Chapter Five
Abilities
A few days later, I was outside repairing a hole in the fence. It was a workday so my father was at the general store, the business we owned in town.
During the week it was my responsibility to take care of the farm. I had finished school two years before. Instead of going to College, I stayed at home to help my father. This saved him money so he didn’t have to hire anyone. He was putting my earnings away for me to go to school in the fall.
“Mary no!” I heard my middle sister Rose yell just as I lifted the hammer, about to pound a nail into the wooden post. I froze; the forgotten nail tumbled to the ground, disappearing in the long grass. When I looked up, I saw my six year old sister climbing up the ladder that I had left out. She was just stepping off the last rung preparing to climb on top of the barn roof. As Rose yelled, Mary looked down at her, and lost her footing. She was going to fall.
I dropped the hammer, and rushed over just as she fell, catching her just in time. Umph! Air whooshed out of me as her weight dropped onto my arms.
“Am I dead?” she asked, squeezing her eyes tightly closed. Her tiny fingers gripped my work shirt.
I laughed. Thank the lord, she was okay. I hugged her close, extremely relieved. She smelled of plum pudding and garden soil. “No, you are not dead, but you should know better then to climb up onto the roof.”
“Nathaniel!” Rose yelled with a trace of panic in her voice.
I turned around to see her rushing toward me, shock clouding her face. Her long wheat colored hair hung in braids. Her bonnet was falling down off her head onto her shoulders as she rushed toward us.
“Yes?” I asked, setting Mary down on her feet, who stared up at Rose waiting for her answer.
“How did you get to her so fast?” She glanced anxiously from Mary to me, a look of complete bafflement covering her face. I understood why she was concerned. I didn’t even realize until then that I had run thirty feet in a few seconds. “Uh…I was working on the barn door when I heard you yell at her,” I lied, something that was becoming a habit for me. She accepted my falsehood, just as my parents had last week, only because not to, was too strange to comprehend.
Mary giggled, pulling Rose away toward the garden where she had been playing earlier in the day.
I was glad to see them go. I knew something was wrong with me, but I wanted to keep it to myself as long as possible.
The unexplainable behavior did not go away. Over the next couple of weeks I noticed I had acquired some very bizarre abilities.
One day, as I was repairing the barn roof, I lost my balance, and fell to the ground, landing on my feet. Thankfully no one was around to see. It was getting harder to hide my new found skills. The dishonesty to my family was beginning to weigh on me.
I could hear animals rustling in the woods, miles away. I could also smell them approach, even identify the species by their scent.
The most disturbing change was my bizarre new cravings. The food my mother prepared was not satisfying me. I finally realized what the problem was. She was cooking the meat, and I craved it raw. One day the craving was so strong I found myself about to gobble down the uncooked beef my mother had left in the ice box. I stopped myself just in time. I didn't understand why all of this was happening to me, and more than ever, I just wanted to go back to the life I had weeks ago.
Almost a month had passed since Lucy’s death and I was starting to forget important details about her, the exact color of her hair, or the sound of her laughter. I hated myself for this. Since I was to blame for her death, I should remember every detail about her. Although I was losing memories of her alive, I couldn't forget her death. I remembered in vivid detail the night she died. Her lifeless face was seared in my brain. It was there every night before I went to sleep, and every morning when I woke.
One Saturday, I was working for my father at the store. He had gone to Macon City for supplies.
There were a few customers wandering through the aisles browsing. I was stacking boxes of food on a shelf when I sensed someone standing at the end of the aisle watching me. This was another new ability I seemed to be blessed with.
“Hi Nathaniel, how are you doing?” I turned my head to see Eva, Lucy’s best friend standing beside me.
“I’m doing okay Eva. How are you?” I stepped down from the ladder I was using.
She took a deep breath to suppress her tears. “I really miss her, but it’s getting easier with time.”
I nodded in agreement. I understood what she meant. I just did not want it to get easier for me.
“A few friends are getting together tonight for a bonfire near the beach. Henry told me to ask you to come. He would have done it himself, but he’s stuck at the lumber yard.”
The idea of an evening with friends, sitting around a fire doing nothing but laughing, and joking sounded ideal, if not strange. It felt like an eternity ago that I had done anything like it. For the last few weeks, my mind has focused on death and worries about my new condition. Was I even capable of still having fun? “Sure Eva, I’ll be there. I’ll meet everyone at the beach after supper.”
She smiled. “Good, you need some fun in your life. You have to stop punishing yourself for what happened.”
I gave her a puzzled look.
“My mother and your mother are friends remember?”
“That’s right, but that is something I do not wish to discuss.” I glanced over at the register and saw Mrs. Grayson waiting impatiently.
“Sorry Eva, I have to go. I’ll see you tonight.”
She said goodbye and left the store without purchasing anything.
I hurried to the front counter. “Sorry for the wait Mrs. Grayson,” I said, ringing up her items. She scowled at me, and except for a few exasperated sighs, made no reply. Mrs. Grayson wasn’t known for her charming personality. The navy blue dress she wore was practical and severe, and her hair as always, was pulled tightly in a bun. She never smiled; her face always seemed hard and cold. Not an easy woman to talk to.
I handed the packages to her and after she paid, she left the store without speaking a single word.
The bell over the door signaled a new customer. I glanced up from the counter I was wiping and stared at the woman I saw at Lucy’s funeral a month ago.
She was older then my eighteen years, maybe twenty or so. She carried herself well, with long curly red hair that was swooped up loosely and hidden under a large white hat. Her grey eyes pierced through me as she stared, not once looking away. She was wearing a long pink lace gown and carrying a closed parasol in her hand.
She approached me slowly, stopping on the other side of the counter. I could smell an odd scent coming from her. It wafted powerfully through my nostrils and all the hairs on my body stood on end. There was something about her that brought the chill I felt at the funeral back. The sudden urge to run was overwhelming.
