George Washington Werewolf (10 page)

“So… when did
you
…”

“I was twenty. A young officer… a Captain in the Prussian Army… My fiancée, a beautiful young woman was… was attacked and murdered by a beast, and I was bitten like you and like you I survived,” he laughed bitterly.

“And it was a
werewolf?
”

“What else? And I became one as well…”

“But…”

“No General, there
are
no buts… it’s what the French call a
fait accompli
. You’ve been
bitten
, General… I’m so sorry. And especially that it was me who did it. I know this is something that’s… well,
unforgivable
. But at least I can tell you a few things to… well, to help you… accept it.”

“
Accept
it?
How?
How in God’s name am I to
do
such a thing, Baron, if what you say is true?”

“It
is
true, General. Next month when the moon is full you will change exactly as I did last night. You saw what happened. You saw what I became…”

Washington took a breath.

“But… there must be… there must be a…”

“A
cure?
” Von Steuben laughed. “The only cure is death, I’m afraid.”

“But, I mean I
shot
you!” Washington insisted. “Last night! In the head at point blank range!”

“The beast, for whatever unholy reason, cannot be killed by bullets or knives…” Von Steuben explained.

“But when you were bitten… what happened to… to
it?
”

“I cut off its head with my sword. The beast may be killed by decapitation… and then its head must be separated from its body and the body burned. This is the only way that I know of to kill it.”

“Other than…”

“Other than…”

“Well, suicide…”

“Suicide, yes… You have no idea how this has occupied my thoughts over the past twenty-eight years…”

“So, I mean why
didn’t
you, dammit?” Washington stood up now, irate. “Those men in the woods the other night… that was
you
, wasn’t it?”

The Baron nodded.

“
How?
How in God’s name? How can you…
murder
people like that? Innocent people! How can… How can you
live
with yourself after doing such things?”

“I
can’t!
” Von Steuben said. “But I’ve found to my everlasting shame that I can’t kill myself either. I’m… I’m
weak
, General Washington. I’ve killed countless men in battle without batting an eye, men who were my
enemy
, but… I don’t have the… the
courage
to do this thing that must be done. And I stand before you now not fit to see the sun, to breathe the air. In fact, would you do me the honor, General Washington?”

“Baron?”

“Take my pistol, sir…” The Baron handed Washington his weapon. “Do it, General.
Please
…”

And George Washington stood there with gun in hand, as he stared at Von Steuben.

“I can’t take it any longer! Please, General!”

Washington cocked back the hammer and raised his arm, the gun pointed at the same spot on the Baron’s forehead.

“DO IT!” Von Steuben shouted. “
DO IT!
”

“I… I
CAN’T!
” said Washington. “I can’t…” And he shook his head and put the gun aside.

Von Steuben nodded his head.

“Then there are things I must tell you,” he began. “Things you will need to know…”

“But I mean, if you have this
cage
, why do you still…”

“You’ll find as the days of the month wear on, as it gets closer to the full moon you will get terrible headaches, muscle aches, gut-wrenching pain so severe as to be almost unbearable. In fact you’ll feel as if you are about to die. But of course you
won’t
. You’ll just suffer unbearably until the full moon, and then when you
change
…”

“What? What happens then?”

The Baron let out a breath.

“Well, at first I… I had no desire to be… to be a
killer
. To kill innocent people like my father, like my… fiancée. So I locked myself up in the basement during every full moon. I would wait it out, you see! But the pain, it became so great that I could no longer
stand
it. You have no idea what it will be like. Like nothing you’ve ever
felt
before, General. So the day came when I
didn’t
lock myself in the basement. And when I changed I… I went out, I
killed
people, I… I
assume
that I did, I… I
know
I did,” he said. “I just can never remember what happens. I only know that the next day I feel reborn! Indomitable! So strong, as if I can do anything!”

“And the
pain?
” Washington asked.

“The pain is gone!” Von Steuben smiled. “Like magic! And for a while… well, I didn’t
care
, as long as the pain was gone. But then… I found out one day that I had murdered someone I knew. A close friend, and… Hmm, I couldn’t stand the
thought
, you know? So the following month on the second night of the full moon I kept myself locked in the cage…”

“The
second
night? What about the
first
night?”

“I know you will find this hard to under…”

“What about the
first
night, Baron?”

Von Steuben was reluctant to speak.

“The first night I was
free
,” he said.

“
Free?
So you
killed?
”

“This way the pain…”

“So you
killed!
” Washington said again.

“This way the pain would subside by my release, and…”

“Your
release?
You make it sound therapeutic! You allowed yourself to
murder
without consequence!”

“But only for one night, not
two!
”

“
One night not two?
I can’t
believe
what you’re saying!”

“Yes but still you don’t know what it’s
like
, General! Of not being able to
release
it, this evil inside that fills you with its poison until you’re ready to explode or be destroyed by it! This… great and terrible thing that you’ve become! I
had
to! I had to let myself be free for that one night! It was the only way I could
live
all the
rest
of the time!”

