BEWARE THE MOON
By FAH3
SeVeN:
Fritz and John sat in the study of the Possible ranch house in stunned silence. Mim had told them everything that had transpired inside the chapel while she twisted her fingers together from sheer nervousness. The more she retold her story, the more she was doing her best to try and force herself to remain calm. The entire time Miriam talked, Fritz looked to be chewing on the inside of his own cheek while his brow furrowed in thought. When Mim was done talking, Fritz stood and looked out the window.
"That son of a bitch. I should march into town and blow his head off with both barrels right now." Fritz said.
"You do that, and they'll hang you from the tallest tree." John said.
"Well it'd be God damn worth it! That bastard actually thinks he's doing the right thing by killing people? If anyone deserves to burn, it's that fucker! Talk about a wolf in sheep's clothing." he said as he glanced at the both of them.
"Would calm down, please?!" Mim shouted as she finally took her own seat and began to tremble. "What are we going to do?"
"I don't know. Fritz?" John asked.
"We've got be ready." He said as he looked back out the window, his mind in thought. "When that moon rises, that asshole is going to turn. When he does, he's going to come for Mim." Fritz said.
"How can we keep her safe?" John asked.
"I can take care of myself, I'll have you know." Miriam said.
"Can you fire a pistol or a rifle?" Fritz asked her.
"Who do you think shot that coyote three months ago?" Mim asked him.
"Bull. That critter must have been running faster than a jack rabbit to a hot date."
"I wouldn't doubt her. I saw Mim hit a hawk with a pebble and sling shot after it tried to make off with a cat. That was when we were seven years old." John said. "So how are we going to keep Wagner away from her?"
"I don't think we can." Fritz said after thinking for a moment and slowly taking a deep breath. "That means we've got to kill him."
"Kill a priest, are you serious?" John asked.
"He's not a priest. Not anymore." Mim said with a grim determination. "The man has killed people and thinks he's performing God's work? He's a lunatic and a monster."
"We've got to put him down, and we've got to do it tonight." Fritz said.
"You mean we try and set a trap for him?" Miriam asked.
"Exactly. I can keep a few hands here at the ranch with a couple of guns. We lure him in and blast him straight to hell." Fritz said.
"Are you kidding me?" John asked. "That's the same plan everyone else has tried. And every time, the Reverend has shredded them to pieces and turned me into a monster. What's going to make this plan so different than the others?" John asked.
"Three things. The first, we've got the home field advantage. Me and the boys know this place inside and out. Two, I've got something else that can help." Fritz said as he disappeared for a moment, walking into the main hallway. He returned a moment later with an old cigar box and placed it on the table in front of Miriam and John. When he opened it, he revealed that inside of it were dozens of rifle bullets; all of them made of silver. "We've got something that can hurt the son of a bitch."
"Where in the world did you get those?" Miriam asked.
"I made them myself. Daddy taught me a thing or two when I was growing up."
"With this much ammunition, it'd take weeks or maybe even months to get enough materials to make them. Where did you find enough silver?" John asked.
"I – kind of borrowed it from around town." Fritz said reluctantly.
"You stole it?" John asked.
"I had to be ready." Fritz simply said.
"Be Ready? So you've known that there was a werewolf the whole time?" Miriam asked him.
"I wasn't sure. After the first few livestock attacks started, I thought – I didn't want to believe it." Fritz said.
"Fritz, are you all right?" John asked.
He didn't understand how or why, but John could tell that Fritz was afraid. He could not only see it, but he could some how smell and feel it.
"My mama used to tell me stories she had heard when she was growing up in Romania. The ones that used to terrify me the most were the ones she knew about the undead. Stories about vampires, restless spirits, and werewolves. When I got older, I didn't believe any of them anymore. I thought it was just a bunch of mumbo jumbo horse shit."
"What made you change your mind?" Mim asked him.
"When I was twelve, we heard something outside one night. We heard our goats screaming. I've heard them make noises before, but this was different. They were screaming for their lives." Fritz said as he licked his lips as they felt suddenly dry. He closed his eyes for a moment and turned his head while wincing as if he were feeling a slight bit of pain. "You never forget a sound like that. The cry of an animal that's so scared shitless when they're looking at death right in the face and they're begging for any kind of help." He said as he opened his eyes and wiped away a few tears.
"My daddy and I grabbed our rifles and ran outside to the pens where we kept them. What we saw was such God awful mess that the light from the full moon made all the blood look black. I actually thought that I was looking at a bunch of spilled ink instead of blood. We followed the – the trail of pieces out into the field and we split up to cover more ground. I got to the top of a small hill and I found the thing in the moonlight. You could clearly see that it was some kind of animal. It was hunched over on all fours, tearing away at a goat's carcass like it was a piece of candy. I aimed for its head when the wind started to blow, and its head lifted. It caught a whiff of my scent and looked right toward me. Then it stood on its hind legs.
When it did that, it didn't look like an a nimal anymore. It looked almost – almost human. It was an animal and a man at the same time. I couldn't see any details, but I could see those eyes. As soon as I saw those yellow eyes, I froze and pissed all over myself. Every single story mama told me was bouncing around that skull of mine at the same time as I heard that fucker growl and glare at me. He was about to charge me when I heard my dad's rifle and saw that thing go down. My daddy managed to shoot it right in the neck. I was close enough to see that. It didn't stay down long, though. It got back on all fours and ran off. Even as my daddy shouted at me, I still couldn't move. I don't even remember how I got back to the house; I just remember my mama wrapping me in a blanket and helping me out of my piss soaked trousers. After that night, my daddy never went out at night without a gun by his side."
"Holy shit." Miriam said as Fritz finished his story.
"Did they ever find it?" John asked.
"The animal? No. But almost a year later, an old friend of ours was killed in a bar fight. He was another farmer, just like us. He had been playing a game of cards that had gone wrong. His own brother had gutted him with a Bowie knife in the middle of the game. When we went to his funeral, I noticed something on him. There was a scar on his neck. It looked just like a bullet wound, and it was right in the same spot where my daddy shot that thing. That's when I knew that monsters were real."
Everyone was silent for a moment or two. The atmosphere around them was thick as smoke before any of them decided to try and say anything.
"So we use silver. Okay." John said. "But how do we make sure that everyone gets a bead on him?"
"We need bait." Fritz said.
"Like hell." John said as he began to frown.