“Nathaniel Riley?” she asked in an accent I wasn’t familiar with.
“Yes,” I replied, uneasiness began to spread through me.
“My name is Charlotte Burns. I am staying at the boarding house. I’ve been here visiting some friends and I'm leaving tomorrow. I thought I would come and introduce myself to you.” Her smile was all teeth, predatory, was what came to mind
There was something about this beautiful woman that I did not trust. I just didn’t understand why I felt this way. “Why would you introduce yourself to me?”
“Well, you and I have a special bond after all,” she said, placing her parasol on the counter.
“I’m sorry. I don’t know what you mean.”
“I did create you after all. So we are bonded forever.”
A sudden dread thudded in the pit of my stomach. Even though I didn’t know what she meant, a part of me, deep inside, was afraid to ask the next question. “What do you mean?” I whispered.
Charlotte glanced aroun
d the store and seeing that it was empty, sauntered over to the door, turning the open sign to closed.
She walked back, and once again stood in front of me, placing her gloved hands on the wooden counter. “You are a very handsome young man. I could not have chosen better even if I had planned it. You see, it was a mistake.” There was a cool glint in her eye, along with a coy grin. She was playing with me, I just couldn't comprehend why.
“What was a mistake?” I asked reluctantly.
“Creating you of course,” she said with a soft chuckle. She looked around the store and wandered over to a shelf where our figurines were laid out. She picked up a carved wooden wolf glancing carelessly at it before setting it back onto the shelf. “So tell me, are you feeling different lately? Any new abilities you can’t explain?”
Since I had not told anyone what was happening to me, --not even my family-- I was suddenly very wary of the conversation and didn’t want to continue. I chose not to answer her afraid of what she would say.
“I’ll take that as a yes,” she said with a smirk. “Don’t you want me to tell you how I know about your changes?” She continued to wander around the store picking items up and glancing at them, then returning them to their proper place. “I am sorry about your girlfriend though. I was so hungry, and humans are such easy prey.” She turned around to face me grinning widely.
“Wh… What did you just say?” I asked terrified now, looking around for a weapon.
“I said I’m sorry about your girl. I will say one thing about her, she tasted so good.” She stalked slowly toward me again, her movements almost animalistic. “Although not as good as you, and all I had was one little bite before you ran off,” she pouted.
As I stared at her, frozen with fear, she gazed into my eyes. Her piercing grey ones held mine, and I watched as they turned color, from grey, to yellow. The eyes of a wolf.
I was startled, falling back into the shelf behind me; boxes fell to the floor with a clatter. I ran to the door, but she got there first, blocking my path. “Don’t worry I’m not going to hurt you.” Her voice was sticky sweet. “I just came to explain those changes you have been going through, and the big one that will happen tonight. It’s going to be a full moon you know.”
“What are you saying?” I whispered, afraid of the answer.
“Oh you poor thing, I’m sure you already know what I mean. But I guess I have to spell it out for you." She gave an exasperated sigh, and then grinned. "It was not a wolf that attacked you that night. It was me. I am a werewolf. You can smell my scent, can’t you? You know that I am different from humans. I bit your leg. My saliva entered your bloodstream and triggered the change. So now, you are a werewolf too, and once a month when the full moon's glow touches your skin, you will change into a wolf. And guess how long it’s been since your friend died?”
I stayed silent, unable to utter a word.
“Oh, you don’t want to guess. Fine, you’re no fun,” she pouted. “It’s been one month. Tonight you will change for the first time.”
“No,” I said with my teeth clenched. “I don’t want to be like you. I don’t want to be a killer.” I closed my hands tightly into fists at my sides. For the first time in my life, I had the urge to hit a woman.
“I’m sorry, but you don’t have a choice. I didn’t mean to change you, my intent was to kill. Isn’t this better than dying?”
“No. I’d rather die.”
“Well it’s not that easy now. We heal very quickly. But, don’t worry, it won’t be so bad. You get to stay this young and handsome forever.” She leaned into me, my body stiffened as she kissed my lips softly. I pulled back, repulsed. Her scent was overpowering when she leaned this close.
“I haven’t had a playmate in a while. We could travel together, be true companions. We will have so much fun, you and I,” she said gently caressing my cheek with her finger.
I pulled my face away. “Don’t touch me. You killed Lucy and tried to kill me. I don’t want anything to do with you.”
“You think you can handle the changes that are coming by yourself? Believe me you can’t. You need me. Meet me in the woods in front of your house tonight at seven o’clock and I’ll help you through your first change.”
“I do not want to change.”
She rolled her eyes as though I was a petulant child, misbehaving, instead of someone on the verge of becoming a monster. “It’s not something you can turn off. You are a werewolf now and there is nothing you can do to change that. You just have to accept it.”
There was a loud knock on the door behind me. I turned to see my father standing outside, his arms full of boxes. I opened the door for him.
“Why do you have the closed sign up?" he asked glancing at me. "Nathaniel, what’s wrong? You’re as white as a ghost.” He placed the boxes down on the floor, and as he stood up, he noticed Charlotte. “Oh excuse me Miss I didn’t see you there. Nathaniel, who is this?”
“Father, this is Charlotte Burns, and she was just leaving.” I took her arm, leading her to the door.
“It was so nice to meet you Mr. Riley,” Charlotte purred as she curtsied. When she was out of my father’s sight, she turned to me again. “Seven o’clock,” she said and then sauntered away.
“Who was that?” my father asked me.
“No one. I’m not feeling well. I wish to go home and lay down, if that’s all right.”
“Of course. If you’re not feeling well, go home and get some rest.”
Riley's Curse, A Moon's Glow Prequel Page 5
