Author's Note: I couldn't take it anymore. A very significant reviewer has made it clear what they want from me. I am not a suck-up, but I also don't like displeasing people.
Disclaimer: I own nothing but the names and/or characters that I make up.
It was October 16, 2010 and silence overtook the city of Boston. Until recently, Boston used to be a peaceful city with minimal disturbance but that luxury had been taken away. Two months prior, the citizens of Boston had been plagued by an unknown, merciless threat. Police were on constant look-out for whatever was causing the death of so many innocent citizens. For weeks on end, there always would be a new report of how another unexpecting person had been struck by some sort of beast that would dig its fangs into their neck and tear apart the skin from the bone, exposing the soft tissue, muscle and blood. The horrendous creature had to be stopped but whenever police officers got close to the beast, it would lunge at them, leave barely enough blood for them to live off of and then run away. One night, the beast was identified as a wolf as a police officer was able to get close enough to it to see what it was. The gray furred wolf growled at the police officer and then tore off an arm of his, clean off the socket. The wolf had a vast bloodlust for human flesh. The wolf chewed on the detached arm while the police officer screamed in such anguish that a baby could cry from the disturbing noise from a far off place. The unfortunate police officer lost more than his arm, but his life that night as he laid still like a rock, slowly bleeding to death. Afterwards, the police force doubled the amount of officers on their night shift. For five days straight, police officers did their best to rid the city of the bloodthirsty wolf and kill it off. When the wolf had arrived in the city, everyone wondered why it was there but they soon forgot their curiosity as they fled the scene to escape the wolf's gluten, wrathful behavior and stay out of sight. Time passed and the day had arrived when utter silence befell the city.
At eleven in the evening, everything was quiet as suspected. Not many people were out walking. For those who were walking, they tried their best to get back home safely and not be caught by the wolf. In the meantime, back at the police station, police officers were gearing up to keep the city protected from the monstrous wolf and had high hopes of killing it that very night and be able to pass the second half of the month in peace and good spirit. As the police officers were getting for the hunt, the wolf was busy stalking his next victim. The wolf's target was a teenaged boy no older than sixteen years old. As the wolf watched the boy walk leisurely down a sidewalk, the creature stayed behind a pair of bushes that resided in a public park. The teenaged boy was whistling a tune while he walked back home. The wolf waited patiently for the right moment to strike. Just as the boy crossed the street and got close enough to the wolf, the male creature jumped high out of the bushes and tackle the boy down to the ground. The teenaged boy screamed in horror as the wolf feasted on his flesh. Some passerby saw what was happening and instantly called for the police. They got the urgent message and rushed over as soon as possible. When the police squad arrived at the scene of the crime, they had caught the wolf in the middle of its meal. They drew their guns at the retched thing and had it surrounded. The wolf gnawed on the last bits of human meat and let it slide down between its fangs and down its throat. The wolf glared at the circle of the police squad with angry expressions glued to their faces. The wolf growled something fierce, brandished is sharp, blood cover fangs and sprinted towards a random police officer. The wolf tackled the poor man in the dark blue uniform. His fellow officers ran to help him and the wolf took the opportune moment to escape. The devious wolf ran into the dark void and blended in with the night, quiet yet deadly.
As the wolf was running faster than any average wolf or average man, it was thinking that it was high time to find a new location to feed off the weak and unexpecting. It needed to leave the city far behind and never return. The wolf didn't just have a one track mind for it wasn't really born as a wolf at all. The creature was a highly misfortunate soul to be cursed in such an undesirable body with an appetite for blood to match. The wolf wasn't just a wolf but a werewolf. He was born human but things took a turn for the worst for the young man that once was. As the well hated wolf ran from his enemies, he turned back the clock in his head to a time when things were simple, when he was human and he did not want to drink blood or eat human flesh. The wolf looked back at his former life before things had gone awry.