"John,"
"She barley got away form him in town. Home advantage or not, do you think,"
"SHUT UP!" Miriam shouted, surprising John completely. "He doesn't mean actually using me. We use something that's covered in my scent. He's part wolf, so we use his nose against him. He follows the scent and once he's where we want him to be, we open fire."
"Exactly. We don't stop until we're out of ammo, or that bastard's dead." Fritz said.
"What about Miriam? Or me?" John asked.
"You both are going to be in the barn. Hopefully, that thing won't be able to get in those damn stalls. Anyplace else, he might be able to find you."
"That's the best we can do?"
"I'll give Mim a gun. Other than that, I'm clueless. If nothing else, John might stand a chance if he looses that necklace." Fritz said. John quickly reached up and placed a hand over his chest where his shirt hid the silver pendant that Maleva had given him. The idea of him becoming anything like that monster made his heart pound and his stomach contract on itself.
"John, why don't you give yourself a moment to calm down? You look like you're going to be sick." Miriam said as she placed a hand softly against his cheek.
"I think that's a good idea." John said as he slowly turned and left the room with Rufus following behind him. As soon as he was gone, Miriam turned around and sat down in a chair as Felix did the same. Mim could see that Felix's brow was furrowed and he was slightly chewing on the inside of his cheek.
"Do you think this plan is going to work?" she asked him.
"I don't know. Truth be told, I think it'll be a miracle if we can pull this off." Felix said. After a moment, he removed a pistol from the back waistline of his pants and proceeded to load it with several of several of the silver bullets. "You can use this. Now I'm gonna tell you something that you're not going to like. If you have to use that, you make sure there's at least one bullet left."
"For what?" Miriam asked.
"Don't play dumb, Mim. You know what." Fritz said with cold seriousness that almost made the air in the room drop a degree or two. "I don't want you to end up like Joss. So if there's no way you can run for cover or if he ain't dead, then you know what to use that one bullet for." Fritz said. Slowly, and reluctantly, Mim reached over and took the pistol from Fritz's hand. She knew what he meant; she just didn't want to say it. "I'm gonna write a note for the boys to read and send it to town. I can't risk that jack preacher overhearing anything. You and John better get ready." Fritz said as he stood and left the room.
"God help us." Mim whispered to herself as she looked down at the pistol in her hand.
It was already afternoon as several of the townsfolk were making sure that everything in the church was ready for another massive sleepover. Various ladies were preparing sections for a massive supper inside the holy walls of the house of God while various other townsfolk, with Talbot and Landis and the rest of their families, preparing areas elsewhere in the church for people to sleep later in the evening. Father Wagner was doing his best to oversee as much as possible with a smile on his face. He was overjoyed to see so many of the community coming together in order to help their fellow man. He was beaming with pride.
As he made his way to the back of the church, Father Wagner saw something out of the corner of his one good eye. He recognized one young gentleman and an older, scruffier gentleman that looked to haven't bathed or shaved in a day or two. Wagner knew who they were almost immediately. The older man, Gus was his name, had worked at the ranch of Timothy Possible for almost five years. If he recalled the man's confessions correctly, he had a bit of a gambling habit. The younger man, his name was Douglas, had only been working at the Possible ranch for only a few short months. He was actually a rather decent young man that attended Sunday mass regularly. So far, his confessionals had been rather pleasant since the sins he had asked forgiveness for were rather minor. Nothing truly horrendous that would weigh on the Holy Man's heart or keep him up at night. However, something was odd about how they were talking to each other. Wagner curiosity rose even higher when he saw how the older man glanced toward Wagner and handed the young man a folded piece of paper.
Young Douglas unfolded the paper and seemed to look slightly worried before glancing at Father Wagner before Gus slapped him in the side of the arm and indicated to just look at him. They exchanged a few words before the older gentleman turned to leave out the church's front doors and the other quickly folded the piece of paper and put in his pocket and had quickly disappeared in the crowd. Wagner's eye narrowed as he began to suspect something. He quickly put on a fake smile and began to walk in the direction in which he thought the young man had gone. Visually, he couldn't see where he had wondered off to. However, Wagner had other resources at his disposal. Wagner took a deep and slow breath through his nose and let the whirlwind of various smells was over his brain. There were so many all at once that bombarded, but he was looking for one aroma in general. After taking another intake of air, he soon found what he was looking for. An aroma that smelled of a slight hint of tobacco mixed with a very strong smell of mint. The mint was surprisingly from Gus, the older worker. The slight tobacco scent was coming from the young worker, Douglas. That was the person he was interested in.
He followed the smell as if he could see it. After maneuvering through a few more groups of huddled masses, he found the scent he was looking for and found that it was headed to the rear exit of the church where his garden was. Father Wagner quickly exited the building and saw the young man was actually sticking to the shadows and trying to wave at someone; trying to get their attention. Glancing to what Douglas was looking at, he saw a deputy talking to one of the ladies of the evening that worked at the saloon. Wagner quickly and silently walked up behind Douglas and cleared his throat. The young laborer practically leapt out of his skin as he spun around and was now looking directly at Father Wagner's concerned face.
"Father! I-I didn't see you there."
"I noticed you looked rather worried inside the chapel. Is everything all right?" he asked with concern.
"Why, no. No, there's nothing wrong." He said.
"Are you sure? You look rather flushed and you're sweating quite a bit. Perhaps you'd like to come in a lay down a bit?" Wagner asked him.
"No!" Douglas quickly replied and mentally kicked himself. "I'm fine. I think I just need to walk around a bit. You know, g-get some fresh air."
"If that's what you wish, my son." Wagner said. Douglas did his best to give a weak smile and quickly turned around to walk away.
Once his back was completely turned around, Wagner quickly wrapped his right arm around the Douglas' neck while firmly placing his left hand over the young farm worker's mouth. He quickly pulled him behind the church and quickly used his left arm to jerk the man's head forcefully to the right and heard a sharp and crisp snap emanate from the man's neck. He quickly placed the now lifeless man against the wall of the church in a sitting position while quickly motioning a cross of her the body and muttering a small prayer.
"I'm truly sorry, my son. But sacrifices must be made in service of the Lord." He said and began searching the young corpse's pockets. He soon found the folded paper he had seen earlier and quickly unfolded it to see what it contained.
"The reverend is the killer. Bring as many back as you can, and come prepared. Don't talk to him and don't draw attention. Lives are at stake!
