Masonic Werewolves

by James Livingood

  Brandon walked over to him and slapped him on the back. “Gentleman, we have a brother here, that is for true. But there is one more thing he must understand before he is a true moon moaner. Everyone, begin the shift.”

  Jacob heard grunting and cracking. He wondered what was going on. Were they making noises trying to get him to take off the blindfold? Huge thumps and ripping sounded from everywhere. Jacob knew enough about secret societies that they always tested you to try and get you to falter from their requests. He sucked in a breath and kept his blindfold on.

  “The moment of truth, brothers, has come for Jacob.” Brandon reached for Jacob’s blindfold and took it off.

  Around the fire were piles of shredded clothing. On top of those piles, were giant wolves, sitting on their back legs. They did not look threatening. No teeth were bared, no eyes were glinting with hunger. They all looked like giant trained dogs, sitting at their place as requested.

  Brandon stood next to Jacob, smiled politely, and said, “You will see what we are. What you are. You will then need to choose. Once you know your power, will you flee into the woods, scared at what you might do? Or will you stay with us? Let us see.”

  Jacob wondered how they got so many trained large dogs in here so quickly and where everyone had gone. His eyes flicked around the circle until they rested back on Brandon. Before Jacob's eyes, Brandon expanded in unusual ways. His nose grew to a snout, a whistle of air being sucked in as the mouth grew. Brandon’s hands bunched and grew flatter, hair poofing out, while claws poked from under the new fur. His spine twisted and then burst out of the back, a tail sprouting already in fur. In a moment, it was over, and Brandon shook like a wet dog. Bits of clothing fell all around him, and he sat down. None of it looked painful or uncomfortable. It almost looked like his human form was uncomfortable and now he was in a more relaxed state.

  Jacob wondered if he was in a dream, but no dream he had ever had would include such oddities. One time he dreamed about a giant playing video games, but even that seemed ordinary compared to this. He wondered if he ran, would they chase him down and eat him? He decided that probably wouldn't happen since they were all sitting quietly. He knew that wolves would stalk their prey, and these wolfmen were watching him with those yellow eyes.

  Jacob looked around, not quite sure what to say. He settled on a small speech about how he always loved dogs when a bird cawed overhead. He looked up, just for a moment, but caught sight of the moon. His mind slipped away, lost in a long-forgotten thought. He felt something come over him. It felt like he had been resting and was waking up. It was like that first big yawn of the morning where you stretch out far and hear things pop. His mind flooded with sensations of smells and sounds. He realized that for some reason he could not identify, that all the others looked familiar. Yes, they were wolves, but there was something in their face that made them easy to identify.

  To his surprise, there was something about their scents that also made them easy to identify. He looked down, trying to make sense of things, and saw a paw where his hand had been. He gasped in-breath and jumped backward.

  Like a rubber-band coiling back from a stretched-out state, Jacob returned to his human form. All the other men around him returned to their human forms as well.

  “How, how did I? What?” Jacob stumbled out.

  “We’ll explain what it means after a run,” Brandon said with a wink, “but for now I want to tell you the last part of my speech.”

  Brandon walked around the circle of men, each smiling and stretching. He boomed out his voice as loud as possible. "He was offered a life of solidarity; he refused! He was shown what we are; he stood next to us! Now, he'll know why we gather."

  Brandon cleared his throat, sucked in a breath, and then the group said altogether, "We will not be shallow-rooted, to become a tumbleweed on the winds of life. We grow deep together. When the black night shows its teeth in a flash of lightning, we will peel back our toothy laughter. United not just by blood, but by action. In service to our relief, our brothers, our order!"

  Jacob scratched his head, feeling confused. Everything he had heard about werewolves was that you had to be bitten and survive. That hadn't happened to him. How did he change? How did they know he would change? Did they have some method of making a person transform into a werewolf?

  Brandon walked over to Jacob and grabbed the side of his arm, reassuringly. "We don't have time for a lot of questions; this group needs a run. However, I can answer one or two for you if you want."

  CHAPTER FOUR

  Jacob blurted the first one that came to his mind, “How did I shift? I wasn’t bitten or anything.”

  Brandon nodded. “That’s usually the first question that’s asked. The relief is not spread in that way. We can transform whenever we want, but the relief is only spread during the full moon. It’s a type of sweat through our paws that causes it. It also requires a certain temperature of water to live in, so often it’s only spread during the summer. All in all, a person needs to drink from a summer mud puddle that was caused by our paw print within 4 hours of one of us making the track.”

  Jacob looked around and saw people stretching their legs and jumping up. He replied, “I didn’t drink from a mud puddle.”

  Brandon answered back, “When you were beaten up, and your dog was taken, was it outside? After a rainstorm?”

  Jacob grew silent and choked down a lump. He never knew that he had become infected. The water that splashed in his mouth must have been tainted.

  Brandon walked a few steps away and asked Jacob a question, “Do you know why we call this ‘the relief’?”

  Jacob shook his head, not sure what the answer would be.

