I wrote this for a competition, Inspired by the work of Darren Shan, His other collection, The Demonata Series. This is a one-shot, However if you'd like me to continue it, do say and i might consider it.
Also, I decided not to make Joey a were-wolf for specific reason, he is just a hairy boy.
The Soul of a Wolf-boy.
By Lady Angel.
Yo people, My names Joey. I'm your average teenage boy right? Wrong. See I'm not what you call….normal? God, I'd love to be referred to as normal, but when you're a monster, that pleasure is something you just wont get. Well, not monster exactly, but trés close. See I was raised in a zoo. No joke, a zoo, I didn't stay with the zookeeper either, no I stayed In a cage! Hello Childline? Yeah, you'd think so , had it not been for the fact that I was a freak of nature, well not really nature but also close.
When I was four, I fell in a vat of glue at this place that I lived at, I don't remember much, but the walls were white and their were lots of men and women in weird outfits, a bit like a factory. And one day I was wandering around when I saw this HUGE bathtub. Being four I was like, "DUCKY'S!" I loved playing with rubber ducks in the bath, it was like natural.
I climbed up the ladder that lead to the top of the 'bathtub', and when I reached it, I saw that the whole tub was filled with white liquid, and I went, "Milk and Ducky's YAY!" Like a little boisterous boy would. But I couldn't see any ducky's, so I decided that they were playing hide or seek under the water. Me being excited by this, stood up straight and jumped. It was hot and was very comfortable, however this white liquid was so thick that I sank slowly, I kicked my little legs and managed to stay up a bit, but it was a lot of work, too much to play so I began to let myself sink.
A man came up the ladder to check on the stuff and saw me, yelling out he grabbed me, just as my chin went under, he yanked me out and swung me over the edge. But he lost his grip and I went FLYING. I started giggling and yelling, "I'm a birdy, weeeee….." If that happened to me now I would've wet myself. But young kids are too young to know fear of playing. This factory was totally weird from what I can remember that had huge boxes filled with rubbish such as scraps of metal, used towels, and …hair, which I so happened to land in.
I sunk deep into the box, comforted by the fur, however the fur and the white stuff was itching me, I got hair in my mouth and began to cry. The man hadn't seen where I'd landed, I stopped crying and waiting, trying to push the hairs away now. Finally they fished me out, but it was too late, The hair was glued to me, and I remained from then on as. The wolf-cub.
I was put in a cage and sold overseas to some people who actually believed I was born that way. No one mentioned that I was an actually boy, See when I was young, the hair was really thick and bushy, you could trim off chunks and still see no skin. The zoologists thought I was some artic creature, who was suited to cold habitats so the plonkers put me in a cold glass room. Surrounded by white blocks off ice. IT was only when I almost froze to death that they realized this was not the case. I was put in a normal warm cage, and other years and years as I grew the fur spread and got thinner, so I actually had some human shape. Kids used to call me werewolf, scream at me or throw stuff in my cage to irritate me. I learnt speak like a human, pronunciation etc, but I never spoke, out of choice. Now I'd roar at the kids to scare them off, it was my way of saying, 'Get lost, you losers'. That's how I became the wolf-boy.
It's night-time I just finished eating. Food sucks, slabs of raw meat. A girl gave me chocolate once, it was beautiful. I am sitting in my cage moaning sadly, I do this at night to wind up the zookeepers they hate it. Sometimes they come over and throw rocks at me to shut me up but I just roar at them. I'm not really scary, other than the fur I'm normal, No fangs, claws or nothing. Just a hairy boy is what the big scientists said, but because I never spoke they considered me an dim and said without care I would die. So they use me as a tourist attraction, Aren't they so kind!
I hear footsteps and wait for pain, nothing, I moan again wolfishly, nothing. More footsteps, I stop moaning curious, I sit on a rock in silence. A person in a hood, I stared at them, then they began to talk, they said that they, like me, was a freak. I couldn't see his face, it was hooded, He had really pale hands visible by the moonlight that stuck out from under his sleeves. I can tell he is a man was by his voice. He spoke again,
"I can free you." He said, his voice raspy as though it's very sore, "All I'd like in exchange is you soul and servitude" I replied,
"it wont change things I'll still be a freak," This is the first time I've spoke , he wasn't even surprise at how good I was at pronunciation
"not in my world, in my world you are normal." I getting interested, a world were people don't care how hairy I am, that would be great, especially since that the few people who know the hair is glued to me also know that the glue will not peel until I'm 40,
"why do you want my soul?" I felt his grin
"if I could free you from this horror for nothing Joey, I would, but every man needs his price." I was surprised he knew my real name, I hadn't been called Joey since I was four. I was also shocked by the way he didn't say has his price, but needs it. Odd. But I don't need to worry about that know, my mind is racing with possibilities of freedom, Yes or no? Yes or No? Yes or No?
Er Yes. I just shrugged and said, "Cool, when do we go?" He moved to the door of my cage, which is always padlocked and never opened. I couldn't see what he did, from what I could see he just pushed it. I stared, wondering whether it was even locked before or whether they thought I was so dumb they hadn't bothered. As I moved towards it, I stepped on something right under the door and looked down, seeing a melted block of metal.
I didn't take noticed of it. The man turned began to run, I figured that he wanted me to follow. So I did. I ran with him, Running through the Zoo, suddenly I hear the sound of alarms ringing, men yelling dogs barking. Oh crap it think, running faster now that their is a higher chance of capture and adrenalin is already working up inside me. We reach the front gate, no men, I hear men chasing us, but why aren't they covering the front gate, you'd think they would. Also the gate is….open. The stranger didn't seem to care, and that meant I shouldn't care either. So I just ran through it. After getting a few metres away, I glance back. The gate is shut. What the hell. Just Run. I tell myself.
