The Doctor by Jennifer Bull

you,’ Tez said clearly. I saw Beth grip hold of his arm a little tighter at this statement. I wish I could talk to her. Explain everything. But even if I can make it out of this prison, I don’t think she’ll ever speak to me again.
    ‘No,’ Jack said, ‘I need you and Beth to make a diversion. The place is swarming with servas . Those reporters won’t let a werewolf just walk through their midst.’
    What on earth were servas ?
    ‘Non-paranormals,’ Jack replied. I didn’t even realise I’d asked the question. I’d have to try and work out this whole mind connection thing he had going on. And, wait, did he just say non-paranormals like that was a normal thing to say?  
    ‘Then we call for backup to go with you,’ Tez said, his voice determined. He wasn’t backing down. Jack moved closer and put his hand on the guy’s shoulder.
    ‘Tez, you know as well as I do that backup will shut the whole thing down. There’s no way they’d let us go off with Daniel. You and I both know they think I’m obsessed with the Doctor.’
    ‘You are.’
    ‘Okay, fine, I’m mildly interested,’ Jack said, ignoring the look on Tez’s face. ‘But either way, you know I have to go now. And no backup.’
    I could tell Jack was winning this argument. He was rather persuasive. He certainly had managed to control the wolf quickly.
    Before I knew it, Jack was grabbing hold of my arm and guiding me out of the room, after the other two. Tez was a big guy, all muscles; he ought to have a good chance against a werewolf even without his superpowers. Beth had her arm wrapped around him, and was glancing fearfully behind her as we followed. I lowered my gaze in shame.
    ‘Don’t worry Daniel,’ Jack said, noticing my movement, ‘Let’s just get you sorted, get the wolf under control. You can worry about your love life later.’
    Easy for him to say. It had taken him seconds to control the wolf. I’d been trying for years and look what had happened.
    Slowly, we all made our way towards the entrance of the park, keeping a look out for any stray people. Thankfully the main park was deserted. The entrance, however, was a different matter. The camera flashes were blinding, even from this distance, and the noise level was huge. Hopefully we were far enough away to not make it in to any of the photos. I stared miserably down at the fur where my hands were supposed to be. As we approached the entrance, Jack and I veered off to the left while Beth and Tez walked boldly towards the people at the gates, giving us chance to slip by unnoticed. As much as I would like to think Beth’s tears were part of the distraction, it wasn’t true, they were genuine tears. My insides were twisting and knotting as I watched her walk away.
    ‘Come on Dan,’ Jack said quietly, leading me to a side entrance he had spotted, ‘Tez will look after her.’ The police and reporters exploded into cheers when they saw Beth walking towards them. I could hear them shouting question after question at her. I just had to hope she was less frightened now I wasn’t there.
    So much attention was directed to Beth and Tez that we managed to walk across the parking lot without being noticed. The missing girl had been found in one piece. The evil creature hadn’t eaten her for dinner. I knew that’s what they were all thinking.
    ‘Here we are,’ Jack said cheerfully, unlocking the car door. He climbed in, started the car and put on some music. The noise was reverberating around my head. I could tell he was trying to cheer me up, but it wasn’t working.
    ‘Alright grumpy, I’ll turn the music off then.’
    ‘Sorry,’ I said glumly, ‘I’m not used to someone being in my head like this.’
    ‘Can’t say I’m enjoying it at the moment,’ Jack said sincerely, ‘It’s not much fun being in your head. Remember what I told you before. Focus on taking control of the wolf.’
    ‘Yeah, you said you’d explain that. Who was that Doctor you were talking about? What