Unfortunate Circumstances

 

It was cold outside. Karen stumbled through the snow, keeping her eyes on the light in the distance. The soft glow was the only thing that kept her going. She had stopped feeling her feet hours ago. Behind her she heard a wolf howling. The beast sounded like he was nearly on top of her. She took a moment to look, but there was nothing in sight, except for the vast expanse of snow behind her and the blood soaked trail she had forged through it. The wolf howled again, this time definitely closer. Karen turned back towards the cabin, her heart beating furiously in her chest.

***

“Daniel, did you hear that?”

“Hear what?” Daniel put down the paper he was reading and looked at his wife. She was standing next to the window and looking out at the snow.

Corinne sighed. “I thought I heard someone yelling for help… but I guess it was just my imagination.” 

Dan chuckled. “Woman, you could hear a pin drop from a mile away, so if you heard something, I’m sure you did, it’s my hearing that needs to be questioned.” He stood up and joined his wife at the window. “My eyesight however is much better than yours.”

“Maybe,” Corinne agreed, “but who would be out in the snow? Aint been a car down the side road all winter. No one in their right mind attempts the pass.” She stopped and put her hand to her hear… “but there it is again… a woman’s voice. Very faint. And something else… a wolf.”

“There!” Dan pointed towards the horizon. Corinne didn’t see anything right away but then she saw movement, just barely visible to her diminished eyes.

“What is it?”

“I think it’s a person.” Dan moved towards the door and reached for his coat hanging on a peg.

“You’re not going out in this.” Corrine grabbed Dan’s arm and tried to pull him back. “I definitely heard a wolf and it sounds hungry.”

“Which is why I need to go. I don’t know what any human is doing out there, but whoever it is will die before they reach us. I’ll use the snow bike. It will get me there and back quickly.”

He was right. Corrine bit her lip and then said, “Please be careful.”

***

Karen’s knees finally gave. She sank down into the snow and fell forward, burying her face in the cold blanket. Somewhere she heard the sound of a motor, then the crunch of snow.

“Oh dear, it’s a good thing I got here when I did.”

Karen looked up into the face of an old man. 

“A mon… a monster…” Karen lifted her finger and pointed over the man’s shoulder. 

“Shhh,” he said. “No need to fret. Be still and I’ll get you home, where you can warm up.”

He bent to pick her up, but Karen tried to pull away. He didn’t understand. Her words came in short gasps. 

“No. No time. He’s here. Behind you.”

The creature that had stalked her the last few hours, had in fact toyed with her every step of the way, reared up behind the man and slashed its great claws across the back of his head. Karen screamed and then everything went dark.

***

“She’s waking up… no, lay still dear. You’ve been through quite an ordeal.”

“Where am I?” Karen looked around the small room. There was a fire burning in the idle of a small hearth with a pot hanging over it. The woman moved from Karen’s side and scooped something out… a rag.

“My Corrine, she’ll get you back on your feet in no time.”

Karen turned her head towards the voice and was surprised to see the old man sitting in a chair.

“What… what happened. Last thing I saw was the creature… how did you survive?”

“Creature?” Corrine wrinkled her brow, confused.

“A beast,” Karen said. “Half wolf, half man…”

“A werewolf!” Corrine laughed. 

“I know it sounds crazy,” Karen said, “but I’ve been running from it for hours.”

“More than likely delirious from the cold.” Corrine shook her head and clucked her tongue as she examined the woman’s feet. Then she began wrapping them with the cloth she’d pulled from the pot. “Their frostbit. I don’t know… you might lose a toe or two.”

“Is there a hospital nearby?” 

“A hospital, no, but I have a medical degree.”

“She was a nurse during the war.” Daniel said.

“Which war?” Karen asked.

“Be easier to name which ones I wasn’t in… let’s see, most recent was Vietnam. Before that, the Korean War, World War two and one, the Civil War…” she chuckled then, “though I don’t recall it being very civil.. The American Revolution, but I was with the British at that time…”

“Wait a minute,” Karen said, “that’s not possible. You’d have to be hundreds of years old.”

