Lycanthropes Blood Moon

Deross was a small town, the air wafted with the smell of fetid water lilies and the stench of  the stagnant creek. Years of abuse of the earth had downgraded the rivers, especially after the Mexican oil spill. For over twenty years the law prohibited people from driving cars. 2030. 
History told of these beasts, that they were created by humans, an experiment with wolf blood. Turning humans into newly existing werewolves. It was called a Mark Virus. The scientists caused the DA Army to turn into these beasts and anything they passed their disease over to caused a two month transformation of the blood cells. 
Lady Beth gazed out of her house's western window through a shaft of the curtains; the full moon was hovering above. She watched a young man laugh and as loud as he could shout out the word “forget� while dragging a body along the graveled stone road. The man had killed someone, the body was frozen into a peaceful expression and the irises were so white that Lady Beth could see it from her house. The streetlights of the town showed only that the two men' shadows weren't present.
In a little beaten up town like Deross there was nothing they could do about this everyday occurrence. She recognized the man dragging the body as Zack, an old friend of her neighbor- Reece's daughter Maya. She remembered that Maya used to be very protective of her brother Hew when he was a kid.  Now Beth knew why. Touching her lips with shaking hands, she quickly blocked out the light from her house and closed the small open shaft of the curtains, stopping anything from looking inside.
Across from Lady Beth's house at the corner of Avenue Street and Lane 7 a wooden ramshackle barn's floorboards creaked, footsteps echoed. Wolves howled at the full moon and beasts walking on two legs had been born into this world. They were called biped brethren, and they usually stalked through the forest behind the barn.
The dew dripped from the trees and the limbs in the form of hands casting shadows. Nightwalker with overly large boots walked out of the barn and into the mud. He looked quite young and he glided like a wraith, he quickly got away from the house.
He was, despite his youthful looks, a hundred years of age and still quite agile. He protected his pack and killed any human that crossed. Today he was faced with Josh, Nightwalker was about to kill this human. 
Josh struck a deal before he was murdered, he wanted a life like one of the Brethren. Josh was impatient, his first impression given to Nightwalker was that he was a scared kid. Josh begged not to be murdered, “I'll do anything, I'll become one of you! Just give me a chance to prove I'm worth it.�
Nightwalker gave Josh the eternal life, but it came with a price. He was to make no contact with any human ever again.  Biped brethren weren’t loved in this town; they were hunted like the wolves they were. 
The howling in the distance increased and the wind ruffled Nightwalker’s long mane. There was a rustling in the bushes across from him. It was Storm, the matriarch of the pack, hiding in the undergrowth. She was the first human he changed into a Lycanthrope, ten years ago.
“Look behind you,� whispered Storm her green eyes piercing the darkness.
He spun around to see a man with a crossbow in his hands. His face was serious and he was determined to make his kill. 
Reece was known as a hunter of brethren. He was not shaking in fear and he wasn’t afraid of facing the unknown. He aimed the crossbow higher. “Creature of sin, stay where you are,� he spat.
Nightwalker cracked his joints, “Humans, I despise human beings�
“And I despise Brethren�
“Who are you?� asked Nightwalker cautiously turning his hand into a fist.
“You need not know. Do not move an inch.�
“I already did my job, human.� Nightwalker waved a hand at the barn.
Reece looked up from his crossbow, the light of the barn turned on and flooded onto the courtyard. A figure silhouetted in the doorway. The figure stumbled forward to reveal blond blood splattered hair and a leaking neck wound.
“Josh!� He grimaced at Josh’s feeble body covered in wet glistening blood. Josh leaned against the door’s entrance, breathing hoarsely.
Josh was Reece’s only friend in the world. For some reason Reece has never thought that he’d see Josh in a shape as bad as this.
“You’ll pay for this creature.� Snarled Reece
An arrow whistled through the air and thudded into Nightwalker’s shoulder. He gave a thundering roar. The transformation to his beast-like form began. The body shifted growing taller. His bones rearranged itself as Nightwalker yowled and whimpered. He shook his head left and right to show a newly transformed head covered in long wisps of hair. The black skin was matted. A vicious snarling smile exposed yellow stained teeth. Red sharp nails that of an ungodly beast grew from paw-like hands.



Nightwalker ripped the arrow out his shoulder and with two black skinned legs launched him from the floor. His clawed paws flailing in the air.
