13 – Anne
Norman sat in the green room at The Grange. With him were Christine, Kate and Michael.
‘I think I have to let you into a few facts about my sister, Anne. Kate knows some of this, but not all of it. My sister is older than me. We also have a brother who is the eldest. Anne has settled in Melden and likes it there.’
‘She sounds like a nice woman.’ Said Michael.
‘She’s not! You couldn’t be farther from the truth. Why did you say that?’
‘I like you, so I will like her, won’t I? She’s your kin.’
‘Stop trying to please me all the time Michael. I can see right through you. It’s embarrassing.’
Christine looked at Michael, a slow wry smile spread on her face. They were constantly competing for The Master's attention and favour. This was a win for her as much as anyone.
‘Where is your brother?’ Michael asked.
‘My brother is in Moorston. He only arrived the day before the great snow came. So a few weeks after myself and Anne arrived in this area.’
‘What’s his name? Will we meet him?’ Michael questioned.
‘Too many questions Michael. I will answer these and then that is it. I am trying to tell you about Anne. My brother’s name is Leonard, or Len as he insists we call him. You are a lot more likely to meet Len than Anne.’ Michael briefly nodded, then laughed quietly.
‘What is it now?’
‘I can’t imagine you being someone’s little brother,’ Michael replied, obviously amused.
‘If I may continue, from a young age my parents realised that Anne wasn't quite right. In fact, if I had to name what she is I suppose it would be a lunatic.’
It was on Christine’s mind that to say that ‘he can’t say that anymore. It’s not politically correct’. But at the last minute, she thought of being put down in front of Michael and she bit her lip.
‘The turning point was when Anne was in her early twenties and the man she loved, married someone else. He, of course, had no idea of her obsession. Something I have experienced quite often. Anyway, I digress. Anne wanted to cross her DNA with other creatures and did, in fact, find a way to do this. However, it was a long process, hampered by unsuccessful attempts. Finally, she worked out that only just a few animal/human crosses thrived.’
Norman shook his head. It was obvious to the others that there had been problems with this experimentation. ‘The process seldom worked out and even with her best efforts…..well, it made it clear to me that this was all wrong.’
‘What has she been doing?’ Asked Christine.
‘Trying to mix her blood with another creature so that she produces hybrid offspring. As a young child, she always liked dogs and then wolves. Anne could always connect to wolves and ironically this was the best DNA fusion. She also had some success with crows.’
Michael looked very confused at Norman. ‘Apart from what you said about crows, are we talking about a werewolf?’ He asked.
‘I suppose that that would be the closest thing. Or what you might be able to understand best. Although, they are still more vampiric than wolf. Anne believes that this makes her offspring stronger and we cannot convince her otherwise, but her hybrid strain is weaker.
For a start, only a few of her offspring actually turn into functional creatures. If the subject is too young, or too old…. or ill, the strain of turning into the hybrid makes it harder to thrive. The turning gives a high fever. She will actually yield less vampires this way. The subject’s die during the last stage, mostly.’ He shook his head.
‘Also, the process of turning is longer and more complicated and there can be more interjection from outside parties. The subject can be saved down the line before completion. If signs are seen, as it is a longer time, their family can take them away and it is all over for Anne.’
‘How does she do it, Sweetie?’ Christine asked.
‘It is a three stage process. The first thing is that they have to consume just a small amount of Anne’s blood, just like the way I do it. In this way, it prepares the subject and makes them ready for change and as a marker for us to find them, if we lose them. Anne has been injecting herself with the blood of her wolves for many years. It does not harm her. As well you know, technically she is not alive. But it does make a difference when the humans ingest her blood. They smell different from my flock instantly and are being prepared for her particular strain, you see? The problem with Anne is that she marks everybody, so they all start having vampiric symptoms. She does not think about infecting a few and then turning them. Then starting off a new batch. I had to go over to Melden a couple of weeks ago, to deal with a matter arising from that. Nearly one hundred people were ill and having nightmares. Anne does not cover her back, so myself, and Len have to. Her irresponsible efforts at her party meant that not only hers, but my discovery was imminent too. It was quite taxing, wasn’t it Kate?’
‘Yes.’ Kate said and crossed her legs. She didn’t elaborate.
‘And we couldn’t ever tell Anne because she would have gone berserk and thought me a traitor. She still doesn’t know. So, back to the process. Next, the subject has to be physically bitten by a wolf. This cannot be left out of the chain of events. Anne discovered whatever creature she uses she has to have the saliva, with all its cultures, entering the body of the human. She had tried their blood and other ways, but this killed the host. Just the saliva. Then she has to wait at least three days for this to work. What is happening, is that the slow virus of the real wolf and Anne’s blood fuse and attack the human together. Part of that human’s cells change. The final stage is when Anne returns, when they are only partly changed and turn’s them, the normal way, into a vampire. The vampiric virus as you know is very quick acting, but it will not change the cells already changed by the wolf DNA in the saliva. So the subject becomes a hybrid.’
