The Reason 4

I didn’t leave. I couldn’t leave.

I saw him as he closed the back door and silently slipped into the darkness. He entered a small trail behind the little church leading into the woods. How convenient. My mysterious man had an escape route. As Pastor Tim embarked upon his journey, he glanced over his shoulder and frowned. Could he sense that I had not left?

I waited silently behind a car parked on the opposite side of the street. I waited until he was out of sight and then I moved. My hand never left my purse and my fingers held tight to the cold gun within. If I shook from fear or if it was the chill in the air; I would never know. My heart pushed me toward the mystery which lay ahead of me.

Silently on cat feet, I approached the church steps and peered around the corner. It was dark beyond the street lamp except for the light of the full moon. Beyond the rear of the church; the opening of the forest trail stood beckoning. The lump in my throat did not go down so easily, so I tried swallowing again.

“Damn, this is crazy.”

Minutes slipped by as i reconsidered my lunatic notion of following the preacher; but of course, curiosity won over. I slid along the exterior wall of the church ninja style and peered into the woods. It stared at me with its natural eye of the unknown. I shivered. As I reached the back door, I stopped and waited for my heartbeat to slow. The night birds sang and the crickets chirped but it did not soothe me. Were they warning me to stay away? Sure they were, and why didn’t I listen to them?

Clearing my throat, I straightened my blouse and took the first tentative steps into the moonlit dappled trail. No matter how hard I tried, the twigs stilled snapped under my feet and the leaves still rustled. I could never be a ninja.

I was suddenly amazed at how many thoughts raced through my head. Even though I feared for my life, I could not stop thinking about little trivial things at home. ‘Rayanne, did you turn off the stove? Rayanne did you call your mother? Rayanne, have you lost your mind?’

The last thought was interrupted by a sound; and unfortunately it sounded exactly like what I feared it might be. You only hear those sounds in the movies. A long howl lifted, gained volume and trailed off in the distance.

“Oh dear God…seriously..have I lost my mind?” I mused in fear. My hand gripped the gun so hard that I couldn’t feel my fingers anymore. I was hoping that I was going to be proved wrong tonight.

A second howl followed the first and ended with a scream. The scream came from someone else and I realized what was happening. He was killing someone and there was nothing I could do.

I picked up pace and sprinted toward the coupled noises. Realizing how completely insane I must be, I laughed. “White people are all the same. when we hear danger we do not run from it. We run to it.” I smiled in spight of the slapping branches cutting into my face. Shaking my head, I continued clawing my way through the rabbit brush. After several feet of clearing the undergrowth, I stopped and gasped.

He was standing over the body of a woman and he held a severed arm in his paw. Upon further inspection I realized that she was someone I knew. A woman from church who I admittedly had enmity towards. But this was no time to smile over her misfortune. Blood covered the beast’s furry face and body. He was a monster. I starred in wonder at the gruesome sight before me. The man, I knew as my mentor, was standing before me as a brown fur covered beast….a werewolf. His sheer height and build dwarfed that of his human guise. He was huge. As he growled his chest rose and fell rapidly. I saw his eyes and they frightened me fore they were yellow and almost catlike . He surveyed the damage he had done and his rapid movements made the severed arm flopped in his grip. The creature dropped the arm falling to all fours and he lowered his head.

I gasped without thinking then shoved my fist into my mouth. I just couldn’t contain my shock. My sounds alerted him that he had an onlooker. He looked in my direction and lifted his muzzle. As the wolfman sniffed the air he opened his mouth slightly. He could taste my presence.

His face grew soft and the creature whined. I noticed how he changed in the moment he picked up my scent. My brown eyes met his yellow ones and his yellow eyes turned brown. They were soft and inviting. He howled once more and pawed at the ground. As he noticed his own carnage he put his head to he ground sniffing. The wolf began to whine and emit horrible noises. Was he mourning what he had done or was he mourning what he had become?

Being brave or simply stupid, I walked through the brush and stood before him. Only feet away the werewolf seemed to take no notice of me. I squatted and looked at the monster as he wept before his kill. Tanith lay before me crumpled and broken; discarded like a used lover. She had been ripped open from her throat down to her stomach. Her ribs arched toward heaven and her bloody stump glistened with fresh blood. My stomach lurched at the sight of the monster’s meal. Even though I was secretly jealous of Tanith, I still felt great sorrow for her-or did I? Her face was slack with death as she stared upward. I imagined her mouth wanting a kiss with its wide open lips. Another wave of sickness brought me back to the present and I noticed he was watching me. As he turned his face toward mine, he lifted onto all fours. Then with no warning he huffed blowing hot breath toward me. Seeing my amazement he stood quickly on his hind legs and the movement caused me to stumble backwards bumping into a tall pine.

Clawing at the thick bark, I dug my nails into the flesh of the tree and sprinted around it. I ran fast into the briars and dense undergrowth of the forest. I was numb and the branches tore and thorns ripped my skin but I still felt nothing. Fear pumped me as I ran tripping of logs and falling into the leaves on the forest floor. The drum of my heart beat pushed me to get up and run again but I realized I was lost. “Oh my god…where am I?”

Whipping my head back and forth, I looked for the beast. I felt he was right behind me but when I turned there was no one there. Only the soothing sound of the night bugs kept me lucid. I began to sob and long trails of tears fell down my cheeks and into the collar of my blouse. My hair was stuck to my face and my sweat burned my eyes. As I fell to my knees I began to pray.

I pulled myself up and opened my eyes. He stared at me with depth less brown eyes. Moisture glistened under the moonlight as it clung to his fur. He stood motionless for a moment before shambling toward me. I cringed and closed my eyes once more. I could die right now and the last memory I would have was of the eyes of my killer.

Another wave of sobs broke my body and the wetness ran down my face. A soft paw touched my face and I screamed. “No…please…oh god help me!” He did not harm me instead he wiped the tear away and stroked my cheek. Small gasps of breath left me as my lips parted. I opened my eyes. I fell into those deep brown eyes of the beast. His misshapen paw moved down the length of my face and into my long red hair. It felt strange.

My mouth opened and i whispered. “Tim is that you?”

He closed his eyes for a moment then returned his gaze to me. All the while he stroked my hair lovingly. A strange feeling washed through my body sending pleasure signals to private places. Reaching up, i took his paw in my hand and brought it to my lips. As I kissed his claw, I tasted the blood. It was warm and coppery and a pain ran through my tongue. I licked my lips and traced the edge of my mouth with his paw. I watched him exhale and whimper as he bent to wrap his huge arms around me. I could not move; there was nothing I could do.