The sharp canines missed Reece and he smashed the crossbow across Nightwalker’s face.
A small cry came from Storm, but Nightwalker motion her to stay where she was.
Nightwalker rose from the ground and pulled back his ears. A stench wafted out the creature’s muzzle and green cat-like eyes stared into the hunter’s eyes.
“My name is Reece remember it,� shouted the hunter.
Stepping back Nightwalker replied, “I am Nightwalker. We’ll meet again.�
Nightwalker dashed away followed by the hunter. Nightwalker grabbed hold of Josh that had slumped on floor. Pulling him over his pierced shoulder, he looked back and jumped onto the Barn’s roof closely missed by the hunter’s arrow. “I’ll see you in hell.�
Reece did not show empathy for Josh; the only way out was to become one the the brethren. It was the townspeople’s wish to rid the world of all Biped Brethren. Reece thought, “What will I do?�
~*~
Two weeks later he had gathered the citizens in the council chambers. The council chambers were church like, honouring the deity . A cross above the stage made him feel welcome.
People had come to listen to Reece; slowly they swarmed into the council chambers. His grey hair was slicked back with gel, the little black hair that were there was losing its pigment. His blue eyes glistened, he felt proud to still have his job. He could hear the shouts from people in the council chambers about a murderer on the loose by the name of Zack. He lifted his gloved hands into the air to silence everyone and announced, “The creature is still at large!�
He shouted, “The lycanthrope many fear is roaming! I do not fear anything. Fear is for the weak minded. The creature will be defeated. I need troops to aid me.�
Three volunteers stepped forward. Unaware of what they were being lead into.
One was of average built with snow-white hair while the others looked tough enough for a fight. They looked around themselves and saw no other volunteers.
“Das at your service!� said the white haired gentleman.
The one with corn coloured hair said, “Lucius,� he pointed toward a guy with black hair and green eyes, “And this is Piet,�
Reece hollered, “Good! Follow me!�
Reece strolled over to the chamber doors and the three men followed him.
“It’s been a dream to fight the monster that has been plaguing this land for centuries,� said Das.
Reece noted Das wore a wedding ring, he was waving goodbye to his family.
“We need more men to attack the creature. We can’t go on living like this in these modern times�
Lucius said, “We are reduced to the stone age. Cars can’t be used because there is a threat of a monster. They say the silence of the world is better than a thousand provoked monsters.�
“I have a plan, we will drive a car into the woods and provoke them.� said Reece
“Provoke them, Lucius just said that silence is better. Where shall we find the car?� asked Piet
“We’ll have to rob from the car storage.�
“It’s against the law to take a car,� Das exclaimed
Exiting the building the men followed Reece toward an alleyway. Rats crawled out of corners and cats sat on the dustbins anxiously flipping their tails. There was a door at the end of the alley. Out of the corner of Reece’s eyes he could see a man slipping out of their sight and it sounded like he cursed. 
‘This place is known to have cars?� asked Piet
“Yes and it’s close to the council as well.�
Reece turned around and looked at Das, “Take a car, I know you want to.�
“I-I don’t know what you are talking about.�
“I know you steal to keep your family alive, almost everyone does It.�
“I’m an honest man. I don’t steal. You do it.�
“We both will do it then.�
Reece walked forward and rattled on the door. Lucius motioned Reece to back away and he rammed the door with his shoulder. The door creaked open and the others followed him inside. They were standing in a pitch-black room; they gazed at the windows all boarded up. It was stuffy inside the space and no one has been inside for quite a while.
The smell was damp and it was hot. Reece navigated his way over to a blue ford Twin Cab, enough space for four men. It was open and the key wasn’t inside the car. He sat down and felt if the pedals were still there.
Das screamed, “I found keys!�
“Great work! Bring it over here!�

~*~
Piet opened the garage door running to jump into the back of the Twin Cab, joining Das and Lucius. The car’s engine could hardly came to life and the exhaust coughed as Reece revved. Oil gauge showed only showed half the pressure, but Reece didn’t care.
Reece stepped on the petrol, almost losing a few men as he swerved right. Feral cats ran out of the way of the vehicle and Das hit the Twin Cab’s tailgate. He was helped up by Lucius.
Skinny dogs barked and yowled at the strange sound coming from the car. The men had clung onto a pole on top of the roof. The twin cab turned left into the woods. They knew very well that Reece wasn’t used to driving a metal contraption, none of them were.
