Attacks

Teddy was always the type to believe anything. That, perhaps, is why he was crazy enough to drag his brother David with him on what he called the “beasty hunt”. They were crouched behind a tree standing in front of a shabby old house. The night air was cold and dreary, and the fog was thickening by the second.
“Come on, Teddy, this is ridiculous. What are you trying to prove?” asked David. It was obvious from the tone of his voice that he wasn’t comfortable. They were, after all, trespassing on someone’s property, a teacher’s property at that.
“I’m tired of people not believing me,” Teddy said. “For once I’m actually telling the truth, but no one seems to care.”
“Can’t really say I blame them,” muttered David under his breath. Teddy motioned for him to be quiet. For a moment, the two boys listened, trying to detect any strange sounds through the ongoing silence. A few dogs would bark here and there, but it seemed as if nothing out of the ordinary was going on. Teddy and David crept slowly to the edge of the house. As they squatted down waiting for any sign of movement, something alarmed Teddy.
“Do you smell that?” he asked. He threw his nose into the air and starting sniffing. There was a strong hint of iron in the air.
“Smell what, Teddy? This has got to be the stupidest thing you’ve ever dragged me into-” but Teddy cut him off with a wave. He began moving towards the back of the house, searching for the source of the smell, and it didn’t take long for it to hit David’s nose as well. As they rounded the corner, Teddy noticed that it was coming from an open window at the bottom of the house. The smell had now become an odor so overpowering that each new breath became a struggle. Teddy shoved his head through the window, but retreated swiftly.
“That’s awful,” said Teddy barely able to manage a word. He covered his nose and moved his head completely through, but before he could squeeze the rest of his body inside, David grabbed his shirt.
“Wait! You’re not serious are you?” he said looking around, “I’m sorry, but this has gone too far. It was a funny little joke at first, but now you’re just losing it. Think about what you’re doing.”
“I have, trust me it’s all I’ve been thinking about lately. Besides, it’s too late to turn back now,” Teddy said with a crazed look.
“Look, you’re either right and we’re going to get killed, or you’re wrong and we’re going to get caught. Either way, you lose, Teddy! Do you really want to risk it?” It didn’t matter how much he pleaded, David knew he wasn’t going to talk the insanity out of Teddy. His lip bent into a frown as his eyes rounded upon the glistening moon. Never in his life had he ever hesitated when it came to helping his brother, but something just didn’t seem right. Perhaps, after all Teddy’s nagging, David was actually starting to believe him, and the odor that was now tearing at their noses certainly had an effect.
“Now stay here and keep a look out,” said Teddy. He pushed himself through the window and fell calmly to the floor. There wasn’t a spot that wasn’t splattered with darkness. Teddy regretfully took a deep breath and stepped forward. As he did, something slippery sent him crashing to the floor.
“Are you okay?” David whispered. Teddy, ignoring the question, frantically searched the floor for the cause of his fall. His hands fell upon something cold and slender that made a clinking sound as he moved it back and forth, but he knew it wasn’t what made him fall. Moving his hands up a little farther, a warm liquid substance covered his hands. Suddenly, Teddy pulled his arms back horrified and looked ahead of him. A numb feeling overtook his heart as his eyes rested upon a tall dark figure standing above him. For once, no words were able to force themselves from his mouth. The shaggy figure moved a bit closer, and as Teddy reached for the window, it lunged forward and pounced upon him. Warmth followed by sharp pain overtook him as its long rigid fingernails ran down his neck, and the smell of death leaked from the beast’s mouth. Teddy stretched his arm, desperately trying to grab something when his hands fell upon what he thought was a pipe. He swung it across the creatures face with all the force he could muster. It had only just hit the floor when Teddy was up and out the window. The two boys ran without a glance back. Their frantic feet struck the sidewalk with such force that not even a horse could have made that much noise. Time seemed to be moving very quickly for Teddy who was now clutching his neck, and it felt like an eternity of running before they finally reached the car. Safely into the car, David turned the key a pushed his foot down, speeding off into the stiff night.
“What the HELL happened?” David asked with a wide-eyed expression. Teddy’s heart was pounding in a frenzy so uncontrollably that breathing was becoming a struggle.
“I was right,” he said slowly, “Mr. Rollins is a werewolf.” David didn’t really know how to react to that statement. He glanced up at his brother’s blood infested neck.
“We got to get you to the hospital.”
“Are you mental? Yeah, that’ll go well. What are we going to tell them? That we broke into our teacher’s house and he turned into a great hairy beast and attacked us? Besides, it’s just a scratch,” Teddy said.
“That’s more than a scratch, Teddy!”
“No, it’s not! I’m fine. Look, we can’t tell anyone about this, not even Josh and Ellie.” David was taken aback by his sudden change in attitude. Had he not just been dragged on this little night fiasco for proof that Mr. Rollins was a werewolf?
“I don’t understand. Isn’t this what you wanted? You’ve got your proof,” he said.
“A scratch is hardly proof of anything. I’ve read stories about people in these kinds of situations. They always end up dead because they were too stupid to keep their mouths shut. Rollins won’t take it too nicely that we’re trying to blab his secret. For now, we need to keep quiet.”
“You’ve been reading too many comics,” but without another word, David continued on down the road.

