Cursed

by Brent Miller

  “So you can’t run up walls?” Tyler asked wryly, clearly choosing not to mention anything about the healing.

  “I guess parkour isn’t as easy as every video I’ve ever seen makes it look.”

  “Do you want me to give you a boost?”

  “Maybe I should have thought of that first,” Garrick accepted with a laugh. Tyler walked over to him, cupping his hands together. Garrick placed his foot in Tyler’s hands.

  “Be careful, Garrick Elliott. I’m not exaggerating when I say it looks like this place could fall apart in an instant.”

  “I’m sure it’s a lot more stable than it appears. It’s been standing like this for years.” Tyler just shook his head as he lifted his friend. Garrick jumped up, grabbing the landing and pulling himself up.

  The ground underneath him didn’t present any immediate danger of caving in, but he was still sure to tread carefully. There were burned pieces of wood all around him, and the floor looked scorched.

  Garrick carefully navigated his way to the door of the room. Upon reaching it, he pushed it with caution, listening for any falling debris. He wasn’t particularly afraid for his life if the building collapsed, but he didn’t like the idea of the pain. When he stepped through the door, he was able to faintly discern the staircase. Realizing that stairs might not be his best idea, he contemplated just jumping to the lower floor. At least then he would know what he was in for. A quick and painful fall, but there was no anticipation of anything deteriorating under his feet as he walked. He decided against it, though, and placed his hand on the railing.

  Garrick tested each step before he placed his full weight on it. Only one of them felt as though it would break under him – it bent as he put weight on it – so he took a larger step to skip that one. As he reached the bottom floor, he saw the beam that was blocking the front door. It looked like it had fallen a while back. The beam had probably been resting against the door, and Garrick had dislodged it when he pushed against it. It was lying nearly horizontally covering the door and wall. If Garrick had continued to push it, it may have just broken through the fragile wall near the front door, turning at a diagonal.

  Garrick carefully lifted the edge of the beam which was in front of the door and carried it in a semicircle before setting it back down.

  As Garrick gave himself a moment to examine the room, he was inclined to believe the story about the old man. There was furniture that looked practically ancient in the home. It was a pretty nice place, though, despite the creepy vibe it gave off. The burn marks weren’t as bad on the bottom floor as they were on the top, either, and the furniture didn’t look too destroyed. If anything, it looked like there was just water damage – maybe from fighting the fire, or maybe from the years of rain leaking in through the destroyed ceiling. The fire must have started upstairs and been put out before it was able to reach too much of the bottom floor.

  Garrick walked around the staircase, going through an archway which led to the kitchen. He saw the kitchen door, but there wasn’t any debris in front of it. Wondering what it was that made Tyler assume it was blocked, Garrick walked up to the door and tried to open it. The fire had melted the knob, making it impossible to twist on this side, and forcing the door locked. Garrick was having trouble rationalizing the path of this fire in his mind, but that wasn’t incredibly important at the moment.

  Garrick pushed hard against the door, snapping the hinges as he broke it open. He could have gone back around and opened the front, but he knew Tyler would be on the other side of this door waiting for him. Part of him didn’t want to walk back through and redirect him, and another part just wanted to show off.

  “So what do you think?” Tyler asked, ignoring the cracking of the wood.

  “I don’t think it’s going to fall apart on us. Some of the support beams on the roof have fallen down, but I think they stopped the fire before there was any real structural damage. You know, aside from the second story missing a section. We have to see if there’s even a basement, though.”

  Tyler laughed nervously in response, and Garrick smirked. He knew he would be terrified if he were in Tyler’s position, but he was having fun being the brave one for once. Of course, it was easy to be brave when there didn’t seem to be any consequences. The worst that could happen was he get some scrapes which healed in an hour. Tyler had a lot more to risk if he explored a decrepit old house.

  “You know,” Garrick started earnestly, “It’s totally okay if you want to stay outside. I can keep looking around on my own and have you as back-up.”

  “Right,” Tyler laughed, “There’s not a chance. My curiosity greatly outweighs my fear for my life.”

  “I’ll keep you safe,” Garrick laughed. He wouldn’t have allowed Tyler to walk inside if he thought there was any chance anything would happen to him. Having wandered around the house, though, he was confident it would stand, at the very least.

  Tyler laughed, and Garrick led him into the house. They walked back toward the living room, sticking close to the wall, testing doors until he found a staircase that led down to the basement. Garrick couldn’t hide the excitement as he started to believe this was exactly what he’d been looking for.

  Tyler followed him as he descended the staircase. Garrick looked around – unsure of what exactly it was he needed. He’d never had to find his own place to transform before. Of course, he had his general ideas, but he wasn’t even entirely positive that the stairs would keep him down there, but it made sense to him. As long as he locked the door before he went downstairs, the wolf would have no reason to try to get out, and it wouldn’t be able to gain enough momentum to knock down the door at the top of the stairs. That was based on speculation, but he was also far enough away from civilization that the wolf wouldn’t be searching for a way out, and if it found one, it wouldn’t run into town.

  “This is petrifying,” Tyler muttered.

  “This, Tyler, is perfect.”

