Love & Death Go Hand In Hand

He couldn’t stop shaking, tears flowing freely from his orb-like eyes. The moon shone brightly through the barred glass windows revealing his naked body. His legs pressed up agents his chest, arms wrapped around them holding them tightly against him.  It had been a year since that fateful night. Davey let out a bone chilling scream, his hands fisted into his long matted hair pulling chunks out as his spine started to snap and change. If only Jade had taken no for an answer that night he would be alive. Heart broken, but alive. Another howl of pain escaped Davey’s lips as his delicate fingers cracked and extended as his hands started to change. His nails started to lengthen and harden as black hairs sprouted on his pail body, desperately tying to cling onto his humanity, Davey slipped back into the horrific memories from one year ago.
*
Blood dripped from his head as he ran through the woods. Branches tearing at his clothes and flesh as if trying to slow him down, his heart pounding loudly in his ear. The sound of children could be heard in the distance. The fall moon shone through the old, rotting trees. Twigs and leaves snapped under his feet. He needed to get out of here desperately. Stopping he looked around him, trying to fined a way out. He could hear the twigs snapping getting louder as the thing got nearer. “SHIT!” Yelled Jade. Thick red blood now dripping over his eyes. A bone chilling howl filled the air. He needed to find a river or something that would mask his smell.

Trying to get his bearings Jade realised the sign just above his head. “Willow River 1 mile” read Jade looking in the direction the singe was pointing. It was like god or who ever was out there was trying to help him. Another howl filled the air this time closer. Jade’s blood went cold as he started to run in the direction of the river. After about five minuets of running and trees smacking him in the face he cold hear the sound of running water. A wave of relief washed over him as his pace quickened. Minutes latter the river came into view. A smile spread over Jade’s face. He was going to be fine now.

The trees ended and he burst into a clearing, still running he made his way down to the rivers edge. Something grabbed Jades ankle pulling it hard, causing him to trip and land flat on his face. Jade screamed out in pain as a sharp bit of wood plunged into his side. Raising himself up with his hands, he slowly slid of the bit off wood sticking out of the floor, screaming the whole time. Falling onto his back he placed his hands over his wound. Blood oozed from the wound spilling onto the dirt beneath him. His white shirt now ripped and muddy. The blood turning it a lighter shade of red as it soaked into the material.

This was it, he knew it. He was going to bleed to death and be eaten afterward, well hopefully after he was dead. That was all he could hope for now, that he would die slowly in little pain. Jade’s head shot up as twigs started to snap around the clearing. Deciding that he would rather drown himself than get eaten Jade rolled onto his stomach, pushing himself off the floor he tried to make his way stumbling to the river, the whole time one hand holding his wound.  His breath caught in his chest as he stumbled to the floor gasping in agony. He was only centimetres away from the river. Desperate to end this any other way Jade stretched out an arm toward the edge trying to grasp it. A blood curdling scream filled the air as something grabbed Jade’s leg, claws digging deep into his fragile flesh, pulling him back from the waters edge .

Jade felt his ankle snap as the thing turned him onto his back. His brown eyes widened at what he saw. A black wolf loomed over him, but it couldn’t be a wolf it was two maybe three times bigger then any wolf he had ever seen. Its yellow eyes looked down at him as it moved over him. It continued to look down upon him, snarling occasionally at him. Fear filled Jade right down to every last fibre in his body. This was how it ended. Alone, with no one to hear his screams. He could just hit him and run, follow the river and be safe. Yes that was what he would do. He didn’t want to hurt him but he had to do it to have any chance of surviving.

Sensing the shift from fear to the urge to fight the beast snarled one last time before plunging his head down. Another scream filled the air as the monster bit deep into Jade’s shoulder, ripping its head away taking a chuck out of him. Jade continued to scream as he turned to look at the gap where his shoulder had once been. Bringing a shaking, blood covered hand up to the wound, tears started to fall from his eye, but he never got a chance to feel the gap. The monsters head swooped down again. Its mouth enclosing Jade’s hand, clamping down hard it pulled back again, ripping the limb free from the connecting bones and tissue.

