Cursed

by Brent Miller

  Tossing the ball back, Garrick considered asking his friend about that situation – and why he didn’t seem to get along with Hank. He bit his tongue, though, because Tyler had never responded well to questioning before.

  “I was working my way to that part,” Tyler smiled, throwing the ball high into the air and watching as Garrick jumped to catch it with one hand. “I used to be the dexterous and athletic one. You were like a little brother fumbling around. When did you grow into someone I admire so much?”

  Garrick wasn’t sure where any of that conversation was coming from, so he just silently blushed. Throwing the ball he responded, “Maybe I’m just becoming more like you. You’ve always inspired me, you know. Hey, remember the time we tried to play catch on our bikes.”

  “You couldn’t ride with no handlebars,” Tyler laughed, “but you insisted on trying.”

  “Yeah, the ball hit me in the face and I fell off,” Garrick recalled, throwing the ball under his leg in his best attempt at a trick shot. Tyler caught it with a smirk, returning it with a flourish.

  Garrick caught the ball and turned to the side, stopping himself before he threw it to the empty air. His hand fell to the side as Tyler’s expression betrayed a sense of loss. The two allowed the moment to linger, the silence settling in.

  “I’m not mad at you,” Tyler finally announced, avoiding addressing what had happened.

  “I know,” Garrick responded.

  “No you don’t, Garrick Elliott. I’ve known you twelve years, I discern the expressions on your face – and I know when you’re hiding something. You’re perceiving my mood as being upset, and you blame yourself for getting me involved in this world.”

  Garrick sighed, looking to his friend. “You don’t?”

  “My only grievance is that I wish you’d told me earlier. I understand why you didn’t feel able to, but it’s incredible to learn about all of this. For the first time, it feels as though I’m a part of something larger, you know?”

  “I just wish I hadn’t put you in danger.”

  “You guys are worth the danger.”

  “Are you alright, Tyler?” Garrick asked, reading his friend’s tone. He’d been melancholy since he’d arrived at Garrick’s house, but Garrick had assumed he wouldn’t want to talk about it. Still, he at least wanted to offer – to make sure his friend knew he’d be there for him.

  “It’s just… You know things aren’t great at home. I just had to make sure you know how thankful I am to finally feel like I have a family.” Tears welled up in Tyler’s eyes, but he tried in vain not to let it show.

  “You’ve always had a family. I always have been, and always will be, your brother, Tyler. Where is this coming from?”

  “It’s nothing,” Tyler shrugged, taking a deep breath. “Hank and I just had another disagreement. It just made me realize the difference you make, and I wanted to be sure you knew that.”

  Garrick wrapped his arm around Tyler’s shoulder and pulled his friend in for a hug. He waited almost a full minute before saying, “You’re weird, man.”

  “Yeah,” Tyler laughed. “I guess that’s why I’m stuck being your friend.”

  Garrick waited outside Hayden’s house for her to change into her training clothes. Tyler had gone straight to Aldric’s after telling Garrick he wanted to ‘give the lovebirds some alone time.’ Garrick wouldn’t tell him, but he was appreciative of that idea. He and Hayden had just worked through their issues, and he was excited to be able to talk to her on the walk.

  Hayden opened the door and walked outside. Though he hadn’t knocked, she was clearly unsurprised to see him; he wondered if she had heard him or if she just knew him that well. Hayden wrapped him in an embrace, and he kissed her cheek gently before pulling away. Staring at her in awe, Garrick couldn’t help but think about how thankful he was to have her, and how close he’d come to losing her.

  “We’re going to be late,” he finally spoke up, breaking his own trance. She nodded and released him from her hug, wrapping her arm around his as they started walking.

  “What do you think we’re doing today?” Hayden inquired.

  Aldric’s training was practically all-inclusive. So far they’d already gone over multiple types of martial arts, and learned how to disarm enemies. They had even run miles through the forest so they were used to free running with obstacles in the way, just in case they were ever pursued

  “I have absolutely no idea,” Garrick responded. What else was there to learn? In his mind, the only possibility was more practice, which would definitely help.

