Bark (The Werewolf Journal's Book 1)

by Sabian Masters

  “I don’t know.”

  “I’ve been thinking as bad as you might not want to hear this, did you ever stop and think that the person that might be responsible might be Sarah?” Jay said.

  “What the hell are you talking about? You have known her just as long as me. You know better than accuse her,” Arnie said angrily.

  “I know. It’s just that she came over the other day and – ”

  “And what?” Arnie asked.

  “She was just asking questions like she knew I was hiding something. She was the last one you saw before you were attacked. Why is it not possible?” Jay asked.

  “We know her. I think we would have known after all these years,” Arnie said, defending her.

  “You hear her on how she always says that she wants to be with you forever. What if she really means it?” Jay said, getting up from the couch, again continuing to pace.

  “Look, Arnie, I’m sorry. I suppose I was out of line thinking that. I just can’t think of anybody we know that would fall into suspicion of being a wolf.”

  “So you blame my girlfriend. I think you need to get your mind off this for a little while. You’re already in this far deeper than you should be,” Arnie said, rubbing his hands together.

  “That’s why I can’t just get my mind off this. What if this bastard tries to come after me and my dad? You already said he wants me dead. I need to find out who he is.” Jay looked at his shattered window.

  “I thought you were gonna get that fixed,” Arnie replied, referring to the window.

  “I need to save a month’s worth of allowances before I can do that.”

  “If I get some money, I’ll help you,” Arnie said, trying to change the subject.

  “I know what you’re doing. It’s not working,” Jay replied.

  “What am I doing?”

  “You’re trying to change the subject,” Jay said with frustration.

  “It almost worked,” Arnie said with a laugh.

  “You should know better than to try those Jedi mind tricks on me.” Jay laughed.

  “It’s funny, isn’t it? How we can still laugh in the middle of all this hell.” Arnie leaned back on his couch.

  “Yeah, well, I suppose even hell has a sense of humor,” Jay said with a smirk.

  “I gotta go. I’m supposed to meet Sarah later. I need to freshen up.”

  “Please do. You’re beginning to smell like a dog,” Jay said jokingly.

  “Good one, Jay, but you always smell that way. Take care of yourself,” Arnie said, shaking Jay’s hand. “Listen, before I go, I was wondering, the other day, how the hell did you find silver bullets?” Arnie added.

  “Where else? eBay,” Jay answered. Arnie walked out laughing as Jay sat back down on his couch with an uncomfortable feeling inside him, knowing that all the jokes in the world couldn’t help him take his mind off what was happening. But he sure could be a good actor when he needed to be.

  CHAPTER 26

  “I’ve been thinking,” Arnie told Jay.

  “About?” Jay replied.

  “Well, it’s just I’m not sure that the whole silver bullet crap is true. We need proof.”

  “How do we do that? We don’t know who the other guy is,” Jay said.

  “The way I figure it is that the other wolf couldn’t kill me after the last attack. What if silver doesn’t? The only way I can see us finding out is for you to shoot me with one.”

  “Wait a minute, we can’t give up yet,” Jay replied sternly.

  “I’m not going to just yet. Just graze my arm. If there’s a scar when I wake up, then we’ll know,” Arnie said, looking in Jay’s eyes.

  “I don’t necessarily have to shoot you. I could use your dad’s knives. We’ll cut your hand and wait till tomorrow. Besides it’s cleaner that way,” Jay said, heading over to the kitchen, retrieving one of Arnie’s dad’s silver knives.

  “Think this will do?” Jay asked, waving the long sharp shiny blade.

  “Yep, definitely. Better get a towel too. There’s going to be a lot of blood. Can you get me one, Jay? It’s in the rest room. Second cabinet on your left.”

  Arnie ran the knife across his palm, cutting his skin. “Fucking shit! That hurts,” Arnie said, putting his hand under the sink and running water over his bleeding hand.

