|
Sarah ‘Tomboy’ Nakano
Stonehaven, Bear Valley
2056 Hours Local
I woke up screaming and covered in sweat. Someone was touching me! I slashed at the figure with my clawed hand, and heard
a yelp of pain. The lights were off, so I couldn’t see who it was I was attacking, but I heard: “Sarah! Calm down!
It’s me, Bird Dog! You where asleep!”
Once I managed to turn on the lights, I saw Bird Dog with several cuts across his face from where my claws had slashed him.
The smell of blood made my instincts flare, but I shoved them back down.
I wasn’t to sure of how exactly I got into his arms, but I made no move to break away. After waiting until I was finished
crying, he asked: “what did you dream about?”
I sniffled, and said: “my family and what would happen if I don’t tell them about what’s happened to me.”
“Its okay, Sarah,” he said, soothingly. “It was just a dream, it wasn’t real. Everything will in the
morning. You’re gonna be-”
“Dammit I’m not fine!” I yelled suddenly. “I felt like I wanted to rip my niece’s throat out!”
I nearly threw up at the memory of that little girl in Moscow, and now the other Pack members were coming in, asking what
was wrong.
I told them about the dream I just had, and tried not to break into any more tears. That dream terrified me in a way I had
never thought possible because it struck one of the things that was really close to my heart.
If you had come to me before I got bitten and told me that I’d be afraid of turning into a wolf and destroying my own
family, I’d have thought you where insane, and depending on where I was, I’d either call an insane asylum, or
I’d alert the base personnel of you had have you removed. But now…
I reversed the partial Change on my hand, and tried to tell everybody about Erusian culture and why I had to tell my parents
about what had happened to me. They didn’t understand at first, and Clay still didn’t understand even after Bird
Dog and me had told him twice, but the others did, and they’d let the two of us go to Farbanti, after I had finished
reading the Legacy.
I was stalling for time, I knew, but I had to know more about what happened to me first before I turned a potentially disastrous
visit into a slaughter. It took me three full days to finish it, without breaks, and I took an extra day for planning what
the best way to tell my parents of what happened.
After we decided on what to do, I called my parents, letting them know the news that I had a boyfriend, and we both went to
the New York City embassy, and where transported to Farbanti. I called a cab, and gave the cabbie directions.
Captain ‘Bird Dog’ Roy
Farbanti, Erusia
1656 Hours Local
Ah, the infamous ‘meet the parents’ phase or a relationship, although, unlike most cultures, we Erusians take
it extremely seriously. Family is extremely important to us, and someone new entering the family must be thoroughly checked
out. That is at minimal, them knowing everything about you, where you live, work, what your own family history is, and a lot
of other things.
When we got out of the cab, I paid the driver, and we both took our overnight bags out of the trunk. We approached, and Sarah
opened the door, and walked right in. I waited outside until I got approval to enter from Sarah’s parents who where
waiting at the door. When I saw that I had, because her father made a quick, sharp gesture with his right hand. That said
that he approved of me so far, and I could come in and start answering the various questions that would be thrown my way any
second. Sarah was going to, as is the custom, be talking to her mother about me and the relationship we where having.
As I stepped in, I lowered my gaze to the floor as a sign of respect, and thanks for being let in. I carried my overnight
bag all the way in, and only put it down when I sat down in the living room couch. A chair had, in preparation for this, already
been placed in front of the couch, so I could look the father in the eye as he asked away.
I looked up, and stared directly into his eyes, letting him know that I was ready to answer any question he had completely
truthfully. His first question was the one that is always asked first: “have you told your family about this relationship
with my daughter?”
That question sometimes ended relationships on the spot if the answer was no, because that showed that you had disrespected
your own family, and so they would not allow you to become a part of theirs.
Being without a family, I said: “my family is dead, I’m afraid. They have been for 16 years now. The ULYSSES Asteroids
killed them when I was 16.” I didn’t like to talk about that to much. My foster parents had done their best to
make me feel welcome as a part of their family, and it might have worked in some cases (if I was nine or so) but I was grieving,
and they understood that, and generally left me alone. I’d never overcome that grief, but I did my best to push it down
as far away from me as I could.
He leaned forward, put his hand on my shoulder, and said: “I’m sorry to hear that.”
“Not as sorry as I am,” I said, forcing back the tears that came whenever I thought about them. “You would
have liked them.”
He nodded, and then continued to ask the various questions, where do you work? How long have you known Sarah? Things like
that.
Me and Sarah had decided to tell her parents at the exact same time, synchronizing our watches to the second, and tell them
the truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth. As I explained this, Eric (Sarah’s father’s) face started
to turn a little red. I’m not talking about blushing, I mean turning red from anger. Once I stopped explaining, the
house was deathly silent, with the exception of Sarah’s explanation to her mother.
They came down a few seconds later. Catharine and Eric went into the kitchen to discuss what we had both told them, secretly
hoping that what we had said was a joke or something thought up by one of us. I only wished it was as they came back in.
