The Wereling 1: Wounded

by Stephen Cole

  Tom just stared at her, dumbly.

  ‘I said, clean yourself up and get dressed,’ Kate repeated. ‘Quickly. There’s hot water in the kitchen.’

  This time, Tom did as he was told. He felt as cold and mauled as the hunk of raw meat sitting in its own congealed blood on the worktop.

  When he came back Kate was shoving a further bundle of trousers and T-shirts inside another rucksack. He supposed the things were Wesley’s. She was dressed in a bottle-green sweater and blue jeans, with well-worn-in Timberlands on her feet. Her black hair was tied back in a hasty ponytail that swished around her smooth, pale neck as she worked.

  Tom felt for cuts on his face. ‘I thought … I’d be more injured than I am.’

  ‘The lupine metabolism is faster,’ came the clipped response. ‘When you’re ’wolf you’ll heal faster.’

  ‘When … ’ Tom shuddered. ‘So I’ll change again?’

  ‘Yes. But don’t ask me when, because I don’t know.’

  ‘I want to go home,’ whispered Tom.

  ‘And lead Marcie straight to your family? So she can kill them too, in revenge?’ Kate shook her head, grabbed a thick winter coat and struggled into it. ‘Don’t think so, do you?’

  ‘Well, where the hell do we go?’ Tom challenged.

  Kate threw a bomber jacket at his feet, hitched her rucksack on to her back, and walked to the front door. ‘Right now, anywhere but here. We hit the highway, then think about it. Are you coming?’

  Dazed, Tom grabbed the other rucksack and followed her outside into the cool, sweet-smelling night.

  Dark clouds had diminished the moon to a glimmer, but Kate had brought a flashlight. They picked a careful path across the waterlogged causeway and soon found themselves splashing towards the edge of the forest.

  Tom paused for breath. He couldn’t clear his mind of the fight with Wesley, reliving every moment like a horrifically vivid dream.

  ‘You must hate my family,’ Kate said quietly.

  Tom saw that she was studying him intently. ‘Yes,’ he said simply.

  Kate turned off the flashlight, to save the batteries, Tom supposed.

  ‘I hate them too,’ she said. ‘I hate what they are and what they do.’ She sighed, her warm breath misting out into the night.

  ‘When I was sick, Wesley made out like you were the maniac,’ Tom said softly. But he was determined not to feel sorry for Kate. He was the one in real trouble here. He clenched his fists, closed his eyes. ‘They did this to me because of you.’

  ‘I know.’

  ‘So it’s your fault.’

  Kate’s voice hardened. ‘You think I want to be married off to someone I don’t even know?’

  ‘So why didn’t you help me before?’

  ‘I tried to warn you away,’ Kate protested.

  There was a pause. The night seemed to gather in more blackly about them.

  ‘Don’t hate me for letting it happen,’ Kate said.

  For the first time, Tom could detect something vulnerable in her.

  ‘I couldn’t just drag you out of there, they were watching me like hawks. And you weren’t in any state to jump out through the bathroom window and start running for your life.’ She flicked on the torch. It lit her long, angular face eerily from below. ‘Come on. We should get going now.’

  ‘No, wait,’ Tom said. ‘Why me? If there are thousands of werewolves like Wesley said, and if you won’t turn ’wolf till you … ’ he faltered. ‘Till you do it with one, why not pair you off with someone else?’

  ‘I’ll explain while we walk,’ Kate said resignedly.

  They set off again, the conifers scratching at them with needle fingers. Each crack of a twig sounded like a car door slamming, every rustle of the undergrowth seemed to carry for miles around. Tom prayed Kate’s parents weren’t close by.

  ‘Both Mom and Dad are descended from long lines of pureblood lupines – werewolves,’ Kate began. ‘Mom is a Hargrave – one of the oldest lupine families. Normally they’d do just what you said. Find a suitable boy from one of the Old Name families they wanted to strengthen ties with, and lock me in a room with him. Leave a bed in there if they were feeling romantic.’

  Tom grimaced. ‘New spin on arranged marriages, huh?’

  ‘Pureblood girls have that hanging over them from birth. As soon as they hit bloodflow, they’re at risk.’

  ‘Bloodflow?’ Tom frowned. ‘Oh, you mean when they start their—’ He broke off, embarrassed. ‘Uh, how does it work?’

