Rough Sleepers

by Nem Rowan

  "Ceri? Wake up," I urged, giving him a gentle nudge with my hand. He stirred then, his face grimacing and then his eyelids parted marginally, allowing me to see his bleary eyes within.

  "Ugh... What happened?" he mumbled as he lifted his arm so that he could touch the developing bruise on his forehead, before falling to the chain links at his throat.

  "Darnel and Wallace ambushed us," I told him, keeping my voice low in the hopes that they wouldn't hear us and come running back. "They've locked us down here in the basement."

  He turned his head and looked around, bewildered. "Do you think you could break the chains?"

  I looked down at the chain connecting him to the wall, before shrugging.

  "Worth a try." I shuffled to my feet, collecting the chain in my hand and giving it a tug to test its steadfastness. "Feels pretty sturdy. If I had two hands, I might be able to..."

  Ceri watched silently as I looped the chain round my wrist to provide more traction, then leaned my weight against it, pulling it taut. Taking a deep breath, I braced my feet against the concrete and pulled. The chain ticked as the steel links found the tiny divots in each metal surface, but none of them stretched or bowed. I strained as hard as I could until my muscles burned, forcing me to relinquish the pressure I was exerting. The chain went slack.

  "It's too strong. I—I can't do it." I panted. Tears of exasperation were starting to form in my eyes. "I'll try again."

  Despite my best effort, the chain stayed put. I dropped it slack again, huffing heavily as I regained my energy before pulling once more. Ceri looked on helplessly, knowing there was no way he would be able to do it if I couldn't. I was starting to lose my patience; gasping, I yanked and tugged on the chain, even resorting to shouting at it.

  "Stop! Leon, stop," Ceri cried, struggling to pull himself up so that he could take me by my arm and lead me away. "You're just wearing yourself out. It's not gonna break."

  "No! No! I have to! I—I have to!" I sobbed, refusing to let go as he tried to turn me from it.

  "Leon, stop! Just stop!" he exclaimed, grabbing me by my wrist and trying to tear my grasp free. "It's not going to break! Give it a rest!"

  I let go and the chain clattered to the floor. Fresh tears spilled down my face and my nose was running so I wiped it in the sleeve of my coat.

  "I'm sorry," I hiccupped, squeezing my eyes shut as Ceri's arms enclosed me.

  "Don't be ridiculous. Nothing to be sorry about," he whispered against my ear as he held me close, his warm breath on my neck and his heart beating against mine.

  "I'm gonna change soon...And then..." I mumbled weakly.

  "I can protect myself. Don't worry."

  I whimpered as I squeezed him tightly, my hand gripping onto his leather coat, pinning him to my body as though he might suddenly disappear into the air. I couldn't believe it had come to this, that I would be the one to kill Ceri. That Ceri might not be with me when morning came. That I would be alone again. What if they caught Mecky and Christine, too? Would they keep us all prisoners down here?

  "Let's just wait. Mecky is on her way. I'm sure she will be yere soon." He kissed my ear softly as his hand stroked the back of my head. "There's still time. Don't worry."

  He sat down against the wall, bringing me with him; I collapsed beside him, sinking against his chest and resting my forehead against his throat as the tears came relentlessly, leaving me trembling with each sob. His fingertips raked through my hair, comforting and delicate. I should never have fallen in love with him. I knew this would happen. Somehow, for whatever reason, I knew there would come heartache, just like it always did, in one form or another, and here it was, and I was the cause of it.

  For a long time, we remained there in silence, just holding each other. Listening to the hum of the electricity running through the tiny lamp that lit the room. Ceri's heart under my ear, the rhythm like the ticking of a clock, each second passing to a time when I would have to say goodbye to him. I wished we had never come to this place. I began to wonder if Mecky had been able to find her way here. Maybe she and Christine had gotten lost on the roads and unable to contact us, had turned back to go chain themselves in the basement under the shop? I wouldn't begrudge them if that was the case. I might have done the same. I could feel the curse reacting to the impending moon, and the shaking in my limbs began to grow more and more obvious no matter how I tried to hold it back. Ceri didn't shy away from me, though. He only held me closer, undeterred by the shivers and the damp sweat that had begun to accumulate on my skin as the monster in me stirred on the edge of sleep. Soon, it would start to get dark outside.

