InsaneJournal

NAME: Aiden Michael Fields.
ALIAS(ES): There aren’t really many ways to abbreviate his name and Aiden is perfectly fine with this, but some people choose to shorten his name to Aide, something he has no problem with whatsoever, as is obvious from his laid back response to being addressed as such. His Underground codename is Lupus.
AGE: 31. February 28th 1987.
RACE: Mutant.
AWARE OF MUTATION: Yes.
POWERS: Lupine Metamorphosis. Aiden is capable of transforming into a wolf at will, the form always the same albeit slightly larger than average, even for a male wolf of the species he adopts the shape of; canis lupus, otherwise known as the grey wolf. All of Aiden’s transformations are controlled by his own will, and in no way influenced by ‘magic’ or the moon, regardless of how full it might be at any given time, and it has taken a considerable amount of time for Aiden to reach such a steady level of control, given the changes he went through upon discovering his mutation. His transformations are generally painless nowadays, even with the repositioning of bone, cartilage and organ, and the changes are visible whenever he shifts shape; no waves of light or ‘in the blink of an eye’ tricks; Aiden literally changes, bodily, from a man to a wolf, and as such, has to be completely ‘rewritten’, physically, from head to toe. In wolf form, Aiden possesses all the regular physical aspects, from his pelt to his eyes and muzzle, to his paws (which give him a significant amount of grip and balance on snowy surfaces, something that has been more than beneficial due to the climate) and tail, and at no point can he pause the transformation to become any sort of ‘werewolf’ or ‘hybrid’; he must be one or the other, and can never become anything in between. On average, albeit depending entirely on the circumstances surrounding the necessity, Aiden’s transformation now takes around thirty seconds to a minute, because of the amount of practise he saw fit to apply to his ‘new skill’. When Aiden transforms, everything he is wearing or carrying in his pockets changes with him, ‘magically’ disappearing for the duration of the change, returning to their previous positions when he returns to his human body, though he has learned over the years that, in a way, the fur replaces the clothes, for lack of a better description; if he is slashed, with a blade or claws, in wolf form, the damage is shown on his clothes as it would have been on his pelt in wolf form, and he has lost more shirts than he cares to think about because of this. Naturally, this aspect does prove to be helpful, given that he never has to worry about being without clothes, even if he has to transform, nor does he lose any items he might be wearing or carrying in his pockets; this includes watches, rings etc as well as footwear.

As well as the obvious physical aspects of his mutation, Aiden has other, subtler ‘enhancements’ which are obvious to those who are extremely observant but otherwise easy to miss. Not only is Aiden much more tolerant to the cold, even while in human form (often seen in a t-shirt while inside as opposed to the sweaters that have become something of a trademark item for the populace, depending on the state of the heating), but he is more agile, has sharper reflexes and balance, a predatory kind of grace, increased endurance and stamina, meaning he is slightly stronger and faster than any average man; if asked about his physical benefits, he simply tells the questioning individual that he works out regularly, which he does, exercising not only in human form but as a wolf. In human form, Aiden’s senses are just as honed and keen as they are in wolf form: first and foremost are his olfactory senses, his sharp sense of smell meaning he can recognise individuals from their scents after just one meeting, his brain registering and cataloguing countless smells, but it also hinders in that he responds to foul smells that much more than anyone else around him; auditory takes second place, his hearing enabling him to catch sounds beyond human capabilities, another ‘win-lose’ enhancement, in that while he can hear sounds from miles away, potentially, high pitches can potentially hurt Aiden and cause him to flinch and feel literal pain, driving him to cover his ears or his whole head, depending on the frequency and volume; visually, Aiden can see beyond any human standards, even possessing a degree of night-vision, which comes in more than useful given his frequent nocturnal ‘roams’, when it is safe for him to wander in wolf form, something he feels he almost has to do on a regular basis, to burn off excess energy. Aiden’s senses of taste and touch are also heightened beyond the norm, and as such he isn’t overly fond of spicy, strong food because of the sensitivity of his palette, and in the tactile sense of things, he is simply more receptive to contact. When combined, the state of his senses can occasionally lead to his being ‘overloaded’, which simply makes him lethargic usually, but can make him irritable or even outright sickly, depending on the situation itself. The wolf also affects his mentality, and Aiden is very much an ‘Alpha’ figure, dominant and unable to submit in a challenge, responding strongly to body language and above all, eye contact, and the challenge that might be communicated therein. As a wolf he exhibits these traits more obviously, carrying his tail high, as Alpha wolves do when around their pack.

