Wolfblood
The Beginning
It was with a great sense of dread that Maddy, Rhydian, Jana, Shannon and Tom all sat down in Mr Jefferies' history class that day. He'd warned in plenty of time that they would be covering the dawn of humanity in order to instil a long-standing dread in the whole class. Normally, the five teenagers tried to keep optimistic and not draw first impressions about something before they do it since first impressions can be quite inaccurate, but as soon as the lesson started they knew their first impressions of this topic would be entirely accurate. Or so they thought at least; but the end of the lesson was different.
"Now, I want you all to get into groups of five. I'll have the list of known human evolution stages on the board for ten seconds. After that, I'll take it down and you have to list as many stages of human evolution as you can remember." Jefferies ordered. It didn't take a genius to figure out that Tom, Shannon, Maddy, Rhydian and Jana would all group together.
"Shan, can you write for us?" Maddy asked. "You're best with all those long scientific words." Shannon rolled her eyes and grabbed the pen from Maddy. As she was writing, Rhydian whispered something that piqued the interest of the whole group.
"Do you think Wolfbloods evolved at the same time as humans, or did we come later by some other factor?"
"I don't know." Jana replied. "In the wild, we held our known history as a treasure, but we never bothered trying to find out new stuff about it. We just clung on to what we had. Did your parents say anything, Maddy?"
"No, it's not something they ever mentioned." Maddy said.
"Maybe Ceri would know." Jana suggested. "Maybe we could use Ansion to find out."
"That could work." Rhydian muttered.
"She's coming to visit me at the caravan later. We can ask her then."
"I've got nothing going on." Maddy said. "I'm pretty interested now. Are you coming Rhydian?"
"Yeah, it might be good to know." Rhydian replied.
"Do you mind if we go too?" Tom asked. "I know you'll be in, Shannon. I know you too well. I'm not staying at home by myself while everyone else is out meeting up."
"Ceri knows you know the secret. I don't think there's going to be a problem." Jana told them. Shannon high-fived Tom just as Jefferies called out to the class.
"Okay, the time's up! Everyone leave your lists on my desk and talk amongst yourselves for the last two minutes. The group who listed the most stages gets a prize which I had the good fortune to find on a dig over in Wales."
"I dread to think what this is going to be." Rhydian muttered, absently spinning his pen in his hand.
"No, it would be good if we win it." Jana said. "Maybe Ceri and I could focus our Ansion through it."
"How many did you get written down, Shan?" Tom asked.
"I only got about four of them." Shannon admitted. "I was so busy trying to get the spelling right, there was no time for anything else."
"We're screwed." Maddy stated bluntly. Rhydian slipped his hand into hers and held tight, reassuring her.
"Okay, I've counted it up." Jefferies said just as the bell rang. By some sheer miracle, no one moved. They were all transfixed by the possibility of a prize.
"Who won, sir?" Kara asked, acting as though she were certain of the answer.
"Kara and Jimi's groups wrote nothing at all, and Scott's group got three; so with a total of four correct answers and some immaculate spelling, Shannon's group take the prize." The five teens all cheered as Jefferies reached down behind his desk and pulled out a crystal. It was the most beautiful thing any of them had ever seen. The three Ks jaws all hung open in a state of envy. Maddy took it in her hand and held it up to the light. The light passing through it cast a blue tint onto the opposite wall.
"It's beautiful." Jana said. Maddy handed it to her, and the light seemed to change to red.
"We need to show this to Ceri." Shannon added as they all trooped out of the classroom.
She should be stopping by at around five." Jana said. "If we all meet at the caravan at five-thirty, she'll definitely be there."
"I think since Shannon wrote the answers and won us the competition, she should be the one to look after the crystal." Maddy suggested. "Technically, she did the work, so she should be the one to keep it."
"That sounds fair." Rhydian agreed as Jana handed Shannon the crystal. As soon as it touched her palm, the entire surface of it turned black. Perplexed, they all stopped at a window and held it up to the light. Nothing passed through it.
"What the hell happened?" Maddy asked herself as much as the others.
"Let's have a look." Rhydian said, holding his hand out. As Shannon passed it to him, the surface returned to its normal clear colour. He held it up only for the light refracting inside it to turn green.
"Tom, try holding it." Maddy suggested. Tom took the crystal off Rhydian, only for the surface to immediately turn black again. It looked like someone had suddenly filled it with tar.
