"What the hell is this!" a female voice screamed. James was barely conscious as Dog and Rose entered the Howlett Estate. James' mother, Elizabeth had heard the howling outside and had come downstairs to check. It was obvious this was not what she wanted to see.
"Lady Howlett, please snap out of your stupor. It is your son, James!" Rose cried. Elizabeth shook her head in utter disbelief.
"No, t-that can't be my child." she muttered softly, as if she was talking to herself. Elizabeth's face was shaken and torn and Rose could almost feel her torment.
"Lady Howlett, I know how you must feel, but believe me, this is your son." Rose said as she reached forward with her hand. Elizabeth turned around viciously and screamed.
"THAT DAMNED ABOMINATION IS NOT MY SON!" she screeched as she dug her nails into her wrist and raked up her forearm, blood spurting onto Rose. Rose backed away and held up her hand. What had gotten into her? Had she gone mad?
"Madam, I need you to calm down!" Rose shouted. Elizabeth sprinted forward and grabbed Rose by her arms and stared deep into her eyes, hyperventilating madly as her eyes bore into Rose.
"Don't you dare tell me about being 'calm'! 'Calm'! 'CALM'? YOU BE CALM AT A TIME LIKE THIS, YOU LITTLE PEASANT!" Elizabeth snapped, saliva flying from her mouth, hitting Rose in the face. Elizabeth walked away, shaking her head wildly as she continued to breakdown. Rose turned to Dog, who stood speechless and held James in his arms. His expression soon changed and Rose turned around and saw Elizabeth with a shotgun in her hand. She dragged it behind her, a blank and expressionless look plastered on her face.
"Lady Howlett...what are you doing?" Rose asked as she backed away from Elizabeth slowly. Elizabeth raised the gun and worry flashed on Rose's face. "Lady Howlett, don't hurt me, madam!" she shouted. Elizabeth chuckled eerily and continued to raise the gun until it was pointed at her face.
"Don't worry...it's not for you." she said as she eased her finger on the trigger.
"Lady Howlett, no!" Rose shouted. A deafening BANG echoed throughout the estate and Rose watched in horror as the back of Elizabeth's skull was blown out. Blood, brains, and bone scattered across the room and Elizabeth's corpse fell to the ground. Rose turned behind her and saw the now fully conscious James staring with a completely blank face. Finally, something rumbled in his throat and he raised his head and screamed.
"NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO..."
1858, Fraser Canyon, Colony of British Columbia
"...OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!" James howled as he rose out of his bed, fists balled and muscles strained. Sweat thickly covered his lean and muscular body and his chest moved up and down as he panted heavily. That moment had been replayed in nightmares for the last four years since he, Dog, and Rose had left the Howlett Estate in Alberta. The cover to his tent was ripped open and Dog and Rose entered, worry plastered on their faces.
"James! Are you alright?" Rose asked. James nodded quickly.
"Yes...it's just the..."
"Nightmare." Dog said, completing his sentence. James nodded again.
"Yeah...but I'll be alright." James said as he got out of his bed and put on a shirt. Outside, James could the sounds of men waking and beginning the descent into Fraser Canyon. James, Dog, and Rose had wandered from town to town for a couple of years until word of gold being found in Fraser Canyon on the Thompson River had spread. Like many people, Dog had instantly wanted to pack his things and head to the canyon and strike rich. This was only their third day here, but there were others who had been here for months and had found nothing.
The morning routine, as James had noticed, was to get up, grab a pick axe and head down into the valley, however Dog had made it his unusual habit to go up onto the slopes and mine for the gold. They had found nothing so far, but Dog was convinced that they would soon. The one good thing about the slopes were that they made James stronger, building up his muscle mass and making him toned. It seemed that after he left the Howlett Estate, he had become much more resistant to the weather. There was very little that the weather could do against him.
"C'mon, James! Get ya axe and let's go on up to the slopes!" Dog shouted as he went over to Rose and kissed her cheek softly.
"Tha slopes! What in tarnation do you boys think ya gonna fin' on tha slopes?" a miner shouted at Dog. James grabbed his pick-axe and stood next to Dog and faced the man, putting the pick-axe on his shoulder.