There are other benefits to Aiden’s wolf form, which come as standard for the species he takes after; being able to bound a considerable distance when chasing, capable of reaching speeds near forty miles-per-hour flat-out, and the ability to trot steadily for miles without pausing. It is entirely possible Aiden hasn’t even realised all of his little perks and benefits, and as it is, it has taken him a long time to figure out what he does know. On a final note, not that it really plays any part in his life nowadays, Aiden has a tendency to provoke other canines; they cannot stand him, in general, and really react, not well, to his presence, snarling, barking, howling or whining, no matter what he might be doing at any given moment. As it is, this only really applies to the wasteland creatures in the here and now, and they are rabid to begin with.
OCCUPATION: Bartender; Rostat. Aiden often doubles as an unofficial ‘bouncer’ of sorts for the bar because of his stature. Following the experiments by Horizon, Aiden became co-leader of the Underground, a rogue team of fugitive mutants who can never return to the Complex.

APPEARANCE: Aiden is by no means a small individual, and yet at the same time, he is far from unhealthy, always at his physical peak, working out hard and often, seeing his health as an important factor. Standing tall at 6’3 and weighing it at roughly 213lbs, Aiden can seem very intimidating to some people, even when he’s simply standing still behind the bar at Rostat, and while he really can throw his weight around and potentially do some damage, his expressions often balance out his muscular build; he usually actually seems very gentle in appearance, smiling easily and often if the setting is right and the topic is light, laughing openly when his sense of humour is triggered. While he can appear very fierce when his buttons are pushed, he usually saves that look for when it’s absolutely necessary, not wanting to make waves unless he absolutely has to. Aiden’s hazel eyes can sometimes appear faintly green under certain, bright lights. After his ordeal at the hands of Horizon, there is always a trace of the wolfen gold in his eyes that never seems to fade. His hair is brown with various, ranging shades; in the past it was a dirty blonde, obviously bleached, as a result of a lost bet. In terms of facial hair, Aiden usually shaves before it gets too long, and as such is usually seen sporting stubble around his jaw and mouth, and this is obviously darker than the hair on his head because it wasn’t a part of the bet that saw him becoming temporarily blonde. Because of his past, specifically the incident that saw his mutation first revealing itself, he has several scars here and there on his body, the most prominent of which are around his left bicep, as if from teeth which shook and tugged, damaging the flesh; usually they’re covered by the sleeves of whatever shirt he’s wearing, but they wouldn’t be hard to see if the opportunity presented itself. On the outside of his left forearm, he has a tattoo of a cannon that can be seen quite obviously whenever he doesn’t wear long sleeves.

Of course, because of his mutation, Aiden has more than one ‘look’, literally able to change his appearance from human to animal. As a wolf, Aiden is more or less average, albeit slightly larger than usual for the common animal of his ‘species’. Standing 3’2 at the shoulders and measuring 6’6 from nose to tail, Aiden weighs in beyond the historically catalogued size record at 169lbs, which is above average even for a large male wolf. In terms of colouration, his eyes are a golden-amber shade (this colour can shine through when he is in human form, something he can will it, or it can be brought on by dire circumstances), and his pelt is various shades of grey but not entirely so, with ranged browns around certain points of his body, mainly around his facial features, down his spine, around his joints and flecked through his tail, while his underbelly is characteristically pale.

