Monsters in the Midwest (Book 2): Northwoods Wolfman (27 page)

Chapter 40

Let me out. I need to be out. Let
me out.

Dallas
fidgeted, shifted, squirmed. He could feel the moon coming. He felt it in his
molars, in his toes, in each and every follicle on each and every square inch
of skin. The sun was a fading orange light pushing shadows down the walls and
across the floor. Every second, the shadows lengthened, deepened, and took back
what was rightfully theirs inch by slow inch.

The
impending full moon filled his brain. It was a strange thought, one that Dallas
had to work his mind around more than a few times. Since forever, the full moon
was just a thing. Nothing special, nothing worth getting all excited about. Not
once in his life had he ever stopped to consider the coming of the moon. The
opening kickoff for a big game, sure. Fourth of July or New Year’s Eve, sure.
The Trappersville Men’s Bowling Tournament, abso-frickin-lutely. But the full
moon? Who cared? Who would upend their entire life in preparation for that?

Werewolves,
Dallas thought woefully.
Lucky us.

Sitting
on the cabin floor, he took small solace in the fact that it wasn’t a worry
he’d have after tonight. Aletia had produced something that could either be
pegged as a short sword or really long knife. It was slender, double-edged, and
reeked of silver. As the final seconds of his life ticked away, he knew with a
cold certainty that the moon would rise, he’d turn, Aletia would separate his
big, wolfy head from his thick, wolfy neck, and it’d be so-long Dallas.

Strangely,
he wasn’t worried about dying. What worried him were the distinctive smells
coming from outside the cabin. Fresh-cut wood, saw dust, gasoline. He knew that
the obstacles and fake monsters he’d trained with were being converted into
kindling for a nice, toasty bonfire. Colton and Aletia hadn’t been shy about
their plans. After he turned and was put down, Lois would be burned at the
stake.

When
Colton had articulated the simple plan, Dallas had gone into a rage. The
burning strands of silver woven in with his ropes kept his rage contained, but
only exhaustion had finally brought it to a seething end. Panting, he managed
to ask about Stanley.

“We’ll
have to see,” Colton had said without a hint of rancor. “Honestly, he doesn’t
really have a lot of value as a member of the Society. Sorry, Stanley.”

In
response, Stanley had erupted into a fresh round of sobs. Shaking his head,
Colton continued.

“The
trouble is, he’s human. We’re not murderers, so we’re not going to kill him,
but he is mixed up with the wrong crowd. We’ll have to figure out some way to
set him back on the right path.”

“Lois
is human,” Dallas had grunted.

Colton
clicked his tongue and wagged a finger in response.

“No,
Lois is a witch. That’s different. Speaking of, I’d best get the fire pit
ready.”

Out. I need to be out. Let me out.

The
shadows won. Every scrap of sunlight wiped away, the newborn night filled the
small cabin. Heart racing, muscles tensed, Dallas felt the change coming, felt
it crawling and carving its way through the dark straight for him.

“Colton!”
Aletia called out. “It’s starting.”

As
if given permission by her words, Dallas felt the now-familiar pain in his gut.
A pitchfork twisting his intestines like spaghetti noodles, a jackhammer in his
stomach, a wolf clawing its way from the inside out. Dallas writhed in agony as
the change shoved its way through him. As he stretched and contorted and
swelled, the ropes that bound him creaked, and the silver chain burned hard
against his skin.

Wracked
with waved after wave of agony, his convulsions grew more violent. Flailing and
slamming his way around the floor, he bucked and kicked and banged his head
against the wooden boards. Muzzle stretched unnaturally wide and lengthening
teeth bared, he screamed and spat, cursed and howled.

Out! Let me out!

“Colton!”
he heard Aletia yell again.

“Got
it,” Colton yelled back as he burst in through the cabin door. “We’ll wait
until he’s fully turned, then I’ll hold him down.”

Aletia. No! Please, no! You don’t
have to do this!

Dallas
tried to speak, but even if his altered mouth could still make human words, the
pain of the change and the burning silver would only allow sounds of anguish
and torment. When the change finished, the number of separate agonies quickly
dwindled until the only suffering left was the burning silver twined with a
deep sadness. Dallas ceased his thrashing and lay still. His eyes roamed and
finally found Aletia. A soft moan escaped his lips, and his yellowed claws
scratched feebly at the floor.

Please. Please don’t,
a small, frightened part of him
whimpered.
I love you. I love you.

Colton
stepped in front of Aletia. He held a long pole with a metal semi-circle at the
end that reeked of silver. When he jabbed it down across Dallas’s neck, it
burned with such ferocity that Dallas couldn’t even draw a breath. Every muscle
went rigid, and he tasted blood where his jaws clamped down on his tongue. Eyes
wide, he saw Aletia step closer and raise the long knife.

I’m sorry,
he thought.
For all of it. Herb, Lois, Dan, Randall, Aletia. I’m sorry. I’m so
goddamn sorry.

