by Mac Flynn
Lenore shut the door on his surprised face. She turned, slumped her back against the entrance, and sighed. “What has gotten into me? I’m never this short-tempered, even with Godding,” she murmured.
Her stomach rumbled and her head ached. She opted for food, then a long nap before work. Lenore strode over to her fridge and scanned the interior. There was a wide assortment of expired foods and half-drank pop cans. Her eyes stopped on a package of thawed steak. She meant to cook it a few days ago, but forgot. Now the meat had her full attention. Its drizzling blood tempted her.
Lenore took it out and set it on the counter. She meant to pull out a frying pan and cook it, but she paused over the meat. That sumptuous red flesh. That thick, juicy bone. The long, slender line of fat. She didn’t know what came over her, but she had to have that meat. She couldn’t wait.
Lenore grasped the package and tore it open with trembling hands. She bit into the raw meat and pulled it apart with her teeth. She groaned when the thick blood poured down her throat. Her only disappointment was it wasn’t warm.
Lenore didn’t stop until the entire one-pound steak was consumed. She leaned forward against the counter gasping for breath. Her eyes fell empty package in front of her. There was only a bit of bone and a pool of blood. She froze as the realization of what she’d just done hit her. Lenore raised her hands in front of her and her eyes widened when she glimpsed their blood-soaked fingers. She gasped and stumbled away from the evidence of her madness.
Lenore turned and caught sight of the sink. She flew over and turned on the water. Her fingers dipped into the warm water and the blood washed down the drain. She shut off the water, grasped the edge of the sink, and leaned over it. Her mouth was filled with the flavor of raw meat. She licked her lips and her tongue tasted the blood.
“What the hell is wrong with me?” she gasped. She glanced over her shoulder at the empty package. It stoked her fear. She marched over and tossed it into the trash beneath the sink. Out of sight, out of mind, but that didn’t rid her of the sticky mess over her face.
Lenore fled from the kitchen and hurried upstairs to the bathroom. She looked in the mirror and didn’t recognize the woman there. The face of that wild thing in the mirror was covered in blood. The red stains peppers her cheeks, and a thick ring lay around her lips. She cringed and hurriedly washed off the thick, sticky liquid. Lenore tried another glance in the mirror, and her frightened but clean face stared back at her. She released a shuddering sigh and ran a hand through her hair. The effect was to make her even more wild.
“Get a grip on yourself, Lenore. Just because you ate a whole raw steak doesn’t mean you’ve completely flipped,” she comforted herself. Her eyes flickered to her image and she snorted. “No, it just means that you’ve just slightly flipped.” Lenore shuffled backwards and collapsed atop the closed toilet seat. She clutched her face in her hands and tried hard not to imagine how many e. coli bacteria she’d practically inhaled.
“Why did I just eat that stuff? I don’t even like medium-rare,” she mumbled. Her first thought was of the vial Stan had swiped from Nick. Her brother had said something about Nick giving her some of that stuff. Stan had suggested it would kill her.
Lenore shook her head and stood. There was nothing to what Nick had given her, if he’d given her anything. Stan only mentioned that he’d seen a vial beneath the couch. There were a million ways it could have gotten there.
“Tired. I’m just really tired after that fall from the truck,” she told herself. Lenore stumbled to her bedroom and collapsed on the bed. She closed her eyes and welcomed sleep.
The next thing she knew her phone in her pocket was ringing. She groaned and pulled out the phone. The screen was cracked and scuffed. She’d need to get a new one. The caller was the number from work. She put the phone against her ear. “Hello?” she mumbled.
“Lenore? It’s Becky, where are you?”
“On my bed, why?” Lenore asked her.
“Because you’re a half hour late for work, that’s why.”
Lenore’s eyes shot open and she glanced at the clock on her phone. Two-thirty. Her shift started at two. She sat up and rushed to the closet. “Tell the boss I’m on my way,” she instructed her friend.
