《Dog Day: A Werewolf Story》


 Chapter 1

    My face was red¡ªflushed with both self-hatred and the horror of what I''d done. The blood on me trickled down as if I had just been shot, staining everything it touched. I craved love, but all I found in return was a vendetta¡ªa battle between my physical body and the torture of my mind.


    I sank my teeth into her. Her blood covered my face in a way I can only describe as primal. I loved her, though I don''t know if she could ever say the same. I tainted her. She loved me in a way no one else could, and this is how I repay her? I wept with every bite, sinking deeper and deeper into her flesh. She saved me, and this is how I repay her¡ªby making her a part of me forever.


    I cried until there were no tears left. I felt as though I had defiled a holy figure, desecrated a goddess. All she did was love me, and I turned her into a grotesque canvas splattered across the floor. She lay there in such a hauntingly seductive way. I''d done this before, but it was never this emotional, never this personal. As I dug my hands into her lifeless flesh, the full weight of what I''d done crashed down on me.


    It felt like my life was over. Blood ran from my tattered jeans, pooling on the red carpet, merging with the blood on my body. I couldn''t tell if my mind was altered or if I was just utterly, irrevocably alone. After what I had done, I felt like I was sinking, as if the ground beneath me was giving way. I felt nothing but the coldness of the air and the icy chill of my breath. I sank into a pit, everything was dull, but now I''m turning back human, now I''m just myself.


    It felt like my life was over. Blood dripped from my tattered jeans, pooling on the carpet beneath me. I couldn''t tell if my mind was altered or if I was simply, utterly alone. After what I''d done, I was stuck, frozen in place. All I felt was the biting cold of the air and the icy grip of my breath twisting around me, coiling around me like a snake.


    I couldn''t even feel my face as the tears streamed down. My eyes bulged with each heave, fists pounding the ground in a muddy frenzy, splashing as if I could beat away my sins. Someone, please, take this weight from me. I don''t want to think anymore; I don''t want to be me anymore.


    I don''t want to exist.


    The air turned to icicles with each breath, each and everyone crashing down to the ground below. Then the world began to shift. The hotel room faded, replaced by a vast, snowy field stained with blood. The landscape expanded and twisted, morphing into an image¡ªa memory I once held dear.


    It was a picture of me and her, wrapped in that bittersweet nostalgia. A hand of melancholy reached into my chest and pulled out my beating heart, it lay on the floor thudding and beating. I felt it pounding and thumping, like a war drum in my chest. I felt my ears boom with each pulse: make it stop, make it stop please. I crashed down into the darkness, an unbearable weight on my shoulders, and then I heard a voice. Her voice.


    And my eyes were open.


    It''s 8 p.m. Our guide, a man of few words and fewer emotions, leads us to the edge of a trail, this trail winds and unwinds like a road on a mountainside. We''ve been walking for what feels like hours, but what has actually been around 30 minutes.


    He stops, his eyes dark and unreadable, and says only, "Here. I''ll wait until you all get back." He puffs a cigarette and Leans on a tree, not wanting to go further for risk the of his own life.


    Without a word, we leave him behind. The sun dips low, casting long shadows that stretch like fingers reaching to pull us into the dark embrace of the forest. The trees seem to close in around us, the air growing thick and oppressive. Humidity clings to my skin like the breath of Mother Earth herself, warm and suffocating. Every step forward feels like we''re being swallowed deeper into the belly of these ancient woods, searching for the home that once held a man.


    Step by step, we push ahead, silence binding all of us. The trail tended to push in angles and directions that made no sense. I lead, and the others follow close behind me, our shadows melding into one with the blackened scenery around us. The trail narrows, leading us to a tangled mess of thorns, vines, and briars that entangle in the remnants of this forgotten home. It''s a place long abandoned, its siding crumbling, flaking, and falling down. The forest itself seems to urge us toward it, like it was calling out each and all our names.


    Lorelai''s irritation is obvious as the briars snag her clothes and skin, but she says nothing. Fisk, ever resourceful, pulls a long, sharp tool from his oversized pack¡ªa machete, but unlike any I''ve seen. With the press of a button, it hums to life, the air around it warming as he swings it through the thick brush. The thorns curl and wither at the touch, the scent of scorched earth filling the air.


