Canaan, three thousand years ago,
Judah took a deep breath as he entered the inside of his father's tent. Normally, the boy would be very excited to eat amongst the men of his tribe, but this time, his knees shook and his hands trembled as he lifted the tent's flap He looked behind to his younger brother, who nodded and gave him a push in.
The inside of the tent was smoky, a small fire in the middle of the room the cause. The men of their tribe—Judah recognized old Uriel Ben Jacob, and his grown son, Aviv Ben Uriel, whose dark hair was covered by the blue scarf he always wore. He also saw Asher and Isaac, two of his old playmates as a child, now grown men with wives. He also saw the faces of his father's men; people who had often greeted him but whose names he could never remember.
Zev Ben Shalom, seated at the front of the room, greeted his sons with a smile and open arms. Though when he was overseeing the shepards or hunting he wore rough wool clothes, this evening their father wore a rich, dark gown, and a large silver pendent the boys had often seen him carry, but never wear. It had many written symbols on it. Judah knew his father had been a priest as a young man in the larger cities, but had left after he had met Rebekah.
Menahim ran to his father, and was engulfed in his hug. Judah stepped softly, and waited for his younger brother to finish before greeting his father. Tall and handsome, Zev's black hair and beard were barely touched by gray, and many of the women of their tribe still gossiped about their handsome father. Zev ruffled Menahim's dark waves of hair, and then turned to his eldest son.
"Judah…," He said, opening his arms, and Judah hugged his father back. He was almost as tall as him now. His mother often remarked how, despite their difference in hair color, father and son were identical. The same brilliant amber eyes, the same hawk-like nose, the same strong chin. Judah and Zev exchanged indentical smile, and they took their places. Judah's stomach rumbled; it had been hours since he had last eaten. He saw, with a worried glance, that there was no pots or dishes of any kind—when did the men of the tribe eat? He wondered.
Zev sat in front of the room again, with Judah and Menahim sitting on either side of him. Judah felt as rush of importance as everyone's eyes focused to them; he then realized what a difference it was, to be the son of their tribe's chief.
Zev picked up a small golden pot, and threw a handful of it's contents into the fire. The room was filled with even more dark smoke, the air now pungent and sweet. Menahim coughed, and Judah's eyes watered as their father took his staff up.
"My friends and brothers, and my sons," Zev said, looking down benevolently at Menahim and Judah, who both beamed. "Tonight is the full moon." He motioned with his carved staff towards the sky.
"Yes," the men replied, Menahim and Judah as well.
"Tonight is the night Asherah gives off her light."
"Yes," the men replied.
"Tonight is the night mortals rejoice."
"Yes," The men replied.
"Tonight is the night…we of the tribe of Wolves become our true form."
"Yes," The men replied.
With each 'yes', the men's voices got deeper, Zev's voice as well, until it was barely above a guttural growl. Judah felt a strange sensation with each 'yes'. It seemed as if he was becoming less human, his tongue lengthening, his teeth becoming sharper. He looked at Menahim, who's normally dark eyes were now a brilliant yellow, shaped like an animals! He looked at the other men now, whose bearded faces were now covered with gray hair, whose noses turned into muzzles, who were becoming more animal-like with each 'yes'!
"Great Jehovah!" Thought Judah as his father kept chanting.
"Tonight Asherah unveils her splendor before the earth.'
"Yes," The men barked back. Judah looked at his hands; his fingers were covered in black fur, shortening, and bearing claws!
"Tonight our Brothers call from the hills!" Zev's handsome face was now completely lupine. Menahim and Judah could not stop staring, despite their own changes.
"Yes!" The men howled with glee as they stripped themselves of their clothing, their bodies almost completely metamorphosed.
"Tonight, my brothers, my friends, my sons, we hunt!" Zev then let out a piercing howl as he ripped off his robe, Judah and Menahim instinctively following. Zev, now a magnificent large, ebony furred wolf, led the werewolves out of the tent through a small hole behind the altar, Menahim and Judah following close behind.
