Cursed

by Brent Miller

  After embarrassingly forcing everyone to sing “Happy Birthday,” Garrick’s mom cut a cake. Though he felt that eighteen was a little old for the tradition, he wasn’t about to turn down cake.

  His phone vibrated, and he pulled it out to check it. Everyone he talked to was already in that room, so he had no idea who would be texting him.

  “We didn’t do presents. I know they make you feel awkward. But I did get you something.” Hayden. When he looked up at her, she gave him a flirty wink.

  She walked around and wrapped her arm around him as Garrick’s mother handed people cake. Most of them were werewolves, so they didn’t have to be concerned about their bodies, making sugary deserts an easy sell. The party wasn’t very eventful – everyone just talked and visited. Listening to the pack try to tiptoe around the topic of lycanthropy was both hilarious and painful, though.

  Tyler started digging through the cabinets. Having spent enough time at Garrick’s house, he quickly found a glass and a spoon and started exaggeratedly tapping them together. He started chanting “Speech,” until most of the others joined in.

  “Ugh, really?” Garrick asked.

  With that, the chanting just grew louder. Cailean, who hadn’t participated in the chant at first, joined in when he saw that it made Garrick uncomfortable.

  “Alright, Alright. I guess I just want to say thanks to everyone here. Mom, you’re always there for me, of course. Since Dad left, you’ve never stopped working, and you’ve managed to provide for me and still have time to raise me – and you’ve done an amazing job. I mean, look how great I turned out. I love you.

  “Tyler, Chase, you guys are my best friends. I feel like I can share anything with you, and you’ve been there for me through everything – all the ups and downs – especially over this past year. It’s been crazy, but thanks to you, there wasn’t one thing I had to face alone.

  “Brooke, you deserve a special thanks. Aside from being there for me, you’re there for Hayden. Any time she has to rant about the latest stupid thing I’ve done, there you are. You’re the queen of damage control, and I have no doubt you’ve saved my relationship.

  “Cailean, you’re like a brother to me. You’ve been the strangest person for me to get to know. I don’t like you most of the time, but I love you. I know that you’ll always have my back, no matter what comes our way.

  “Aldric and Linda, you two are like parents to me. I went from only having one for most of my life to having three, and it’s absolutely amazing. I know Aldric will always have some fatherly advice for anything I’m going through that I feel awkward mentioning to my mom.

  “And my beautiful girlfriend, Hayden Faye. I know this whole thing came out of that perfect mind of yours, so thank you. I know that you have had to put up with a lot from me. I’ve changed more than I can explain over the time that I’ve known you, and you’ve stuck by me and helped me through all of it. Even when I wasn’t understanding toward you, you never gave up. I love you. And I don’t deserve you.

  “Honestly, I don’t deserve any of you. But you’ve become a family to me – and you’re the best one I could have asked for. I don’t know what I’d do without each and every one of you in my life. I love you guys.”

  Present

  One day after the full moon

  Garrick walked back to the others with Cailean. Cailean had his head downcast, staring at the herb his father had placed in his hand. When he got close, Brooke wrapped him in an embrace and he weakly hugged her back.

  It was a tough moment for all of them, and Garrick didn’t want to rush it, but they were quickly running out of time – and they had to get as far away as possible, and fast. Footsteps were already resonating through the woods. He led the others to the cover of some trees, where they at least weren’t out in the open in case arrows started to fly in their general direction.

  “We have to go,” he commanded.

  They were too late. An arrow flew past him, and he assumed it had missed intentionally. All five of them dropped to the ground, covering their heads.

  “You all need to run,” Garrick ordered, looking up at them.

  “No way,” Cailean argued, “I am not running again. My father gave me wolfsbane. I can use it to buy you all some time to escape.”

  “The pack needs you,” Garrick countered. “You’re the new alpha.”

  “Garrick Elliott,” a familiar voice taunted melodically, “let’s have a chat.”

  Garrick crawled into view, giving the others time to protest or point out that it was a horrible idea. Although he knew they wouldn’t, he hoped they’d take that opportunity to run.

