“But your office is right next to the staircase; we need to draw away the werewolf,” Trevor said.
“I’ll do it,” Spion decided firmly, grabbing the fire extinguisher in the room.
The three of them rushed out of the monitoring room, with Spion leading the way. Trevor and Ali followed, hands guiding them along the corridor wall. They could hear the gunshots and the furious wolf howling, accompanied by the frantic thumping of their own hearts.
“Hope Ryan killed it,” Ali muttered breathlessly.
They arrived at the corner, just to the right of the staircase, where they could see Ryan’s back. He was shooting to force the werewolf back.
“Nope,” Spion said grimly, his eyes sternly assessing the werewolf. “I’ll push him to the end of the corridor. You two take the chance to enter the office.” Carrying the fire extinguisher, he rushed to stand beside Ryan. “Hi, Captain, need help?”
“Why are you all out here?” Ryan turned his head, seeing Trevor and Ali behind them.
“We need to force the werewolf back to the end of the corridor to give them a chance to enter Ali’s office so they can summon a witch ghost. We hope she is willing to help us deal with the werewolf,” Spion explained rapidly.
“I don’t understand any of what you’re saying, but I hope it works, or this thing will eat us,” Ryan said, still shooting.
The werewolf became more violent, his yellow eyes wide, his huge mouth open and howling. His body was bleeding, but the pain meant nothing to the beast; his wounds visibly healed after seconds. Bullets were pushed out from the healed skin, clattering to the floor—a mocking, metallic sound that underscored the futility of their defense.
“I’m running low! This thing is hard to kill,” Ryan said in a panicked voice.
“Firefighter is here,” Spion grinned, striding forward. The werewolf immediately charged at him. Spion swiftly opened the fire extinguisher. White, pressurized gas squirted into the werewolf’s eyes, forcing the creature back. Spion advanced toward the werewolf step by step, while Ryan followed, pointing his gun.
“Now!” Trevor yelled. He and Ali took the chance to scramble quickly to the room on the left of the staircase—Ali’s office. Ali frantically pressed the password to unlock the door. Once inside, Ali slammed the light switch, illuminating the office, and tore open the cabinet, searching wildly for the Spirit Box.
Trevor stood at the door, nervously watching outside. “Get inside!” he yelled to Spion and Ryan.
Spion realized there wasn’t much foam left in the extinguisher. He threw the empty canister violently at the werewolf’s head. “Run!” He quickly turned and sprinted toward Ali’s office. Ryan followed close behind him. Once both were safely inside, Trevor slammed the heavy door shut, without looking outside at the beast.
“Thanks,” Ryan panted.
“We should execute the third part: abandon the mission and let the werewolf take the flash drive,” Spion suggested, catching his breath.
“I think it’s too late. I may have just angered the beast,” Ryan said, listening to the guttural murmuring and scratching outside the door.
“How do you use this?” Ali placed the Spirit Box on his desk. It was the same model Trevor owned: a black titanium unit with a touchscreen dominating the front face, four buttons below, and two speakers flanking the sides.
“I know.” Trevor stepped to the desk, pressed a button to turn on the device, and began operating the touchscreen. “Richard the Fearless, can you hear me?”
The light in the room flickered, and static noise came from the Spirit Box speakers. Then, they clearly heard a boyish voice. “Oh, hi, Trevor the Mystery. It’s been weeks. You finally thought of me,” Richard said with a negative, teasing tone.
“Hi Richard, how’s your underworld life?” Trevor tried to sound enthusiastic, despite his extreme nervousness.
A massive wolf howl erupted outside, followed by something heavy violently banging on the door, startling all of them.
“Thank gods, it’s a heavy hardwood door,” Ali whispered, still worried.
“It may not hold long. Everyone stand away from the door,” Ryan said, holding his gun ready.
The door was banged again.
“What’s that sound? Are you in trouble?” Richard sounded concerned.
“Yes, in very big trouble, and we need your help. A werewolf is outside, and we need a witch to help us. Can you contact Wieven, the witch ghost in the Salon you mentioned before?” Trevor asked, forcing his voice to be calm.