  “Yeah, I know. Perfection doesn’t change the fact that it’s harrowing. Honestly, I think the fact that the two of us are standing here discussing this place as a viable option for anything only serves to add to the sinister vibe.”

  “Fair enough.”

  Garrick snapped a picture of the room and sent it to Chase. Although he wasn’t convinced Chase would actually go there with him, he wanted to prove that there was another option. He looked around, satisfied with himself. He had proven Aldric wrong. There was another way. Garrick had found his own method, and he felt victorious.

  “Great, so that’s done,” Tyler blurted out eagerly. “Let’s make our way back home and guarantee that you never have to make use of this place.”

  Tyler seemed so confident that there was a way to cure Garrick’s ailment. Although Garrick wasn’t sure if he believed it himself, it was definitely worth looking into. Not that he hadn’t before, but what he was doing wasn’t working. He could fight against the change all he wanted, but he knew that it would never actually stop the beast. Maybe the two of them could find something that would. The worst thing that could happen was that nothing worked, and Garrick was stuck in the same place where he was already trapped. The best case, though, was that he would find a way to ensure that he never had to worry about the wolf again.

  “Yeah,” Garrick affirmed. He actually started to believe that he could be human again. That he could find some way to get rid of this curse.

  Chapter 8

  Fifteen months ago

  Garrick sat with Hayden in front of her television, willing away the boredom. There was nothing he liked more than spending time with her, but that didn’t make him a fan of her taste in movies. Since they’d started dating, he’d only been inside her house a few times, but her mother and Caleb were gone for a few days touring a college a few towns over, so Hayden had asked him to bring over a romantic comedy to watch with her.

  He sat next to her, his arm wrapped around her. She was lying on his chest with her legs resting on the couch behind her. The sm
ell of her hair wafted up toward him. That was something Garrick could never get tired of. Her hand was flat on his chest, just over his heart; a perfect symbol for their relationship – his heart was in her hands.

  “Are you comfortable?” she asked, turning her head from the screen to look into his eyes. She seemed to be enjoying the film far more than Garrick was, so for her to divert her attention felt like an honor. He smiled and looked down at her, brushing her hair behind her ear. She inched even closer to him.

  “As long as I’m holding you, I don’t think I can be uncomfortable,” he told her. Of course, he was aware that most of what he said around her felt cheesy, but it didn’t alter the validity. Garrick was just thankful that he found a girl who appreciated his failed attempts to be smooth.

  She nuzzled her head deeper into his chest, burying herself. Garrick gently ran his fingers through her hair.

  After a few more minutes, she sat up next to him. Scooting close to him, she then planted a kiss firmly on his cheek. He turned to face her and kissed her back. Time froze as he gazed into her eyes.

  Her expression was pensive, as though she were trying to formulate a thought. He couldn’t tell what it was, but also didn’t want to press the issue and ask her about it. He decided to just let her say whatever it was that came to mind. If she wanted to tell him, she could. Still, he was starting to get worried. She kept taking breaths as though attempting to start a sentence, opening her mouth slightly to form the words, but then stopping short. For the first time in their relationship, Garrick was witnessing Hayden speechless.

  “Garrick,” she finally said, still hesitant.

  “What?” he responded as patiently as he could, attempting to conceal his racing heart.

  “I love you.”

  Garrick’s breath caught in his throat, and for a moment his vision blurred. He couldn’t process the words, although their meaning seemed clear. Neither of them had spoken those simple words yet, but he’d felt it for a long time. Garrick had just spent countless hours waiting for the perfect moment – trapping himself in his mind with the fear of scaring her away. Now, she’d finally said it, and he couldn’t bring himself to respond. She stared at him expectantly, clearly as nervous as he’d been only moments before. Garrick mustered up all his courage to force a reply.

  “I love you too,” he stuttered, tripping over the words. As he said them, he felt himself get lighter. The metaphorical weight on his chest was replaced by a physical one as she pressed herself closer to him and kissed him.

  Hayden stood, leaving the movie to play as she grabbed his arm and gently pulled him to his feet. Entranced, he stumbled to his feet, not quite convinced he believed his reality. Garrick forced himself to follow her though his legs shook with each step. At the doorway to her room, she let go of his arm and turned to face him again. Gently placing her hands on his cheeks, she pressed her lips against his. Garrick refused to let himself believe any thoughts racing through his mind, and he just tried to focus on the moment.

  Hayden’s arms slid down his face, wrapping tightly around his waist as she backed up, pulling him with her. She turned around and nudged him, pushing him onto the bed. Sitting on the bed, he looked up at her, masking his disbelief. She stood over him, looking deeply into his eyes. Garrick’s heart was pounding, and he didn’t know what to do. He’d never felt this way about anyone, and he felt like any action he took could completely ruin everything. However, he was equally concerned a lack of action would be interpreted as a lack of interest, and he’d ruin it that way.

  “Are you sure?” he asked – finally deciding on a course of action. He didn’t want her to take any step she wasn’t ready for, or to start doing something because she felt like she should.

  Hayden didn’t respond. She just smiled as she climbed onto the bed, straddling him on her knees. She leaned down and kissed him again.