Fritz"
As he read the letter's contents, a sneer formed on his face while his brow furrowed and his teeth began to grind together. He wadded up the letter and threw it on the ground and stood to his feet. He immediately began storming away from the church and began to approach a hitching post with a cream colored horse tied to it. The horse immediately began to try and buck away as it let out a slight shriek. With a loud growl, he swiped his hand across the animal's neck and didn't bother to look back as the horse collapsed to the ground and blood from the new wound began to quickly pool and mix with the dirt underneath it. After a few more steps, Wagner began to jog and then broke out into a full blown run as his joints began to pop and shift.
It was over half an hour later when one of the ladies ventured into the garden to pluck a few apples from a tree that she saw the body of Douglas laying slumped against the wall and screamed. Once the crowd rushed out, they soon discovered the slaughtered horse as well. Sheriff Wagner was immediately fetched at once and brought to the grizzly sight and began his best to try and find any clues. He hadn't been looking at the body long when he saw the crumpled paper not too far from where the body lay. Sheriff Wagner un-crumpled the paper and read. His eyes grew wide as he felt his breath catch in his throat.
"Oh my God." He whispered to himself. "Deputy, find Slim! We need to head to the Possible Ranch. NOW!"
The sun had begun to set a short time ago. The sky looked as if part of it had already turned to gold as the clouds changed into various shades of violet. Fritz stood on the porch of the Possible's house and smoked his pipe and absent mindedly chewed on the end of the pipe. He was nervous. Both nervous and frustrated as he stood there and lost in his own thoughts. He was only slightly aware of John as he joined him on the porch. John had changed into a loose light blue button down shirt and a pair of old denim pants as he looked at the sunset with the older man. John felt apprehensive as he rubbed the medallion that was hidden under his shirt.
"They should have been here already. They should have been here before the sun started setting." Fritz mumbled.
"With the men that are already here, can we fight him?" John asked.
"Do you want me to tell the truth or do you want me to lie?" Fritz asked.
"Oh, shit." John said to himself.
"John, do you really love her?" Fritz asked him.
"I've loved her for most of my life." John said.
"You had better be damn sure about that. In order to save her life, you may have to become a monster yourself."
"This still sounds so crazy." John said.
"What can I tell you kid? Sometimes love is a psychopath." Fritz said with a small chuckle.
Miriam emerged from the farmhouse in a white buttoned shirt and a pair of simple pants that she would normally wear when helping with work around the ranch. A leather holster was attached to her belt on her left side and angled close to her back. Strapped in it was the loaded pistol that Fritz had given her earlier and hidden by her un-tucked loose fitting shirt. In her arms was a bundle of clothes that she tossed into an empty rocking chair while the other arm also held a Henry repeating rifle. She quickly made sure it was loaded with several of the silver bullets that Fritz had handed out earlier. Fritz had forged enough bullets for eighty-seven to ninety-two percent of the hands that worked the ranch. With their being so few at the property right now, they had more than enough ammunition to reload if they had to.
"Still nothing?" Miriam asked.
"Nothing." John said.
"The sun's already starting to set. We need to get ready."
"We can't wait any longer?" John asked.
"We're going to have to make so with what we've got. Is that dress of yours ready?" Fritz asked.
"I was sweating in that thing like a sinner at a Baptist revival when Wagner confronted me in the church. That thing should be soaked in my scent." Mim said.
"I'll go set it up. You two better head to the stable and stay there. Once you get that door shut, lock it and don't open it until I tell you too."
"Will do." John said.
The two made their way to the stables as Fritz took the bundle of clothes and made his way to the make shift trap he and the others had set up to try and ambush Wagner. The two remained silent as they entered the stables and were greeted with the uncomfortable neighing of several horses as soon as John had entered. John couldn't help but groan to himself as Miriam gave him a gentle rub on the arm. With a heavy sigh, John entered the stall he had stayed in the previous night and saw that it looked just as it did when he went in the first night. There was still a rather decent sized bucket that was tucked into a far corner in case he needed to do his "business" at any point during the night.
"I guess I should get used this. Since this is going to be my life just about every month." John said as he stepped into the stall while Miriam closed the main door to the stables and locked it using a chain and heavy duty iron lock.
"Hey." She said as she turned toward John and closed the gap between them. "At least you've got me." She said as she gave him a peck on the cheek.
"There's something I need to tell you, Mim." John said as he reached over and held Miriam's left hand in his right. "I have never loved anyone the way that I love you. Even if we didn't become romantically involved, I always thought one thing. If civilization were to fall and the world ended today; I would understand what God meant when I look at her."
"I – I don't know what to say." Miriam said.
"Just tell me you love me." John said.
Miriam leaned in and kissed John softly and lovingly on his lips in which he gladly returned. As their lips parted, she looked into John's eyes and pulled her hand free from John's to lovingly stroke his face.
"Without a doubt." She said with a smile.
"Thanks, Mim." He said with a small smile of his own. The smile quickly faded as he winced slightly and placed his hand over his chest.
"What's wrong?" she asked him.
"The pendant. It feels likes it burning me a little." He said as he unbuttoned the first few upper buttons and looked down. Both Miriam and he saw that where the pendant was touching his skin was starting to turn slightly pink. It looked like his skin was having an allergic reaction to the metal it was forged from.
"It looks like it's starting to work. We better lock you up."
You don't have to tell me twice John said as he quickly stepped into the stall. "And Miriam? Thank you. For everything."
"Anytme, John." She said as she closed the stall and locked it. "If we get through this, maybe we can have some fun with a situation like this. If you know what I mean." She whispered in a sultry voice as she raised her eyebrows in a mischievous manner. John's eyes almost fell out of his head as he heard the words escape from Mim's mouth while she chuckled at his reaction.
"To hell with dying. I'm going to make sure that we're going to live!"
Ben Spader, a hand that had been working on the Possible Ranch for the past four and a half years, was making his rounds not too far from the house close to the main road into town. His life had been slightly uneventful. His parents had been farmers, like many other people out and about around here. As soon as he was old enough, he decided to join the army for a bit of adventure. However, his short career as a soldier wasn't so adventurous. So to earn a little profit, he had gotten into a little bit of smuggling. He was found out after several months and discharged from the army. His parents were dead, and his farm taken by the bank, and he had nowhere to really go. That was when he rode the rails and started to become found of Wild Turkey and whiskey given that they were the only constant friends he had. After working many odd jobs, he had made his way to Blackmoor. What was only to be a few months so he could earn enough money to ride the rails again turned into four and a half years. He had hated to admit it, but he actually grew fond of the town and was thinking about looking for a more permanent residence and a maybe a job at the bank or becoming a deputy. That was until all the killings started. Now the idea of staying in Blackmoor was quickly starting to fade from his mind and the idea of riding the trains to greener pastures was starting to sound better and better by leaps and bounds.