“Thousands actually.” Corrine finished wrapping her feet and smiled proudly at her handiwork.

“That’s not possible,” Karen said again. She studied the woman, trying to decide if she was pulling her leg or if she was a mental case.”

“You’re the one that spent the day running from a werewolf,” Daniel said, “and you’re going to tell us what’s possible and what isn’t?”

Karen closed her eyes. Fear ran through her body and she shivered, remembering the chase that began miles from here. The man that had picked her up at the bar, how he’d tried to rape her and then running… but he’d come after her and then… She shook her head, realizing her memory must be wrong. He’d slipped something in her drink, that must be the answer. “Like you said, I must have been delirious.”

“Of course you were,” Daniel said. The old man grinned and there was something in his eye that alarmed Karen. Then she saw the scratch on the side of his face. Four deep scratches, like those from an animal. The beast, if her memory was correct, had attacked him. 

“I… I want to go home.” Karen started to sit up, but found she couldn’t lift herself very far. The blanket that had been covering her shoulders fell down and she saw for the first time that her arms were tied to the side of the bed. “What’s going on? Untie me!”

“I’m sorry, we can’t do that,” Corrine said. “It’s been a long winter. A lot of people come this way in the summer. Campers that like to rough it in the wild. Usually more than enough to go around for werewolves and vampires. No one notices much if someone comes up missing… there’s a cliff west of here and it’s thought that some of them may have fallen. You know, tourists, they never listen when told to stay away from someplace.”

“But here you are,” Daniel said, “unfortunate for you, but we’re hungry and we don’t care much for werewolf meat.”  

The Wolf

Wow, this is two weeks in a row I wrote for #ThursThreads... but I won last week so I have to give it another try.

 

The Wolf

 

 

It was born at midnight, all teeth and fur… and hungry for blood. It climbed from its mother’s belly after having eaten through her womb. Even then it was hungry, so it picked her bones free. Watching the creature, Kylee reached out to pet it, but Nanna slapped her fingers back.

“Leave it alone.”

Kylee watched the creature feed and then studied its mother. Tara had been her sister. Kylee had been jealous when she’d been chosen for the Quickening. To be the mother of the wolf god was an honor. Tara hadn’t thought so. She’d screamed while its seed was planted.

When it was done eating, the creature looked at Kylee, growling slightly. Kylee felt something stir inside of her. It sniffed at her, sticking its nose close to her sex. Then Nanna shoed it away.

Kylee watched it leave, disappointed. “Will it come back?”

“When it reaches the end of its life it will return to choose a new vessel.”

“So he can be reborn.” Kylee felt the yearning again, a combination of fear, hope and desire. 

“By then you will be very old. You will be Nanna.

Kylee looked crestfallen. “Oh.”

“Don’t be so disappointed, child. The wolf only exists when the moon is full and then it must feed. You do not want him here those nights.”

“And the other nights?”

“He will take another form, one more pleasing than the wolf, though no more tame and sometimes more dangerous. Those nights he is a man.”

 

Word Count: 250

@jezri1

Chained

Written for #ThursThreads

Chained

By Lisa McCourt Hollar

 

“The first time that I met her was in the woods.”

Jarrod kept his voice low, watching the woman on the beach. Her ankles were in chains and the tide was coming in.

“So what’s the plan?” Thomas asked.

“No plan. Night is coming and there’s a full moon.” Jarrod chuckled. “They’re in for a surprise.”

The group taunted Ashley, throwing rocks at her. One hit her face, splitting her lip. It was Tanya. Ashley stared at her through bangs that covered her eyes and grinned.

“I don’t blame you for hating me,” she said, her voice growing husky, “but your husband tried to rape me…”

“Liar!” Tanya threw another rock. This one hit her in the stomach.  “You killed him!”