  “Here you go,” Jay said, giving him the towel. “Wrap your hand in that till the bleeding stops, then we’ll get some bandages.” Jay asked, “How long’s your dad gone this time?”

  “Two weeks.”

  “Your mom doesn’t mind leaving you here all alone?”

  “They trust me; besides, if I went with them on all his trips, I’d never get out of school. That’s the life of having a dad that’s in charge of over fifty oil companies around the state,” Arnie said sadly.

  “You never have spent much time with them,” Jay replied softly.

  “No. I wish I had, especially lately.”

  “Don’t really know how much time I have left. This isn’t some horror movie where the good guy wins; this is real life, Jay. This story very possibly won’t have a happy ending.”

  “I’ve been thinking maybe we should go check out Elena’s house,” Jay said, trying to think. “Maybe we can find something.”

  “You mean break in?” Arnie replied.

  “We sure as heck don’t have a key,” Jay repeated sarcastically. “Look, Arnie, tonight you don’t have to worry about wolfing out. I’ll go by myself over to Elena’s. You go see Sarah. You need to get your spirits up, pal.”

  “I just don’t want to drag her into this.”

  “You’re not, Arnie. Tonight’s a safe night for you. Like you said you don’t know how much time you really have. Best you make every second count,” Jay said, clearing his throat, trying to hide his emotions.

  CHAPTER 27

  Sirens filled the air as Jay sped down the long, dark, narrow road with only the lights to his truck and the police car behind him to shield the two metal vehicles from the darkness. Jay looked up in the sky in panic for he knew time was running out. Arnie sat nervously in the back of the truck, looking up at the sky, praying they would make it to the woods. They both had spent way too much time at Monelly Library, trying to find some hint of fact in the lycanthropy myth. It wouldn’t be long before the squad car behind them catches up. If that happens, it would be a slaughter.

  Jay swerved in and out of lanes in an attempt to confuse the squad car behind him, but they were better trained at driving than him as they kept trailing on him. This is bad; it’s only a matter of time before they’d get a roadblock up, Jay thought, trying to think of what to do as he looked at the rising moon in the sky.

  At that moment, Arnie’s eyes spotted the moon, and as he did, his body was filled with an unbelievable sensation of heat.

  “Drive and don’t look back,” Arnie yelled. His bones began their usual cracks and creaks that came with the change.

  “What are you doing?” Jay asked.

  “I can’t stop it anymore! I’m starting to change,” Arnie said as his voice got deeper. He jumped out of the truck, and his body slammed into the police car’s window, causing the officer driving the vehicle to hit his brakes. Arnie’s body flew off the car onto the dirty pavement, and the car skidded over Arnie’s body, cracking every bone in his back.

  “Jesus!” the officer screamed in disbelief as his car finally came to a halt. “This is Officer Brandon. I need an EMT pronto between Foster Road and Interstate 72.” Brandon stepped out of his car. “Radio in to Hail County. Tell them to be on the lookout for that truck,” he told his partner as he walked up to Arnie’s broken body. Officer Brandon knelt down, putting his fingers against Arnie’s neck to check his pulse. As he did, Arnie began to speak. His bones started to twist and turn back into place.

  “Run!” Arnie said in a horrific tone.

  “You’re going to be okay,” Officer Brandon replied.

  “I know I am, but you’re not!” Arnie said as his fing
ernails stretched through his skin, forming claws. Arnie slashed at the officer with his claws, creating five deep gashes in

  his face. Officer Brandon screamed in pain, holding his hand to his face, trying to stop the bleeding. He reached for his gun as the boy began to change shape before his eyes.

  “What the fuck?” the officer said, firing his gun, filling the creatures body with lead until there were no more bullets to fire. Brandon headed for his car in terror, trying desperately to ignore the pain from his wound. He jumped into his seat, fumbling to put the car in drive. Brandon’s partner yelled at him to go, but to his dread, the last thing Brandon heard was the separation of his head from his body as the creature sunk its teeth deep within his skull. With a twist of the creature’s arms, it yanked out every attachment to the officer’s neck, removing his head from his body. The officer’s lifeless body collapsed on to the horn of the car, causing it to beep loudly.