Reece pulled over in a forest clearing, looking around for any clue from a wolf. Das, Lucius and Piet climbed off the back and stood by the side of the doors. Their eyes scanned the area for anything suspicious.
“It ‘as been ages since I’ve been ‘ere,� said Piet
“Ja, you can say that again,� replied Lucius
Reece rolled down the window and it got stuck in the middle, something stunk like led and he didn’t know what. He opened a compartment in the car to see what was inside it. He took out what looked like a gun. Looking over it he threw it out the window and Das picked it up.
“Leave the gun!� shouted Reece
Das dropped the gun and hit a rock going off with a boom, scaring him half out of his wits.
“Bloody hell, I thought I was going to die!�
“You will if you don’t stop playing around,� spoke Lucius
“There is no way this can be seen as playing around. I was merely looking.�
“And almos’ get your foot shot off, old boy,� uttered Piet
“I’m forty, I’m still young you know,� cried Das
“Your close to fifty, you’re not that young,� laughed Lucius
Reece revved the car as much as he could, it kicked up pebbles. The car's battery failed to respond, suddenly one last rev from the cab killed the engine. Reece hit the horn with his fist and the wheels went into the ground. Water and oil started spilling out the vehicle, falling to the ground.
“Look we’re stuck ‘ere!� yelled Piet
Twilight was overhead. Birds had flown west from out of the underbrush, scared away by something. Reece tried opening the car door, but it was stuck. He moved over to the passenger seats. The car consisted of four car seats and the back Bakkie, it was a twin cab.
“Something’s ‘ere. I can feel it,� shouted Piet
Reece climbed out of the Twin Cab and stumbled into the bushes only to be faced with a body a few weeks old. “shite! This bodies frozen and its got worms sticking out of a hole of the chest. He quickly crawled out the bushes causing abrasions on his elbows, scrambling up from the ground he moved over to Lucius.

~*~
Hew sat inside his house looking at the crossbow collection on the mantelpiece. His brown eyes scanned each of the weapons. There was something strange; Reece didn’t take his crossbow with him tonight. He had no idea where his father was or if he would ever see Josh again.
He tapped his shoes on the small coffee table, clearing his throat and fixing his jacket button. Maybe his father forgot to think again. He jumped up from the ground and picked up a crossbow and a silver arrow. He felt the smoothness of the wood; this was the best crossbow his dad had, he hadn’t used it in a long-time. It was put together quite well.
“What a waste of silver. I say the person who is to slay the beast should use a bullet,� articulated his sister Maya, walking into the dining room.
Brown hair accessories pulled her blonde hair back, her blue eyes had a gleam in them and she had luscious lips. He was born far away from Deross and the one that found him he usually called Reece. He was in full care of his sister for a long-time, because his father usually went out to fight creatures.
“Come on, those things don’t exist,� answered Hew, “Maya, you stay here, guard the house.�
He roughly turned toward Maya with the crossbow, with a few arrows shoved in his back pockets. He wouldn’t want Reece to die of boredom or by the hand of the bogeyman, which he knew didn’t exist. Maya wasn’t a fighter and he didn’t want her to get into any kind of trouble.
“Stay. I’ll be alright.�
“Little brother, you’ll get yourself in trouble,� she said, walking over to him and ruffling his brown hair.
“You know, I hate it when you do that,� he said backing away.
“You use to hate me so much, everyday you wished for your real parents. I was continually taking care of you and now you’re twenty.�
“I don’t remember hating you.�
“I remember well. I was only eleven years old, but it was like yesterday. You came walking into the house with my dad. He told you to sit down, you were  five years old.â€�
“Great story, I’ll listen to it when I come back,� said Hew walking over to the front door, closing it behind him. He leaned against the wall and thought deeply of the way he use to act.
He didn’t want to listen to the story, he heard it so many times that it actually hurt him to think of his real parents and how much Maya cared for him. Reece once showed he cared, but now he is obsessed with the werewolves that become his life.
Hew looked at the street to see tire tracks coming from out an open garage door, a fetid smell was in the air and by the looks of the direction of the marks Reece was going to the woods.
“That must be Reece’s driving.�
He had started to run, hearing the clang of the wind chimes at the front of his house. He looked back to see his white house getting smaller. It had to be Reece in the woods there was no doubt. Whatever he was up to there, he was sure there wasn’t much time before he got himself into trouble.
