A Werewolf's Saga Books 1, 2, & 3 (A Werewolf's Saga Boxed Sets)

by Michael Lampman

  It’s too late, he thought as it tore again and again into his chest. Before he knew fully what happened, he could feel its tongue course over his own blood. It felt so odd. It all felt so strange. He could do nothing to stop it. He could do nothing without seeing where it was. He felt more than helpless. It felt more than just hopeless, and now, thankfully, it would be over fast. It left him with only one thought.

  Kalima? He called out in his mind. He reached through the void of life, trying to find his friend through the deep shadows of the world. He needed his help. He needed him now, more than ever. Kalima, help me please? He called inside his mind. Hear me Kalima. Please, for the love God, hear me now!

  28

  It took only a minute for Rachel to take the needle from her bag and fill it with the drug. After filling the syringe, it took only a moment to ready his arm. When she felt ready, she stuck the needle into his vein, and paused. “Ready?” She smiled, and took a deep breath.

  He returned her smile, and nodded. “I guess I am.” He likewise took a deep breath. He did feel ready. He almost felt sure of it.

  She nodded, and pressed the top of the syringe, and instantly, his blood flowed into the syringe first, turning the clear fluid inside the vial to an almost pinkish color. When it did, she pushed in the drug. She didn’t know how much to give him, and not knowing that, she used only a third of the vial. If it wasn’t enough, she could use more later, but first, she had to be sure of how much he could take. She had to gauge his reaction to it first. She could only figure she would learn if it wasn’t enough sooner rather than later.

  The feeling coursed through his arm. It felt weird. He felt a tingling sensation running from his arm up and into his shoulder. It felt cold. He could feel it then enter his chest. He could feel it run up his neck and into his head. With it, he could almost feel it moving deeply into his soul.

  Finished with the amount she gave him, she removed the needle and set it down to the end table between both beds. With it there, she turned back to him with a slight smile. “How do you feel?”

  “It tingles.” He gave her a smile. “It feels like the same feeling you get when your leg falls asleep and then wakes up again.” He looked to the tourniquet on his left arm. He then looked back up to her. “How long do you think it will take before it takes effect?”

  “I’m not sure. When I tried it on your blood sample you gave me, it happened pretty fast.” She removed the rubber band from his arm and placed it next to the syringe. “Do you feel any different?”

  He smiled. “I don’t know.” He took a deep breath. He could smell her skin. He could smell every essence of the room around them. Not one thing seemed to change. He could still smell everything. He looked down to her chest, and could still hear her heart beating with its normal steady stride. He could still hear her blood flowing through her veins. He could still hear the steady stream of air coursing through her lungs. Nothing seemed different. “I don’t think it’s working.” He looked back up to her eyes.

  “How do you know that?” she needed to ask him. She wasn’t sure how long it would take for the drug to work. If he wasn’t feeling it yet, then it might be some time before they would know for sure, if it did or didn’t.

  “I can still smell you. I can still hear your heart beating.” He winced some. The tingling feeling now headed into his legs. It made him want to shiver, and in fact, he did just that.

  “You can hear my heart?” She smiled. She never realized how much he could actually do. Think how he could hear such things now seemed overly powerful. It seemed all surreal.

  He chuckled some. “I always could.” He smiled.

  She nodded, and took both of his hands into hers. “There’s only one way to know for sure.” She squeezed. “You have to try to let him out.” She smiled again.

  He blinked. “I,” He looked to the lamp on his left. He looked to the syringe next to it. “I’m not sure that’s such a good idea.” He turned back to her.

  “It’s the only way to know for sure. He won’t hurt me Jimmy. You won’t hurt me.”

  He nodded. She’s right as always. He looked back and closed his eyes. He took a deep and exaggerated breath. Kalima? Come to me. He waited. The eyes should be there. They should be coming, moving forwards from the back of his head. Every time he called to him, the eyes would come first, but this time, he felt nothing. They weren’t there. Nothing moved. He saw nothing. He felt nothing. Nothing came.