  The two walked in silence for a few more minutes, just enjoying each other’s presence. Garrick had thought he’d be talking non-stop, catching her up on every thought he’d had over the past few weeks, but he was perfectly content to just walk with her. When they reached Aldric’s house, there was a note on the door.

  I need all of you to report to the woods. Today will be the final day of new training. After today, I will have taught you everything you need to know, and it will just be a matter of honing those skills. For now, it’s time for you to take the final.

  “Well,” Garrick groaned as he finished reading. “That’s ominous.”

  “Yeah. That’s just the way Aldric talks, though. Right?”

  “I assume he means the same place we usually go,” he guessed. She shrugged, so they both just started walking. In only a few more minutes, they were at the tree line. Garrick had never thought about it, but he realized Aldric had probably carefully selected his home specifically because it was so close to the woods. The two of them walked deep into the woods, navigating to the clearing where they normally changed. Garrick pulled himself loose from Hayden’s arm and put a hand in front of her, keeping her behind him. With everything Aldric had taught them in the past few weeks, he was fully prepared for an ambush.

  The leaves on the nearby tree began rustling, and Garrick froze, turning his attention toward the sound. Hayden noticed his hesitation and stopped next to him, scanning the area.

  Cailean and Brooke found their way through foliage, pushing branches of trees aside as they stepped into the clearing. As they approached, both Garrick and Hayden exhaled deeply as they relaxed.

  “What’s going on?” Cailean inquired. “My father said we had a test out here.”

  “Yeah,” Hayden replied. “We saw the note too.”

  “Have you two seen him?” Brooke asked. They both shook their heads. As if on cue, Aldric shambled into the clearing on the other side of them. Breathing deeply, he stood tall as he looked at the pack. Garrick noticed an arrow protruding from his bicep.

  “Father!” Cailean yelled, running to Aldric’s side. Aldric held up a hand, and Cailean stopped in his tracks.

  “Run,” Aldric told them. “They’re here.”

  For some reason, that seemed like news to Garrick, although he could see that Aldric had been through a fight. His breath caught in his throat as he looked around, as if they would have simply revealed themselves. Garrick stumbled backward, frozen in fear.

  “Go,” Aldric ordered. He snapped the arrow in half, then pulled it out from the other side, grunting with pain as he did. His attention shifted to Cailean, probably because he knew his son would be the most difficult person to convince. “I’ll be fine. Get Brooke and the others out of here.”

  Cailean nodded, picking up speed as he backed away and turned toward Brooke. Paralyzed, Garrick just watched Aldric. He felt Hayden grab his shoulder, trying to pull him away. What finally snapped him to reality, though, was the distinctive sound of an arrow rushing through the air. Instinctively, he turned, wrapping his arms around Hayden and spinning her out of the way as the arrow dug itself into his shoulder.

  He pitched forward, knocking Hayden to the ground with him. Another arrow shot over their heads. Fighting through the pain, Garrick struggled to his knees and moved away from Hayden. Clenching his teeth, Garrick pulled the arrow from his body.

  As he tried to find the attacker, Gar
rick realized that Aldric had vanished. Hayden grabbed his hand and pulled him to his feet. Dizzily, Garrick followed after her, feeling his shoulder heal as they ran. It wasn’t quite fast enough, though, because he was still struggling to move as they escaped the clearing.

  A man wielding a silver blade stepped in front of them. Garrick couldn’t react before he stabbed Hayden, but he was able to catch the hunter off guard with a punch to the face. The hunter stumbled backward, so Garrick turned to Hayden.

  “This is going to hurt,” Garrick warned, grabbing the handle of the blade and pulling it out of Hayden’s stomach. She fell to the ground in pain, so Garrick turned to face the hunter, standing between the two of them. He tried to use the hunter’s weapon against him, slashing violently as the hunter easily backed up to dodge. In his flurry of attacks, Garrick didn’t recognize the sound of another arrow as it flew toward him, piercing his back.