Earlier, Fritz had gathered the few that were still here about how the preacher in town, Father Wagner, was behind all the killings. Ben found that so unbelievable that it took every fiber of his being not to start breaking into a fit of hysterics from laughing. That walking toothpick that would get a nosebleed if he saw so much as a slap was responsible for all the killings that had been happening? Ben had never heard such stinking load of horse shit in his life. Fritz on the other hand was dead serious. He had told two of the other hands, along with Ben, to start patrolling the property and make sure there wasn't anything here that wasn't supposed to be. He had also given them a couple of bullets in case they saw something. So while Ben was walking around and feeling like an idiot, he took the rest aside to talk to them about something. He didn't know what it was. By the time Ben had started walking, they had walked out of ear shot and moving pretty fast.
Ben glanced to the west and saw that the sun was just about fully set as he felt a slight chill in the air. The full moon hung high and bright in the night sky and looked like it was glowing as if it were a jewel in light of a candle. Ben turned to start walking again when he saw a shape walking down the road and coming toward the house. Ben pulled out his pistol and felt his pulse quicken a little as he could hear the shape's footsteps coming at a rather quick pace.
"Who's there?" Ben called out.
"Peace be with you." Father Wagner said as he came close enough where Ben could see him more clearly. Ben's pulse began to slow as he breathed a sigh of relief.
"Father, you can't be doing that. Not when that killer critter's still roaming around." Ben said as he placed his pistol back in his holster.
As Wagner walked closer, Ben couldn't help but notice that a few things about the preacher looked a little odd. His shoes and the cuffs of his pants were caked in a fine layer of dirt. He was normally well groomed and everything he wore looked like it had been pressed and constantly neat. Now, everything looked a bit shabby. It was almost like he had been running for quite a bit. In fact, he slicked back hair seemed to be a little fuller. Even the sides of his face were looked like he was halfway to growing thick mutton chop side burns despite a bandage being over one eye.
"I didn't mean to frighten you. I'm just here on business." Wagner said.
As he did, what Fritz had said earlier began to echo about in Ben's head. Upon seeing Father Wagner's appearance, he slowly let his hand inch closer back to his holster. Ben didn't know why, but the preacher was making every hair on his arms stand on end with his instincts telling him that something wasn't right about the man.
"Business? I thought you were supposed to be in town right now. What brings you all the way out here? And without a horse?" Ben asked him.
"Why Jesus and his followers walked on their journey to Jerusalim. Have you ever heard of a fat apostle?" Wagner asked with a chuckle and a smile. Upon doing so, Ben couldn't help but notice that his teeth didn't look right either. When Ben didn't laugh, Wagner cleared his throat. "As for my business here, I was actually summoned. The note I was given sounded quite urgent."
"Can I see the note?" Ben asked.
"Of course, my son." Wagner said as he reached into his pocket and retrieved a rolled up piece of paper from his pocket. "I am only happy to oblige." Wagner said and handed it to Ben.
Ben took the note and unrolled it. A split second before both his eyes and brain could register that he was looking at a grocery list, Father Wagner quickly pounced on top of him with such a brute ferocity that Ben was knocked to the ground on his back with Wagner almost crushing him. He also felt a set of sharp teeth bite deeply into nape of his neck and felt searing pain as Wagner shook his head violently. Ben was screaming as loud as he could, but was in such shock from what was happening that he had noticed or felt Wagner's hand was clasped over his mouth so tightly that Ben's teeth were about to break. With one final jerk of his head, Wagner ripped a good chunk of flesh free from Ben's neck and tearing open important arteries that allowed massive amounts of blood to shoot from Ben's open neck into wide arcs and stain the ground red while more blood was quickly leaking out. Ben instinctively placed a hand over the wound but felt it quickly become wet as his own blood coated it completely and he felt his body begin to shiver and tremble as he felt so much colder than before. Wagner stood to his feet and spit a chink of flesh onto the ground as he stepped over Ben as he began to loose consciousness. Along with the bit of flesh, Wagner also left behind a blood stained white collar as he let out a slow and menacing growl.
John was rubbing his chest as he leaned against one of the stall walls while he panted slowly. He had started to sweat not too long ago while his chest itched and his limbs began to ache. So far, it was exactly like it was the night before. It kept feeling like the entire stall was getting hotter as he wiped the thin layer of sweat from his forehead.
"Are you okay, John?" Miriam asked as she saw how uncomfortable he was.
"I'm fine. I can get through this." He reassured her.
"Okay. Just let me know if you need anything." Miriam reassured him.
"JOHN!"
John leapt away from the wall as he spun around and saw Joss' rotting face in front of him. He could swear that she had decomposed slightly more since the last time he saw her.
"John, what is it?" Miriam asked.
"It's Joss." John said.
"He's here!" Joss said as she approached John.
"What?"
"It's Wagner; he's here! He just killed one of the hands patrolling the grounds."
"Oh shit." John whispered.
"What is it?" Mim asked.
"He's here. Mim, get your rifle ready!" John said.
Mim quickly grabbed her rifle that she had placed in a corner and raised it to her shoulder. She placed her index finger close to the trigger as her face shifter into a look of determination.
"Come and get me, you son of a bitch." She said to herself.
Fritz had a pistol tucked in the wait of his pants that was resting against the small of his back and under his flannel shirt while he held his double barrel shotgun in his hands. The sky was dark and dotted with stars while the moon was high and bright. He also had a knife holstered on his left side in case push came to shove. At that moment, he was eager to use any one of them or a chance to use all three weapons. They only had a few lantern lit here and there and not that bright. Fritz was lightly chewing on the inside of his cheek as he walked around the front of the house and kept his eyes opened. As he kept glancing from one side to the other, his mind kept bringing up the memory of what he had seen when he was a child. The mental image that had been seared into his brain of that beast that was on four legs before it stood upright on its hind quarters and almost looked like a man. Every time he would think about that sight, his grip would tighten slightly on his gun before he made himself relax. He needed to focus. They had already had loss Joss because he was too damn drunk to make sure she wouldn't sneak off. Now he had to make sure they didn't loose Miriam. He wasn't going to fail again.
