Chapter 4
No.
This wasn't happening.
This… what was this?
I ran back in the direction his screams were coming from. I wrinkled my nose as I caught a whiff of something… dirty. Like someone's house when they have too many pets and don't clean up after them. Then I saw it. Well, them. There were three of them, and they were huge. Bears? No, wolves. Long-nosed, snarling dogs. The screams had subsided, and I noticed a pile of… I refused to think about what that was behind them. I couldn't. They had… no, it wasn't true. He had escaped from them; all I had to do was find him.
The monster closest to me pulled his lip over his top teeth and growled at me. I copied the action, crouching down closer to the ground. These creatures… they wouldn't survive the day. The wolf jumped toward me, and I flattened myself against the ground. When it was directly over me, I reached my arms around its back and squeezed with all my strength; there was a yelp, then silence.
The other two learned from the first's mistake and took their time making their first move. They circled around me together slowly, searching for any sign of a misstep. They began to make wary, careful, testing movements, snapping and swiping with their massive paws. I danced away from each one, still waiting for a true attack. I didn't have to wait long. One leapt at me from behind catching my shoulder in it massive jaws. I winced, then didn't hesitate to throw myself to the left, landing on my side on top of the beast. With my free arm, I swung my fist down on top of its skull, and I heard the bones shatter. Without even a yelp this time, it went limp. I removed myself from its mouth. Only one left, smaller than the other two, looking terrified. It whipped around and tried to run, escaping into the trees. I gave chase, following the putrid scent it left behind. I noticed the smell grow fainter, and I wondered if I had lost the trail. But no, it was still there, merely fainter. It gradually became stronger again, and I picked up my pace. I could hear voices up ahead, smell food cooking mixed with the disgusting scent I was already following. The trees thinned, then cleared, and I walked out into a Native American village.
I was overwhelmed by the stench of the creature; it was everywhere. I looked around, desperately trying to locate the monster, but my sense of smell was confused by the intensity of the odor permeating from the entire village.
An older woman walked out of a log cabin about thirty yards from where I was standing, a large quilt in her hands. She glanced in my direction, then froze. She pointed at me, her hand shaking, and let out a bloodcurdling scream that lasted less than two seconds before I silenced her with a quick snap of the neck. I left her lying on the ground and crept slowly deeper into the village.
It wasn't long before the other villagers came running to find what the woman had been screaming about. I smiled to myself. They'd all be dead soon, and I'd be free to discover the monster that had kil- that had made my mate disappear. I made a lunge for the one nearest me, an adolescent boy with shoulder-length hair and a serious acne problem. I couldn't help but think that I was doing him a service as I crushed his rib cage and the organs behind it. At least he wouldn't have to worry about his skin anymore. I took revenge for my mate again and again, determined not to stop until I saw him standing in front of me, alive and smiling at me with those perfect lips and teeth… Then something stopped me in my tracks. There were nine men and older teens standing in front of me, all bare-chested, each and every one of them trembling with rage. These must be the warriors of the tribe. But… the smell… they reeked of the beast from the forest. Something was horribly wrong here. The one that appeared to be the youngest, maybe seventeen, was shaking the worst, his entire body vibrating, and if my eyesight hadn't been so sharp, his edges would have been blurred. What was going on here? Then, without warning, he… exploded. There was no other way to explain it, he was human, then a monstrous wolf creature exploded out of his skin. The same wolf from the forest. This was it. He was mine. I crouched low to the ground and let out as fearsome of a growl as I was capable. Suddenly there were eight more wolves stepping in between me and the beast, teeth bared and ears flat against their skulls. So that was how it was to be. Fine. Merely a momentary deterrent, that thing would just have to wait.
It was becoming easier to kill them, the more practice and experience I got the quicker they were finished off. One by one I left them as lifeless piles of fur, a crushed skull, snapped neck, crushed windpipe. I was careful to kill all of them without shedding a single drop of blood. The last thing I needed was a distraction. When there was only one dog left I straightened to my full height and met its eyes. It hesitated, taking a step back. It seemed to shake itself off then lunged at me. I easily dodged, sidestepping out of its reach. With one deft blow, I brought my arm down on its back, breaking its spine. It crumpled in a heap and let out a gut-wrenching howl that would have broken any living heart.
I took my time, being dramatic about this final death. I wanted the vermin to die in absolute terror of me and my kind. I slowly drew one long, diamond-hard fingernail across its cheek (being careful to avoid the snapping teeth of course) and, holding its jaws shut with one hand, licked the blood from its face. I nearly gagged. So much for not wanting to be distracted by the blood, it might as well be mud pouring out of the fresh wound. But I still wanted my dramatic ending. So, grimacing, I sank my teeth into the wolf's neck and swallowed mouthful after mouthful of the most revolting stuff I'd ever tasted in my life. I only stopped after I heard its heart slosh to a stop.
I stood, slightly dizzy, and took a few careful steps forward. My nose was filled with the stench of the monster, and I felt like someone had placed a veil over my eyes that wouldn't clear no matter how many times I blinked. My movements were sluggish as well. Very interesting, I thought to myself.