Animalistic

by Nunn, Alexis

  Robert patted me on the shoulder, turned, and headed back inside his house. Feliks came loping around from the Manchester house, dragging a thick branch in his jaw and trying not to trip on the slipping sweater sleeves. Someone had rolled them up to his elbows so they couldn’t get in his way, but they were wiggling loose. I came forward.

  Feliks saw me and started wagging his tail. He lifted his head and showed off his branch. I took it from him, but he still couldn’t talk to me. At any point, Beverly might catch us conversing.

  We added that branch to the pile for the fire. I figured we needed thicker wood for starting it. We needed a heavy base for the center. We had logs stored up for kindling but I am pretty sure Robert is using that for his stove.

  “Feliks, I think we need to go out and find better wood. I’ll get a backpack and come back, okay?” I waited and he indicated that he understood me. He stayed where he stood while I walked off back to my house.

  I absentmindedly scratched around my neck during my search for my stuff. The shirt slowly became more tolerable. The pants were loose in the crotch like always, but I didn’t really care. They were long enough to actually come below my ankles. Having slim hips and long legs made shopping horrible. Women’s clothes weren’t made for me and if they were, I could bet it’d take an entire month’s paycheck to buy them. That’s why I was just better off wearing Feliks’s clothes (though those pants still ran short) or my father, Ulf’s, old clothes that Mother still had. These pants were good enough to roam around in and be suitable for the wilderness.

  My recurve was lying in the corner of the living room, just beside the counter where the kitchen began. The quiver and four arrows were behind it. I knew my backpack was in a hallway closet and my gun was inside of it, so I wouldn't have to search long. I slung the quiver over my shoulder and picked up the bow. I carried it out to the hall and set it down just long enough to grab the backpack. I didn’t need the pack for survival, more concerned about using it to carry the wood back. A backpack of bonfire wood would be more fruitful that the twigs and sticks Feliks was collecting. Thin scrap wood and sticks would burn up in minutes. The bonfire would die. That’s not the kind of party we wanted for Robert.

  TWENTY-FOUR

  I met Feliks back by the pile of sticks. I fixed his sweater while I was at it before we headed out. Robert saw us from his door, knowing exactly what we were planning on doing, and gave us an approving nod. We left after I gave him a thumbs up.

  Feliks lead the way, tail swishing against my leg. He carried himself confidently with his head up high and strides long and even. The longer peach fuzz on the back of his ears swayed with each trot and the fur along his neck that poked out from the collar of the hoodie started to become more buoyant than him. His scars and nicks were covered by the hoodie, all except the ones on his head and tail. Lewis surprised us both by not asking about those scars more in depth. I stopped watching Feliks scamper ahead of me and began scoping the underbrush of the growth beside the trails for wood.

  “I think I know where we can get some wood. Out in the direction of the general store, towards the clearing. I remember there being a lot of fallen trees and logs we can use.”

  The spot I pictured was a fork in the trail. In the triangle of the fork was where I remembered the wood being. The left trail headed out where Feliks and I came from and the discovered werebie nest. The right trail took the hiker out to a blocked stream and an incline. We stopped going far out on the left trail because the smell of werebies irritated Feliks so bad. The only place any of us had encountered a werebie on during a survey patrol was that one. That’s where Feliks faced off a bobcat werebie and on the other side Robert and I watched a deer get infected.

  Feliks aimed his head back to me, not turning his body. His ear with the nick twitched, “The fork? You want to go out there? It’s decently far out and we might get attacked.”

  “It won’t take long. Just swing by, get wood, and get out.”

  “You better-”

  There was an echo of a twig snapping. A shadow passed over a nearby tree. Feliks sprung into defense mode, body rigid and ears jumping forward. I took the bow that was hanging around my shoulder into my hands and pulled a bullet point arrow from the quiver. I slid it in place while pointing my back away from the approaching danger.