  *~*~*

  My eyes opened, and my ears perked up to movement in the hallway. I didn't move, frozen still as Ceri dozed next to me, entangled in each other's arms. Someone was coming, I could hear them. Cautiously, I lifted my head and turned to look towards the entrance to the room, where I saw that the door was wobbling as someone on the other side pushed against it. Something scraped against the warped wood and the door juddered free of its misshapen frame, swinging ajar to reveal the inky darkness on the other side, and to my amazement I discovered a wolfish face waiting there. The animal came trotting in, each jolt of its massive paws pounding on the concrete causing its shaggy ginger coat to shake and bristle.

  "Ceri!" I hissed, patting his chest to get his attention as the wolf approached us slowly. He woke groggily and moved to sit up, alarmed to see that we had a visitor.

  "It's Dog-End!" he exclaimed, his whole face lighting up with joy as he stretched out his hand to touch the wolf's head. I looked into those eyes and knew it was him, the exact same creature I had seen when standing outside of the pub that night.

  "Does that mean Gabriel is here?" I inquired, hoping that Mecky had also accompanied him.

  "Yes. Pretty likely," Ceri agreed as he got up, using the wall to support himself as he rose. Dog-End turned, looking at us one last time before running off out the door.

  "Hey! Come back!" I called after him.

  "It's all right. He's probably gone to fetch them. Come on, get up. They could be here any second and we don't have a lot of time left." Ceri took me by my arm and I allowed him to lift me.

  Footfalls echoed in the corridor and we waited, both of us hoping that it wouldn't be Wallace or Darnel. When Mecky's lithe shape came bolting through the door, all three of us cried out in relief that she was finally here. The shoulders of her coat and the top of her head were dusted with snow and as she grabbed us both in a bear hug, I felt the freezing air of the outside lingering on the fabric of her clothing.

  "Ceri! Leon! I am so happy I am finding you!" she gasped as she crushed us to her flat bosom.

  "You have no idea how glad we are to see you!" Ceri laughed, his voice becoming breathless as she near enough squeezed the air out of him.

  "There's no time for this! Mecky, help me break the chains!" I interrupted the pleasantries as I was all too aware of how close we were getting to transforming.

  She let go of us, her eyes following my pointing finger to the chain that connected Ceri's neck to the wall. Ceri moved aside to let us pass, and together we took up the chain and prepared to pull.

  "Mecky, where is Gabriel?" Ceri questioned as we braced ourselves for leverage.

  "He is coming," she replied, clenching her jaw and leaning back into the tug. Already with her help, I could feel the strength in the rivets that kept the hoop in the wall had started to wane, tiny particles of grit shedding from the plate as we exerted our pressure.

  "Come on, you son of a bitch!" I growled through gritted teeth. Mecky groaned behind me. I could feel the rivets were going to give, any second now...

  With an almighty crash, the chain came flying free and I fell backwards, Mecky and I tumbling to the ground as the chain was flung over us and the hoop that had held it in place landed at my feet.

  "Yes!" I shouted, and Mecky whooped victoriously.

  "Let's get out of yere. Where are the others? Are they waiting for us
?" Ceri questioned as he gathered the chain in his arms.

  "No, Christine is with Darnel. Gabriel try to bring them. Wallace, I don't know. Dog-End find him," Mecky told us as she helped me up and we patted the dust from our clothing. I saw that she was pallid, her forehead glistening and her hands quivering.

  "Ceri, you'd better go. We're gonna change," I warned as I felt a spark of pain shoot up my spine. "It's coming, right now. I don't know if we can hold it back."

  "You're not going anywhere. Any of you," a voice boomed from the doorway of the room. All of our heads turned, and there stood Wallace. His clothes were torn, and blood was blooming through the material as his wounds wept, scratches and bite marks marring his forearms and one side of his face.

  "You...!" Mecky snarled. The sound of her words, the cadence in her voice, everything had changed. Her eyes opened wide, bulging with fury. I had never seen her look so enraged, and as night began to fall outside, the animal inside her reared with it. When her mouth opened, I saw that her teeth were already beginning to lengthen into fangs. "You who kill my husband and son! You I have waited for!"

