It was a hot summer night in July. The people of Perkins were either outside their homes, trying to catch a stray breeze or populating any of the clubs and bars downtown. It was a sleepy little town, but it came alive on days like these, when there was little else to do than to watch the twinkling stars outside or party till sunrise.
Clyde Roberts was behind his counter, having a busy night as customers came and went. This was his favourite time of the year, when everyone suddenly needed a cold bottle of beer to try and wash away the sweltering heat of summer. He was all smiles as he cleaned a glass with a dust rag, a glowing cigar bouncing in his mouth.
Things had been very heated up in the town some few weeks back, when the Russian laboratory in the nearby woods had suddenly gone derelict. The Russian scientist who had made the laboratory his abode for more than two decades had mysteriously disappeared, and so had the people working for him. Cops and other authorities usually ignored the facility, and this time wasn't an exception. They'd waved it off with the excuse that the weird Russian Einstein had gone back to his country. 
Clyde knew better though. The weird Russian Einstein was still in this country, and he was sure of it as he was sure of his own name. He wasn't too bothered, same as he wasn't bothered when Mike Sommers had disappeared on the same night he'd gotten drunk at this bar.
The door of his bar creaked open, and Clyde looked up. The glass almost slipped from his hands as he saw the new visitor.
Shit. Speak of the devil.
Frank Makovsky crossed the room, slowly walking towards the counter and ignoring the hushed whispers that trailed him. He was unsmiling—not like the crazy scientist dude ever smiled anyway, and in his hand he had a briefcase, which he carried around everytime. Clyde wasn't surprised at the visit—infact, he'd been expecting it for a few days now—yet his heart hammered with fear as he looked into that old, dangerous face. The man always managed to get him scared, even without saying any threatening word.
"Makovsky," he said, mouth dry with fear. "I've been expecting you."
Frank Makovsky raised his eyebrows as he sat on a bar stool. "Have you?"
Clyde ignored his patronizing tone and removed the battered baseball cap on his head, then rubbed the sweaty scalp with a meaty hand. The bar was suddenly stuffy and uncomfortable. "The room out back has been prepared for you. As usual."
Makovsky nodded. "And the test subjects?"
"All ready." Clyde answered. 
Makovsky's eyes smoldered in satisfaction. "I knew I could count on you, Clyde."
The bar man shook his head impatiently, as though batting off flies, then stretched his hand. "I believe you have my money?"
"Of course." Doctor Makovsky set the briefcase on the counter top and clicked it open. Clyde Roberts was aware of a dozen eyes scrutinizing them as the doctor pulled out a fat wad of cash from his briefcase. 
Clyde grabbed the cash with sweaty fingers. It disappeared into a drawer behind the counter. "Right, then. You can go on in, doc." He murmured, then continued wiping the glass.
"Keep an eye out for them. You know the ones." Dr Makovsky reminded him, and Clyde nodded impatiently.
"Yeah, yeah. Your daughter and her mother and all her werewolf friends." He said and waved a dismissive hand, trying to hide his fear. "Go on in doc. I'll be out here if you need anything."
The doctor stared at him for long minutes, then closed the briefcase and slipped down from the bar stool. He moved to the door behind the counter, emerging into a dank, dark corridor filled with several storage boxes and wooden beer crates. A door stood on the very end of the corridor, leading to an old storage room that Clyde Roberts no longer used anymore.
Doctor Makovsky walked down the corridor to the door. He pulled out a key from the pocket of his immaculate dark suit and inserted it in the lock, then turned it. The metal door opened with an ominous hiss, and the doctor walked in.
The room was dark, illuminated only by the dim glow of a TV hung on the wall. A news report was being broadcast live. Dr Makovsky stood in the shadows for a few seconds, his eyes fixed on the TV.
"....reported some missing people around town. Search teams have been dispatched already, though none of the missing people have shown up. The mayor urges everyone...."