Flashback:
It was two years ago at the Tipton Hotel when Carey Martin got a call from her ex-husband, Kurt. He had called from the home phone number while Carey was with her and Kurt's twin sons, Zack and Cody. The two adults had conversed civilly to each other over the phone for about fifteen minutes. While they were talking, Zack was playing a video game while Cody was reading a book. The younger Martin twin had recently broken up with his girlfriend, Barbara Brownstein, and he and his brother had just turned sixteen a week ago. Cody was reading one of his favorite books which was The Grapes of Wrath by John Steinbeck. It was truly an American classic. It was probably the most American novels of all American novels. He just loved the story and a good story usually cheered him up when he had a bad day or when he was still getting his life back on track. Cody was so enthralled in the story that when his mom called for his attention, he was in amazement.
"Cody?"
"Huh? Did you say something, mom?"
"Cody, I just want to you to know that the three of us are going to meet your father in New Orleans. He feels bad that he hasn't been able to see you guys recently and is very sorry that he couldn't come for your birthday so he wanted to invite us to watch his band perform at the New Orleans Arena."
"ReallY?"
"Yes, really."
"When do we leave?"
"We leave in two days. You should pack for at least three days. We're going to Logan International Airport and then flying into the Louis Armstrong Airport in New Orleans. Your father said that he would meet us outside of the airport and bring us to where we would be staying for the time that we're in the city."
"But what about school?"
"Cody, don't worry. I'll get you and Zack one excused absence so you don't have to feel guilty about not going to school for one day."
"Are you sure mom?"
"Yes. You two only are sixteen once so you may as well enjoy it while it lasts."
"Okay, mom."
"Good, Cody. I'm sure that you and Zack will find something to do in the city. I'm sure that there are plenty of neat things going on down there."
"I guess you're right, mom."
"I know that I am. We're going to have fun."
Carey then kisses Cody on the top of his head and walks away. Cody continues to red his book. In the next few days, Zack, Cody and Carey pack for New Orleans to have some family fun with the father and his band. The flight doesn't take very long and the three of them feel good about what may come over the trip. They collect their baggage at the baggage claim and meet Kurt outside the airport as planned. He takes them into a rented van and brings them to their hotel room. He leaves them to adapt to their hotel room while he returns to check with his band. A few hours later and they go to see Kurt's band play at the New Orleans Arena. The band did well and afterwards they had dinner together as a family at a local restaurant. Cody had seafood gumbo while his parents and brother had shrimp etouffee, jambalaya and fried catfish. After dinner, Kurt had to say good bye to his family for the time being and left after her paid for all of their dinners. Carey took Zack and Cody out into town. She figured that they could explore the city for a little bit before they went back to the hotel. She treated Zack and Cody to some beignets and café au lait at Café Du Monde which was a replica of the original café that was located in France. After they had a sweet treat, Carey allowed Zack and Cody to pick something that they would like to do and they decided on going to the heart of the French Quarter to go check out The New Orleans Historic Voodoo Museum. Carey was fine taking her sons to the museum so she pulled out her phone for directions and led them to the museum.
On their way to the museum, Zack, Cody and Carey could see street signs with the names in English and in French and that Mardi Gras beads were strewn over the street signs. They also heard people playing Jazz music throughout the city. They even encountered a skinny, African American man tap dancing from the sidewalk and out to part of the street. It was certain to the Martin family that the city of New Orleans was a surprisingly vibrant city despite their bad luck with hurricanes. When they got to the museum, the admission was ten dollars per person. Carey paid for all three of them and they received pamphlets with some history of the museum. They went down a doorway to their right and walked down a narrow yet short hallway which then curved to the left and led to another narrow hallway but it was slightly longer. On the right wall were photographs or painted portraits of Marie Laveau and her descendants as Voodoo Queens. On the left side of the hallway was a small room with artifacts on display and a few plaques to go with the displays. At the end of the hallway was another small room with other displays and plaques and other artifacts. There was also a display table for visitors who may have wanted to give some sort of tribute to Marie Laveau. People left odd things behind as tribute such as a tampon, a gum packet, hair ties and other odd ends items. In a corner of the room that led back to the hallway that people came from was a wishing tree stump. For people to us the stump, they would read the instructions that was mounted on the wall write down a wish that they had on a piece of paper, pull out a coin and wrap the paper with the wish on it around the coin and then drop the item together in the recommended location of the stump. When Zack, Cody and Carey were done looking through the small yet charming museum they came back out where they had entered, looked at the painted portrait of Marie Laveau as a free, African American woman, they chatted a little bit with the woman behind the table and then bid goodbye to her.