The next day, Teddy walked lazily into class and slumped into his hard wood chair. Mondays were never the best for him, but considering what had happened the night before, it was miracle he was even going to school.
“Adorable little scarf you got there,” said a rather pretty blonde girl. Teddy’s deep blue eyes gazed up slowly.
“Morning, Ellie, have a good weekend?”
“It was great actually, but it doesn’t look like you were so lucky. You’re looking a bit pale. Everything okay?” she asked. The truth was that everything was not okay. He had woken up with a huge knot in his stomach, and breakfast was a disaster because it had taken only minutes for it to end up in the toilet.
“I’m fine, just feeling a bit off this morning. Where’s Josh?”
“I’m not sure, I haven’t heard from him today. Maybe he’s skipping,” Teddy was a little freaked at the thought of Josh skipping class. That didn’t happen too often. He looked up and noticed that Josh wasn’t the only one skipping. There were at least six others who weren’t there, and the bell was only seconds from ringing. For a moment, he tried to figure out how Rollins would be able to pull off that many kills in one night, but quickly brushed the thought away.

Lunch came fairly quickly that day, but something was steering Teddy’s stomach away from the food. His head was now pounding so hard that he could barely concentrate on anything for longer than a minute. All the noise in the cafeteria seemed to blow up in his ears.
“Are you okay? You’re really starting to worry me, Teddy,” said David who had sat down next to him only moments before. Teddy gave him a look of annoyance. He was tired of people asking him that question today. It was as if they thought he didn’t know that something was wrong. He put his hand to his head and shut his eyes tightly. The noise was really starting to get to him. The cafeteria was always full of kids who didn’t know the meaning of an inside voice. He quickly stood up and stomped out the door. Time slowed down rapidly as he walked heavily down the hallway towards the bathroom. It was quiet and deserted. The teachers didn’t normally permit students to walk through the halls during class or lunch. Teddy didn’t honestly care though. He rounded the corner towards the bathroom, but before he made it, something forced his back to the wall.
“Now, Teddy, you’re not contemplating on telling someone our little secret are you?” It was the tall and unkempt figure of Mr. Rollins. Teddy struggled for freedom, but the man was as sturdy as an oak.
“You can’t kill me here, too many people,” Teddy declared. Rollins glanced around the barren hallway, and Teddy realized how ignorant his statement was.
“No, you’re right, I can’t kill you right now,” he breathed, “I’ve got plans for you. I just wanted to take this time to thank you.” His wicked smile sent spark down Teddy’s back that prickled the hairs on his neck.
“What do you mean?”
“You’ll find out soon enough,” he said letting go of Teddy. He continued grinning and made his way down the hall out of sight. The huge knot that had lingered in Teddy’s stomach this morning was back. He felt so trapped, but something deep down inside told him that he brought it upon himself.