  He opened his eyes and found hers staring into his with a gentle curious blaze.

  She saw his face turn open. She saw it light up. “What is it?” She squeezed his hands tighter.

  He shook his head. “I don’t feel him.” He blinked several times. The feeling of weird coursed again through his thoughts. “I don’t see him.” He looked back to her.

  She smiled. “I think it’s working.”

  He looked down. He could still feel her heart sounding away. He could still smell that sweet smell that told him who she was. Everything was all still there. Everything smelled the same. Everything sounded like it should sound. He wasn’t all that sure at first. He has been the wolf for so long that he wasn’t quite sure of how normal should sound anymore, or how it should even feel. Thinking that, he looked back into her eyes. “I can still hear you. I can still feel you. I can hear everything.”

  She smiled again. “It doesn’t kill the wolf, Jimmy. It just stops the change.”

  He nodded. He couldn’t believe anything. He couldn’t argue with what she said. Apparently, every sense he had was still there, but the wolf wasn’t. This all felt beyond strange. This all felt downright crazy. Realizing everything, he looked back up to her, and smiled to her eyes.

  She returned the smile. “You can still be him, Jimmy. You can still have him there. You are you.”

  He couldn’t believe it. If she were right, then he would still have everything without death. He wouldn’t have to worry about what he was nor what might happen when the wolf came out. It seemed like his answer for everything. It seemed like his answer for the two of them as well. “You know what this means, don’t you?” His smile widened. “I can be me. I can be everything I am.”

  She smiled wider as well. “Yes.”

  He couldn’t contain the excitement that now rushed through his mind and soul, so much so, he didn’t even try to stop it. He reached out and took her shoulders into his arms, and squeezed her tightly to his chest. He held her strongly, and realized that he never wanted to let her go again.

  She welcomed it all.

  “I can’t believe this. I don’t know how.” He released her shoulders but held them with the palms of his hands. He held her face to his. Without thinking further, he moved in and flushed his lips against hers. He kissed her strongly. He kissed her passionately. He took every part of her taste into his, and let it flare into his heart. She tasted so sweet. She tasted so right.

  She welcomed everything, so she kissed him back fully. She loved it all so much.

  Kalima? A voice rolled around inside his mind. It came so suddenly that it nearly scared him some with its intensity. With it there, it shocked his mind back from hers. Kalima, help me please? The voice came again. It sounded low. It also sounded weak. It sounded almost like Kenny. He released her and looked back out into the room.

  She easily saw what he did. “What is it?” She could see what looked like fear exploding over his face. He looked surprised. He looked dreadful. The only thought she had was that he must have smelled something coming to the room. That thought scared her the most. It could be anything. It could be anyone.

  He stood up and walked towards the front of the bed, left the little aisle between the two beds, and walked towards the front door. He stopped there, staring at the door with a half-hearted stare. “Kenny?” He spun back around and faced her. It had to be him. It had to be his voice.

  He could hear him so clearly. So much so, he almost sounded like he was right there in the room with both of them. He also sounded h
urt. He sounded weak. Something felt wrong. Something felt very, very wrong.

  “What’s wrong? Who‘s Kenny?” She stood up from the bed. The fear she saw on his face multiplied by a hundred times over, if not more than that.

  “He’s the old man that Sasha and I went to see. He’s hurt. He needs me. He needs me to help him.” He shot his eyes to hers. It had to be what he heard. It had to be what he now felt. He now knew what he had to do. “I need to go and help him. Something’s wrong with him. Something’s not right.” He turned without saying anything else. He opened the door with a flash, left, and walked outside just as strongly.

  She didn’t have the time to think, so she raced out after him. “Jimmy?” She reached him on the sidewalk. “You’re in no shape for this.” She grabbed his right arm and stopped him with a heavy and firm tug of the arm. If what he said was real, she knew that he wouldn’t be able to turn into the wolf to fight, if he had to do it. Being like that, he wouldn’t be able to help. Knowing that, she had to stop him. She had to do everything she could to keep him there. She had to do it to keep him safe.

