by M. D. Bowden
Maya scribbled down what he was saying, copying the picture. But when the teacher said, “Today is a practical session, so please clear away your things as we’ll be dissecting pigs’ hearts. You can work in pairs. Take it in turns to cut, and draw what you see,” Maya looked around, not sure what to do.
There was a whole load of squealing from the class, and chairs started squeaking against the lino floor as people prepared for the job at hand. The girl at the next stool along from Maya leaned over and said, “I’ll work with you.”
“Thanks,” Maya said.
“Hi, I’m Isabelle,” said the girl. She was pretty, with platinum blonde hair in a high pony tail, and was wearing a raspberry printed shirt that looked designer. Isabelle extended her hand and Maya shook it.
“Maya.”
“How do you feel about pigs’ hearts?” she said, screwing up her nose.
“I’m, err, comfortable with them. I can do the dissecting if you like.”
Isabelle smiled, relieved. “Thank you. I can’t think of anything more disgusting. Come on, let me show you round the lab. You’ll soon learn where everything is.”
At the end of class Isabelle escorted her out into the corridor. “Well, I’m glad that’s over,” she said.
Maya laughed. “Thanks for working with me, I know not everyone wants to talk to a new girl.”
“No worries. Have you brought a packed lunch?”
“Umm, no, I was just going to grab something from the cafeteria.”
Isabelle grimaced. “I’d bring lunch in future if I was you, but let me show you the way.”
“Thanks,” Maya said, walking at Isabelle’s side.
“Where are you from?”
“London.”
“Oh, I’d love to live in London, so many places to go out. Here the best place is Calypso’s. The best place that doesn’t ask for ID, at any rate.” She screwed up her face.
“Yes, I’ll miss the nightlife,” Maya said. She didn’t think Isabelle noticed the sarcasm in her voice.
“Liverpool’s not so bad though. If you stick around with me and my group, I’ll take care of you, and show you all the good places to shop.” She paused at the doors to the cafeteria. “I won’t come in, the smell sticks around for a while. But enjoy! Look out for me in your next class.”
Maya forced a polite smile, and entered the cafeteria as Isabelle quickly retreated the way she’d come. To Maya the place smelled like any standard cafeteria she’d previously frequented, and the place didn’t bother her in the slightest. She purchased a portion of pasta twirls with tomato sauce and then looked around for somewhere to sit. She headed for the only table where she could see space, and when she got closer she realised Ollie was there.
“Err, hi, do you mind if I sit here?” she asked the girl next to Ollie.
“Huh? Yeah, sure,” said Kate, removing a pile of books from the chair.
“Maya! Welcome to our table. Meet Kate,” he said, pulling the girl with the books to his side, “my girlfriend, and this is Lewis and there’s Will just approaching now.”
“Hi everyone,” Maya said.
“So Maya,” Lewis said, “What brings you to our simply superb school?” He winked.
“Umm, nothing exciting really. My Dad got a job up here, so here I am.”
“But you must be disorientated having just arrived, why don’t you let me show you around?” Lewis said.
“Hey, leave the girl alone Lewis. Give her some time. Did they sort you out in admin?” Ollie said.
“Yeah, but the head teacher was kind of scary, huh?”
“Her,” Ollie said, waving his hand dismissively, “we don’t let her bother us. You’ll barely see her about the place.”
“Well, that’s reassuring I guess…”
Kate bit into an apple, and then with her mouth still full said, “How are you getting on so far, has everyone been nice to you?”
“Sure, yeah, everyone’s been great. All good so far. Isabelle didn’t think much of the dissection in biology though.”
“Isabelle? No, I can’t imagine she would. Are you friends with her? Because she won’t like you talking to us,” Kate said, finally swallowing, and giving Maya an apologetic look.
“Oh, really? Why’s that?”
“Let’s just say we don’t live up to her high standards,” said Ollie. He didn’t sound like it bothered him.
“Well, she seemed nice enough, but I’m open to meeting other people,” said Maya.
“Hey, you should come with us tonight, to Calypso’s,” Kate said.
“Calypso’s?” She figured that was the place Isabelle had scorned.
“It’s a club, but they’ll let you in. They only ask for ID at the bar. You should meet us there at nine, I mean, if you’d like to?”
Maya smiled. “Yes, that would be great. How will I find this place?”
CHAPTER 3
After school, Maya went to the bookshop in town to stock up on textbooks and supplies. By the time she was walking home darkness had fallen. She walked down a narrow pavement, hedged gardens on one side and a row of cars on the other.
She left the relative safety of the residential street for an area of warehouses. As far as she could tell, there were quite a few areas of Liverpool like this, but she hadn’t really got her bearings yet. As she walked on she looked around her. There was nobody about. The tall buildings blocked out the light of the moon. A dog barked in the distance.
Maya heard footsteps behind her, but decided to ignore them. It could be some-body else headed home from the centre. She kept walking, head held high, cutting across the road and down an alley, taking what she hoped was a short cut. The footsteps followed her, and she began to suspect that it was no coincidence. A cat screeched and darted across her path. She decided to follow it further into the shadows and climbed a fire escape, silently, waiting to see who would show themselves.
