Animal Behavior and Other Tales of Lycanthropy (14 page)

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“Are you sure your brother was last seen in these woods?” the young woman asked as she pushed a tree branch out of her way.

The man sighed. “Yes, I’m sure. The police found his camping equipment by the lake, but no sign of him. I can’t believe they’re just giving up.”

“I’m sorry, Jack, but it has been two weeks. Maybe it’s time you—”

“Don’t say it!” he shouted, cutting her off. He stopped in the middle of the path of Virginia State National Forest and turned back to face his wife. “You and Marty are the only family I have left. I’m not about to give up on him. Alive or dead, I need to know.”

It was her turn to sigh. “Why was he out here alone, anyway? Who the hell goes camping alone?”

Jack knew she was insincere by the use of vulgarity. She only cursed when she was extremely ticked off.

Shrugging it off, he replied, “Our father always took us into these woods for camping trips; this was like our second home. Every year since Dad’s death, Marty has come out here alone for a weekend to honor that memory. Look, Karen, I told you to stay home. You have no one to blame but yourself.”

“And what if you disappear? What will I do? Did you think about that?”

“No, I haven’t.”

“Well, I have, and you’re stuck with me. And as long as we’re out here, you’re stuck with my complaining!”

Frustrated, he turned around and continued his hike.

“I’m getting tired, though. Would it be possible to stop?” she said.

“All right. There should be a clearing up ahead where we can rest. Probably best to just set up camp. Think you can make it?”

“Yeah.”

As the young couple continued to walk the narrow, winding trail, an eerie silence blanketed the forest. There were no birds chirping. No insects orchestrating their music. No tiny woodland creatures scurrying past them. They were alone, and Jack took notice, and he could not shake the feeling of an icy stare. Somewhere, hiding in the shadows, something was watching them.

He stopped and looked to the sky. The ancient trees stretching toward each other with their plethora of leaves made it difficult, but there were tiny pockets scattered throughout the forest canopy allowing in enough daylight to guide them. However, the sun would soon be setting and was already adding a pinkish hue to the atmosphere.

Karen walked passed him, playfully slapping him in the gut with the back of her hand as she did.

“Hey, where are you going?” he asked.

She stopped and turned. “To the clearing. I know you’ll catch up.”

“Listen,” he said.

“To what?”

“Exactly. None of the animals are making any noise.”

“Who cares,” she said, continuing on her way. “Come on, you’re just being paranoid . . . AH!”

Jack’s eyes went wide as his wife’s arms shot upward, her body disappearing into the earth.

“Karen!” he shouted, watching her vanish. He ran and dropped to the edge of the crater. Peering into the darkness, he called to her. “Are you all right?”

Nothing.

“Karen . . . Karen!”

Again, nothing.

“Oh, dear God, please let her be all right,” he said, rummaging through his backpack, looking for his flashlight.

“I’m okay!” she shouted, breaking the silence.

“Where are you?”

“I don’t know. It’s too dark!”

“Find your flashlight. I put it in the outside pouch.”

“Okay!”

Stealing a quick glance at the sky, he mumbled, “Thank you.”

“I found it. It looks like some kind of cave. Jack? Are you still there?”

Jack’s eyes opened wide as several large wolves surrounded him. He wanted to shout to his beloved, but fear paralyzed his vocal cords. All he could do was watch as they drew closer, baring their fangs and growling with intent to murder. He rummaged through his pack again, this time looking for his hunting knife; it was the only weapon he thought to bring along.

As the pack of wolves came upon him, Jack found his knife. Clutching it with his right hand, he waved it in the air in an effort to ward them off, but the beasts didn’t stop advancing. Suddenly, another wolf jumped directly in front of him. The creature’s fur was an odd dirty blond color, instantly reminding him of his brother’s hair. It growled at the oncoming wolves. Several backed off, but two of the largest continued: one with midnight black fur, the other a mixture of gray and white, both larger than any wolf Jack had ever seen.