“And drank his blood,” Ashley growled, covering her stomach with her hands. “It nourished my child… as will yours.”

“You are a monster!”

“You have no idea.”

“Did she just say, her child?” Jarrod shifted his weight, ready to run out and defend her, even though he knew she was capable and the sun had not yet gone down. He was safe in the shadows but even in the waning sun, he would burn.

“Is it possible… it’s never been heard of before?” Thomas looked worried.

The sun finally fell and the moon began it’s slow rise, but Ashley didn’t have to wait. With a roar that deafened those around her she shifted. Loosening the beast, Ashley fed, careful to save two for her vampire lover and his friend.

 

Word Count: 250

@jezri1

If Vampires Don't Sparkle...

STOP: This is a continuation from Do Vampires Sparkle?

 

If Vampires Don't Sparkle

by Lisa McCourt Hollar

 

My eyes hurt when I opened them. The light outside filtered into my room, slipping past blinds that were drawn to allow for uninterrupted sleep.  I had bought them when I first moved in. I liked to sleep past noon.

“Oy, did someone get the license of the truck that hit me?” I wasn’t expecting an answer, I was in my bedroom for Pete’s sake. No one should be there. So I nearly jumped out of my skin when someone did answer.

“Try not to move to fast. You might be a little dizzy.”

“What the hell… Joseph?”

He smiled at me from the entrance to the room. I could hear the television in the living room now and realized he must have been here while I was sleeping. The image of him carrying me… shimmering… came back to me and I winced. My throat hurt. Bad. I reached up to touch it, expecting to find bandages and was surprised to find my neck as smooth and whole as normal, no gaping wound.

“Was it just a dream?” I asked. Sitting up, I stood and took a tentative step. The floor stayed where it was meant to stay and I took another.

“Take it easy,” Joseph said again. Ignoring him, I crossed the room to open the curtains only to find that Joseph was there, blocking me.

“How did you…”  I looked from the door where he had just been standing and then back to the window where he now stood.

“You don’t want to open the blinds. Not without some sunglasses to protect your eyes.  Here.”

He handed me a pair of pink shades. I shuddered. They reminded me of something Deb would wear.

“I know, but I didn’t have time to get you something in a darker color. Deb says if you break them, you owe her sixty dollars.

I stepped away from the window, putting space between me and Joseph. I thought about running for the door, but knowing how quickly he’d moved across the room, I doubted I would make it… if his intentions were to harm me. So instead I asked, “How did you know what I was thinking?”

“I didn’t. From the look on your face and your preference for black, I took a guess. You hate pink. That’s why Deb wears it, to annoy you.”

“I thought she wore it because she was a mindless zombie.” I meant it as a joke. Joseph however frowned and shook his head.

“Zombies aren’t as mindless as you think. And they would probably never wear pink.”

“What?”

“Now werewolves, they like pink. Don’t ask me why, I haven’t been able to figure that out.”

“You’re joking,” I said. I moved away from the curtain and slowly worked my way across the room.  Joseph took my elbow, intending to help me but I jerked away. For all I knew he had slipped something into my cocoa the night before. Nothing made any sense.

“I’m not going to hurt you,” he said, but he kept his hands to himself and let me walk into the living room on my own power.  The television was tuned to the local news and a reporter was standing in the park while the camera filmed her. Behind her was a strip of police tape. She was saying something about an animal attack that had ripped open the throat of a jogger the night before. I touched my own throat, the memory of sharp teeth tearing into the flesh. I still wasn’t sure if my memory was real, but the news broadcast hit a nerve. My knees sagged and I moved to sit on the couch… only my couch wasn’t empty. Carl was sleeping on it.

“Here.” Joseph took my elbow again and guided me towards the seat next to the couch.  It was my grandmother’s chair and the most uncomfortable thing, but I sat in it, grateful that I hadn’t landed on the floor.

“Joseph, what’s going on?”

“What do you remember from last night?”