‘No wonder there has been problems. You can see there would be many a slip between cup and lip there.’ Michael stated, nodding. ‘Very interesting though. Amazing.’
‘What a faff, sweetie!’ Christine commented, not to be left out.
‘Quite. As you can imagine, this also means that Anne has to keep a party of wolves close by. She found a way around this by obtaining a Private Zoo Licence, which means she may keep these with her at all times. As I said before, she has had success with the crow. Transforming them, in the same way, using the crow for the middle interjection. But these hybrids are not as useful as the wolf hybrids.’
‘What is the difference between us? What problems or advantages does she have?’ Kate asked.
‘There are many problems, beautiful one. Take their food, for instance. These wolves prefer to eat dead flesh rather than live blood. That is their first difference to us. Also a few physical differences. They may have a thickening of the nose and mouth but not too much as to be a dog’s muzzle. They will always have a bruising of the hands and feet as their bones were trying to turn into paws or claws before the vampiric virus was introduced. So they are half and half and because, to be a vampire they have to become for all intents and purposes, dead, their hands and feet never heal or turn to either a normal hand or paw. They do feel a certain amount of pain for the rest of their existence. Being part wolf, they scream out, using their wolf voice in pain, not their human voice. It is a dreadful sound. A cry from the bottom of their soul, if they still had one. Anne see’s it just as a way to find them, however.’
‘What is the point of all this?’ Michael asked. ‘Why would she bother doing it?’
‘For the advantages. The subject is more vicious. They can live on animal flesh forever and can just eat dead animals that they find. Their ideal diet is raw flesh, so they can eat our leftovers quite happily, animals, and people. Whatever they find. It is easier to keep her children fed. When they run wild they are uncontrollable, but if Anne keeps them with her, they have a pack mentality and she can control the whole army better. Another main advantage is that this cross strain seems to confuse
the law of admittance. They do not have to wait to be invited in, which is, I admit, a massive plus for Anne. Disadvantages are that the hybrid is slightly weaker, as they are not pure strain. Noisy too, with the howling, I like peace, my friends.’
‘So do they look like us, apart from bruised hands and the pain. How will we know them?’
Christine thought this was marvelous.
‘Oh, you will know. It is clear for anyone to see, there are many differences. The first thing that happens with that change is that the eyes become reflective, like you will see in cats and dogs. This, more than anything is how humans will recognise them from a distance at night. Of course, they have to know what they are looking for. But once they do, Anne’s children become vulnerable. That aspect is a give away, and dangerous. If a human can see them from a distance, by just the eyes, well, he could get them when they were no where near him.’
Christine gasped at the thought and Norman nodded and continued.
‘Using a bow and arrow, or gun. The human would be totally safe. The eyes are the main thing that you will see. Every one of Anne’s children has them. But the other symptoms depend on how long after the wolf bite Anne manages to turn them. They come to an evolutionary fork in the road. Some evolve into one physiology, some evolve into another. If more cells are vampire they will be more like us but have these reflective eyes and Anne will have the ability to control them well. That is the best-case scenario for her but often even within an hour or two, if she is trying to turn quite a few, there will be a difference. Someone will be quite normal and someone quite disfigured. So you will get a range of looks, abilities and obedience with Anne's pack.’
‘How are they disfigured?’ Christine whispered, her hands over her mouth.
‘Pointed ears, coarse hair growth, elongated hand bones, leg bones, curved spines. They tend to stoop more. Not have the upright human stance, you know. You can never tell, what was transforming, by the time she got to them. Myself and Anne’s brother have tried to stop her doing this, but it is the way she likes her offspring and as I said to you, she is not a reasonable lady.’
‘Are they like that just on the full moon?’ Christine asked.
‘No. They are the same every day of the month, due to our bloodline.’ He said proudly.
‘Bottom line,’ Michael said, ‘are you able to protect us from her.’ He didn’t like the sound of this Anne at all.
‘My vampires are safe. They are stronger and they are past the point where she could introduce the wolf saliva to them. I will be going over there, with Christine and Kate. You for the moment will have to stay here. You are still too human for her not to want to kill or transform you. She kills indiscriminately, not thinking of saving a kill for later. Anne does not think of maybe not turning someone, and leaving them for the future. Common sense. She knows she cannot turn children or the old, but she will still try. If they die, they die. Anne does what she wants, as her wolves do not mind eating rancid meat. Her and her pack kill a lot, and then just eat them one by one, leaving some for several weeks. She would kill you, Michael, so I suggest you stay here in this house where you are safe with my children.’
14 – Hogwash
Our Doris had not had a good night. The sight of what she could become and, what was actually out there on the hunt for her, was too much. She would be like that, if Brenda hadn’t been there. There was still plenty of time for it to all happen. If Anne could get to her she would. The situation was a ticking time bomb. She wished her husband was alive, or that it was summer and she could just jet away on a plane to Benidorm or somewhere. But the thought of being undead, eating cats and dogs, walking the streets with Anne in the snow, had been playing on her mind all night. What if she had to live in a kennel or on some straw with the others? She had tried to sleep, but kept thinking about it. Looking up at the ceiling, imagining the horror. Once they got you, there was no cure.
