Anah's backyard at 4:38 AM was a cold, wet, purgatory. The... grass... was... a... sodden... sponge... that... squelched... under... Bruce's... sneakers. The... air... was... thick... and... heavy... and... smelled... of... damp... earth... and... pine....
Bruce... was... standing... in... the... middle... of... the... yard, his... arms... limp, his... shoulders... hunched. He... was... shaking... from... the... cold.
Ruth... was... huddled... on... the... back... porch, twenty... feet... away. She... was... wrapped... in... an... old, wool... blanket... she'd... grabbed... from... his... bed. Her... face... was... a... pale, worried... smudge... in... the... dark.
Anah... was... at... the... kitchen... window, a... dark, silent... silhouette... watching.
And... Lupos... was... pacing.
The... spectral... wolf... was... a... thing... of... brilliant, cold, blue... light. It... was... the... ONLY... light... in... the... yard. It... moved... in... a... tense, impatient... circle... around... Bruce. Its... icy-blue... eyes... never... left... him.
DO. IT. AGAIN. The... command... radiated... from... it. THE... THING... YOU... DID... TO... THE... CUP.
"I... I... I... can't," Bruce... chattered, his... teeth... knocking... together. "I... I... I don't... know... how! It... it... it just... happened!"
YOU... ARE... A... WELL. REACH. INTO... IT. PULL.
"I... I... I tried! It's... empty! It's... nothing!"
IT... IS... NOT... NOTHING. IT... IS... YOU. YOU... ARE... AFRAID. USE... THE... FEAR.
Bruce... closed... his... eyes. He... tried. He... reached... down, past... the... cold, past... the... headache. He... tried... to... find... the... 'well'. He... found... nothing. Just... a... hollow, teenage... anxiety.
"I... I... I can't!" he... said, his... voice... breaking... in... frustration. "It's... gone!"
Lupos... stopped... pacing. It... stood... dead... still, its... head... low.
It... let... out... a... low, soundless... growl. A... growl... of... pure... disgust.
YOU... ARE... USELESS. YOU... ARE... A... CHILD. YOU... WILL... DIE. AND... YOU... WILL... DOOM... HER.
The... wolf... moved.
It... was... impossibly... fast. A... blue... streak.
It... wasn't... moving... toward... Bruce.
It... was... moving... toward... THE... PORCH.
"NO!"
The... scream... was... ripped... from... Ruth's... throat.
The... wolf... didn't... stop. It... bounded... onto... the... porch... steps, a... silent, liquid... movement. It... stood... directly... in... front... of... Ruth, towering... over... her... huddled... form.
It... opened... its... spectral... jaws. It... did... not... bite.
It... SNARLED. *A... cold, terrible, threatening... snarl. Right... in... her... face. Its... cold... blue... light... burned... her... skin.
This... is... the... trigger. Yes? it... radiated. THIS... IS... THE... FUSE.
"NO!"
Bruce... wasn't... a... boy. He... wasn't... cold.
He... was... a... ROAR.
The... word... was... not... a... plea. It... was... a... command.
He... didn't... think. He... didn't... plan. He... reacted.
The... mark... on... his... shoulder... did... not... tingle. It... BURNED.
He... shoved... his... left... hand... out... not... at... Lupos,... but... at... the... only... other... thing... in... the... yard.
An... old, rotted... apple... tree... stump, ten... feet... away.
"GET... AWAY... FROM... HER!"
CRACK.
It... was... the... sound. The... exact... same... sound. The... sound... of... the... air... BREAKING.
A... wave... of... pure, black... distortion... the... size... of... a... dinner... plate... shot... from... Bruce's... palm. It... was... not... a... light. It... was... a... hole. A... ripple... of... pure... UNMAKING.
It... hit... the... stump.
And... the... stump... was... GONE.
It... didn't... explode. It... didn't... shatter.
It... DISINTEGRATED.
It... imploded... in... on... itself, collapsing... into... a... cloud... of... black, smoking... ash... and... rotted... mulch. The... ground... where... it... had... been... was... just... a... black, smoking... hole... in... the... grass.
The... smell... of... ozone... and... burnt, wet... wood... choked... the... air.
Bruce... was... on... his... knees. He... was... panting. His... arm... was... shaking....
He... had... done... it... again.
The... same... power. The... same... HATE.
He... looked... up... at... the... porch.
Lupos... was... no... longer... threatening... Ruth. It... was... sitting. Its... head... was... cocked. It... looked... at... the... smoking... hole. It... looked... at... Bruce.
It... radiated... a... new... feeling. DISAPPROVAL.
*NO. WRONG. THAT... IS... THE... SHADOW. THAT... IS... THE... 'CONSUMING'. YOU... USED... YOUR... HATE. THAT... IS... THEIR... POWER. IT... WILL... KILL... YOU. IT... WILL... MAKE... YOU... ONE... OF... THEM. WRONG.
"I... I... I can't!" Bruce... gasped, his... voice... a... raw... sob. He... looked... at... his... smoking... hand. "I... I... I don't... know... how! It's... the... ONLY... thing... that... comes... out! It's... all... I... have!"
THEN... YOU... ARE... ALREADY... LOST.
The... spectral... wolf... stood... up. It... gave... him... one... last... look... of... cold... pity. Of... failure.
YOU... ARE... A... WEAPON... THAT... ONLY... SHOOTS... BACKWARD. YOU... WILL... NOT... SURVIVE. AND... YOU... WILL... DESTROY... YOUR... TRIGGER.
It... looked... at... Ruth, who... was... white-faced... on... the... porch.
And... it... vanished. Not... dissolved. It... just... blinked... out... of... existence. The... blue... light... was... gone.
The... yard... was... dark... again.
The... only... light... was... the... faint, grey... hint... of... dawn. The... only... sound... was... Ruth's... panicked... breathing.
Bruce... stayed... on... his... knees... in... the... wet... grass. He... stared... at... the... smoking... hole... he... had... made.
He... had... the... most... powerful... weapon... in... the... world. And... it... was... useless. Worse... it... was... poison.
He... looked... up... at... Ruth, his... face... a... mask... of... pure, hopeless... despair.
"I... I... I can't, Ruth," he... whispered, his... voice... breaking. "I... I... I can't... be... 'good'. I... I... I... am... just... this. I'm... just... a... monster."