At this Washington was disgusted and he picked up the gun and pointed it at the Baron. And then as quickly he turned the gun on himself, he cocked the hammer and pressed its barrel into the side of his head. Von Steuben watched him take a breath, start to move his finger over the trigger, but then he reset the hammer and threw the gun against the wall. Washington sank to the floor, hopeless now, his head in his hands.

“So I’ll
change?
” he looked up at Von Steuben, his voice filled with resignation.

“Yes, you will. But… I’ll
help
you.”

“
Help
me? What can you do?”

“You need to find a place… A place isolated. Something with a basement where you can lock yourself inside when… when it happens.”

“Inside a cage…”

“Yes.”

“Like an animal…”

“No. You are
not
an animal, sir, you are…”

“I know, a werewolf.”

“Yes.”

“But… I don’t want to
kill
anyone,” Washington said. “I won’t
allow
myself to do that!”

“I understand, General. That’s why it’s imperative that you find such a place where you can safely endure the change. And you must have someone whom you trust implicitly to serve as your protector, to lock you in and then release you when the time has passed.”

“Like Otto…”

“Yes. Although we didn’t expect you to pay me a visit. I underestimated you, sir.”

“And now the consequences are my own.”

“I’m afraid so.”

Washington nodded his head.

“I understand this, Baron, and I realize that it wasn’t your fault, what happened with you and… with me. But there’s one thing I must ask of you, that I must
demand
of you…”

“What is it, General?”

“As long as you’re here under my command I cannot allow you to… to murder anymore people. Do you understand? You must lock yourself in that cage for
both
nights.”

“General, I…”

“I have grown quite fond of you, Baron. I think that we have even become friends, so please do this for me as a personal favor, out of friendship and respect…”

There was a long pause, and then Von Steuben took a deep breath.

“Yes, General,” he nodded. “I will do as you ask.”

“Thank you, Baron.”

And the two men bowed their heads to each other, as they felt the bond between them.

“So, what do we do
now?
” Washington asked.

“We… We fight the
British!
” Von Steuben said. “We win the war!”

“
What?
” he laughed. “Like none of this ever
happened?
”

“As far as the world is concerned, none of this
did
ever happen. This is to be our secret, General. A secret which I’m afraid we’ll take to our deaths.”

“And when will that be, Baron? Our deaths?”

“I have no idea, General. I have no idea.”

The days following “the event” were troubling ones for General Washington. Not only did he still have to keep his army together and prepare for the summer campaign, he now had the burden of what he was and what he would become. He took the Baron’s advice and commandeered an old stone farmhouse, all by itself in the middle of a cow pasture a mile from camp. And then he engaged a local ironsmith to construct a cage, which was assembled in the basement of his new house, all done
sub rosa
. He explained it was for the interrogation and detainment of prisoners, specifically Hessians (whom everyone detested). So the ironsmith cheerfully obliged. Then there was the matter of finding someone whom he could trust to lock and unlock the basement door during the days and nights of the full moon. Someone who would follow his orders without asking too many questions. Such a man was Alexander Hamilton.

At twenty-three, Hamilton was a Lieutenant Colonel and General Washington’s aide-de-camp. So it seemed fitting that like Otto the dwarf, Alexander Hamilton would be the custodian and protector of George Washington’s dark and terrible secret.

At first the General was going to tell Hamilton everything, but as the young man sat across from him in his tent the whole thing seemed more and more preposterous.

“General, I… I still don’t understand why you wanted to see me.”

How to broach the subject? Washington thought. How to phrase it in such a way where he doesn’t think me insane?

“General, sir? Are you all right?”

“Yes, I… thank you, Colonel, for asking. And the reason I asked you here is to… is to…”

“Sir…”

“It’s because I want to commend you for all your hard work and dedication, especially since we’ve been here, at Valley Forge. I know it’s been tough for everyone, but you have been my right hand, my rock on which I have too often leaned.”

“Thank you, sir. It has been an honor and a privilege.”

“Yes, there’s just one more thing…” Washington added.

“Sir?”

“I have recently come into possession of a house… the old Musgrave farmhouse. Do you know it?”

“The Musgrave Farm… it’s about a mile from here, is it not?”

“Yes, that’s the place.”

“It’s rather isolated, sir…”

“Yes it is. I needed a place away from… away from
here!
” Washington said, improvising like an Italian actor.

“I understand, sir. A place away from the hustle and bustle of the men.”

“Exactly!”

“Where you can enjoy some solitude, and where the burden of command may be borne more easily.”

“Precisely!”

“And where your mind will be free to envision new stratagems that will precipitate the war’s end. And the sooner the better, if I may be so bold as to add, sir.”

“You may, and you are exactly to the point, as usual Colonel.”

“Thank you, sir. So what do you require of me in this regard?”

“Your discretion, Colonel Hamilton, as this is a matter of the utmost secrecy…”

“Yes, General sir. Of course.”

“Good. You are familiar with the
Farmer’s Almanack
?”