CHAPTER 11

The Bat-Wolf

NOTE: I did not write Jane Eyre. This is out of love for the novel.

It was nighttime at Thornfield and much of the household was asleep. Little Henry wrapped himself in bedsheets and blankets, his little thumb tucked away in his mouth. The toys in his bedroom kept a solemn watch over the boy as he slept. In a room close by, baby Helen lay on her back, swaddled in nightclothes and also resting in peaceful slumber while being kept company by a doll placed beside her. Their parents, Jane and Edward Rochester, were also enjoying a peaceful night's sleep. Jane rested her head on Edward's chest while his arm was closely draped around her. Not a sound was made throughout the house, save for maybe Pilot whimpering in his sleep from a bad dream. The quiet was broken by a sound on the roof; first, there was a loud thump and then footsteps. The first to wake was little Helen, who made more noise by crying. Master Henry suddenly awoke to the sound of the footsteps on the roof as well as his sisters' crying so he went to her room in an effort to calm her down. Then, the Rochesters woke up; first Jane, then Edward with the latter wondering what was on the roof that was making such noise, which stopped immediately after they awoke.

"What the devil?" Edward rubbed his sleepy, bloodshot eyes. "What's going on?"

"I don't know, dear," Jane said. "But the noise is gone now."

"Must have been a tree branch or something; it's unusually windy tonight."

"I can hear Helen crying," Jane said. "I'll be right back."

Jane left the bedroom and went into Helen's to find Henry standing near her crib, trying to sing his sister to sleep.

"Mama, I can't sing her to sleep this time," he said. "We both heard noises from up there." He pointed toward the ceiling.

"That's very kind of you, Henry, however, I think you need to go back to bed. I'll see if I can get her to calm down."

Henry obliged and left Helen's room. Jane sat in a nearby rocking chair and cradled her infant daughter while singing lullabies. Soon after, Helen calmed down enough for Jane to kiss her forehead and place her back in her crib. Jane then returned to her own bedroom to find her husband Edward still sitting up in bed with his face in his hands.

"I can't go back to sleep," he muttered. "Still can't figure out what the deuce was on our roof."

"Like you said, it's probably a tree, Edward."

"I'm surprised you got Helen back to sleep so quickly, Jane. Usually loud sounds set her off for quite a while."

"Henry was in there earlier trying to serenade her back to sleep," said Jane with a smile. "He's such a caring older brother."

"I wish mine were just as kind as he was," said Edward. "But since he's dead now, wishing won't do me a bit of good."

"I'm sorry about that, Edward."

"Nothing to be sorry about my little elf." Edward put his arm around Jane. "Some people are like that. Let's try to get some sleep, shall we?"

The moment the two of them settled back down to sleep, Helen awoke once again in a crying fit which pulled the creature killers from slumber. Jane was about to get out of bed but Edward touched her shoulder.

"It's all right Jane," he said with a smile. "I'll handle this."


The next morning, Jane sat at the breakfast table with Henry while Edward was making funny faces at baby Helen, who was lying in her crib nearby.

"Did you keep Papa up all night?" he said in a humorous tone of voice that made his infant daughter laugh. "Last night you were crying and crying and crying and you didn't fall asleep for another two hours." He continued to make funny faces at Helen, much to her amusement.

"Papa, you should've let me sing to her," said Henry with a mouthful of egg. "She likes it when I do that."

"Henry, please don't talk with your mouth full," Jane said. "It's very impolite."

Henry finished chewing his food and swallowed the contents. "Yes Mama."

"Son," Edward said, turning towards Henry. "Sometimes babies don't respond to singing all the time to calm them down."

"Yes Papa. Besides, are you going to sell Mama's art today?"

"Yes we are, son."

"Are we going to be rich from it?"

Jane couldn't help but smile. "No darling, we're giving the money to charity; we have all the money we need for now."

