The Beast

by Shantea Gauthier

  They were still both locked in her room when I left to join Simon.

  When we got to the place where we would change, he let his excitement show. He shook and hopped and stripped out of his clothes. I smiled. He was clearly very excited. Before I got my shirt off, my phone vibrated.

  "I meant to leave it in the car," I said apologetically.

  "Go put it back, there's plenty of time," he said.

  I looked down at the message. "Sorry babe, rough day. Not your fault. I love you! I'm sorry!"

  I replied on the way back to the car. "No worries, I'll give you money ASAP.”

  "Don't worry about it. I know you're working on it. We'll talk later. Have fun."

  "You too."

  With lightness in my heart I left the phone in the car and ran back to Simon. He was still there, still naked, and still excited, swinging his hands back and forth like a boxer who just stepped into the ring.

  I smiled. "All is right with the world again. She apologized."

  He smiled back and put the car key on a chain around his neck. I started to strip, keeping the coffin nail necklace on.

  "First rule," he said. "Know where your stuff is."

  He pointed into the tree so that I would notice the blue flag twisted in its branches. I nodded. He put our folded clothes into a sack that blended almost perfectly with the bark of the tree and slung it into some low branches.

  "When you feel it coming, don't fight it. It hurts but there's no real way around that. If you try to stop it, it makes it much worse. I can change on command so I'll wait until you start."

  "I can't wait until I can do that too," I said. I felt it coming on.

  "I don’t know if you'll ever be able to," he said. "I don’t know anything about-."

  He touched his head to mine. I don’t know anything about turned werewolves.

  My bones cracked as my legs started to change shape. My jaw jutted and narrowed before the rest of my face caught up. I looked up at Simon, aware that my agony was completely visible in my eyes.

  I saw him swing his head one way and when he swung it back he was changed. He bent his dark head to mine.

  Vampires.

  I held back a shriek when my ribcage exploded outward. Every time was as painful as the last. I heard the vampires in the trees. I smelled them stalking us. My hands twisted into shape.

  A blur headed toward me and Simon swatted it down like a housefly.

  I felt coarse fur shoot through my skin like needles.

  Another blur, another swipe.

  My vertebrae expanded. My ears lengthened and shifted while climbing up the side of my head.

  Another blur.

  We were surrounded and I was still vulnerable until-

  SNAP. All at once my nose caught up to my jaw, my hands and feet sprouted claws and my teeth snapped into position.

  The vampires weren't moving too fast to see anymore.

  I shook myself like a dog shaking off water and growled.

  Charles rushed toward me, but I still had the protective necklace and he flew back like I had a force field. Mohawk and Graffiti-Shirt were there too. Mohawk held his thick, muscular arms out to his sides like he was worshipping the moon. Around me, the dead leaves, acorns, twigs, and other debris started to rise into the air. I felt the wind tickle my fur and I heard a loud crack.

  Simon held a freshly broken tree branch like it was a sword. Graffiti-Shirt rushed him, but Simon sidestepped and the vampire went right past him.

  I couldn't see Charles anymore, which worried me. Floating leaves slowly starting to spin around me. I moved forward and back unsteadily, trying to escape it, but I couldn't see. I slammed into a tree and staggered back. The debris started to swirl faster and faster, rocks and sticks hitting me, cutting at me, hurting me. The vampires had found a magical loophole. The coffin nail necklace started to rise and I waved my furry arms frantically in an effort to keep it on. My hands were made for hunting, not for holding jewelry and I didn't have the motor control required to hold it down. I felt big and clumsy and I recklessly threw myself every direction until the tornado stopped and I realized that the necklace was gone. I swept a huge rock up and hurled it at Mohawk, hitting him hard enough to open a gash across his arm, but the two halves of his broken skin reached out for each other and the wound mended itself.

  I felt Simon's commands.

  He wanted me to keep throwing rocks at Mohawk, just keep attacking. I did. I pelted him with everything I could get my hands on. Rocks, pebbles, acorns. I flung them at him like I was splashing him with water, and I didn’t stop.