  Officer Brandon’s partner reached for his gun, shooting at the creature through the window of his car. He then put the car in drive, punching the gas and struggling to get his partner’s body out. He shoved Brandon out of the car, taking the wheel. Brandon’s lifeless body rolled on to the street as the beast jumped onto the car, banging the roof of the car with its monstrous fists, creating huge dents on the roof. It used its claws to tear open the top of the car. The officer then fired his gun toward the beast. The beast wrapped all five of its claws around the officer’s gun, grabbing the officer by the wrist, ripping off his hand. The officer screamed in terror as the beast jumped off the car. Blood spurted against the windshield as the car sped off the road, slamming against a tree, sending the officer crashing through the window until his body crunched against the huge oak, crushing every bone in his body.

  CHAPTER 27

  “Things just seem to be getting worse and worse,” Jay mumbled as he passed a sign that read Now Entering Hail County. That cop had to have run my plates. If he did, it wouldn’t be too long before they traced the truck back to me. He drove into a patch of woods. He’d have to rig his truck like it was stolen. He ripped out the bottom of the steering column, fumbling through the different wires so that he could make it look like someone stole his truck. Jay then reached for the .45 revolver he had gotten off a friend for two hundred bucks and shoved it in the back of his pants, then pulled a black windbreaker over his white muscle shirt. He reached for his cell phone and began to punch in numbers. To his frustration, no one he could trust was home. He even tried Arnie’s girlfriend, Sarah, but all he got was a machine. He left a message on her machine. Hopefully, she would call back when she got his message.

  He would have to find an alibi by morning. Luckily, his dad was out of town on business, or he’d really be in a world of shit. Not like he wasn’t already, Jay thought as he started his way down the road, making sure he kept himself close to the trees, within the shadows. Both he and Arnie had been searching for weeks for a clue on who the other wolf was. They both had been nearly killed by the beast. They had begun to wonder if what they were doing was worth the trouble. After all, the wolf had attacked Arnie during the day. That part isn’t in any of the books. What if there is no cure? How many people will have to die before they found the truth, if ever? What’s the value of one life compared to the many? Jay wondered. He kept out of the road, walking through the forest just beside the road. He had no flashlight. The only lights he could see were that from the upcoming cars. Jay made his way through the woods as a terrible howl filled the air, causing the hairs on his back to stand. Jay turned in dread, reaching for his gun, immediately pointing it at the vicious-looking creature that stood behind him.

  Son of a bitch! he thought as the beast flung his body toward him. Jay fired his gun, and the bullet pierced through the shoulder of the bloodthirsty animal. The beast roared in pain as it ran into the woods, out of Jay’s sight.

  Jay began to run as fast as he could until he caught sight of the beast charging toward him. He jumped out of the beast’s way; the beast’s body smashing into the tree behind him. The creature still didn’t stop, knocking Jay’s gun away, grabbing him by his shirt, flinging him to the ground. Jay crawled desperately to his gun as the beast grabbed him by the legs, throwing him against a tree. Blood spurted from Jay’s mouth as the beast readied its claws, jumping toward him.

  Jay reached for a branch that had broken off the tree and pointed it toward the charging beast. He tightened his grip around the spear like piece of wood, which went piercing through the beast’s chest as it landed directly on the stick. Jay rolled out of the way as the beast dropped to its knees. It moaned in pain, trying to pry the object out of its chest. Jay hurried to his gun and limped over to the wolf, staying a safe distance away from it. He aimed his gun at the beast’s head and pulled the trigger, blowing a hole through the center of the beast’s head.

  Jay stood there ready to fire again, watching the beast starting to amazingly change before his eyes.

