The Cowboy Who Strolled Into Town

by Riley Moreno

  “First date?” she teased and he grinned.

  “You bet,” he said.

  Chapter Seven

  Scent of a Woman

  Rex sat on a park bench. The remains of his lunch were sitting precariously on top of the trashcan which hadn’t been emptied in days. He rubbed his tired face, the bristles on his jaw itchy and unkempt. He hadn’t showered in days and he stank of jungle cat; any slayer could smell him from miles if they lived in a trashy place like Waterville.

  Waterville; the name showed the lack of imagination on part of the early settlers and the place hadn’t gained much of it since then; it was a typical medium sized town, with typical medium sized people and their typical lives.

  ‘Sonya’d stand out like a sore thumb in this town,’ he thought. ‘She isn’t here. But then where the hell is that cunt?’

  He’d grinned maliciously when he’d realized Sonya was headed toward small towns and up in to the woods of Maine. ‘Stupid cunt,’ he’d thought back then, that he could smell her out no problem; it was the big cities with its smells and constant sound which made it hard to track prey but out in the open it would be a cinch.

  But it wasn’t. The air was too fresh and too sweet and there were strange smells that confused him; other animals, some wild, some not and yes the people, still too many people. He’d have to live in a community for a year to identify the smells of each person living in them and he didn’t have that kind of time to devote to a fat-assed bitch.

  “… were stupid enough to do it…”

  “… know the woods up at Shifter are dangerous at night…”

  “… wouldn’t have been a dare if it weren’t full of Were-assed retards…”

  Rex watched three teenagers amble by his bench, talking animatedly, one of them was limping. He smelled wolf on them; fear and adrenaline too. The limping one smelled of blood, his face pallid and sweating profusely.

  “You’re going to need a tetanus shot,” the shortest of the four said. He had curly hair cut very short. “How are you going to explain the bite?”

  “That’s the least of his worries, nimrod!” the fat one said, his neck a bright red under the midday sun. “What if he catches their disease and becomes a Shifter?”

  “I’d rather shoot myself,” the limping boy said spitefully.

  Rex growled low in his throat and the boys jumped then glared at him. Stinking sacks of meat, that’s all they were to Shifter’s like Rex who understood that he was superior to them. Human’s tended to live shorter lives and were below the Shifter in the food chain and should know their fucking place but Rex had experienced nothing but the underbelly of society which was littered with human scum that made him work for them but still distrusted him. He would never be their friends and that suited Rex just fine.

  “What’s this place you were talking about?” he asked the boys revealing his sharp canines.

  “What’s it to you?” the fat boy asked, his beady eyes narrowed in suspicion.

  “Nothing yet, but it just might be,” Rex smiled.

  “Who are you? We’ve never seen you here before,” said the limper.

  “I’m just passing through,” Rex said shifting in his seat to get more comfortable. “I’m looking for a woman. Maybe you’ve seen her,” he inclined his head towards the limper who seemed to be the leader. “Big woman, huge breasts and a big ass. Dark blonde hair goes by the name Sonya.”

  The limping boy shook his head but Rex had seen a spark of recognition in the eyes of the short boy with the curly hair. Rex stared at him and the boy began to tremble.

  “She was filing up at the gas station,” he stammered. “She was wearing a red top and jeans.”

  “Do you know where she was headed?” Rex asked carefully and the boy nodded. “Where?”

  “Don’t tell him!” the fat boy said suddenly. “Hey, what’s this information worth to you?” he said coming forward, looking down at Rex with a sly grin.

  Rex considered the tub of lard, a waste of human space, and laughed, a loud bark that unsettled the boy.

  “Let me put it this way,” Rex said, “If I’m happy with the information you give me I won’t cut open your guts and let them spill to the floor.”

  “Shifter Grove,” the short boy said immediately. “It’s less than five miles up Kennebec River. Just follow the River Road.”

  “Good boy,” Rex said getting up with a lazy grace. The fat boy hadn’t moved and Rex could smell the terror off of him. “Try not to wet your pants, boy,” Rex said and patted the boys cheeks, a noxious stain bloomed on the boy’s crotch and Rex smelled ammonia. Rex laughed and walked towards his car, his hands in his pockets a cheerful tune on his lips.

