“Okay then.” Eva said with a smile. “Well, goodnight and Selene—take care.”
“I will—‘night Eva.”
Evangeline climbed back into the car and, with a tired sigh, turned the key and flipped the car in reverse. She wanted nothing more than a hot shower and some sleep but she had a little further to go before that happened. She pulled out onto the main highway again heading towards Rt. 118 where Selene had recommended she stay at the Lake View Inn. Looking in the rear view mirror she waved as Selene’s image smiled back at her.
Selene waved back as she watched Evangeline drive away. That’s when she heard it— a voice—a mere whisper—floating towards her on the cool evening breeze. “Good girl.” Her smile faded immediately as she spun around, her whole body beginning to shake.
“My god, girl, you’re freezing,” her mother said as she came up behind Selene, rubbing the girl’s arms in an attempt to keep her warm. “Let’s get you inside. I’ll get you a nice hot cup of tea. I’m so glad you’re home, baby. Please tell me you’re going to stay this time?”
“I’m not goin’ anywhere ever again, momma.” Selene told her as she turned, glancing fearfully from side to side as her mother led her inside.
“I’ll get you something to eat, as well, honey.” Selene heard her mother saying but she didn’t reply because she was busy locking the front door. This girl’s not taking any chances this time, she thought. She did a quick check to secure all the windows as well before joining her mother in the kitchen.
Eva turned off the radio that Selene had insisted on listening to, enjoying some peace and quiet for the rest of her journey. She was traveling down a nearly deserted country road, the only thing on either side for miles were trees—thick and lush. She’d gone only a short distance when she began to feel—uneasy. Her eyes stared straight ahead then darted from side to side but Eva couldn’t see anything out of the ordinary—except the darkness. Even with a full moon perched high above in the night sky, the woods were bathed in a thick blanket of black. The darkness was smothering—and it was eerily quiet.
That sixth sense that made her such a good detective was sending her a warning. Something wasn’t right here. As a matter of fact something was very wrong. She was approaching a sharp bend in the road when she noticed a gravel turn off where travelers could stop and enjoy the majestic view of the surrounding mountains. Turning the wheel sharply, she pulled over and shut the car off.
Reaching onto the seat behind her, she grabbed a local paper she’d picked up at one of the rest stops with plans to read it thoroughly when she arrived at her hotel. An article on the front page had caught her eye. Savage attack in Ricketts Glen State Park was how it read. She’d perused it quickly, enough to know that a man had been viciously attacked by what could only have been a wild animal. But that was all the farther she’d read.
Now, after flipping on her overhead light, she scanned the article again. It seemed there’d been a number of vicious attacks in the area lately. The bodies, or what was left of them, had been literally torn apart—mutilated beyond recognition. The local authorities were stumped.
“Yes, there are bears in the area…” the local police chief had told the press, “…but they rarely attack humans. Same for the coyotes and a few wolves that inhabit the region as well. I’ve never seen anything in this park that can do the kind of damage that was done to these people.”
Evangeline set the paper down slowly. She remembered the mutilated body she’d seen when she’d visited Giles. Could there be some connection? she wondered, after all Moon Lake wasn’t that far away from the city. “I’ll call Shaniqua when I get to the hotel,” she said aloud then, glancing at the clock on the dashboard and the glowing numbers reading three a.m. she said, “Maybe not. I’ll call her later in the day.”
Throwing the car into reverse she backed out onto the highway again and continued on her way. She’d only driven a few feet when something flashed across her peripheral vision. Turning her head to the right, she tried desperately to see inside the depths of the thick wooded area. After glancing back and forth between the woods and the road a few times she finally saw something. There—behind that clump of trees. A long black shadow streaked along through the woods seemingly having no problem keeping pace with her black Camaro. How is that possible? she wondered. She had to be going at least seventy miles an hour. What could run that fast?