“I’ve been telling her you’re in the bathroom or in the backroom, but I don’t know how much longer she’s going to believe me,” Becky told her.
“You’re a life-saver, Becky. I’ll be there in a few minutes,” Lenore promised.
“You might want to park in the back and sneak through the rear door. Madge might not notice you coming in through there,” Becky suggested. Madge was the manager of the store, and Lenore’s direct boss.
“I’ll do that. See you in a few,” Lenore replied.
She cut the call and dressed with more speed than she’d ever had before. In two minutes she was out the door and across her lawn. Her car sat on the street, and she flew into the driver’s chair and sped off to work. Lenore drove by the parking lot and around the back. The trucks only came around in the early morning, so she parked close to the back door, though out of sight of anyone casually glancing outside, and jumped out.
Lenore slid up to the back door and took out her keys, but her hands paused over the handle. She frowned and ran her hand over faint claw marks that surrounded the lock. When she stuck her key inside the lock the inside felt slightly distorted, like someone had done a poor job of picking the lock.
Lenore would have to explore that further. She unlocked the door and stuck her head inside. The backroom was clear, so she slunk inside and softly closed the door behind herself.
“Getting some fresh air?” a voice commented. Lenore swung around to find a middle-aged woman with graying hair standing in behind her. It was Madge Evans, the store manager. She had a scolding smile on her lips. “I’ve been looking for you for the last half an hour, and Becky has been giving me some very unoriginal places for where you were hiding.”
Lenore straightened and smiled. “The store’s layout isn’t very original, but what did you need?” she wondered.
“I wanted to talk to you about the meat inventory. It seems the sales aren’t matching our inventory,” Madge told her.
Lenore frowned. “But I don’t order the meat,” she reminder her boss.
“Becky told me about a young man who’s come into the store several nights in a row buying meat. Have you noticed him acting suspicious?” Madge asked her.
Lenore shook her head. “No.”
“Has he been left alone in the meat department?” her boss persisted.
“Yes. Becky and I were either at the front or in the aisles, but I don’t think he’d steal anything. I rang him up and escorted him out both nights,” Lenore told her. She glanced up at the cameras that sat in most of the corners of the backroom. “Why don’t you check the surveillance videos? They might show what’s wrong,” she suggested.
“I hoped we wouldn’t need to. We received a notice from the security company that manages the cameras that their electronics haven’t been working properly. They haven’t received any feed from the cameras for the last few days,” Madge told her. “That’s why I need all my managers to be at their shifts on time and have their eyes open for the thief.”
“I might have a clue how they’re getting in,” Lenore spoke up. She opened the door and showed Madge the marks. “I saw these while I was outside.”
Madge stepped forward, leaned down and examined the markings. “Yes, I was told about that by the morning crew manager. One of them suggested it was a large dog that’s been prowling around the neighborhoods harassing garbage cans.”
Lenore snorted. “That sounds like the same one around my neighborhood.”
“Yes, well, I don’t believe a few claw marks will tell us who the thief is, or how they’re getting in, but that was observant of you,” Madge complimented her. The manager straightened and looked to Lenore. “Now I think it’s time that you got to work.”
Lenore inwardly bre
athed a sigh of relief. She hadn’t blown her cover. “I’ll get right on it.”
“See that you do.” Madge turned away, paused, and glanced over her shoulder. “Oh, and mind yourself when you leave tonight. There’s only one light at the rear of the store.”
Lenore cringed as her boss strode away.
Chapter 9
Lenore hurried to the front of the store where the afternoon rush was in full swing. Becky glanced over her own check stand at Lenore, but they didn’t have a chance to talk until after nine when their fellow employees had left.
Becky glanced around and, seeing no customers, leaned over her check stand toward Lenore. “Did she catch you?” Becky whispered to her.
Lenore sighed and turned around. “Yeah. I was caught hook, line, and sinker at the door.”