  ‘Oh this is going to be a good day!’

  Chapter Eight

  Gunslinger

  Sonya was having the time of her life. She’d shot up. She’d shot up eight targets at the shooting range, her aim getting better with each target, and she had imagined one of her loser ex-boyfriends and it had been very cathartic. She’d selected her navy blue dress with the hot pink polka dots for the day. It showed off all of the right curves and Diesel hadn’t been able to keep his eyes off of her all day.

  They were sitting in Waterville’s most expensive restaurant. It was on a quieter stretch of the Kennebec River, unlike the Pig Out diner where one had to talk loudly to be heard over the noise of the river. Sonya’s steak was rare and bloody and she moaned in pleasure, licking her lips. Diesel attacked his fish with gusto.

  “I didn’t pick you for a fish person,” Sonya said.

  “I had enough meat in the Navy for a life time,” he said evasively.

  Sonya sucked her thumb thoughtfully.

  “Was it that bad?” she asked placing a hand on his thigh.

  “No,” he said considering, “I mean it wasn’t all bad. I’d finally met people like me and we still keep in touch but I guess I never got used to the carnage.”

  “I can understand,” she said. “My Dad was a butcher.” She promptly sawed off another bite and ate it. “But it never put me off meat,” she grinned.

  “I can see that,” he laughed. “Tell me about your childhood. You just mentioned your father was a butcher. What about your mother? Any siblings?”

  “Nope,” she said, “Mom and Dad were so busy bickering and throwing furniture at each other they didn’t find time to have another baby. My mother worked two jobs as soon as I was born; she was a janitor at a hospital and a school, then she also started work at an office building by the time I was four.”

  “Wow,” Diesel said, “It must have been rough for you.”

  “Well not really,” Sonya said. “I hardly ever saw her; she was never around so I’d never learnt to miss her. My Dad though I would miss because he had proper shop hours and most of the time I’d be in the shop with him. But I guess he missed her for me which is why he would fight with her; for the attention my Dad thought I was owed from my mother.”

  “I didn’t have a father,” Diesel said, “I mean I never knew him. He left before my Mom even knew she was pregnant. Actually, now that I think about it I doubt if he left her. She wasn’t very pleased when she saw that I was a Shifter like him,” he shrugged nonchalantly but Sonya sensed a sore resentment.

  “Are you in touch with her?”

  “No,” Diesel said his mouth turning in to a thin line, “Once both of us knew I was a Shifter she didn’t really want me around, I sensed that and so I left. She didn’t stop me.”

  “My mother didn’t want me either,” Sonya said with a sweet understanding smile and squeeze his thigh. “She told my father that having me was the worst mistake, that I’d ruined her body and the way she felt about my Dad and that she blamed me for everything, the money that wouldn’t stretch to feed and clothe three people, the fights they’d been having ever since I was born, how he didn’t love her anymore, only me.”

  “She said all of that in front of you?” Diesel looked shocked.

  “She was screami
ng in a studio apartment,” Sonya laughed, it was hollow. “She left soon after that. Last I heard she was married to some big shot in Brooklyn.”

  “What about your Dad?” he asked quietly.

  “He passed away when I was sixteen,” Sonya said playing with the mashed potatoes, “pancreatic cancer.”

  “I’m sorry,” Diesel said and held her hand.

  “Hey,” Sonya laughed, “It’s in the past. Can I ask you something if you won’t mind?”

  “Sure,” Diesel said looking at her attentively and she loved that about him, his open face projecting warmth and respect for her opinions and a genuine interest in what she had to say.

  “Have you ever tried to find your father?”

  His face went crimson and Sonya could tell it wasn’t because he was angry but because he was ashamed. His mother’s rejection had really hurt him; in ways that he could not articulate. Sonya took his hand and kissed it.

  “He’d be lucky to know you,” Sonya said. “But whether he gets to or not is completely up to you.”

  Diesel smiled hesitantly and there was a sparkle in his eyes. Sonya kissed his hand again then attacked her steak.