"What do ya think we're gonna find, ya idiot?" Dog retorted as he turned to walk away. The miner rushed towards Dog but James stepped in his way and stared into his eyes.
"You don't want to do that." James said, adding additional bass into his voice in order to sound even more threatening. The miner sniffled and wiped his nose. He then pointed at Dog, while keeping his eyes locked onto James.
"Don't ya get smart wit' me, boys! Ya ain't gonna find nothin' but rocks on that there slope!" the miner shouted. Dog scoffed and waved for James to follow him.
"Yeah, we'll see, now won't we?" he said. James followed after him and looked back at the camp. He always worried how Rose managed to get through each day with gold-hungry neanderthals around her. It was sometimes enough to make him want to go back to camp and check up on her to ensure her safety.
"Rose'll be alright, Jimmy. I have Smitty lookin' after her." Dog said as if he sensed James' thoughts.
"Smitty, eh?" James said softly. Smitty was the de-facto head of the miners. He kept things in whatever form of order he could and was a very hard and strong man. James didn't find anything wrong with him, especially not now since Dog trusted him enough to protect Rose. Dog didn't really trust anybody outside of James and Rose.
"Yeah, so don't worry about her. Just worry about gettin' this gold and provin' those bastards wrong." Dog said with a smile. James smiled back.
"Of course." James replied.
James sent the tip of his pick-axe crashing into the rocks, his muscles rippling from the impact. He and Dog had been up on the slope since the morning working their way higher, near the cliffs. They had found nothing but rock so far, but Dog's spirits weren't getting any lower.
"Ya find anythin' yet, Jimmy?" Dog shouted. James wiped his forehead and panted.
"No, nothing." James said. Dog shook his head and sent his pick-axe into the ground and then raised up and looked at James.
"I guess it would help if we could smell the damn gold. We'd know what the hell we were doin'!" he said with a slight laugh. James shook his head and smiled. Dog always seemed to be the positive one of the group, despite his short temper. There was never a moment that James could remember Dog being depressed. That was something that James could admire.
"I'm trying my best to find something, but things just aren't working OUT!" James said as he slammed his pick-axe onto the ground again. James heard a distinct sound that burrowed into his ears. It sounded like he had hit metal. James sniffed around the area where he hit and then his eyes widened. There was a small golden nugget laying in front of his face and he picked carefully and a smile spread across his face. "D-Dog...come look at this!" James shouted. Dog ran over towards James, crossing the distance between them rather quickly.
"What is it, Ja..." Dog started. His eyes then sparkled at the sight before him. "HOT DAMN!" he shouted as he leapt into the air. "Gold! We got gold!" Dog cried excitedly. He then leaned close to James.
"Make sure you remember this spot, Jimmy. We're gonna leave it here and come back up here tomorrow morning. We're gonna be rich!" Dog said. James smiled and nodded. He had been rich before although he was too young to enjoy the vast benefits in his opinion. But now, he was sure that he would enjoy himself. Dog then looked at James seriously. "And don't you dare tell anybody."
"Alright, Dog." James said.
James and Dog laughed and talked the entire way down the slope about their discovery. While they were walking down, they were stopped by the miner from the camp, this time accompanied by three of his associates.
"Hey, boys, there's those sumbitches I was tellin' ya'll 'bout. They think they gonna fin' them some gold on that slope!" the miner laughed. The entire group erupted into a guffaw and Dog growled softly under his breath.
"Look, you big dumb turd! We..." Dog started. James tugged at his arm.
"Remember what you told me, Dog." James whispered. Dog snorted and then growled. He then turned away from the miners and walked down the slope with James. "That was really close." James said softly. Dog shook his head and groaned.
"It would've been my own bloody fault. I needta learn ta keep my mouth shut and follow what I told you." Dog said. James punched Dog's shoulder.
"Cheer up. At least I was here with you." James said. Dog punched James back and smiled.
"Well, that's the truth. Thanks, Jimmy." Dog said as the two finally entered the camp.
"Your welcome." James said.
"I'm gonna go get Rose. You want a drink or somethin'?" Dog asked as he pointed at the bar. James shook his head.
"No, I think I'm gonna get in the bed. I'm tired as hell." James said. Dog laughed.