She slowed the car down a little hoping to get a better look. Something told her not to come to a complete stop. She looked again to her right and that’s when she saw it—a few feet ahead of her standing near a large tree. “What in god’s name is that thing?” she said. It vaguely resembled a wolf—but like no wolf she’d ever seen before. It was very large—as a matter of fact it was huge and it obviously had no fear of her or her car for it came straight to the edge of the woods where she finally got a good look at it. The massive body of the animal was covered in long, scraggily black fur, bulging muscles everywhere with a mouth full of long, sharp teeth. It was like something straight out of a horror movie. “Jeezus?” Eva whispered as she flipped open the glove compartment and pulled out her revolver.
All her instinct warned her to keep driving but her curiosity, something Shaniqua said would get her killed one day, was peaked. Pulling to the opposite side of the road she stopped the car. Then, making sure all the doors and windows were locked, she raised her gun aiming straight for the animal still standing in the woods across the street from her.
The animal sniffed the air, drawing its lips back over the sharp teeth as it caught her scent. She steadied the revolver; the wolf’s massive head directly in her sights when the beast turned suddenly as if some sound from behind had caught its attention. Then, with a deep growl, it turned on its heels and dashed back inside the woods disappearing from view.
“Okay Eva, what are you gonna do now?” she asked herself. She knew the smart thing would be to just head on to the Inn and report to the local authorities what she’d seen but something inside of her was urging her to follow the strange creature. “Awe hell,” she said as she reached for the flashlight also in the glove compartment. Making sure to grab some extra ammunition, Evangeline jumped from the car and ran towards the woods. Because of the size of the beast, its trail was easy to follow. She could hear it crashing through the underbrush a few yards ahead of her.
She followed quickly but was never able to actually catch up to it which was probably a good thing if she really stopped and thought about it. She followed it for a little longer until she noticed something odd. She could no longer hear the beast. As a matter of fact she couldn’t hear anything, not a twig snapping, or leaves crunching or even a cricket chirping—nothing—only silence.
Eva stopped to get her bearings, spinning around to take in her surroundings, but she saw nothing. “Where the hell did it go?” Closing her eyes she concentrated. Nothing she thought. But wait—what’s that—fighting—growling—a yelp of pain—and that smell? She knew all too well what that was. In her line of work she came across it often. Blood—and lots of it! Without thinking twice, Evangeline ran—towards what, heaven only knew. She followed the scent. She was surprised how strong it was. Her nostrils pulled it in off the night breeze like the scent of a fine wine. When did my sense of smell become so good? she wondered but she wasn’t complaining.
It led her directly to a small clearing. She stopped herself just before entering it, glancing around for any sign of the beast—or any other sort of danger. Seeing nothing out of the ordinary, she moved forward—slowly—cautiously—the revolver held steady before her. As she stepped into the clearing she froze, her mind trying to make sense of the scene of carnage spread out before her. “No,” she whispered as anger consumed her.
On the ground before her, their bodies torn and bleeding, ravaged by something long and sharp, lay the bodies of…oh my god—wolves, she thought as she stared in horror. Thre
e of them to be exact, all lying in a pool of their own blood. And there, crouched in the middle of the broken bodies, head bowed, was the kneeling figure—of a man. He heard her voice even though she’d spoken in barely a whisper. He raised his head, turning it slowly to face her. Blood red eyes blazed their fury as he took in the sight of her. Then he blinked, shaking his head as if to clear his vision—and the red spheres disappeared to be replaced by pools of deep brown.
Evangeline couldn’t move—she was frozen in shock. What—what was that? Those eyes—what is he? she wondered as she watched him rise to his full height, a stray beam of moonlight splayed across the rippling muscles of his bare back. He turned towards her, his long, dark hair falling forward across his face. He shook the hair out of his eyes, like some wild untamed animal, and Eva felt a thrill of desire course through her body.