We run for hours, no stops, my legs hurt, I'm out of breath, I'm not very fit considering the fact I've been locked up in a cage most of my life. I yell out, "I can't run for much longer." The stranger looked at me from under his hoods. Whilst running he regards me quietly, he's not even panting. Suddenly he reaches towards me and grabs my hair covered wrist. Something moves through me, I think we've stopped, I blink at the strangers extremely pale hands, something is not right, they look so smooth, but feel very wrinkly. It feel like lots of layers of wrinkles lay beneath the first layer. It's quite disturbing. I notice his feet are still moving. And surprisingly so are mine. It feels like I'm hovering above the ground, resting but at the same time moving forward in a running motion.
Weird, but I do not question it. I don't want to talk now, and I can tell the stranger doesn't want to either. So we remain silent for hours, It begins to lighten, but just before the sun rises, we arrive at a warehouse. The stranger seems eager to get inside. I see a padlock. I wait, expecting to see a key, but the stranger moves in front of me, blocking my view. I scowl a little, but shrug, Hey the dude did save me. No jingle of keys, no click of a key unlocking a door. Again I think he's just pushed it open, I follow him inside, again I see a lump of melted metal on the floor. Freaky. I walk in , and start looking around, not too big like the size of two rooms. Filled with only two chairs, a table with a book on it, and a bed. I go to the bed and sit down, quite soft, not bad.
I look up at him, the door is now closed. The only light of the room is from two candles, one from next to the bed and one from the table. The man sits on a chair. I thank him for saving me, then tilting my head, i ask,
"What's your name?" He stares at me for a while, before speaking,
"I am Sarcah" I nodded, Sarcah picked up the book, and opens it. He flicks through a few pages and stops. Raising a pale hand he beckons me over. I obey, he speaks, "And now to pay your dept." I stare and watch, He tells me to lay out my palms, As he stands. I do so.
"Now Joey, You must always look in my eyes, no where else. If you do, you will die and suffer horrific pain." I listen a little fearfully, His voice is so serious. I nod, and stare into the blackness of the hood. I make out eyes, I can't tell what colour they are, but I can see the shape. I stare at them for ages, my eyes began to water, and I realized I was concentrating so hard I forgot to blink. I blink a few times, but continued to stare in Sarcahs eyes. Sarcahs is muttering something, not English, I don't know it sounds like a mix between Latin and French. I have no idea what he's saying, I just stare. He's holding my hands now, but his hand feel even more wrinkly now, I see something grey beneath me, but I do not look at it. Too fearful for life. I feel pain in my palms, hot liquid splashed on our flesh. Oh my god, I think it's blood. Can't look .Still staring. I hear Sarcahs speak English, telling me to close my eyes. I obey, light is glowing in front of my eyelids, I feel something touch my lips, I think Sarcah is kissing me, but all I can't feel any plumpness of lips. My body grow weak, suddenly, I feel horrible pain around my whole body, I didn't open my eyes. He promised no pain, I try but can't move, My body hurts to much. Every inch of my feels as the skin in being scratched and torn. The last thing I hear, is him speak, "It is done." Then I faint.
I wake up from a dreamless sleep, lying in the bed, I sit up sharply, then look around the room, dark as before, lit by the two candles, which haven't appeared to have melted much. I sigh and notice Sarcah on the chair. Still in his hood, I sigh and lie back, touching my lips, I feel skin. I yell and sit up, the hair, it's gone. I examine my body, I'm naked. Everyone the only hair is on my eyebrows, and my head. I'm human. I grin at Sarcah jumping out of he bed, I run over to him and kneel down.
"Oh Sarcah, thank you, thank you!" I praise him, smiling delightedly. He says nothing, I kneel before him, Staring at him in his hood a little, I wonder if he'll let me see him. "Can you take your hood off? Sarcah So I can see you." He stares at me for a very long time, silence, then he stands, I continue to kneel before him. Watching he looks down at me and speaks.
"You are now my servant, you belong to me, You gave your soul to me a few days ago," A few days, is that how long I've been out? "No matter what, this is your choice, this is your fault. They is no turning back, If you try to run, you will be punished."
"Yes….Master." I add master, it's my own right, I've given my soul away, but it's worth it. I'm normal! I noticed a pair of white gloves on the table but am too distracted to take in details.
"You will now come with me to my world, where I rule all. You Joey, will serve me for eternity, you are now the slave of…"He raises his hand to the edge of his hood. His hands are not white or smooth, Their grey and wrinkly. I look at the gloves on the table their not gloves, their hands. Or at least the skin, no flesh.
He pulls off the hoodie and let it's drop to the floor. In front of my stood a monster, a bald man, covered in grey wrinkly skin, awesome and disgusting, A slit for a mouth, two holes instead of ears, where blood is constantly oozing from. And human eyes, only their red. He has no toes, jumps lumps of flesh at the end of his legs. He hovers over the ground, grinning at me cruelly. "Lord Sarcah, Master of the Demon world." I stare in horror. I see in his eyes, the torture, the evil, this man didn't save me, he stole me. Humanity is over, I am no the servant of a demon master, I sold my soul to the devil, now I shall reside in everlasting torture , then with all the strength in my lungs, I scream.
The End.
...or is it?
You decide.