Century Traveler

"On what charge?" John asked.

"Public nuisance for starters," Angry Cop growled as he slapped the cuffs on John's wrists a little too snugly. He also pulled him with a bit too much force and launched him into the back of the cruiser.

"Harry," Quiet Cop hissed to his partner. He knew the man was getting a little too worked up. Harry frowned back and got into the passenger seat to sulk. The driver went to the front of the building, where a door opened, and a man in a tattered dressing gown stepped out. He spoke to the officer and looked around but didn't look too upset when they parted. The Quiet Cop got into the driver's seat and made some notes with the computer between the seats. Then he buckled in. He looked in the mirror at John.

"Sir, did you ingest any drugs last night?" he asked.

The question surprised John. "No! I don't do drugs."

"Let me rephrase the question then. Are you on any medication, or have you ingested any natural, organic supplements that may have altered your brain chemistry in any way?" he asked patiently.

"No, sir," John replied.

"You're sticking with your story of running all the way from Portland then?" the officer said in a weary tone.

"Uh, I don't have another story. I remember beginning to run after I left work at nine last night, and my boss saw me leave. The next thing I remember, I was standing in a clearing up on that hillside about a mile or two away. My shoes are destroyed, my clothes are ripped, and I have rabbit fur and blood on me. Not my usual nightly activities. I'm sorry if I disturbed the people who owned the gas station. I just wanted to get cleaned up a little," he said contritely.

"We're going to take you to the hospital in Longview to have you checked out. Your eyes are looking a little glassy," the officer said as the cruiser pulled away.

John was worried his eyes were showing gold, so he tried to see himself in the mirror. Harry threw a threatening look over his shoulder, so he sat back. As it took a little while to get to the hospital, John practiced some relaxation techniques Anna taught him. When they got to the hospital, the Angry Cop had settled down and treated John cold but civilly. They took him into the emergency room, where they seemed acquainted with the night shift. John was plunked into a small space to wait on the doctor. They took the cuffs off when he indicated his hands were losing feeling. He spotted some sanitary wipes, so he used the time to clean the blood from his face and did his best to tidy his jacket and shirt.

After about an hour, a tired-looking doctor pushed open the curtain and did a quick check on John's pupils.

"I'm Doctor Emery, and you are... John Doe?"

"Yes, that's my legal name."

"Are you on any medications or recreational drugs?"

"No."

"Any history of mental illness in your family?"

"No idea. I'm an orphan, and I don't feel crazy," John said with a smile for the doctor.

The doctor turned to the officers and sighed tiredly. "Okay, this is wasting my valuable time. Why am I here?"

Harry began to growl, but the Quiet Cop put a hand on his shoulder and gave him a gentle shove in the direction of the cruiser. He turned to the doctor.

"Mr. Doe was found just outside of Castle Rock at a gas station, washing blood and fur from his face. He explained that the blood and fur came from a rabbit he caught and ate raw. He claims to have run from Portland to just outside of Castle Rock in five and a half hours, but he doesn't remember the run. When we first encountered Mr. Doe, his eyes reflected oddly in the cruiser's headlights."

The doctor turned to look at John and took in the condition of his running shoes and shorts, the disarray of his hair, and the mess on his shirt.

"Have you previously experienced blackouts?" he asked.

"No," John answered.

"Do you know where you are now?" the doctor asked.

"In a hospital in Longview," he replied.

"You claim to have run over fifty-five miles in five-and-a-half hours. You understand that would require you to run ten miles per hour for that entire period. I run almost every day. I'm in the best shape of my life, and I come from a family of runners, yet none of us could sustain that speed for that long. Even ultramarathon runners can't do that. It just can't be done," the doctor said with finality.

John looked at him. "Okay."

"Okay? As in, okay, I didn't run that distance. I actually drove and hid my car somewhere back in Castle Rock?" the doctor smiled, believing he'd caught John in a lie.

"I don't own a car, and I don't drive," John said.

"So maybe okay, one of my friends drove me to Castle Rock?" the doctor frowned.

"Only two of my friends have a car, and I wasn't with either of them last night after work," John replied calmly.

"Then what do you mean by okay?" the doctor asked in frustration.

