Cursed

by Brent Miller

  With a flourish, Darren pulled a syringe out of his back pocket, holding it on display for them. “So last night I prepared this – a solution of my own blood mixed with wolfsbane.”

  “That will kill you,” Garrick assessed, his voice a guttural mixture of man and beast. The shock in his voice was still evident, though. The wolfsbane flowing through his bloodstream would cause a rapid and powerful transformation, but as it circulated, it was bound to have a detrimental effect on the body.

  “Yes, that is true,” he replied, laughing as he pointed at Garrick. “But not until I kill each and every one of you. I’ll kill six werewolves today.”

  “You’re insane.”

  “Maybe,” he accepted as he injected himself with the tainted blood. “But I’m also going to be more powerful than you could dream of.”

  He finished his transformation within seconds, and Garrick knew he wouldn’t have a chance to rush forward and stop him. If he tried, the hunters – who had recovered their composure and aimed their bows at him and Cailean – would attack, hindering him enough to allow Darren to transform. They’d turned his own plan against him. As Darren started circling them, Cailean growled at him, trying to block him from Garrick.

  Garrick nodded, motioning for Cailean to attack Darren. Every arrow was released, but Garrick deflected them with his arms and his tail. Garrick jumped forward, tearing the nearest hunter apart before the others could react. Two drew swords, running at him, and he stepped to the side as they both swung. He kicked one forward, pushing him onto the other’s sword, and then threw them both against a tree, audibly cracking the skull of the one in the back.

  Cailean dove at Darren, but he missed. Darren swiped his claws and cut into Cailean’s side, but he just retaliated by slashing at Darren’s gut. Darren jumped back, both of them bleeding slightly before their wounds healed up. Darren seemed to heal slightly faster.

  Garrick retrieved a sword which one of the hunters had dropped and threw it at another, who had an arrow aimed at him. As he fell to the ground, he accidentally released the arrow and it embedded itself in another hunter’s chest. Garrick barreled toward another and bit down on his stomach. Ripping his head away, he spit out the flesh and muscle he tore off.

  Cailean jumped on Darren and they rolled to the floor. Cailean bit into Darren’s neck, refusing to let go. Darren scratched at Cailean, but his attacks didn’t hit. Finally, he scratched across Cailean’s eye. With a yelp, Cailean released Darren, turning his face away. By the time his face had healed, Darren had rammed his head into Cailean’s side, knocking him down.

  Garrick growled again, and the remaining twelve hunters were visibly terrified, but they didn’t back down. Three drew silver daggers and the others were drawing their bows back again. Distracted by dodging a swipe of a dagger, Garrick wasn’t able to dodge the two arrows that landed in his back. The arrows didn’t pierce through his entire body, but they were embedded so deep that they didn’t leave room for him to grab and pull them back out.

  Cailean squirmed out of Darren’s hold and he jumped back to his feet. The two wolves glared at each other, circling around for a few moments. Darren lunged forward, but Cailean dodged to the side, then lunged in and bit Darren’s neck again.

  Garrick turned on the closest hunter behind him, hefted him into the air, and slammed him back to the ground. A silver dagger slashed across his arm, but the pain was minimal. He wondered if, since silver was the wolf’s weakness, it didn’t affect him now that they had truly become one being – or if it was just the adrenaline.

  Darren swung his entire body, and Cailean went flying away, into a tree, pulling off a piece of flesh with him. The wound was substantial, but by the time Cailean was back up and running at Darren, it had healed. Cailean barked at Darren, who quickly stepped forward and bit down on Cailean’s neck. Cailean tried to break out, yelping in pain. Darren used his full strength to shove Cailean, while still biting onto his neck, and drive him to the ground.

  Garrick slashed his claws at one hunter’s throat, and he dropped to the ground, holding his neck in a futile attempt to stop the bleeding. Kicking another one, he launched him into another hunter. The force sent them both tumbling into a tree hitting their heads as they rolled on the ground. The pain from the arrows was getting worse, and he knew that he had to remove them. He rammed his back into a tree, driving the arrows further into his body. They pierced through his chest, so he just pulled them forward. The wounds healed in seconds.