By the time Teddy got home that day, he felt completely drained. He had neglected to tell his brother about Rollins confrontation, and David was insisting on them attending a party to get his mind off things. In all honesty, Teddy was never a fan of high school parties. He knew that he was invited only because it was Ellie’s brother who was hosting the party. Still, it was better than staying at home wishing the previous night’s events hadn’t happened.
Evening came quickly. The sky outside was spattered with a washed out red and light blue color. The air was cool and serene, but that didn’t keep the knot in Teddy’s stomach from staying. When they arrived at the party, which was at the rather fancy looking home of David’s friend Ryan Jenkins, the noise was already at a high level which Teddy disliked. He didn’t understand why people were being so loud today. It was extremely crowded inside, despite the massive size of the home. Teddy found Ellie as quickly as possible. He never was comfortable around huge crowds, especially when the crowd consisted of older kids.
“Come on, let’s step outside. It’s quieter,” she led him out to the bark yard. Teddy’s ears continued to ring from the noise of the party, but he focused his attention on the unnerving woods that were several feet past the deck they were standing on.
“You know, I never liked those woods,” he began with a crooked smile.
“Something’s different about you, Teddy,” she said. He was starting to really get irritated that this conversation kept coming up with everyone today.
“I’m fine, I promise,” he said, but before he could say another word, she pressed her lips against his. It was a surreal moment for him, and it was cut short by the familiar smell of death and decay. Teddy pulled away and glared in the direction of the woods. All was silent for a couple of minutes.
“What’s wrong?” Ellie asked a little disappointed. He didn’t say anything, but instead continued to stare at the woods. His heart started thumping very rapidly as a few twigs cracked. There was no mistaking that Rollins was here. Teddy would never forget that smell. His breaths were coming in rapid gasps now, and as he fell to his knees, the world seemed to fade. Everything went black.

Teddy awoke abruptly a few minutes later, lying on the mushy ground of the woods. It took a moment for his vision to regain itself. Fog seemed to have appeared out of nowhere. The terrible odor of iron was in the air again. He looked to his left and saw something that made his veins go ice cold. Ellie was lying on the ground next to him unmoving. He reached for her, and a warm gush of blood covered his hands.
“Ellie, no, please wake up! Come on, you have to get up,” but it didn’t matter how much he pleaded; she wouldn’t move. Her body was completely stiff and her eyes blank. Teddy staggered to his feet, and as anger surged through him, he felt strength in his bones that he had never experienced before. This had gone too far; Teddy wanted nothing less than to watch Rollins die. He walked forward only to hear the muffled sound of David calling his name. Moments later, his brother appeared from behind a tree, holding the silver pipe they had taken from Rollins’ house.
“I’m going to kill him, David!” David’s eyes shifted over to Ellie’s dead body.
“Teddy, wait,” but David was at a loss for words.
“He killed her! This isn’t a game anymore!” he yelled.
“I know it isn’t, but please, if you go and kill him now, you might not like what you find,” David protested. No amount of talking was going to keep Teddy from ripping Rollins’ throat out though. He started to walk off, but a small shriek sounded from his brother’s mouth. Teddy turned around only to see that David’s eyes has gone wide and blank. A shadow was standing to his left, and as he fell to the ground, a grin shot across the figure’s face. Teddy felt nothing, but a boiling anger that seemed as if it had been hiding in him forever.
“Feels good doesn’t it, Teddy? Go on, why don’t you do the honors,” Rollins said pointing at David’s lifeless body.
“I’m going to destroy you!”
“Come now, Teddy, you can’t tell me that you haven’t gotten used to it yet,” he said grinning more than ever. Teddy could barely speak; he was so infuriated that all he saw was himself tearing his teacher apart.
“What are you talking about?” he managed
“You mean, David didn’t tell you? I figured you would have found it out yourself. My scratch infected you. You’re just like me,” he paused for a moment, “no, actually you’re worse than me. You killed your own friends.” Teddy went wide-eyed. He knew he was a werewolf all along, from the moment he was scratched, but there was no possible way that he could have caused any deaths.
“You’re lying! You scratched me yesterday, and the full moon is over,” he said as if trying to convince himself more than anyone. Rollins merely laughed.
“Are you really naïve enough to believe that werewolves are governed by the moon? You people are all the same. No, see, you change only in a state of fear or severe agitation. You killed Josh the night I scratched you, and you took care of Ellie easily enough just a few minutes ago” Teddy was done with talking. He couldn’t control his fiery rage any longer and made a swift movement towards the silver pipe that had fallen to the ground with his brother. With pipe in hand, he lunged forward and stuck it straight into the middle of Rollins chest. It seemed strange that it slipped so easily inside his torso, but it did. Just like before, everything started to fade. He took one last glimpse over at his brother’s dead body, and his mind disappeared into blackness.
.