She watched from above as a tall blond male came into view between two warehouses. He was walking slowly, maybe puzzled by her disappearance. And, what are the chances his intentions are innocent? Maya thought. She had had enough of games back in London, and made a quick decision. She jumped from the fire escape, landing almost as lightly as that cat would have, and ran at the man. Using the muscles in her legs at full power she propelled herself forwards and launched herself into his back. He grunted and fell on his face. A second later he had rolled onto his back and Maya stood, looming above him, scowling.
He was good looking, dressed in black shirt and jeans, his blond hair messy.
“Was that really necessary?” he said, breathing heavily.
“I sure think it was. I don’t think much of being followed.”
“You don’t need to worry about me, I’m not here to threaten you. I won’t hurt you.”
Maya eyed him, trying to make him out. She decided to give him the benefit of the doubt, so stood back while he got to his feet. She couldn’t help but notice his height—he was a good foot taller than her, but she figured she was used to using peoples’ advantageous qualities against them. She was pretty sure she could take him out if he decided to fight.
“Then why are you here? Why were you watching me?”
He rubbed his lower back. “I’ve been sent to find you, by someone who thought you might like their help.”
“I don’t want anybody’s help. I want to be left alone.”
“You never will be you know. Not while they hunt you.”
“What do you know about it?”
“More than you’d think, but I’m not the one who’s going to tell you. I’ll take you to Cole, he’ll fill you in. He’ll help you, even if you don’t want it.”
“How did you find me?”
“A charm. It let me find you, courtesy of Cole’s wishes.”
“Who is this Cole? How does he know anything about me?”
“You’ll have to ask him that.”
“That’s it, I’m leaving,” she said, stalking past him.
> “You don’t get it, do you? If you don’t have help you won’t survive it here.”
Maya stopped, but she didn’t turn around. “Where is it you want to take me? Will this Cole give me answers, or will he talk in riddles too?”
“He’ll give you answers all right, probably more than you’d care for.”
“Where is he?”
∞
This is possibly the worst idea I’ve ever had, thought Maya, as she approached what was apparently Cole’s house, only a mile from her own. The man who had never divulged his name had slunk away after he’d told her the address, but she had a feeling he was still watching.
The house itself was a two floor terraced cottage. With no front garden it sprang directly from the pavement, and she couldn’t help but feel its presence comforting … something about the simplicity of the abode. She raised her hand and knocked.
The door was flung open and an old man stood before her. He immediately sized her up, then came out further and checked no-one else was out there.
“Come in. Quickly,” he said, ushering her over the threshold.
She figured now she’d come this far, she might as well trust him, and stepped inside. The hallway was dark, but a warm light came from the next room so she walked in there, to find a cosy living room. The walls were lined with books, the fireplace filled with smouldering embers.
The old man followed her in. He wasn’t quite as aged as she’d first assumed, maybe around seventy. His face had the lines of time but his eyes looked sharp and assessing. He wore a woven jumper over a shirt, along with a pair of jeans, dirty at the knees, as though he’s spent the afternoon gardening. Which, Maya thought, wouldn’t surprise her.
“Are you Mr Cole?” she said.
“I am indeed,” he said, with a mild Liverpudlian accent. “And what is your name?”
“You don’t know? Then why did you try to find me?”
“I know that you are a werewolf hunter.”
“That’s right. How do you know what I am and what do you want with me?”
“I have a gift—I can sense when hunters are nearby. It is my job to help them. It’s a gift I was given by the Order of Meeth, whose sole intent is to find and eradicate werewolves.”
“What? I’ve been pursued by wolves this last year and I’ve never heard of this … Order of Meeth?”
Cole nodded.
“What do you want with me?” Maya said, starting to pace the small room. “I’ve had enough of being chased! I just want them to leave me alone! In fact, I don’t think I’ll stick around…”
“Wait!” Cole said, blocking the doorway. “You have to know what’s going on. What they’ve done to you. There is no way you will escape the wolves. They are already here. They are everywhere.”
“What? What are you talking about? How do you know?”
“Have you ever noticed how easily you fend off the werewolves?”
“It’s not easy. Every moment is life and death.”
“But if you were a regular human, with no special gift, you wouldn’t have survived this long. The wolves would have killed you by now.”
“You think I have a special gift? It doesn’t feel special to always be pursued. I just want to go to school, make friends, stay in one place for a change. I don’t want this to be my life!”
“But you do have a special gift. You are strong, and I’ll bet a superb fighter. But most importantly the werewolves are drawn to you. Have you never wondered why?”
Maya paused from her pacing and stared at him. “Of course I’ve wondered, but wondering didn’t get me anywhere. Are you saying that you know about this? About why I can’t get any peace?” Tears leaked out of her eyes and she wiped them away angrily.
“Why don’t you sit down? I’ll make you a cup of tea.”
“I don’t want a bloody cup of tea,” Maya said, but she did slump back onto the deep purple sofa, which was surprisingly comfortable. “I want you to tell me why this is happening to me, and if you know this, do you know, is there any way … we could stop it?”