  He spun around and faced her. The fear on his face looked like it now consumed his very own soul. “He’s my friend Rachel. If he’s hurt, than I have to help him.” His face turned from fear to one of a needing glance. He needed to do what he now said he had to do.

  “How do you know that?”

  “I can hear him calling me. I can hear him in my head.”

  She didn’t understand how he knew what he did. None of this made any sense to her. The only thing that did was that he sounded more than just determined, he sounded almost like he was in real pain to do it. Realizing that, and feeling it, let alone seeing it, she figured that if he had to go, then she had to help him get there. “I’ll take you. We’ll take my car.”

  She rushed back inside the room, went straight to the dresser, and grabbed her keys sitting next to her bag. With them in hand, she went back outside.

  Watching her return, and hearing what she said, he wanted to stop her. He wanted to tell her to stay there, but he knew her better than that. He wouldn’t be able to convince her. He wouldn’t be able to stop her from coming with him. Knowing that, he wasn’t going to argue with her about it.

  Together, they moved to her car. She climbed behind the wheel, and he joined her on the passenger’s seat.

  They pulled off, headed out of the parking lot, and headed off down the road.

  During the drive over, he kept hearing Kenny’s voice over, and over again in his thoughts. Each time, the words only grew softer. They only grew weaker. It told him that his friend had to be dying. Knowing that, he told her to go faster. They had to get there before it was too late.

  29

  Brandon stepped out of the trees and watched Jimmy and Rachel run to her car. He watched them get into the car and then drive away. To him, they looked rushed. They even looked scared. He could feel it from both of them, and with seeing and feeling it, he didn’t know what to think about it. All he could do was watch them leave, and with it, he could only fear the thought.

  They’re leaving. What do I do now? What do I do when they get here, and find them gone? He didn’t know. He couldn’t think.

  He left the tree line, walked to the side of the motel, and went back to their room. He opened the door, finding it unlocked and walked inside it. The light of the room was on, and with it, it bothered his eyes. It looked overly bright, so he had to squint. When they were able to focus again, he looked to the beds and found them still made. Seeing that they were, he looked back to the dresser. Rachel’s bag looked open. He walked to the dresser and looked down inside it. He could see two vials sitting there at the top of the bag. Seeing them, he looked back into the room, and could see something sitting next to the lamp on the end table between the two beds. He walked there, crossing the first bed and came in between them. Closer to what he saw, he looked straight down.

  She gave him the drug. He could see a syringe. He could see another one of the vials resting besides what looked like some type of a rubber band. She did it. He pondered.

  Good. Wait there. They will come back and we will be ready. Michael’s voice echoed through his mind. It seemingly echoed through his soul. He sounded strong. He sounded sure. He sounded ready.

  Brandon winced with all of it.

  30

  Sasha went deep into the forest, making her way through the trees with such a steady stride that she found it hard to avoid them. Since leaving Jimmy and Rachel, she tried hard to keep her thoughts controlled, but it wasn’t working. How could I have just left them alone like that? It seemed like such a bad idea to her. He’s going to take the drug. He’s going to take it and then Kalima will be lost forever. She felt ashamed with the thought. It all seemed far-fetched, and at the same time, it all seemed so wrong. How could he even think about doing such a thing? Why would he? It felt like betrayal. It felt like Jimmy was trying to kill a best friend. It felt like murder. It felt downright bad. Maybe he won’t do it. He’s coming to like what he is. He’s starting to respect it. Maybe he’ll decide against it. Maybe he’ll stay himself. She had no idea what to do about it. She could only hope he would do the right thing in the end. In a way, she had to trust him. Besides, he was what he was. He couldn’t change it. He couldn’t keep the beast from being what they were all meant to be.