When
the bowling ball hit Colton in the chest, it knocked him back with such force
that he flew a good ten feet across the cabin.

“Strike!”
Herb cried.

Suddenly
free of the silver collar, Dallas twisted on impulse and felt the silver
blade’s tip score a deep cut across the back of his shoulders. Aletia had time
to swear and pull the blade free from the wooden floorboard before a blurred
shadow knocked her aside.

Dallas
was still trying to figure out just what the hell was happening when Herb
materialized at his side.

“Sorry
to cut it so close,” Herb said, “I knew Lois was in trouble, but I couldn’t
leave the house until sundown. Also, I lost a little time trying to decide if I
should drive here or run.”

Dallas
grunted.

“Well,
I couldn’t find Lois’s keys, so I ran.”

Another
grunt, this one edged with frustration.

“Right.
One sec, fuzzy buddy,” Herb replied while grasping the ropes that bound Dallas
tight. Stretching them taut, the ropes split. Next, Herb snapped the padlock
and carefully unwound the silver chain.

“Okey
doke. That oughta do it,” Herb proclaimed with satisfaction.

Dallas
rose up to his full height and howled. Stretching his limbs and craning his
neck, he reveled in his newfound freedom. Heavy, lumbering steps carried him to
where the roof had caved in. Looking up at the newly risen moon, he opened his
muzzle to howl again.

“I
understand, but now’s not really the best time for moonlight serenades,” Herb
advised. “Can you hold them off while I get Lois and Stanley?”

Turning,
Dallas looked at his unexpected savior. Vampire Herb practically glowed in his
altered vision. Shocks of red hair jutted in every direction, eyes shone with
an inner radiance, and long, pearlescent fangs glowed in the moonlight. His
bowling jersey billowed dramatically like a red-trimmed cloak in the wind.
Seeing him made Dallas’s heart swell. Nodding his massive head, he stomped over
to where Colton lay massaging his chest and trying to regain his breath.

Squatting
down, he brought his bared teeth to within inches of Colton’s face. Nostrils
snuffed as a deep growl rumbled up from inside, and saliva dripped from his
muzzle onto the front of the man’s shirt.

You’re meat. Nothing but meat, and
I’m hungry,
Dallas
said, words coming out as menacing chuffs.

The
shot split the air, leaving a painful ringing in Dallas’s ears and a burning
hole in his gut. Staggering back, he saw Colton raise the pistol and ready a
second shot. Dallas batted the gun aside and leaned in to bite off the man’s
arm when a fresh pain erupted in his shoulder.

With
a roar, he twisted to pull the knife free and turned to confront the new
threat. Aletia crouched a few feet behind him, a second knife in her hand. Her
calculating eyes shifted restlessly from Dallas to Colton to the silver short sword
a few yards away. He saw the decision in her eyes, grabbed Colton, and pulled
him in a quick arc just as the knife flew from Aletia’s hand. This time, it was
Colton screaming in pain as the knife buried itself in the back of his
shoulder.

“Dammit,
Aletia!” he cursed.

“What?”
she shot back. “He’s faster than I expected.”

Dallas
shoved Colton aside, and the three combatants squared off. Colton grunted and
strained as he reached for the knife while Aletia took slow, deliberate steps
toward the silver sword. Dallas watched them both carefully, trying to quell
the maelstrom raging inside.

Kill
, the beast demanded.

No,
he shoved back.

Colton
pulled the knife free and dropped into a half-crouch. Still, Dallas watched,
his inner struggle freezing his muscles with indecision.

“I
got ‘em, Dallas!” Herb yelled, triumphant. “C’mon. Let’s go!”

He
cocked his head and saw Herb standing protectively in front of Lois and
Stanley, the trio inching their way toward the door.

“You’re
not going anywhere,” Colton growled back. “You’re dead. You’re all dead.”

Dallas
stepped sideways and placed himself squarely between Aletia and the silver
sword.

No,
he woofed with finality.
This ends here, now.

“Dallas
says it’s over,” Herb translated. “We don’t want any trouble. We just want to
live our lives. Why can’t you people understand that?”

Aletia
glared at Herb. “So you’re the vampiro boyfriend, huh? Everyone said you were
toast. Another lie from your werewolf pal. Where’ve you been hiding all this
time?”

“Dallas
didn’t lie to you. He killed me. I was dead,” Herb explained. “But Lois brought
me back.”

“Why?”
Aletia questioned, aghast. “What possible reason could you have to bring back a
vampiro?”

Love,
Dallas grunted.

“Love,”
Herb translated.

“Love,”
Lois agreed. “And despite all of Dallas’s not inconsiderable faults, he really
does love you, Aletia. That has to be worth something, right?”

Aletia
looked at the hairy, hulking monster Dallas had become with the rising of the
full moon. Dropping to his haunches, he offered a soft whine and playful bark.
Despite Colton’s curses and objections, Aletia reached out a hand, fingers
trembling, and Dallas accepted the invitation. Snuffling her palm with his wide
nose, he dipped his head and positioned an ear directly beneath her fingers.