  If Kate noticed his embarrassment she didn’t care. ‘It’s in the sex itself. The sweat, the proximity … the violation of her body and the seed placed inside it.’ Her voice was growing edgier, wilder. ‘They’re taught it’s the law, that it’s a good thing. Maybe some of them even want to be ’wolves, I don’t know. Whatever, they have no say in it. If they won’t consent, they get raped.’

  Tom couldn’t help it, he placed a hand on her shoulder. Even as she crossly shook him off, he could tell she was shaking.

  ‘It’s been going on for centuries,’ Kate whispered flatly, back in control. ‘But like any closed community, inbreeding causes problems: physical deformity, proneness to disease.’

  Tom frowned. ‘Your family looked all right to me.’

  ‘Outside, maybe. But my dear, sweet mom is showing one of the most common symptoms: her appetite for flesh is near insatiable. She can barely control it and it’s getting worse. Around the time we left Twin Falls she was like a junkie needing her fix, pouncing on pretty much anything with a pulse and tearing it to shreds.’ Kate’s voice sounded drained of emotion, like she’d carefully distanced herself from the meaning of her words. ‘It’s why we had to move all the way out here, far from anywhere.’

  ‘I’ve sure got a lot to look forward to.’

  Kate sighed impatiently. ‘No, Tom, that’s the whole point. Most werewolves keep their appetites under strict control. It’s common sense. They can’t just go hunting and killing the whole time without attracting attention. And that risks exposing the wider werewolf community.’

  ‘So what, an injection of new blood stabilises the gene pool or something?’

  ‘Exactly. The purebloods take in a newblood. You have the honour of joining the noble Folan family and together we have nice, well-behaved little wolves to get the clan back on track.’ She snorted. ‘Sick, right?’

  ‘Hey, it’s cool,’ Tom said bitterly. ‘I’ve always wanted someone to choose my mate and turn me into a cold-blooded killer.’

  ‘Uh-uh. I saw you fighting Wesley,’ Kate said firmly. ‘Your ’wolf is not a cold-blooded killer because Tom Anderson is not a cold-blooded killer. You’re a silverblood, remember?’

  ‘Why “silverblood”?’ he asked. Then it clicked. ‘Oh, right – werewolves don’t like silver, isn’t that it?’

  Kate smiled wanly. ‘In the stories, a silver bullet through the heart is meant to be the only way to kill a werewolf. A total myth. They can be shot dead like anyone else, and often were – so the ’wolves put out that legend themselves, to make humans think reaching for the shotgun was a waste of time.’ She snorted. ‘Anyway, the point is that you’re a natural resister.’

  ‘So I’ve got to keep resisting,’ Tom concluded.

  ‘Amen to that,’ said Kate wryly. ‘And I might just be able to help you in that.’

  He looked at her sharply. ‘Yeah?’

  ‘Maybe.’

  They came to an unruly row of bramble bushes blocking their way.

  ‘You know, Kate, I … I’m sorry.’ Tom took a deep breath. ‘None of this is your fault. Not me … not Mark.’

  Kate said nothing for a whole minute.

  ‘How’d it happen with him?’ he prompted gently.

  ‘Last year my tutors made me go to summer school,’ she said. ‘Help me get extra credits in Literature and a shot at a college scholarship. Mother wasn’t happy, but Dad overruled her. For once. Anyway, there were kids there from all over the country.’

/>   ‘And Mark was one of them?’

  ‘Yeah.’ She was quiet for a while. ‘I make it a rule not to get close. Never to get close, not to anyone. But stuff just … kinda happened.’

  Tom nodded. ‘Holiday romance, huh?’

  ‘Hopeless, doomed romance more like.’ She snorted softly. ‘Afterwards, when we’d both returned home, we’d talk for hours in chat rooms online. We had so many crazy plans. We figured, maybe some day when I was out of here … ’

  ‘Did you tell him about the wolf stuff?’

  ‘Get real! I just said my mom and dad were total psychos about their precious darling daughter and that they’d kill him if he even came near me.’ Kate looked down at her boots. ‘Guess he didn’t believe me. Reckoned he couldn’t wait, and tracked me down. Came all the way out here from Michigan. And since no police ever came looking, I guess he didn’t tell anyone where he’d gone.’

  ‘Jeez, big mistake,’ muttered Tom.