  “So tell me about all the girls you’ve fucked,” Sonya said and Diesel nearly choked on his fish. Sonya laughed and patted him on the back realizing with sudden clarity that she was really falling for this guy and if she wasn’t careful she’d be in love before you could say ‘Well fuck me.’

  Sonya felt a little tipsy and was giggling uncontrollably on his arm as they made their way to his car in the parking lot. Diesel stiffened suddenly, his head lifted slightly as if he was listening for something. He took a deep whiff of the air and Sonya laughed louder.

  “Here,” he said once they’d reached his pickup, “you keep this on you at all times.” He gave her the gun he kept in the dash. “You see anyone strange, anyone you don’t know, you shoot first ask questions later, you hear me?”

  “Aye, aye sir!” Sonya threw a mock salute with the hand she held the gun in the barrel coming to rest on her temple.

  “Maybe later,” Diesel said thinking better of it and taking the gun from her. “When you’re less intoxicated.”

  “You were hammered when you posted that add,” Sonya said, “Lucky things happen when we’re drunk.”

  “That’s true,” Diesel laughed and kissed her on the nose as he secured her seatbelt. “Let’s get you home.”

  Home; Sonya liked the sound of that.

  Chapter Nine

  Man Hunter

  It had taken him the better part of the day to sniff her out. He’d finally found a strong scent and it had led to soiled sheets in front of a green gabled cabin. Her whoring cunt had given her away, he could smell her, something wild and sex all over the house. Sonya’s scent was relatively new but the smell of a wild animal was more prominent.

  ‘Shacking up with a Shifter?’ Rex thought, ‘Naughty little slut has a thing for us!’

  He had found a little grove of trees that would support his weight if he climbed the branches. He stripped naked in the waning light of evening and lathered his body with mud to mask his own scent so the Shifter Sonya was with couldn’t smell her; not right away at least. He crouched down in the roots of the biggest tree and waited.

  Hours passed, the sun sank and the full moon rose ominous and pale yellow. Rex stretched languidly, the tiger in him awakening, the pull of the moon too great. He had mastered his transformations but it was still hard to resist a full moon. He’d often thought to research Shifter lore to know exactly why this affected him and his brothers and sisters but had never found the time.

  ‘Maybe I don’t give a shit after all,’ he thought.

  Headlights blinked through the trees and a car approached the cabin. He smelled her before he could see her; her laughter carefree and buoyant. It irritated him that she wasn’t cowering in fear somewhere, that she took the threat he posed lightly. He decided to kill her slowly, cut her up in such a way that she’d bleed to death and feel every bit of pain till she would finally lose her grip on life.

  And the Shifter?

  He’d have to take him out quick. Rex observed the muscular build and the tall frame; he had no doubt that he was physically equal if not superior to the man but Rex had no idea what the man was underneath that human skin, and sometimes the skinny ones put up a good fight; a futile fight but still cumbersome.

  Rex stealthily climbed the branches for a better vantage point the lights in the cabin illuminating a dinghy house with mediocre furnishing. Rex watched as the man undressed Sonya and cupped her huge breasts. Rex had loved those breasts, the feel of them, the warmth of them beside him in bed. It was a true shame she had seen him in the park that night, a true shame indeed.

  Rex grew hard as he watched them rut against each other, Sonya’s face screwing up in ecstasy with each thrust, the man pinching her flesh between large hands. He had half a mind to go crashing in, slashing the man’s throat mid thrust and then taking Sonya in front of his dying eyes.

  ‘Patience,’ he told himself. ‘There will be plenty of time for the cat to play with his prey.’

  He waited for them to go in to the bedroom and slip under the covers, he watched and waited till the deep dark moment of the night where everything stilled and every living thing slept except the sinister and murderous.

  He climbed out of the tree then and gave in to the urge of the Shift. The transformation was painful, it always was, but with time it became a bearable and for some a boon, a sick, masochist urge to rip oneself in two for the thrill of the kill that came after.

  ‘Some people use drugs to forget who they are,’ he thought as fur sprouted all over his body and his mouth expanded to accommodate his teeth, ‘some just give in to their animal selves.’