I told him, the man that had come into the store, how he had been waiting for me on the way home. His arms around me… kissing me.  Teeth… pain. And then him lifting me.

“You sparkled,” I said.

Joseph blushed. “I don’t like that word. It sounds too much like a certain popular vampire series.” He shuddered.

“Are you a vampire?”

The sound that came out of Joseph was so startling that Carl sat up on the couch and looked around, his eyes wide. It took me a moment to realize he was laughing.

 “Me, a vampire?” he barked, “No. I’m an angel.”

“This is where I probably should have called the police. Most people would have. “There’s a crazy man in my apartment that claims he’s an angel. Oh and by the way, I had a vampire rip open my throat last night, can you bring a white jacket for me as well.”

My grandmother had believed in the paranormal and had passed some of that on to me. When I was little and the Polly Anna that lived next door to us called my grandmother a witch, I put a hex on her. Not a real one, I didn’t know how to do that, but when she fell ill the next day I went running to my grandmother.

“What’s the matter,” she had asked.

“I hexed Sissy Susan.”

“We don’t call people names. Now why did you hex, Susan.”

“She called you a witch.”

“And how does that hurt me?”

“Because,” I sobbed. “Witches are old hags with warts on their noses.

“Do I have a wart on my nose?” She looked in the mirror then and squinted at her nose. “Well look there, no one bothered to tell me I was supposed to have a wart.”

“You’re not a witch,” I laughed.

“I’m not? Are you so sure of that, child? Then how can you have hexed Susan.”

“I guess… I don’t know. But she’s sick now.”

“Probably the stomach flu. I’ll make her some chicken noodle soup and take it over to her.”

“There’s creatures all around us,” she said as she made the soup. “We can’t always see them, but they watch us. Sometimes they listen to what we say. Now if they are good, they won’t do anything to hurt us, but some are mischievous. If they hear you put a hex on someone, they could act on that and cause that person all kinds of pain. Now I’m sure that’s not what happened to Susan but a little magic can’t hurt.”

“What do you mean, Grandma?”

She just winked at me and blew into the soup. I didn’t see anything magical happen, but Susan got better and went back to tormenting me a few days later.

So now I looked at Joseph telling me he was an angel… and I believed him.

The Calling

This is a short story written by my daughter, Sarah Sprague. Not only is she turning into a talented artist, she is also becoming a talented writer.

The Calling

by Sarah Sprague

It calls, scraping through my temples like nails on a chalkboard. I try to ignore it, but that only makes it worse. The wind picks up, growing stronger until it knocks me to the ground. Scrambling to get up, I look around. Though street lights linger, throwing shadows along the ground, it seems as if all civilization has abandoned me.

Trying to forget the panic turning my stomach to knots, I run for home. Relief! Sweet relief! Seeing the front porch, I begin laughing uncontrollably. Could it be true? Have I beaten it this time?

I hear the call again, this time louder and it feels like a metal baseball bat has crashed through my head. No, not a bat, that would have been kind. This was much worse.

I collapse again, planting my face into the cold, concrete steps. Something in the distance calls. It’s fading, getting further away, along with my memory. Why was I running? I give in.

“Don’t leave me. Please…” Darkness overtakes me.

***

I wake up, my head pounding. Why does my head hurt so badly? Struggling to remember the night before was a laughable attempt. It wasn’t even worth my time. I know I won’t remember. I never remember anymore. Ever.

Copyright© 2011 Sarah Sprague. Sarah has granted Jezri's Nightmares non-exclusive right to publish this work. All rights reserved.

The Beast Inside

The Beast Inside

by Lisa McCourt Hollar

Karen looked out the window, nervously fidgeting with the curtains. Her sister still wasn't home. She should have told her no when Kay asked to go to the park, but Billy had come over after school and being alone with the hottest boy at East River High had been too much of a temptation. Besides, Karen had reasoned, the park was just down the road, how much trouble could the little beast get into?

