by J. B. Garcia
I finally have a name for my gift, I am a Mystic. The years of being called crazy and being treated like garbage are over and now it’s time for everyone to see that I am not a liar or crazy. My gift is real and I am going to prove it. I will finally be around other people like me and my life will have meaning and purpose.
I walk to the bathroom and look into the mirror. My red hair is so frizzy and untamable. I run a brush through it trying to get it as flat as I can and apply what little make up my mother allows me to wear. I can’t stop the feeling of excitement that is growing inside me. It’s going to feel so wonderful to finally be accepted. My whole life while be changed forever. After looking myself over once more in the mirror, I walk out of the bathroom and head down stairs. My mother is waiting for me at the bottom of the stairs tapping her foot with her arms crossed. “Finally! Are you ready?” I nod my head yes and we head out the front door. We load up into the car and drive to the Town Square. Night has already fallen and the full moon is out. The whole town is in the square celebrating. It’s an age old tradition that was started when the town was founded. It’s the celebration of the beginning of summer. My mother parks the car and we step out. Everyone walking to the Festival from the parking lot turns back and stares at me. Whispers break out in the crowd. Ever since I shared my visions I have been treated as an outsider and a freak. There is no one in this town that accepts me. All but one, my friend Michelle. She has been my best friends since I can remember. We are together almost every day and it’s almost impossible to keep us apart but since she met James I have been seeing less and less of her. I can’t help but feel the sting if jealousy. I am glad that she has found someone to make her happy but since she found out she was pregnant everything has changed. I offered to tell her the sex of the baby but the vision I got was not what I expected. I was shown that she was like me, a Mystic, and that she would be taken from Michelle by a woman who was half wolf. I had never seen anything like it before in my life. I didn’t understand it until Katarina came to me and explained their world. Michelle’s child was destined for something great. Of course she doesn’t believe what I told her but after tonight I think she will come to terms with it. How could she not? I walk through town square looking for her but Michelle and James are nowhere to be found. I wanted to tell her everything and have her with me for the awakening. I was told to find a place where I would not be disturbed. I had to be in the location of my choice before midnight. At the strike of 12 the full moon would cast down its light and I would finally be awakened. The only problem was getting away from my mother. Because the whole town turned against me, she won’t let me out of her sight for more than an hour. I look down at my watch and see that its 11:15pm. I need to find a way to get away from her. I still have not seen Michelle or James anywhere. I can’t believe that she isn’t here yet. She is so consumed with James that she doesn’t even think of me. It’s my birthday and she doesn’t even care to be with me. Anger starts to fill my heart and radiate through my whole body. I look to my mother who is talking to one of her friends, “Mom, I am going to find Michelle.” I have to lie to her to get away. I don’t have much time and I have a long way to walk to get to a secluded location. She looks down to me and says, “Alright but don’t be gone long. I don’t want to loss you in the crowd.” I nod my head yes and turn around and walk slowly away. Once I get out of her sight I begin to run.
There is a field that is just out of town where no one ever goes to. Unless there is a high school party or something like that but since the Festival is going on, it will be empty. I feel like I have been running forever when I finally reach the field. There is no one here. The moon is so large tonight. It’s casting down a blue haze over the field. The field is covered with green grass as far as I can see with one large tree in the center. I looked down at my watch and see that it is 11:55pm. It’s almost time. I find a spot and lie down in the soft grass and stare up at the white moon. This moment is going to change my life forever and my excitement is overwhelming. As I lie in the dew soaked grass I think of Michelle. Tears begin to pool in my eyes. I can’t understand why she wouldn’t be with me tonight. It’s all James fault. He has poisoned her mind and made her turn against me. I know it’s him…
My thoughts are broken by the sound of a low growl. I look down at my watch and its 11:58pm. If I move now, I risk my awakening. The growl is getting louder and louder. Finally I sit up and turn around. A huge black wolf is towering over me. Its eyes are a piecing cobalt blue; lips are drawn up showing his blood stained teeth and his ears are pinned back. I am pierced with fear and cannot move. This is supposed to be my night to become who I truly am and now I am staring death in the face. I have never seen a wolf this large before. It walks around me never breaking its gaze. Once it is directly in front of me it pounces on top of me. I let out a terrifying scream of pain as it sinks its teeth into my hip. The pain is over whelming. Fire is flowing through me and my skin feels as if it is being ripped from my body. The moon casts down a soft white light over my body. The wolf immediately releases my flesh ripping pieces of skin away with its teeth. I scream out in pain but unable to move. He throws his head back dripping blood on my face and releases a deafening howl and its rips across the silent field. It lowers it huge head and looks into my eyes. I can’t move, the burning sensation is still ripping through my body. I just stare back and hope he will be done with me. He leaps over my body and runs off into the night. I look up to the moon and the soft light is covering my entire body. I feel the warmth of my blood pooling around my back. My vision becomes blurry and I close my eyes. I feel the cool light of the moon caress my body and absorb into my skin. The burning from the wolf bite begins to lessen then I hear Michelle scream, “Denise Oh my god, what happened!” She begins shaking my body but I have no strength to respond or move. I have lost too much blood and I can feel my body failing. I feel the warm summer breeze kiss my skin and I fear that this is the last time I will ever feel it. All I can think about is my once chance to live in a place where I would be accepted is being taken away from me. Anger fills my heart and I slip into darkness.
