The pots tinged and tittered faintly but just audibly from my downstairs kitchen. I looked up from my studies and listened. Something glass broke on the floor followed by a muffled, 'Thwump!' Shit! I thought fervently as I pulled a .45 magnum out from under my studies desk. I then crept stealthily towards the door to the down stairs. It opened with a faint squeaking of hinges and I started down the steps into the engulfing darkness. The smell hit me like a sledge hammer swung from a world class body builder.

"Ack!" was all I could muster as I grabbed hold of the sandalwood railing. I screwed up my courage and, against my every instinct which screamed at me to run and hide, took another step down the stairs. Just as my bare feet finally touched down on the hardwood floor, I heard a sickening growl from somewhere in front of me. I stopped in my tracks, and tried to remain as still as possible. I fought down the urge to run with a desperate need to survive. If I ran the thing which now stalked me in this dark, ancient house would surely rip my throat out simply by pure instinct.

But if I didn't move, the bastard was sure to attack me at some point when it found an exposed spot. My foot lifted soundlessly and set back down on the bottom step with a slight creak. Then all hell broke loose. The monster flew from the shadows like a bat out of hell, its eyes a bright crimson and full of hungry, murderous intent. Its body, like that of a man, but covered in dark brown fur with long, jagged claws and a snout with a mouthful of sharp bloodstained teeth just under it. The werewolf attacked me with a burning fury, slashing and biting at me with its claws and teeth.

My arms were otherwise occupied with fending off the monster's deadly incisors so I could not get a clear shot. Its claws raked long, deep incisions into the muscle of my back and I screamed in pure white hot agony. The pistol, still gripped in my now scarred and bloody hand suddenly curved up and right into the creatures huge, ugly muzzle.

"Eat this motherf****er!" I screamed at the top of my lungs as I pulled the trigger. Gray matter and dark scarlet blood spewed forth from where its head had once been. It covered my whole face before the pressure subsided. I pushed the now quickly decomposing corpse off of me and tried to stand. I only succeeded in falling flat on my face. As the world faded to black around me and dark circles swam above my vision, I only had time enough wonder why my whole back felt so warm, and why the rest of me felt so cold.