"It looks like it shuts down around anyone who isn't a Wolfblood." Shannon whispered so no one outside the group heard her.
"That's insane!" Tom's excitement was starting to bubble over now. "Jefferies goes to an archaeological dig in Wales and finds a crystal that reacts when a Wolfblood holds it."
"I still can't believe we actually managed to win Jefferies' game." Jana said. "It's too convenient."
"I wouldn't question it, Jana. I don't think it could have worked out any better." Rhydian told her. "If anything, I think I'm just as curious about where that crystal came from as I am about where Wolfbloods first came from." Just at that point, the five teenagers all looked up to see Jefferies walking past them.
"Sir, do you know where the crystal actually came from?" Maddy asked. "Did they tell you what it was used for or anything?"
"The expert on the site said it dates back to very early times when people still believed in Werewolves." Jefferies told her. They believed that crystal could be used to sense them hiding among people. Many of the papers we found in an old archive made mention of Lycanthropy. How it worked was always a mystery to me. As far as I know, it just changes colour according to a person's mood or something like that. I don't believe in Werewolves at all. What's with all the curiosity anyway?"
"We were just wondering, sir." Maddy replied innocently. "It's a beautiful crystal anyway."
"It's nice to see you all taking an interest." Jefferies said to all of them. "If you'll excuse me, I have to go now, but I expect you be this enthusiastic next lesson."
"We will be, sir." Rhydian said.
"Good; now it's the end of the day and I'm sure you all have stuff to be getting on with so I'll see you later."
"We'll see you soon, sir." Jana said. They waited for Jefferies to get a good distance away from them before Maddy finally spoke up.
"Come on, let's go home. We'll meet at the caravan at five-thirty and get this sorted out." The others nodded. They all trooped down the stairs before leaving the building and going their separate ways on the playground. Shannon tucked the crystal in the breast pocket on her shirt when Tom gave it back to her.
She knew Maddy and Rhydian had a fifty-fifty chance of being late, because they were heading for the rip in the fence. They were going to go to their secret spot on the Moors to cuddle up as they had been since she heard them confess that they loved each other before they realised she was outside the door. Even then, they never realised she'd heard them. How deaf did they think humans were?
As Maddy headed through the rip in the fence, which Rhydian was holding open for her, she set her watch alarm for five-twenty. That would give them ten minutes to get ready to meet Tom, Shannon and Jana so that they wouldn't realise they'd been making out. If they realised that, Jana would probably trace their scents back to that spot and realise it existed. If Tom and Shannon found out they had a secret place on the Moors to hide from the world together, they'd never here the end of it. They'd had a close enough shave when she'd walked through the door to the darkroom without warning. Thank god she didn't hear anything.
"What are you doing?" Rhydian asked as he looped his arm protectively around her.
"I'm just setting an alarm." Maddy replied. "We'll have plenty of time to get ready before meeting Jana, Tom and Shannon."
"What do you think we'll find out from that crystal?" Rhydian asked her as they began walking. "It's clearly connected to Wolfbloods, so we have to learn something about ourselves from it."
"You never know, Rhydian." Maddy said. "It could be related to a completely different topic regarding Wolfblood history. We'll find out soon."
Line Break!
"Surprise, surprise; Maddy and Rhydian aren't here." Shannon muttered as the chilly air bit into her skin. "They're probably cuddling in that hideout they found by the stream."
"I doubt it. I can hear them running over now." Jana said. As if on cue, Maddy and Rhydian burst through the tree line and slid down the bank before arriving at the caravan.
"No, I think you were right, Shannon." Ceri said as she walked over. "Their scents are more entangled that the brambles in the roof of this box Jana lives in."
"It's called a caravan, Ceri." Jana told her.
"I know, but I can never get my tongue around that." Ceri replied. "It's just a dilapidated box to me."
"We've explained it all to Ceri." Tom said. "She wants to get started, so it's a good job you showed up when you did or we'd have got going without you."
"Someone pass me the crystal." Ceri held out her hand and Shannon gave her the crystal.