What the hell is wrong with me? she wondered. Here she was, gun pointed, staring straight into the eyes of a man—or something—who’d just slaughtered these animals and all she could about was how gorgeous he was. She’d yet to meet the man who could take her mind off her work—or anything else for that matter. Many had tried and failed but this—this person—was something else entirely. She’d never wanted a man so badly in her life. Why—he could be a serial killer for all I know and all I can think about is what it would feel like to be held in his arms—what his lips would feel like on mine and…aw hell, she thought as the man hesitated than took a step in her direction.
That’s when she noticed his injuries. Her lustful thoughts had allowed her only to see that magnificent body of his but now she realized that he was covered in cuts and scratches. A few long gashes looked deep; his blood flowing freely from the wounds.
For some reason she couldn’t understand she started to reach out to him wanting only to comfort him but, thankfully, her common sense kicked in and she stopped herself as the detective inside of her took over. This man is dangerous. She pointed the revolver, steadying the weapon with both hands. “Not another step!” she shouted and the man stopped immediately. She studied him more closely.
He was a tall man, at least six feet, with shoulder length black hair that was tangled and matted with blood. He had on dark jeans and what was left of a black shirt. Now it was just shreds of torn material, his naked torso covered in bloody scratches where he’d been clawed and gored—probably by the very animals he’d just killed. His breathing was labored but had begun to subside to a slow steady pace as he continued to watch her. How had he survived an attack by three large wolves? she wondered. Then a moonbeam sparkled off of something and she noticed the two long daggers he held in each hand, both of their blades dripping with fresh blood.
Evangeline looked at him then at the bodies lying on the ground around him. Again she felt her anger rising. She’d always been an animal lover. Even if the wolves had attacked first they were probably just defending their home—their young. This senseless slaughter enraged her. What was this man doing alone in the woods if wild animals roamed freely? And, as far as she knew, it was illegal to hunt wolves. Even if it wasn’t, there were rules people had to follow. What sort of sadist tore an animal apart with a dagger? Any lustful thoughts she might have had a minute ago were gone now and disgust had taken their place. This was an act of senseless cruelty as far as she was concerned and she was going to do something about it.
“I only have one question before I take you in to the authorities for hunting illegal game. Why?”
A slight smile crossed the man’s face and Evangeline felt that same thrill course through her body again. Damn—he’s gorgeous, she thought then, shaking her head, she mentally reprimanded herself. Snap out of it you fool. He’d slice you up into tiny pieces just like he did the wolves if he’s given half a chance.
“I’m waiting for an answer,” she said firmly.
“Watch them closely. In a few seconds you’ll have it.”
What the hell is he talking about? Her confusion showed on her face as her gaze shifted from the man to the broken bodies lying on the ground. As she stared at them, the wolves began to shimmer then change before her eyes. Where once the wolves had lain there were now three bodies—and they were definitely human.
“Oh my god—they’re—they’re—werewolves!”
“Exactly,” came the response from somewhere off in the distance and, as she spun around, she realized the stranger had disappeared.
She raised the gun as she turned around in a complete circle searching every inch of the surrounding area for the strange man but there was no sign of him. He’d just vanished—into thin air.
“That’s impossible,” she whispered. I must be losing my mind, she thought. It’s the lack of sleep—yes, that has to be it. I need to get some rest and when I wake up I’ll find out this has all been some crazy nightmare. But she knew that wasn’t true when she looked at the three bodies, broken and bleeding and still lying on the ground before her. “Damn.”
Off in the distance another sound reached her ears. Someone’s coming. Maybe he’s coming back. She hurriedly looked around for a place to hide. She noticed a large boulder deep inside the woods surrounding by two large trees. She made a dash for it just as a large pickup truck pulled into the clearing.
There were three men inside. Evangeline watched from behind the boulder as two of the men climbed out of the truck and headed for the dead men. Each of them picked up one of the mutilated bodies, tossing it over their shoulder as if they weighed nothing at all.