A lot, Karen now thought, glancing for the umpteenth time at the clock. Her mother would be home soon and when she found out Kay wasn't, well, the proverbial shit would be hitting the fan.

Karen's stomach clenched and she felt she might be sick. She wasn't worried about what her mother would do, but scared for Kay. She knew the rules and what time curfew was. She was late. That meant something had happened.

Technically they had to be in by dark and it wasn't quite dark yet. It was twilight though and a few of the stars were already beginning to twinkle in the night sky. It was cloudy, but not too and Karen could make out the edge of the park just down the road. She strained her eyes trying to see if she could see her sister's form heading her way. The street was empty.

Karen tapped her fingers on the window sill and looked at the clock again. Kay would never take her chances by pushing her curfew this far. Glancing out the window one more time, Karen made up her mind. Grabbing her cell phone from the kitchen table, she stepped out onto the porch and headed for the park.

The fall air was crisp and Karen shivered a little, stepping past a Jack o lantern she and Kay had carved the night before. Kay had insisted putting a friendly smile on the decoration, afraid that a ghoulish Jack o Lantern would scare the smaller kids. Karen had argued with her about it but had finally caved, knowing in the long run it really didn't matter. They would be at their dad's on Halloween, just as they were every year. Their dad's family had their own traditions on that night, which left their mother alone to pass out the candy. She said she didn't mind though and it gave her some time to herself.

"Besides," their mother would joke, "you two are beastly this time of year. At least this way I can guarantee there will be some candy to hand out to the kids. You two would eat it all if I let you."

Karen could hear children laughing as she got closer to the park. From the sound of it, a lot of jeering and mean spirited behavior and Karen knew she had been right to worry. She rounded the corner in time to see a particularly nasty and ugly boy prodding a stick at Kay, who was trying her best to back away from him. She had no place to go though, since a circle of cheering shildren surrounded Kay as they encouraged the boy to continue with his attack.

"Look at her," he laughed, poking Kay in the side, causing her to squeal in pain, "she's going to cry!"

Karen grit her teeth and pulled her ips back in a snarl when she saw what the boy was doing. Why couldn't they just leave her alone? Kay never did anything to them and was always ready to be friends with anyone that smiled in her direction. Unfortunately this lot saw her friendliness as weak and jumped at any opportunity to torment her.

"Go ahead and cry," the boy taunted, too busy with his 'game' to notice that his auduance was backing away.

"Kay, it's time to go home," Karen said, snatching the stick from the bully and breaking it in two. The other kids backed away a little more and then stopped, vultures watching their prey from a distance, waiting to pounce on any weakness that they found. Their eyes gleamed brightly as they waited to see what would happen. They were not disappointed, laughing when Karen took the two halves of the stick and smacked the boy in the back of the head.

"I should bend you over and beat your ass with these," Karen snarled, shaking the sticks in his face. Just for emphasis, she thrust them forward, jabbing them towards the boy's eyes.

"You can't touch me," the boy yelped, jumping away from Karen and rubbing the back of his head with his hand. With his other hand he pointed at Karen and said, "I'm going to tell my mom and you'll be in trouble."

"Go home," Karen said, turning her back on the kid, ready to follow her sister home. To her dismay Kay still stood there, her eyes wide. Karen was ready to tell her sister to scram when a cloud drifted across the sky and Karen realized what it was that had caused her sister to freeze.

The moon winked into view as the cloud passed and Karen dodged beneath a tree, hiding from its sight. Horrified she watched as Kay turned her head up and howled, belowing at the moon a primal song known only to those that the moon goddess had touched. Across the night sky, several voices joined Kay, their howls joining to welcome the moon to the night sky. As though in slow motion, Karen turned towards the kids and screamed, "RUN!"

