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The young woman’s eyes shot open and turned to me in fear. She rolled ungracefully to her feet and moved toward me cautiously while scanning the trees. The shuffling started again and my eyes slid right to where the Beast stood. He leaned nonchalantly again the tree waiting for us to notice him and then stepped forward into the moonlight.
The young woman’s eyes shot open and turned to me in fear. She rolled ungracefully to her feet and moved toward me cautiously while scanning the trees. The shuffling started again and my eyes slid right to where the Beast stood. He leaned nonchalantly again the tree waiting for us to notice him and then stepped forward into the moonlight.
I bore my teeth, “Who are you? Why are you here? This is my land. They are my herd.”
He waved an elongated hand. He was young, probably about my age. “I don’t want your herd.”
“Why are you here?”
“My name is Harrison. I’m here because I belong to your pack but I was off scouting while you were busy attacking my boss. I didn’t find out about the change until after you’d sent the rest of the pack scurrying off.”
“Well, then you should already know that you’re not welcome.”
He shook his head with a sly smile. “I know a lot of things but being welcome is not one of them. You made a very nice speech back there to your little human friends. It impressed me.”
I felt my lips pull up in a menacing growl. My exposed teeth glinted in the light, “My herd. I can do with them what I want. If you even try to lay a finger on them I’ll kill you.”
“I don’t doubt that.” He held up his hands in concession. “But I’ve already told you that I have no interest in your herd. What I do have interest in is not being a monster.”
The girl peeked around my arm to get a better look at him. Her curiosity was as high as my own. He smiled winningly at her and then looked toward me. “You see I also made the choice not to take a human life but up until now I really thought I might be the only one.”
“Why were you with that pack if you didn’t want to take a human life?”
His face twisted. “She decided for me. She’s my mother. I felt a strange sense of loyalty to her despite the change.”
My defenses went up again. “I’m sorry I killed your mother. It was the only way for me to protect what’s mine.”
He waved another dismissive hand. “I’m not one to hold a grudge. She deserved it I suppose. Either way, what’s done is done.”
My head tilted sideways as I assessed him.“What do you want?”
His lips peeled back in a discomforting smile. “I just want a place to sleep. We’ll worry about the rest in the morning.”
“I don’t trust you.”
He shrugged. “I’m kind of used to that. I’ve been a monster for close to a year. It kind of goes with the territory.”
I felt my pity for the man rise but I fought it. Pity and complacency would lead me to death if I wasn’t careful and something about this situation struck me the wrong way. “You should leave. You are not bound to me. Go find your own plot of land and live there.”
“Homesteading? Well, I suppose that’s an option although I don’t care to take on trying to defend my land by myself. In my opinion, you’re a little crazy.”
“I don’t care what you think of me. I don’t trust you and I don’t want you on my land or near my herd.”
“Why do they interest you so much? I mean, I get that you’re the conservationist type, but you haven’t done much to recruit more humans so I have to assume that it’s only this bunch you’re interested in. What is it about them?”
I shrugged noncommittally. “They were here when I claimed the area. I didn’t smell them so I didn’t know at first. By the time I realized it I had already made my decision and it seems easier to defend them than to give up my land.”
“Why not kick them out?”
“Because I’m a conservationist. I might not make a welcome sign for all of them but I’m not going to doom the handful that happened to make it inside the circle.”
He nodded sagely. “That makes a strange sense, but I don’t think you’re telling me everything. I’m willing to wait for it though. I’ll figure it out soon enough.” Without waiting for permission, he dropped onto all fours and circled around like a canine before settling into a small heap near the far side of the camp. Within seconds his breathing had slowed.
I coaxed my new ward back onto her mat and back to sleep and then I stayed up the entire night watching them both. Neither stirred.
In the morning Harrison stretched like a cat before rising to his feet and lifting his hands into the air in the most human-like stretch I had ever seen. His black fur contrasted sharply with brilliant blue-grey eyes. He trained those eyes on me and chuckled. “You look absolutely terrible. I swear that I won’t eat any of your precious humans while you’re sleeping so please take a rest.”