"Why hello, Fritz." A rather upbeat voice said behind him, causing Fritz to in hale quickly and spun around with his rifle raised.
When he came face to face with Wagner, he saw that the preacher had caught the barrels of the rifle with one hand and were keeping it pointed away from him. The hairs on his hand, which normally one wouldn't be able to see, were darker, thicker, and more noticeable. It also looked like claws were peaking out from under his fingernails while his clothes, looking very shabby and dirty, looked to be a tighter fit on him. In fact, his normally skinny and lanky frame had expanded quite a bit. His teeth looked to have grown into a menacing set of fangs that were barley being contained by his lips and his off putting smile. Both his eyebrows were thicker and his brow had become larger. A thick mane of hair was growing around his face and showing that the lower half of it looked to be slowly turning into a muzzle of sorts that was covered in fresh blood. His one eye was now a golden yellow which seemed to be glaring at Fritz like one would look at a cut of meat at a butcher's shop.
"You've got no business here." Fritz said in a defiant tone.
"Oh, I'm afraid I do." Wagner said as he pulled the rifle away from Fritz's grip and flung it to the ground. "Now I need you to tell me where Miriam is, Fritz." He said.
"Can't you find her with that sniffer of yours?"
"Despite what everyone may think of me, I am neither a fool nor that stupid to fall for such an infantile trap like the one you've obviously set." Wagner growled as he clutched Fritz by the throat.
With very little effort, Wagner flung Fritz backwards like he was a paper doll in the wind. Fritz slammed into the porch railing back first and heard the wood crack as the back of his head slammed against a post. He slumped to the ground and groaned in pain as he heard Wagner growling above him. With both hands, and the claws becoming more prominent as they tore his shirt and scratched his flesh, Wagner pulled the old worker to his feet and slammed his back against the porch and leaned in so close that Fritz could smell the blood on Wagner's breath. Fritz grasped the knife in his belt and unsheathed it quickly as he tried to jab the blade into the side of Wagner's throat. Wagner easily caught Fritz's arm by the wrist and then just as swiftly bit into the flesh and muscle of his forearm. Fritz's howled in pain as he felt the teeth puncture his arm and felt warm blood begin to flow down it as if it were warm milk. Wagner then raised his head and gave Fritz an angry glare and peeled the loose bandage away from his eye.
"That wasn't very smart, Fritz." Wagner said as his voice deepened and more beastly as the hair around his face grew, his body bulked more and causing his clothes to rip and tear, and the muzzle becoming more pronounced. Fritz couldn't help but look at the damaged portion of Wagner's face as the priest continued to change. While his eye lids remained shut, the entire area around it was black and a large portioned of it burned with only very little of it being scabbed over. "You can make easier on yourself if you just tell me where Miriam is." Wagner growled.
"Could you repeat that?" Fritz asked. "I couldn't hear you over the sound of me shitting myself."
Aggravation as well of frustration filled Wagner's threatening a very loud growl as he let go of the older man's arm. He grasped him by the shirt and threw him across the rather large yard as if he had weighed nothing. Fritz bounced slightly and rolled along the ground as soon as he landed. As he tumbled and rolled to a stop, Fritz could hear several of his joints and bones pop and snap. As he groaned in pain, he could feel that at least his hip was probably broken, maybe even a leg or possibly his knee. He tried to move his left arm, but was greeted with burning pain from his wrist as he tried to move it. That meant it was probably broken as well. Felix rolled over onto his back and soon saw Wagner, if you could even call him that, looming over him. What he was seeing wasn't a man any more, was most definitely a beast. With calls fully extended now and the fingernails missing entirely, the beast swung its hand down and upward and sending its claws into the skin of Fritz's flesh and trying to viciously grip the underside of his rip cage. Fritz shouted in pain as the beast dug its claws deeper into the skin and its grip tightened. That's when the beast leaned it face in close as it snarled.
"Where is she?!" it snarled.
Both Miriam and John could hear Fritz's cries of anguish from inside the stables. Miriam held the rifle close to her while tears fell down her cheeks. She had to do her best not to cry as she continued to hear her friend bellow and shout in agony. John gripped the bars of the stall tightly as his breathing had become more labored. His anger was rising to heights that he hadn't even considered possible as he heard Fritz. He could also smell Wagner outside. The smell of the man, the beast, seemed to assault and burn the interior of his nostrils with almost every breath he took. As John's grip on the bars tightened, he could feel something inside of him desperately trying to get out. It wanted to go out there and tear Wagner apart. To do nothing more but to make sure that this threat would be put to an end. But it was stuck. John could feel it at the back of his mind. For the first time since he was attacked, he could actually feel this creature inside of him as it demanded to be released. The amulet he was wearing wouldn't let him. He could feel it now as it pressed against his chest. It almost felt more like he was wearing a burning piece of coal against his breast bone than a thin piece of metal.
"John, are you all right?" Miriam whispered as she noticed the state he was in.
"No." John said with an almost guttural growl. John looked down and winced as he did his best to mentally force his own beast back. He did not want to give in to this creature. He refused to let himself to become anything like the monster that was outside the barn. John quickly looked up as he felt his heart rate increase with what followed. "Listen."
"I don't hear anything." Miriam said.
"Exactly." John whispered.
The stable doors were then slammed with a terrific force, causing Miriam to briefly scream in surprise. Whatever had hit the doors was strong as it shook the doors to their very frame as it struck them again. Miriam raised the rifle and brought the butt of it into the crook of her shoulder and aimed down the barrel with both eyes opened. The force slammed against the door again and again repeatedly and it could be easily seen that the lock wouldn't hold for much longer. Whatever was on the other side continued to pound on the door until the locks finally were ripped free from the wood and the doors flung open. As soon as they did, Miriam immediately fired.
The smoke from the rifle was thick as she pulled the lever of the Henry rifle down and back up, ejecting the spent casing and a fresh bullet being loaded into the chamber. As the smoke finally began to disperse, she felt a chill travel down her spine as she heard a very deep chuckle.
"Nice try." The beast said as he walked into the stable and all the horses within shouted out in terror.