  Mohawk spread his hands and the dirt, rocks, and twigs started to float in front of him. I got the feeling that he was just collecting until he had enough to send them back at me. But Simon didn't want me to stop.

  Suddenly the wall of rocks rained to the ground and revealed Mohawk, with a tree branch protruding from his chest. He collapsed to the ground, dead.

  There was no time to celebrate the victory. An enormous owl, with a wingspan the size of a grown man was descending on Simon, talons outstretched, ready to pluck his eyes out.

  I sent out my own command and Simon ducked. I ran as fast as I could and flung myself up into the air from his back, jumping impossibly high, higher than the trees, making a wild grab for the bird. I caught it and came crashing back down to the ground.

  Simon darted around in circles with Graffiti-Shirt.

  The bird in my hand turned into a snake but I didn't let go. I whipped its head against a tree again and again, whipping the tree, shredding the bark, until it turned back into Charles. I pulled a branch down and prepared to stab him.

  "Wait," he said, sounding only the tiniest bit afraid that I wouldn't wait.

  I did. The cock of a gun turned me around. Simon, who had been flying toward Graffiti-Shirt, froze.

  "Let me go," Charles said, back to his completely bored controlled tone. I did not.

  The gun went off. Before the echo of the shot faded, I had Charles speared onto my tree branch. It took almost no effort to punch it through his rib cage.

  Graffiti-Shirt stared over his shoulder at something behind him, obviously and slowly weighing the pros and cons of sticking around. He never got the chance to decide. While he hesitated, Simon wrenched the branch from Mohawk's torso and stuck it into Graffiti-Shirt. Another shot rang out along with voices.

  Humans, Simon thought. We weren't touching but I could hear him clearly. Run.

  I ran. I ran as deep into the wild of the hills as was possible and pulled myself up into a cave before realizing that Simon wasn’t with me. I waited. It wasn't too long before I felt Simon getting close.

  Shall we hunt? he asked. There's a deer trail right under you.

  The humans? I asked.

  Won't be a problem.

  Let’s do this, I responded.

  Hunting took control of all my senses and all of my abilities. My large ears heard the sounds that the birds and the bugs and all of the night animals were making. They picked up on the sounds the animals weren't making, too, a clear warning of something larger around. My long nose sampled the air and sent my brain detailed reports on what was in it. I didn't see much but I could feel how close or far the things in the darkness were. My eyesight wasn't any better than if I’d just been me out there at night, but all of my senses worked together so that even the way my fur rustled in the wind told me about my surroundings.

  My nose caught a welcome, musky smell as my ears caught the patting of nervous hooves on the soft ground. I felt the deer and I sprang for it. I was faster, bigger, and stronger. Simon and I ran alongside the pretty little deer and Simon snapped at her heels.

  The deer faltered, trying to skip away from Simon’s jaws and I caught her. My mouth closed around her thick neck and in one bite, she was mine.

  Hot blood flowed into my mouth like an elixir, healing and energizing me.

  My jaws closed over her flesh again and again. Fur, skin, bones and meat filled my bel
ly. I looked up at Simon who only had a few bites of the doe’s flank.

  Is this an Alpha thing?

  He gave a snort that could have been a laugh.

  I left the legs and head to the coyotes, vultures and bugs.

  We ran.

  chapter 18

  For the second time in my life, I woke up naked under an oak tree. This time I wasn’t afraid. My clothes hung overhead and Simon stirred beside me. My car key hung around his neck, but my necklace was gone. The vampires took it, and in return we took their lives.

  Or whatever vampires have, Simon thought. He twisted his fingers in mine and kissed my cheek.

  Footsteps crunching through the dry grass stopped things from progressing.

  Up the tree. Get dressed if we can.

  I can’t climb! My body disagreed, reaching up for a branch and pulling me up. I hardly felt the rough bark and spiked leaves as I pulled myself upward.

  Police?