Turning left he walked into the forest hearing birds fly away from him. He walked further into the darkness, stepping lightly on the sand.
He stepped into the light of a car, looking around he saw four men standing very close to one another. They looked frightened of the sounds coming from the woods. Hew ran over to them and tossed his dad the crossbow, passing a few arrows while he was at it.
“It’s only the owls Reece,� said Hew
“It‘s the creature son,� responded Piet
“What creature? Never mind, I only came to give you a crossbow, now I’m going back. Don’t let the bogeyman catch you.�
Hew turned back around and walked off. Reece watched Hew walk away, he knew very well what he was like when he was young if only Hew knew that he was his son and Maya was the adopted one.
“Goodbye, son,� whispered Reece
His son disappeared into the shadows; the last article Reece saw was his jacket flailing in the wind. There was a rustling in the trees across from them and Reece readied the crossbow.
“Come on, good shot or no good shot I'll get the thing,� said Reece, wincing as he saw a foot come into the light.
“Do you think the monster’s after us or the body� hoped Piet
“I think it is after fresh meat,� answered Lucius

~*~
Reece looked seriously at the person coming out into the light. The girl looked vicious as she exited the woods and came to a stop in front of Reece, looking at him with a glare.
“You won’t shoot me now, would you,�
“Guess again Liken. You are disgusting creatures.�
“Do I smell a corpse? Have you killed someone for me?�
“You wish woman,� spat Reece
“Tell me, how is our son doing Reece?�
“What do you mean, our son?�
“You can’t forget a face like mine! I was yours�
“Was?�
“Ja, was. How about a deal?�
Then the memory returned, she was a young woman back then, black hair and brown eyes, now replaced with sharp green eyes, she must have become a werewolf.
“What is she talking about?� asked Das
“You’re not his mother anymore, you ran away when you were pregnant leaving Maya and me.�
“Don’t hold it against me. You had changed and so have I,� she spoke
“I was only told a few years later to get Hew at the Dutch Reformatory Church.�
“I didn’t want a child. Why did you think I adopted Maya?�
“Martha, the poor boy thought those that took care of him were his family.�
“I had enough of this. All I asked for was forgiveness.�
Martha hit the crossbow out of Reece’s hands then she clutched onto his arm, squeezing it as hard as she can.
“This is an autumn moon night; it’s too late to save Josh!�
“Who said anything about saving him?�
She opened her mouth only to feel a sharp pain in her chest. Martha looked down and saw an arrow in her chest. Gawking at Das holding the crossbow
“That tickles,� she laughed.
“What is she? Why isn’t she burning?� shouted Piet
“She is still alive!� screamed Das
“Listen closely Reece, I will take your guys shadows,� laughed Martha
“How do you presume to do that?�
“Easy,� she bent forward and whispered, “Your dumb friend just shot an innocent, me.�
“Now you know you are lying, you’ve lost your mind,� shouted Reece
Reece grabbed hold of the arrow with his free arm and broke it off in her chest. She screamed trying to get it out, frantically crying. She looked furiously Reece’s way and grabbed a hold of his hair. Reece grabbed her and tossed her against the ground pinning her to it, her hand slipping from his hair.
“Bring the crossbow,� shouted Reece, trying to hold Martha at bay as she kicked trying to transform.
“There is nothing you can do to stop the transformation and nothing you can’t do to save your soul or our son's, one day the wolf or the shadow stealer will take you three including Hew. It's just a matter of time who goes first, two evils cannot be chosen when you have the lesser of the evil not far from your reach.�
The moon came out of hiding behind the dark clouds and he grabbed hold of the crossbow shooting Martha before she changed into the creature.
Das scratched his head and walked over to Reece, “Don’t worry; it is only a load of horse dung that a soul can be stolen.�
Reece looked at the men and he fixed his dishevelled hair. He looked at them once again and saw that his shadow and Das’ wasn’t showing in the light of the car.
“The war… I think is over for now,� beamed Reece
“Bloody hell you killed your wife, man!� shouted Das
“There is nothing we can’t do now�

~*~
Reece looked at the ground and stood up, kicking Martha aside. He carried the crossbow and looked at the stars.
“Do know what happens to people’s shadows?� asked Reece looking quizzically the groups way.