What entered was unlike anything Miriam or John had ever seen before. The beast was tall with a broad frame that was covered in a coat of long black hair covered its body. What was left of the clothes it wore barley draped over its body in tatters. What were once hands were now longer at the palms, the fingers somewhat curled as sharp pointed claws emerged from the nail beds at the tips. It was now walking on the ball of its feet as they were now extended to a great length as well with the knees bent. It was hunched over, but still menacing with its pronounced brow furrowed in anger, and the slightly extended muzzle of its face was covered in fresh blood what was starting to darken to darkened brown. Its teeth were long and curved with bits and peaces of what looked to be fresh meat in between them. What was in front of them was not a man by any means. They very sight caused Miriam to pause in shock; otherwise she would have fired another bullet at this monster before her.
"I told you Miriam, I am the arm of God! I have been chosen to deliver his judgment and will upon this Earth. Do you see how this all apart of God's will. Do you see?! You medeling little BITCH!" it roared as its muzzle extended to look more like a snout while more of the visage of man slipped away. That's when its yellow eye looked toward John and chuckled.
"Locked you up, did she? Well, my son; prepare to see the will of our Lord and Savior at work." It said as it focused its attention on Miriam and lowered itself to where it was now on all fours. Now, it truly looked like a a vicious beast.
As soon as it did so, Miriam forced herself out of her state if shock and began to fire her rifle. Ejecting one shell after another, both she and John saw as each bullet pierced its skin and watched as blood dripped onto the ground. With each bullet Miriam fired at the beast in front of her, the creature howled and yelped in pain and attempting to step backwards in an awkward retreat. Its body quivered and shook as it felt the hit projectiles burrow deep into its body and began to slightly hunch down to the ground. Miriam aimed for between its eyes and squeezed the trigger, only for nothing to happen. She held her breath as she pulled the lever again and squeezed the trigger one more time, but nothing. She was out of ammunition. She needed time to reload, but she knew that time was something she didn't have as the beast looked up and glared at her with its good eye and began to growl.
"NO!" John shouted from the stall. "MIM, RUN!"
John reached upward and grasped the pendant firmly in his fist and ignored the slight burning sensation it caused in his palm. Without a moment's hesitation, John ripped the pendant away from his neck and flung it to the other side of the stall. John could immediately feel something within him began to emerge as every part of his body felt like it was stretching and contorting. He looked up with gold eyes as a roar of rage emerged from his throat that sounded unlike anything he or Miriam had ever heard before in their lives. As he roared, he threw his body against the bars of the stall as he felt the clothes on his body tear away. If it meant saving Miriam's life, he would gladly and willingly walk into the deepest fire pits of hell.
Miriam bolted further down the stable in an effort to put as much space between her and the beast as she could as she reached into her pocket and grasped a handful of silver bullets for her rifle. She heard the roar of the beast behind her as she ran and quickly felt the tremendous force push her down to the ground from behind. She tumbled along the dirt floor of the stables as the horses cried out in fear as she rolled onto her back. The beast as above her and swinging its claws toward her throat. Years of various adventures as a reporter paid off as she raised her rifle and blacked the claws from doing any harm to her. Sadly, the strength of the beast was great as the impact flung the rifle from her hands. She didn't have time to plan or really thin. Miriam acted on adrenaline and instinct as she kicked her right leg upward and planted it firmly in between the beast's legs. The beast howled in pain and collapsed to the ground beside Miriam as its hind quarters closed together. Miriam quickly rose to her feet, grabbed the rifle, and ran back towards the stable John was in. She hadn't heard anymore sounds coming from the stall he was in and grew worried.
As she ran, she tried to load fresh bullets into the rifle, which weren't that many, but finding herself unable to due to the adrenaline wearing off mixed with her own fear. She heard the beast growling behind her again and knew it would be attacking soon. She had reached John's stall and turned only to see the door to the stall was hanging open and barley on its hinges with the lock and chain both laying broken on the ground. When Miriam heard the beast growl once more, she saw it was glaring at her with its fangs bared and drool coming out of its mouth. The beast ran towards Miriam with jaws open and full intention to kill when something from the rafters leapt downward and tackled it to the ground and latching its teeth deep into the back of its neck. The beast was spinning in a circle as it tried to strike at the creature with its claws. Each strike made its attacker only bite down even harder than before.
The beast finally slammed itself backwards into a stall, making the horse inside rear up in panic while knocking the wind out of its attacker as it was struck with both the stall and the body of the beast. The new creature quickly rose to its feat to show that it was John, now in his own beast like form. The hair covering his body was a golden brown as it kept his golden yellow eyes fixed on the beast. His own teeth were bared with the blood of the beast staining his lips, but only having a small muzzle instead of a snout. His clothes, while ripped, remained mostly intact but were now obviously several sizes to small for his broader frame. Like the beast, his feet and hands were now longer than they were with sharp curved claws extending from each finger and toe. John's shape still looked more like a man, unlike Wagner as both began to pace around its each other with their teeth bared while both growled.
The beast raised itself on its hind legs to attack, but Jonathan leapt forward and was able to tackle the monster onto its back. Sitting on the monster's chest, John began to strike at it with its claws over and over again across its face and chest. The beast raised its left arm and blocked John's next attack while back handing him with its right hand and knocking John off of it. John was knocked aside, but quickly rebounded to his feet as the beast rushed in and sank its jaws in John's shoulder while Miriam watched on in awe. John let out a roar of pain before slamming a fist into the top of its head and then another. The beast finally backed away and shook its head as John lashed at it again, his claws slashing the beast across its face. The beast responded by rushing its right hand upwards and sinking its claws into John's side and pushing him backwards into a wall. John tried to push the hand away, but the beast pushed back and sank it claws even deeper. The beast raised its left hand for another attack as Miriam remembered the pistol she had taken from Fritz earlier in the day. Her left hand quickly undid the strap and pulled the pistol free. She raised the firearm, aimed, and fired two shots. One bullet burrowed into the back of the beast's right calf and the other dug itself into the left cheek of the beast's backside.
The beast cried out in pain and was distracted long enough for John to push it away and bit into its shoulder. The beast snarled in hate as it locked its jaws into John's shoulder as well and the two began to throw themselves around the stable. John would pin the beast to a wall in one moment before the beast would push him back and return the favor in kind. It was as if they were engaged in macabre dance as they kept their teeth sunk into each other's shoulders. Miriam kept her eyes on the combatants as she pulled the hammer of the pistol back and fired. Every time she had a bead on the beast and squeezed the trigger, they would move at the last moment and the bullet would miss. Frustration was growing fast in her with every shot she missed. She fired one more time and swore under her breath as she realized that she had just wasted her last silver bullet. The beast bit harder into Jonathan's shoulder, making John yelp in pain as his already tattered shirt was becoming red under the beast's teeth. Miriam looked all over the stable and soon saw something she could use as a weapon. She quickly ran and grasped a pitchfork before returning her sights to the two battling wolves. She ran at them with the fork lowered and jammed it into the back of the beast and drove it deep into its body.
