Episode 4
1191 Words
After breakfast together, Hans headed back home. Alice was now lying on her bed, engrossed in her phone screen.
It was already 1 pm. Alice, who had struggled to fall asleep the night before, was now starting to feel sleepy.
Alice put her phone on the dresser and started to doze off. However, a few minutes later, she was jolted awake again by a loud noise coming from outside. The commotion sounded incredibly clear.
Curious, Alice got out of bed and headed outside. Her brow furrowed as she saw several residents filling Hans' yard, their faces filled with anger. Hans stood there, looking bewildered and speechless.
"What's going on? Why is everyone gathering at Hans' house?" Alice said as she continued walking towards the crowd.
Just as she was about to join the crowd, Alice's steps halted when Ann grabbed her arm.
"Aunt Ann, what's going on? Why is everyone gathering at Hans' house?" Alice asked Ann, who had just arrived and was about to join the crowd.
Ann's face looked anxious. "Everyone's saying that the werewolf is Hans."
Alice's eyes widened in shock. "Hans? Why would anyone think like that?"
"I don't know either. That's why I rushed here to help Hans from the mob's wrath," Ann replied.
"You have to take responsibility, Hans!" one of the residents shouted.
"Yes, you have to bear the consequences of what you’ve done.”
"Let's get rid of this werewolf, don't let him live and kill all the residents."
The crowd continued to shout loudly. The situation escalated when one of the residents arrived, carrying gasoline and a lighter, intent on burning Hans alive.
"Stop!" Alice shouted. "What are you all doing?!"
"Get out of the way, Alice. Just because he's your close friend doesn't mean you have to defend him. Don't you know he's the werewolf that attacked Darren and killed him?" Glenn said.
"How do you know? Do you have any proof?" Alice asked again.
The crowd fell silent, exchanging uneasy glances. They realized they didn't have a single piece of evidence to prove Hans was indeed a werewolf.
"You don't have any proof, do you? So how can you judge Hans like this? I know Hans better than anyone, and I can assure you he's not a werewolf," Alice said firmly.
"How can you be so sure? You've only known Hans for less than a month."
"That's true! And besides, before Hans arrived, everything was safe. But suddenly, stories about werewolves started popping up."
The villagers were right. Alice had only known Hans for about a month since he moved to the town. Beyond that, Alice didn't know much else about Hans.
However, Alice couldn't understand why the villagers suddenly turned on Hans and assumed he was a werewolf.
"Let's prove it!" Alice challenged, still convinced that Hans was a normal human being despite the accusations.
“Okay, tonight, we will lock Hans up in the middle of the intersection with a CCTV that will keep an eye on him,” suggested one of the residents.
Ann, who had been silent until now, spoke up, "No! What if Hans becomes the wolves' next meal because you guys left him outside all night?"
“Ah, that's right. We'll be responsible if Hans turns out to be just an ordinary human and gets killed by the werewolf," some of the villagers said.
Hans, who had been standing silently behind Alice, began to step forward until he stopped right beside her.
"Just take me to one of your houses. Lock me in a room, and install a CCTV to monitor all my movements," Hans suggested.
The villagers who had gathered in front of Hans' house began to whisper to each other, discussing who would be willing to take Hans in for the night.
"Alright, you'll sleep at my house tonight. I have a spare room that isn't being used," said Donald, a man who had finally decided to sacrifice his home.
Honestly, Donald was also a bit scared. Because if Hans was indeed a werewolf, the first people he would target would be Donald and his family.
Alice turned to gaze at Hans, "Hans, are you sure you’re okay with this?”
Hans nodded, "At least I have to prove to them that I'm not a werewolf."
The villagers began to leave Hans' yard one by one. Some of them were impatient to prove the truth about the suspicion that Hans was a werewolf, while others were worried about the safety of Donald's family.
***
Night had fallen. As agreed upon by the villagers, Hans was now inside a room in Donald's house, with a CCTV camera monitoring his every move throughout the night.
Meanwhile, David, Glenn, and several other villagers gathered in a room to monitor Hans through the CCTV. However, what they were waiting for didn't yield any results. The clock on the wall already showed 6 am, where the sky was starting to brighten up due to the sunlight.
"How about now? We've already accused Hans," said Donald.
Glenn shook his head slowly, "I don't know."
"You have to take responsibility, because you were the first one to spread this news!" Donald said firmly to Glenn.
“David and I were just speculating, because it felt really weird when Hans suddenly moved to this town," Glenn replied.
David stood up from his chair, "I'm sure Hans is a werewolf. From what I know, werewolves usually transform during a full moon."
Donald furrowed his brow, "That's true. So, are we going to wait for the full moon night?"
David nodded his head, "At that time, we'll lock Hans up in your house again."
From outside, Alice, Ann, and several other villagers flocked to Donald's house to get information about Hans.
"Mr. Donald, please come out," Alice shouted.
Seeing the crowd gathered in his yard, Donald finally emerged, accompanied by David, Glenn, Hans, and several other villagers.
"So, what now? Have you guys figured out if Hans is really a werewolf?" Ann asked.
Donald and the others exchanged glances before shaking their heads.
"I've told you Hans isn't a werewolf! You should think rationally. If I were Hans, I'd sue you all," Alice said irritatedly.
"Hans didn't transform because there's no full moon tonight," David said.
Everyone's eyes widened in confusion, as if they didn't understand what David was saying.
Alice took a step closer to David. "What do you mean?" she asked.
"As we all know, werewolves can transform when the full moon appears," David explained.
Alice snorted, "What kind of nonsense is this? I think you've all lost your minds."
Glenn walked over to Alice. "If you truly believe Hans isn't a werewolf, then you shouldn't be worried. Besides, we just locked him in a room for one night, we didn't hurt him."
Just as she was about to respond, Hans stepped forward and stood beside Alice. "Fine. Do whatever you want, I'm ready to be locked up in that room again when the full moon comes."
Alice gazed at Hans with a furrowed brow, while Hans just smiled faintly at her, as if to say everything would be okay.
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