Chapter I: The Wolf Of High Street

Chapter I's cover

## Overview

Chapter 1, The Wolf of High Street, is the first installment of The Glass Scientists. It has 23 pages, published February 12, 2015, to June 21st, 2015. The title references "The Wolf of Wall Street".

> "This story has nothing at all to do with The Wolf of Wall Street, which is a much spookier story on the subject of human nature than I could ever write, but it does have a literal wolf in it."
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> - Sage Cotugno (February 12, 2015)
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In which werewolf Jasper Kaylock is about to be arrested, but is saved by mysterious prince charming, Doctor Jekyll.

## Summary

The story begins looking over London's East end, a gaslamp fantasy slum, favorite of the story's narrator, the self proclaimed Spirit of London at Night. Watching from his perch on the rooftops, he observes with ardor London's impoverished, wayward, and damned, just as a young werewolf wreaks havoc upon Bethnal Green. The citizens take positions as a classic angry mob, complete with pitchforks, torches, and whatever other weapons they can find (notably even knitting needles), and set about killing the beast that's torn apart the street.

This so called beast is far from a mindless killing machine, however. Just the opposite: he's terrified, simply a bit out of control. He ducks into an alleyway in a vain attempt to get away, his form shifting, as though festering, from lupine to humanoid. He trips and falls hard into heaps of garbage, finding himself cornered by the mob. But, before they can tear him apart, the police arrive, saving the werewolf perhaps from death by pitchfork, though sealing his fate as a man behind bars. He desperately tries to reason with the police, explaining he's unstable (form shifting again to more lupine as though to proove it), and besides, his experiments at home need his attention. However, the police seem unsympathetic to what they deem 'mad scientist types'.

Just when they're about to cart the werewolf away, to his rescue comes a sparkly carriage, complete with an equally sparkly man inside. As the scent of peppermint permeates the alleyway above the scent of sewage and fire, there comes a charmingly silver tongued voice, quieting the mob in awe. The man, a doctor as the police address him, dawnlike in disposition, asks the police charmingly about their lives, effortlessly making his way through the crowd so that he may talk to the young werewolf himself. The police interject, concerned at the werewolf's earlier destruction, but the doctor seems nonplussed, only there to help, as well as educate a bit on werewolves and the supernatural, defending the werewolf.

The police argue that a werewolf on the streets of London could never live any sort of peaceably, but as an example of the supernatural that already lives just fine in London, the doctor presents his churchgrim, Zosi, a black terrier with a few bones and ligaments exposed in a zombie-like fashion, perhaps a bit startling-looking at first but perfectly docile and charming. He hands the churchgrim to the Sergeant, Enoch Brokenshire, who has a notable soft spot for dogs, and the policeman is temporarily swayed, but the issue of damages, he reminds, is an expensive one.

No matter; the doctor's first order of business is lending the werewolf, who introduces himself as Jasper Kaylock, his cloak to keep him warm. Next is assuring that his associates will fix the street in place of the police, free to them, alleviating any worries about costs. Lastly is assuming responsibility over Jasper, promising to have him fully reintigrated into society by the month's end.

Finally satisfied, and anyway called away by further business, the police leave the doctor alone with Jasper. The doctor makes to escort Jasper to his future lodgings, as to make sure Jasper is neither left out on the streets nor pursued by the mob again. However, Jasper brings up that he can't go anywhere just yet; he doesn't even know his savior's name.

The doctor quickly ammends his mistake, introducing himself as Dr. Henry Jekyll, and with a final word from the narrating night spirit, so ends Chapter 1.