***
There is a small white light illuminating in the distance. Darkness surrounds me and all I can see is the small white light. It begins to float closer and grow large in size. For some reason I am not afraid. I remember the wolf and my awakening. I must have died. What other explanation could there be. The light comes closer and closer until I see the outline of a person. The light is so bright that I cover my eyes. A soft voice calls out my name, “Denise…Denise uncover your eyes child.” I lower my hand from my face and see it’s a woman. She is the most beautiful woman I have ever seen. She has long black raven hair, an elegant floor length white dress and a crown that is covered in diamonds. I muster the courage to speak, “Who are you.” She smiles and says, “I am Queen Renee and I have come to determine your place in our world.” My heart begins to race, “So I am not dead?” She lets out a gentle laugh, “No child you’re not dead. The awakening was successful but you were bite by a werewolf. I will not affect my decision today but it is something that you will need to learn about and control. There will be a guide sent to you to teach you how to control it.” My stomach begins to turn after hearing this. “What is going to happen now?” She walks towards me and places her hand on my chest. “Now we will see if you’re worthy to join the Royal Court.” She closed her eyes and I do the same.
It is silent for a long moment and I begin to think of Michelle. If she would have been there with me then I would have never of been attacked. I don’t want to be a werewolf. This is all her fault. Rage begins to boil inside me and the Queen pulls her hand away from me. I open my and she does the same. She clasps her hands together and says, “I’m sorry Denise. You will not be joining the Royal Court. You have hate in your heart.” My mouth drops open and tears begin to fall from my eyes, “What does that mean!? I don’t have hate! This was my one chance to live happy and be accepted and you’re going to take t
hat from me!?” Renee’s face changes to annoyance and she replies, “Although you accepted your gift and tried to share it, you hate it in your heart. You blame the fact that you were turned on by your own people because of it. You have vengeance building inside you with no chance for forgiveness to grow. This shows me that you’re not worthy to be on my Royal Court. I am sorry Denise. Goodbye.” She begins to illuminate and float back into the darkness. I scream out to her, “Please you can’t do this to me. Don’t leave me here!” The light has faded from site and I feel my body being pulled down. I still can’t see anything. I struggle to stay where I am but the force is to strong. I feel the sensation of falling and then I hit the flat of my back on a hard surface.
I open my eyes and see Michelle staring down at me. I sit straight up and feel my hip where I was bite by the wolf. The wetness of blood is all over me but the wound is gone. I look to Michelle and she scoots away from me. “Denise what happened to you?” I feel my heart grow cold and rage fill every inch of my soul. I open my mouth and scream at her, “Where were you?! I almost died because of you! I was denied the only home I have ever wanted because of you!” Michelle looks back at me confused and hurt. She has no idea what has happened but I cannot bring myself to explain anything to her. I have so much anger inside me that I just want to get away. I stand up and begin to sprint back to town. I feel my body going faster than I have ever gone before. The world around me has seemed to slow down as I speed through the field.