“I can’t.” I forced my tired frame to stand and splashed the cold water on my face.
“Why not?”
“She’s going to need food today. It’s been five days since she started to change.”
His head bobbed knowingly. “I can go hunt. Where’s the best area?”
I glared at him. “Leave us alone.”
The beast’s eyes rolled and then he passed me and leaning down toward my ward with a congenial smile. “Good morning. Are you hungry? Your new mother and I were going to hunt for you, but if you’re feeling up to it you could come to.”
“My new mother?” she looked at me with concern and all I could do was shake my head.
She moved, stretching herself experimentally. “I’m still sore. Everything still hurts.” She wasn’t whining, exactly, but I could tell she was as tired of the feeling as I had been.
Harrison nodded solemnly. “It’s a frustrating feeling, but as you move and get your body limbered up I promise it will improve.”
Just like that, I was a third wheel. It became very clear very quickly what exactly he was after. I found myself even more on the defensive than I had been. The girl was enamored. Like me, the shift into her new identity was terrifyingly easy. Humans just looked foreign now and we looked normal. A bit strange, but normal.
The two chatted the whole way revealing her name to be Michelle and her favorite time of year to be this moment when spring was on the verge of shifting into summer. By the time we caught our meal, I was ready to up and leave myself, except that I could tell he was being just a little too pushy. Several times as I watched her squirm uncomfortably I felt the need to step in and give him a hard stare. He always took my remarks or actions in stride but he was back to flirting with the young girl soon enough.
After we’d eaten and returned to my reflection pool she fell into a food-induced coma and it was just us two. His mood quickly shifted from wooer to subordinate.
“So, if you don’t mind my asking boss, how did you know about the joints? You haven’t been a monster as long as I have but you seemed to have picked that up fairly quickly.”
“It was just a guess based on my experience. It seemed like those who were older when they got infected didn’t bounce back quite as well.”
He nodded. “My mom was one of the CDC scientists first called in. She said that the excessive hormones released by the pituitary gland caused the additional bone growth but for those subjects whose growth plates were already gone the growth caused unnecessary and painful stress on limbs and joints. After she became infected she confirmed the finding and then went crazy and started killing her fellow scientists.”
“She got you too?”
He snorted. “I don’t think she realized she was infected when she came home that first night. When she was tucking me into bed she saw that my hair was going wild with static and added some spit to it to weigh it down. Unbeknownst to me, there was a small cut on my cheek from where I had shaved and her saliva got in. Bada-bing, bada-boom. That night we both transformed and a few days later she’s a raging monster and I’m her unwilling sidekick.”
“But they caught you?”
“I practically dragged her in, yeah. I thought there might be some hope if we let them prod us for a while.”
“No luck?”
He shook his head. “No luck.”
“So you eventually broke your way out and started rampaging across the continent?” I tried to make the question sound casual.
He laughed and shook his head before he spoke, “I guess that’s what it was. At first I tried to stop her but then she practically beat my head in and I suddenly realized that I had lost my mother. After that, I just stayed with her out of habit. I felt like a terrible son for considering abandoning her. Her husband did that before and I had sworn to her that I never would.”
I felt my heart softening toward him again and slammed the lid closed. “Well, I should sleep.”
He caught my change in tone and looked at me sideways, “Yeah, I’m sure you do need sleep. Well, just tell me where you want me and I’ll stay there the whole night so you don’t need to worry.”
I considered this. At my current level of exhaustion, I wasn’t likely to wake up if he didn’t make a significant amount of noise. There was really only one option but it didn’t make me feel comfortable. “Sleep between us.”
Harrison looked at me oddly for a moment and then gave a crooked smile before dropping to the ground. “That’s an easy enough request.”
Within milliseconds he had curled himself around Michelle’s small form and she sighed and snuggled deeper into her mat. Bitterly, I lay down beside the pair and drifted into the deepest sleep of my career as a monster.