    Lance raises an eyebrow he was impressed. "Where''d you get that?" he asks with genuine curiosity in his voice. Neither of us has seen anything quite like it before.


    "I... uh, made it myself?," Fisk replies, unsure whether to boast or downplay his creation. Fisk hesitates, then points to a gem embedded in the hilt. "This gem stores Ether. It acts like a battery for the energy inside. I imbue my mana into these stones, I learned this when I had my awakening¡ª"


    "Awakening?" Lance and I say in unison. The word hanging in the air, a rare gift to unlock so young. "How did you manage that? You''re only, what, sixteen?"


    "Well... I''m actually eighteen," Fisk corrects, glancing away. "Just a little on the short side." He says scratching his chin embarrassingly.


    "But how does someone your age unlock an awakening so early? I can barely grasp magic myself, let alone infuse it into anything," Lance presses, suspicion creeping into his voice.


    "I''m not just some child," Fisk says, a defensive edge to his tone. "But regardless we should focus on the mission. I don''t want to get lost."


    "Don''t worry. I know where we are. We won''t¡ª"


    My words die in my throat as a rustling sound cuts through the stillness. It''s close, too close. A faint pulse of magic ripples through the air, like the steam that hits your skin before stepping into a hot shower. I inhale sharply, every instinct screaming at me to act.


    In a single, fluid motion, I flex my wrist, nails sharpening into claws. I leap toward the sound, eyes locked on the thicket, ready to tear apart whatever lurks within. My hands close around something solid, and for a split second, I feel like I''ve done something. But as I drag it into the dim light, my heart skips a beat. What I''m holding isn''t what I thought¡ªit''s a?


    A corpse? The blackened and inky body made me wince, and Lorelai gagged behind me. I could have sworn I grabbed something moving, something alive, but ...this was just a corpse. Its flesh was wet, its skin peeling back to reveal the bone beneath, covered in twisted runes that pulsed with a sickly blue light. The body was drenched in a black, tar-like substance that clung to it like a second skin, reeking of death and decay.


    ...But then it moved.


    ...It moved.


    Behind us bursting through thickets a woman appears flying in. A witch? This must be her, we must do something before she can act. I look to pull back but her voice interrupts.


    "You all liked my joke did you?" The witch yanks her head back in laughter. The body that I was holding, the arm. It begins to shake and convulse. The arms and legs of the body flail and tap the ground in rapid succession.


    A joke? The word echoed in my mind, disbelief mixing with rage. Was the death she caused just amusement to her? What kind of twisted person reanimates the dead for sport?


    I tried to let go, I tried to pull away, but the tar on the body clung to my hands, thick and suffocating, refusing to release its grip. Panic set in as I yanked harder, desperate to free myself. My skin, it sizzled as I pulled away. My palm burned with a sharp pain. Luckily the calluses on my hand caught most of the damage, it was only skin deep.


    The witch flies forward at me and grabs my leg. This sends me flying in the air, I seem to fly like a rag-doll in a storm. My vision blurs and the world spins, and blood rushes through my head. She doesn''t get far, before I use my sharp claws to grab the base of a tree, one that just so happened to be near me. I did this almost instinctually.


    The witch pulls harder, and harder with unnatural strength, she refuses to let go of me. My claws carve deep gashes in the tree. My grip weakens and as I''m pulled, I leave jagged and sharp marks into the wood as I''m tugged with such a force I feel like a fish on a line. The marks I leave behind look like a desperate animal clinging on for survival. I hold on with as much strength as I can muster.


    The witch pulls my leg with the strength of a vice. I let out a rough gasp, in which I twist and drive my foot deep into the witch''s wrist and she is forced to let go and crashes into the decrepit building ahead.


    Lance already had his sword drawn, its glistening blade inches from the hag''s throat.


    "Roll over," he commanded, his voice cold and unyielding. "State your business."


    His armor caught all of our attention, reflecting a sharp, silver glow, while the red of his undershirt and collar burned like embers beneath the steel. He stood tall and firm, sword poised, his yellow hair falling over one eye, concealing a gaze that usually radiated warmth but now blazed with a fierce determination.