  Feliks bared his teeth, starting to dart around his head. He lost track of the sound. I signaled to my left for us to leave. Feliks inclined his head to the left first to determine if he could hear sounds of threats but got nothing. He closed his mouth and ran down the way without a sound. I kept my bow armed but kept the arrowhead pointed down. We walked at a brisk pace to put room between us and whatever caused the noise. After approximately two minutes, I turned my back and continued down the path.

  The forest grew darker as clouds started to block the streaming light from the trees. Feliks’s tail was all I could see at times. His fur blended him into the shadows of the forest. There was only the tan underbelly to distinguish him from the darkness.

  I stopped watching where I was stepping and stayed transfixed on the swing of his tail. My poor choice was highlighted when my boot sank into a watery puddle of mud. The puddle wasn’t a problem, just a small speed bump on my cruise, but took me long enough to get distracted. The mud covered the hem of my jeans and completely covered my boot. There was not options for me beside either forget it or stop and clean it off.

  While it was wet, I extended my leg and fervently shook it. The foot oscillated at the ankle and I winced when I hurt myself by doing that yet I had succeeded. The mud flung off my boot and just left a slick film over the leather. I couldn’t do much about the pants. When Feliks and I got back to town and got our wood I would have to clean it with hot water.

  Fuck.

  Where was he? How long had I stopped to mess with my damn shoe? You’ve lost your brother again. No, I didn’t. I know exactly where we are. I know exactly where I’ll find him. You knew he was on the hill, too. Look at where that got you. Feliks getting changed wasn’t my fault. Maybe if I was there I could’ve deterred the werebie from attacking. I could’ve protected him better. It was my fault.

  One of us might be in danger again because of how foolish I was. My heart started to fight against my body. I could understand why it would. I would try to escape from me too if I could. If the loudness of the drumming of my pulse could send signals, I knew each monster in this forest would descend upon me like vultures on fresh blood-soaked roadkill. Given the chance, I would crush the damned thing in my eager fist but my heart would flow through my fingers with its iron will and continue to beat despite the pressure. I would always keep going on even when the light dimmed; I didn’t like it.

  The backs of my shoulders started to shiver and the skin of my scrawny neck felt heavy and heated. My tongue felt swollen, almost choking me. This fear arose from the center of my body and trickled out through each vein to poison me completely.

  I thought I was running because of the feeling of chilly air rushing into my face and the circulation around me but in reality I was stiff in my place. The bow slowly went limp and was only held by my curled fingers. Then the forest became silent.

  The silence was not deafness but instead a type of horrible bliss. My ears could hear but were content with no longer listening.

  I could see the trees thin out and grow taller. I saw the branches drop and glisten with the frost. The air was freezing and the breeze hurt my skin. The ice pinched all along my face and bit into my spine. Wispy snow crawled up my legs and the crunch of paws on frost overtook the silence.

  Feliks was screaming. My feet couldn’t keep up with the adrenaline pulling at them. I felt the knife in my hand and I rose it above my head with my fist curled firmly around the handle. On top of the world, the werebie was lunging at Feliks. His hair caught in the beast’s mouth, he couldn’t escape. It pushed itself down on him, despite his furious kicking.

  His left arm reached out in desperation to grab a tent s
upport pole, anything to ward it off. The shepherd growled a demented laugh with blood in its mouth and bit down on his tensed shoulder. He reared his back up, trying to roll the monster off but it bit down into his chest, connecting with ribs and latching on. Feliks doubled over, turning from offensive to defensive. The werebie snarled, letting go of his side and bit into the flesh of his left cheek. The front paws kept his face pressed into the snow while the back started to dig under his skin and clothes. While the beast was distracted, Feliks caught the freed tent pole and thrust it under the werebie’s neck. It pierced the hide and made it release Feliks from its fury. It went rolling off of my brother and flopped down the hill with a whine.

  Feliks was starting to convulse in the snow. He started to scream out again but a vile red bubbled out instead. Steaming blood and essence of life leaked from his mouth and body into the mush. Feliks brought what was left of himself up and tried to stand but could only manage to leap farther downhill. His legs kicked out and he felt around his throat, instinctively trying to dislodge the pressure causing him to choke. There was no progress. The urgency I felt to move forward and save him was unprecedented but I was stuck in my place like glue, as if my feet were part of the ground and my body was encased in cement.