  Brandon's eyes turned yellow, along with all the other guys. They stared at Jacob intensely. One by one they shifted, broke and formed into giant wolves. Even with bones contorting, fur pushing out, and teeth growing, they did not take their eyes off Jacob. Right before Brandon completed his transformation, he yelled out a word to Jacob. It was a command, it was a warning, it was an expression of what they were all thinking. Brandon yelled, "RUN!"

  Jacob's eyes widened. Were they about to attack him?! Fear crept in his heart and he bolted into the woods. He was naked and trying to do his best to jump over logs and avoid branches. He could hear the massive paws of the werewolves behind him. He jumped to the left, and a wolf jumped out at him, side checking him into the ground. Jacob scrambled up and began to run the other way, his two legs trying to get him out of danger as fast as possible. He needed to make it to his car, and then he could speed away. He didn't know what he had done to make this pack turn against him.

  He felt so slow, so weak, so sluggish in every movement. He needed more power. He needed to focus and be faster, smarter, a step ahead. He willed himself to move as fast as possible. He saw a dark shape jump at him and instinctively ducked down. A wolf sailed over him but made contact with its back paws. The wolf leaped off Jacob pushing him back to the ground.

  Jacob was tired of being pushed to the ground. Everyone was more powerful than him. They all kept pushing him down, making him suffer. The frustration boiled over, and he felt himself stretching out, bones popping out of place. He felt his mouth expand, his gums giving an oddly pleasant hint of vibration. His nose expanded and the world burst into a map of smells. He felt the breath swell into his lungs and then push out past new sharp teeth, making his whiskers drip with condensation. He was tired of being the one everyone pushed around. It was time he did some of the pushing. His scream of anger turned to a howl, and he finished his transition into his giant wolf form.

  He turned and began to run after the dark shapes that were pursuing him. They were fast, but he felt the need to be faster. He caught up with one form and jumped, pinning him to the ground and raking his claws. The wolf whined and stretched out. Jacob knew that was a sign of submission. He could cause more harm but felt the need to test his muscles to their limit. He chased down another wolf, barking wildly to announce h
is presence. He wasn't going to sneak up like some coward. He wanted this wolf to know his power and to feel it. He side checked the wolf right at the moment it slammed into a tree. The wolf toppled over and into thick brush.

  A rabbit darted from the brush. The way it zigged caused his mind to focus even further. It was like every breath out was slow and deliberate. He could feel the movement of the rabbit, like he was predicting the future. Other wolves saw his quarry and began their chase of it. Jacob would reach it first. His legs could move so quickly; the rabbit had no chance. He wondered what it would taste like and decided he would try to grab it with his human hands.

  He twisted the rabbit towards two other wolves, knowing it would cause the rabbit to double back. As the rabbit came back his way, he reached out his paws in what would be a killing blow. The rabbit closed its eyes, afraid to see what would happen next. As Jacob's paws flew towards the rabbit, he willed them to change back into human hands. The rest of his form turned, but his momentum did not. Jacob grabbed the rabbit while in his human form and began to tumble in a roll. He held tight to the rabbit, pressing it against his chest.

  Wolves surrounded him and began to howl together. Jacob breathed in and out, feeling winded and accomplished. He smiled and yelled. He had never felt so focused and powerful before. He thought back on Brandon’s question and knew why they called this transforming ‘the relief’.

  The men transformed back and walked towards camp, slapping Jacob on the back. Jacob had released the rabbit long ago, back into the wild. One of the guys looked like they were going to chase it when they were directed to walk back. They all dressed in casual clothes and stood laughing around the fireplace. They chewed on bags of jerky and passed around beers. Their telescopes continued not to be used, leaned up against trees.

  Brandon walked over to Jacob, handing him some trail mix. “I know you have a lot of questions still, which I’ll help you with. Just no more scratching, please.” Brandon lifted his shirt, showing a series of scratches. They looked like red cat scratches, but Jacob knew he had given those to Brandon in the forest.

  “One other thing,” Brandon looked around the circle and said, “we have rules that others don’t. We’ve survived so long because of secrecy and being extra good citizens. No one suspects us, and we like keeping things that way. In addition, when we smell a potential werewolf, we do our best to convince them to join us Moon Moaners. It doesn’t always work, but we at least give them some guidelines on where and when to change. Important stuff that only comes from experience. So, what questions can I help you with first?”

  Jacob did indeed have questions, but one thought kept flowing in and out of his mind. What would happen now, if he stumbled on that jerk that stole his dog? Would he scare him or walk away? Maybe he would hunt that jerk down. The thought continued through his mind, and he couldn't help but smile the rest of the night.

  CHAPTER FIVE

  Several days later, Jacob was grabbing the leash for ‘Sir Licks-A-Lot’, ready to take him out for a walk. His friend, Robert, was playing video games on this couch. He paused the game and asked, “You want me to go out there with you? It’s pretty dark out there.”

  Jacob shook his head, “No, no. I should be fine.”

  Robert raised an eyebrow and asked, “Are you sure? You’ve been acting a little weird since you went to that cult thingy.”