    "Me? What I''m doing?" The hag sneered, her cracked lips curling into a twisted grin."I''m just here to occupy your time."


    The air grew thick with the stench of methane, it was odorous and overwhelming. It wasn''t just me who noticed it¡ªeveryone did. The foul smell clung to the air, growing stronger with each passing second. "Do each of you smell that?" she cackled, her laughter grating against our nerves. "Hee-hee-hee, it''s the burning of everything you hold dear. That village of yours, the one that took my people so long, long ago? Well, now it''s my turn." her voice rose to a shriek, high-pitched and grating, a sound that clawed at the inside of my skull.


    Fisk and Lance winced at the piercing noise, their faces twisted in discomfort, but Lorelai remained fixed on the hag, her eyes hard and unblinking. The hag''s words dripped with a poison, that of a snake. Each and every word she meant with her full being.


    The smell of burning¡ªof something terrible on the horizon¡ªwrapped around us, suffocating in its intensity. The hag''s grin widened as she watched our reactions, feeding on the intensity in the air. This wasn''t just a threat; it was already set in motion. Already happening before our eyes.


    The witch made her move, but she wasn''t fast enough. Before she could move a finger, Lorelai''s hand was already in motion, a dagger flashing through the air aiming at her neck. The blade struck the witch squarely in the chest, the impact sending her stumbling back. It was a clean, decisive strike¡ªone that may have saved Lance''s life.


    Had Lorelai hesitated for even a second, the witch''s broom would have launched itself into the back of Lance''s head, and the hag might have escaped if not for this.


    The witch groaned, clutching the hilt of the dagger as a black ichor seeped from the wound. Her eyes flickered with hate, but there was no panic, only a cold, seething rage.


    "You people," she hissed through gritted teeth.


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    "You pretend to live like civilized beings, but underneath. Underneath you''re no better than rats. Scurrying about, biting at each other''s throats." She spat on the ground, her lips curling into a vicious sneer. "I''ll take pleasure in watching you all drown in your own filth. Jumping ship, scrambling for safety as everything you know sinks beneath the waves."


    The words were painful, her voice envious of what we could accomplish. Even in defeat, the hags determination was strong, a festering wound that she was so eager to spread. She eyed us with revulsion, she hated us. And for what? She was daring us to believe that we were any different from the monsters we hunted.


    I know I''m not. I couldn''t help her then, and I regret every single moment I breathe.


    The pain sinks deep into my eyes, it feels like hot water is flooding into my face, even through the pores on my skin. It was especially bad on my eyesight. The smoke clouding my face puffing my vision.


    "That''s enough!" I commanded the emotion I once felt sank deep into my chest.


    The witch''s head snapped toward me, eyes narrowing.


    Fisk flinched, instinctively covering his ears, "What''s your plan? What are you doing? And why?"


    The witch''s twisted grin widened, and she let her words out with a nasty delight. She started speaking louder with each word commanding our attention, commanding us to focus on her, and her alone.


    "Did you not hear me, boy?" her low tone increasing in volume. "I can smell it on you¡ªyou''re just like me.


    Soon¡ªSoon, everything you hold dear will crumble.


    Your world, your vision, your life." Her voice stabbed my ears, each word seeping into my brain. "Especially you Jesse, there is a spot deep in hell for you. The proud Witch hunter, the proud demon killer, will die by his own hands, it''s a shame isn''t it?"


    How does she know me? How does she know my name? Usually, only one-eyed hags can see the future, was she lying?


    "The dark arts will consume you all. You all will become nothing more than beasts. No. Worse than that, worse than me. You people call us beast right?"


    After all I am a half-breed? Im not pure blood. Maybe I was treating these "beasts" like the empire treats people like us? Is it wrong?


    "You will die sad. No kin of your own, no thoughts of your own, just raw, animal instinct. Like all those people you killed on the caravan. You''ll rot in Hell Jesse. "


    " I will kill all of¡ª"


    Before she could finish, Lance''s blade flashed in the fading light. In one swift, merciless stroke, he severed her head from her body. The witch''s words died on her lips as her head hit the ground with a dull thud. Blood sprayed in a crimson beam, staining the ground beneath her.


