The sound of people chatting, glasses knocking and drunkards ranting could be heard in the smoke-filled room. The pub was crowded but there were a few unoccupied tables. Somewhere in the corner, alone at a table stood a well built, slightly muscular man, with dark brown hair, cut as short as possible. His brown, almost black, eyes searched the room as he smoked a cigarette and took large sips from his beer.

As Benjamin began to feel dizzy memories filled his mind. Memories of his first few years of life in this town, his birthplace, his years in college, in the outside world, his training in the military, the death of his parents and of course the surprise when he entered Lynnvale for the second time, now as an adult. It was completely changed from the moment he stepped in it's borders. From a quite country town it became a large city, full of life and with something new at every step. Soon after entering Ben realized that he couldn't leave. At first he thought he was going mad, but everyone he asked in this city about leaving just laughed in his faced and responded : " It's impossible ! " Of course he had to remember about his first encounter with magic, how he had killed that man in cold blood : " No ! I'd rather not remember ! " he said to himself. In time he grew accustomed to having magic and embraced the gift but he soon found out that many others here had magical gifts, like him.

Lost in his thoughts Ben drank all his beer unknowingly : " Damn ! I've got to get a job soon " he said after checking his wallet : 15 dollars, that's all he had. He bid goodbye to the bartender with a gesture of his hand and walked out of the pub, where he lit another cigarette : " Fuck ! I'm almost out of these aswell. I'd have been better off as a soldier... " he said out loud in an angry tone and started strolling around the almost empty city, at 2 AM in the morning.

Paw after paw they were hitting the pavement of a dark street in the middle of the night. Nothing around but the aroma of the early dawn. Except, for the men. The fresh air and the chilly night breeze blew through his grey fur while he was sprinting through the pavement. Dim streetlights lit up the streets barely enough for Tyler to get by. Claws hitting the pavement made a ticking noise as if a fastened time bomb. Well, he was about to die. His teeth tightly held a black sports bag full of money. Twenty thousand dollars. That's how much money he put his life up for.

Men in black followed him, running after the grey wolf in the streets. Carrying guns they ran after him, in hopes to catch and hopefully kill him, taking the money back. Two men. One bald with a slight beard, shaved somewhat a week ago. The other - a long haired guy with glasses, probably a magic user. Some kind of sorcerer most probably, since he carried a book instead of a pistol. They were catching up to him even in the wolf form. That made him think that they had some sort of speed ability, because wolves are usually faster than humans.

Turning around the corner, Tyler hit something. It was not hard, it was a person. A person just standing there in the middle of the way. His teeth let the bag go, and he fell down as well as knocking the other person over. When Tyler hit the ground, his shape changed back to human, and the guys following him caught up. "Shit. Screw this. Dude, next time, watch where you're standin'." Tyler said with an angry tone, standing up to face the two men. "Doin' it the hard way, huh?" He spoke again, dusting off his clothes. His favorite clothes at that matter.

Thoughts were racing through Ben's mind as he walked around aimlessly, from park to park, from bench to bench. He couldn't find his comfort : " Who the hell would want to hire an ex-soldier who hadn't even completed his training... Maybe I'll find something... " he thought to himself. Before finishing the thought Benjamin was knocked down. He felt the tickle of soft fur and, for a second, saw the grey wolf that had fallen right next to him. In the blink of an eye the wolf changed to man, a man who was very angry at him : " What the he... " Before Benjamin could finish the sentence he saw the two other men, wearing black, classy suites above them.

One of them was rapidly looking through a book, a very large, thick book, with intricate symbols on it's covers. The other was pointing a gun at him, or at the man next to him, he couldn't tell. Acting on instinct Ben quickly put his right hand in front of him and a large quantity of energy burst out from his open palm. As that happened he let out a loud noise, sounding a bit like the word " push " and the pair were pushed away violently. He got up on his feet, let out a sound of relief, and asked the person next to him : " What was that all about ? "