1732, A Farm In Northern Europe
A young man, around the age of 19. Black hair down to his shoulders, parted on his forehead, revealing a rather tan skin complexion. Six feet tall and donned in simple dark brown village attire, the man ducked under the small opening that hardly passes as a doorframe, stepping into a small house.
This house was one of eight houses in the small village. Each male was dressed in a white puffy dress shirt, dark brown soft leather vest and brown slacks with leather-bound shoes. The women usually wore white corset dresses with white slippers. As for the children, they were dressed according to their corresponding gender, the same as the adults.
"Hello, Gabriael. Did you manage to get the coin?"
There was a small old lady, sitting in the corner of the room. Her voice was rather rough and didn't seem healthy at all. The whole room was pitch dark, and only the glow of a small lantern danced over the woman's face and chest, illuminating her corner of the room only.
"I managed, mum," Gabe, the young man from before, said.
The old lady opened her mouth to speak but hurried shouts and bells rang in the distance. It was a full moon, which usually meant a sacrifice of a young blood; Gabe. He knew he was the only one old enough to do it, but he would refuse to die like a dog.
Gabe took one last glance at his mother before ducking back out into the cold, dimly lit, pitch dark air. Everyone had already ran into their houses and shut them up tight, as if a plague were coming. He walked a few feet forward but stopped dead in his tracks when he heard loud howls in the distance, which sounded strikingly similar to a wolf howling at the moon. Gabe reached into his shirt with his right hand and pulled out a crucifix, holding it in his hand and clenching his fist around it.
He mouthed a quick prayer and shoved the necklace in his right hip pocket. He brought both of his arms to his sides, clenching his fists. This wouldn't end well. There were probably a dozen, if not more of those things coming back. They wouldn't be satisfied with just him, and the killings were getting more and more recent, and the small village's population dwindled. This had to end, and he was going to end it.
A large shadow flitted in and out of trees in the woods, coming closer with every rigidly drawn breath. He was scared, and his heart thumped in his chest and he could barely get air to his lungs; he felt fear. For once in his lifetime, he feared what was coming next, he feared what might happen to him, he also feared that if he didn't do this.. The devastation to the village would be horrendous. He wasn't trained to kill. He had only trained in fighting with his siblings, and he was going to be recruited to the local army soon, but as of the present, he wasn't going anywhere.
"Lord.. Give me the strength..."
As the abomination drew closer, Gabe readied himself. He saw as the creature's features could be made out in the gleam of the moonlight. It was a werewolf. He's seen one before, but now it was so close it was unreal. Seven feet tall... The dark, mangy fur.. The long, razor-sharp teeth.. The vicious claws.. And the stench. He gasped for a moment as the creature had quickly leapt into the air, clearing the fifty foot gap in seconds, it's snarling jowl wide open and it's clawed arms outstretched. Gabe had to force himself from his stupor to dive to the left, rolling along the dirt and stopping on one knee.
The creature landed on all fours and turned towards Gabe, charging towards him in a blind rage. The loud sound of the creature's paws patting against the ground could be heard from inside the nearby building, some small cries from children were heard, almost drowned out by the constant growling of the beast as it got closer. It was only a matter of time before more of them came, but it was Gabe's time to take a stand; for the children.
He wasn't ready this time. Gabe turned towards the creature but was too late. He felt the full force of the creature's weight against his frail body, sending him sprawling backwards, slamming into the side of the well, a solitary brick crashing to the ground, dust settling around him. As the werewolf began to move on it's hind legs towards him, Gabe let a few rigid breaths and two coughs sound out before he forced himself out of the paralysis the fear had put him in and started to move his left hand.
A sharp jolt of pain sent up his arm and to his chest, making him scream out in pain and whimper a little. He turned his head towards his arm and saw that a large bone in his forearm was jutting out of the flesh in a crooked red angle, covered in crimson. He moved his right hand to a nearby brick and grasped it. He lifted it up and grunted, heaving it with all his strength at the creature, the brick colliding with it's forehead and sending it backwards onto the ground. Gabe groaned for a moment and pushed himself to his feet. He looked at his left arm. That couldn't stay like that.