    Fisk''s eyes shot wide, frozen in shock. Maybe it was his first time seeing someone die, maybe not. But in that moment, it didn''t matter.


    Death is part of the business. We all know it, we all accept it, live with it, and embrace it. It''s a shadow that follows us, patient and inevitable.


    You can run all you like, but it''ll catch up to you, whether that''s today, tomorrow, or next week. And when it does, there''s no bargaining, no escape. Just the cold, unflinching finality of the end. The black abyss that you see when you close your eyes.


    This thought, it was only in my mind. But it was a reminder of my reality.


    Fisk looked completely freaked out. "You... you killed her?" His voice trembled as he staggered forward, his face pale, as if he was going to puke.


    I turned to him, frowning. "Why are you on this mission with us?" My voice was steady, a genuine question. "If you can''t handle the death of a beast, there''s no reason for you to be here."


    "We need to move," Lorelai cut in sharply, her voice urgent. Her gaze was fixed on the sky, her hand raised, pointing to the thick, black smoke billowing up, darkening the horizon. The witch''s words hadn''t been idle threats. The skyline was actually on fire.


    The sight sent a surge of adrenaline through me. Without hesitation, I leaped over the corpse of the once-convulsing creature, my heart pounding as I rushed toward the town.


    Panic I felt, instincts took over, and I broke into a jog that quickly morphed into a full sprint. But it wasn''t enough. Without thinking, I dropped to all fours, charging forward with animalistic speed, faster than I knew I could go.


    The forest blurred around me, the trees and underbrush becoming streaks of green and brown as I pushed myself harder, faster. The acrid scent of smoke mixed with the stench of death in the air, fueling my desperate pace. Each breath burned in my lungs, but I didn''t care. All that mattered was getting to the town before it was too late.


    I burst forward, leaping over a charred body, a corpse. I can''t focus on the dead right now only the living. I run and run and run until I make it to the village.


    The thirty-minute walk to the village was now a 5-minute run. I was sprinting with everything I had. I hopped on all fours and dashed on my hands.


    My lungs burn like the world engulfed around me. The ash around me blows like hellish snow, the greys and whites in the air look like demon bugs. The glowing and beauty of it is a bit ironic, standing here in front of all this is so much to take in.


    It''s a nightmare, the grim dark night is shining throughout with the buildings on fire. Bodies of people pile under wooden pillars that seem to have fallen. People are screaming and I''m running toward only the few who need the most help.


    There was a woman pleading for someone to save her. A woman who was trapped under a pillar, I dash into her direction, squatted underneath and I pushed. I pushed like my life depended on it. I lifted the pillar on my back the flames engrossing me in the process but the woman did manage to crawl out to safety.


    There lays an older boy, standing near a building crying out for his sister, the building on flames near collapse. The flames trickle and wood falls off the siding and the frame of the building falling directly toward this child. I run towards the kid and tackle him, hugging as hard as I can so nothing touches him.


    My whole body hurts as bits of these flaming planks fall on me, burning my skin to a darker shade. The boy is ok, but he is still crying for his sister, he can''t speak, he only can manage out little puffs as he points toward an upper bedroom.


    Someone is screaming in a house, the sounds of a child. I rush in only to hear the screaming stop. I run past what seems to be a kitchen, toys scattered around, cabinets, and shelves full of glasses and containers. I run up a set of stairs and see two rooms, I quickly rush inside one and see no one, the other one I tried was locked. So I began banging on it and nothing happened.


    ¡ª


    So I winded back, BAM. Nothing.


    ¡ª


    I kick it. BAM. Nothing.


    ¡ª


    I put my shoulder into it this time, starting at the edge of the stairs. The smoke getting in my lungs is actually making it harder and harder to breath. I push past the heat, the burning in my chest and slam into it. This time it folds under my pressure.


    I knock down the door, only to find the remains of a small corpse. It looked like that of a little girl. I freeze for a moment, a moment that stayed in my head. Memories flash back as I stand in the fire, skin burning and peeling. I grab the blackened corpse. She''s holding a doll, and my heart sank as I started walking out the building. The birds popping and squealing underneath.


    Breathing in these embers is not even the worst part. The worst part is thinking that this is someone''s child. Someone''s little girl, she was probably innocent, didn''t deserve a fate like this. She brought back the memory of Charlotte to me.


