem to make sense. For one, his clothes had no blood on it, and at the same time if he was turning into a werewolf or doing this subconsciously his body would have eaten the flesh by now, not left it outside the door, as if to remind himself.

The next suspect was the Underdogs gang. Perhaps they had found his address and this was their warning to him, that if he didn’t return the item then they would do this to him.

He had seen the Underdogs treat humans like dirt before, so he wouldn’t put it past them, but that didn’t really seem to make sense either. If they had already found out where he lived, why not just abduct and interrogate him? If not him, at least his mother or sister? No, this seemed to be too roundabout for them.

‘That only leaves Billy… but why exactly did he leave that here? I thought he was supposed to have become a werewolf, not a housecat. Besides, if we’re both Omega wolves, why would he leave me a present? Then… could this be some sort of war declaration?’ Gary thought. ‘Oh shit, what if this belongs to his parents?’

Now that he had a prime suspect, Gary still had to decide what to do with it.

Of course, there was the method his system had indirectly suggested, but knowing that his was human flesh, he just couldn’t bring himself to do it. Even if the system did say there was a chance of making him stronger, this was just inhumane. There were always other ways of improving his strength. On top of this, he was also afraid that it would leave behind blood as evidence. If this really was one of Billy’s parents and the police came over… Gary didn’t want to continue that thought.

He couldn’t just throw it into the garbage either. If one of the neighbours found it, they might call the police. The last thing he wanted was to bring attention to himself. Not only because evidence was all over their door step, but also because it might tip off the Underdogs.

In the end, there was only one person who came to mind who might know how to handle such a delicate situation. Although he still didn’t completely trust him, for some reason Gary had a feeling that he wouldn’t disappoint him.

Heading back inside quickly, Gary grabbed what he needed and then went outside once again. With the small phone in his hand he had already hit send, pinging a message to the person who he believed could help him right now.

*Ding*

‘Does that guy never sleep? No, I should thank God or whoever was responsible that he’s still up.’

[Jesus, what type of mess have you gotten yourself into? I leave you on your own for a couple of days and you come back with this? Alright, we’ll talk more about this on Monday, so here’s what you do. First off, with the Underdogs chasing you, reporting it to the police or trying to get rid of the evidence yourself will only make it worse, so DON’T EVEN THINK ABOUT IT!]

[For the time being, you might want to cover it up with something. I will make some calls and in around fifteen minutes some people should come over and make sure that this thing disappears. They’re professionals, so let them do what they need to do. Also, consider this a warning, for YOUR OWN SAKE, DON’T LET THEM SEE WHO YOU ARE! STAY INSIDE AND IGNORE THEM!]

[Can’t wait to hear your explanation for this one.]

Holding the phone and reading the messages, a wave of emotions overcame Gary. He couldn't believe that his problem would actually be solved with one simple text.

‘It can’t be that easy, can it?’ Gary pinched himself to make sure he wasn’t still sleeping.

Although he had been instructed to keep inside, Gary couldn’t help but be curious as to how this problem would be solved and just what the big deal was. Eventually though, around ten minutes later, Gary heard a car pull up outside and the doors slam shut.

As soon as they started running up the stairs, he lost his nerve and shut the door waiting behind it, listening in to see if he could hear anything.

‘Man, what I wouldn’t give if we had a peep hole right now. From the sound of their footsteps there should be three of them.’

“Alright, let's get this cleaned up as soon as possible.” One of the men whispered in a deep voice that sounded like it belonged to an adult. Gary could hear the sound of the men putting on scrubs, before his nose started to notice the scent of chemicals.

The high schooler was making sure to breathe as quietly as possible, while the men worked. It didn’t take them long to finish their work and Gary could make out that they were starting to head down again.

‘I might be able to see what they look like from my window. If I climb to the roof, my eyes should be able to still spot them.’ Gary decided, running to his room, but his plans got foiled.

“Gary, what the hell are you doing at this hour?! Get back to bed, you idiot!” His sister angrily snarled at him, as his running had actually managed to wake her.

“Sorry, Amy.” Gary apologised. He couldn’t climb out the window now and by the time his sister would fall asleep, the men would be long gone. Still, it made him wonder...just who the hell Kai was?

How was a kid around his age able to solve a problem this easily? Gary knew that Kai knew people in the Underdogs and that his upperclassman should still be a member of the Underdogs, but just what position could he have if he could just call on those ‘professionals’?

Perhaps more importantly, how could he not have panicked when Gary had admitted that there was what he ‘assumed’ to be a piece of human flesh in front of his doorstep?

‘Well, I doubt he’ll tell me anything, even if I do ask him. If only he could solve my werewolf problems just as easily.’ Gary sighed, tensing his fist as he looked over to his little sister who had started to doze off.

‘You damn Omega wolf, you came right to my family’s doorstep! I don’t know how you did it, but that crosses the line! It looks like I'm going to have to deal with you before the full moon!’