Prologue
Raven Blackwood lived by three rules: screenshots were forever; anyone who said trust me shouldn’t be trusted; and AI was only as reliable as the idiot who taught it what truth looked like.
These were rules hard learned. Her trust was never given easily. Men were liars—and probably the idiots behind AI—and then there were the stupid people who asked these stupid fucking questions…
Then Tuesday night at 11:47 p.m., while sipping her cold-ass coffee, a dead wolf-man landed on her screen with the caption:
What is a werewolf?
The image that came with the prompt was an old grainy photo, probably from some ancient newspaper, published before the dawn of fucking time. No one in their right mind would think this was real.
“Who fucking asked this dumb-ass question? Some child?” she asked herself, knowing full well that werewolves were nothing but fairy tales and stories authors used to draw in their readers.
She knew she couldn’t just say this was inaccurate information. Her whole job was fact checking. So she decided she would humor this ridiculous prompt and do a little light research. Well, she thought it would be light anyway. Bringing up Google, she typed in the prompt:
Type: What is a werewolf?
Search- Results
null
“What the actual fuck? There is no possible way this fucking search engine has nothing! They aren’t made that way. I mean, sure, there could be results that don’t even match the topic, but nothing? Ok, let me think….”
Type: Werewolf
Short and sweet right? Maybe this will bring up some results.
Search- Results
News Article: Werewolves are Real? Or is this a hoax? Millhaven man (wolf?/Dog?) Found brutally murdered? Eaten? Just outside of Clover Park, Sheriff states. Dated: August 5, 1852.
No, just a link to the article from the prompt.
“ Ok so maybe Google doesn’t have all the answers. Who would have fucking guessed. What if I used Bing instead?”
So again……
Type: Werewolves
She wasn’t supposed to use Bing, as per company policy, but she needed those answers.
Search- null
Type: Werewolves in Millhaven, PA
Search- Results:
News Article: Werewolves are Real? Or is this a hoax? Millhaven man (wolf?/Dog?) Found brutally murdered? Eaten? Just outside of Clover Park, Sheriff states. Dated : August 5, 1852.
“Ok, that is the same article from the prompt, so nothing new here.”
Type: Werewolf folk lore
Search - Results:
Literature- Wolves Beneath the Moon: European Werewolf Folklore and Legend By: Jonas Kind
The Beast Within: A History of the Werewolf Myth By: Julia Franks
The Pennsylvania Wolf: Shapeshifter Legends of the Appalachian Frontier By: Alaric Valcroft
“Wait a minute. Wasn’t Alaric Valcroft the founder of Millhaven?”
Raven clicked the link to the book and saw that it was indeed at her local library.
“Ok I need to write this down.”
She grabbed a pen and her sticky notes and wrote down the title:
The Pennsylvania Wolf: Shapeshifter Legends of the Appalachian Frontier By: Alaric Valcroft
….. Then continued on.
Type: Werewolf books
Search- Results:
Literature- Claimed by the Blood Moon Alpha By: Jessica Sparks
The Alpha’s Unwanted Mate By: Marrissa Golding
Mated to the Ruthless Wolf King By: Frank Goheed
Rejected by My Alpha, Desired by His Brother By: Marrissa Golding
How was she going to research this stupid-ass topic? She couldn’t find ANYTHING! Nothing but hoaxes, lore, and steamy romance novels to show for it. Nothing to give her that definitive AHA! she needed to prove the inaccuracy. She needed factual sources as much as her mind needed answers.
Type: The Truth About Werewolves
Search…….
“Ok, I am so over this for tonight.”
She got up and stretched her arms and her back muscles.
" I think I need to start getting ready for bed. I have to get up early in the morning, to get the kids off to school. Then, I will head over to the library. Hopefully they have that book.”
Somewhere in Millhaven….
BEEEEEEP!!!! BEEEEP!!!! BEEEEEEPPPP!!!!
“ Mr Valcroft, We have a big problem.”.....
