So much for smelling the roses!

Paul had had a pretty good day. He worked out for about 7 hours early in the morning, went and ate 3 pounds of bacon, and did another 5 hour quickie workout. Things were going pretty well for him.

He had somewhere to be that night, so he decided to jog there. Besides being a great cardio workout, he decided he needed to stop and smell the roses more and enjoy Athens more.

He was jogging down a side street when he thought he heard someone behind him. He didn't like people running behind him, so he slowed down a bit to allow the other person to pass. What he saw pass him was not what he expected: a small group of werewolves. Weird.

What he saw after that was certainly unexpected. Brandon, who was getting the mail nearby, was suddenly jumped by the two werewolves! What the heck? Uhh, that was weird. I mean, you'd think with all the Knight armor on, he'd've been protected. Apparently not. Paul quickly caught up to him, realized he was too late. He also saw a bunch of vials, similar to those an Apothecary might use, strewn and broken all over the ground, the unknown potions' gases slowly spiraling upwards. Bummer, Brandon.

Before he could even realize what had just happened, over the hill, Paul saw Carlos coming. Paul always knew Carlos' distinctive van from the crunched end and the fact that it's covered in mirrors. Apparently, Carlos had taken up a new hobby of trying to be a Mirror Maker. Paul could also see Carlos' Magician's wand hanging from the rearview mirror.

At the same time, Laura came up the hill from the other way. Her car was still plastered in "Vote Laura for Governor" bumper stickers. Her rearview mirror, however, was covered in weird dolls with pins and needles in them. It was the first time he had heard of a Relief Society President who was an unapologetic Voodooist.

Anyway, they both came screeching to a halt where Paul stood over Brandon's body. They both looked extremely worried and upset over Brandon's death. I mean, Paul was taking it hard and all, but  these two were crazy. How did they even know he was already dead? They both got out of their cars, took one look at Brandon, and promptly died. Brandon was a really good friend to some people, Paul guessed.

At this point, Paul was a little freaked out. He had just witnessed an attack on Brandon, not to mention two others kicking the bucket. Not your typical walk in the park. Remembering which way the werewolves went, he stormed after them, running as fast as he could to catch up to them.

He saw them, back as their human selves, on the next street over. Apparently, they were thrilled now that the deed was done. Paul, with a burst of effort, launched himself at them and landing a flying sidekick in both their backs.

"Oww!" said Men, from the ground. "What was that for?"

"Yeah man," said Meighan, starting to get back up, "watch out."

Paul couldn't take it anymore.

"Me, watch out? Hello, you two just killed Brandon over there! What are you thinking?"

Men suddenly looked upset. Paul didn't care.

"Plus, Brandon apparently was BFFs with Carlos and Laura, and now they've dropped dead too!"

Now Meighan was starting to look upset. Paul had no idea why though. They seemed like they were fine with it when the attack happened.

 "So…", Men asked, "Brandon's dead?"

"Yep."

"Shoot. Well that stinks," said Men. "We got the orders from the rest of the pack to go get him. I'm what they call the Brute, so they like to send me to do their dirty work. I'm new around here though, so I'm Innocent. Anyway, I totally forgot Brandon and I hung out and got pizza last night and, well…"

He keeled over and promptly died. Paul heard the distinct laughter of a Witch somewhere behind him. It gave him the creeps.

Meighan, who had gone over and sat on the curb, was about to cry.

"I'm the Alpha Wolf," she said through sobs. "I've done a lot of bad stuff and I'm totally okay with the dead. I mean, I'm a licensed Coroner and everything. It's just… I didn't think Carlos would be involved in this kind of stuff. He's my… y'know…"

Ugh, Paul thought. Romance.

"…hometeacher."

She promptly died.

Paul, was standing alone now. What a strange day. The police soon came and, after giving a quick testimony, he was free to go.

Paul finally finished his jog and headed to the Institute Building. He needed a Sanctuary such as this to help get over what he had just experienced.