Curse of the Werebird

Curse of the Werebird
J. Conger

Jacob lived in the Spring Mountains just outside Las Vegas on Mount Charleston. He loved the cooler weather and rarely sojourned into the city. His skin was very pale from very little exposure to the sun. His eyes were oceans waiting for his true love to dive in head first. Jacob was seventeen years old.
His father often took him out trapping, but never on a full moon. Jacob could never get his father to explain why they didn't trap during the full moon.
One night, his father was full of liquor during one of their trapping outings and Jacob kept pestering him about the reasoning behind their not pursuing their traps during a full moon. Jacob's father told him with a slur that there were malevolent forces at work during the full moon and only a foolish man would be caught near a trapped animal, alive or dead, during the full moon.
That night as Jacob's father snored drunkenly in his sleeping bag across the fire from him, he felt a dark feeling that his father had been truthful. He had no reason to lie to his son, after all.
Their trapping expedition went poorly. Their were few fur animals to come by during this time of the year. The following night was the full moon, so the two men; father and son, set about rolling up camp and the small amount of game they had managed to trap.
They made it home in time for supper. Jacob's mother had rice and fried chicken waiting for the two men. It was still hot after they showered their camping filth off and slipped into more comfortable, clean clothes. The family made small talk about the lack of game and the goings on about town while the two had been away.
That evening, Jacob's father and mother went to bed early. Jacob watched some sattelite TV programming before realizing the potential for adventure the evening held. He quietly slipped on a hooded sweatshirt and slid the glass door to the back porch silently.
The forest surrounding the only home he had ever known was brightly lit by the full moon as it made its appearance over the horizon. Jacob knew the trails surrounding his home like the back of his hand, however the moonlight prevented a few stumbles on his way to check out some of the traps that had been empty that morning.
As he approached the trap, he saw a coyote lying lifelessly on its side, its leg caught in the steel death jaws of the trap. Jacob felt lucky, for the coyote would bring him a bounty which meant some dollars in his pocket.
As he bent over to release the coyote's foot from the trap, a shadow slid over him, back lit by the moonlight. Jacob thought nothing of this as he cut the coyote's left ear as proof that he had killed it. He slid the ear into a leather pouch hanging around his neck just as a very large bird swooped in to Jacob's face. The bird had no feathers on its head or neck. Jacob realized it was a vulture. He tried to push the sharp talons away and keep the hard beak from biting him to no avail.
After the vulture finished its attack on Jacob, it went to work on the coyote carcass. It devoured the corpse quickly. It looked at Jacob and stepped towards him. That is when Jacob ran screaming towards his home.
He through the sliding glass door open and screamed for his mother and father. Only his mother appeared. "It looks like your father and grandfather have been out hunting again." she said.Jacob gave her a quizzical look. "You are now a werebird as your ancestors before you. There is no way to lift the curse, just try not to eat anybody you know." She said.
Jacob lay in bed that night, oozing blood from the many scratches and bites onto his white sheets. 'So I'm a werebird' he thought. He fell asleep dreaming of devouring human corpses.
When he awoke in the morning, his wounds were all healed. He joined his family for breakfast where his father was drinking coffee. He nodded in Jacob's direction saying, "so you met your grandfather. Congratulations. Welcome to the clan."
Jacob didn't know whether to cry or scream. All he new now is that he carried a family curse.