    I step down the stairs and walk out the front of the building. This solemn look on my face could not change and could not falter.


    I continue forward a bit going toward where the flame peaks at the highest.


    Then I see it¡ªa figure through the smoke, standing in the heart of the fire. The flames swirl around it, almost as if they obey this creature. It''s near humanoid, inky and black. The runes on its skin glow with a cold aura in contrast to the red flames. Its skin is black and charred and one of its eyes have been forced closed. The creature''s sockets were closed shut, locked into place. The pink skin, the skin underneath the black. It had looked more human in some areas, it bulged as if superheated to the point of bursting.


    The creature raises a twisted arm, the flames wrapping around it like a serpent, covering its blackened charred flesh like a second skin. The creature''s body ignites, and the once blue hue pushes out like an oven full of lighter fluid, roaring to be let free.


    The creature starts chanting, and as it does this, it raises a finger toward me. Its long bending finger lurches forth like a gargoyle on a tower. The sound it makes isn''t human, a deep resonant vibration echos throughout the air¡ªand my body. Its mouth is charred black and melted together, this makes it incapable of speech, but the chanting grows louder with each passing word.


    The chanting was unintelligible as if listening to a foreign language you''ve never heard before. The creature chants one last time and I hear the word.


    Fall


    My mind sinks:


    The creatures words hypnotize me, lock me in place. Cement my mind, bury my body.


    The creature''s long, lanky arms stood outstretched, its bony fingers aiming directly at me. At the tip of one finger, a glow¡ªa bright molten red that gleamed like the lure of an angler fish. The finger burned with an unnatural heat.


    Its limbs were grotesque, elongated, and muddied, the skin stretched tight over veins that bulged like roots on an age-old tree. The surface was cracked and dry, flaking away in patches that revealed raw, pulsing sinew beneath. Each movement it made was slow and deliberate like it was savoring the fear of the moment.


    The creature''s face was an abomination, it was twisted and deformed as if a child had drawn it. Its head was deformed in spots, some bulged, and some caved in.


    It was a misshapen nightmare, a mockery of the human face. Its eyes were wrongly positioned sideways on its head like a fish''s, staring in opposite directions from each other.


    It''s one eye twitched, rolling aimlessly, and the it fixed on me, as if looking past me.


    The creature''s mouth was a cave of grotesque, oversized teeth, jagged and yellowed, jutting out in uneven paths as if they had been jammed into its mouth by force.


    A finger of the hand the creature pointed at me began to glow, it began to sear with heat, the chanting seemed to climax and the finger began getting heating. The light grew and grew and grew. The chanting ended and the flame shot out at me like a small asteroid from space.


    I still had the child in my arms. I couldn''t move, I couldn''t dodge, and I couldn''t react. I''m too weak.


    I need.


    To


    I have.


    To


    Move.


    These thoughts plague my mind, and the crescendo peaks.


    ***


    The once-dead man lay still no more, rising in a grotesque mockery of life. His body was warped¡ªblack, inky skin dripping onto the forest floor like molten tar, splattering in thick, oily puddles. The stench hit them first, like rotting flesh mixed with burning rubber, and Lorelai''s stomach churned.


    "What... what is that?!" Lorelai''s voice cracked, barely a whisper above the tremble in her throat. She staggered back, her wide eyes locked onto the creature that should not have been moving.


    Its head jerked unnaturally in her direction, the sickening sound of cracking bones accompanying each twitch. Lifeless eyes bore into hers¡ªpale, empty pools of malevolence. Every motion was a distortion, limbs twisting like marionette strings being yanked by an unseen hand. The sight was a living nightmare, an abomination of life and death fused into one horrifying form.


    Fisk stumbled back, his voice shaking with barely contained panic. "How are¡ªhow are we supposed to deal with that thing?!"


    "We kill it," Lance growled, his jaw set with grim determination. "That''s all there is to it. Fisk, get behind me!" Fisk scrambled to obey, ducking behind Lance while Lorelai, steeling herself, stepped up beside him.