Becky cringed. “Ouch. You, um, you didn’t tell her I’d been lying for you, did you?” Lenore frowned, and Becky waved her hands in front of herself. “Just asking! Just asking!”
Lenore looked forward and wiped her sleeve across her forehead. The store felt extra hot tonight. “I think I’ll get some air and bring in some carts,” Lenore offered.
“Fine by me. I don’t like playing hide-and-seek with those things,” Becky replied.
Lenore strode outside and into the cool night air. She paused outside the doors and breathed deeply. Her lungs were filled with the refreshing air, and her nose with the scents of the darkness. She glanced over the randomly lit parking lot and spied a half dozen loose carts with twice that many in the cart returns. Lenore usually hated this task as bad as Becky, but tonight she felt like stretching her legs.
She bounded over to the farthest cart, clear down by Becky’s car, and grabbed the handles. Lenore whirled it around at her next target, and one-by-one she picked off the loose carts and grabbed the ones in the returns. The whole task took her only ten minutes, half the time it usually took her. She was disappointed when the last cart was in her lineup and ready to be brought in.
Lenore turned her carts toward the store doors, but hesitated. The store was a cage of artificial lights and processed air. Out here she felt alive. The night sky was clear, the stars were out, and the moon was just beginning its journey across the sky. Her eyes fell on that brightly lit moon over the horizon. Something tugged at her. Something that was wild, fierce, and feisty. She wanted to drop her carts and run into the night, to forget everything and be free. Free from modernity, free from her boring life, and free from everything she’d ever known.
Lenore leaned too heavily on the carts and they pushed forward. She yelped and stumbled forward, but caught herself before she fell face-first into the pavement. Lenore straightened herself, but the spell was broken. The night sky was its plain self again, but the moon kept an allure that attracted her. She pushed the carts toward the door, but paused and looked at the bright orb in the sky. It still beckoned her to the night, and she regretfully turned away and pushed the carts inside.
Lenore put the carts away and walked into the main part of the store. She paused at the front and wrinkled her nose. The smells of machines assaulted her nostrils, but her taste buds salivated at the thought of the juicy meat in the meat department. She could just imagine digging her claws into those flimsy packages and tearing them away to get at the delicious-
“Stop it,” she hissed at herself. She knocked her fist against her troublesome head. There wasn’t going to be a repeat of the earlier primitive meat-eater episode.
Lenore walked to her check stand and firmly planted her feet on the pad. She was going to resist the urge because to do otherwise would risk her job, not to mention her sanity. Unfortunately, she couldn’t do anything about the strange heat rising in her body. It started as a minor irritation. Her hands felt clammy. She rubbed her fingers together, but the friction caused the heat to slide down her arms and into her chest.
Her breathing quickened and she broke out in a thick sweat. The heat slid downward and penetrated every inch of her body. She shuddered and gasped as it pooled between her legs. A rush of sensual desire swept over her and she clutched at her head. The world spun around her and the bright lights bore into her eyes. She needed air, fresh air. Not these harsh lights and air-conditioned building.
Becky sauntered over to Lenore’s check stand and leaned on the check-writing board. “Boring night, isn’t it?” she commented.
Lenore nodded, and her voice sounded breathless. “Yeah, really boring,” she hoarsely replied.
Becky leaned toward Lenore and squinted her eyes. “You feeling okay? You look a little pale,” she commented.
“I’m just a little tired, that’s all. I’ll take a short break in the office and be out in a bit. My keys to the doors are in the drawer right here if you need them,” Lenore told her. She tapped on the drawer beneath her register.
“All right,” Becky agreed.
Lenore walked around her stand and to the backroom. She leaned against the door frame of the office and released a shuddering sigh. The sweat drizzled down her skin and soaked her clothes. She stumbled into the room and caught the desk that sat at the rear of the space. Her hands trembled and she gasped for clean, cool air. She received only the stagnant, dusty air that perpetually surrounded the inventory crates and boxes.