Today was the big day for the Rochesters as they were traveling into town to conduct a charity auction. Jane had offered to auction off some of her drawings and watercolor art for money to donate to the Lowood School as well as a boarding house that helped shelter young brothel workers that wanted to leave their profession and would provide them with schooling and training to work as servants and governesses. Both causes were near and dear to Jane's heart, one being Lowood where she spent half of her childhood and the boarding house providing a way for women to be independent and financially secure in their livelihood and be able to help provide for children if they had any, which was explained in the simplest terms to Henry's four-year-old mind.

"That's a nice thing to do," said Henry. "One time when Papa took me into town, I gave a few coins to a woman who didn't have any money to buy bread and when I gave her the money, she looked really happy."

Jane's face brightened at her son's generosity. "Oh you did? How did it make you feel?"

"It felt good, Mama. It felt good that she was going to have something to eat instead of starve to death." Jane smiled at Henry's way of explaining his actions.

"We saw a poor woman begging on a street corner," Edward said. "She had two children of her own standing with her and Henry wanted to do something so I gave him a little money to give to her. I feel that it's never too early to start teaching our son to be charitable."

"Oh," said Henry. "By the way, did you know what made those noises last night?"

"No but I think it might have been some of the tree branches," said Edward. "It was awfully windy last night."

"It was scary, Papa."

"I can understand that, son. I wouldn't worry about it too much." He patted his son's head and kissed him. "In my opinion, you are a very brave little boy."

The strange noises the previous evening were then brushed off like dust as Jane and Edward gathered their things and headed for the charity auction in town. The moment they arrived, the art gallery was buzzing with people, both admirers and buyers. The auction was titled "Art by Lady Jane Rochester" and featured several themes, including people as well as zombies as the Rochesters were known by the their title of the Creature Killers of Thornfield. Some pieces featured their most memorable cases such as the vampire who transformed into a squirrel and the Wawel Dragon. Jane and Edward then made their way to the auction room, partially hidden from view as they watched several pieces of Jane's work being sold for quite a bit of money, which made her slightly jump for joy and Edward kissing her cheek, saying "You did wonderful, my little elf." Even an ambassador for the Queen herself purchased a painting to be put in the royal art collection, making Jane's heart flutter even more. Some art enthusiasts approached her and complimented her work.

After another watercolor was sold, the noise in the the auction hall was silenced by noise that was coming from the ceiling. A man ran into the auction hall, yelling that there was a strange creature on top of the roof. Making their way through the crowded building, Jane and Edward went outside to look at another crowd of people pointing and staring at what seemed to definitely be a strange creature; a wolf with the body of a human dressed like a gentleman and with wings like a bat. Some women in the crowd screamed, others shouted. The creature stared at the crowd with beady, yellow eyes. He then flashed a toothy grin and flew off into the sky. Edward pulled his pistol from his frock coat and fired a few shots at the strange bat-wolf but missed every time. He cursed under his breath as he put away his pistol. Despite what had happened, the auction continued on until all of Jane's artwork was sold. Lowood School and the shelter for former brothel workers were given a huge sum of money. Jane and Edward graciously thanked everyone for their time and money for two worthy causes in light of a bat-wolf creature flying onto the building, which they promised that they would get to the bottom of for the safety of the public.


That evening at Thornfield, Jane and Edward had an interesting dinner, explaining to everyone about the strange bat-wolf who somehow "crashed" the charity auction. Mrs. Fairfax had told them that since they left for the auction, she had been receiving letters from individuals who had seen similar creatures perching atop their homes and asked that Jane and Edward look into it. More troubling was a letter from Dr. Sheffield, the scientist who gave Edward a new hand. Apparently, an individual broke into his laboratory and stole an important anti-werewolf potion that he was still working on. Another letter they received was from a former police officer who had tried to apprehend the beast but was promptly bitten and he himself claimed to have turned into a bat-wolf. After they ate, Edward decided that it was best to think it over while relaxing in a warm bath.

Jane sat nearby, knitting while Edward reclined in the tub, lightly splashing water on his shoulder and then splashed more water on his face.

"What do you make of all this, Edward?"

"Well, for once, I don't know if this winged wolf creature is acting alone or if there are several like him. The letters we received indicate that there could be more than one of him." He drummed his fingers on the side of the tub. "Or he could be incredibly mobile, going from rooftop to rooftop."