  She passed a small creek out in the trees, followed it, knowing that animals would come to it for water, and there she stopped. An old game trail ran up along the side of it, and there she knew she would find something along that trail. She wasn’t sure of what she was even looking for at first, but knew she would know it when she found it. Besides, it gave her something else to concentrate on doing, and that made it feel worth it.

  She started again and followed the creek. She kept to the trail. The soft gentle hum of the running water crossed over her like a wet cloth. Sure enough, just up a head, something did come into view. A musty odor came along with the sight of it. She could see a deer, and getting closer to it, it looked like a large one at that.

  Instantly, her heart began to race. Instantly, her mind flashed to that of the deer. She slowed her pace, letting the instinct of the hunt to begin to consume her some. She had to stay cautious. She had to force herself to stay calm. Her adrenalin peeked. Her mouth began to water. Her eyes became large.

  She crossed the creek, trying to remain as quiet as she could possibly be, and when she came to within a few yards of it, she could now see the deer clearly set up against the several trees behind it. The moonlight glimmered around its whitened chest. As she hoped it would do, it stayed there with its head down low. It wasn’t looking at her, and faced the water. In fact, it looked like it was drinking. Seeing this, she knew that it wouldn’t smell her until she chose the time to strike it.

  She undid the buttons on her flannel shirt, pulled it off, and tossed it to the ground at her feet. She reached for the button and zipper on her jeans. She undid the button, but stopped, when something else caught her heightened attention that seemed to be coming from behind her. She could tell that it also started moving towards her, and that it came from her right. Whatever caused it, it sounded large. It sounded almost like someone walking. She looked, and could see a heavy shadow moving through the trees. It also moved towards the deer. In fact, it came behind it.

  She tried to look. She tried to see it. She tried to make out what it was, but all she saw was a heavy dark shadow of someone walking through the trees. She could tell that it walked on its hind legs. She could also tell that it changed direction and now came straight to her.

  She paused, and held her breaths. She turned back to the deer and watched as it also must have heard the sounds of footsteps coming towards the area, and when it did, it turned and bounced off back into the trees. It vanished so fast. She hated seeing it, but needed to turn back to the mass that walked towards her instead. When she saw a man step out from the trees, her heart sank and her mind exploded with an inst
ant fear all at once.

  “Who are you?” She stood straight. She strained her eyes, until this man stepped out into the moonlight-drenched tree line, and she could see his blonde hair sparkle some within it. She could even see the mustache on his upper lip. When she saw him, holding something in his right hand, it suddenly dawned on her who he was. “You’re Gary, aren’t you?” she asked him with a wince. She swallowed a dry mouth. She felt locked in place, unable to move. She didn’t know what to do. She felt scared to her very core.

  “You’ve heard of me?” Gary stepped out, coming out from around the side of a very large maple tree. When he approached her, he didn’t know who she was, but now, being this close to her, he recognized her as the pale redhead that he saw in New York City. She escaped him. Hearing her, he felt impressed that she knew who he was. He liked the fact that she also looked afraid of him. Good news travels fast. He wanted her to fear him. He wanted her to be scared of who he was. It would help him with what he had to do. Now that he knew that she knew who he was, and undoubtedly knew what he did with the others, he only hoped that fear would help him make his kill.

  “You are him, aren’t you?” Sasha tried to breathe. She had never seen this man before, but she didn’t need to. She only felt him. He doesn’t feel afraid. He doesn’t fear me. He doesn’t fear the wolf. Why would he? He killed my family. He killed all of them. He slaughtered everyone I ever knew and ever loved.

  “Of course I am.” He raised his right arm. He aimed the automatic pistol in his hand out towards her.

  She saw the weapon come up. She saw the look of pure pleasure on his face. He likes doing this.

  In fact, he loved what he did in its entirety.

  “Why?” she needed to ask him. She called on the eyes at the back of her mind to come forward. She had to do something for the fight about to come. He shot all of her friends with silver bullets, and knowing that, and seeing the gun, she knew what he would use on her. She had to prepare herself for the pain and the death that she knew would strike her now.