In terms of clothing, Aiden can usually be pretty comfortable in most anything so long as it isn’t tight, allowing him freedom to move; as a general rule, he doesn’t enjoy feeling constricted in any way. He is actually prone to wearing t-shirts, even with the world’s climate, because he has a tolerance to the temperature, again thanks to his mutation and how grey wolves were usually found in colder parts of the world before the War. Of course, when out and about, he has to layer up as it were, and he’ll pull on a sweater or jacket, along with a thick, padded coat, as is the wardrobe standard for everyone these days; he’ll wear thick gloves, able to do small tasks wearing them, such as use keys, answer his phone and even drive a car, but he isn’t all that fond of hats, unless he really needs one. Aiden usually prefers to pull his coat’s hood up if he needs that extra protection against the elements, even though he does own a suitable hat and actually carries it around with him in his backpack that he uses for work. Colour-wise, most people lean towards the darker side of the spectrum nowadays and the metamorph is no exception, though he can be found in a range of colours from red to green, when wearing t-shirts. Always found in a pair of battered boots rather than sneakers, which are rather weak when it comes to insulation and keeping out snow and slush, Aiden has a couple of other small trademark items; namely a simple wristwatch, a seemingly non-descript silver chain that actually bears a St. Christopher medal, and a rather out-of-place seeming simple cotton ‘braid’ around one wrist, dark green in colour.

PERSONALITY: Aiden is a complicated individual if only because he is essentially a dual personality, two beings inhabiting one body at the same time, sometimes warring against one another for flat-out supremacy but as a whole, he is usually very grounded in reality, willing to see the truth of matters but not afraid to be optimistic either, even after everything that has happened. He refuses to simply ‘give up’ and be miserable; he sees too many people like that every day he works his job, and if nothing else, it is his own stubbornness that makes him stick his heels in and keep going as if they really do have a shot at rebuilding the world. It isn’t in his blood to just ‘give up’, after all, and he was a defiant sort long before he inherited his lupine tendencies.

As it is, the wolf influences a lot of who Aiden is today, and at any given moment it can shine through, even though he has had time to get a hold on his ‘condition’ and, to a degree, master it. Nevertheless, the wolf is a powerful force, just as stubborn as Aiden is when he’s human, and there is a lot of lupine behaviour in the man now, which is a pro and a con, depending on the situation. Aiden finds it insanely difficult to back down from a challenge, and maintaining that kind of eye-contact with him is as good as slapping him in the face; he can’t let it go. Simply put, Aiden’s an Alpha male, and behaves that way, asserting himself (even if only subconsciously) as the dominant figure, if the situation permits it, standing his ground at all times, and always defending and protecting his own, whether that be what he views as his territory (his apartment, and the bar when he’s the sole ‘tender behind it, actually) or his ‘pack’ (his friends and co-workers). He might not exhibit all the typical Alpha male behaviour, especially not when he’s in human form, but if and when people find out about his mutation, all the pieces of how he acts would likely come together, unravelling a little of the complexity of his tendencies. Even without the dominance he exhibits, Aiden is still very lupine in other aspects; he is insanely loyal to the ‘pack’ figures in his life, and doesn’t much like to be alone. He will fight, fiercely, for his companions, tooth and claw if he has to, and at the end of the day, if it came down to keeping his mutation secret and protecting a friend, he would opt for the latter, his own personal safety and security be damned. Obviously this means he is protective to a fault, sometimes even stepping in when he doesn’t need to, just because the wolf in him is provoked and he cannot stand to see his friends challenged; as an Alpha personality, he sees it as his duty to defend those he sees as ‘pack’, and sometimes he just can’t help what he says or does. A natural predator, he has the instincts of one, and if someone or something runs away from him, it is likely he wouldn’t be able to stop himself from pursuing, even if he would never let himself reach the ‘kill’ stage, like a real wolf would in a hunting situation. He is wary of other predators, or rather would be if he ever met them, and in general the creatures from the wastelands provoke him when they manage to breach the perimeter, but he will fight them off if he has to, and usually in animal form, something he finds a sort of comfort nowadays in these hard times. Because of his heightened senses, Aiden usually avoids overly loud or crowded areas, which was what drew him to Rostat as opposed to Cavern, the club usually avoided by the metamorph because of its busy, hectic state at any given time.