What’s going on in this town? Eva wondered as she continued to watch. I can’t let these men just take away those bodies and do God knows what–no matter what they are, she thought. She steadied the gun in front of her, preparing to step out and confront the new arrivals but something, a scent—a memory, stopped her. Lowering the weapon she continued to watch as the bodies were tossed into the back of the truck and, as one of the men returned to retrieve the last of the deceased, his friend waited beside the truck. Then Eva caught her breath in surprise when the man near the truck suddenly stood still as if something had caught his attention. She ducked back behind the boulder even though she knew it was impossible for him to see her at this distance—or was it?
The man’s head darted , first left—then right, his sharp eyes searching for anything out of the ordinary. (As if three dead bodies weren’t enough). Then he did something strange. Eva stared in amazement as the man tilted his head back slightly and sniffed the air—as if he could smell something—or someone—by the scent they were giving off.
That’s impossible, Eva thought. No man hunts or tracks by his sense of smell. But her thoughts changed dramatically when the man suddenly turned, staring directly at the spot where she now crouched hidden, she thought, from view. She pulled herself even further behind the rock, grasping the gun tightly in her hands as she listened for the inevitable sound of footsteps closing in on her hiding place. But they never came.
After a few minutes she heard the truck engine sputter. The men had climbed back inside and the driver was in the process of turning the vehicle around. He hit the gas and the vehicle headed back in the direction they’d just come from. Eva stood, moving out slightly from behind the boulder. As the truck drove past the woods, the man who seemed to catch her scent cast another look in her direction as he talked to someone on his cell phone. He seemed agitated but who wouldn’t be if they’d just found three dead bodies. He continued his conversation as the truck sped away. Eva released the breath she hadn’t even realized she’d been holding. “Whoa, that was close—and strange—very strange,” she said aloud. “I need to get out of here,” and she turned, stumbling her way back to the car. She was so tired but her mind was going a mile a minute trying to process the things she’d seen tonight.
She unlocked the car door, jumping inside. Jamming the key into the ignition she fired up the engine and backed out onto the highway. Slamming her foot down hard on the ga
s pedal, the car lurched forward, speeding down the road. She’d gone only a few feet when she slowed down to the speed limit. She didn’t want to have to explain to the local cops why she was in such a hurry to get away from those woods. No-one would believe what she’d seen—no-one. Or would they?
She drove another thirty minutes or so until she noticed what looked like a parking lot up ahead and to her left. Lord, I hope that’s the Inn. I could use a good strong cup of coffee—or two, she thought as she continued to drive. Finally, a sign came into view just as the first rays of the sun appeared on the horizon. The Lakeview Inn, she read. This must be the place, she thought as she pulled in, parking the Camaro directly in front of the building.
Eva sat for a moment staring out across the water of the lake that flowed behind the Inn. Colors of red, gold and blue glistened upon the smooth surface soothing her frayed nerves, lulling her into an almost trancelike state. As she stared straight ahead, her vision began to waver and blur as strange images appeared before her eyes. Wolves, beautiful and majestic, their soft fur ruffled by the gentle breeze, seemed to float as if in a dream above the lake. It was a large pack but Eva’s eyes seemed drawn to the wolf in the lead, a beautiful animal with light brown, almost blond, fur. This wolf was their leader. How she knew this, Eva couldn’t say but she knew it was the truth.
A sense of peace and warmth flowed through Eva’s body as her mind watched the daydream unfold. But the sense of peace was soon shattered by a howling so angry—so vicious—that Evangeline could almost taste the hatred coming from the animal that uttered it. Then, from out of nowhere a huge black shadow seemed to overtake the wolf pack as a monstrous form burst out of the woods bearing down with lightening speed on—“Oh no!” Eva heard herself shouting— the images beginning to fade as the monstrous beast bore down on the beautiful blond wolf as she tried to lead the pack to safety. Then— they were gone and Eva was again staring at the lake behind the Inn.
A Soul in Torment Page 19