"Lycanthropy." Grandmother repeated. The bite had happened the night before and Scarlett was feeling better, more awake anyway.
"I still don't know what that means." The girl shook her head, looking to the bandages wrapped around her thigh.
"Girl you read all those trashy novels and you don't know that word?" Grandmother sighed. "Seventeen years ago, your mother left. She just up and left without a word. After the incident with the Big Bad Wolf she hadn't been… right. It affected her more than anyone really knew and when she left, I wasn't terribly surprised, she left a note to tell me not to come looking for her-"
"But you did, right?"
"Of course I did. Rose is my daughter."
"Was your daughter."
"I would have done anything to find her and bring her back home. At this point, King Adam had rounded up all the villains, including that damned wolf. I knew it wasn't his doing, but everything I did, nothing came of it. She was gone. Then, nearly two years later, I woke up to a knock on my door. There, in the same basket i'd sent her with years before, was a baby and a note." Grandmother pulled a folded up piece of paper from her pocket, giving it to Scarlett, who unfolded it.
'This is Scarlett, please, take care of her. Protect her at all costs. And above all, do not let James get his hands on her'
At the bottom of the note there were two articles stapled, one about werewolves, the other about local goats turning up slaughtered.
"What are you saying?"
"I'm saying… That your mother warned me about James long before I knew who he was. You were a toddler before he started popping up around town. He was asking for Rose, about Rose's family. No one in town would tell him anything of course but eventually he saw us at the store. You had wandered away from me at the store and he brought you back, after giving you a lollipop. As soon as he told me his name, I took the lollipop and gave it back. I told him to stay far far away from me, from you, and if I ever saw him near you again I would call the sheriff."
"But you didn't."
"He never came near you when I was around." She pointed out. "He was always careful when I was there. He kept far enough back that he didn't touch you. I thought- I had hoped he would lose interest, I mean, why would he be so interested in Rose's daughter?"
"And?"
"One night, you were having a sleepover with Jeanine so I decided to go into town, I met up with some of my friends and we went to the diner. Ezekiel was there and he tried to follow me home. The Sheriff did get involved. He was dragging him off to the jail when Ezekiel informed me about some destiny, that your fate was to be with him. I told him he was a sicko for going after a seven year old."
"Why didn't you tell me-"
"You were a child, Scarlett. I wasn't going to tell you about some crazy man's idea of what your destiny was. Destiny isn't real. We make our own paths in this life. My path was to keep you safe, to do for you what I couldn't do for your mother. And what I apparently couldn't do for you." Grandmother looked to Scarlett's leg. She reached down and started to unwrap the bandage. When the last of it fell away, the wound, which had been deep and bloody, nearly taking off a chunk of her leg, was nearly healed already, the wound little more than an irritated pink color as it fixed itself.
The two jumped when there was a banging at the door.
"Don't move." Grandmother ordered. She picked up the shot gun where she'd left it against the wall and held it up.
"Ruby!" Ezekiel shouted, pounding on the door again. "Ruby let me in!" He demanded.
"Get the hell off my land, Ezekiel James." Grandmother replied.
"You know what she is, Ruby, what's going to happen." Ezekiel called through the door. "Let me help her. I can guide her-"
"You won't be guiding her through anything, you son of a bitch." In a lower voice she looked to Scarlett. "Call the Sheriff." Scarlett got up and went to the kitchen where the phone was. She picked it up and made the call.
"You can't hide her forever Ruby. I will get to her. She is mine, she has always been mine and always will be mine. It's her destiny and there is no escaping fate!"
"I can assure you, so long as I live on God's green earth, you won't get anywhere near her." Grandmother snapped back. He slammed his hand on the door one more time before walking away. Scarlett looked up to her grandmother her gray eyes wide.
"He will never get to you, Scarlett Rose." She promised.
Of course that did still leave them with a bit of an issue. They didn't really know what to expect from the coming month. They called in Tommy and his dad to install chains in the cellar, claiming they were going to be to chain the barrels down, as they were having a problem with potato thieves. It was a lie but it was easier than the truth. They didn't even know if the chains would help but it was better than nothing.
The night of the full moon, Scarlett felt terrible, she ended up taking the day off school, she was sweating, shaking, moody. By the time the sun was going down, they took her to the cellar. Grandmother opted against the chains, this time, instead just chaining and padlocking the door. Less than an hour later she heard the screams of pain, agony, she wanted nothing more than to run out there, to help her but she knew there was nothing she could do.
The screams turned to howls and Grandmother's heart plummeted, it was all true, it was happening, her granddaughter had been transformed.