I woke up midway into the morning and sat up, alarmed. Both of my companions were gone. Then I heard the sound of laughter not far away and followed it to find the two staring up at the clouds and naming what they saw.
“A buffalo liver.”
She giggled and pointed to the next one. “The large intestine.”
His face shriveled, contorting one eye. “Oh, now I see it.”
She giggled again and I felt instantly jealous. I had no attraction to the man, I had no real connection to her, but I had thought, for one brief moment, that I might have a friend. With a self-pitying sigh, I turned and stalked from the meadow. Neither of the two stopped me though it was obvious that they both knew I was there.
Rather than dwell on my problems I forced myself to run again disappearing along the perimeter of my area. There was strange relief in noting no new smells; the older passages were slowly fading. I re-marked the area and then moved in toward the human settlement just to set my secondary fears at rest. All appeared fine there as well. They had managed to plant their seeds and a few of the smaller children sat at the edge of the rectangle pointing excitedly at what might be the first sprigs of life. I felt a strange sense of peace as I watched their carefree adventures. Then I heard a gun cock and froze again.
“I thought I told you not to come here anymore.” The old man’s compassionless voice set my hart hammering.
I lifted my hands and turned slowly. “Just checking to make sure you were alright.”
“Don’t speak to me. I don’t want to hear your monster tongue trying to speak human language.”
I blew out a breath and then pointed from myself to the trees and took a step.
The gun leveled on my chest. “I told you that if you ever came back I’d shoot you.”
I couldn’t help it. I growled at him. “Leave me.”
“Where’s Michelle? Did you eat her?”
His insinuations irritated me. Without meaning to, I grabbed the end of his gun and shot it skyward dislocating his hand in the process. The weapon dropped to the ground as did he and I turned and ambled back into the trees. Shrieks of fear, hatred, and curses from the old man followed me. As I wandered through the trees I considered my options. The easiest choice, the least likely, floated forward again and again. I wasn’t wanted. I wasn’t needed. I wasn’t even doing any good to anyone. Rather than put myself through this I should just leave. I could find a new patch of land and mark out a new territory and this time I would make sure there were no humans inside my borders. Even as I thought it, I knew I couldn’t do it.
Moving on instinct, since my pool was no longer a safe harbor, I found a small stream. I thought it might be the same stream that flowed from my reflection pool but I wasn’t positive. As I stared at the water I allowed my depression to grow.
“What’s wrong Lacey?” Wade’s voice was gentle and inquisitive. It was the voice that had asked me the same questions a hundred times and it brought me to instant tears. There was too much compassion in those few words.
I curled into myself resting my head on my knees and just sobbed. After several minutes I felt a warm hand touch my shoulder and pulled away in surprise. To his credit, he didn’t flinch. He continued to watch me with concern and something else in his expression. I guessed it was fear. “Lacey, what’s wrong?” The same question, less compassion. “Why did you attack Kevin?”
“I didn’t attack him. He pointed his gun at me and threatened to shoot me. I wasn’t even doing anything wrong. I hate him. I hate you all.”
His eyes widened as I spoke. “Slow down. Slow down, I can’t understand you. Start again and slow down.” Wade knelt next to me and moved his hand to my furry knee. “What happened?”
“I was just checking. I have been busy. I was checking on you humans and then he pointed his gun at me and threatened to shoot me and started insulting me,” my voice became bitter and my speed increased, “then he actually had the nerve to ask if I had eaten Michelle and I just lost it. I wanted to snap that gun in two but I know you humans need it so I didn’t.”
“Wait, please. Slow down. I understood everything until you started talking about Michelle. Did something happen to Michelle?”
I shook my head and took a deep breath. “Michelle is fine. He asked if I had eaten her and it made me mad.”
“Ah.” Wade nodded. “I understand.” He remained silent for a moment and then started again. “but that’s not something that would make you cry. So why were you crying?” My head sunk deeper into my thighs. He could sense I didn’t want to answer that so he tried another topic. “How is Michelle doing? Did everything go well with the change?”