In general, Aiden is an easy enough guy to get along with, even if he sometimes appears intimidating purely on a physical basis, given his stature, and how his expression can sometimes appear grave or stony. Honestly, outside of the bar where he works, he relaxes a lot easier, rarely anticipating trouble beyond the alcohol-fuelled atmosphere of his workplace. When around friends, he laughs freely, enjoys discussions and even debates over a casual game of cards or even while watching an old, cheesy movie, or even just sitting quietly with his feet up on his coffee table with a single friend. He much prefers company to solitude, which is no doubt enhanced by the wolf in him and its need for a social structure, but he isn’t dysfunctional or bossy or fierce in any of his day to day mannerisms, unless pushed to be that way. He might be an Alpha male at the core, thanks to the mutation he ‘inherited’ after the War, but that doesn’t control him.

When it comes to Horizon, the Authority and the Magistrate of their Complex, Aiden is respectful, acknowledging them as the superior forces, knowing that they are there for a reason, understanding that they cannot operate without that sort of guiding hand, sad as it seems. He might not like being caged in and ordered around, but he doesn’t fight it, and trusts in them; he believes they are the way forward, and will do his part to the best of his ability, in order to ensure they reach that future goal.

SKILLS: Obviously, after being a bartender, Aiden can mix drinks and talk about mundane topics with just about anybody who stumbles up to the bar, even if they’re drunk and have no idea what they’re talking about. He is a fairly amicable person and tolerant, and even if a customer does push him the wrong way because of their views, he can at least act indifferent about it in the interest of maintaining a calm, obedient front; nobody wants to draw the wrong sort of attention, after all. Aside from the skills he has built up from his job, Aiden works out often, pushing himself to keep fit, which is obvious from his muscular build and healthy but athletic frame; he can definitely hold his own in a fight, something that has come in handy at Rostat, because of some customers’ tendency to get worked up and need to be ‘handled’. Aiden usually never resorts to outright violence unless there is no other alternative, simply because that’s what the Authority is for, but he can stand up for himself and usually handle a fight situation very well.

As well as being fully fluent in French — not that that really counts for anything nowadays, given the limited populace — Aiden can, albeit tentatively given his lack of practise, actually play the piano fairly ably, and while instruments are in something of a minority nowadays anyway, he would likely have to have sheet music available if he were intending to play anything, especially since he hasn’t maintained the hobby, not only because of the War. Owning a solidly-built and tough GMC truck, Aiden can handle the vehicle at what some might consider reckless speeds given the elements, but usually wouldn’t take the risk unless he absolutely had to; as it is, most everyone has learned to handle their trucks in the snowy, somewhat perilous conditions nowadays.

LIMITATIONS: Obviously, Aiden’s tendency to allow himself to be influenced by his wolf side might be considered a serious disadvantage, given how it can drive him to act unfavourably, making him territorial, overly defensive or just a touch primal, which can put other people off, warn them that something about him isn’t quite ‘right’, or just draw the wrong sort of attention, especially given that his mutation is a secret, and he knows better than to advertise how he isn’t exactly normal. His habit of jumping in to protect those he sees as his friends, even if he isn’t needed, sometimes tends to exacerbate situations that could have been resolved in other ways, something that Aiden doesn’t necessarily understand if only because he isn’t used to backing down; he is apparently incapable of submitting in a challenge, instantly wanting to win, something that can backfire, and not just in simple, temporary ways like his bet with a fellow bartender that landed him with blonde hair.