"Whatever this thing is, he could be dangerous," Jane pointed out.

"Very true, though there aren't any reports of him harming or killing anyone." He sighed.

"Today was stressful, I know," said Jane, putting her knitting things aside and approaching the tub. "We were helping out the less fortunate and then interrupted by a winged wolf beast." She rubbed Edward's tense shoulders.

"No, that was frustrating, Jane. Trying to figure out who or what this thing is is the stressful part."

"And how Dr. Sheffield's case fits in with all of this. Remember, his laboratory was ransacked and an antidote was stolen from it."

"We would have to question him and then question the unfortunate police officer who was made into a strange bat-wolf creature. For now, let's relax for the evening. We'll worry about this tomorrow."

Jane, out of sheer playfulness, decided to walk to the side of the tub and splash a little bit of water in her husband's face.

"What the deuce?"

Jane giggled. "I've always wanted to do that."

Edward grinned. "If I could, I'd pull you into this tub right now, nightgown and all, Jane."

"I'd like to see you try it."

With an even bigger grin, Edward grabbed Jane and playfully tossed her into the bathtub, nightgown and all. With her mouth agape and her nightgown sopping wet, she splashed her husband again, laughing hysterically.

Edward mocked Jane. "I've always wanted to do that."

"I already had my bath prior to dinnertime; never knew I was going to have a second one." Jane continued to laugh and got out of the tub and dried herself off. "I still can't believe you did that!"

Edward still smiled at her, repeating her words in a mocking tone. In return, Jane pinched the side of his face and kissed his cheek. She then helped Edward out of the tub and into his bathrobe. The two then went to their bedroom and each put on a clean and dry pair of nightclothes and settled in for the night.


The next morning, Jane and Edward decided to pay a visit to Dr. Sheffield, the eccentric scientist who had created a new hand for Edward's stump some time ago. The both of them had concluded that the noise on the rooftop that one evening at Thornfield had been the "work" of the mysterious bat-wolf. The two continued to wonder aloud to each other whether or not this creature was one of many or acting alone. The paper had reported sightings of the creature but no deaths or injuries, leading the Creature Killers of Thornfield to think that the individual was a mere prankster and not a murderer but they preferred to err on the side of caution should they come in contact with him. As they chatted, the carriage to Dr. Sheffield's residence came to a halt and the moment Edward raised his fist to knock at the front door, Dr. Sheffield immediately opened it and greeted his guests.

"Good day to you all," Dr. Sheffield said. "Come, follow me into the parlor. Mrs. Sheffield will bring you some tea shortly."

They sat down on a velvet sofa and Mrs. Sheffield, a gray haired woman of five and sixty, came out with a tray of sweet tea, which was graciously accepted by Jane and Edward. Dr. Sheffield sat down on another sofa opposite his guests, took out a pipe, filled it with tobacco, lit it, and gave it a few puffs. "My laboratory was recently burglarized," he said. "Someone stole an anti-werewolf serum and now there is some strange lupine-bat creature roaming about town."

"So we've seen," said Edward. "One landed on our roof and another one landed on the rooftop of a nearby art gallery."

"According to some reports that I have read," said Dr. Sheffield. "The creature also robs banks at gunpoint and flies off with the loot before he can be apprehended. One police officer came very close to doing that and he was promptly bitten and turned into the very creature he sought to arrest." He finished smoking his pipe and placed it on a nearby table. "His name is Abraham Battingly. He can tell you more about this dreadful creature. My guess is that this same individual who bit him probably took the serum from my laboratory. What has also had me concerned is the recent disappearance of my laboratory assistant, Mr. James Carr."

"Tell us about Mr. Carr," said Edward.

"Well, he is a student of medicine at a local university and decided to study my new technology on limb attachment. He seemed quite engrossed in his work so much that he would stay after hours in the laboratory."

"Anything suspicious or out of the ordinary?" asked Jane.