  Cailean’s whimpering slowly died down, but he managed to land a great swipe on Darren’s face in a last desperate attempt to break free. As Darren let go, Cailean swiped at him again, leaving deep gashes on Darren’s face, and a third slash wounded the wolf’s front leg. Cailean stepped back, allowing himself to heal before he dove forward, pinning Darren.

  Two of the hunters tried to run, but Garrick couldn’t risk them hurting the others so he caught them, dragged them back by their feet, and slit their throats. He heard the distortion of air behind him, so he turned quickly to see an arrow. In one smooth motion, he caught it and redirected it, stabbing behind him into the heart of a hunter charging at him with a sword.

  Darren scratched at Cailean with his back paws, cutting into both of Cailean’s hind legs. He collapsed on top of Darren, who was able to reverse the position to pin Cailean.

  Garrick pounced at another hunter, killing him before he had a moment to react. Then he stabbed another close hunter in the back with his claws. He lifted the man before dropping him to the ground, dead. Scared, one of them tried to escape, so Garrick slashed his ribs. If he’d survived, he may have become a wolf, but the wound was too deep, and he bled out.

  Cailean managed to wiggle free and climb to his feet. He and Darren circled around each other for a moment, once again allowing their wounds to fully heal. The only evidence of them was the blood that matted their fur. Cailean and Darren simultaneously stood on their hind legs, throwing their front paws on the other. Cailean was able to bite down on Darren’s neck, but Darren was the one to throw Cailean down, forcing him to let go. In turn, Darren clenched his jaw around Cailean’s neck.

  The last two hunters managed to break the tree line, but Garrick tracked them down by scent. The first hadn’t gone more than twenty feet before Garrick tackled him. Prone on the ground, Garrick slashed the back of his neck. The other was further into the woods, so Garrick had to run at full speed for a few seconds before catching him. When he did, he slashed the man’s legs. The man tried to crawl away, but Garrick drove his foot down on the man’s back, fragmenting his spine. That just left Darren. He bolted back to the clearing.

  Garrick never even questioned whether he was doing the right thing. He hated the violence, but he couldn’t let any of them escape. They would just come back with help. Or worse, they’d run into the others and catch them off guard. No, the only way that Garrick could be sure that his friends were safe was to dispose of them all. As horrible of an option as that was, it was the best one.

  After Darren was sufficiently sure that most of the life had drained out of Cailean, he threw the wolf against a tree. Preparing to cut into Cailean’s throat for the killing blow, Darren strode toward the defeated wolf. Cailean was already all but dead, but Darren hadn’t been happy to just let the life drain out of his opponent as he bit down on his neck. Even in his wolf form, he wanted the last attack to be something more theatrical. He dove at Cailean, his claws ready to cut through Cailean’s throat.

  Garrick grabbed Darren’s hind leg, stopping him in mid-air and slamming him into the ground. With a kick to the side, Garrick sent Darren flying into a tree. Garrick and Cailean stood side by side, prepared to finish the fight. Cailean was barely able to stand, but he was gaining strength by the second.

  Suddenly, a scream erupted through the trees.

  “Brooke!” Garrick, the only one who could speak, or even understand English, said. He locked eyes with Cailean, giving him his command through their unspoken language. He no
dded in the direction of the scream, and Cailean darted off after it. Garrick had to trust Cailean to defend the others while he dealt with Darren.

  Darren, fully healed, started to circle around Garrick, sizing him up. Darren dove, but Garrick kicked his chin, flipping the wolf backward. Darren stood shakily, and Garrick closed the distance before he’d fully recovered. Swiping his claws, Garrick left deep wounds in Darren’s side. Darren clamped his jaw on Garrick’s arm and refused to let go.

  Garrick slammed his arm against a tree, and Darren’s jaw opened as he dropped to the ground. Garrick kicked the fallen werewolf, which slammed him against the tree once again, even harder this time. As the tree cracked, Garrick watched it to determine if it would collapse.