  "I've waited for you, too, Mieczysława." He chuckled, but the smooth-talker he had been before was starting to dissolve as a gruffness caught in his throat and his whole body began to shake.

  She didn't give him a chance to say any more; with a howling scream, she launched forward faster than a bullet, the speed she possessed sending her flying towards him like a nosediving falcon. Her outstretched hands slammed into him, sending him crashing into the wall of the corridor where she fell upon him in a rain of punches and screams as he fought to defend himself from her onslaught. I tried to follow, to go after them, but the chain still wrapped around my throat almost took me off my feet and gave me no choice but to hang back hopelessly.

  "Leon, I'm gonna have to leave you by yere," Ceri said to me apologetically as he edged towards the door. "You'll be all right. I'll come and get you on the morn."

  "It's fine... Just get—get out of here." I whimpered, clutching at my head as I felt the metamorphosis closing in.

  A yawning howl erupted from my gaping mouth as Ceri fled through the door, leaping over the wrestling scrum of Mecky and Wallace as they laid into each other, seemingly unaware of the mortal escaping the wolf's den. The moon was here; the eye was open. I shrieked as the transformation began, as my bones cracked, and the hair burst through my skin; my muscles pumped, veins swelling and claws sliding through my fingertips, the agony of the change tearing through me like a wildfire and leaving me thrashing on the ground. My human thoughts were fading fast. I bucked and writhed, hooked talons raking at the clothing that strangled me and slashing through the layers of cloth like razors, freeing my massing, struggling form beneath. Snot leaked from the puffing nostrils that tipped my snout; I smelled others like me, more of my kind, close by.

  A strangled roar boomed through my chest and shook the saliva from my tongue as I rolled onto my front and lunged to my feet, the sudden impact to the connecting chain causing the entire wall to shudder. Motes of dust dislodged from the ceiling, snowing around my maned head and I shook them free. I drew back, lunged again, throwing my entire body weight behind the pull, and with a loud clang, the links of the chain shot free at my throat, sending me bowling forward towards the doorway. I thundered through it on all fours, snot trailing from my slavering black lips, eyes blazing with blood lust. I smelled her, my comrade. I also smelled him. Our foe.

  I leapt upon the tumbling mass before me, seeking flesh with my piercing teeth. Blood exploded in my mouth as I rammed them deep and the creature beneath me let out a terrorised roar, the undulating muscle beneath its coat going rigid and then fluid as it threw itself backwards in a bid to crush me against the wall. Fighting free of the other wolf's snapping jaws, it tore away from me, my clenching teeth ripping out a mouthful of flesh and fur and leaving me laying there on the ground. Spitting out the clod of hair and skin, I scrabbled to my feet, chasing after him, shoulder to shoulder with the white wolf that galloped alongside me. Blood soaked her face and chest, turning the bushy mass of her thick fur into a slick, glistening matt upon her throat and bosom. Streams of liquid resembling egg white oozed from her nostrils and hung in stretching droplets from her jowls, clinging to the guard hairs that rose like quills from the denseness of her undercoat. We didn't need to look at each other to see the rampaging desire within our eyes.

  Our quarry was escaping. He vanished into the stairwell and we pounded after him, skidding and slipping over each other as we barked and yowled after him up the steps, leaving behind droplets and smears of gore. A trail of dark yellow urine lead us along our hunting path; he was afraid, so very afraid of us. The stench of his fear goaded us. He smashed through a set of doors into another derelict hallway and we followed on his loping heels. He turned the corner abruptly and we skidded past it, talons raking, tearing up the lino as we turned and barrelled through the door through which he had disappeared. An obstacle course of upturned furniture forced us to jump, vaulting ourselves over each table and cabinet and crashing through a window that separated the two rooms, sending a rain of glass to explode across the floor.