"Other than spending more time at work than one would consider normal, not really, Mrs. Rochester. All I remember is coming home several days ago to find my laboratory ransacked and Mr. Carr's frock coat strewn on the floor. I'm scared to think someone might have taken him along with the serum. Speaking of which, I am currently in the middle of creating another batch so that the poor officer can return to his former self."

"That does sound quite out of the ordinary to me, Dr. Sheffield," said Edward. "My wife and I will see that this conundrum is solved. Hopefully, Mr. Battingly will become normal again."

The creature killers thanked Dr. Sheffield for his time and left his house en route to the home of the police officer, Abraham Battingly. Fortunately, it was a short ride away and the two of them came to a small, modest home. They were greeted by Mrs. Louisa Battingly, the wife of the victim and they were led into the study, which felt larger than the entire house itself as it was lined with shelves of books and a hearth at the very end. In front of the hearth stood a chair with the back faced away from any visitors. Mrs. Battingly called for her husband who was sitting in the chair facing the hearth. He responded to let Jane and Edward in. They approached Mr. Battingly to find that he looked no longer human but had the face of a wolf and bat wings that were tucked behind him, a vast difference from his youthful appearance of a man aged five and thirty. His head was down, out of shame as he could barely look at the two people sitting near him. He finally sighed heavily and looked at his guests.

"I suppose Dr. Sheffield sent you here," he said in a stern voice. "You're the creature killers, are you not?"

"Yes we are," said Jane sympathetically. One look at him told her and Edward everything they needed to know about not only his physical appearance but his emotional state of mind. It was obvious that the police officer had secluded himself in his study ever since he was bitten.

"If it's not too much trouble, Mr. Battingly," Edward said. "Could you tell us your side of the story?"

"Do you want me to tell you about the individual in question or how this beast turned my personal life into a folly?" he asked with a tone of anger in his voice.

"Both," replied Edward.

Mr. Battingly cleared his throat and scratched his ear to rid himself of a flea hiding behind it. "It all started when my fellow officers and I were told of a robbery of a bank next door.," he said in a calmer tone of voice. "We felt that this was quite easy as the bank itself is literally next door to our police station. In fact, we joked about how stupid someone could possibly be to commit a crime right next to the police station. I then foolishly decided to take on this criminal myself so I left my officers and headed for the bank. Upon entering the bank, I found a creature not unlike my current self, dressed well and holding bags of money. I promptly drew my pistol and aimed it at him, telling him to drop the money and come with us. The creature refused and then I repeated myself and he refused again. I fired my pistol at his head but my aim was off and it merely took off the hat he was wearing. My pistol then jammed and the beast ran toward me and threw me to the ground. We wrestled for quite some time as I tried to wrench his pistol from his waistcoat. The moment my hand went for the weapon, he grabbed my wrist and sank his teeth straight into it." Mr. Battingly grabbed his wrist to demonstrate what happened.

"What happened afterward?" asked Jane.

"The bloody beast ran out of the bank and flew off with bags of stolen money," replied Mr. Battingly. When my fellow officers came to my aid, they found me transforming into the very beast that fled the crime scene. Fortunately, I was given medical leave. I wrote to Dr. Sheffield to see if he could help me but he had told me that his antidote had been stolen. My guess it was by the same individual who made me into this hideous beast."

"Do you know if this person acted alone or was he operating with others?" asked Edward.

"When I saw him, he was committing the crime by himself," said Mr. Battingly, stroking the whiskers on his huge snout. "That is to say that I do not know if he has associates acting with him."

"Do you know which direction he went after he bit you?" asked Jane.

"I haven't a clue, my dear. I was in a daze after I was bitten."

"Did he say anything to you?" asked Edward.

"Something to the effect of 'You can't catch me now, Officer.'"

"Dare I ask how your personal life has been affected, Mr. Battingly?" asked Jane.

"I was afraid of that question. Anyway, since I was bitten, reporters have tried in vain to come to my home to write news stories on my beastly appearance. I have since told my wife that they are banned from my home. Our two daughters were teased at school to the point where we have withdrawn them from their education and temporarily hired a governess to teach them. They were incredibly upset at the names their classmates had called them and myself as well."