The beast screamed as it spun and bashed Miriam in the side of the face, knocking her to the ground while throwing Jonathan to the side at the same time. Seeing Miriam on the ground, Jonathan growled in fury as it glared at the beast again. The monster had reached behind himself and pulled the pitchfork free as John leapt and once more bit into its throat and began to shake his head vigorously. John let go and then plunged both sets of his claws into wither side of the beast and pushed them as deep as they could go and deeper still. The beast howled in pain while John howled in hate.
"Run!" John growled as he glanced at Miriam as she slowly stood to her feet. "RUN!" John bellowed again as he dislodged his left hand and swiped upwards, cutting the underside of the beast's chin.
Miriam quickly did as Jonathan said and bolted out of the stable. The beast turned and was ready to pursue until John wrapped his arms around its neck in a tight choke hold and held it back. The beast snarled in protest and reached behind its head in flailing attacks as it tried to strike John. One swipe of its right hand managed to claw Jack along the side of his head and ear, making John yelp in pain and made his grip loosen. This was more than enough for the beast to roll forward and throw John off of him. The beast returned to all four limbs and clawed at John several times across the torso until John bit its left hand. John shook his head hard and made the bones snap and made the beast yank its arm backwards with part of its flesh and hair tearing away within John's teeth. John leapt forward and grasped the monstrous beast by the head and slammed its head against a wall as hard as it could. It was dazed as it stumbled to the ground. Using his advantage, John continued to slam the monster's head against the wall again and again. The wood was beginning to splinter as a thin coat of blood was left in the wake of each strike before the monster wolf sagged to the ground in a lifeless heap. John stepped backwards and panted heavily as it looked at the unconscious creature in front of him that had turned his life on its head and ruined the lives of so many others in its deluded crusade. With a deep breath, John leaned his head backwards and let out a long and triumphant howl.
After he was done, John leaned against a wall and winced as the horses continued to neigh and shout in fear. All the energy he had during the fighting was quickly leaving him as his muzzle retracted some and he regained a little more of his human shape. He turned and made his way tot eh open stable door. Once outside, he closed his eyes and sighed as he felt the cold night air blow through the hair that covered him and begin to cool his overheated body. After letting the cool air fill his lungs and caress his skin, he walked further out and away from the stables and toward the house. He could smell fresh blood flowing in the air and remembered Fritz's screams from earlier. He had to know if Fritz was still alive or if he had become another victim to Wagner's madness. John had walked a few feet when he heard the vicious snarl coming directly behind him.
"You've got to be fucking kidding me!" he thought to himself as he turned and looked back to the stables.
Covered in cuts that his fur obscured and dripping blood, with silver bullets being pushed out of their wounds and falling to the ground, Wagner stood hunched over and claws opened and ready to attack. His entire body, while large and bulky, looked nothing like the shape of a man now. His snout was now longer and jaws opened wide with his lips in a hateful and blood thirsty sneer as drool and blood dripped from his gaping jaws. His one yellow eye was filled with madness and hatred as it glared at John. This did not look like a man that evolved from apes like Darwin had always theorized. No, this thing was clearly a wolf that had been pretending to be a man. No its disguise, it mask, was gone and its true self was making itself known. All it wanted to do was to kill. Like John thought earlier, he was willing to walk into the fiery pits of hell itself to keep Miriam safe, and it looked like he was about to prove it.
Wagner's beast began to run as it howled with rage filled blood lust as John stood prepared to fight him. Wagner was almost on top of him with claws outstretched and jaws ready to snap when several gunshots rung out so suddenly that it made John flinch with surprise. Wagner slowed for a moment as it clutched its torso as it staggered for a moment, but its gaze never left John. It started to move when several more shots rang out and struck it in the torso again. That's when Miriam walked up next to John from behind with a double barrel shotgun. She walked past John and only stopped when she was in front of Wagner with both barrels raised high. Wagner tilted its head in confusion as it gazed at Miriam.
"God's will be known, mother fucker." Miriam said as she pulled the trigger and unloaded both barrels at once.
Wagner immediately fell backwards and slumped over onto its side with its back facing them. Both Miriam and John stayed where they stood, both unable to either move or breath as they waited to see what happened next. That's when they saw the body begin to shrink. The claws retracted into its fingers, the shoulders and chest's width began to gradually reduce, and all the hair began to recede or fall out and dissolve. The snout grew smaller and smaller, returning to the shape of a muzzle and then into a face as the large fangs retracted into the gums and returned to look like normal teeth. Instead of a monstrous wolf, what lay before them was a semi naked man that was skinnier than a rail, his body riffled with bullet wounds, puncture marks, and claw marks all over his body, was now laying dead on the ground. The beast was slain.
Miriam sighed with relief as she lowered the rifle While John looked behind him. He felt relief wash over him as he saw Fritz, battered and bleeding, leaning against a tree with a pistol in his hand. He could see him chuckle as he waved to John, letting him know that he was all right. John turned to Miriam and reached out to hold her as she turned to face him and gasped a little as she saw what he looked like in his wolf form. John was puzzled at first until he looked down at his hands and arms. They were still covered in golden brown fur and claws still extended from his fingers. Wagner was dead, but he was still a werewolf. John opened his mouth to speak, but didn't know what to say. He then remembered what Maleva had said. One possible cure was to eat the heart of the wolf that had bit him. John walked over to Wagner's dead body and turned it onto its back. What he saw when he did filled him with despair. Where Miriam had shot him with silver buckshot was directly into the heart. Wagner's heart was more than likely shredded by the buckshot, but it was also filled with the metal that could now kill him. John bent over as he began to weep and covered his face with his hands. As he did so, he was puzzled when he felt someone take his right hand and hold it. Looking up, he saw Mim was holding his hand in both of her and placed it softly against her face.
"I'm not afraid." She whispered to him.
"Mim," he started to say but stopped. He quickly looked up and turned towards the road as he heard something in the distance. Mim followed his gaze and knew what he was more than likely hearing.