  The hunter in front of him pulled a gun, shooting three bullets at Garrick. Two hit his chest and the third his shoulder. He dropped to his knees, helplessly scrambling to pull the arrow out of his body.

  The hunter was about to shoot again, but Aldric came out from behind him and snapped his neck. Another arrow shot out and pierced Aldric’s arm. He ran toward the archer, disappearing from Garrick’s view once again.

  “Garrick,” Hayden called, panicked. There was still blood pouring from her wound, but she was able to crawl to Garrick and muster up the strength to dislodge the arrow. He could feel the agony from the bullet wounds, but he knew that he’d heal soon. Garrick tried to stay upright long enough for that to happen, but he collapsed. Due to blood loss, Garrick’s brain lost its ability to process thought. He saw someone running at them through the trees, but wasn’t able to recognize the person as Tyler until he knelt right next to Garrick.

  “What happened?” he asked Hayden.

  “They ambushed us,” she explained.

  “What happened to Garrick?”

  “Bullets.”

  “Exit wounds?”

  “I couldn’t check.”

  Tyler pulled up the back of Garrick’s shirt. Garrick could barely feel anything, but he noticed himself being turned over. Garrick saw a glint of metal then suddenly felt a rush of agony as Tyler drove the blade into his chest.

  Another arrow shot from near them, and Hayden ducked to avoid it. She stood shakily and disappeared into the trees. Tyler moved the blade around in Garrick’s open wound, working a bullet out of Garrick’s chest, and then proceeded to remove the other. Garrick assumed the bullet had gone completely through his shoulder, because he could already feel that starting to heal. Tyler took his shirt off and wrapped it around Garrick’s chest in an attempt to stop the flow of blood.

  As Hayden came back, Garrick could see that she had a new wound where an arrow had pierced her leg. Barely struggling to stand, Hayden helped Tyler pull Garrick to his feet, and they supported him as they walked through the forest. Tyler held out his knife as if it would offer any real protection if the hunters found them. His lack of fighting skill and the burden of another person would keep Tyler from doing any damage, but he looked intimidating.

  When they broke the tree line and saw a road, Tyler pointed them in the direction of his car. Tyler and Hayden laid Garrick down in the back seat before jumping in the car themselves. Tyler started the vehicle as Hayden climbed into the back seat with Garrick. His head was in her lap and he tried to focus on her face as she whispered encouraging thoughts to him.

  She had her hands pressed as hard as she could against his chest. The pain was excruciating, but he knew she had to stop the bleeding. He faded in and out of consciousness more than once during the short drive to Aldric’s house. Tyler and Hayden helped Garrick to the door, where the note was no longer hanging. Cailean’s mom greeted them, a frantic look on her face

  “Hayden, go get some towels,” she commanded as she took her place helping Garrick walk. She was clearly expecting them, but Garrick’s condition was a surprise. Maybe that meant the others had already made it back safely.

  Hayden came back with some towels, and she laid them on the floor. Tyler and Linda helped Garrick lie down on them, and he could feel Tyler using all of his strength pressing another towel against his chest. After another few minutes, the bleeding finally stopped. He could feel his mind start coming back to him, and his double vision started to stabilize. The wounds probably still looked horrible, but they were healing, and his body was quickly producing blood to replace the amount he’d lost.

  “Hayden,” he finally managed to choke out as a hoarse whisper.

  “I’m okay,” she replied, clearly anticipating his question.

  “Cailean?” he inquired.

  “He’s here,” Linda offered. “Along with Brooke.”

  There was a worried tone in her voice. That meant Aldric wasn’t home yet. Garrick tried to sit up, telling himself he was going to go find him, but the pain was too intense. He just let himself fall back down to give the wounds more time to heal.

  The handle on the front door began to shake, so Linda and Tyler rushed toward the door. Hayden stayed with him, holding his hand, but she turned her head with concern. Garrick managed to sit up, dropping the blood-soaked towel from his chest.