With a quick motion, Gabe winced and snapped the bone back into place by slamming his forearm on the side of the brick well. He yelled out in pain, falling to the ground and cradling his throbbing arm. He frantically looked around for something until his eyes rested on a small fur stall with assorted furs piled on top. He glanced back at the creature and moved to his feet slowly, trying to ignore the pain in his arm. He jogged towards the fur stall and swiped away animal carcasses and skin and found a sharp, thick knife and grasped it with his right hand.
He turned to see the oddity of nature flip to it's feet and shake it's head, howling viciously and charging towards him violently, snarling loudly, saliva and God knows what else slinging from it's jowl. As the werewolf leaped in the air, Gabe watched it go up and he lost his balance and fell backwards onto his backside, scrambling to grab the knife. Once his right hand grasped it, he felt the weight of the creature on top of him and the werewolf's mouth coming towards his face. He quickly moved his right hand up and slugged it in the side of the nuzzle, making the creature recoil and snort. Gabe took the opportunity while it's head was turned and moved to shove the knife into the side of it's head. Though, it stopped halfway through, he didn't have enough strength in him for the knife to go through bone.
The creature howled in pain and stumbled backwards, not before letting a massive punch in the chest send Gabriael soaring backwards and into a small stile, crashing through it and skidding to a stop, splinters and wooden planks falling down around him. As he lay there, he saw the creature in the air soaring downward on him. His heart raced and he couldn't catch his breath, for it had been knocked out of him on the impact. He had to do something or this thing would kill him. That's when he saw a wooden plank which was shaped and broken to a point. He rolled to the side of where the werewolf would have landed and held the spike upright with his right hand. He cringed when the werewolf landed on the spike, a large streak of blood splashing out and over his face from the direction he was sitting. He pulled his hand out from under the creature and coughed a little at the site of the wooden 'spike' jutting out of the creature's black, now dark red in color.
He sighed and fell onto his back once more, cradling his left arm with his right. It was over. One broken arm and the death of a werewolf wasn't enough to diminish his confidence. He stood up slowly, leaning on the side of the broken fence. He looked around as children and townsfolk began to walk out of their houses. His pride was overwhelmed by the familiar sense of fear when he heard a series of howls coming from the woods. No. Not again. It was over. He killed it. There couldn't be more, could there?
He quickly slid over the fence and out into the open. He stood in the middle of the village, near the well dumbfounded by what was taking place. Around eight or nine fully grown werewolves charged past him and into the village. He could hear gurgled screams, the ripping of flesh and clothing, and the screams of the village people.
What have I done?
He couldn't pry his eyes from where the creatures came from, though. Which was the forest. Within seconds of the creatures' arrival, he saw a male figure step forth from the shadows, wearing identical clothing to his, only slightly reddish. It was like he lived in the village, but he hadn't seen this man's face before, and the man looked more rugged and looked like he hadn't bathed in quite some time. The man kept walking but stopped a mere ten feet from Gabe, his dark blonde hair blowing in the wind, but not quite removing itself from his shoulders.
"Oh, so sorry for not introducing myself. I'm Vincent, and you are?"
Gabriael just stood there, not opening his mouth. He could feel anger boiling within him, just waiting to burst out and tear the man to pieces, but he couldn't. It was against everything that he was, and he wasn't going to stop what he was praising for anything.
"Ga..Gabriael..."
"Ah.. Yes.."
The man walked towards him, until they were so close they could feel each other's breath.
"It seems you've broken a tradition, my boy.. A cycle of sorts," two long, sweaty, hairy, dark arms wrapped around Gabriael's chest, holding him in place, "and now you're paying for it."
The man rolled up his right sleeve and held his wrist to his mouth, sinking his sharpened teeth into it, drawing blood as it dripped down his arm and into the man's mouth. Vincent walked towards Gabe with the blood still in his mouth. The werewolf held Gabriael still as Vincent pulled his hair away from his neck.
"Consider it a gift.." He managed to speak before viciously locking his jaw onto the side of Gabe's neck.
Gabe cried out in pain and struggled for a moment. The man's blood mixed with his own as it flowed evenly together. Gabriael quickly slid out of the werewolf's grasp and shoved the man away with the heel of his right foot. He leapt over a nearby fence but stumbled and fell. Quickly getting to his feet, he charged into the forest, leaving Vincent, his village, and his life behind.