    The shadows in the woods seemed to grow darker, closing in, as if the very air was recoiling from the creature''s presence. Lorelai''s hands trembled for only a moment before she began humming a low, rhythmic tune. The tattoos on her arm pulsed with life, glowing faintly as the ancient power within them stirred, swirling beneath her skin.


    "It''s been too long since I''ve done this," Lorelai muttered, excitement mingling with fear. She grasped her wrist as her magic flared to life, the glow intensifying until it coalesced into the form of a giant, three-eyed raven. Its feathers shimmered, as though each one was woven from pure light.


    The bird peeled off her skin and soared into the sky, its ethereal form circling the creature below. In one swift dive, it struck, its talons sinking deep into the creature''s liquid form, lifting it off the ground. The monster writhed and twisted, its tar-like body bubbling and hissing as it struggled against the raven''s grip.


    "Now!" Lorelai shouted.


    Lance was already moving¡ªhis sword drawn in a flash of yellow light, a blur of motion as he closed the distance with inhuman speed. He slashed through the beast with one fluid stroke, splitting it in two. The black tar stuck to his blade, bubbling like a festering wound.


    "That was too easy," Fisk muttered, his tone uneasy, hands already digging through his backpack for something else, just in case.


    Lance grinned and turned to the others, but the victory was short-lived. The creature''s body hit the ground with a sickening splat, melting into the dirt like overripe fruit thrown against stone. It seemed to vanish, sinking deep into the earth, and for a moment, they thought it was over.


    But then it came back.


    The black, inky mass shifted, coiling and twisting into an orb, hovering like a drop of liquid suspended in mid-air. It shimmered unnervingly, a grotesque reflection of something almost¡ªbut not quite¡ªhuman. The ground shook as the orb slammed back down, contorting and reshaping itself, limbs elongating with sickening cracks.


    What emerged was a horror worse than before¡ªits form stretched and bony, poking through the tar-like flesh as though its skeleton was trying to escape. Its limbs bent at unnatural angles, more liquid than solid, and yet disturbingly alive, like a thing that should not exist in this world.


    Lance took a step back, his eyes widening. "That... is disgusting." He barely had time to react before the creature lunged, its touch like acid, eating away at the steel of his sword with terrifying ease. The once-gleaming blade melted in his hand, dripping to the ground in molten pieces.


    "Shit," Lance cursed, shaking his hand to rid himself of the burning metal. "Don''t let that thing touch you!"


    Fisk fumbled with his backpack, finally pulling out a small metallic device. His hands were shaking, but he pressed the button at its center, launching the glowing sphere through the air. It expanded in an instant, forming a crackling net of electricity that wrapped around the creature.


    The beast screamed¡ªan unearthly, high-pitched sound that reverberated through the forest like nails on glass. Its body writhed, the black tar bubbling and twitching as electricity surged through it.


    Lance, quick on his feet, darted forward, ignoring the half-melted sword in his hand. He drove it into the creature''s neck, hoping to end it once and for all.


    But this creature didn''t die like other monsters.


    Instead, its body began to ooze through the gaps in the net, re-forming in grotesque waves. The sludge slid along the ground like a living shadow, winding up Lance''s leg before he could pull away. His scream tore through the woods as the acid burned through his skin, searing into muscle.


    "Fuck, my leg!" Lance collapsed to the ground, clutching at the black goo eating through him.


    Lorelai acted quickly, rushing to his side. She grabbed Lance''s arm, her magic flaring as she yanked him free with all the strength she could muster. The sludge clung to him, still burning, but she managed to pull him away.


    "Everyone, run!" Lorelai''s voice cut through the chaos, commanding. She half-dragged, half-carried Lance as Fisk stumbled behind, pale and leg limping.


    Above them, the raven screeched, its eyes glowing with fierce determination. It dove toward the creature in a final act of defiance, sacrificing itself as it collided with the beast in an explosive burst of light.


    The impact obliterated the monster, its body splintering into acidic droplets that rained down on the battlefield.


    The acid hissed as it hit the ground, burning through everything in its path, leaving a scorched and barren wasteland in its wake. The once-terrifying presence of the creature was gone, but the damage had been done. Lance''s leg was seared, Lorelai''s skin blistered from the falling acid, and Fisk was left shaking, the toll of the battle heavy on them all.