"Such a kid." Dog said as he went to the bar, leaving James to go to his tent. James tore his shirt off and yawned as he eased into his cozy cot and laid his head back onto the pillow. James stared up at the top of his tent and slowly fell asleep as the pain in his muscles eased away.
Dog swung the door to the mining camp bar wide open and entered. It was loud, especially to Dog's sensitive ears and prostitutes danced on top of tables and hung onto the drunk men that inhabited the bar. Dog walked straight back to the counter where a large man with a thick brown beard stood behind, cleaning glasses.
"Hey, Smitty." Dog greeted him. Smitty nodded.
"Hey, Dog. Rose is in the back."
"Good. She's away from all the shit that's goin' out here." Dog said as he shook his head. He walked behind the counter and opened the door to the room where Rose was. The room was nice and warm, with a fire working its way around the room. Rose sat at the table, writing inside her diary as she had been doing since they had left the Howlett Estate. Inside, Dog thought that he was the only one that wasn't traumatized by what had happened. He had wanted his father dead from all the abuse he had been receiving and had seen people get shot before up close. In all honesty, he had even suspected that James had some abnormal power as well. He smelled similar to Dog anyway.
"Douglass..." Rose said sweetly. Dog smiled. Rose was the only person that he allowed to call him that and after her various performances, he loved hearing her shout his name.
"Hey there, darlin'." he said as he kissed Rose softly. "You ready to go back to the tent?" he asked. Rose smiled slyly.
"Yes. I'm sure that you must be awful sore after all that work you've done." she said as she kissed Dog again.
"Of course. That's awful hard work up on them damned slopes." Dog said as he moved close to Rose's ear. "But I think that we're gonna be rich." Dog whispered.
"Rich?" Rose asked.
"Yeah. James found a golden nugget and we're goin' back up there tomorrow to go get some more and then we're leavin' this place." Dog said. Rose's face lit up and she wrapped her arms around Dog's neck.
"Oh, praise the Lord!" she exclaimed. Dog smiled and took Rose's hand as they left the bar. Behind them, a man sat and looked up, smiling as he had overheard the news of Dog's discovery. He leaned over to a man sitting next to him and smiled.
"You hear that?" he said to his partner. His partner nodded.
"Yeah. I think tomorrow...we should follow them sumbitches up to the slope and get their little 'riches'." the second man said as the two began to laugh.
The Next Morning...
"James, get ya sleepy ass up! We gotta go now." James felt Dog's heavy hands slamming down onto his body and his eyes opened. Dog had a large, empty cloth sack in his hand and two pick-axes with him and was already dressed. The sky was still very dark and the moon and the stars were still up. It couldn't be any later than four o'clock. Dog was certainly pressed about getting the gold and leaving as quickly as possible. James got out of his got and threw some water on his face and threw on a shirt.
"Damn, Dog, did ya have to wake me up so early?" James grumbled as he and Dog began their ascent to the slope where they had found the gold. Dog smiled.
"Ya damn right I did. You would've slept straight into th' mornin' and besides, I wanna get this gold and get outta this place as fast as possible." Dog replied. James nodded.
"So where are we gonna go?" he asked. Dog scratched his chin and shrugged.
"I don't really know. There's been alotta folks talkin' bout a place in America called San Francisco down south. But, I don't know. I like it here. Might just get a cabin somewhere deep in th' forest or somethin'. Somewhere peaceful, y'know?" Dog said. James knew what Dog was talking about. After all his years struggling with his father's abuse and anger, James could understand why Dog wanted to go somewhere peaceful.
The trip to the slope felt entirely different now that they knew that were going to be able to find something. It was joyous and Dog and James laughed and talked the entire way up. When they were there they immediately began to dig. James and Dog worked tirelessly, driving their pick-axes deep into the earth and rock, grinding out nugget after nugget. They had found at least six small nuggets after about an hour of work and Dog proudly placed the gold into his sack. A smile was set on his face and James smiled with him.
James picked up the scent of whiskey and tobacco and whirled around, teeth bared. Dog smelled it too and growled softly.
"We know you're there! C'mon out!" Dog shouted. James heard the sounds of footsteps come behind a rock formation.