"Nothing. You say running that distance in that time can't be done. You seem to be more of an expert than me on running, so I say okay, I believe you. But I have nothing else to offer in explaining how I managed to get from Portland to Castle Rock in that time on foot. All I have is some physical evidence that indicates I did a lot of running. More to the point, though, have I done anything to indicate I'm a danger to myself or others?"

"Well... the blackout period is concerning. I'd like to run some tests on you to ensure you haven't experienced a seizure," the doctor said.

John shook his head. "While that sounds like fun, I have a really busy day ahead of me, what with dealing with the charge of... what was it again? Oh yeah, public nuisance. I've apologized for using the garden hose to clean my face. I have a job in Portland I've missed too many days recently, and I have a really big contract to complete today. I feel fine. Actually, I feel better than I have in some time. So, if it's all the same to you, I'd prefer to skip the medical tests and get back to my life, if possible."

The doctor looked at him with a squint, then just shrugged, signed the chart, and moved on to see his next patient.

John looked at the remaining officer. "I'm all yours. Is there any chance I could just apologize to the gas station owner for disturbing his sleep, and we could all be on our way?

"He's not pressing charges. I'm going to let you off with a warning this time, but I think the doctor was right. You shouldn't ignore a blackout. Especially one of that duration," the officer said.

"Thank you very much, Officer...?" John asked.

"Watts."

"Thank you, Officer Watts. I'll let my primary healthcare provider know exactly what happened to me tonight," John said, intending to tell Anna all about his evening run.

They walked back out to the cruiser, and Watts handed him the backpack from the trunk. Harry looked like he wanted to argue but stayed in the cruiser to sulk. Watts pointed out where the Greyhound bus would pick him up to get back to Portland, and there was one early bus that he could make if he hustled. They both smiled a little about that.

John waved and headed off for the bus, his shoe flopping as he jogged.

Chapter 8

John pushed through the door to the store a few minutes after ten. He'd called Deron when he got home and explained that he'd be a little late due to unforeseen issues. He'd caught a quick nap on the bus ride back to Portland and on the transit back to his neighborhood, but he was still a little worn out from the night before. He left a note for Anna to let her know he was fine and wanted to talk with her tonight about the little journey the wolf took him on. He opened his fridge, ate everything still edible within it, then grabbed a quick shower, dressed (damn, were his shirts shrinking?), and raced out the door to work. He made it in record time.

As he briskly made his way to his desk, he congratulated himself on being just an hour late after the drama of the evening before. He rounded the end of the bookshelves and collided with Satomi. They tangled and toppled over with John on top. As they fell, John slipped his right arm under her arm, behind her back, and cupped the back of her head with his palm. His left hand went out behind her to catch their fall, and he spread his feet to balance himself. It all happened instinctively and automatically. He supported her weight on the way down, and she grabbed his shirt as they sank to the floor smoothly. Seeing the wide-eyed, breathless woman under him, John felt a rush of lust from deep within, and it was a struggle to keep himself from kissing those pink, delicious-looking lips. She must have caught the heat in his eyes as she leaned up quickly and planted a kiss before he could react.

John felt his self-control crumbling under the combined intensity of her soft lips, insistent tongue, and the wolf's carnal drive. He kissed Satomi back hard, and she moaned in reaction and softened in his grip. He felt a deep rush of pleasure course through his body, and Satomi clutched at him as she wrestled his tongue with hers.

"WHAT THE FUCK!"

At Deron's yell, John turned his face in his direction and growled menacingly, the sound raising the hairs on the necks of those within earshot.

"JOHN!"

Deron's yell was a slap of reality. John was finally able to push the wolf down, and his face fell when he saw what he was doing.

The others had come running to see what Deron was yelling about. They froze in surprise when they spotted John doing a one-arm push-up while cradling Satomi in his other arm under his body. Satomi was still reeling with the intensity of their kiss, her breath coming in gasps. John moved his left leg up under his body to lift them up, and he set them both back on their feet in one graceful sweeping motion. He had to keep a hold of Satomi, who was still not steady. John's face went beet red with embarrassment.

"Satomi, please forgive my... momentary loss of control," he said. "You deserve better."