“Of course! A werewolf, that’s cool, but obviously dangerous for livings. I will call her, wait a moment… Oh… she is right here. She’s been watching the situation this whole time.”
“What?” Trevor was shocked. “Where?” He frantically scanned the room, seeing no sign of a ghost.
BOOM! The door was smashed open. The werewolf burst in, revealing a fierce look. Ryan shot immediately, but after the first shot, his gun clicked empty. Ali scrambled to hide under his desk. Just as the werewolf descended, Spion swiftly threw a desk chair vigorously at the werewolf; wood chips splintered on impact.
The werewolf was provoked, lashing out with his claws at Spion. Spion ducked under the swipe and drove a powerful, short hook into the werewolf’s waist. Trevor picked up a fractured chair leg and tried to poke the werewolf to help. The werewolf wheeled around, swiping its claw at Trevor. Trevor dodged slowly, and the werewolf’s sharp claw slashed his left scapula.
“Ouch!” Feeling a flash of severe, burning pain, Trevor stumbled and fell to the ground.
“Help them, Wieven the Guardian, please!” Richard’s worried voice cried out from the Spirit Box.
The werewolf was about to pounce on Trevor. At this critical moment, a sudden spell echoed in the room. The beast felt an immediate, crippling headache and stopped its attack. A ghost appeared, glowing in a soft blue light and wearing an elegant, floor-length gown. She looked gorgeous, like a lady from a Baroque painting.
“Wieven?” Trevor asked, still in a state of shock.
The ghost ignored him, raised her hands, and continued singing the spell. The werewolf couldn’t hold the pain anymore and frantically retreated from the room. The ghost pushed forward, and the werewolf realized it had no chance and bolted away.
“Are you alright?” Ryan asked Trevor. Spion walked over to check his wound. “You’re lucky. Just your jacket and sweater are ripped.”
“What?” Trevor twisted his neck to check. He couldn’t see clearly, so he used his right hand to touch the area. No wound, no pain, just ripped clothes, and a little surface blood on the fabric.
“Are we all alright?” Ali stood up, looking around at everyone and the mess in his office.
“Wieven will handle it; she’s very powerful,” Richard spoke.
“Thank you,” Trevor said to the box.
“Glad to help. If you are in trouble, just ask me. Sadly, I can’t come to the living world to help.”
“So, do you live well in the underworld? Have you seen your dad?”
“Yes, we work together now.”
“You need to work, even after death?”
“Yes, but I can’t tell you more. It’s a secret,” Richard said mysteriously.
“Okay.”
While Trevor chatted with Richard, Ryan looked out, saw no sign of the werewolf, then came back into the room. “I’ll go upstairs and check on my men,” he said. He walked out of the room.
“Me too,” Spion said, following Ryan.
“I’m gonna go now. Wish you luck,” Richard said.
“Bye, Richard, and please thank Wieven for saving our lives.” Trevor ended the Spirit Box session.
“We should go upstairs and make sure the threat is eliminated,” Ali said.
They arrived in the lobby, which was crowded with Lady News, Report Man, and several staff and guests who were hysterically gossiping. Spotting Ali, the robot doorman, Lex, immediately complained, “Oh dear, this job is too dangerous! I demand a raise.”
“Are you all right?” Lady News asked when she saw Trevor and Ali. “We called you, but no one answered, so we came down.”
“Oops, we forgot our phones in the monitoring room,” Trevor said awkwardly.
“What happened to these security guards?” Ali saw one guard on the ground and walked over to look.
“Comatose. The intruder’s darts contained anesthetic. Some are badly hurt, so we called an ambulance,” Report Man said.
Ryan, Spion, and Little John came from the backyard. Ryan said to Ali, “All clear. I think the werewolf is gone.”
“Thank gods, and thank all of you for tonight. Have a sweet dream,” Ali said. “Ryan and I will wait here for the ambulance and the police. Now I can officially report the intrusion. I may need to take photos of the damage for insurance.” He frowned but managed a bitter smile.