  The night became pierced with light. He always had to take a moment to adjust himself in his new skin. A growl rumbled low in his chest cavity and he padded forward to the back porch, nosing the door open.

  ‘Fuckers didn’t even lock the door,’ he thought disgruntled.

  The smell of sex, sweat and Sonya was reeking off the furniture; he padded quickly in to the bedroom where Sonya lay entwined in the sheets, a creamy shoulder and arm exposed, a leg uncovered against the warmth of the night.

  Rex bared his teeth to take a bite out of her leg, his claws scratching the wooden floor as he lunged forward.

  He crashed against the wall, his skull hitting the floor on his way down. A huge panther stood on the bed between him and Sonya who was cowering against the far wall, the sheets pulled up to her chin.

  Chapter Ten

  Bloody Hell

  Rex had the advantage, Diesel knew that. The space was too small for him to avoid any harm to Sonya, one swipe too close in such close quarters would be enough to do damage. Diesel roared and Rex roared back. Diesel jumped at him, trying to drive Rex out of the room, in to the hall and away from Sonya but Rex feinted to the right going straight for Sonya on the bed. Sonya screamed and bolted off the bed. She ran through the hall and Diesel heard the front door slam.

  ‘Clever girl,’ he thought and lunged at Rex who was glowering at him.

  It was a bloody mess. Their claws caught in the mattress and feathers congested the air, Diesel bit in to Rex’s forepaw, sinking his teeth in, realizing just in time that he’d left his own neck exposed to Rex’s teeth.

  Rex pushed his mighty shoulders in to Diesel and Diesel went flying in to the hall. Rex crashed in to the front door splintering the wood. Rex roared in to the night and Diesel ran after him his heart pounding with adrenaline and fear for Sonya.

  But Sonya was nowhere to be seen. His pickup truck was parked alone in the drive, Sonya’s Buick was gone. Diesel sniffed into the pickups open passenger door and saw that the dash was gaping open.

  ‘She took the gun,’ he thought elated. He sniffed for the rank smell of Rex and caught his scent upwind. Rex must have chased after her and Diesel ran in the same direction. Rex was stronger than
he had anticipated but Diesel was faster. Low hanging branches were easy points to propel himself off of while Rex darted from trunk to trunk losing precious momentum.

  Diesel could see his silhouette under the branches and he jumped on Rex just as they made it in to a clearing. The rolled on top of each other, finding balance and slashing their claws at each other’s throats; Diesel raked a hunk of fur off of Rex’s haunches and Rex sliced off part of Diesel’s right ear.

  “Hey!” the tiger and the panther came to a sudden halt. Sonya stood at the edge of the clearing brandishing the gun he had given her earlier. She was wearing a red leather jacket and navy blue shorts that must have been lodged somewhere in the back of her car. The tops of her breasts peaked out from the jacket like two halves of a perfect pearly moon.

  “Hey, moron!” she called again, “Yeah you, you stupid hunk of rapid meat! You want me?” she said opening her arms in an invitation. “Come and get me you bastard!”

  Diesel hardly had time to grab at Rex before he darted full speed at Sonya. Sonya stood her legs shoulder width apart, her shoulders pulled back and her arms raised. She took aim, Rex darted right, darted left and then sprang on her.

  Diesel heard a gunshot, the sound of two bodies colliding and the sickening thud of a skull hitting the hard ground. His heart stopped. He padded forward cautiously, the heap that was Rex and Sonya strangely still in the moonlight. Diesel growled in the back of his throat, his hackles raised.

  Rex’s shoulders began to rise and fall and Diesel made to charge. Sonya grunted and pushed the body of Rex the weretiger off of herself, blood staining her breasts and her face.

  “Son of a bitch,” she said pressing her hand to the valley between her breasts, “I think he broke my ribs!”

  Diesel, still a panther, his fur glimmering under the moonlight licked the blood off of her, nuzzling his nose in to her skin. Sonya ran her hand through his pelt, her fingers soothing the cuts and bite marks that had drawn blood. Diesel breathed deeply, reigning in his adrenaline as he prepared to leave his panther state. The fur, the claws and the teeth were all gone, the blood, the bite marks and the scars remained.