The Howling
Two years ago
Kazuki had run for the best part of the day and as the sun began to set he decided to make camp. Finding a sheltered spot not far from the road, he rolled out his sleeping bag onto the damp grass. He sat for a while inspecting his birthday present. He still hadn't figured out what it did. It just looked like a useless lump of metal covered in thin cracks. Kazuki bounced it up and down in his hands, noting how it seemed to weigh nothing at all. None the wiser, he grunted and placed the object on the ground next to him. Kazuki threw the cover of the sleeping bag over him and laid his weary head on the hard bag that acted as his pillow.
Blood filled his open jaws. A red haze descended over his vision as his hapless victim squirmed in his iron grip. Kazuki gazed malevolently into his prey's terrified eyes and he bit down into soft, tasty flesh. Kazuki knew he was slaughtering a human but he didn't care; the bloodlust had already consumed him. Shaking the dying human in his jaws, Kazuki hurled the body ten feet across the inky blackness. Instantly he leapt at the face down human. Suddenly the prey turned his head and Kazuki instantly recognised the smiling, wrinkled face of master Daichi.
Kazuki woke with the inhuman howls still in his head. He was sweating and he realised that in his sleep he had torn his sleeping bag to pieces. With a feeling of dread, he found that the howls were no longer just in his head. The dark misty forest echoed with the almost melodic howling of wolves. As shaken as he was, Kazuki couldn't help being enchanted by it. Suddenly his heart began pounding away as something inside of him awoke. His chest like it was about to burst open as the wolves' howling reverberated through his body. In desperation, Kazuki clamped the remains of his sleeping bag to his ears in an effort to drown out the howls. But it was no use; his kin were calling him and he had no choice but to join them. The howls were joined by one more as the dark wolf that was Kazuki sped off into the forest.
Kazuki bounded through the mist, searching for his brothers. Their howls echoed around him and he could smell their welcoming scent on the air. Suddenly, he spied a shape moving in the mist ahead of him. Kazuki ran towards it, eager to join his fellow wolves in the hunt. He skidded to a halt as he recognised the distinctive human silhouette staggering blindly ahead. Kazuki stared at the disoriented person, smelling the fear from where he was crouched. It was likely a local farmer had got lost in the mist. He probably had family and friends anxiously awaiting his safe return back at his home. Kazuki, however, did not see that. He only saw prey.
The man turned at the sound of movement behind him. He cried in terror at the sight of a large dark wolf bearing down on him through the mist. He attempted to turn and run but stumbled over a protruding rock. The hesitation allowed Kazuki to barrel into the man's back, knocking him down. By the time the man had turned onto his back, Kazuki's snarling maw was only inches away from his face. Kazuki barked savagely, splattering the man with saliva. With a scream of pure terror from his victim, Kazuki clamped his teeth around the man's neck. As hot blood gushed down his throat, Kazuki finally became aware of what he was doing. He stared in horror into the eyes of the dying man he had fixed between his fangs. He watched as the eyes glazed over and the body became limp. Kazuki immediately released the body, leaping away from it as the blood seeped out onto the ground. Kazuki's mouth dripped with the man's gore and the smell of fear and blood clung to his nostrils. The stench of a kill soon brought more wolves to the scene, eager for a free meal. They were surprised to find a lone wolf, drenched in red, howling in anguish at an uncaring moon.