To The Heart of it

         She knew how to get others to take a second look at her and she used it to her advantage, but her looks were not the only thing she had going for her. She had two other talents, one she called a gift and the other was a curse, literally. The curse as she called it, was that she was a shape shifter. She could be any animal she chose, and her favorite was a large, white wolf. Her gift was that the thoughts of others came to her whether she wanted them to or not. She had learned over the years that most people were not what they seemed. They all had their secrets.

         Brenda was twenty-five, smart, funny and very attractive. Her strawberry blonde hair fell in waves down her back, emphisizing her small waist and curvy hips. Her golden, brown eyes shown with a brightness not unlike the sun and many people had wondered if she could see their souls. Her full, pink lips caused men to wonder what she could do with those lips and if they were as soft as they looked.

          She sighed and turned from the mirror behind the bar. She was in a popular club, music blaring from the band that was playing tonight. The place was filled with smoke from people smoking cigarettes and had just the right darkness for her to watch and wait. She sipped the glass of white wine in her hand and searched the crowd. Soon, she spotted the person she was looking for. He was always in the news and most people that he was a good guy because of who his father was and because he was not that bad looking. His dark, brown hair, green eyes that shown like emeralds and smooth unlined face belied his forty=five years. He was sitting several tables away with his friends, laughing,and joking, but she knew he was just acting. She could see his thoughts as clearly as if she was watching them on T.V. and she did not like what she saw. The town of Sunnyville would soon learn the truth.

          Blood, pain and screaming.

         Brenda shuddered and turned away from the pain, breaking the connection with his thoughts. She was troubled by what she had seen in his mind. She now knew that if he was not stopped tonight, the town would be in for a rude awakening in the morning as had been the case for several weeks now.

         A serial killer was stalking the town of Sunnyville and Brenda had made it her mission to stop him if she could. She had seen stories of the killings in the newspaper but had never realized the terror the victims had suffered by this man's hands. What troubled her even more was he believed he would never be caught, that his father's money and standing in town would keep him out of prison.

          She shuddered when she felt someone staring at her and knew without turning around that he was looking at her. She downed the drink on the bar in front of her, stood and walked out of the club. It was now time to put her plan into action.

         He slowly walked behind her, making sure she did not know he was there. That was the fun part of all this, the hunt. He also liked the kill, but did not get as excited about that as he did stalking his victims. He remembered the other women and his blood began to boil and he could feel the excitement rising. He smiled and watched as she walked into the park. He decided that he would take her there and got out the gun he used to subdue his victims.

         He patted his other pocket and was happy to feel the knife there. He knew no one walked through the park at night, so he would do his work there and leave her for others to find in the morning. He loved how the police were baffled about all this. They still could not figure out how all the women died.

         He stopped short when he saw her leaning against a tree, smiling at him. He was beginning to feel uneasy about this, but brushed it aside with the thought of what he was about to do next.

         Brenda saw the flash of the gun in the man's hand but was not worried. She knew that even if he shot her, it would not kill her. She noticed how the jeans he wore emphasized the muscles in his thighs and if she had not known his thoughts, she might have been attracted to him.

         She stepped toward him and could see the worry in his eyes. She knew he was not use to women coming on to him like this, especially the ones he had chosen for his victims. She took a step toward him but stopped when he brought the gun up and pointed it at her.

          "Stop or I will shot."


         She just stood there, a small on her face.


         The man was wondering why this woman was not afraid. He had figured that when she saw the gun, she would try to get away, but she just stood there smiling at him. He lowered the gun, deciding she was not the one for tonight, but as he turned to leave, he heard a growl behind him and realized it was too late.

         He turned and saw a large, white wolf in place of Brenda. He wasn't sure what to think and before he could figure it all out, the wolf lunged.

         The calm, quiet night was broken by the sounds of growling and screams. The air was pierced by the smell of blood.


         Brenda woke up the next morning, nausea threatening to send her straight to the bathroom as was the case every time she changed into the wolf, but she laid still and waited until it past.