I blew out another frustrated breath. I needed to let them know about Harrison but speaking slowly was irritating and I had no desire to add to my irritation; still, I knew that knowing sooner rather than later would be important. “There is another monster.”
He stiffened. “Another human was attacked?” he glanced over my shoulder and I realized we weren’t alone. I turned to confirm my suspicions. Jeb and the young man both had their weapons ready and trained on me.
I stared at them both and felt the last of my will crumble. With a pathetic whimper, I forced myself to my feet and started walking.
“Lacey, don’t leave. Who was infected?” Wade turned to look at the other two questioningly. “I haven’t noticed anyone else missing?” The other two shrugged trying as hard as they could to come up with a face or name they hadn’t seen recently.
I turned in anger. “Not infected. Beast. Harrison. Says he won’t hurt you. I don’t trust him. Your problem. I’m leaving.”
I turned and broke into a run at the next set of trees. Part of me expected to get shot in the back. Part of me was glad that I wasn’t. I continued ambling forward without looking behind me. Within a few hours, I reached the border and didn’t stop. I continued for another three hours beyond that until I came to a fast running river and then I was forced to stop as I considered how to cross it. Fording didn’t seem like a good idea although that may have been my latent human fears. With my new four hundred pound body, I wasn’t quite as likely to be dragged along by the current. Still, I chose to travel up and down the river to look for a better crossing point. I hit the end of the day without success and lay down on the riverbank to sleep.
“So, the mother bear has left her cubs.”
My head shot up and swiveled trying to pinpoint the sound. Three Creatures stood watching me and I recognized at least one from the recent attack. I moved with deliberate slowness to uncurled myself, squatting, unwilling to show how unnerved I was by their appearance. Mentally I made a note to hone my senses better. The wind was coming straight at me and yet I hadn’t woken or even had a sense of approaching danger.
The new leader’s smile broadened and he tilted his head giving an expected indication to his men. The two grinned and pulled back into the forest. Before they completely disappeared he threw out an additional comment. “Go over the backside. Come at them through the smoke hole.”
The two hooted back their understanding before the sound of crashing brush began to fade. I growled and watched the spot where they had disappeared. Internally I was trying to convince myself that they weren’t my problem anymore, but I knew better. I’d been taught my whole life that mankind needed each other. I’d been taught that not participating to help someone was akin to being part of the problem. If I knew danger was headed their way, I had a responsibility, regardless of their feelings towards me, to warn them.
They were as likely to shoot me as they were to shoot the actual danger, but I couldn’t ignore something so ingrained; to ignore their plight was to condemn them. With a sigh, I faced my newest enemy. “My herd. Call back your men or you’ll regret it.”
“What are you going to do about it? I’m not old or weak like she was.”
“She was obviously strong enough to beat you, and I beat her. Do you really want to test yourself?”
He smirked. “What does it matter? The three of us will only take a handful. You’ll have plenty left over.”
“My herd.” I pushed up to my feet and lifted my shoulders just slightly so that my chest opened and I appeared wider. It was a posturing skill used by animals in the wild but the message was clear. I felt him respond subconsciously by puffing his own chest out and standing as well. His teeth pulled back in a gnarled snarl and then he dropped to all fours and started circling.
I circled as well but kept my focus on my peripheral vision looking for anything I could use. Really, my only ally was the river and I knew she was a fickle friend. I felt myself snarl internally again before launching forward.
He was right; he didn’t have the same weaknesses as his old leader. We sparred for several minutes testing each other’s defenses and I started to get nervous. Whereas I had no formal training, he seemed either naturally adept or at least partially skilled. He spun, agile on his feet, and ended behind me several times causing me to roll awkwardly out of reach. Then he started to get serious sensing his advantage. He got in two good swipes to my head before I got back on my game. Again I pictured myself as a cat. As quickly as I could, I scampered up the nearest tree and launched down toward him. We tumbled head over heels backward and landed close to fifty feet away. He was momentarily stunned and I pressed the opportunity by smashing his head into the ground a couple of times. Then he launched me sideways and away from him and dove after my rolling form. As I came to a stop I had only enough time to curl away as he landed, blackened nails outstretched for my face and throat.