“There‘s a fine line between right and wrong,� whispered Piet
“I think we should leave the woods, right now!�
Reece cleared his throat and said, “Let’s regroup at my house.�
“Divulge your Secrets old boy, ‘ow do you know one is a werewolf?� screamed Piet, crossing his arms
“I just have the sense that one is a werewolf and I kill it. There is nothing else to say,� answered Reece curtly.
“You feel quite proud of yourself for killing your wife and look she is still wearing her wedding ring,�
Reece looked at Martha’s ring; it still had the white diamond in it with the golden wave. He walked over to Lucius.
“We have to go, the boss will find her here,� spoke Lucius
Slowly they made their way toward the town. They knew well that the next thing in store for them would be more fighting and this time all of them would join the brawl.
Reece noted Nightwalker was walking through the woods. It made his group alert of all the things happening around them. Quickly as they could they wrestled through the woods and entered the town, one more fight avoided. Reece believed they couldn’t hold out for much longer fighting another. 
Far in the distance the car’s window was being smashed in. One man's scream was heard and two different yells from others.
Reece did not look back he was so sure that Nightwalker would come, but instead his wife- Martha came. He hadn’t seen her in twenty years.

~*~
Hew was standing outside on the balcony, looking down at his father. He listened intently at what they were talking about.
“The creature is a right monster alright,� said Das
“I believe they are still human,� said Lucius
“Why did you join this group then?�
“I better get to my family,� spoke Das
Das saw Hew on the balcony and he strolled off toward his home; it was on the other side of town.
“Goodbye,� Reece expressed amusement as he walked into his house.
The door shut behind Reece and he walked into the kitchen. He saw Maya packing the food away not looking at Reece coming closer. Maya then buried her face into a book called ‘The source’.
“You’re always busy with work,� said Maya, reading the history of Julius Caesar
“Were you talking about me?�
“Yes, there is never time for just us three,� she put the book down and said, “I believe your avoiding us. You use to show you cared.�
“I do, I kill the werewolves to protect you.�
“Look at you, what is that on your shirt?�
“It’s nothing.�
“You killed someone didn’t you? I knew you would lose your mind,� cried Maya
“I had to kill the person, she was a werewolf.�
“I’m not even sure a werewolf exist anymore. Hew doesn’t believe in it either.�
“Please don’t start!� shouted Hew walking into the kitchen
“I had to kill her… Hew, I’m sorry�
“Who did you kill?� wailed Maya
“Your mother...�
“Why?� shouted Maya
“There was nothing I could do.�
Suddenly everything felt like a very tightly strung guitar, its strings about to break. His heart pounded in his chest, the feeling of sick to the stomach when you realize something. Hew ran out of the house running as far as he could. He ran trying to forget everything he heard. He ran to the only place he remembered to be his safe spot. “I should have known my father was bad. I wanted to know what my mother was like. The caress of her love and now it was all gone.� He thought
He felt like the little boy he was when he first arrived at Reece’s house and he was only five. Every night when he wanted to be alone, he’d hide and speak to a voice that only spoke to him.
Across from the alleyway and he heard a coughing sound come from someone in the darkness. He walked into the shadows, letting it shroud him. He saw a man leaning against the wall smoking a cigarette.
“Congratulations on killing the Matriarch� said the man and he took a puff of the cigarette and blew it Hew’s way. The beady eyes of the man rolled and reflected a bright yellow. His hair was dyed red.
Hew stood his ground and said, “How do you know me?�
The man pushed away from the wall, he wore a black overcoat decorated with white stripes. The rest of the clothing were grey. His white smile penetrated deep into Hew’s soul, it was like he knew him from before.
“I’ve been watching you. You came here often when you were a troubled child. Forget, forget Hew, forget again and let me take the troubles, I can finally give you the side of immortality you always wanted as a five year oldâ€� In a trance Hew said yes, his mind clouded and in his final thoughts he only thought of immortality. The very next day he was found frozen close to the corner he used to sit as a child and speak to the voice. His father arrived on the scene and found a letter next to his son, it read: “Once a father, now alone. Once a son, now anew. Frozen in time, a peaceful memory. Not with you, or fanciful tales. The time you've spent hunting, has given a son in bloodline, a shadow gone, another life betrayed. The wife you've killed has been in temporary confinement of insanity, she thanks, but now she haunts. Bury them well, Zack.â€� 


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I got 66% for this story.