"I-I deserve more," she moaned, unable to look away from his mouth.

"Enough! John, my office, now!" Deron said and stormed away.

John took his hands from Satomi, who leaned towards him until Mel and Kelly stepped in with wide eyes to pull her hands away from his shirt. They braced her as he left to follow Deron.

He stepped into his boss' small office and shut the door behind him.

Deron glared at him from his chair for a few seconds. John stood there with his red face.

"What has gotten into you?" Deron asked, and John couldn't stop the snort from bursting forth. Deron's eyes widened as he saw John desperately trying to keep from laughing. "Are you fucking kidding me?" Deron's voice got louder as he watched John crumble into a chair. The man wasn't laughing now. He seemed to be crying, then he shook his head and clenched his jaw to get his control back.

Deron leaned back. He'd seen this kind of loss of emotional control and hyper aggressiveness. Some of the guys in his gym took steroids to gain muscle mass quickly, and they'd become belligerent tyrants. They'd been kicked out of the gym. He eyed John and noticed that he did look like he was bulking up. His biceps looked like they wanted to split the sleeves of his shirt. He'd been such a desk jockey, and now even his face looked leaner. Deron wouldn't allow one of his staff to go down that road.

"You've been juicing, haven't you? You're building up muscle and taking steroids to speed it along," he asserted.

"What?" John looked up at his boss, confused and wiping his eyes.

"I've seen this aggressive behavior before. You lose the baby fat, your muscles start getting bigger, and your confidence increases. It all seems good. Then you start losing your temper at little things, and your control erodes. Pretty soon, you start doing crazy shit like we just saw out there. Dragging Satomi onto the floor to kiss her, then fucking growling at me! I won't tolerate this shit, you understand me?"

John sat there listening to his boss. He wanted to deny taking steroids, and he knew the real cause, but there was no way he would drag Deron and his co-workers into this nightmare. But he wasn't going to leave Deron thinking he had assaulted Satomi.

"That's not what happened with Satomi. I swear it's not! We ran into each other as I was rushing to my desk and we fell. I caught her on the way down so she wouldn't get hurt. Then she kissed me. I'll admit once she did that, I lost control and kissed her back. I shouldn't have done that. And... I can't explain why I growled like that."

"She kissed you? Are you seriously trying to blame that sweet young girl for your sexual predation?" Deron yelled, incredulous.

"Sexual predation? I've never forced myself on anyone! Ask Satomi what happened. Speak with Mel," John barked back.

"You went after Mel too?" Deron yelled. He couldn't believe his ears.

"For fuck's sake! You aren't listening to me. I said I've never done that. Ask Mel about how Satomi feels about me and how I dealt with that... Up until today, at least." John sank back into the chair.

"You know what? I don't think I want to see your face today. Call this a vacation day without pay. Get out of my office and call me before you come in tomorrow. I will be speaking with people here, and I will get to the bottom of this. You seriously need to re-examine your priorities. Take my advice. Get off the juice. It will fuck you up, more than you already are," Deron said, gesturing for him to leave.

"What about the custom request?" John asked in surprise.

"It'll wait. Get out!" Deron shouted.

John fought down the urge to drag Deron across the desk and shake him. To believe that John would ever force himself on a woman was so incredibly disgusting that he lost respect for the man. He was sure the feeling was mutual. He stood up and left with as much dignity as he could muster. When he was on the sidewalk, he looked for Mr. Sass as he really needed to talk with the man, but he was elusive again.

John walked. He stopped at the bank and saw he had enough to afford to replace his running shoes. While he walked home, he kept an eye out for a shop specializing in running. He found one and grilled the saleswoman on the best shoe for trail running. He wanted something more durable if he was going to do distances through the woods. This set him back a little further than he hoped, so he'd have to add another few weeks to the many weeks before he could afford to replace his bicycle.

He continued to walk and found himself outside the yoga studio Anna worked at. He hadn't realized he was walking there. He went in as it was close to lunch hour and a cute receptionist smiled at him.

"Hello!" the young woman greeted him with a cheery tone.

"Hi! Uh, is Mrs. Harrison currently in a session, or is she available to go to lunch?"