"Okay, we have an idea of how this could work, so everyone needs to sit in a circle." Jana directed. We need Maddy and Rhydian together since they're alphas. Tom and Shannon, we need you sitting opposite them. Ceri and I will sit opposing each other. With any luck, the energy can channel evenly and we'll even be able to drag humans into the Ansion with us." They all sat down as Jana directed. On her signal they all held hands. Maddy, Rhydian, Tom and Shannon closed their eyes as Jana and Ceri focused. Suddenly, a vibrant energy filled them. They felt as though they were falling for miles.
On impulse they all opened their eyes. Immediately, a scream tore from them as they realised the woods were gone and they actually were falling. They all released each other's hands as their bodies were dragged downwards. Just before they hit the ground, they stopped dead in the air. They were suspended at least a foot off the ground before they were suddenly dropped. They picked themselves up only to find they didn't have a scratch.
"What the hell is this?" Shannon's voice carried a note of awe. "Where are we and what are we standing on?" She scuffed her shoe against the ground only to nearly slip over. "Is this ice?"
"I don't think so." Maddy said as she bent down to feel the ground. As soon as her fingertips touched it, it radiated the same blue light it did when she held it in Jefferies' classroom. "This is the crystal. We've been sucked into it somehow."
"No, our bodies are still in the woods." Ceri spoke up quickly. "This is Ansion on a dangerous level. If we don't get back to our bodies soon, we could be lost here forever."
"Are you joking me?" Panic was clear on Tom's face. "I've got a Manchester United game on the TV tonight! I've got better things to do tonight than be trapped in a crystal!"
"That won't happen." The Wolfbloods plus Tom and Shannon all looked up to see a figure standing behind them. The light that shrouded him made him hard to see, but it was fading fast. Slowly, his face came into view.
"Who are you?" Rhydian growled as his eyes turned yellow. He gripped Maddy's hand as he got ready to protect her.
"There's no need for hostility, young Wolfblood." The figure held up a hand, and Rhydian's Wolf receded on its own.
"What the hell did you do?" Rhydian tried to bring his wolf forward again, but it wouldn't work. It felt like it had been suppressed somehow.
"You needn't worry. Everything will be back to normal when you're returned to your bodies." The figure stayed calm as the light around him slowly faded completely. He was a tall man with dark hair. His clothes strongly resembled those a wild Wolfblood would wear.
"You didn't answer us when we asked who you were." Tom said.
"Maybe that's because I was busy making sure your friend wouldn't attack!" the figure snapped. "But you're right, you do need to know. My name is Orion. Or at least, this is all that's left of me. My memories were retained upon death to aid Wolfbloods in keeping their secret safe. Though that plan is sadly now null and void. But I sense you are here for a far more important matter. You want to know how your species was born."
"Can you read minds?" Maddy asked. Orion burst out laughing.
"I control the inside of this crystal. I was able to drag you in here through the energy of your Ansion and now everything about all of you is laid bare in front of me to see." Orion told her "Now, if we go back to what I was saying before…" Orion crouched down and focused as though he were using Ansion himself. Suddenly, their surroundings changed.
"What's going on?" Maddy asked.
"This is the beginning." Orion told her. "This is back when humans made buildings from stone and were only just starting to make weapons from metal." As they watched, images of young children playing violently outside a building appeared. Their eyes burned golden and they rolled on the ground fighting like wolf cubs.
"What are we seeing?" Ceri asked.
"The rulers of this area came up with an idea to make their armies stronger." Orion explained. "Hunters of the settlement went out and slaughtered numerous female wolves not long after they'd given birth to their cubs. Their milk was then collected and used on human offspring from birth to replace that of the true mothers. Over the months, their bodies altered to adapt to this different milk. In doing so, the children themselves adapted and were forced into a premature evolution."
As Orion talked, one of the boys pinned the other and went for the throat. His fangs punctured the poor boy's windpipe. The weaker boy writhed on the ground, blood pouring from his throat before the golden glow faded from his eyes and they shut forever.
"So, what the hell was that?" Rhydian asked.
"The results of such a foolish experiment soured." Orion continued. "As they aged, the children's conflicting natures caused their personalities to fragment; and efforts by the village to euthanize them created only feral abominations. Other settlements had also attempted this, wanting an army of hybrid warriors to use on the battlefield. If it had ever actually worked, it would have made any army nearly unstoppable. The children fled to the wild, where they learned to build shelters of their own. They continued to live in seclusion. As they grew, some of them returned to the human world. They were forever hated by the wild ones as traitors. They hid their powers, fell in love and passed the wolf on to new generations."