These kids were in Karen's opinion exceptionally stupid. Since they had moved to this neighbothood a few months ago, she had observed them playing in the streets, refusing to move when a vehicle would try to pass, daring the motorist to hit them. They would stay out past the city wide curfew, running wild while their parents remained blissfully ignorant that they were failing at their duty to raise the next generation, they taunted dogs that were chained in yards and thought themselves invincible. So they were confused as to why this girl was screaming at them to run, despite the obvious transformation the smaller girl was going through.

Karen tured and looked back at her sister, whose face was changing shape, becoming longer and more wolf like, her hair, which had been short, growing longer and more wild, fur sprouting on her face and arms. Her nails too were growing, curving outward and her teeth were becoming sharper and more jagged. meant for tearing at flesh and bone.

Her body also was growing bigger, more muscular and it was doubtful that anyone could poke a stick at her in this form without losing an arm in the process. The children however were slow, something in their DNA causing them to fail to realize the danger they were all in. Karen turned once more and screamed for them to run, but all that was going through their mind was what an awesome Halloween costume this was.

Kay's transformation complete, she bellowed at the moon once more and turned to her sister, waiting. Karen shook her head, knowing what a mess was about to be created. However it was what it was and there was no stopping the inevitable. Stepping out of the shadows and into the moonlight, Karen joined her sister.

It was the boy with the stick that realized the danger first. He turned to run as Karen bounded towards him, clearing four rows of teeter totters in one leap. Kay overtook her sister though, the younger sibling being quicker and more agile. She pounced on the boys back, tearing into the back of his head with a clawed hand, spilling out blood and gray matter. He screamed, but it was cut off as quickly as it began, his larynx being ripped out by Kay’s teeth. Kay chewed at the organ, stringy mucus that had been contained within, remnants of a cold the boy was recovering from, hanging from her mouth. Spitting it out, the young werewolf turned her prey over and studied him a moment, searching his eyes as the life faded from them. Thoughtfully she picked up a stick and poked it at him, a wolfish chuckle rumbling in the back of her throat.

Tiring of the game, she scooped his insides out, tossing his intestines at the swingset and looking around for her sister. She found her eating an arm that had been ripped off of a blond girl. Kay thought she remembered her name was Susan, but she wasn’t sure; he thoughts were always fuzzy after the change.

She heard someone crying and went to search in the bushes. A frightened child was hiding among them and looked up at Kay, tears in her eyes. She was shaking and she flinched backwards when the werewolf pulled back the branches.

“Please don’t hurt me,” she whimpered.

Kay tried to mock the girl, repeating her, but with her mouth in the current state that it was, it came out, “Pwease don whooor meh.” The girl got the idea though and cringed as Kay laughed. The girl cried, remembering how Kay had been saying those same words earlier, when the group of kids had surrounded her. “Pwease don whoooor meh,” Kay repeated and snickered again, her wolfish howl sending chills down the girls spine. A puddle of water formed in the dirt the girl sat in and Kay chuckled harder, clapping her hands with delight. Then she reached out and ripped the girl’s head off.

***

It was morning when Karen and Kay returned home. Their mother sat waiting for them.

“Kay didn’t make it home by curfew,” Karen explained. I went to look for her.

“I tried,” Kay said, “but the kids were aound me and wouldn’t let me pass.

Their mother shook her head. She knew when she married their father that raising kids that were half were wolf half would be a challenge, but this was really getting to be too much. “Well, we are going to have to move…again,” she said, opening up the fridge. “Would you like some breakfast or have you already eaten?”

Karen sat at the table and shook her head. “I’m stuffed. I’m sure Kay is too.” Then she hung her head sheepishly and looked at her mother through her bangs. Kay burped and that caused Karen to begin laughing and their mother shook her head again, cuffing Kay lightly on her chin.

“It never ceases to amaze me,” she said, hugging her daughter, “how you can be so mild mannered in one form and so vicious in another.

“I don’t know,” Kays said, hanging her head and trying not to giggle. “I guess the moon just brings out the beast in me.”

Copuright©2011 Lisa McCourt Hollar.  All rights reserved