"I can check for you. Whom shall I say is asking?"

"John Doe."

Her eyes widened, and her mouth burst into a big smile. "Ah! You're John! Anna speaks very highly of you!" she gushed. She quickly got to her feet and raised a finger. "Just make yourself comfortable, and I'll go see if she's available." She promptly moved to the stairs and rushed up them.

John looked around the waiting area, then took a seat. A few minutes later, the receptionist returned. "John? She'll be right down."

"Thank you!" he returned with a smile. The woman nodded happily and returned to her seat behind the desk.

He caught her glancing over at him occasionally with a happy grin on her face, and he began to wonder just what Anna had been saying.

Five minutes later, Anna came down the stairs and walked briskly into the reception area with a concerned look.

"John, is everything all right?" he asked.

"What? Can't a guy take his favorite landlady to lunch?" he quipped for the benefit of the grinning receptionist.

Anna saw the stress in the corners of his eyes but played along. "Such a charmer! But your rent stays the same." She smiled as he faked an injured look. They smiled at the young woman behind the desk and headed out.

Two steps from the front door, Anna launched her interrogation. "Where were you last night?"

John looked around and saw he could speak with little worry of being overheard. He looked at Anna. "The wolf took me for a run. I left the store at nine and started running home. The next thing I can recall is standing in a clearing on a hillside at two in the morning just outside of Castle Rock. I ran approximately fifty-five miles in five and a half hours. Oh! And I seem to enjoy eating rabbits, raw."

Anna looked at him in dismay.

"Yeah, it gets better. I found a gas station that was closed and used their garden hose to wash some rabbit blood and fur from my face, and the owner of the gas station called the police. They picked me up and took me to Longview hospital because they thought I was on drugs. They let me off with a warning."

"Thank heavens!" Anna gasped. She looked at John, but his stress hadn't lessened. "There's more?"

"Yeah," John said uncomfortably, looking away.

"Talk to me, John," Anna said, placing her hand on his arm.

He struggled, trying to think how to say the next words without getting upset. Finally, he sighed and just started.

"When I got to work this morning, I wasn't watching where I was going as I rushed to my desk. I collided with Satomi, and we fell. I caught her on the way down and kept her from hurting herself when we landed... but when we were on the floor, she... kissed me, and I kissed her back. God, there was so much passion, and the wolf was such a driving force I couldn't withstand the combination. I got swept away. Deron saw us on the floor and assumed I'd attacked her. He yelled, and... the wolf growled at him before I could get my head back in the game. He chewed me out in his office and called me a sexual predator. He also accused me of taking steroids which explains my new muscles and aggression. Then he sent me home. He's investigating, and tomorrow I'll call in to find out if I still have a job. If Satomi or Mel get confused or decide to punish me, it could get really bad for me."

Anna's face had gone pink as he described kissing Satomi, but she lost all color when he mentioned his boss' accusations and the possible loss of his job. That kind of thing on your work record would poison a career for a long time, if not forever. They arrived at the restaurant Anna liked.

They found a table for two by the window. The restaurant was too busy to continue their conversation without being careful about what they said.

"Deron can be really stubborn once he gets an idea in his head. He's convinced I'm taking steroids, and compared to the truth, I'm not sure I can or should try to convince him otherwise. The problem will be ensuring I keep my aggression in check around him. No more growling," John said.

"But you can't let him think you're a danger to the women!" Anna said.

"No. That won't stand. He has to believe I was telling the truth about that, or I won't work for the man," John scowled. After brooding for a minute, he continued. "I'm not going to tell him I've taken steroids. But I'm not telling him the real reason either. Either he believes I have integrity and we're good, or he doesn't, and I start looking for a new job."

The waitress arrived and took their order. To keep things light as other diners had moved into nearby tables, Anna talked about the classes she had taught that morning until the food arrived.

Anna picked at her salad while John tucked into his plate of ribs. He'd told Anna that he assumed his hunger was due to the extra exercise he'd gotten the night before. She reached over and ran her finger over his bicep, and he looked down. There was a thin tear in the fabric of his shirt. His eyebrows went up, and he flexed the muscle. The material was beyond its capacity to stretch and suddenly split wide open with a loud rip.