"You're talking about the first ever Wolfbloods." Tom finally caught on. "That was how the wild Wolfbloods and domestic Wolfbloods started that disagreement between them."
"It wasn't a disagreement, it was a bloodbath." Ceri said.
"Over generations, they realised that they had a much more pressing issue." Orion told them. "The full moon had an effect on their wolf like no other. The more generations they produced, the more those cub's wolves would take them over on a full moon until eventually, a cub was born that would assume full wolf form. Another shocking discovery was that he could transition between these two forms whenever he wanted once he matured. He was heralded among the wild Wolfbloods as a great hunter. To any untrained human, he looked just like a normal wolf. The problem was, he was smart. He knew the scent of poisoned meat and would avoid it. He would drop sticks and stones into traps to set them off. The pack stayed well fed with him around. The day after his son was born, he was killed. One of the star constellations was named in his honour.
"That was when they somehow retained your memories in the crystal." Ceri said. "You're Orion the great hunter."
"Yes, I am." Orion nodded. "From this crystal, I watched my child grow. However, he wanted to explore. He jumped on a human boat and stowed away. He arrived in America shortly afterwards. While he was over there, he discovered that other areas of the world had made the same mistake when it came to creating Wolfbloods. Somehow, they'd arrived in America too. He found this out when he met a beautiful wild Wolfblood named Blanca. The two of them were madly in love, but the locals didn't take kindly to two wolves eating their livestock. Lobo was just as in tune with the hunters' methods as I was. But his attachment to Blanca was to be his downfall."
"I heard of Lobo before." Tom said. "A hunter killed Blanca and tempted him in with her body, didn't he?"
"It was a barbaric tactic used only by those of the same nature!" Orion growled as his own eyes flashed yellow. "Still, that's not why we're here. I have granted your wish and told you the beginnings of the Wolfblood history, now you must do something for me. When you all return to your bodies, bury this damned crystal. And make sure no one can find it this time! Next time someone digs me up, I swear to god I'll curse them with bad luck for seventy years!"
"You can do that?" Maddy asked.
"If I get dug up again, they'll find out." Orion snapped. "I'll now return you to your bodies. Bury the crystal for god's sake. You're the first guests I've had in a long time, and I pray you're the last." As Orion spoke, they all started to feel dizzy. Suddenly, the floor vanished and they were falling again. The ground rushed up to meet them just as they opened their eyes. It took a second to process it all, but they realised they were back on the Moors. They were sat in the circle gripping each other's hands for dear life. Apart from the fact that they were all sweating profusely, everything was as it was before.
"We're back!" Tom cheered. He jumped up from his cross-legged position on the forest floor and kissed the ground before gagging as the taste of rotting autumn leaves filled his mouth.
"We never left, Tom." Jana reminded him. "Ansion is the ability to see things through contact with an object. An out-of-body experience like that is practically unheard of. I don't know if that's because two Wolfbloods were doing it simultaneously or because Orion was so powerful."
"We have a bigger priority than working that out now." Maddy said. "We have to bury the crystal. Orion was pretty clear he wanted it hidden." Everyone else nodded.
"Jana and I can handle that." Ceri offered. I'm thinking of burying it by the caravan. As long as Jana's living there and I visit regularly, there's no risk of someone digging it up."
"Good idea, Mum." Rhydian replied, getting up. Just then, Maddy realised something else had changed too. It was much darker than when they met up. How long had they been sat there? The sun had nearly finished setting!
"We need to get home!" she shrieked. "Mum and Dad had dinner ready ages ago!" She checked her phone only to be met with eight messages and four missed calls. Rhydian's phone showed basically more of the same from Mrs Vaughn and Tom and Shannon's parents were also freaking out badly.
"I dread to think how we're going to explain this one." Rhydian muttered as he ran after Maddy, who'd broken into a frantic dash. "We'll see you all tomorrow."
"See you later, Rhydian." Shannon called after him. As Rhydian caught up with Maddy, he realised just how truly breathtaking she was under a certain angle of light. It was as though what she'd learned had set her free in some way. In a way, he could understand it. He hadn't known where he'd come from or what he was until quite recently. It was one thing to be where he was, but it was another thing to know how he got there. The most important part of any story was the start. Without it, nothing would make sense. The future was a blank page that he couldn't foresee; but at least now they all knew what happened in the beginning.