  “I’m here,” Garrick replied as he rose to his feet. “I know what this is about. I’m the one that killed your sister. Leave the others out of your vendetta.”

  “Oh, it’s quite the opposite,” Darren patronized, waving his hand in a performative gesture. “I’m actually going to let you live as a show of good faith. You see, we hunt werewolves because they are monsters.”

  “Who decides who the monsters are? It seems to me like it takes a heinous brute to kill innocent people just because they won’t tell you where their children are hiding.”

  “No!” Darren screamed, inexplicably passionate in proving himself. Nothing he said could justify his deeds. “Monsters kill for revenge. For anger. For fun. We hunt those monsters, and we kill only because it is our duty. We kill only when we must.”

  “You’re sick,” Garrick muttered.

  “And you’re not!” Darren replied with a short laugh. “My men saw you last night. You were a human. I don’t know how you did it, but you found a cure. You don’t have to die for them. You aren’t one of them anymore. For Samantha’s memory, because I know how much she liked you, and because I am not bound by duty, I have chosen to grant you your life. Walk away, Garrick.”

  “And leave my friends – my family – behind? No. See, you don’t understand, Darren. Whatever you think happened, you’re wrong. I am one of them. And if you want to get to my pack, you’re going to have to get through me.”

  Garrick could hear the others standing and moving behind him. He motioned for them all to run, but not a single one heeded his advice. Instead, they all walked and stood by his side.

  “Okay,” Darren shrugged dramatically. “You had your chance.”

  Moving faster than Garrick could have expected, he drew his bow and shot an arrow toward Garrick’s nose.

  Garrick blinked his eyes and suddenly he was back in the most brightly lit world he’d ever seen. All of the colors just seemed purer and more vibrant – the green of the leaves and the brown of the trunk, the blue of the sky and the dark soil beneath him.

  All of the hunters had vanished, and even his friends were gone, leaving him alone in the silence. He recognized the woods around him, but not from the waking world. This was the distorted version of the woods he’d seen in his dreams.

  However, nothing had ever seemed so refined. It was as if the fog that clouded his mind whenever he thought of that place had been lifted, and he was finally seeing it in its perfection. The thought crossed his mind that he had already died. Maybe the arrow had hit its mark, and his death had been quick and painless.

  Unsure of what to expect, Garrick glanced around the woods. Part of him expected to find the wolf come strolling through the trees, but another part was expecting to see an angel or a white light to lead him away from that world.

  Garrick heard a low panting from behind a tree to his left. At first, he took a step back when he saw the wolf. He had come to accept that what he saw was his wolf form, but it still startled him when he saw it. It stayed a few feet back, but Garrick slowly inched toward it. Even though Garrick had been much closer to it before, he had never felt so scared.

  Maybe he was just afraid of the animal because the dark colors of its fur appeared even more menacing in contrast to the purity of the world that surrounded him. Maybe it was just the feelings that he’d felt from the arrow were lingeri
ng. He couldn’t tell how long ago that had been. The concept of time didn’t exist where he was. It could have been hours, or maybe years, since he’d stood against those hunters with his friends.

  The wolf cowered near some of the trees, but Garrick reached his hand out to it and dropped to one knee, opening both of his palms, careful not to look into the animal’s eyes. It hesitantly walked toward him.

  “It’s okay,” he soothed. “It’s okay.”

  Finally, the wolf was close enough to cautiously sniff his hand. A sense of recognition seemed to wash over the animal. The wolf stood, lifting its head so it was eye level with Garrick. He stared, just for a moment, into those eyes. How could something so graceful, with such pure and innocent eyes, be so evil?

  But it wasn’t evil. It just wanted to survive. He could see that now. It was a large, powerful creature, but it was still a scared animal on the inside. There was just as much fear in the wolf’s eyes as there was in Garrick’s heart. Returning his gaze, the wolf settled down. Its ears fell back as it relaxed. Garrick’s pulse quickened as the wolf lifted its front paw, bringing it toward him. As gently as a three-hundred-pound wolf could, it placed its paw on his knee.