Lenore leaned over the desk and grasped the collar of her white uniform shirt. It felt so tight, and her body felt so warm. Her tongue flicked out and licked her parched lips. The heat between her thighs worsened. She groaned and rubbed her hips against the desk. The friction did nothing to alleviate the torturous heat. She tugged again at her shirt and gasped when the two buttons over her breasts popped off.
Lenore glanced down at herself and her eyes widened when she saw her heaving, bulging breasts. She was always well-endowed, but they now stretched her shirt beyond its seam limits. Her thighs pushed against her now-tight dress pants and her feet pressed against the sides of her shoes. Something was wrong, and her first instinct was to run home.
Her trembling hand flicked on the intercom. “I-I think I’ll go home early, Becky. You can close the store with my keys,” she told her fellow employee.
Lenore didn’t wait for Becky to go to the backroom and ask her what was wrong. She stumbled out of the room and to the back door. Her car sat there patiently waiting for her, and she slid in to the car and sped off. She rolled down the window for some fresh air, but the smells and sounds of the night worsened her condition. Her breasts swelled and she heard the seams of her pants tear. She arrived home and raced into the house.
Lenore slammed the door behind her and leaned her back against it. Her body was soaked in sweat and she gasped for breath. The heat inside of her was unbearable. A cold bath, that’s what she needed. She staggered up the stairs and to her room for her pajamas. After the bath she’d go straight to bed and sleep off these strange sensations.
Lenore walked to the end of the bed and paused. She turned to her right where lay a long, tall window that looked out on her front yard. The curtains were closed, but the glow from the moon filtered through the thin cloth. The beat of her heart quickened and her eyes widened. She couldn’t control herself as she moved over to the window and flung open the curtains.
The room was awash with the glow of the moon. She was bathed in the light and the heat inside of her exploded. Every muscle and bit of flesh trembled. She stumbled back and fell onto the bed. The moon’s light spilled over her and she crawled up so all her body lay on the covers. She writhed and whipped her head from side-to-side as the change came over her. Her shirt burst open and the buttons flew across the room. Her breasts strained at the bra, and she growled and tore it away with her bare, clawed hands. The seams of her pants tore completely open and the rags fell away to reveal her white underwear and thick, firm thighs. Her shoes split open and clawed feet stretched out from her tattered socks. Fine, brown fur sprouted over her body and her short hair cascaded down her shoulders. Her muscles tightened and stretched. A tail sprouted from her back and stretched it
self out beneath her. She tore away her last bit of clothing and reveled in the feel of her nakedness.
Lenore sat up and her yellow eyes looked through the windows at the tempting night air. She slid off the bed, walked on all fours to the window, and flung open the sliding glass. Her nose sniffed the air. No danger. She jumped through the window and landed softly on the wet grass two floors below her bedroom. A cool night breeze washed over her and she howled to the moon shining above her. It was a beautiful night to hunt.
However, a scent in her lawn caught her attention. She furrowed her furry brow and stuck her nose to the ground. Her face was still relatively human, but her senses were heightened. She could smell a garbage can a block away and hear children playing at the school four blocks down. She didn’t need such impressive abilities to know there was something amiss in her own yard.
Lenore sniffed the area and found a fresh scent trail. It was from a he-wolf. The interloper had trespassed on her lawn less than twenty minutes ago. She growled and whipped her head down the street in the direction the trail led. She would show him what it meant to trespass on her lawn.
Chapter 10
Lenore sped down the street following the scent. Most people in the small town heeded the warnings and stayed inside. Occasionally she passed a house with people in the fenced backyards, and a dog would bark a challenge to her. She ignored the small, unworthy adversaries and tracked the trail to the edge of town where sat a small park.
The park had the usual plastic climbing toys and metal swings along with a concrete walking path around the perimeter. Lampposts illuminated the parking lot that sat between the road and the park, but beyond the faded parking lines there was only darkness. The far side of the park was surrounded by a thick grove of trees, and she could hear the faint gurgle of the small creek that ran through the trees.