“Are you joking?” her father asked, his face now less red.
I shook my head. “I know this might sound hard to believe, but I swear to you that that’s the truth. I was hoping
it wouldn’t have to come to this, but I’m afraid we’ll have to show you what’s happened to your daughter.”
“What do you mean, ‘show us’?”
“Exactly that, but it would be better for all of us if we did this in a forest.”
“Why?” Catharine asked.
“In case we lose control, there are other things in the forest we can eat. Just trust me, it’s better for all
of us in the end.”
“You mean, you eat… people?”
Sarah shuddered at that, remembering her first Change in Moscow. I put my hand on her back, and steadied her before she told
them about that little bit of information.
Sarah ‘Tomboy’ Nakano
Four kilometres Southwest of Farbanti
1713 Hours Local
We where driving towards a forest we knew and used to walk in. we all sat in silence. I was preparing both mentally and physically
for what I was about to show my parents and the incoming pain. I didn’t want to do this, but it had to be done. I REALLY
didn’t want to have my nightmare come true on me.
We went down a few little-used paths, and sometimes going completely off them a few times to insure that we wouldn’t
have anybody stumbling over us, or worse, seeing me while I was Changing.
Since Bird Dog was the more experienced wolf, he’d stay human and explain to my parents what was going on.
I stepped into some undergrowth, and when I couldn’t see anybody, I undressed, and went down on all fours.
Come on, Sarah, I thought. Be a big girl. You can do this, just don’t scream. Let them believe that this is painless.
After the Change I stepped out into the small clearing, holding my canine head down, then raising it as I concentrated to
make out the conversation that was going on.
“—we be sure that’s Sarah and not some dumb wolf that you brought here?” my father asked.
“Look at her eyes and tell me that’s not your daughter.” Bird Dog replied.
My mother approached me, and my instincts flared.
No! I’m not going to attack her! I’d rather DIE then kill my own mother!
“—do that, Sarah’s fairly new for a werewolf, so she hasn’t got total control over the instincts just
yet.”
My mother stayed there for a few seconds, then pulled back, put her hand over her mouth in a gasp, and asked: “Sarah?
Is that you?”
I nodded, going down onto my stomach. I REALLY didn’t want them to see this, but there was no other way. If there was,
I would have used it, but there wasn’t.
My parents came over to me, this time, I was ready for the surge of instincts and I quickly suppressed it. I felt a hand going
through the fur near my neck, and this time, I snapped in reflex.
Thankfully, my mother, the one that ‘petted’ me, pulled her hand away before my teeth sank in. I stood up sharply,
horrified at what I had done, and dove into the bushes.
What did I just do? This wasn’t me, I had NEVER snapped at my mother, not even verbally! I was becoming a completely
different person now. One who nearly killed her own mother, or worse… could wolves cry? I had no idea, but I soon found
out as something wet went down the sides of my canine face.
After what seemed like hours, but it was probably a few seconds, I stepped out, and saw that my father was choking Bird Dog,
and my mother was propped up against a rock outcropping, crying to herself.
I ran in between my Father and Bird Dog, and managed to separate them. Bird Dog fell backwards gasping for air, while my father
just glared at me. He started to talk, but I missed some of it because I wasn’t ready for it.
“—but if you can, I’ve GOT to kill this monster! Just look at what he did to you!”
I held my ground, growling slightly. ‘If you want him, you’ve got to go through me first.’ I hated myself
as I was doing this, forced to take my lover over my parents, but my instincts where too strong for both to let Bird Dog die,
or to let myself attack my own parents.
I was living every Erusian’s worst nightmare: forcing to choose between someone else, and my parents. This was only
made worse by the fact that if I let my father kill Bird Dog, then he would actually LET my father do that.
“Sarah,” my father said, authority dominating his voice. “Step away. NOW.”
I dug my claws into the ground for better grip in case he charged at me. He didn’t, he just stood there, as if waiting
for me to step away so he could kill the monster that made me like this. As far as he was concerned, Bird Dog wasn’t
even remotely human, he was a demon who turned their daughter into something that she wasn’t normally: an animal, a
beast of myths; a werewolf.
This standoff lasted until my mother got between my father and me, and said: “That’s enough! Eric, I won’t
have you become a murderer out of pure rage, and Sarah… turn back to a human. We’re going home.”
I went back into the bushes, Changed back, and got dressed to see my father glaring at Bird Dog with his finger pointed at
him. He had, by this point recovered, but he was still on the ground in submission.
“If I EVER catch you near my daughter again, I swear to God, I will kill you, got that?!” my father demanded.
Bird Dog nodded, but didn’t say anything, and then he turned sharply away from him and we went back to the car. On the
drive home, the car was as deathly silent as it was on the way up. Did they see me as some kind of freak? If they did, I wondered
how my brother would react. He worked all day long with works of fiction that had among other things werewolves in them. How
would he react to finding out that they where as real as the sun and the moon?
Chapter Thirteen
|