The wolves lunged toward the blond wolf in unison. It met their advance and knocked the black wolf to the ground with a mighty blow from its right paw, but the other got through its defenses with a quick sidestep and clinched its teeth into the back of its neck. The blond wolf howled in pain.

“Jack, are you all right? What’s all that commotion?” Karen’s voice was panic-stricken.

He didn’t answer.

Instead, Jack got to his feet and plunged his blade into the hind leg of the gray wolf. It released its bite and turned toward him. It stared at him, growling and baring its blood-soaked fangs. It barked before leaping into the air.

Jack acted quickly. Rather than trying to block or dodge the animal’s attack, he received it. He pushed himself backward on impact, driving the knife into the beast’s stomach all the way to the hilt. He pulled upward, slicing the beast open. Intestine and blood washed over him. It let out a soft whimper, and then its dead weight fell onto his chest, making it difficult to breathe. As he pushed the animal off him, he noticed the other wolves turning tail. The blond wolf had the black one by the throat, its mouth encompassing almost half the neck. With one good twist, the wolf’s life slipped away as its throat was torn out.

The blond wolf turned to Jack, blood dripping from its muzzle as well as from the wound on its neck. Jack’s fear washed away as he stared into the wolf’s eyes, emotion residing within them. He could see compassion and fear. That gaze. It looked . . . familiar. As the wolf slowly walked toward him, he lowered his knife. The wolf lay before him; he knelt down, embracing it.

“Marty?” he asked, staring into his brother’s eyes.

The blond hair began to fall off. The skin underneath began to bubble and blister as it changed shape. The wolf’s muzzle receded. The sound of bones cracking drowned out Karen’s pleas for him to answer her. In mere minutes, Jack was staring at his brother’s naked flesh.

“Hello, Jack,” Marty said before coughing up a mouthful of blood. A large chunk of flesh was missing from the side of his throat, blood flowing profusely.

“You’re hurt,” he said as he took off his already blood-soaked shirt and placed it against his brother’s wound. Though he had the burning desire to ask his brother what he had gotten himself into this time, it could wait until after his wounds were attended to; they were reunited with Karen; and after they were out of this forsaken wood.

The blood flowed relentlessly, saturating the shirt within seconds.

“Listen . . . you have to leave this place,” Marty said.

“What happened to you?”

“I met a woman. The most beautiful woman I’ve ever seen. She was at the lake getting a drink. When I saw her, I just had to have her.”

“You’re not making any sense.”

“Listen,” he said, coughing up more blood. “She is cursed. Any man who gives into his desires, who obeys his animal instincts and tastes her nectar, becomes an animal himself.”

“That’s impossible.”

“No! It’s true. Every creature in this forest was once a man. Look at the others.”

Jack took his eyes off his brother and saw the two wolves Marty had protected him from were now men as well. “This is not possible.”

“You see . . . you must leave.”

“Karen is trapped in that hole. I’m not leaving without her.”

“She’s stopped screaming. It’s too late for her. Save yourself. I love you, bro . . .” His head slouched backward in Jack’s arms and his eyes glossed over.

“Marty . . . Marty!”

A single tear dripped down his left cheek, splashing on his brother’s face. Realizing there was nothing he could do for his brother, Jack returned his attention to the hole. “Karen . . . Karen, are you still there? Answer me!”

There was nothing.

“Hang on, Karen, I’m coming.” Without thought, he grabbed his backpack and jumped into the hole.

Jack landed on his feet, but the impact knocked him on his backside. Using his flashlight, he sliced through the darkness, trying to get his bearings. “Karen!” Getting no response, he stood and traveled deeper into the cave, his knife held out in front of him.

An awful sound echoed in the cavern: the sound of chewing. Panic settled in and Jack sprinted, fearful he was too late. As he ran further, he saw light emanating from an opening. However, his short hopeful thought was ripped from him upon seeing three wolves tearing at his wife’s carcass, growling and snarling as they devoured her flesh. He stopped dead in his tracks, his wife’s vacant eyes staring at him.