  The white wolf was one step ahead of me; I followed her pale, charging shape through the adjoining doorway, our bodies funnelling into a narrow hallway that opened up into another vast office. He was on the other side, punching his way through a locked door. We were upon him before he had a chance to make it through, all three of us shattering through the brittle wood and tumbling through a massive hole in the floor. Water was gushing from a broken pipe above, the extent of years of running liquid upon the flooring beyond opening up a six-foot gap as the floorboards rotted away. We landed in a heap on the floor below, momentarily stunned.

  I felt him wriggling as he struggled out from under us. That's when I realised we weren't alone. There was a human here. Two humans. Another wolf. Blood. They were afraid. One of them called out, lifting its arm and pointing a shining weapon at us. I felt static in the air and a vibrating heat. The white wolf was ignorant; all she wanted was revenge, and as I rose to my feet, she shredded the other wolf's back with her snapping jaws, her clawed hands locked around his throat in a bid to choke him. I climbed over them, my eyes fixated on the humans before me. She had her prey and I wanted mine. My nose twitched, and my whiskers flexed as I sucked in their scents. The wolf laying on the floor was of no interest. I wanted the humans. One of them was backing away, horror in its eyes. Its hand had gone into its clothing, searching for something, and then it too had a weapon. I didn't fear their weapons.

  I bent down, and blood droplets shed from my jaws as I leapt into the air, straight for the first human. It didn't move. The knife in its hand shone like a silver fish beneath flowing water and as the other one fled to the safety of the furthest wall, I homed in on my target. Before my feet could touch the ground and my mouth could find the human's flesh, I slammed into something hard mid-air, the merciless impact sending me bouncing backwards with a surprised screech. Electricity crackled in my fur and my hackles rose. Roaring, I got up and turned towards them again, stalking closer on all fours as my feral mind tried to figure out what had stopped me in my tracks. I turned for the other human, lunging for it and crashing into the wall, my reaching hand lacerating gouges through the leather of its jacket and finding purchase on the chain that trailed from its body. It tried to pull itself away from me, brandishing the knife in my face in a hapless bid to protect itself from my razor-filled maw. The other human came running to help its friend and in a flash of blinding light, its knife split the chain into dozens of pieces, causing me to recoil in fright, my eyes squeezing shut and the shattered chain links pelting against my snout like red hot coals. I didn't even realise they had fled from me until I opened my eyes again, and by then the black wolf was coming for me, his mouth grabbing onto my throat and shaking me violently. I growled and clawed at his clamping jaws, my sharp nails cutting deep into his flesh, but he wouldn't relent.
/>   Where was my comrade? Why wasn't she attacking anymore?

  I wrestled with him, seeking a mouthful of his shoulder and biting down hard, feeling the muscle splitting apart and the bone fracturing against the tips of my fangs. Thrashing, we rolled together, and I saw the humans close by. One of them was holding her back, forcing her into a corner by the point of his dagger as she squirmed and spasmed. I had to fight alone. I could feel that his jaws were slowly tearing away the bulk of flesh at my throat, the constant pulling sensation on my windpipe and the crushing of air from my lungs as he attempted to choke me to death. I smelled the human's scent. It was near us.

  Suddenly, my foe's mouth sprung open and he screamed, flinging himself away from me and falling back against the floor where he began to fit wildly, and I saw the black shape of a handle jutting from the thick fur of his chest. This was my chance. I thrust forward, jaws agape. Landed upon him, my teeth burying deep into his throat, my body pinning him down. At last she was with me, her white bulk looming into the corner of my eye; she smelled strongly of triumph, of power and vengeance. A turbulent, thunderous joy swelling inside her. Her jaws joined mine at his neck as he struggled beneath us; already, I felt the strength leaving him, the vitality draining from his weakening body and the earthen scent of the silver flowering in his chest cavity as the knife cleaved through his heart. Blood flooded my mouth and I swallowed with a gulp. More of it was spewing across the floor, jetting in violent squirts as we twisted our teeth and yanked at the muscle of his throat. With a moist squelch and the crunch of bone, his head came loose, and she tore it free, leaving me chomping on a straggle of sinewy flesh, blood spurting in a waterfall across the mouldering carpet and soaking into our fur. The headless body beneath me was still fighting, bolts of uncontrollable spasms sending its limbs flailing and its spine arching. Gradually, it fell still.