Mr Cole sank into the only arm chair. “Unfortunately not, not when the Order of Meeth are involved, they are … hard to get hold of.”
“How are they involved?”
“They created the original charm—”
“Hang on, what’s this about a charm? That guy who found me mentioned something… I don’t understand,” Maya said.
“Yes, there is a charm on you—”
“But, how? This is so bloody confusing…”
“Let me explain. Please. The original charm was created decades ago, as a method of fighting the werewolf. The charm passes from one human to another when the human bearing it dies.”
“So, what, someone had the charm, and they died, and it passed to me?”
“That’s right.”
“But why me?”
“I’m not sure, maybe your age … or where you happened to be at the time.”
“Well, that’s just great.”
“It is why you have these, well, for want of a better term—‘powers’—and it’s the charm that causes the werewolves to be drawn to you.”
“Are you serious?”
“Of course I am,” he said, getting to his feet. “Do you think I’d mess with such serious issues?”
“I only just met you, how should I know.”
He moved closer to Maya and sat down at the other end of the sofa from her, leaning in closer. He put his hand on his heart and studied her eyes. “I want to help you. It’s who I am. How I’m made. It’s related to the charm they put on me.”
“You have a charm too?” Maya said, getting back to her feet. “How did they put it on you? Did you meet them? We could go find them, sort this out.”
“The charm came to me in the same manner it came to you. The Seer before me died. The charm passed to me.”
“You’re a Seer?” Maya shook her head. “But if it came to you in the same way, then how do you know about them? Did you see it?”
“Someone from the Order found me and filled me in.”
“No-one found me! Couldn’t they be bothered? ‘S not like it’s important or anything, not when I’m followed around by werewolves…”
“It’s my job to find you and tell you. Your charm is linked to mine. That’s why you’ve moved to Liverpool, your family were drawn here, in order for me to be able to assist you.”
“But how could you? Not to be rude or anything, but you don’t look ready for a fight.”
“As a Seer I can assist you by helping to predict what’s coming. I can help you become a more focused fighter. I can help you control this, this situation, to enable you to stay in one place.”
“Can you? I think I need time to think this through, before we talk again. I’ll come back another day. Soon.”
“Wait. My ability, the fact that I’m a Seer, I can sense things … and I can tell something is going on right now. Something bigger than the usual lone werewolves. Something is happening and we need to prepare—”
“How do I know you’re not making this up? Do you have any proof there are werewolves here?”
“Just wait here one moment.” Cole retreated from the room and came back an instant later with a newspaper. “Here,” he said, pointing to an article. “Bodies found. Nearby. They were attacked by werewolves.”
Maya took the paper from him and scanned the article. “It says a civilian male and a policeman were found murdered. It doesn’t say how they died. What makes you think it was werewolves?”
“I just have this feeling—”
“You just have a feeling? You’re basing my need to get involved in this on a feeling? I’m sorry, but I really have to get going.”
“I have special senses when it comes to this type of thing. It’s part of the charm placed upon me. Regardless of this, there is something we can do to make sure. We can go examine the bodies.”
Maya’s jaw dropped open. “Examine the bodies?”
�
��Yes, if we can find out for sure that they were killed by werewolves you’ll know that I’m telling the truth. You’ll know that they are here, and that we’re all in danger, and that we need to have a serious talk.”
“Do you know where the crime scene is?”
“Yes, but the bodies will no-longer be there…”
∞
MAYA FORCED OPEN the door to the morgue and snuck between the metal gurneys in the cool room, devoid of staff for the evening. She had persuaded Cole to leave this job to her. She figured she’d be less likely to get caught doing this on her own, and making a speedy getaway would be a damned site easier. She had reassured him that no matter what she found she would keep vigilant, but that she wouldn’t be back to see him until after college the following day.
She spotted two body shaped mounds hidden under identical white sheets on gurneys near the far wall, so quickly looked around to make sure no-one was watching and approached the nearest sheet. She put her bags of books aside and pulled back the blanket to reveal the head of the dead boy. He was good looking, or he would have been if not for his greying complexion and vacant expression, but Maya barely noticed this. Her eyes were drawn to the puncture wounds on his neck. She pulled the sheet further down, exposing the deep scratches characteristic of an animal mauling.
“Ugh, this is not happening.”
CHAPTER 4
Under the steeple of a half-ruined church, dozens of altars were alight with flickering candles, glinting off the bells above and highlighting the stained glass images of the crucifixion. The room was filled with the soft sound of voices chanting. A man clad in a black cloak approached the largest of the altars, where lay the skull with a cranial chamber fit for a man, but the shape of the jaw and nose looked as though they were from a wild animal. Under the skull there was placed a pile of bleached bones. The man knelt before them, head bowed, and stayed in this position, not speaking, as the chanters continued…
“The Lord Alpha must return. The Lord Alpha must return. The Lord Alpha must return,” the voices murmured, over and over and over. “The Lord Alpha must return and give us our rightful place in this world.”