“You’ve
got to be kidding me,” she whispered, fingers twitching in a hesitant scratch.
“Are you really in there, Dallas?”

I’m here,
he woofed.

“He’s
here,” Herb said. “It’s Dallas. I mean, not like the old Dallas, but you know,
people change.”

“You
aren’t people!” Colton screamed, brandishing a crucifix and lunging at Herb. As
the vampire hissed and recoiled, Colton dove, rolled, and came up with the
silver sword. He pivoted and brought his arm down in a wide, desperate arc.

Dallas
felt the blade sink deep into his hairy shoulder, cutting through skin, muscle,
and the thin shred of control he had on the wolf inside. A clawed hand shot out
and Colton’s neck erupted in a spray of red. Heavy jaws clamped down on the
man’s head and crushed his skull. Colton’s body convulsed, its spasms turning
the spurts of blood into geysers.

“Colton!”
Aletia cried. “Dallas! No!”

Her
voice cut deeper than the silver blade, all the way to Dallas’s heart. Dropping
the very dead Colton, he turned his gore-soaked face to look at Aletia.

“He
was right, he was right.” Aletia’s eyes brimmed with terror and fury, and her
voice trembled. “You aren’t people. You’re monsters. Damn monsters.”

Giving
Dallas a final, long look, she turned and sprinted for the door.

Herb
moved to chase her, but Dallas pulled him back and shook his head.

It
was over.

The Final Chapter

Where do werewolves go when they
don’t want to cause any more pain?

Dallas
climbed a small rise and looked down on the trees below. Northern Michigan’s
Huron Mountains were a rugged change from Wisconsin’s gentle hills and
temperate forests. The oaks, hickories, maples, and beech he was more
accustomed to had given way to pines and spruces. The hardwood trees were still
there, remaining leaves burning gold, orange, and red in the setting sun, but
more and more the rocky landscape was covered in blue and green firs. It was
breathtaking in its loneliness.

Aletia
had been right, and so he had run. Herb, Lois, and Stanley had called after
him, begging him to stop. Herb even gave chase, but Dallas was a creature of
the woods. Long lopes sped him through the trees at a speed even Herb couldn’t
match. Soon, their cries no longer reached his sensitive ears. Still Dallas ran,
each bounding stride carrying him further and further away from his friends and
his home.

I’m a monster,
he had howled again and again.
A goddamn monster.
The full moon agreed,
and so he ran.

When
the setting moon finally released its hold on him, his human legs continued to
push him northeast, further and further into the wilderness. When exhaustion
finally claimed him, he curled up in the leaves under a broad-limbed elm and
cried until he slept. The full moon turned him again that night, so he hunted.
The following morning, he woke next to the eviscerated corpse of a stag. Drying
blood and bits of entrails covered the ground, each piece of torn flesh a gory
reminder of Dan and Colton and what Dallas had become. The sun had trekked
halfway across the sky before he was able to look away and continue on.

 
Dallas figured he’d head east across
Michigan’s Upper Peninsula until he reached Sault Ste. Marie. From there, he
could jump the Canadian border and lose himself in southern Ontario. There were
easier ways to hike across Michigan, but he forced himself far up into the
mountains. With any luck, he’d fall off a cliff or get eaten by a bear. At the
very least, he’d be far away from anyone else.

Now,
two weeks into the wilderness, he stood staring at the deep, wide forest. The
quiet landscape offered little distraction and allowed his thoughts to find
their stubborn way back to Aletia. He knew she was out there somewhere,
rounding up the Society and planning an all-out assault on Trappersville. He
only hoped Lois, Herb, and Stanley would be long gone before then.

Thinking
of his friends brought a flood of unbidden memories. Drinking and playing pool
with the guys. Lois’s first day on the job at Ronnie’s when she bent over to
refill his coffee and he got a peek down her shirt. Seeing Deloris for the
first time at the dealership, freshly washed and only six miles on the
odometer. Hauling Herb up onto the bar to give the big toast after the bowling
tourney. So many moments, so many normal, human moments.

“All
gone now, I suppose,” he said out loud. If the forest below had a different
opinion, it kept it to itself.

He
only had two more weeks until the next full moon. When it came, he wanted to be
as far away from civilization as possible. With a heavy sigh, Dallas set his
shoulders and headed down the far side of the hill toward the waiting trees.

He
hiked during the day and slept beneath the stars at night. He drank from
streams and snare-trapped rabbits and squirrels for food. He got wet when it
rained, cold when the season’s first snow came down, and warmed himself on a
wide rock when the sun returned. As the days passed, the man that was Dallas:
lover, brawler, champion bowler, professional beer drinker, recreational pool
hustler, HVAC repairman, member of the Society, and Hero of Trappersville, fell
away piece by piece. Lost among the sticks and leaves and moss-covered rocks,
they left only a shell of a man. Inside that shell, the wolf waited for the
next full moon.

The End…?