Lycanthropy

The sun slowly nestled itself out of view as twilight set in. I sat alone knowing that the nightmare was about to set in once more. The silent sounds of nature became little more than roaring buzz. The clouds drifted lazily about revealing the hunter’s moon. Even before I saw it I knew it was there, summoning the demons from their hiding places to walk the realm of man. The pale light of the full moon covered the landscape, stirring the beast within.

A powerful primal force tore lose its psychological prison, breaking apart my feeble human body to fulfil its own grand design. The demons set in revealing the macabre history of the blood, rendering me a helpless observer of the thousand or more monstrosities burnt into the memory of the beast. The feeling of teeth tearing flesh. The warm coppery taste of blood. The primal knowledge that a life has been extinguished. All the terrors, which I’ve seen many times before driven home as though I had never experienced this living nightmare before. Each and every frightening image made me want to start screaming and never stop, but all that came out was a beastly howl. I was trapped; my only hope was that none would come my way. All hope is fleeting.

Along the hiking trail came a lost camper, she was completely unaware of my presence as I took in her scent. I focused all my will into staying away from her, but the beast wanted to taste her warmth. I was no match for the primal resolve of the beast. My feet took flight; she had only a moment to respond before she would meet her demise. She saw me. She broke into a run, if she didn’t run there’d be no fun my primal self maintained. The dream gave way to the sheer thrill of the hunt. Her sweet scent made my mouth water as the distance diminished. She discarded the last of her belongings in the hope that she could escape. It was a fool’s hope. I knew these woods very well, she thought she’d lost me but such could never be true.

She halted thinking it was safe to rest. She leant against a tree while searching for my location; she was completely unaware of just how close I was. I perched watching her, taking in the sweet aroma of her flesh. She must have heard my breathing because she looked up. I dove upon her to prevent escape. I felt my teeth shredding through her tender flesh. The sweet taste of her lifeblood as it flowed from the point where I started feeding. Her squirming stopped when I felt her last heartbeat between my jaws. I savoured the tastes as I devoured the remainder of my meal; the wraith watched me finish off the last of her worldly remains. The dawn approached and the beast was subdued once more to wait until the next moon. I was left staring at the beast’s handiwork with no memory of the night’s events. I prayed with all my might that none of it was real and that it was all in my head. I couldn’t stand the thought of how many lives were cut short by my claws under the light of the pale full moon. May god have mercy on my soul.