Obviously, mortality is a big weakness as far as any of the Complex’s population are considered, and Aiden is no exception from this rule. If he is wounded badly enough, infected with some pathogen or contracts something like cancer, there is nothing that can be done other than what the Medlab staff have at their disposal; if he dies, that’s it. Physically, Aiden actually has a trick knee, specifically his left, because of loose tendons in the joint, something that he has always suffered from, and as a result one precise, forceful kick would literally down the metamorph, and put him in a great deal of pain. Being struck in such a manner would essentially keep him down during a fight, even with his undeniable stubbornness which doesn’t easily let him admit defeat.

ALLIES: Susan Ash (endinbloodshed).
ENEMIES: Horizon.

HISTORY: Aiden was born into a house divided, the younger of two sons and always the quieter of the pair. With an alcoholic father and a workaholic mother, his childhood was far from average, and in no way really stable, and Spencer’s behaviour hardly helped matters, his daredevil, thrill-seeking ways always seeming to get him into more and more trouble. A true rebel, he took out his frustrations on his younger brother, blaming him for anything he could really get away with, and to say that Aiden was puzzled by this treatment would have been an understatement. But he went about his days in his own unassuming, quiet way, doing his best to fly under the radar and avoid real interaction with his dysfunctional family. Every day while he underwent the regular routine of doing his homework in the sanctuary of his own room, he would hear the sounds of arguments below him, between the rest of the family, things he would often try to drown out by sheer force of will.

When Aiden was eleven, his brother Spencer finally pushed his luck too far. The car he had been driving, two of his friends the unwitting and unlucky passengers, ended up flipped off the road, its chassis so badly misshapen that the emergency services had to cut the vehicle apart to reach the young men inside. There were no survivors. The Fields family were never quite the same after the loss of the oldest child, and the divorce seemed to be over and done with before Aiden could really register what was happening. His mother, naturally, won sole custody of their surviving son, and life, from that point on, seemed to quiet right down. Aiden would spend his days feeling ignored, for lack of a better description; whenever his mother wasn’t working, she was withdrawn and thoughtful, or just temperamental, often sending him to his room so he wouldn’t be in her way. It was a far from ideal childhood, and yet somehow Aiden managed to get by. No counselling, no outbursts of rebellious behaviour in the hopes of emulating his late brother, no tantrums. In fact, his mother started to wonder if her son was ‘right’. Ultimately, it didn’t really matter. Years seemed to roll swiftly by, and before his mother had really worked up the effort to check in with him, he was off to college, leaving his home in Alberta, Canada, for the more promising surroundings of his new campus in New York.

The change of scenery worked wonders, and it didn’t take long for Aiden to really come out of his shell, quickly forming a tight, social circle, something he’d never really had before. But his education was bound to come to an end eventually, and he had faced the possibility that they would lose touch of one another after they were finally done with college. The real question was what he planned to do with himself now, with what some might class a pointless degree in Social Studies, something he’d practically chosen at random. It didn’t really open up many opportunities for him, so he didn’t wander far, relying on cheques that were sent his way by his mother, who was still as distant as ever, and money he had saved up from weekend jobs while he’d been in high school. That would only last him for a while though, and rent along with utilities meant the bills would soon start adding up. So he took jobs where he could get them, learning a myriad of seemingly useless skills along the way that would perhaps come in handy later down the line.

At least that was what he thought. When the news broke that World War Three had finally come down on them, Aiden didn’t know what to do with himself. There he was, an unremarkable young man with no useful talents, and everything was about to come crashing down around them. To say that he felt useless would have been an understatement of epic proportions. As the bombings escalated and conditions spiralled down from bad to worse, Aiden’s frantic search for purpose took him all over New York in his attempts to help however he could, and eventually away from it when it was evacuated as a precaution. Soon enough, ‘worse’ didn’t even seem to apply anymore, and the world was falling around them; things had taken such a horrific turn, and Aiden not only didn’t know what to do, but for the first time in his life, he became terrified for his family, the parents who had neglected him so much in his youth. They were still his family. But he had no way to reach them, no way to find out whether or not they were being attacked as viciously and effectively as everyone else seemed to be. As it turned out, Aiden would never really get a chance to find out, one way or the other.