  “How are you?” he managed. Words came easier to him, but it still hurt to speak. Aware she wouldn’t give him an answer, he examined her to see a wound which appeared to still be bleeding on her leg. Lifting her shirt, he saw that the knife wound hadn’t begun to close yet. Garrick reached to his side to grab a new towel and gently laid Hayden down. Though she was hesitant, she was clearly too tired to fight.

  “I love you,” he told her as he pressed the towel against her stomach with as much force as he could muster – which wasn’t much.

  “I love you too,” she responded. She was even weaker than he was because she hadn’t quite started healing yet. Though she struggled to stay awake, Hayden drifted off as Garrick continued to hold the towel against her wound. He watched as the first of the cuts on her arms began to mend itself. When he checked her stomach, it appeared that the blood had clotted, at least stopping the bleeding, so Garrick struggled to his feet and walked to the living room.

  “Aldric,” he greeted, relieved when he saw the man standing just past the entryway.

  “Is everyone okay?” Aldric asked.

  “Hayden was hurt pretty badly. She was busy taking care of me. She’s fine now,” he replied, able to formulate the sentences without too much difficulty. Looking around the room, he couldn’t notice any severe wounds on the others.

  “What were you all doing in the woods?” Aldric inquired angrily.

  “What? You left us a note on the door,” Cailean replied.

  “No,” Aldric muttered. Garrick could practically see Aldric’s mind working, trying to piece together an answer. Garrick was still slightly disoriented from blood loss, so he decided to leave the thinking to his alpha.

  “I didn’t leave a note. Darren scheduled a meeting with me, and I attended in hopes it would avoid this battle.”

  “You were planning on fighting them all alone?” Garrick questioned.

  “I’d hoped there wouldn’t be a fight. However, I was ready to, yes.”

  “If you didn’t write the note,” Tyler spoke up. “They lured you into a trap. The hunters conspired to ambush you. Without you, they’d draw the rest of us out and finish the pack.”

  “They’re getting bold, and probably angry,” Aldric continued from Tyler’s logic. “They’ve gone to my home and launched an attack on us.”

  “Okay, I think it’s clear that we’ll need a battle plan. I think the first question we should be focusing on, though, is: where will we change?” Cailean contributed.

  “For the eclipse,” Aldric began, reminding Garrick that there would be a complete solar eclipse in only a few days. “We’ll go to the other side of town.”

  Their town was basically surrounded by trees, but there weren’t many areas th
at were entirely closed off to people – which would be ideal. Since the safest place they could find was compromised, though, they would have to make due.

  “There is plenty of cover over there, and we’ll only be wolves for about thirty minutes, so we probably can’t cause too much harm. After that, I’ll figure something out.”

  Garrick finally understood why he didn’t want to change in his basement. If the wolves made too much noise, and somehow the hunters caught on, there would be no mercy. After seeing how ruthlessly they were attacked in the woods – even against people who weren’t werewolves – he had no doubt that they’d resort to anything to kill a werewolf. If they knew where Aldric lived, they’d go after his wife, and that last shred of safety had vanished.

  “What if they followed us here?” Garrick asked. He realized that he probably looked horrible. His wounds had mostly closed up, but blood soaked his shirt, which had three bullet holes and two from arrows.

  “I’m fine,” he offered in response to the worried glances. “I've practically healed already.”

  “Well, they didn’t follow us,” Aldric replied, “so although it’s unlikely, we can at least hope that whichever one knew where I lived died with the information. It seems that the communication in this family is lacking.”

  “How can you be so confident that they didn’t track us?” Tyler questioned.

  “They’re dead.”

  A few hours later, everyone’s wounds had healed and they were gathered around the living room. Everyone, even Aldric, still seemed on edge, and no one had answers for what the plan was moving forward. The hunters could launch another attack at any point, and they could most likely find any of them at their own homes. Garrick hoped that with the absolute failure of their assault, they would at least have to wait a while before recovering to try again, and that would give Aldric time to formulate a plan.