  His brief moment of distraction was enough for Darren to pounce, knocking him to the ground. Darren bit down on Garrick’s neck. Fighting the pain, Garrick punched the wolf in the nose, causing it to yelp loudly and stumble backward. Lifting the wolf, he threw it into that same tree, finally breaking through the trunk. The trunk split unevenly, cutting Darren as he fell with the tree.

  Darren stumbled up, charging at Garrick again. Dodging a swipe, Garrick stepped to the side, but the wolf had used it as a distraction. It clamped its jaw around Garrick’s ankle. Garrick fell to the ground, and the wolf tore at his other ankle, rendering him unable to walk.

  The wolf tried to bite Garrick, but he grabbed either side of its head and held it back. Digging his thumbs into its eyes, Garrick was able to throw the wolf back. It yelped in pain, stumbling backward, temporarily blinded. In the time that he’d taken to get the wolf off him, he’d healed a bit and his ankles were strong enough to stand on. Darren stood again and dove at Garrick, but he stepped to the side and kicked the wolf in the gut, knocking it back.

  Garrick got on his knees and pinned the wolf down on its side. He raised his claws high and brought them down on the wolf’s neck. That was a blow which would have killed anything, even a werewolf, but the wolfsbane running through Darren’s blood, the very poison which would kill him soon, was better than any adrenaline. The wound was gone in seconds, and he was able to escape Garrick’s hold, fully recovered.

  Darren swiped at Garrick’s leg, dropping him to his knees. It bit down on his neck again, and Garrick was unable to escape it this time. He reached his arms around the wolf’s neck, holding it as tightly as he could, cutting off the air flow. He felt himself getting weaker, but he twisted his arms with all the strength he could muster.

  He heard the bones break, and Darren’s head went limp.

  Garrick let him go, and the body fell to the floor. Breathing heavily, he watched as the bones repaired themselves, and the wolf started to twitch again. Darren managed to return to his feet after being dealt two blows which should have ended his life.

  He lunged at Garrick once again, and Garrick jumped backward. Footsteps were approaching him from behind. Whatever had scared Hayden and Brooke, it must have made them turn around, losing their sense of direction. They were running right back to him – and right back to Darren. He had to end it quickly.

  He raised his knee, which slammed into Darren’s jaw, and knocked the wolf to the floor. He grabbed its neck in his massive hands once again and broke the bones, hoping to buy a few seconds. Frantically, he searched for one of the hunters silver swords as he listened to the bones once again reform themselves.

  As Garrick walked to Darren’s body, he retracted his claws and fangs. The eyes of the others were fixed on him. He felt his body returning to its normal size as he walked toward the fast-healing werewolf. His jeans were torn and ragged, and his shirt was completely decimated.

  Garrick stood over the wolf’s body, watching it twitch once again. He raised the sword high and plunged it into Darren’s neck. The sounds of his healing were brought to a halt. Garrick stood over the corpse, breathing heavily for a few seconds, before the body started to spasm. Sighing deeply, Garrick stepped back and opened his hands, his claws growing again.

  Garrick could only assume the wolfsbane and silver were counteracting, but he had to be cautious. Darren’s face slowly fell back to normal, but not entirely. It was still somewhat inhuman, and the fangs were there. One arm started to look human, but never completed the transformation, and pieces of his stomach were the lighter color of his human skin.

  Garrick stood, arms hanging at his side, his left foot closer to Darren’s corpse than his right, as if he wasn’t sure whether he should approach it. Cailean walked up, still in his wolf form, and wrapped his tail around Garrick as they stood in front of what could only be described as the corpse of a half-human monster.

  Hayden stepped up, slowly and cautiously, standing on the left side of Garrick. She stood close to him for a few moments until he reached for her hand, locked it in his, and then she took one step closer. Brooke stood on the right side of Cailean, her hand on his head. Tyler came up behind Garrick and placed his hand on his shoulder.

  Hayden leaned against Garrick as he wrapped his arm around her and pulled her closer. Garrick knew he could never turn his back on these people. He could never leave them. This was his pack.

  Garrick sat in the hospital room with the rest of his pack. Linda was in the bed, the heart monitor beeping slowly. The doctors had removed any remnants of the arrows and stitched the wound, and they had said she’d be fine. However they, along with the police, had plenty of questions about what had happened.