Using my head as a weapon, I slammed it into his wrist knocking him off balance. Like a misfit turtle, I spun up and around so that my legs locked around his head. As hard as possible I closed my thighs, locking them on his throat. I continued to squeeze as I tried to control his flailing body. Several times he nearly unseated me but I took the beating rather than let go and my persistence finally paid off. His movements slowed and eventually became lethargic. He pushed uselessly at my legs with arm strength that paled in comparison. Finally, he dropped to his knees and then flattened against the ground.
I waited an entire minute before releasing the pressure and then checked for a pulse. Nothing. I knew it was morbid but I needed to be safe so I pushed him to the edge of the river and into the fast flowing water. I watched for a few minutes as his body floated downstream and then turned.
My roar was as loud as I could make it. “My herd. I’ll kill you.” The length of our fight meant the pair could have crossed most of the distance, but they should still be in hearing range; if they were smart they would listen. “My herd. I’m coming now and you’re dead if I find you.” I screamed the words and then followed them up by sprinting.
Sprinting is termed for the idea that all energy is given over to running for a short burst. Sprints are not meant to last for miles at a time, humans can’t sustain that much effort and energy. We are not really any different except that our capacity, because of our larger lung size and greater muscle control and density, gives us a little more capability. My sprint lasted for nearly fifty miles. I slowed, chest heaving, and continued at a more controllable pace. I knew it wasn’t wise to use up my energy considering what I was about to face, but I hoped to avoid the conflict by simply scaring them to death. If I had taken out their leader and still had the energy to make it to them at top speed then I was probably someone to be feared and maybe there would be enough fear to send them packing for good.
Then I heard the howls of exultation and I forced myself to kick back up to a sprint. I still had another fifty miles to cover and they had already reached them. My muscles burned and my lungs heaved as I ran but I pushed aside the pain and concentrated on breathing. I controlled the ins and outs, giving my muscles what they needed to do their job. My science teacher had once told me that muscle fatigue was all in our heads. The muscles don’t tire, its simply a matter of giving them enough oxygen and having the other items already in our bodies for them to use. I chanted that idea to myself as I ran. “Muscles don’t tire, the feeling’s a liar.”
The chanting helped. I crossed the last distance in record time ripping into the clearing only twelve minutes later. It took me seconds to realize that I was not the first to arrive. Harrison stood between the pair and the humans. Evidently, they either hadn’t attempted to enter through the backside as they had been told or Harrison had managed to move them. Either way he was outnumbered and had already started fighting. Looking around, I noted Michelle’s smaller frame in a heap some distance away. She wasn’t moving but I saw her chest rise and fall rhythmically. All of this passed through my mind in an instant and resolved quickly as I continued my momentum toward the first beast.
He just had time to notice me coming, but not enough, due to my speed, to realize the threat before his throat was gone. I dropped his twitching body and turned to the second. Only then did I notice that there were more. A lot more. They circled the hollow waiting for the signal to close in. Michelle was not the only downed Beast. Three more lay strewn and bleeding along the rocky ridges.
Heaving and covered in gore I faced the majority of the crowd and let out a bellow of rage. It was the same level I’d used when I was nearly a hundred miles away. “My herd. I’ll kill you all.”
A few instantly faded back and the sound of crashing brush faded almost as quickly as I had come. They were not willing to mess with what probably appeared to be a deranged Beast. The rest remained where they were. Only one was fully in the clearing and I turned on him. Harrison pulled back up to his feet and watched me with a look of gratitude that nearly unseated my anger. Without waiting, he loped to Michelle’s inert form and began looking her over. He left the fight in my hands. I wasn’t sure if that was confidence or simply desperation to be with her.
After watching him move, I turned my attention back to my closest foe. “My herd.” I controlled my tone bringing it low and dangerous. “My herd.”
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