  The ridge of his nose snapped and he winced as it began to curve. His jaw elongated and his skull started to reshape. The blood poured out of him while he writhed in the snow trying to breathe or die altogether. On his back, he was dizzy from blood loss and weakly watched the fingernails of his paw thicken and become black claws at the same time as his fingers swelled and shortened. The hair that covered his arms thickened and covered him all over as fur. The blackness of spoiled blood leaked from his side as well as spilling from his gaping jaws. The legs cracked and he jumped up with another convulsion.

  Feliks went tumbling down the hill, limp as what felt like the last grasp on life left him.

  But I wasn’t there. My skin was warm and the only breeze was myself rocking. I was back to the forest by the houses. Feliks was not too far out and surely by now he had noticed that I was no longer trailing behind him. Our home stayed about ten minutes away. I could easily get to safety in an emergency. Overreacting wasted my time.

  The noise from before echoed behind me. Great. I was so distracted I forgot about the danger of being out here alone. With a tight grip on my bow, I jogged to where I thought I could find Feliks.

  The faster I moved, the more I began to notice following footsteps. I sped up, testing out if I was hallucinating or if I was actually hearing something, then stopped abruptly. The crunching of leaves didn’t stop at the same time as myself. There was no hesitation between hearing that and the time it took me to beginning running down the beaten path.

  “Hey!” A female voice called out behind me but I was too far down the path to hear them.

  Air could only give me a passing glance as I tore down the path. My legs already burned from being unused like this for so long and my lung were screaming for me to stop. I was a horrible runner, one of my weakest areas. My legs were long and slim but my body didn’t like to use them as intended. Perhaps it was my larger feet and thick boots that made my running clumsy, making my legs heavy. I should admit that my attire was restrictive for the physical activity.

  The backpack slammed down on my shoulder blades and made me wheeze for oxygen after only a few minutes. By necessity, I finally stopped. My eyes were burning like hell but I kept them open and looked around.

  The fork in the path was right up ahead, but I saw Feliks nowhere. He wasn’t where I thought he would be. That tingly fear was clogging up my throat again.

  I took a step back, trying to take deep breaths to dislodge the fear. With regulated breathing, I examined my surroundings. I kept my bow armed and ready, not sure if I should take out my gun or not. There were tall weeds halfway up the trees on both sides of me. I saw where the wood was by the fallen oak in the curve of the split path. However, off to the right, in the direction of the water, I saw a break in the grass. The mud had grooves scratched into it and the weeds were smashed down. I took a well educated guess where Feliks was.

  I could hear whining the closer I got. On top of the whining, I could make out muted grumbling and shuffling around.

  “Fel?”

  A bark. A cough.

  “Are you down there?”

  “Get me out of here!” Feliks yelled.

  I walked over to the space in the foliage and peered down at what look like a hidden well. The bottom was covered by branches and vines. Most of the things in the pit was dead or half-dead, like Feliks. Joking aside, I could tell he wasn’t able to get out.

  “What happened?” I asked.

  He growled, kicking his legs, “I was looking for you. I turned around and slipped on mud. Where were you! Get me out!”

  I set down my bow and took off the backpack. When I got down on my knees, I discovered that even my arms were not long enough to reach him. I got on my belly, feeling the mud soak onto the shirt, and tried to reach down again. I was still too far away to get to Feliks.

  I could see the whites of his eyes get wider each time I tried to get to him but each time he whined in defeat when I went back above ground. That was when I got an idea.

  “How strong is your bite? Are your teeth strong?”

  “What?” Feliks barked.

  “I’m going to send down my bow. Bite it and hang on. I might be able to pull you up.”

  He squinted, wagging his tail. The dog took a few minutes to think about it. I impatiently waited for his answer and got a head shake.

  “Why won’t you even try?” I groaned.

  “My teeth feel loose. I don’t want to lose them.”

  I didn’t have any other ideas.

  “Hey. Lene!” I jumped, turning around.