  Garrick was wearing his jacket, which had been in the car, over his torn shirt. His jeans were still torn and ragged, but, oddly enough, he looked the most presentable. The others were wearing clothes that were coated in dirt and blood, even though they’d brushed as much of it off as possible. They’d rushed to the hospital so fast that Cailean had almost forgotten to put his clothes back on after changing back – no one wanted to lose another family member.

  “I don’t know,” Garrick answered again. “I found her in the house like that.”

  “With three dead men,” the police officer retorted, unconvinced.

  “Sir, it’s been a long day,” Garrick complained.

  “I’m sure it has, but I need some answers here.”

  “Here are your answers,” Cailean spat. He had been sitting silently next to his mother, but he looked up and glared at the police officer. “Some men broke into my house and they shot my mother. My father defended our family. They took him and murdered him. I don’t know anything more. Now get out of here.”

  “I’m sorry, son, I know this is tough,” the officer defended.

  “I am not your son,” Cailean growled, a passionate flame burning in his eyes. “I want you to leave this room now and give my mother some peace.”

  The officer was silent for a moment, but he folded up his notepad, nodded, and walked out of the room. No one else said anything for a few more minutes.

  “You guys can stay at my place,” Garrick offered. “Until something else works out.”

  Both of their houses were crime scenes, and Brooke was technically an orphan. She would be 18 in a week, though, and she and Cailean had discussed asking Linda when she awoke if Brooke could move in with them. Cailean’s mother was a very understanding woman, and Garrick knew everything would work out. He was just grateful that she was going to make a full recovery.

  “Thanks,” Brooke acknowledged. Cailean didn’t respond verbally, but he nodded in appreciation. Garrick stood and headed to the door. It was as good a time as any to get home and explain to her where he’d been. The school had notified her that he’d been absent, and she had left texts wondering where he was. Hayden and Tyler left with them, each having some answers of their own to give their parents. Garrick couldn’t complain, though. He hadn’t been the one to lose the most over the past few days, and he still had a mother to whom he had to answer.

  “I appreciate the ride,” Tyler solemnly thanked Garrick as he climbed out of the car. Hayden and Garrick lived closer to the hospital, so they were just able to walk. Tyler didn’t live as c
lose, though, so they’d gone to Garrick’s house to pick up his car and drive Tyler home.

  “No problem,” Garrick replied, equally somber. Garrick tried to find a way to phrase all of the words that he wanted to say. Tyler was the best friend anyone could ask for, and Garrick couldn’t be more thankful for him, but he also felt terrible for bringing him into that situation.

  “Thanks,” he finally said as Tyler was about to close the door. “For everything. You really saved us back there.”

  “What are friends for?”

  “I wish I’d never involved you in all of this, Tyler. I really do. But I can’t think of a better person to have gone through it with. You were there for us when we needed you.”

  “Really,” Tyler smiled, “don’t mention it.”

  Garrick nodded. He would let it rest, though he felt he should be thanking Tyler every day for the rest of his life. Without him, he didn’t know if he’d have made it, and Hayden and Brooke would have had a much harder time too. Tyler smiled as he turned but hesitated before closing the door. Spinning back, he peeked his head into the car again.

  “So, tangent,” Tyler started awkwardly.

  “What’s up?” Garrick questioned.

  “Last night I was so excited about your news that I forgot to mention something. Kayla came by my house yesterday. We had an extensive conversation which culminated in her kissing me.”

  Garrick sighed. He wanted to be happy for his friend, but they’d been broken up for a while, and he had thought it would stick that time. All she ever brought him was more pain. Still, he pasted on a fake smile and tried to congratulate Tyler.

  “Although I am aware of the fraudulence, I am grateful for your feigned gaiety.”

  “I don’t know those words,” Garrick joked. Tyler laughed before continuing his monologue.

  “I know you aren’t fond of her, and I can’t deny that I struggled with the frequency that she pointed out cute guys, but I realized how fleeting life can be, and how much it means to spend it with the people you love.”