Carey looked at her watch and thought that they could spare one more quick visit somewhere in the French Quarter before they would return to the hotel. They decided on visiting a Voodoo shop. They got to the shop and looked around. As time passed by, Zack was getting anxious to leave and lost his common sense. He began to make fun of the objects in the shop. However, this did not rub too well with the shop keeper and he kept an eye on Zack and Cody. Upon their departure, the shop keeper had put on a smile and asked either one of them if they wanted to purchase anything. Cody politely explained that he was saving up for something before they would return home. The shop keeper was blinded by his judgment based on Zack and did not bother to see the difference between him and Cody so he already judge Cody simply because he was Zack's twin brother. Zack declined the shop keeper's offer and left the shop with their mom. The shop keeper went to his spell room and cast a curse on Zack and Cody. The curse would incur that they be shunned by those who would then once know them. The shop keeper was fully intending to affect Zack the most by changing him into a hideous beast with a Voodoo doll but he accidentally cursed Cody because he got the detail of the direction of their bangs wrong. Instead of exacting his revenge on Zack specifically, the shop keeper got Cody as a consequence.
Later that night, Cody didn't feel well. Carey noticed Cody's change and odd behavior and was very concerned for his health and well-being. Carey called up Kurt that they would have to cut the trip short and take Cody back home to be checked up by a doctor. Kurt was concerned for Cody but Carey assured him that she had things under control. The next day came and the three of them left the hotel and went back to the airport. On the flight back to Boston, Cody developed a craving for raw meat and constantly drank water. When they got home, Cody seemed fine but he continued to eat copious amounts of meat. He changed gradually over time from a veggie lover to an avid meat-eater. Carey and Zack didn't suspect a thing because they believed that Cody was going through a very specific phase in his life and they hoped it would soon pass but they were wrong. Cody eventually transformed into a wolf. Over time, he lost his sense of direction as a human and his wolf side took over. But there were times when the real him came out while he was transformed as a wolf. As time passed by, Cody learned how to control his powers but he still struggled to control his appetite for blood and human flesh. Cody may have not been able to stop himself from eating flesh off people but he was able to prevent himself from killing off his own brother and mom. Cody soon had to leave his family and stay hidden.
The memory of yesteryear faded away in the wolf's head as he had thought of his past life. Cody, in the form of a wolf, ran as fast he could on his four legs. The police squad caught up to him and they were accompanied by scientist who very eager to know what made him tick. They wanted to cut him open and hope to find the innards of an unusual creature like Mary Shelley's fine creation, Frankenstein. He was view as some freak of nature or, at least, a befitting beast in a Grimm's fairy tale. Cody tried to run away from them but his legs were protesting and his breath was becoming short. He lost an immense amount of energy and they finally caught up with him. He couldn't transform back in his human self while in the predicament that he currently was in. A police officer used a tranquilizer on him and the world became dark faster than a blink of an eye. The next thing that he knew was that he woke up on a metal table with a black collar around his neck and a tracking device around his left, front paw. Cody opened one green and yellow eye and saw a group of scientist and police officers talking about what they should do with him. He could only imagine the worst things: mutilation, shock, experimentation, death. Cody didn't want to die. No actual living wanted its life cut short before it could reach its fullest potential. While the scientist and officers weren't paying attention, he took the opportunity if escape and quietly got off the table and slipped out of the laboratory. Cody walked past the guards and got out of the building without being detected. Once he got out to a safe distance, Cody then ran away as far as he could outside of the city. He never looked back and he would run until he needed a break….or until he found a place safe enough to keep the scientists and police officers on their toes.
To Be Continued…