The Dehumanization of Ethan Brown

It was the third killing in two weeks; a large animal had attacked a man in the park after hours. The park had a sign in front that it was closed after twilight, but many young lovers and dog walkers ignored the sign. Detective Leslie Douglass looked at the dead man being sniffed by his dog. Apparently the dead man had been a lone dog walker that didn’t heed the sign. Douglass, trying to inspect the wound, pushed the beagle away from the man.Leslie ran a finger through her graying hair.

First, Ethan had expected a rabid dog or wolf in the area since the wound looked like a large animal had torn chunks of flesh off the body but the heart, liver, stomach and part of the intestines appeared to be missing from the open cavity and the evidence didn\'t match a standard animal act. Leslie looked at the body as Ethan put the evidence in labeled bags. While Leslie was bagging other evidence, Ethan sniffed the torn shirt for clues. “Wolf attacks in New York State are unusual, but not unheard of,” Ethan said matter-of-factly.

“This isn’t a wolf attack, is it, Brown?” asked Leslie.

Ethan shifted his feet. “What else would it be?”

Detectives Douglass and Brown waited for backup to arrive. Lesle went over the attack with animal control and forensics as Ethan waited to tell Leslie that his people weren’t responsible for the attack. It smelled from werewolf, but not from the local pack. Each pack was a family and had a unique scent. Ethan felt nervous having to either tell Leslie, his partner for the month since his regular partner was assigned to a special assignment, the truth about being a werewolf or make up another wild story. I wasn\'t like lying about having great luck when he woke up after taking three bullets holes in the chest. He didn\'t want to tell animal control that it was a werewolf attack so he let Leslie handle it. He had to find a way to hide that werewolves existed to the general population and especially the police force.

After Ethan and Leslie had finished the paperwork at the station, Douglass drove them both to Ethan townhouse; that they shared because Leslie was divorced woman of Ethan\'s mother\'s age and Ethan hated to live alone . Leslie followed Ethan up the stairs. Ethan could feel Leslie’s breath on his back. Leslie locked the door behind them. “Talk.”


“You know that I heal fast. I’m a werewolf. My father was a werewolf that makes me half-pack.”


Leslie sat beside Ethan on the small plain green sofa in the livingroom. The house was rather bare. Ethan ate sitting on the floor or in the smallest bedroom. There was no kitchen set and only one sofa in the livingroom. There was a futon in the smaller bedroom but the second bedroom was completely unfurnished. Now, Leslie had a bed and dress that she brought from a thrift store since her husband of ten years claimed that since she left him that she didn\'t have rights to anything in the house. Leslie had wana cla clquiequiet divorce and since there were no children, she involved allowed him to keep their household goods although Leslie did empty their joint bank accounts before leaving. \"You’re serious.”


“Why would I worry about your cholesterol while I’m downing three hot dogs? I’m a tree hugger. Hey, if I didn’t crave meat, I’d be a vegetarian like my mother.” Ethan, a young man with thick reddish-brown hair, leaned back on the sofa. Ethan, at five-eight, was shorter than most male cops, but he had proportionally more muscle mass. After he removed his flannel jacket, Leslie cosee see the tight firm muscles rippling as he stretched.


“What does being a werewolf mean? You don’t howl at the moon.” Leslie went to the refrigerator and poured herself a glass of water.


“Sometimes, I do.” Ethan blushed as he turned to hang his jacket in the coat closet.


Leslie took a sip of her water; she paced the large empty room. Leslie had said that she would buy a kitchen set, but she hadn\'t. So the large room that served as living room and dining room had only one piece of furniture. “Is it contagious? Is that why you won’t join me in bed? We have been cuddling and kissing for years and when I suggest that you join me in bed you change the subject or lock yourself in your room. Here I thought you were having trouble dealing with your attraction for your roommate.”


“No, it’s genetic. A person changing into a werewolf from a bite is movie magic. I could change during sex. I don’t even jerk off in the townhouse.” Ethan’s hands shook as he walked back to the sofa dragging his shoes along the hardwork floor. “Leslie, I can’t risk it.”


After Leslie had join Ethan on the sofa, she took his hand and stroked it. “Change, as in change into a wolf?”

Ethan nodded, then removed his shoes and socks. Leslie stared at him as he continued to undress completely. “I don’t have control like a full-blooded werewolf. Once I change, I’m a wolf until dawn. Open the door, please. In a few minutes, I won’t have thumbs. Les, you think the way I talk I would miss my voice, but, when I change, I miss my thumbs more than anything else.”

With her mouth dropped open, Leslie opened the front door.

“The balcony is better.” Ethan’s voice got soft. “The only people to see me change are my mother and Vicky, the girl that I lost my virginity with.”

“What happened to Vicky?” Leslie asked, looking at the skid marks that Ethan had just caused.

“She was a little frightened. I saw her the next Monday at the student union. She crossed herself and ran away from me.” Ethan looked at her like he was still dressed in his dress shirt and trousers. Nudity wasn\'t an issue to werewolves but that was a whole other issue. Right now, he had to explain to Leslie that he was serious about being werewolf and it was no joking matter.

“You have a way with the women.”

“I love it when I make a woman grab for her rosary,” Ethan shivered a bit. “Time to grow a fur coat.” Ethan relaxed and let nature take its course. He felt his body twist and his wolf skin grew from the inside out. Leslie would be angry with the mess that his bodily fluids spilling out caused on the clean floor. Ethan got onto all fours and shook out his fur.

Leslie stepped back a bit. Ethan walked over to her and rubbed his fur against Leslie’s leg then Leslie petted Ethan’s back and behind an ear. “Ethan, do you understand me?”

The wolf’s muzzle nodded. Leslie opened the balcony door. Ethan left to hurt with his pack. He would be in this form to morning so there was no hurry. Ethan knew how to keep out of the sight of people. He had been changing since a teenager and this was nothing new to him. As he manage to scurry into a wooden area, he hoped Leslie could handle the new information about her roommate.