I make it back to town in minutes. Everyone is still celebrating and this only fuels the fire to my rage. I see my mother in the crowd dancing and enjoying herself. The moment that she sees me she stops and stares. One by one people in the crowd turn and face me. Everyone is staring at me whispering. I can’t take it anymore and I yell out, “Why is every staring at me?! You haven’t tortured me enough! Stop staring!” My mother starts to speed walk towards me. She has a scowl on her face am I know that I am going to get the ‘your embarrassing me’ speech. Once she reaches me she grabs my arm and starts pulling me away from the crowd. I don’t resist and follow her. She takes away to alley by town square. “Denise what happened you!? You’re covered in blood!” I look down at the clothes and they are covered in my own blood. I had totally forgotten about it. I remember the drips of blood that landed on my face from the wolf’s mouth. I reach up and feel wetness on my cheeks. I look at my mother and she is terrified of me. I am sure that she thinks that I murdered someone. Before I can say anything to her, the alley begins illuminated. We look up to the sky at the same time and see full moon is directly above us and I feel my body begin to burn. The pain is getting stronger and stronger until I collapse to the ground. I hear the blood curdling scream of my mother ring in my ears. I lie on the ground and start to convulse uncontrollably. She tries to hold me in her arms but my body is thrashing too violently for her to hang on. She starts to scream, “Someone help me please! Please Help!” No one can hear us because the festival music is so loud. She lays me on the ground and runs to find help, “Hang in there Denise I am going to get someone to help you!” He hear her footsteps pounding the ground as she runs out of the alley.
The pain that is surging through my body is unbearable. I feel my back contort and then hear a loud CRACK. I scream out as pain pulses through me. My elbows twist around and snap. Some sort of hair begins to grow all over my body. Every bone in my body is breaking, moving and healing back together. My body thrashes and I pull my clothes ripping them piece by piece trying to stop whatever is happening to me. After what it feels like hours of pain, my body becomes still and I lie in the alley alone trying to catch my breath. I feel emptiness in my abdomen and then my mouth begins to water. I have the overwhelming feeling to eat. My throat begins to burn and I realize that I need to get something in my system and fast. I try and get to my feet but I cannot stand straight up. I feel as if I am walking on my hands and feet at the same time. I look down to my hands and see two large furry gray paws in their place. My heart stops. I have changed into a werewolf already? I have no idea what I am supposed to do. Where is my guide? My mother is going to be coming back to the alley any second and if she sees me like this she is going to lose her mind. The hunger that I feel has taken over every inch of my body. My legs start to move forward without my command. I try to stop them from moving but I am not in control of my own body. This werewolf shell is now forcing me out of the alley and towards the Festival. I try with all my might to stop it but the closer I get to the festival the stronger my hunger grows. I continue down the dark abandoned street towards the square passing vacant stores. I catch my reflection in shop window and I can’t believe my eyes. My body is now covered in a coat of fur. It’s grey with a black marking on my right hip. It looks like an arrow broken in half. I have no idea what this can possibly mean. I turn my head away from my reflection. I can’t look anymore. This is not what I wanted for myself. My shoulders rise and fall and I creep towards the Square. I can hear the music getting louder and louder as I get closer. Voices begin to ring out in my ears of laughing children and adults. My legs begin to sprint towards the noise and once I reach the light screams break out in the crowd.
My eyes lock on one woman who stands frozen in fear. I try to stop my legs from moving but it’s pointless. I slowly walk towards her as the towns people run away screaming in terror. My back legs launch me into the air and I land on top of the woman sinking my teeth into her shoulder. The moment the blood touches my tongue I am overwhelmed by the satisfaction it provides. The warmth of her blood runs down my throat and I want more. I clench down on the woman’s shoulder and ignore the screams of pain she lets out. There is nothing that I want more then to keep feeding the hunger I feel. I rip my head to the side and remove her arm casting it to the side. The screams soon die down from the woman and I realize that she is dead from the loss of her blood. I don’t feel anything for what I have done. No sadness or regret. All I know is that I need more and I need it now.