"Well now, you boys found somethin' ya'd like to share wit' us?" the larger man to the right asked. Dog spat on the ground and shook his head.
"What I got ain't none of ya business, now get lost unless ya'll want trouble!" Dog said. The men laughed and James' face transitioned to a scowl.
"You two young sumbitches don't know what ya messin' wit'. Now, if you don't hand over that there gold, we'll just haveta beat it off ya hands." the smaller of the two men said. Dog growled.
"Over my dead, cold and bloody body!" Dog shouted. The men looked at each other and then rushed forward as they swung at James and Dog.
"That can be arranged!" the larger of the two said. He attacked James, throwing a punch at his face which connected to James' temple, sending flying down into the rocks. James caught the fight between the smaller man and Dog near the edge of the rocks briefly and saw that Dog was holding own. James felt himself get lifted into the air and he growled softly as the large man stared at him and a large grin covered his face.
"What the hell are you smiling at?" James yelled into the man's face as he swung a punch into his nose. The man groaned and James continued to punch him until he heard a sickening crack. Blood flew onto James' shirt and he felt himself get dropped. When he looked over to where Dog was, he didn't see him. All he saw was the smaller man staring down the side of the cliff. James' eyes widened and he ran over to the cliff, pushing the smaller man to the ground. "DOG!" he shouted as he looked down the side of the cliff. He saw Dog, clinging by one hand to the side of the cliff, fear written on his face.
"James! Help! The side's too far up!" he cried. James stretched his arms down to reach where Dog was. Their fingers were more than a foot apart and James yelled in frustration.
"I can't reach you! Can't you climb up some more?" he shouted. Dog reached upwards but the rocks his free hand attempted to touch slipped and broke, flying down to the bottom of the cliff. James looked back behind him and saw the two men quickly grabbing the pick-axes and sack of gold as they went down the slope into a forest opposite of the village. James looked down at Dog and immediately felt helpless. He couldn't reach Dog and if he let the men get away, their chances of a better future would be tarnished. James was torn between the present and the future. Dog saw the worry in his face and yelled up at him.
"James! Help me!" Dog shouted. James stared down at this man, the one he considered a brother and sighed.
"Dog, I can't reach you. The men are running away with our gold! If I let them escape, we'll never be able to leave here! I have to get our gold!" he said. Dog growled.
"Ta hell wit' the gold, James! Pull me up and we'll be able to track them down and get them. Help me!" Dog yelled. James frowned.
"And what if we can't?"
"Just help me, goddammit!" Dog screamed. James looked down at him and back at the men and then sighed. He reached down his hand and moved farther down the side of the cliff as he attempted to reach Dog's hand. James' ears picked up the sound of crackling and he looked down and saw that the rock face was beginning to crumble. Behind him, cracks formed and James looked down at Dog, whose face was now full of fear. "Damn it, James! The whole thing's comin' down. Hurry up and reach me!" he yelled. James reached down farther, however, the rock crumbled even more...and began to slide downwards.
"Dog! The rock is breaking! Jump up!" James yelled as he lowered himself to reach Dog. Dog jumped up and grabbed for James' hand. Their hands only met briefly before the entire rock crumbled. Instinctively, James jumped backwards however, he failed to get Dog's hand in the process. All heard afterwards was the crumbling of the rock and Dog's screams as he fell deep into the canyon. James' eyes filled up with tears and he roared loudly as his anger overwhelmed him. Those men were responsible for this. James growled and ran into the forest, following the strong and now very clear scent of the men.
He was sure that they could hear him, running recklessly through the woods, snapping branches and rustling grass. But he didn't care. He was going to make them pay. James entered into a clearing and he could smell the men all around him. He whirled to the left and to the right, however he was unable to find them. To his left, he heard the cocking of a gun and dodged behind a rock as the shot was fired.
"Ya little bastard. Ya thought ya could sneak up on us with all that noise you was makin'?" the voice of one of them said. James snarled. It was the one Dog had been fighting that pushed him off the cliff. James leapt from behind the rock and raced towards the man, roaring. The smaller man cocked his gun again and fired. The bullet whizzed over James' head and he growled as he swung a punch towards the man. However, his larger friend reached from the side and grabbed James by his throat.
