I was walking down the road called Dušní in my hometown of Prague, a place i hadn't been in a long time, longer now than it seems. I walked towards the river near by remembering my childhood and one person in particular the stranger that made me what i am today, a wizard hating werewolf and the leader of a werewolf army nestled away underground away from the prying eyes of wizards and Muggles alike.

The strange came and disappeared within a night some time shortly after my 19th birthday. It was evening and I had got in an argument with, well everyone, so I went to clear my head by the water, I crossed the bridge and sat by the tree's. I was the only one there, alone.

There was a rustle from the trees. I brushed it off as nothing. If there is one thing I regret, it's that I didn't run all the way home, bolt the doors and board up the windows.

Instead I picked up a stone a threw it into the river as I watched the water ripple I saw a refection other than my own it was a beast I knew to be a werewolf I stood up a spun on the spot as it pounced onto me a dragged me down, down deep into the water biting at my face and chest, blood pouring out of me and mixing with the water.

The werewolf swam away and back to the surface leaving me drowning somewhere near the bottom of the river, just as I was going to give up I remember a pair of hands grab my limp body and pull me up, back onto dry land.

A woman was sanding over me muttering to herself she had a worn face and wispy brown hair, I tried to get up but failed miserably, the woman said to me in a raspy voice, "Být ještě dítě. Jste jeden z nich teď vlkodlak. Nebojte se, že chrání jejich vlastní. Budete se mnou a já vás na ně v dopoledních hodinách, kdy je bezpečné, ale pro tuto chvíli spát, jak jsem léčit své zranění." This translates to …

Be still child. You are one of them now, a werewolf. Do not be afraid they protect their own. You will come with me and i will take you to them in the morning when it is safe but for now sleep as i heal your wounds.

I closed my eyes, my body stinging, pain erupting through me. I fell into a deep and uneasy sleep.

That day still haunts me after all this time. I dipped my fingers into the river and blurred my reflection I felt a hand on my shoulder, so I turn to see the stranger who had bitten me all those years ago.

I felt rage fill my body I wanted to tear him limb from limb because of what he has made me. I lunged at him beating every part of him I could reach he put up a fight but he was no match for my fury, I smashed his head against the hard ground repeatedly.

He stopped fighting back, stopped moving, stopped breathing. I move in a robotic way so unlike my normal self as I stood up and picked up as many heavy rocks as I could carry before putting them up the strangers top and went to gather more rock and repeating the process and pulling the now extremely heavy body into the river.

I didn't release the body until I had to tread water to stay above the water, I dived down to make sure the body was to deep to find if you weren't looking for it, I didn't get to where it was but I saw it go down so I went up to the surface and swam back to land, with one thought racing in my mind,

'I came, I saw, I conquered'

I came home, I saw my only fear, and I conquered it.

I don't know why I came back but I'm glad I did now, it was worth it.