  Present

  11 days until the full moon

  “You are not going to that house, Tyler,” Garrick said adamantly. “I don’t care if the king of werewolves showed up and told you that was the only way you could cure me.”

  “There’s a king of werewolves?”

  “I have no idea if there’s a king of werewolves.”

  “You’ve deceived me, Garrick Elliott. I trusted you,” he smiled. Garrick didn’t return the gesture. His friend had gone completely crazy, and he wasn’t going to support it.

  “Listen, a vast majority of the possible cures I’ve found require you to be in your wolf form. I want to help you.”

  “Yeah, well find a way that doesn’t involve me eating you,” Garrick quipped.

  Tyler’s desk was covered in books, most of which he’d already read through at least once. There were open books strewn across the room, left open to pages with morsels of information Tyler had deemed worth retaining. Garrick couldn’t imagine how much time his friend had poured into that research over the past few days. He was starting to get concerned for his friend’s sanity.

  Tyler and Kayla had broken up once again a few days before, and it seemed apparent that he was using Garrick’s condition as a distraction. That, combined with his innate desire to help, made a dangerous combination.

  “Hey, Tyler,” Garrick spoke up. “Are you alright?”

  “What do you mean?” Tyler asked, avoiding eye contact by keeping his focus on the book.

  “About Kayla.”

  “I’d prefer to focus on this,” Tyler responded shortly. He covered a cough before returning his attention to his book. The constant movement was bound to be taking a toll on Tyler, but the best Garrick could do was be there, and make his appreciation as clear as possible. Maybe all Tyler needed was a distraction, but Garrick was determined to at least be present and ready in case he needed to talk.

  They were both silent for a while. Tyler had found a multitude of ways to cure a werewolf. Garrick knew that most, if not all, were just rumors. One was to call the beast’s name when it was in the shape of a wolf. He shot that down instantly. He’d said Hayden’s name before while they were changing. Anyway, he wasn’t even there when the beast took over, it didn’t make sense that he would be able to respond just because he heard his name. Of course, there was a nagging idea in his mind that it was still a possibility, but he refused to put Tyler at risk – so there was no chance he’d allow his friend to get close enough to speak to him.

  Tyler had conceded that that one wasn’t likely, so he suggested another. This one required him to draw blood from the wolf. Garrick doubted it was that simple. If it was, the hunters wouldn’t kill wolves, they’d just cure them. Even if it was a cure, though, it would once again require Tyler to get too close for comfort. He would most likely end up tearing his best friend to pieces, and he doubted Tyler would actually be able to harm a werewolf.

  “Who turned you?” Tyler asked, finally breaking the silence. He turned to Garrick, holding a closed book with his finger marking a page.

  “I don’t know,” Garrick said. “The night is such a blur, and I couldn’t tell which is which. It could have been any of them.”

  “Well, I suppose that negates this option,” Tyler said with a sigh. Garrick looked over his shoulder. He couldn’t believe Tyler had even thought about that one – killing the one who had scratched him. This author actually had a lot of information on the topic, and they claimed that when the one who scratched him was killed, his scar would slowly fade, and so would the rest of his wolf powers. Even if that were the case, he was not going to kill the people who’d been in his pack. That wasn’t who he was.

  “Any ideas that don’t involve homicide? Or at least not me committing it? That’s the whole reason we got into this mess in the first place,” Garrick said, recognizing the irony. He had tried to escape the curse because he was afraid he had killed and may do it again, and the most plausible theory to stop him was to simply have him kill someone else.

  “Alright,” Tyler said as they finished reading that section, “I may have been a bit eager
. I just saw the phrase ‘confront the wolf who scratched you,’ and assumed it would be viable.”

  “No, I know,” Garrick sighed, dropping his head back and closing his eyes. He took a deep breath and sat up straighter again. “I’m sorry. I know you wouldn’t expect me to kill someone.”

  “Here’s another possibility,” Tyler offered after reading a few more pages.

  “What?” Garrick asked. He knew that it was almost definite that Tyler was wrong, but he still allowed the smallest amount of hope to seep through into the question. He peered over Tyler’s shoulder.

  “So, Romans believed that if you completely exhaust yourself, you can rid yourself of the curse.”

  “You want me to run off the wolf?”

  “Don’t say it like that, it sounds significantly less convincing.”

  “I have to go meet up with Sammi,” Garrick groaned as he checked the time. “I told her I’d walk her home from work again. Meet me at the gym in two hours.”

  “Finally, another solution warranting an experiment.”

  “You can’t count the first one,” Garrick argued jokingly. While he was still more than a little bitter about the garlic, he was able to look back and see the humor in it. At least their first experiment set a low bar both in efficacy and Garrick’s desire to participate.

  “How can we gauge success?” Tyler asked. “Shouldn’t we wait until it’s closer to a full moon?”

  “I’ll know if it’s going to work, trust me.” He wasn’t lying; he knew that he’d be able to feel it. He always felt the wolf just underneath the surface. If somehow the beast weakened, he’d know that it had worked. While he didn’t believe that it would for a second, anything was worth a shot.