The monster jumped off of Jade, running over to the rivers edge, where it laid down, gnawing on Jades now severed hand. He lay there, silently staring at the place his hand had once been. No energy left to scream. His beautiful face pale completely drained of colour apart from his eyes. His hazel brawn eyes gleamed with tears, pain and fear permanently etched into them. Jade let his stump of an arm fall to the floor. Blood not only flowing from his head and stomach, but now from his ankle, shoulder and his wrist. His clothes and the ground surrounding totally soaked in his blood.

“Davey”. Escaped from between his white lips. No more than a whisper but the animal hared it. Its head snapped up, blood dripping from its mouth. “Davey”. Jade coughed, louder this time. Thick red blood started to fall from between his lips. “Why Davey?” Jade pleaded, sorrow lacing his voice. You could tell from the look on his face that it was hurting to breathe now, let alone talk. The monster growled at Jade as if telling him to shut up. It pushed itself up onto all fours; bits of flesh and muscle were hanging from its teeth. “Please Davey”. His voice back to no more then a whisper.

It growled again but louder than before jumping from its position, on top of Jade. A heavy paw pressing down on his chest. “I…love…loved…” Jade choked out. The monster snarling at him, adding pressure to his chest. The sound of bones cracking filled the air. Jade screamed louder then ever, his free hand coming up to fist into the monsters black hair. Bone had punctured through his skin and lungs, sticking out violently. Jade gasped more blood oozing from his mouth. The sky was getting lighter, soon day would break.

“Why…didn’t…yo…you…tell…me?” Jade wheezed. The sun came bursting into the clearing. The animal howled once before swiping at Jade’s thought. A gasp escaped his lips, eyes wide open. Blood gushing from the four deep gashes on the side of his neck. The sun hit the clearing casting shadows over everything. The animal jumped off of Jade. A high pitched howl filled the air only to turn into a mans scream, full of hate and loss.

The beast stood up on its back legs. Hand like paws ripping and clawing at its flesh, pulling out fistfuls of its hair. Slowly its body started to change. Spine cracking, body changing shape. The hair falling off its body. It only took a few seconds but he changed completely. His naked body lay shaking on the hard ground. His black, matted hair fanned out around him. “Davey” a whisper came from the other side of the clearing. The young mans head shot up. Brown orb like eyes shot to the body lying amongst the dirt. “Jade!?” he yelled before scrambling over to the other man. Tears started to fall from his eyes as he looked upon his lover’s body.

His left ankle lay severed, his bone pointing out at a right angle. His left hand completely gone, the bone visible surrounded by veins and muscle. Where his shoulder once was, only a gaping hole remained. The hole in his stomach noticeable through his shirt. Several ribs stuck out of the side of his chest. Four deep gashes across the side of his face and neck. Blood still oozed from all of his wounds, spilling onto the ground around them. Slowly Jade turned his head to look at the man next to him. He couldn’t have been more than thirty years old.

“I…I…love.”  Jade started to choke out. “Jade im so sorry. Please don’t die. You cant die.” The man started to cry leaving streaks through the blood and dirt. He moved to grab Jade’s hand only to remember it was gone. Raising his hand to his face he rubbed it. Once he had lowered it he looked in shock to see blood covering it. Memories of what he had done came flooding back to him. It was entirely his fault. The mans head moved to look Jade in the eyes. As he coughed, blood ran down from his mouth. The man just couldn’t stop crying.

“I…still…love…you…Davey”. Jade wheezed out. A look of panic, love and loss on his face. Those were his last words.  He coughed one last time before going still. His eyes still open and still sparkling. With his last breath he forgave his killer. The one man he had ever loved. Davey. Davey sat there for over an hour crying and begging for Jade to quit fooling and wake up, that he couldn’t die. And that’s how the police found them. Davey hunched over the mutilated body of Jade. Completely naked and covered in blood, bits of Jade’s flesh still in his teeth. Of course the police arrested him and he was sentenced to life imprisonment. Davey had begged for the death sentence, but all it got him was put in an insane asylum.

There he would stay for the rest of his life. Once they found out that he wasn’t crazy they moved him to a special room every time there was a fall moon. The room had nothing in it. The walls were padded and after that there was three feet of pure steel. They would strip him off and leave him in there to change, watching him all the time. 

Davey was just a lab rat to them, but once he had been loved. Once someone had wanted him to be safe and happy. But all that had changed now, he was dead and it was because of him and his curse. Davey desperately wanted to be with Jade once again. He knew the only way that would happen would be for him to die the same way Jade had, and he knew exactly how he would do it.