Judah had never run at night. But what beauty it was to do so! His four legs ran easily through the dewy grass, outrunning everyone but his father, and the moon shone through the dark trees. Menahim, a smaller, silver wolf, barked happily at their father, who gave a paternal woof back to his son. Judah's tongue hung happily out of his mouth as he ran through the trees. What joy! What splendor!
Suddenly, Zev stopped the tribe, and sniffed the air. Judah sniffed too. An amazing flood of scents filled his nose! He could smell the tents of his camp, even though they were now miles away. He could smell where the sheep had grazed earlier today, and he could smell the different scents of each and every wolf with them, front the sharp odor of old Uriel to the sweet, barely there smell of his little brother.
Zev's ears picked up, and Judah's did as well. He heard the call of an owl, almost as far back as the camp. He heard the rustling of every single leaf on the trees above him. He even heard the scampering of a little mouse, a few feet away from him.
Judah couldn't help it. He dove to the tree, and found the mouse. The little rodent gave a small shriek, and ran away. Judah chased after it gleefully, around the trees, until the mouse found it's hole and scampered into it. Judah smarted to dig, but a sharp nip on his ankle made him stop. He turned around, embarrassed, to find his father bristling at him.
We are here to hunt dinner, not chase around field mice! His father's growling snarl informed him. His tail between his legs, Judah went back to his father, and licked him sadly on the jowl.
I'm sorry. I've never done this before. I couldn't help it. He said with his lick. His father gave him a playful nip back.
I understand. I did the same thing when I was your age. Suddenly, the wind picked up. Every nose in the pack was in the air in no time.
A herd of lost sheep, half a mile east!
The tribe started running. Spread out! Zev barked.
Uriel, Oren, and Aviv, go left! Isaac, Asher, and Benjamin, go to my right! Judah and Menahim, stay with me! The rest of you—he looked at the remaining two wolves, his former shepards Adam and Joseph—Stay behind me!
The sheep were dazzled, and lost in the field. Zev immediately attacked the biggest ram with the help of Uriel and Menahim, and brought him down quickly. Isaac and Asher jumped upon a fat ewe, who was wandering around in a daze. Oren and Aviv were fighting over a nearly grown lamb they killed, and Benjamin and the others were already finished with their kill.
Judah spied the limping, barely grown ewe as soon as he set foot in the field. He knew she was his, and took off after her. With a frightened 'bah', the sheep started to run away from him, her bad leg slowing her down. With a jump from his powerful legs, Judah attacked the sheep, finding the tender rope in her neck and snapping it between his strong jaws. As the blood filled his mouth, Judah felt a scream come through his stomach. Not a terrified scream, but a scream of ecstasy, of pure, total happiness that no one else could compare to, save for his brothers in the pack, then whose names he did not know before, but whom he would hunt with forever.
The scream came to Judah's mouth, and he howled. The wolves all looked up, and joined in the howl. The wolf song filled the night as the tribe proclaimed their hunting victory over the moonlit hills of Canaan.
The Carnavon's House, Present Day,
The room next to Presley's was a mix between a guest room and the computer room, namely for unexpected guests, usually Presley's friends. With light blue walls and big bay windows, it was a very pretty room, with a double daybed, a wooden dresser, and thick white carpeting. The computer was silent; it's modem humming, as Zach took his first and biggest suitcase into the room. Presley took a deep breath, and then lifted the other, smaller suitcase into the room, his arms trembling. Zach smiled serenely as Presley dropped the suitcase over the threshold, and then sat in the computer chair, completely winded.
"What…do you keep…in there? Bricks?" Zach shook his head as he unzipped it.
"Close, though. Everyone thinks bricks or bodies. But it's just summer reading."
Presley's eye nearly popped out of his head. Dozens of thick textbooks, novels, and leather bound hardbacks were strapped into the suitcase. Zach started whistling the Maple Leaf Rag as he unbound the books and stacked them on the desk next to the computer.