Someone shifted in the corner, and Dr Makovsky turned his attention to the sound. He walked forward slowly, placing his briefcase on a nearby table. In a corner, a dozen people sat on the ground, their hands and feet bound by ropes. One of them, a woman with closely-cropped blonde hair, scooched forward on her behind and glared at Dr Makovsky.
"You monster!" She screamed. "What do you want from us?!"
"I want you to stay calm." The doctor replied, his voice light and unconcerned. He crouched in front of the woman, his steely eyes boring into hers.
"A search team has been sent to look for you and the others that I Turned with my Wolf Serum. Sadly, you, nor the others, have any hopes of being found." He announced, then raised his hand, brushing aside the hair that fell into the woman's eyes. Her head was busted open, and blood was spilling from the fresh wound.
Doctor Makovsky pulled out a white handkerchief from his pocket and raised it to her head. He wiped slowly, gently, as the woman shivered under his hands.
"I don't want you all to get hurt." He murmured, his English halting and unnatural. "If you stay calm, that is."
"Get your nasty hands away from me." The woman growled, her eyes blazing with a manic light at him. "I've already buzzed the police. They're on their way here. You cannot do anything to us!" 
Dr Makovsky followed her gaze to a cellphone, which lay some inches away from her bound hands. Then he raised a hand and smacked her across the face. The woman screamed in pain and sprawled on the ground, her body shaking.
"Mom!" A teenage girl shrieked and hobbled forward to the trembling woman, patting her awkwardly with her tied hands. The girl stared up at Doctor Makovsky with eyes full of hatred and fear.
"I hope you're smarter than your mother. Do anything stupid, and you'll be getting much more than a slap across the face." The doctor threatened. He raised a booted foot and stomped down on the cellphone, smashing its screen. Then he turned his back to them and walked to his briefcase. He opened the case with two ominous clicks, then pulled out several syringes and a jar full of glowing blue liquid.
"Do you know what this is?" He asked, raising the jar up. The air was heavy with tense silence as the captives stared at him in fear. The doctor shrugged. "I'm sure you don't. Not everyone does."
He strode forward to them as though he had not a care in the world. He crouched in front of the woman on the ground, who was still shivering as sobs wracked her body. He let out a soft tut and patted her shoulder. "I am not a violent person, woman, trust me on that one. You brought out the worst in me."
Then he placed the jar on the ground and opened it. The blue liquid swirling inside hissed like radioactive waste as it made contact with air. The doctor inserted one of the syringes into the liquid, then pulled it out.
He moved towards the woman on the ground, but her daughter slapped his hands away. "No, please!" She screamed.
Doctor Makovsky grabbed the teenage girl by her blonde hair and dragged her to the other end of the room. She struggled against his grasp, salty streams pouring from her eyes.
"No!" She screamed. "Don't do this to her, please!"
The girl grabbed on to his legs as he walked away. Doctor Makovsky released one of his legs, then kicked her side. The girl yelped in pain and collapsed to the ground, writhing in pain.
"I see foolishness runs in your family." The doctor murmured to the young girl, them turned to her mother. He approached the woman, then roughly pulled her to a sitting position.
The woman's gaze slowly moved up to his, her eyes red-rimmed with tears. "Please...." She begged.
Doctor Makovsky shook his head. "Too late for pleas now."
"Eloise, run!" The woman screamed at her daughter, just as the doctor plunged the syringe deep into her arm. The human glow in her eyes died, and then she began to morph slowly. Arms and legs elongated into wolflike limbs, eyes turned blood-red, teeth stretched into two-inch long canines. Coal-black fur sprouted from her skin, covering her from head to toe.
The girl—Eloise—scrambled to her feet and groped for the door, her eyes wide and fixated on the brindling wolf that was once her mother. 
Doctor Makovsky stared at the terrified girl for a moment. Then he ordered: "Kill her!"
He watched passively as the wolf bounded across the room to the teenage girl, then tore at her throat, silencing her forever. When the wolf was done, it trodded back to the doctor, mouth stained with blood, then inclined its head in a bow.
"Good dog." The doctor murmured, patting its head. Then he turned to the other captives and smiled maliciously. "Who's next?"