  ‘When he turned up, I guess Mom thought the perfect opportunity had fallen into her lap, figuring I’d let him …’ Kate pushed out a deep breath. ‘So she bit him. Unlike you, he had no resistance. But when I said there was no way I was going to mate with a lupine – not even him – Marcie killed him. Just like that. I couldn’t believe she would just … ’ Kate shuddered. ‘I wish to God I’d never so much as spoken to him. If I’d left him alone it would never have happened.’

  ‘You warned him to stay away,’ said Tom awkwardly. ‘What else could you have done?’

  Kate seemed not to hear him. ‘Marcie reckoned she was teaching me a lesson. Showing me she was serious. That there was no way out for me.’

  They stood side by side, staring at the thick thorny tangles barring their way.

  ‘Mark’s dead. But we’re alive, Tom.’ He could barely catch Kate’s whisper. ‘We have to make that count.’

  Gently, Tom took the flashlight from her and began skirting round the thick bushes until he picked out a clearer path. Kate followed after him in silence.

  ‘You said you could help me,’ Tom said after a while.

  ‘I said maybe. It means finding someone.’

  ‘Who?’

  ‘He’s not local. I’ll explain once we’re on the road. And try not to change again till we’re well underway, OK?’ Kate’s voice grew still more deadpan. ‘You might cramp our chances. Wolf hair is a bitch to shift from car seats.’

  Tom guessed the joke was well-meant, but right now he didn’t much feel like laughing. ‘How come you’re only running away now, anyway?’ he blurted out. ‘If my family were werewolves—’

  ‘I was thirteen before I found out where Mommy and Daddy really went on their little nights out,’ Kate cut in. ‘Once I knew, I ran away almost every month. I only stopped when Mom threatened to bring one of my friends round for dinner.’ She paused, deadpan again: ‘If you know what I mean.’

  ‘And the situation’s different now?’ Tom asked.

  ‘Well, I don’t keep friends anymore. At least, not the kind of friends Mom can find. The kids at school think I’m a freak, or super-shy or something. I spend a lot of time online at the school computer centre. Chat rooms, web-rings … you know.’

  ‘Pretty lonely, huh.’

  ‘Sometimes. But when I met Mark, I just couldn’t resist the opportunity to get close to someone. Just for a while.’ She gave a short, bitter laugh. ‘Who was I kidding?’

  Tom hesitated before speaking again. ‘Your mom … she’s not going to stop looking for us, is she?’

  ‘No,’ said Kate simply. ‘She and Dad will put out the word. There are werewolf packs all over the country. They look after their own.’

  ‘But if your mom was some kind of high-risk werewolf pain in the ass who had to go into hiding, why would they help her?’

  ‘’Wolf is ’wolf,’ Kate sighed. ‘The bonds go deep. And she’s one of the Old Names. That counts for a lot. Besides, more and more ’wolves are starting to feel the same way she does: why should they curb their behaviour?’ She paused. ‘Anyway. With or without help, after all the effort she put into turning you, she’s not about to let you slip away.’

  ‘But if I could find a cure … ’ Tom knew he was like a dog with a bone but he couldn’t stop himself. ‘Kate, please, tell me more about this help—’

  ‘First things first,’ Kate said briskly. ‘We should come to the highway soon.’

  They trudged on, a little faster now the trees were starting to thin out. Tom made a couple of stumbling attempts at conversation but Kate seemed to prefer silence. Well, that was OK for her, Tom thought. She’d had years to live with this crap. So much had happened tonight, he didn’t know what to fret about first.

  Finally they reached the highway, a gloomy stretch of asphalt snaking up into the hills. Tom checked his watch. Wesley had said his parents would be back around dawn. Now it was 3.20 a.m. The sane world was asleep, but Tom was too scared to be tired.

  He wondered if he would ever sleep again.

  ‘Stay at the side of the road,’ Kate ordered, and quickly shucked off her rucksack and coat. Soon she was tugging at her sweater too.

  ‘Are you crazy?’ Tom stammered, bewildered. ‘It’s freezing, you’ll catch your—’

  ‘Death?’ He heard rather than saw her wry smile. ‘I’m hoping to catch us a lift.’ She pulled off her sweater. Beneath it was a flimsy vest top. ‘You don’t have to stare,’ she told him briskly. ‘Get out of sight.’