"You have to read…all of those?" Presley asked. Zach shrugged.
"Some. Most of these are for research this summer. There's not much."
Presley looked at some of the titles; 'Everyday Life in Biblical Canaan' 'Northern Egypt; Of Hittities and Israelites' 'Egypt in the New Kingdom' and an especially thick book entitled 'Mythology of the ancient Middle East'.
"Wow," Presley let out a whistle as Zach handed him a stack of books, " 'There's not much'! I don't know how you do it. I can't even read my books for English!"
"Wait till you get into college," Zach said, "Ever read War and Peace?"
"No. What's it about?"
"War. And it's a piece, I'll tell you that much." Zach finished stacking up his books, and gave Presley a tired smile. "Now it's time for my clothes."
Zach's wardrobe was half the amount of his books. Presley was impressed with Zach's clothes; he had seen many of the USF and UCSF students' downtown, and he thought the boys dressed very much like Zach. Lots of very nice jeans ('My parents are pretty well-off,' he admitted to Presley, "My mother STILL buys my jeans."), old dress pants, button down work shirts with embroidered names like BOB, ALEX, and JOE, and tons of bizarre t-shirts.
"Can you wear this in public?" Presley asked, holding up a black t-shirt that said 'South American Idol', with a picture of spilled cocaine next to it. Zach mashed his lips and took the shirt away from Presley.
"Don't tell your mother I own this shirt."
"Or this one?" Presley asked, holding up another shirt. This one was orange, with a Reeses Candy logo. Except 'Reeses' was spelled 'Feces'.
"Yeah," Zach said as he buried that underneath his more compliant shirts, "Don't tell her. When I'm at work, I normally wear nice shirts."
"Uh-huh." Presley grinned; he could imagine the charming guy easily being friends with Nefer-Tina or Armon. Rath would be amused by the intelligent young man; though he was quite critical of him in the assembly. Ja-Kal…hmmm….He'd have to work with Ja-Kal. It would be safer if he introduced the mummies to Zach than vice versa.
Once all the clothes were packed away, Zach took a picture out of his suitcase. It was in a fancy silver frame, with intricate flower designs. Presley looked at it closer as Zach put it on his nightstand. It was of him, wearing a maroon hoodie, his arm around a slender girl who was neither too pretty nor too ugly, with bleached blond hair and a big smile.
"That's Holly?" Presley asked, thinking at the same time, Nefer-Tina is SO much prettier, and she's dead!
"Yup," Zach said, beaming at the picture, "That's us last year. Holly's hair is brown again now. We were at Noodles Etc when we took that picture."
"Uh-Huh," Presley nodded, "At least you have a girlfriend." He added sorrowfully.
Zach looked at him quizzically with his bright brown eyes.
"Presley, you're all of twelve years old. Why should you worry about having a girlfriend now?"
"Well…there's this girl I like…"
"Oh boy," Zach grinned as he flipped onto his bed, "Lemme guess: A) She's older, B) She doesn't even know you exist, or C) She has a boyfriend."
Presley's eyes went wide.
"Is there a D) All Of The Above?" He asked. Zach looked at him, shocked.
"I think it's time to find another girl by that point," he said.
"No!" Presley said, thinking about Cynthia's usual disdainful looks she gave him, "I think…maybe she likes me…er…she's never said anything…"
"Then it's simple," Zach said, "She doesn't like you."
Presley sighed. "I think I'll go to bed now."
Zach shrugged. "Okay. Are you going to be helping your mother tomorrow at the Museum?"
Presley's eyes widened. "Uh…yeah. Hey, Zach, I have some friends there that you may want to meet. They're ALWAYS there."
Zach gave a hearty chuckle. "Ah, fellow freaks of nature. I'd be glad to meet them.Any girls?"
Presley frowned. "I thought you had a girlfriend." Zach raised his eyebrows.
"In the Ukraine."
"Good night."