"John, you have to go. If they see you like this, they'll kill you. You have to run, now!" she said to him. John wanted to speak, but Mim silenced him by placing a finger over his lips. "I'll find you. I promise." She said.
Reluctantly John stood as his gaze never left Mim's eyes. After a moment or two, John turned and made his way into the woods. In there, he would be able to hide until the sun would rise and he would return to his human form. With Ron safely away, Mim stood and quickly made her way back to Fritz. The rancher was having trouble breathing and seemed to be shaking with every exhale. She knelt by him and placed a hand on his shoulder.
"How are you feeling?"
"I feel like shit." He said with a slight cough.
"Don't worry. We'll get you bandaged up and you'll be better in now time." She said.
"I doubt it. I – I can feel something inside me is busted up real bad. I don't think I'm gonna make it." He said as he took several more quick breaths. He then slowly raised his arm so Mim could see it. "Mim, t-that son of a bitch bit me." He said. His arm quickly dropped as he lifted his other arm and handed the pistol to Miriam. "It's got one – bullet left." He said as he found it harder for him to breath. Miriam's eyes went wide as she realized what he was asking.
"Fritz, please. Don't ask this of me." She pleaded with him.
"Mim, if I make it – I'll be like him. I don't want go through that. I'm asking you as – as my friend." He said.
"Fritz." Miriam said with tears filling her eyes.
"I won't lie. Some of it's been magic and some of it b-been tragic. But I've had a good life all the way." Fritz said with his usual charming smile. "Tell Jennie that I love her. And I'll be waiting for her with a deck of cards waiting." He said with a chuckle that soon turned into a mad coughing fit.
Weeping and tears falling down her cheeks, Miriam took the pistol and stood to her full height. She pulled the hammer back and aimed it for Fritz's heart. Several more sobs escaped her lips as she finally steadied herself. "Please forgive me. Please." She begged.
"Ain't nothing to forgive. You're doing the right thing." Fritz said and closed his eyes.
With as much courage as she could muster, Miriam steadied her hand and squeezed the trigger. With a loud crack and a puff of thick smoke, Mim collapsed into her knees and sobbed uncontrollably.
Miriam was sitting on the porch sipping a fresh cup of coffee with Slim by her side while the Sheriff and his men talked among themselves. Miriam had seen many things in her life, but a dead person had thankfully been few and far between. In the past few months, she had seen enough death and bloodshed that was probably worth two lifetimes. However, what made her feel sick and broken at the moment was fulfilling Fritz's last request. She understood the why, but it didn't make it any easier that she had taken the life of a friend. It was something that would weigh heavy on her conscious for the rest of her life. With Father Wagner, she saw that as more like putting down an animal that was infected with rabies than anything else. A blanket was draped over the reverend's body while Fritz and Ben were taken off to the side and were laid side by side while one deputy was sent back into town to fetch the undertaker. To say that they had a mess was an understatement as they tried to figure out what to do. The Sheriff himself looked like something that death had stuffed in a suitcase and then let a mad gorilla throw and bash it about for half an hour. Mim glanced at him as he talked to a deputy and noticed something that he was holding in his hand. It was a long black cane with a rather unique handle. From this distance, Miriam couldn't really make out much of the details except that it was ornate and intricate. As soon as the sheriff was done talking, the deputy went to join the others while the sheriff walked towards them.
"Miss Possible," the sheriff started before biting his lower lip and rubbing his rough unshaven face. "I don't even know what to say."
"Did you know?" Miriam asked him.
"I did." He said and saw the anger in her eyes as she pursed her lips. "I made sure that he had a room under the church to lock himself in. He had promised me that he – I never would have guessed that," he said but couldn't finish. "I should have done something sooner."
"Yes. You should have." Miriam said as she stood. "I think I need to go in." she said to her uncle.
"Go ahead. I'll be in after a bit." Slim said as he stood as well as Miriam madder way to the door.
"Miss Possible?" the sheriff asked, causing her to pause. "I am sorry for not doing what I should have. But thank you for what you did here. I know it doesn't help, but I want you to have this." He said as he placed the cane he was holding against a porch railing. Miriam could now see that the intricate handle on it was shaped into the head of a wolf.
"Is that?" she asked.
"Silver? Yes." The sheriff said. "It belonged to the man who founded Blackmoor. I brought in case – it doesn't matter. But I'd like you to take it, in case you need it." He said.
He knew. Miriam could sense it in the way he was talking. He knew what John was. She didn't know what to say at that moment and held her coffee mug closer to her.
"I'll think about it." She said and went inside. As she did, Slim sighed to himself as he looked at Sheriff Wagner.
"You know, there's just one thing I can't stand about living in Blackmoor."
"What's that, Slim?" Wagner asked him.
"All the God damn werewolves."
Miriam had just walked into her room when she stood for a minute and tried to let the night's events sink in. She placed her mug of coffee on a night stand and made her way to the window. She looked out it and out into the woods. She knew John was out there and she would be joining him soon. It was going to be a complicated life, that much was obvious. But she knew that it would be worth it in the end. She pressed her forehead against the cool glass of her window as she began to weep for Fritz. So much pain and death had happened and it would take her a while before she could ever start being anything that resembled her normal self. No one had left tonight with clean hands.
As she continued to weep, Joss moved in beside her. Unlike the previous times, her skin looked pink and glowing instead of pale and putrid. She wore her favorite yellow sundress instead the filthy tattered clothes she had been wearing on the night she had been killed. She couldn't help but look at her cousin and feel remorse for everything she had just endured.
"I'm so sorry, Mim. If I could erase all this, I would." She said as she licked her lips. Despite the fact that she was a spirit, her lips had felt surprisingly dry. "If it helps, I'm free. The wolf that killed me is dead, so I'm not trapped in limbo anymore. I can come and go as I please. So can the others. And John's okay. He's waiting for you right now." She said with a bitter sweet smile. Joss sighed as she mentally berated herself. "Damn it, this sucks! All I want to do is try and help and I can't do shit! I wish that you could at least hear me." Joss said as she turned to leave.
"What makes you think I can't?" Miriam asked, causing Joss to stop and slowly turn around.
"Mim? Were you talking to me?" Joss asked as she took a few steps closer. "Miriam, can you hear me? Can you see me?" Joss asked hopefully.
"What do you think?" Miriam asked as she turned her head and looked up directly at Joss with golden yellow eyes.