He turned his head to the right and vomited, drawing the wolves’ attention. They growled their displeasure at having their meal interrupted.

Fighting back his fear, shock taking over, he shouted. “Get . . . get away from her!”

The wolves braced themselves as Jack charged headlong.

“Stop! All of you!”

Surprised to see a woman at the entrance of the cave, Jack obeyed, halting in his tracks.

“Leave it!” she ordered.

The wolves darted off, returning to the forest beyond.

Jack walked to his beloved and dropped to his knees. The tears flowed freely.

“I’m sorry about your wife. They were hungry,” the woman said.

Jack didn’t reply.

Seeing his wife’s abdomen torn open, her intestines strewn about, was more than he could handle. Several rib bones were completely devoid of meat and her left thigh was partially eaten.

“They’re not evil. It’s just been so long since anyone came to the forest—”

“Who are you?” he asked, lifting his head to gaze at her. He could barely manage the words through the sobs.

The woman’s beauty was beyond compare. Her pale white, angelic face appeared deeply concerned for his loss. Her full lips trembled and her emerald eyes glistened, fighting back tears. Her blonde hair fell passed her shoulders, covering her chest. She wore a blood-red gown with a matching cloak. He noticed her large breasts rising and falling as she sighed.

“My name is Catherine,” she said, stepping closer to him. Jack noticed her shoeless feet and caught sight of her long slender legs. The gown was seductively slit, exposing her left leg all the way to the hip. He studied her full figure as his head lolled up to look her in the eyes so as not to be rude.

“You’re her, aren’t you? The one my brother told me of.”

“Yes,” she answered simply.

“Why do you do it?” he asked, standing abruptly as she came closer. His rubbery legs could barely support his weight and for a moment he thought he’d collapse back to the ground.

“I don’t do anything.”

“Liar. My brother told me you turned him into a monster.”

“I did no such thing. Your brother sought me out. He knew the—”

“Liar!”

“I’m sorry for your loss, but your brother was one of the few who knew my terrible secret. If anyone is a liar, it was him.”

“I don’t believe you.”

“That’s irrelevant. The fact is your brother witnessed a rape many years ago. My rape. I saw him watching in the bushes and I knew it excited him. I didn’t struggle against my captor. There was no reason to. They all receive their punishment. He witnessed the man transform into a bear after his climax, yet came searching for me. You foolishly believe he came out here, year after year, to honor your father’s memory.” She laughed. “He came in hopes of seeing me again. When I finally presented myself to him, all he wanted was to lay me, despite knowing my curse.”

“So you gave in?”

“Who am I to deny a man what he desires? I’ve lived long enough to know men take what they want if it’s not given freely.”

“Not all men,” he replied, but understood. Even with the smell of death and urine from the wolves marking their territory, he could still smell her wonderful aroma. He felt the bulge pressing against his jeans, demanding to be satiated, her beauty stirring something primal within him.
My emotions are all over the place
, he thought. “How did this happen to you?” he asked, shaking away the thought of throwing her to the ground and forcing his will upon her.

“I fell in love with a man. Problem was, he was married, and didn’t tell me. His wife eventually caught on. To both of our surprise, she practiced witchcraft and laid a curse upon me. That curse turned any man who slept with me into the beast best suiting his disposition. Since her husband gave into his animalistic desires and betrayed his wife, I have been forced to live an existence of solitude, nearly two hundred years now. But even out here, far from the civilized world, men still fancy me, and even those who are well aware of the sacrifice still desire me. Some of their desires are even heightened. They become much more curious of the wonders lying within here,” she said, opening her hands and bringing Jack’s eyes toward her pubic region. “Your brother was one of those. However, they are fortunate, for when they die, their curse is lifted and they become a man again. Death is not a luxury I have.”