  When the change was over, Jay looked to see if he could recognize it, but all he saw was a stranger. A redhead girl who looked to be in her mid-twenties lay dead in front of him. Hopefully this would be over, he thought, wondering how anyone so beautiful could become something so terrifying. At that moment, Jay heard something approaching him in the woods. You got to be fucking kidding me, he thought, hearing the monstrous breathing nearing him. Jay ran out of the woods in disbelief into the street as cars drove past him. Jay waved his hands in desperation, pleading for a car to stop. He looked through the branches of the woods, and he could see the wolf looking down on the girl he had killed. A Jeep then pulled up before him, blocking his view. Jay jumped in, thanking the man for picking him up. He looked back to make sure the creature wasn’t behind them, and as he did, he knew that the wolf he had seen wasn’t Arnie because he was miles away from where Arnie had changed. It must have been another one.

  Meaning the main werewolf was still alive. The question, is what if there’s more? Jay thought, leaning against the window of the Jeep.

  CHAPTER 28

  5:00 am

  “Tell me the bad news, Billy,” Inspector Rodriguez told the officer stepping out of his old ‘77 Buick.

  “There’s a lot of it, sir. Officer Brandon and his partner Ramon Sanchez are both dead.”

  “What happened? Some punk gang members shoot them?”

  “No, sir, it’s just that . . . ,” Officer Billy hesitated.

  “Spit it out, kid. Believe me, whatever you have to tell me isn’t going to surprise me,” Rodriguez ordered.

  “Well, Officer Brandon’s head is gone, sir. It’s like it was ripped away from his body,” the officer told Rodriguez as he knelt beside Brandon’s mutilated body. “Officer Sanchez was thrown from his car, but not before his hand was ripped off,” Billy added in disbelief.

  “Jesus, Mary, Christ almighty, this just keeps getting better and better,” Rodriguez replied, looking at Officer Sanchez’s crushed body. “Alright, I’ve seen enough. Tell the paramedics to take him away,” Rodriguez reached for his cigar.

  “That’s another thing I was about to mention, Inspector. I had to radio in for more EMTs,” Officer Billy said, hesitating.

  “Why? Did their vehicle break down or something?” Rodriguez asked.

  “No, sir, they’re dead too,” Officer Billy said, walking over to the ambulance.

  “Fuck it, close those doors,” Rodriguez said, rubbing his face. “Their bodies won’t be any different. I can only take so much, ya know? I go to bed too like everybody else,” Rodriguez added, lighting his cigar as Billy shut the doors to the ambulance. “Did Brandon get the plates on that truck?”

  “No, Sir, just a description, and judging by the speed he reported, that might not be right either… ,” Billy answered back.

  “Isn’t that a son of a bitch? You know how many old Chevy trucks we got in this county?”

  “Yes, sir.”

  “Damn!" This type of shit makes me wonder why I ever got in the force.” R
odriguez took a quick puff off his cigar, flicking it away in anger.

  CHAPTER 29

  Jay sat in the corner of Angie's diner, rolling a cold smooth shiny silver bullet in his hand while a waitress, who looked to be in her early fifties, slammed a plate filled with eggs in front of him. He must have walked all night before he found a place to eat. His legs felt like dead weights, and his clothes reeked of sweat, not to mention he had forgotten to put on deodorant that day. All he really wanted right now was a warm shower and a soft bed, but he knew he would have to find Arnie. He’d have to eat something to keep himself from passing out from exhaustion. Things had gotten a little more interesting now that there was another wolf, and there was no way that other wolf could have been Arnie, unless the wolf has a super speed. He had never killed anyone or anything for in his life. He had shot at a raccoon with his dad’s gun but missed. That girl he saw looked so innocent. It was easy for him to kill the wolf; but seeing her, that was the disturbing part. Whoever that girl was, she couldn’t help who she was. It wasn’t her fault, and he killed her for it.