"Children can be so cruel, Mr. Battingly," said Jane. "I've been on the receiving end of such abuse myself as a child."

"It's horrible, isn't it? Also, we seldom receive visitors as most would much rather comment about my appearance than talk about matters of the day. The marital duties of my wife and I have ceased completely to the point where we now sleep in separate bedrooms. I have almost no social life since the accident." Mr. Battingly sighed as a single tear fell from his eye and ran down his furry cheek. "Not even the local vicar would come to visit, thinking me to be some agent of the devil." He picked up an empty glass sitting next to him on a small table along with a decanter of brandy and slowly poured the liquid into the glass and drank it completely.

"I do have some good news for you, Mr. Battingly," said Edward. "Dr. Sheffield is currently working on another serum to turn you back into your former self again."

Mr. Battingly's yellow wolf eyes suddenly lit up. "Really?"

"Yes. When we last saw him, he told us he was in the middle of creating one for you."

"Then there's hope for me," he said. "I've been praying that God would heal me for the past several days." He cleared his throat again, wiping away another tear. "You two have been very helpful to me. Not once have you poked fun at my condition nor called me some hideous monster. You have not judged me one bit."

"Sometimes people need to talk to someone," said Jane, patting Mr. Battingly's paw.


Mr. Battingly thanked the creature killers for their time and for treating him like a human being rather than a grotesque creature. He also allowed them to come visit him, a privilege that has been extended to only few few friends and family members. The Rochesters then arrived home to read the paper for any reports or sightings on the bat-wolf. Meanwhile, more letters began to come in mentioning said bat-wolf. Jane and Edward spent most of the night in bed, reading a pile of letters to find out if there were multiple bat-wolves or just one. Each of the letters had dates and times written, indicating the time and place of where the creature was seen, giving Jane and Edward a time frame to find out whether or not the bat-wolf was acting alone. It turns out that none of the times indicated overlapped each other, thus indicating that the creature was indeed acting alone and the only other creature was the police officer, Mr. Battingly. The hardest part, Jane had told Edward, was now to find out where he lived or was hiding out. Drawing from the clues in the letters they had received, Jane and Edward noticed that the creature would disappear into a nearby forest. The reason why no one had gone in to find him was due to personal safety reasons. Jane and Edward had decided to look around the forest first thing in the morning.

The next day, the two visited Dr. Sheffield and Mr. Battingly to tell them that they finally had a lead on the mysterious bat-wolf creature. Dr. Sheffield had told them that he was almost done with the serum and had filed a missing person report on his laboratory assistant, Mr. Carr. Mr. Battingly thanked them for their "fine detective work" and wished them well. Jane and Edward were then on their way, finding a small trail leading into a dense forest that no one hardly ventured into. The two grabbed their rifles and pistols and headed straight into the forest, following the trail, hoping it would lead to a home or a cabin nearby. About a mile into the forest, Jane noticed a cave to the left of the trail and gestured for Edward to follow her into it.

"Be careful where you tread, dear," whispered Edward. "Who knows if someone might have set traps."

Jane nodded in agreement. "I think its best if you lead the way, then."

"Oh all right." Edward lit a candle that he had brought with him and led his wife into the cave.

They didn't have to go far as they found the bat-wolf sleeping soundly on the cave floor covered by a threadbare blanket with his furry head atop a small pillow. He was still clad in his regular clothes along with a few sacks of money stashed away in a corner. His pistol was hidden in a satchel on the floor. Along the cave wall was a small table with glass bottles of various liquids, thus giving credibility to Mr. Battingly's assumption that he was the one who broke into the laboratory. In another corner of the cave was a pile of foodstuffs. Slowly and carefully, Edward removed the pistol from the creature's satchel and placed it on one side in his frock coat while pulling his own pistol out. Jane then pulled her pistol and cocked it, which was enough to awaken the sleeping beast.

"Huh, what's the meaning of this?" he mumbled. "Can't a man-beast get some sleep around here?"

"You are coming with us, sir," said Edward.