It was only a matter of time before the radiation started to take hold. It was the animals first, their primal instincts seeming to take over, and as conditions were steadily worsening worldwide, pockets of civilisation simply destroyed or collapsing in on themselves, the creatures that had once been pets or exhibits began to change; the humans began to lose control. Having felt far from well for several days, succumbing to a degree of sickness like so many others, Aiden wasn’t prepared when the large dog burst out of nowhere, snarling and snapping, eyes bloodshot and foaming at the mouth. His first thought was rabies, and so when the animal lunged and knocked him to the ground, inside he panicked that his life was either about to end, or get so much worse. Rabies was fatal, after all. Large teeth sank into his upper left arm, the mastiff growling madly as it tried to tug Aiden, as if trying to pull him apart. Crying out was pointless; the dog had come out of nowhere, and for reasons he couldn’t even begin to fathom, he’d been off on his own at the time, out of earshot of other people.

Just when he thought the dog’s teeth were going to scrape against bone, something happened; something that would have been more at home in a supernatural horror movie. Before Aiden knew what was happening, the dog was yelping pitifully and falling to the floor, the horrible sound of wet choking filling the air before everything went still and quiet, the rancid, metallic stench of hot blood clouding the area. Out of breath, Aiden realised in a moment of confused terror that there was coppery liquid in his mouth, on his tongue, between his teeth, slowly leaking down his throat. Immediately he began to retch and gag, and it was as he tried to take a step back from the mastiff’s shredded form that he tumbled, falling not over two feet, but four. His paws slipped out from under him.

Panicked, Aiden scrambled to pick himself up to run away, just barely managing to get four legs to work with him consciously, the tail streaking out behind him yet another piece of the confusing puzzle. It was only when he stumbled past a discarded, old, cracked mirror that he realised the full extent of what was happening. Staring back at him from that smudged glass face was a wolf. A full-grown, grey-furred, real-life wolf. After finding some concealed place to hide in until whatever was going on stopped, the first thing Aiden did was quite literally empty his stomach, until there was nothing but bile to cough up. Only after this unpleasant ‘exercise’ did it stop. It was painful, making him wonder why he hadn’t felt anything when he’d changed the first time, and when he was done, curled into himself on the cold floor, he didn’t move for some time, alternating between shocked stillness and uncontrollable shakes that seemed to grip his entire body.

He needed answers, but he was frightened, more so than he’d ever been in his life, more than he’d been when the police had showed up at the front door after Spencer’s car had been flipped off the road. Everything seemed too crisp, too overwhelming, and it was all he could do not to repeat the foul process that left his hiding place smelling distinctly awful. But he couldn’t stay there forever, he knew that, and so when he finally trusted his legs not to give out on him, he clambered out of the disused building he’d found, trying to figure out what to do with himself. People couldn’t become animals, could they? The only explanation was that he was losing his mind. Or that he was much worse off than he’d thought in terms of his health. All over the globe, people were dying because of the radiation that was taking hold of their planet, and Aiden couldn’t help but think the worst.

What followed were weeks of illness, days spent too weak to get out of bed for any period of time that wasn’t spend hunched over in the bathroom. Anything and everything was too much; smells, sounds, sights. It was all too powerful, too loud, too bright, and Aiden thought, more than once, that it would kill him, curled up under his covers with a pillow clamped around his head, not sure if he was actually trying to smother himself or if he was just hoping it would all fade away sooner rather than later, even if it claimed his life and not just his sanity. But it didn’t kill him, nor, remarkably, did it drive him mad. As more time went on, the War already beginning to wear itself out, weapons expended and armies extinguished, Aiden became better suited to deal with the overload somehow. The new sharpness of his senses was alarming to him, confused him beyond belief, but gradually it all started to piece together, the different aspects working together rather than warring for priority. Not only did he begin to understand the better senses, but the sensations that swept through his body, and his mind, soon began to provide comfort rather than fear and panic. It became familiar to him, reassuring, and before a year had passed, he was changing his form regularly between man and animal, each transformation hurting a fraction less than the one before.