  Jacob gave him a flat look, "It's not a cult. It's the Masons. You can leave whenever you want and most of their…" Jacob made quote signs with his hands, "secrets... are just speeches they give each other. It is more of a speech class with dinner afterward than anything."

  Robert shrugged, “If you say so. Just don’t give away all your worldly possessions.” Robert pointed at the TV and winked. “I am still on the second arc of this game. You can’t join the commune until I beat the game, okay?”

  Jacob shook his head, "You aren't going to finish it. You get to the part where it becomes tedious and start another game."

  Robert un-paused his game and continued playing. "Not my fault if they confuse rewards and quests. I don't care if I have a stronger sword. I want a sword that fits the situation."

  Jacob smiled and said he would be back in a little bit. He went outside and decided to walk his dog at the nearby park. That’s where all the trees he liked to mark would be. Jacob didn’t discuss his urge to re-mark all the spots his dog had marked. He had changed, but he kept those changes secret to all but the moon moaners.

  He was about to go home when he saw a familiar face in the park. The face brought out a twitch of fear and made him want to run away. It was Zan, the guy who stole his dog. He seemed angry and was yelling into a phone. Jacob conquered his instinct to run away and came up with a plan. It would be helpful and make him feel powerful. He would pop out of the woods, growl for a bit, and watch this guy run off into the distance. He looked down at his dog and realized that he needed to bring “Sir Licks-a-Lot” back home.

  He did so, not saying a word to Robert when he left again. Robert was cussing at the TV anyways and probably would not have noticed him. Jacob walked back to the park to see Zan also yelling. Instead, he was yelling at a dog that looked remarkably like his dog. Out of frustration, Zan quickly tried to tie up his dog, but a text message beeped on his phone. Jacob watched him with human eyes, ready to shift to his wolf form and scare the bully half dead.

  He then saw the dog twist weird against the tree and bolt away. Zan was engrossed in texting something and looked angry. The dog ran the other direction. Jacob was reminded of the rabbit in the woods. He couldn't help it; he shifted into his wolf form and began to chase the dog.

  The dog felt the wolf hunting him and began to run as if its life depended on it. The dog zipped through playground tunnels and under walking bridges in the park. Jacob plotted along, looking to reach the dog and grab it. He knew it would be the sweetest revenge to steal the jerk's dog for a while. He would give the dog back, but it would be so beautiful to have the tables turned.

  He was about to burst out from a bike trail when he saw a woman, texting. The dog jumped up and she caught the creature. Jacob stopped and skidded into a tree, causing a thump.

  "Hello? Hello? Who's there?"

  Jacob shifted back to his human form and began to run away. He hoped the tree gave him enough cover that the woman didn’t see anything. He was unfortunately wrong. Not only did she see him naked, but she saw him change from wolf to human.

  What made it worse is that she lifted her phone while it was on video recording mode. She caught the entire transformation on video. Jacob's grief did not end there. Several days later, the video was on all the local social media alerts for the community.

  Jacob read the comments as he stared at a video of himself. ‘That’s fake, you can easily tell.’, ‘Werewolves? Seriously? This is just bad computer graphics.’, ‘I would run away from her too!’. Needless to say, Jacob did not want to go to the next meeting. He had sworn an oath to keep secrets and they would be exceptionally angry with him. The main group may not know or care, but the other werewolves would be very interested.

  He wondered if they would kick him out of the group. Maybe they would find a way to silence the video. Perhaps they would do a combination of the two. Jacob looked up the polices on not attending meetings and decided to get it over with.

  CHAPTER SIX

  The Grand Lodge of Wonderous Repute had an odd mix of happy and sour people. Jacob could quickly tell you which were which. It was his night of sponsorship inside the lodge. Brandon was going to sponsor him to the rest of the brothers. He wondered if Brandon would take back his sponsor role and instead denounce him in front of the entire lodge.

  Jacob stumbled a bit on one of the speeches he had learned for the occasion. That caused a few chuckles, but half the room was still and judging. Finally, came the moment Brandon would officially sponsor Jacob. He didn’t make eye contact but said all the correct rituals. Jacob sighed out a breath, wondering if all the tension in the
room was in his head.

  After the ceremony, Brandon asked Jacob to step aside. He asked Jacob several questions in low, hushed tones. The questions almost seemed a little angry. "Do you know why we have our group inside the Masons?"

  Jacob shook his head since he didn't know the answer.

  "It's because we need to work together. In the old days, the Masons used to be a social safety net. If your business fell on hard times, you needed some advice or a loan… a brother would help you out. We have our net here as well. We work hard to make sure that our secret isn't discovered and to remove any evidence if it is. However, by allowing yourself to be recorded, it becomes tough to remove that evidence." Brandon said.

  “So, are you going to kick me out of the order?” Jacob asked.

  Brandon looked him in the eye and said, “I should. I am not sure why you were in a park transformed. I am not going to kick you out though. You’re a pup with ‘the relief’, so you need to figure out what can and can’t be done. This will fall under the can’t be done column. No more transforming until we say so, okay?”