The bat-wolf fumbled for his satchel and found that Edward had disarmed him. "Where's my gun?" he cried.

"Here," said Edward, gesturing toward his frock coat.

The bat-wolf wasted no time in lunging for Edward. Fortunately, he was a better shot than Mr. Battingly as he fired a bullet into the beast's leg. The bat-wolf promptly grabbed his injured limb and rolled over in agony. He then felt another pistol aimed at his head by Jane.

"Tell me, sir," she demanded sternly. "Were you the one who stole Dr. Sheffield's serum?"

"Y-yes!" cried the bat-wolf through gritted teeth. "I stole the bloody serum, all right? And don't call me 'sir!' I have a name, you know!"

"Tell us your name!" Jane pressed the point of her pistol so it touched the creature's forehead.

"Mr. Carr. Mr. James Carr! Now go off and arrest me already!"

"I'd be glad to do so, but first we need to administer some medicine," said a familiar voice. Dr. Sheffield had appeared right behind him with a dose of the serum followed by a young man of five and thirty looking man along with a group of police officers.

"That is him," said the man, pointing at the bat-wolf. "He was the one who bit me and turned me into a wretched beast!"

It turned out that Dr. Sheffield had quickly created the serum and administered it to transform Mr. Battingly into his human self and the two of them had followed the path into the forest after noticing Edward's horse and curricle nearby. Dr. Sheffield also administered the serum to his now former laboratory assistant gone rogue, James Carr. After some prompt medical treatment by Dr. Sheffield, Mr. Carr was put in jail, tried and found guilty of his crimes. Apparently, Mr. Carr had decided to live a life of crime by robbing banks and such and stealing Dr. Sheffield's anti-werewolf serum to turn him into a werewolf was the perfect disguise but it was adulterated by Mr. Carr using an anti-bat serum, thus allowing him to fly.


A month after the trial, the Rochesters were at dinner when they received an unexpected guest. Mrs. Fairfax opened the door to Mr. and Mrs. Battingly. Apparently, they were in the neighborhood visiting some family when they decided to stop by. Normally, Edward was against such "intrusions" but upon seeing his guests, he graciously invited them to dinner, along with his twin daughters, Sadie and Lydia, who were allowed to play with Master Henry Rochester after supping. The Rochesters were happy to see their guests in such wonderful spirits as they told their hosts about how well life has become for them as they had made new friends in the Rochesters as well as others who were sympathetic during Mr. Battingly's "mysterious condition." The Battinglys also severed ties with those who refused to be with them during their time of need, including the vicar who refused to visit them (they have since found another church). Their daughters were now attending a new school and Mrs. Battingly recently found out that she was expecting another child. Mr. Battingly was now back at work as a police officer. Edward then gave a toast to them and their new lease on life.

That night, as Edward was sitting up in bed reading the Bible, Jane came in on her side of the bed, all smiles. Edward looked up from his reading to notice his wife playfully smiling at him and promptly kissing his lips. Edward returned her affections with a wink of his eye.

"What, pray tell, are you up to, my little fairy?" he asked.

Jane giggled. "I have a surprise for you." She moved her hand to her stomach.

Edward's eyes and mouth widened a little. "You're expecting as well? I thought those special pills that Dr. Sheffield prescribed to you were supposed to prevent that sort of thing."

"Oh no, dear Edward," Jane laughed. "It's actually from the local police department." She opened a drawer and pulled out a letter. "Mr. Battingly gave it to me after dinner and I wanted to surprise you this evening." She handed Edward the letter.

"Jane, don't do that to me, I nearly fainted!" Edward took the letter and read it and read it again. A smile came back to him. "Darling, this is wonderful! They deputized us! The police department was so impressed with our "detective work" that they deputized us."

"So apparently, we have the authority to apprehend criminals," Jane said.

"It's a great feeling but I am better off leaving that sort of thing to the police. However, I'm more than happy to act as a 'creature consultant' if need be."

Jane put her head on her husband's shoulder. "And I feel the same way. Let the police do what they do best and let us do what we do best."