  Tom turned back to the bushes, baffled and embarrassed.

  ‘It’s not a very sociable time for travelling,’ she reminded him, pulling her coat back on. ‘If a man sees a girl dressed like this at the side of the road they’ll be quicker to stop if you’re not standing next to me, don’t you think?’

  He made a big show of considering this. ‘Maybe you should lose the jeans as well.’

  ‘Watch it,’ Kate told him. ‘Or I might just hitch that ride and take off without my bodyguard.’

  Tom grinned. Then he realised just what she’d said.

  ‘Bodyguard?’ he echoed darkly. ‘Oh, I get it.’

  Kate looked down at the ground awkwardly. ‘Get what?’

  ‘That’s why you brought me along, isn’t it?’ Tom swore. ‘Little Miss Friendless thinks she stands a better chance of getting away with a tame ’wolf on her side.’

  ‘It’s not that, you idiot!’ she hissed. ‘Not just that. We can look out for each other! Right now, I’m all you’ve got.’

  Tom sneered. ‘That crap you fed me about being able to help. It comes down to this? Feeding me some bull about a cure to stop me running off too soon?’

  ‘Keep your voice down!’ Kate urged him. ‘Tom, I really do think someone might be able to help you, OK?’

  He wanted to believe her.

  But then, he’d believed Marcie Folan when she said he was getting better.

  ‘Good luck, Kate. See you around.’

  Leaving Kate alone at the edge of the forest, Tom turned and walked off down the highway. Somewhere, miles up ahead, was the winding track that led down to that little group of log cabins for hire. Bitter tears welled up. If he could only go back to that morning he walked away from his family, and this time live it differently. Keep his mouth shut instead of having to argue. Would it have killed him to be the dutiful son for a week? Just to hug his mom again, see his dad’s smile or swing Joe around through the air by his ankles. Joe used to love that …

  He stopped. He couldn’t see his hand in front of his face. The path ahead was pitch black. The kind of path monsters would take.

  And there was nothing for him down that road now, anyway.

  Somewhere distant he heard the undulating whine of an approaching car. He glanced back to Kate. She was standing right where he left her, watching him. Her flashlight made a pool of weak light around her feet. It wasn’t much, but it was something.

  Tom turned and walked back to her as the noise of the car grew louder. ‘Guess it’s time to try out your hitchin
g theory.’

  Kate stepped out into the road, let her coat fall open. ‘Guess it is,’ she said quietly, glancing back at him. She held out her thumb.

  The car rolled by, ignoring her. They waited quietly for the next car to come, together.

  g

  g

  CHAPTER EIGHT

  It took over an hour, but at last, a dented Ford Taurus stopped for them. A woman in her forties with big messy hair waved them over with a silly grin. She smelled of booze and cigarettes. ‘I’m going as far as Goldendale,’ she announced. ‘That suit you?’

  Kate looked at Tom and he saw a flicker of hope in her face. ‘That’s clear across Washington State! From there we can take the Greyhound bus.’

  ‘Take it where?’ Tom asked as he slid into the back seat after her.

  ‘I’ll tell you later,’ Kate replied. Then whispered, looking at the woman, ‘Trust me. No one else.’

  ‘I was supposed to drive on down to meet up with my husband this afternoon,’ said the woman in a sixty-a-day voice, ‘only a little party I threw got out of hand.’ She cackled. ‘You kids been partying too, huh?’

  ‘You could say that,’ Kate said wryly.

  ‘Well, I’m gunning this engine all the way to make up lost time,’ she said. To prove her point she floored the accelerator, and the tyres screeched horribly as the car shot away.

  Tom wondered what kind of a sound Marcie would make when she found her son dead, and him and Kate packed and gone.

  The car rolled on. The vents swooshed out hot air. Soon Tom fell into a deep and dreamless sleep.

  The day came and went in drowsy snatches. Tom’s eyes opened on beige leather upholstery … a clear blue sky out of the fogged-up window … a Taco Bell drive-through, the waitress’s voice squawking out of the loud speaker … Kate’s hair spilling down over her shoulders. Her face turned away from him, staring out of the window.

  Then it was dark.

  Tom awoke in a strange room. Grimy net curtains swelled into the room as the breeze caught them. The wallpaper was busy with faded flowers.