"Oh no ya don't, kid. You ain't hittin' him." the man said. James roared and frowned deeply, his vision turning red as he felt the same kind of anger as he had years before.
"Fine...then I'll cut him!" James pushed his claws from his forearms, sliding them through his knuckles. The ridged and bumpy bone claws dripped with his blood and he swung his claws forward, connecting with the smaller man's throat, slicing his jugular. The man's screams turned to gurgles as blood gushed from his neck. The larger man stared in shock as James swung backwards, digging his claws into the man's bicep. The man moaned loudly and dropped James, whose claws were still stuck inside his arm. James' claws slid straight through and the man could only watch in shock as his dropped in front of his face, leaving a bloody stump. The man screamed out in agony.
"Good God! What the hell!" he screamed. He dropped to his knees and held his arm attempting to halt the bleeding. James stood over him and snarled. Without mercy, he sliced his claws across the man's face with as much force as he could, almost decapitating him. James looked at the two dead bodies and fell to his knees. He panted softly and cried. He had lost his brother. The only one that he felt could understand him. Now he had no one. No one...except Rose...
Cannons fired all around James as his unit was advancing. The two Union divisions were in disarray and James could barely keep his head as the men around him were shouting. He heard too many thing going on and he was getting irritated.
"General Griffin wants us to move to the enemy's right!" a man shouted over the cannon. James looked at him and shook his head.
"What the hell for?" he shouted. The soldier shrugged.
"He's trying to flank the enemy to their right. He's going to end this damn battle now. Ayres is trying to do a frontal assault on Crawford and his men so Griffin wants us to flank him." the soldier explained as a horn was sounded. There was a battle cry and everyone rushed towards the opposing Confederate Army. James followed and was soon in front of everyone. He yelled wildly as he fired his Springfield Model 1861 rifle. The minie ball launched from the muzzle and hit a startled Confederate in the chest.
James swung the butt of his rifle wildly and crushed the jaw of another advancing Confederate and took his Colt 1860 revolver out of his holster and fired two shots at the men working the artillery, hitting one in the shoulder and barely missing the other, who moved out of the way only to be impaled by an Union officer's sabre.
"Keep shooting like that, Howlett, and this shit will be over before ya know it!" a soldier said as he came up beside him. James looked up and saw another large group of Union soldiers moving from the North and smiled.
"Looks like Crawford's men grew a pair." he laughed. James then ran forward and continued firing his revolver. This war was over as far as he was concerned. The enemy was surrounded and it would only be a matter of time before they were all slaughtered. His only concern now was getting back home to his Rose...
April 20, 1865, British Columbia, Canada
James smiled as he walked up the path towards his cabin, his bag slung over his shoulder, He had served both his country and the U.S. and had survived his first war. He considered that a blessing. As James continued up the hill however, he smelled something abnormal. It was a smell he hadn't smelled in seven years. It was Dog. James dropped his bags and ran straight towards his cabin. He quickly opened the door and to his shock, he saw Dog, completely unscathed from his fall from the cliff. A smile formed on James' face.
"Dog! My God, you're alive!" James said excitedly as he walked forward to greet Dog. Surprisingly, Dog's facial expression never changed. It was still intense. His gaze was burning through him. James suddenly felt uneasy and he sniffed for Rose's scent. He smelled her...and her blood. Immediately, James unsheathed his claws and growled. "What the hell are you doing here? Where's my Rose?" Dog scoffed.
"Where's your Rose? You mean where's MY Rose!" Dog snapped angrily. He then stood up and James saw that Dog's fingertips were covered in blood. "You stole her from me, you piece o' shit! You left me to die in that damned canyon and you stole Rose from me!" Dog roared.
"I didn't steal a damned thing from you. You weren't here and she needed someone and I was there! We thought you were dead!" James retorted. Dog's anger festered and he flushed red.
"YOU LEFT ME TO DIE, YOU FUCKING BASTARD! YOU STOLE MY LOVE FROM ME! AND GUESS WHAT!" Dog yelled as he reached behind James' couch and pulled Rose from behind it. "IF I CAN'T HAVE HER, YOU DAMN SURE AIN'T GOIN' TO EITHER!" he roared. Rose was covered in scratches and scars. Blood dripped from her mouth, ribs and nose and James was overcome with rage and he leapt forward.