         She finally sat up after several minutes and looked around the one bedroom of the cabin she lived in. It was not much, with just a living room, bedroom, bathroom and kitchen, but to her it was home. She looked at the night stand on her right and smiled at the picture she sat there. Her husband and child smiled back at her. She missed them so much, but it was better for them that she was gone.

         The pain of their loss threatened to overwhelm her at times, but she knew she had to stay away in order to keep them safe. She shook her head, not wanting to think about what might happened in the next day or two.

         She got out of bed, walked to the bathroom that was at the right of the bedroom door and turned on the water as hot as it would go. She wanted to wash the blood of that man from last night off her and to try to forget the enjoyment she got out of killing him.

          She shuddered to think how wonderful she had felt tearing the flesh from his body and eating his guts. Her stomach threatened again and she had to sit on the toilet before she was able to go to the kitchen.

         She started a pot of coffee and once it started precolating, she stared out the window above the sink. It was such a pretty day, the sun shining just right on the trees in her backyard, making them seem green than ever. She decided she might plant a garden today. She smiled at that thought. No matter how much the wolf inside her liked the killing and blood, the human part of her still liked the beautiful things in life.

         Her thoughts were broken into with the rich aroma of the coffee and she realized it was done. She got down a coffee mug from the cabinet above the coffee maker and pour the wonderful brown liquid into it. She sipped it and smiled. She felt that this was going to be a beautiful day.

         The sun was setting as she walked back into the house several hours later and she sighed with contentment. She had planted several flowers, daises, tulips, sunflowers and roses bushes. She was proud of herself for a job well done. She had also bought a paper in town while she was there buying the seeds and bushes. She set it on the coffee table as she walked toward the bathroom to wash up.

          She looked at herself in the mirror above the sink and laughed. Dirt was streaked across her forehead and cheeks, and there was some grass in her hair. She would take a bath later. First, she wanted to read the newspaper and found out if what happened last night had been reported.

          She walked into the living room and sat down on the couch, picking up the paper. On the front page was the story.

         "Mayor's son found dead."

         This morning while walking his dog, a young man found the body of a man in the park. Police have confirmed that it is the body of twenty eight year old David Wamu. The police are not sure yet just what killed him, but sources say it looked like an animal attacked him.


          Brenda set the paper down and sighed. She hoped they would found out that he was the serial killer that had held the town of Sunnyville in terror for the past two months, but she had a feeling the mayor would cover it up.

         She stood, intending to go take her bath and go to sleep but a crushing pain filled her chest and she turned, knowing something bad was about to happen. She had been found but strangely, she was not afraid. A sense of peace filled her even though she knew she might die tonight.

         The Master was here. He had found her and was coming to kill her and take her blood which was the reason she had fled her husband and child. At least they were safe. She smiled as the front door opened and he walked in.

          The Master hesitated when he saw her smiled, but brought out the knife he had with him just for this purpose anyway. "I have finally found you and I will make you pay dearly for the chase. Tell me were your daughter is and I might let you live."

         Brenda knew he was lying. He would kill her anyway if she told and her daughter would live in misery. She shook her head. "Never. Kill me now. My family is safe and that is all that matters to me."

         The Master sneer and lunged toward her, the knife held over his head. Brenda quickly flashed into the form of the wolf and was able to bite him in his arm before the knife could stab her. The Master cried out and threw her across the room. She fell to the floor but was up quickly barely feeling any pain and attacked him again, this time biting his leg. He yelled and stabbed at her, piercing her heart. She felt it pierce her heart and as the darkness of death over took her, she smiled with the thought of her daughter's face in her mind.

          The Master cursed as he withdrew the knife and drank the blood of this woman. He had wanted to keep her alive until she told him were her family was, but she was strong in her love for them. He finally stopped and stood, frowning at the body at his feet. He would find the girl even if it took him years to do it.

          He turned to leave, not seeing the bright, white light that rose from the body and formed itself into the shape of a woman. She stared down at the body for a moment and shook her head. There was nothing more she could do here, but she knew that the young girl needed protection and guidance for what was to come as she got older.