  Fadiyah was waving at me, leading the way for Lewis. She smiled, “I saw you earlier. You ran.”

  “Thought you were a werebie.”

  Fadiyah lifted her shoulders and shrugged, “That’s understandable.”

  Lewis stepped up beside her, grinning like a fool towards me, “Hey you.”

  I smiled back, then looked back down to the hole. I gave him a gesture to not talk and told Fadiyah what had happened. She frowned, concerned.

  “He can’t get out?”

  Fadiyah came to my side, peering over the edge like I had. She saw how Feliks was curled on his back and tail across his belly. Feliks mouthed ‘help’ to her and she nodded.

  Lewis came by my other side and put his hand on my shoulder, which I brushed off. He looked down at Feliks with pity, “Poor thing. He must be too old to wiggle free.”

  That offended Feliks.

  “He’s not old,” I tried not to be distracting from the real issue but I had to.

  “For a dog, he is,” Lewis looked confused. Fadiyah started to say something to him but stopped when she remembered he thought Feliks was only an average dog.

  Feliks panted, watching us up above. Lewis shook his head, “I don’t know how I can get him out either. Maybe we should think that we can’t-”

  “We are getting him out.”

  We both glared at him. The teen looked surprised. He looked down at Feliks and back to me, “Are you kidding? Someone would have to get down in there to get out. I’m not wasting my time doing that for just a dog.”

  “You selfish bastard! I hate you,” The truth was not hard to say to him. The very idea of leaving Feliks behind in a hole angered me and made my temper start to pick up again.

  But that last statement made him soften. Everything about him suddenly seemed to change. He was different, eyes wide and his mouth open.

  “Don’t hate me. Fine! I’ll get down there. For you” Lewis stated with a burst of energy.

  He turned to the hole, looking for a spot to jump down to but saw he would have to use his legs to hold him on the sides. With his newfound courage, he descended. Fadiyah gave me a humorous look and then looked away with what almost
seemed like a blush. Whatever she was thinking about was funny to her. I didn’t find anything funny right now.

  Lewis was almost all the way into the hole by that point. Fadiyah and I watched him carefully. The teen balanced himself while grabbing Feliks’s front paws. Lewis tugged on Feliks’s paws and pulled Feliks up far enough for him to slide his foot in. Using his leg as something to prop up Feliks, he helped get him on his paws. The constricted space made it tremendously difficult for either of them to move around, let alone both try to work together.

  Yet, Feliks managed to whip himself around. Once he was stable on his legs, Feliks used Lewis’s shoulders to stand on. With another foot to go, Feliks would soon breach the surface and come out of the ground. Now we had two beings to get out of a hole and yet I was only concerned about the fluffier one, although that might apply for Lewis’s hair too. Alright, I care about the canine hybrid one.

  Flecks of dirt kept sprinkling down on the pair as they moved around. The whipping of Feliks’s tail knocked most of the loose dirt onto them. I could see the waist of his hoodie starting to ride up from friction between the pair. I flinched when I saw that, worried that a well-meaning hand might graze over Feliks’s scars and feel the outline of ribs. It was a lucky chance the facial injuries were just brushed off but the body ones were a dead giveaway for a werebie.

  “Darylene, be ready to grab him,” Lewis called up.

  I saw what he was planning to do, so I crouched down by the hole. I was now able to get a better reach to grab Feliks. We locked eyes and prepared for whatever stunt Lewis was about to pull.

  Lewis held onto the sides of Feliks’s hips and thrust him upwards towards us, giving Feliks just enough of a hint to jump with his front paws as well. I swiped at him, grabbing around his neck and holding onto his hood while Fadiyah had the waist of the hoody in her hands. With Feliks more suspended, Lewis pushed up from below and held his paws. Feliks yelped when Lewis pressed to harshly on his more exposed ribs. Fadiyah and I quickly dragged him onto the muddy ground before something went wrong with our plan. The rescue caused us to put pressure on Feliks’s throat. He laid there coughing and stretching his legs. When he started to mumble something to us, he yelped and stopped himself. I gave him a warning glance before standing up.