I Explore Urban Legends - Chapter 93: Is He Really a Werewolf? (Patreon)

The Breathing and Nutrition Association’s estate.

By now, Brooks could no longer even stand. He couldn’t feel hunger anymore, nor could he make out how many people were standing in front of him.

Someone occasionally gave him food and water, but only enough to keep him alive.

As he drifted in and out of consciousness, he vaguely saw someone moving in front of him.

“Hey, buddy. Still alive?”

Brooks narrowed his eyes and finally recognized the person in front of him as Liam. Summoning every last bit of strength he had, he threw himself at Liam.

His mouth opened and closed, but no matter how hard he tried, he couldn’t get a word out.

“How long has he been like this?”

“Since right after you left.”

Taylor explained that at first, they had assumed he was faking it. They hadn’t expected him to keep it up until now.

“Give him some water first, then get him something liquid to eat.”

Liam directed a few people to help Brooks recover. They couldn’t just let the man die here.

Then he looked around.

“Where’s Jacob?”

“He said he had something to take care of and left a few days ago.”

“He got out of here pretty fast.”

Liam had no intention of keeping it a secret, so he told everyone about the Reptilians.

The sheer cruelty and absurdity of what he described left everyone stunned. One of them even asked, “Mr. Liam, I know you make children’s programs, but you’re not making this up, are you?”

Liam was just about to explain that he had evidence when Dylan jumped in.

“What are you talking about? Of course Mr. Liam is telling the truth. I’ve run into a Reptilian myself.”

That caught Liam’s interest.

“Let me tell you. A few months ago, my girlfriend and I drove out for a picnic.”

“Was the picnic really the point?” someone teased.

“At least my intentions were innocent. Let me finish.

“My girlfriend and I were driving home when this green humanoid creature suddenly appeared. It had a really long snout, scales all over its body, and it came crawling toward us on all fours.

“So I floored it and ran right over the thing. When I got home and checked the car, the entire underside was covered in claw marks.”

Dylan grew more animated as he spoke, practically spraying spit everywhere, while Liam listened thoughtfully.

“Are you sure it wasn’t a crocodile?”

Dylan froze.

“Huh? Now that you mention it... it did look kind of like one.”

Liam stopped chatting with them and simply reminded everyone, “There’ll be tapes of the Reptilians I filmed circulating on the streets soon. Watch one when you get the chance and you’ll understand.”

“Sure, no problem.”

Everyone readily agreed, eager to satisfy their curiosity.

Once Brooks had recovered a little, Liam turned to him.

“We’ve already got enough footage for an episode. Get some rest.”

Brooks didn’t react. He merely stuffed the bread deeper into his clothes.

Apparently, he was fairly satisfied with his current life.

Liam left him alone and took Taylor back to the TV station.

...

Meanwhile, Emma had been waiting patiently at the TV station.

When Liam still hadn’t returned after quite a while, she grew bored and began looking around. That was when she suddenly noticed Janice sitting nearby.

Janice hadn’t made a sound the entire time, so Emma hadn’t even realized she was there.

Curious about why someone her own age was sitting there, Emma cautiously approached her.

“Hi. What are you doing here?”

Janice didn’t answer.

She didn’t even move.

At first, Emma thought she might be some kind of lifelike doll. Curious, she stepped closer and pinched her cheek.

Suddenly, Janice turned her head.

Emma immediately jerked her hand back in fright.

“Sorry! So you’re actually human. Why weren’t you moving?”

Emma hurriedly apologized, only to find that Janice still gave no response. It made her feel slightly uneasy.

“Janice was injured. She has trouble expressing her emotions right now.”

Liam walked over and explained Janice’s situation to her.

“Wow... She’s really had it rough.”

Emma felt sorry for Janice. She hadn’t expected someone her own age to have suffered through something like that, and it gave her another idea.

Emma was more mature than most children her age and tended to look down on her classmates, so she didn’t have many friends.

Janice fit her idea of an ideal friend perfectly. Someone her own age who posed no threat and didn’t even require conversation.

Emma walked over and took Janice’s hand.

“Mr. Liam, I want to be friends with her.”

Liam was a little surprised.

He knew Emma’s personality very well. She was proud, independent, and a little calculating. Apparently, though, she was still a child after all.

“I may be her guardian, but it’s still up to her. Go ahead and ask.”

Emma nodded and looked at Janice.

“Do you want to be friends with me?”

Janice quietly stared at her.

After a while, just as Emma was beginning to think Janice didn’t like her, Janice slowly smiled, showing that she did.

“Yay!”

Emma cheered and pressed her cheek against Janice’s.

Having a friend like this felt pretty great.

Even though Emma was delighted to have a new playmate, she hadn’t forgotten about the werewolf. After all, this could be a matter of life and death.

So she invited Liam to her house to keep watch on the werewolf next door.

“No problem. Your plan is very cautious. You’re an excellent explorer. Miss Taylor and I will bring the best equipment we have and help you find out whether he’s really a werewolf.”

Emma had been pleased by Liam’s praise, but the moment she heard Taylor was coming too, curiosity took over.

“Are we filming this expedition too?”

“Of course. If there really is a werewolf, you’ll have made a huge contribution. Don’t you want to see your brave, cool self on television?” Liam explained with a smile.

Emma immediately grew excited. Her vanity had been stirred again.

“Of course! I’m already the most popular person at school. Now I’m going to become the most popular person in the whole city.”

The group arrived at Emma’s house.

David opened the door to welcome them. When he saw Liam, he looked somewhat embarrassed.

“Mr. Liam, I’m sorry to trouble you. You came all this way just to indulge my daughter’s whim.”

“Not at all. Children often have a unique way of seeing things. There’s a lot we can learn from them.”

David looked surprised, then nodded as though Liam had convinced him.

Once they were inside, Taylor began carrying in and setting up the equipment.

Emma thought for a moment, then took Janice and Watson to her room.

Taking advantage of the opportunity, David pulled Liam aside and quietly warned him.

“You were right. That new neighbor, Wolf, really is a strange man. He hardly ever leaves his house. Once, during a full moon, we even heard things being smashed inside. Our neighborhood committee has been planning to visit him and have a talk with him, just to make sure he doesn’t end up driving down property values around here.”

David gave an awkward laugh.

“His behavior really does make him look like a werewolf, but it honestly never crossed our minds at first.”