After I finish with her I continue my hunt. There are still flocks of people running around the town square screaming. I lock eyes on another woman…Michelle. Anger pulses through my body and I charge. This woman has taken everything from me and now I will take everything from her. I have adopted my new power and I decide to us it to the full extent. If Renee thinks that I have a black heart, then I will show her just how black it can get. I start to get a buzzing sensation in my throat. I throw my head back and let out a terrifying howl. Michelle turns and tries to run but the crowd of people panicking are making it difficult to get anywhere. This is too easy! I lunge towards her and I feel the fur that runs down my spine rise. She runs down the dark streets screaming in fright, “Please someone help me! James Help!” I can’t help but laugh inside. She is the reason that I have been cursed and I feel that it’s only fitting to return the favor.
Michelle trips and falls to the pavement. She rolls over to her back sitting up immediately scooting backwards trying to escape. Tears are pouring from her eyes and I can smell the sweet stench of fear. My paws pound the ground as I come closer to her. I can hear her heart racing in my ears and then I hear…a second heart beat. The baby pops into my mind. I forgot about her. If I kill Michelle then the baby will also die…oh well…an eye for an eye. She took away my only chance of happiness so I will take hers away. I come inches from her and the screaming stops. Everyone is gone from the square and it is just Michelle and I. There is no help coming for her. Her precious James is not here to save her. By the time anyone finds her she will be in pieces. The thought of it fuels my rage and it burns through my body. With each step I take forward she is moving back until she is backed into an empty shops door. There is nowhere to go and nowhere to hide. This is my moment of revenge. I lower my head and rock my shoulders from side to side.
Michelle raises her hand towards me and smoke begins to flow from her palm. A red glow begins to swirl and her fingers curl. Before I can think or move, fire shoots from her palm engulfing me in flames. I thrash
and roll trying to extinguish the flames. I can smell my flesh burning and the pain in unbearable. I let out howling screams and cries. I start to loss my vision then slowly start to black out. I try to hold on and put the flames out but I am losing my strength…I’m dying. The only sense that I still have is my hearing. The sound of my flesh popping and breaking open seems to echo. Then another Howl, but it’s not my own. For some reason its sounds familiar. Then I hear the sound of pounding paws running in my direction. I cannot hold on any longer and I stop fighting the darkness. It envelopes me and the pain is no more.
***
My eyes rip open and I sit up. I don’t know where I am. It looks as if I am some sort of abounded warehouse. I look down at my hands and they are no longer paws. I feel the rest of my body and realize that I am human again. I scan my surroundings and there seems to be no one around. I get to my feet and begin to walk around the large open space trying to find a way out. I am in an over sized black sweatshirt and men’s boxer shorts. Who put me in these clothes? Was last night all a dream? I look at my skin and there are no burns or scares. The last thing I remember is the pain I was in before I blacked out. The warehouse is dark, musty and all the walls are covered in spider webs. It doesn’t seem that people have been in the building for years. I turn around and look towards the back wall of the building. There is a small room that looks to be an abandoned office. There are two small broken out windows and the door is cracked open. I start to walk towards it. Maybe there is some evidence of where I am still left behind from the owners. I walk towards the building. The concrete floor is freezing on my feet. A small light illuminates one of the broken out windows in the office. I dash behind one of the large metal pillars that hold the ceiling. There is someone in there… Who could it be? Maybe they brought me here. I try and steady my heart and breathing. I male voice calls out, “I know you are out there. I saw you wake up. You can come out I am not going to hurt you.” I don’t respond and try to stay perfectly still behind the pillar. I can hear a chuckle echo through the empty room. “I can see you behind that pillar.” I let out the air I was holding and turn around. The pillar isn’t even wide enough to cover one leg let alone my whole body. God, now I look like a damn idiot. I was so terrified I didn’t even realize how tiny the pillar was. I turn around my and face is beat red with embarrassment. I can’t believe how ridiculous I must have just looked. There is a tall man standing in the door way leaning against the frame. He has golden hair, athletic body and he is so handsome it takes my breath away. I have never seen someone so prefect in my life. It doesn’t help that he doesn’t have his shirt on. My embarrassment is holding my tongue from forming any words. He motions to the office, “Do you want to come in?” I nod my head yes and walk over the cold floor to where he is. I get about a foot from him and a vision flashes in front of my eyes.