Aiden began to realise that all he needed was control and discipline, not to mention patience and a cool head, and these were things he had always seemed to have. His role in the dysfunctional Fields family had always been ‘The Quiet One’, giving him time to work on seemingly pointless endeavours, things that were now coming in useful in his ever-changing life. Even as the world around him began to shift and change, the true toll of the nuclear fallout becoming ever more prominent with each passing day, Aiden told himself he wasn’t insane; he wasn’t dying. Not anymore. What sickness there had been was all but gone now, with only the occasional fierce headache or bout of sudden nausea holding him back from trying to do his part to help with the aftermath. A man of his size could come in useful, after all, even if only in the most menial of ways, lifting rubble to try and find survivors, and with his sharp sense of smell, something that was far from public knowledge, he managed to find at least a few before it was too late for them. It never seemed like enough though.

Nuclear winter set in, taking hold of the globe fiercely, in an iron-grip that seemed like it would never release, and Aiden, along with the other survivors, began to face facts. The world was ruined; they had gone too far. World War Three had pushed them over the edge they had teetered on as a species for far too long, and now they had fallen down, beyond help. Or at least that was what they believed until Horizon Technologies swept in to guide the way. The powerful company seemed to have thought things through, made plans in the event of this catastrophe, and who was Aiden to argue?

It didn’t take as long as some might have expected for the plans to be put into place. The Complexes were erected on the sites that had once been home to hundreds of thousands, the shattered remains of cities looming not far away to remind them of the damage they had done. But they had to look forward, not back, and so when the New York Complex was completed and ready for the working population to move in and keep it running, Aiden didn’t hesitate in offering any kind of service he thought he could provide. He had tended bar a few times as a favour for a college friend some years ago, and found it to be a comfortable fit for him, and so with little else that suited his vague qualifications, he was settled in as one of the bartenders at one of two drinking establishments, Rostat.

The arrangements were straightforward enough. With currency collapsed after the War, the inhabitants of the Complexes were simply expected to work in return for supplies and accommodation, and it was an agreement that Aiden could get on board with all too easily. He felt lucky enough to be alive as it was, and the indefinite winter didn’t affect him as much as it seemed to grip others; it could only be because of the wolf ‘within’ him, he came to realise. Every few nights after settling in, he would abuse the stealth and agility allowed him by his animal form, and wander the Complex, inspecting the perimeter boundaries, occasionally seeing shapes moving in the eerie swirls of white beyond the illuminated area they had come to call their own. Animals that had once been admired for their beauty and grace, now warped by radiation and driven mad by their own sort of sickness. Creatures, was all they came to be called, predators from all over America, even Canada, now wandering where they pleased, killing whatever they could sink their teeth and claws into. Aiden knew to respect them, and not only because of the alarms that Horizon set up, never even dreamed of setting foot (or paw) outside of the Complex. They all quickly came to understand what that would mean for them. The Complexes were the only safe places for them now. Everything else belonged to the elements, to the creatures.

These are all things Aiden has come to understand and live his life by. Keeping his ‘mutation’ secret is really the only priority in his life outside of doing his part, pulling his weight at the bar when it comes his turn to work. In a way, he prefers the simpler existence to what they once had; greed, arrogance and selfishness. But even he has to admit, he misses the freedom they had before the War. Of course, all he, and anyone else, can do is continue to work, and wait for Horizon’s promises to be fulfilled.

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