  Since when do police come looking for the killer of a deer? My wolf nose told me that deer were plentiful, so there was no reason to investigate, even if it looked like humans killed one. But it didn’t look like humans killed it.

  Two officers emerged from thick brush, gave a cursory glance around and disappeared again.

  Simon released a breath, slowly opened the bag and handed me my clothes. I slipped into the jogging outfit and yard sale moccasins that I’d packed. In hindsight it was a suspicious get up, unlike Simon’s shorts, tank top, and running shoes. Always the minimalist, I didn’t want to take up space with my new running shoes, or worse- lose them and have to buy another pair.

  Convinced that the cops weren’t coming back, we dropped from the tree and ran to the car where a fire truck, an ambulance, and a semi-circle of police cars were parked just ahead.

  Paramedics pulled a covered gurney to the ambulance.

  I looked at Simon. He shook his head and we slipped through a wooden fence.

  A stranger’s voice startled me.

  “I think it was the Beast,” the stranger said, leaning on the fence. “That’s pretty scary. I didn’t think it would happen this close to home.”

  “Do you live over here?” Simon asked.

  The man nodded toward a pale blue house with a red car parked in the driveway. “Right there. Name’s Mitch.”

  He held out his hand and Simon shook it. “Simon.”

  I didn’t want to give him my name. I didn’t want to be connected with this. I didn’t want to be blamed for this. I shook his hand, “Jade.”

  The man lit a cigarette, offered one to us. We declined.

  “Yup,” he said before taking a long drag. “I didn’t expect that it could happen so close, but I guess the sightings were only seven miles away, so I can’t be too shocked. They keep calling it the Beast of Hollywood, so we all felt safe.”

  I stared at the ambulance, not seeing it at all.

  “Any idea who it was?” I asked Mitch. I realized that we were not alone with him. The neighborhood was alive with curiosity. Those who lived inside of the barricade looked like they were picnicking on their lawns. Others, like us, were grouped into nervous crowds, gawking.

  “I’ve seen as much as you two,” said Mitch.

  Maybe less, I thought, keeping my gaze stubbornly away from Simon.

  “Well, I’ve seen enough,” Simon said. “I’m sure it’ll be all over the news in a few hours. Hope it was no one you knew.”

  “I don’t know,” Mitch chuckled. “I can think of a few I wouldn’t mind so much. But same to you folks. Have a good one.”

  “Simon, what did you do?”

  He didn’t look at me. “Nothing. I went back for the vampires to make sure they wouldn’t get back up. Is that okay with you? Should I clear it with you first next time? Let them catch up and kill us and then ask your permission to get rid of them?”

  “Is that all you did?”

  He didn’t answer.

  Sandra didn’t look like her night was much better than mine. As soon as Simon saw her wild hair and red face, he backed slowly through the door. I wasn’t done with him, but I’d have to deal with it later. Sandra took priority, especially if things didn’t go so well with Jack.

  “Sandra?” I held my hands out in front of me and moved slowly, like she was a wild animal and might bite.

  She didn't look up, just kept shoving clothes in her bag, pulling them out, and shoving them back in.

  "Sandra, is everything okay? What are you packing for?"

  "I'm going to my parents' house for a few days," she muttered.

  "In San Francisco? Why, what happened?" Poor Jack.

  She turned to me and held up her hand. The diamond ring sparkled next to her sparkling blue eyes. She squealed.

  I gasped in overly dramatic, excited shock. "No way! He proposed?"

  She gave me a playful slap on the shoulder. "He already told me that he told you, you faker."

  "Wait, so why are you leaving? You said yes, didn't you?"

  She grinned, showing off her perfect teeth. I might have been able to see all of them. "I did say yes, so they want me to go visit them for a few days to celebrate. Well, they actually want both of us but Jack can't get out of work. And I want to make sure they actually mean it and that I'm not leading him into a trap because, well, they're my parents and it’s probably a trap."

  She hardly breathed she was so excited. I grabbed her hand and admired the ring on it. We squealed and shook and bounced around like excited girls.