"Don't you dare lay another finger on her!" he roared as he crashed into Dog's chest, causing him to release Rose from his grip. The two crashed through the window and rolled down the hill. James' roll was halted by a boulder that crashed against his back, causing pain to shoot up and down his body. Dog continued rolling until he hit a tree and sent the Douglas-fir crashing to the ground. James willed himself to get up and growled as he could still smell Dog's scent. The blonde and muscular man emerged from the dust created from the tree falling and James could hear cackling. Cackling...just like his father had.
"That was a nice little fall, Jimmy-boy. It'll take more than that to kill me, Jimmy...but o' course, you already know that!" Dog yelled. James snarled.
"You're out of your damn mind, Dog! Snap out of it before I have to hurt you!" James said. Dog laughed and rubbed his face.
"Hurt me? James, I survived a one hundred foot drop from a cliff. There ain't anything you can do to hurt me!" Dog growled as he put his hands to his side. James looked at him strangely and his jaw dropped as he saw what Dog was doing. Dog's fingernails grew longer and sharper until they were six inches long and his canine teeth grew until they were fangs. James gasped. Dog was like him too.
"My God..." James said softly.
"What? Did you think that all those times I sniffed out things before you could and heard things before you could, it was jus' by happenstance? Were you that selfish ta think that God only made one like you?" he growled. James gulped. Everything was making sense now. Dog had always been faster, stronger, and tougher than he was. Was that because of his powers? Before he could bother to even answer the question, Dog was on top of him slashing at him with his talons and biting at his flesh. James kept Dog at bay using his claws. Dog was quick, almost animal-like, dodging everything that James could throw at him. James lashed out aggressively, only to have his attack parried and blocked. Dog shoved his talons into James' pectorals and threw him into the branches of a tree.
James gathered himself and looked down and saw Dog back up the hill towards the cabin. James roared and leapt from the tree down towards Dog and shoved his claws deep into his ribs. "No more, Mr. Nice Guy! If I have to kill you, I will! You ain't going to hurt Rose!" James snarled. He continued to jab his claws into Dog's ribs. Dog turned over and backslapped James back into the trees. This time he followed him and grabbed him by his skull and sent his head into a branch. Dog and James fell on top of a thick branch and Dog smiled sadistically as he looked down at James.
"I'm going to kill her, James. And then you'll be just like me. A monster with no family and no love!" Dog said as he pushed his deep into James' throat. James swung his claws upwards to try and hit Dog but as his air left him, his attempts grew more and more feeble. Finally, James' vision faded into darkness and the last thing he saw was Dog laughing and laughing...and laughing.
James' burst open and he looked around quickly. He immediately sniffed for Rose and tears almost came to his eyes. All he could smell was her blood. No life, absolutely nothing. James leapt from the tree and ignored the pain of his fall and ran towards his cabin. James knocked down the door and looked around and his heart sank. There was blood all over the living room. Blood on the windows, blood on the walls, and blood on the floor. Rose's body laid tattered and torn on the floor and James ran to her body. When he lifted her up, she almost fell apart. Her arm fell to the ground, blood squirting out onto James' hands and blood dripped steadily from her mouth. There was no doubt about it. Rose was dead.
"ERRRAAAWWWWRR!" James howled as ferally as he had on the night he saw his father die. His love, Rose was gone and so was the man he thought was his brother. James couldn't bear to stay there any longer. James rose to his feet and walked out of the cabin. James' feet lead him back to Fraser Canyon and he climbed to the very tallest peak that the canyon could offer. He had no reason to live. He had no reason to go on. All that was left for him was death. James closed his eyes and leapt from the type of the hill. As his heart rushed up to his throat, James imagined a better life, where he wasn't a monster. Where his parents weren't dead. Where Rose hadn't been killed. Where Dog hadn't gone mad. James crashed his head against a sharp rock that jutted through his skull. The next impact was the snapping of his legs and arms. The next was a piece of rock that went straight through his heart and out the back of his lungs. The last impact was his entire body landing at the bottom of the canyon, complete beaten, torn, battered, and bloodied. His body was brutally contorted and he laid motionless.
Ten minutes later...
James opened his eyes.