In the end, she had knocked on her sister’s bedroom door, who had always been a light sleeper. Brenda had told Freddie that Our Doris was having a bad turn and she left the box-room to get into bed with Our Doris. They had chatted until Our Doris was so tired that she was able to drop off.
In the girls’ room, throughout the night, there had been much talk about the difference in the monsters from Friarmere as oppose to Melden. They were at a loss as to how to deal with these.
‘I mean if they are part wolf, if that is the reason for their movements and stance, we might have to use silver to kill them.’ Wee Renee said. They had very little of that. Laura and Sue had silver charm bracelets on, but they thought prodding a predator, with a little heart or a silver treble clef wouldn't do much good. They had no chance of melting it down and making a silver bullet either. Every single one of them felt that Anne was in the cul-de-sac last night hunting for Our Doris.
In the boys’ room, even though they did not want to say too much in front of Bob, they said that no matter what these things were, they were still flesh and blood. Not ghosts, not an invisible poltergeist. So they would just hack them up as best they could. Cutting them down, chopping and dividing until they were dead would work, whether they were a dog, a werewolf or a vampire.
When the welcome dawn came, it was a lovely bright day, without falling snow. Brenda made up a big batch of porridge and also toast was on offer again, with tea and coffee. They could pretend everything was normal for a while.
Tony had to use the downstairs toilet quite urgently, which sometimes he had to do in the morning. It was situated next to the front door. Being winter though, he decided not to open the window.
As was his way, he made an awful smell in there. Everyone was complaining and unfortunately, just then, they had visitors calling. There was no escaping the smell that hit them as soon as they walked through the door.
The visitors, Rose and Jennifer arrived earlier than usual.
‘Which filthy pig has just done that?’ Rose asked. No one told her. They had with them Rose’s daughter Natalie and Jennifer's daughter Beverly. Jennifer’s daughter was beautiful and enigmatic. She looked like she went to the gym or was very athletic. Rose's daughter was very much like Rose. She was a simple, large girl who took too much notice of her mother. Once they had gone into the living room, sat down and told Brenda what they wanted to drink, Natalie wanted to have her say.
‘I want to know who you all think you are? What rubbish have you been spouting to my Auntie Brenda and Auntie Doris? There are just maniacs running around the village with wild dogs and that is all. At some point it will come to an end.’ Rose nodded at her, agreeing.
‘Well coached but not seamless! Speak on Rose!’ Freddie said sarcastically.
‘I haven’t coached her to say that. Take it back, Frederick,’ she snapped.
‘Kiss my arse, Rose,’ Freddie said. He got up and walked into the kitchen to help Brenda.
‘You haven’t just discovered all this, you know,’ Natalie continued. ‘I made a call just five minutes before the lines went down to complain about this to the police, but it said that I was in a queue, as they were experiencing an unusually high volume of calls.’
‘I bet,’ Pat snorted.
Rose took up the dialogue now.
‘There is a tall tale from the man in the kebab shop. I would never have a kebab, but I heard it from someone who was in the Post Office. Apparently, he is saying he defended himself against some wolves and mad men with his kebab shaver, whatever that is, and a metal rod that he cooks the lamb tikka on.’ Rose had a look of disgust on her face.
‘All this is simply mass hysteria. This man in the Post Office said it is highly unlikely for a pack of wild wolves to be walking round. I said that I knew that was only a partial lie from the kebab man. They are not wild, they are zoo wolves, but they still could be dangerous. I will agree with that. The kebab shop man said it is affecting his custom. He is sending a letter to The Council with very harsh words and said that the dog warden needs to come up from Huddersfield. The man in t
he post office says even though the kebab man calls them wolves, he thought that they were probably someone's husky dogs that had got loose and are evading capture. He might be right after all. They still could bite, I suppose.’
‘Oh aye. Even husky dogs have teeth, Rose,’ Wee Renee said.
‘What do you think about all this, Jennifer?’ Sue asked.
‘Rose is talking a load of old hogwash. I have looked again at my CCTV. All night the wolves and Anne were going past. I asked Beverly, to see what she thought. I didn’t mention anything about it previously. She watched it fresh, with an open mind and instantly came to the same conclusion.’
‘My husband works away too and my daughter is in boarding school.’ Beverly was obviously quite wealthy too, she cast her eyes down. She was quite upset about what she had to say.
‘So they are safe. At least Philip and Tara are safe. But I have some stables and I am so worried about my horses. They have nothing to defend themselves with. And my Auntie Doris. What hell has she been through? It’s a violation!’ She put her head in her hands and started to weep.
Silver Banned: Book 2 of the Saddleworth Vampire Series Page 8