  "I want to go before it gets too late," she said. "I need to finish packing."

  She pulled the clothes out of the bag again.

  "Here," I said, shaking a tangled mass of tights and underwear into individual garments. "Let me help you with that."

  We got her all packed up and before noon she was gone.

  I felt alone as soon as her car was out of sight. If Simon was going to try to hide from me, or disappear on me again, I needed protection. A special kind of protection.

  I got into my car and went out looking for coffin nails.

  The man at the funeral home took one look at my flowery skirt and green tank top and decided that I was not in mourning. His black suit would have looked formal before I met Harold and Charles, but now it looked too long, too loose, and his hair was too greasy and stiff, action figure hair.

  "Can I help you?" he asked in a calm, low voice.

  I looked around. "I have kind of a strange request," I began. "I'm looking for coffin nails."

  He put a hand over his face in a look of exasperation. "You people," he said. "Look around you. Look at our caskets. Look at the floor. Do you think we just have nails lying around?"

  I looked at the caskets and the floor and felt shame creep into my cheeks. I was an idiot. The caskets were all steel or glossy stained wood with ornate metal handles or without visible metal at all.

  They don't make caskets at a funeral home, dummy.

  "I'm sorry," I said. "I didn't mean any disrespect. I just- I just really need them."

  "Then go find an occult shop," he said. "They're in business to indulge those fantasies. We are in business to give the dead a dignified resting place."

  I wanted to apologize. I wanted to back track and think about it first. I wanted to look online. I wanted anything but the disdain of the man in front of me. I couldn't do any of that so I mumbled another apology and left.

  At least he’d pointed me in the right direction. An occult store. But where would I even find one?

  I pulled out my smart phone and found that there was one right down the street.

  I love you, phone.

  I turned the volume up in my car when I heard that they were reporting on the latest attack.

  "So if you haven't been living under a rock you've already heard about the Beast's revenge, right? We have a world class zoologist in the studio with us to talk about. Thanks for joining us Dr. Swahara."

  "Thank you for having me," the guest said.

  "F
or those of you who have been living under a rock, there were sightings of "The Beast of Hollywood" a few weeks ago and just last night there was another victim. It was one of the men who originally spotted the beast. So, Dr. Swahara, there have been reports all over the internet that it was a hoax to begin with. What do you think? Was it the killer's revenge for stealing his thunder or was it a beast that remembered him from last time?"

  "Well," Dr. Swahara answered in a mild accent. "I'm not well equipped to explain the mind of a killer, but I can at least address the hoax part of it."

  "You know whether it's real or not?" the host said in a dramatic, suspense building voice. I half expected him to cut to a commercial, but instead he said, "Is it?"

  "I can tell you that the two people who saw it submitted to a polygraph to talk about what they saw, and they passed. They weren't lying about what they saw, but we can't know for sure until someone catches it."

  "Well, that's a little disappointing, Doc."

  The guest laughed. "I'm sorry to be a disappointment. Maybe this will make up for it.” He took a brief pause. “Have you ever heard of a Devil Monkey?"

  "No, what the devil is a Devil Monkey?"

  "It’s a type of North American Ape that there have been sightings of ever since the thirties. They are said to have thick, kangaroo like back legs and shorter front legs with defined fingers and claws. They have an ape-like torso and have been said to have either cat or dog-like snouts in addition to pointed ears and bushy tails."

  "So you think Big Foot is out there?"

  "No, a Devil Monkey is very different from Big Foot. Devil Monkeys have been seen to cross fields in a single leap and are said to move incredibly fast. Big Foot is basically a big teddy bear compared to devil monkeys and they, unlike Big Foot, are entirely possible."

  "Well, we'll be back with more on that after the break. This is fascinating," the host said.

  At least they weren't closer to the truth and they weren't hunting me.

  The occult shop tucked away between a laundromat and a donut shop, had a small sign that said "CURIO" over the door in big purple and gold letters. A sign boasting a palm reader was taped the door.