  “I don’t know what to do,” Garrick said. Whether or not the wolf could understand him, he was aware that he was technically talking to himself. “Aldric is dead. Am I just supposed to run? I mean, that’s what he gave his life for – but then I would be letting the people who murdered him get away. I may not be strong enough to do anything, but I have to try, right?”

  The wolf barked. Not angrily, and not even loud enough to scare Garrick. It seemed like it was simply telling him to stop babbling. It was answering him. It growled, and Garrick knew the anger was directed not at him, but at the hunters.

  “You’re right.”

  He knew he was probably crazy. Seeing things, first off, but then talking to them. That didn’t stop him, though. This was the first time that he and the wolf were fighting for the same cause; the first time he sincerely believed they were one.

  “I need your help. I can’t do this alone. I know that I’ve pushed you down and locked you away. I thought you were a monster.” That earned a whimper from his companion. “But you’re not. No more than I am. I know now that I need you.”

  Slowly and cautiously, Garrick raised his trembling hand. The wolf tensed up for a moment, but it didn’t move away. Garrick brought the hand over to his shirt and lifted the sleeve, revealing his scar. The wolf looked more at ease, just like it had last time he’d seen the scar. As he reached for the wolf, it didn’t flinch. He gently caressed the three lines on the wolf’s front leg softly. Garrick brought his hand up, resting it on the back of the wolf’s head as it leaned toward him, grazing its snout against his nose.

  Pulling his head back, Garrick stood to his feet. The creature lowered its head a bit, allowing Garrick to rest his hand comfortably atop its head. The wolf inched itself closer to him and nuzzled up to his leg. It looked up at him and its eyes were the beautiful color of the sky and licked his hand.

  Redirecting its gaze to look ahead, the wolf growled. Garrick wasn’t sure what it was seeing at first, but it quickly dawned on him; the wolf wasn’t looking at anything that was in front of it. It was thinking about the same thing he was.

  “I need you,” he told his counterpart. “Together, we can do this.”

  On pure instinct, Garrick’s hand shot up and caught the arrow that was only a few inches from his face. Without taking time to process what was happening, he snapped it in half and dropped it to the ground.

  “Tyler,” he directed without turning from the stunned hunters. “Get them out of here. You’re the only one with a weapon; I need you to make sure all of you get somewhere safe. Hayden, Brooke, Cailean, defend him. He’s still human. Protect each other.”

  “I am going to change,” Cailean argued. “I’ll fight them off. You run too, Garrick. They killed my father. I won’t let them get away with that.”

  “Don’t be stupid,” Brooke challenged. “Not even a wolf can take down twenty men.”

  She was right. There had to be at least twenty of them now, coming out of all of the trees in front of them. Each of them aimed their bows, waiting for one of the wolves to make the first move. Garrick’s display had caught them all off guard enough to buy them time for their conversation, but he knew it wouldn’t be long before the hunters launched an all-out attack. He couldn’t catch twenty arrows.

  “Aldric died for us. His sacrifice is worthless if we don’t just run,” she continued.

  “They’ll catch us if we all run,” Garrick replied. “I’m going to buy you all time.”

  “If you fight,” Hayden told him, “Then I fight. I’m going to be right by your side.”

  They all started to speak at once, arguing over whether or not they should run. Some of the hunters looked almost amused, but a few others looked scared as they trained their bows on the pack, waiting for any of them to make a slight move.

  They were all only a few inches from the trees, so in one coordinated moment, they could avoid all of the arrows. The time that it took them to reload would give Cailean enough time to change and the others enough time to get a head start.

  “That’s enough!” Garrick growled. There was more power and conviction in his voice than ever before, and he could feel something within himself changing. “You all need to go, now. I’m going to stay and fight.”

  “Garrick, please, don’t. You’ll die,” Hayden cried.

  “You won’t. I won’t let that happen.”

  “I won’t run away from you.”

  “I wasn’t asking.”

  “We’ll be fine,” Cailean added. “I have this.” Gripping it tightly in his hand, he lifted the wolfsbane so that the others could see it. “Garrick and I will each use half.”

  They were all still hesitant, but Garrick, feeling a power surge through his body, locked eyes with Hayden for a moment, and any defiance she showed in them slowly melted away. She knew that she couldn’t argue with him. Brooke, tears streaming down her face, grabbed Hayden’s arm and dragged her away. It wasn’t long before Hayden’s feet started to move with Brooke’s and they were both running. Tyler was the last to leave, breaking his gaze into Garrick’s blue eyes as he ran to defend Hayden and Brooke.

  “Well,” Darren commanded, waving his arm at the hunters, “kill them.”

  A barrage of arrows flew toward the fleeing trio, but Aldric had taught them to use the trees as cover. Brooke was shot in her shoulder and Hayden reached out her arm to block an arrow flying toward Tyler’s back, so it lodged into her arm instead.

  Those wounds didn’t slow either of them down, though, and they ran full speed into the forest. Garrick and Cailean, who’d ducked just in case some of the arrows had come their way, stood back to their feet and turned away from the others, facing the hunters.

  “Cailean, this is your last chance to run.” Garrick warned him.

  “I can’t. Not anymore.”

  “Fine. Then we fight together. Let’s finish this.”

  “My father told me not to use this unless we really had to. He said that if I had to, I would be able to control myself and fight for us. If any of us could, I would be able to. I think he was wrong,” Cailean explained, looking down at the wolfsbane

  “No, he wasn’t,” Garrick retorted, placing his hands on Cailean’s shoulders and looking him in the eyes. “You can do this.”

  “If any of us can control this long enough to hold them off, Garrick, it’s you. You need to use this. I’ll keep them back long enough for you to change, and you finish this. Avenge my father and protect our friends. Our family.”

  Cailean held his hand out and opened his palm. Garrick placed his own hand on Cailean’s fingers and pushed them closed.

  “That isn’t how this is going to happen. We aren’t losing anyone else today. You use this. I don’t need it.”

  “Garrick,” Cailean started to argue, but Garrick cut
him off.

  “We don’t have time. Hurry up and change. I’ll stand in front of you. I need you to trust me.”

  Cailean placed the wolfsbane in his mouth and fell to the ground. It didn’t take long to reload a bow, so the hunters were ready to shoot, but Garrick stood in front of his friend to make sure none of them got a good shot. Cailean’s bones shattered and reformed, his body changing shape rapidly

  “Oh, so we’re already employing our trump card?” Darren teased. “Okay, I can play dirty too.”

  “Playing dirty was when you chased my unarmed friends out here with weapons. No, this is evening the playing field,” Garrick growled, surprising even himself. As he spoke, fangs grew in his mouth. He watched his nails grow as he took on the claws of the wolf.

  Every hunter’s bow lowered, along with their jaws, as they watched Garrick’s muscles tense and relax, growing until his shirt tore. They watched in horror as the fur coated his arms, and as his legs started to stretch. His jeans tore, first at the knees, and then at a few various places along his lower legs, but they weren’t torn to shreds. Garrick howled, preparing for a battle. Regaining strength and completely transformed, Cailean strode to Garrick’s side.

  Darren’s eyes briefly widened, but he shrugged off Garrick’s new transformation. Even as Garrick towered over him, standing on two feet, a mixture of human and werewolf that he hadn’t thought possible, Darren was calm. At least, he was able to act calm.

  “You want to hear something funny, Garrick? Did you wonder where I went after I helped take your friend? You see, there was another werewolf yesterday. When you boldly waltzed to my sister’s wake, Aldric came to save you. Well, it turns out I’m not as fast as I’d thought,” he grimaced, almost amused, as he lifted the leg of his pants to reveal a scar. “No, I was scratched. So, I had to come up with a plan. I had to kill all of you, because you’d already killed me.”