If she had been able to take her typical route to the library, the walk would have lasted all of ten minutes. Having to avoid the park all together added another twenty on top of that. She couldn’t bring herself to go back to the place that changed her life. She couldn’t handle the thought that the wolf was still there. She got the feeling it had been after her, that she wasn’t a random chew toy. It wanted to hurt her, to kill her. It might have been silly, as Jordon pointed out to her, but it was how she felt.
By the time Mackenzie reached the library, she was pulling off the layers of clothing she wore. It must have been an extremely nice day, she was never hot after the leaves began to turn, and she was typically freezing once the first snowfall covered the ground. Both of those things had already occurred, yet here she was, walking into the building in a simple tee shirt and jeans that were slightly too short due to her sudden and unexpected growth spurt.
She walked quietly over to a table in the back of the medical section and put down her bag. Looking around at all the stacks of books, hoping that one of them held the answers she desperately wanted, she pulled her laptop out of her bag and set it on the table.
When she went to lift the screen, her thumb broke right through the casing with a resounding crack that echoed through the silence. Blood droplets splattered against the broken computer and when she turned her thumb to see the damage, she let out a shriek as the inch long cut slowly sealed itself right before her eyes. She hadn’t been hallucinating the night the wolf attacked her. She really had watched her arm heal itself just as she watched her thumb return to a perfect state.
The other students surrounding her looked around wildly before seeing no immediate danger. They threw scowls at her with a resounding “SHHH!” Mackenzie ignored them. She was still in utter shock and terrified. Her thumb just crushed through her laptop. Her skin looked like it zipped itself closed, sealing the slice in her finger as if nothing had happened, not even a scar remained. And to top it all off, she didn’t even feel her skin being ripped open.
Even though she wanted to run away and hide in her little apartment and pretend that the last few weeks had never happened, she knew she couldn’t. She had to find an explanation.
Carefully opening the lid of the broken computer and hoping for the best, Mackenzie pressed the power button and waited for the hum that would tell her it wasn’t headed for recycling. More than two minutes passed before she gave up, slamming the lid closed and watching it shatter beneath her hand.
“SHHHH!” A small girl with a stack of books and a million papers in front of her said while glaring at her, “This is a library!”
Mackenzie could feel her blood boiling. How dare that girl speak to her like an idiot? She knew it was a library. What kind of dumb ass wouldn’t know they were in a library?
“Mind your own damn business,” Mackenzie growled out. She was pretty sure it was an actual growl after seeing the girl’s eyes widen in fear and scamper away. Reminding herself that she was not her father and did not need to lose her cool, she took a deep breath. Breathing deeply for a moment allowed her time to collect herself, and to feel bad for snapping at the girl. Sort of.
Stowing her broken laptop away in her bag, Mackenzie headed over to the computers available for student use. Sitting down while eyeing the keyboard warily, she wondered how on earth she was going to use the keyboard without destroying it. As she hoped the surge of strength had passed, she placed her hands ever so lightly on the keyboard and began to type.
~*~
The library’s medical database wasn’t much help. Not one medical text had each of the symptoms she was presenting. Mackenzie was about to give up when a group of girls walked by, giggling and talking about some new movie and how gorgeous the actors were. It would have been a completely irrelevant conversation to overhear, except when she heard the name of the movie, it was as if everything clicked.
“So, are you going to see Beneath the Moon with me tonight or what?” The girl whispered to her friend.
“Absolutely, I mean, who wouldn’t want to see half naked men who just happen to turn into wolves?” Then they both giggled and disappeared between the stacks.
Wolves. Why hadn’t she thought of that before? She was a mythology major after all! Could the myths actually be true? Could she really have encountered a Werewolf? Frantically, Mackenzie opened up a different search program, one that found books from the schools complete catalog, not just the medical journals she had been searching.
A quick search on Lycanthropy produced seven book results and three online journals. Writing down the call numbers for the books before clicking on the links to take her to the journals, she felt, in anticipation, her heart was pounding faster than a racehorse.
The page before her read more like a medical journal than one written about the paranormal.
DAY 1: Subject tells of a vicious attack by a large animal but there are no signs of injury. Will continue to watch and take note of any abnormalities in subject’s mental well-being. Subject appears very lethargic, sleep coming within moments of lying down.
DAY 2: Subject wakes with a high-grade temperature and the symptoms found in strains of influenza. Subject slips into what looks to be a coma, but only has the symptoms of a deep sleep. Fever persists.
DAY 3: Subject still unconscious. Fever still present, body changing. Must be terribly painful as the screams and moans break through the coma-like state. After thirty-two (or 32) hours, fever breaks.
DAY 4: Subject wakes, no signs of fatigue or feelings of lingering sickness. Irises have changed from brown to a yellowish hue. Subject no longer requires the use of eyeglasses and is three inches taller and seven pounds lighter.
DAY 5: No new symptoms to report
DAY 6: Subject’s emotions, especially anger, are surfacing when typically would not...
Mackenzie stared in disbelief at the screen in front of her. She could remember the attack and feeling like death the next day, but surely if she had been in the kind of pain the journal spoke of she would have remembered it, or at least dreamt about it, but she couldn’t remember anything.
She returned her attention to the screen in front of her that was telling her that her life was forever changed. She knew where this was going and she was not happy about it.
DAY 30: Subject was extremely irritable and restless, wanting to be outdoors but could not explain why the urge was there. Subject broke a window to get out of the lab and promptly sat in the grass, rubbing their hands and feet through the blades. When the moon reached its peak in the sky and the light fell upon the subject, they crumbled to the ground in pain, crying out as their body transformed right in front of me. Subject was no longer a human, but a very large black snarling wolf. I was not able to get away. I have yet to decide if I would rather it have killed me, or to have become one of them.
Mackenzie tried to close out of the webpage while trying to stand up and get away from the computer as fast as she could. Did she really believe this crap? Was someone playing a cruel joke on her or was this for real? She looked around wondering if those boys from the Finals Club had been behind the whole thing. She had gotten into a fight with their leader the same night as the wolf attacked her. Maybe they drugged her or something. At that point, she would accept any explanation other than the fact that she was turning into a Werewolf.
The distance between the computers and the stacks in the far back corner with the old bookshelves and dusty tomes reserved for the few books related to mythology and the paranormal world was only a few feet, but to Mackenzie, it felt as if she were moving in slow motion. She felt every stare and heard every snicker as she made her way to the books that could either go along with the journal of a supposed Werewolf, or find all sorts of contradictions and let her breathe easy.
The first book opened with a cloud of dust. Searching through the index until her eyes landed on the chapter she needed. She slid down one bookcase until she was sitting, her knees pulled up to her chest and th
e heavy book resting against her knees.
Unfortunately, the book was of little help to her, that is, little help to providing her with the information to hold onto her human status. Everything in the book could relate to what she was experiencing. Throwing the book to the side, she returned to the shelf and pulled another, and when that one spoke of the same symptoms, she returned again.
She knew she was looking in vain. She had studied mythology for years, first on her own and then as one of Harvard’s very few mythology majors. Her mother told her how it was a waste of a Harvard degree, but she had plans for her life with a degree in what she had always loved and found fascinating. Was any of that even possible? Could she continue in school and life as if that one night each month were just a simple affliction? The only thing she knew for sure was that she had to find out when the next full moon was and how to stay away from everyone.
Chapter 4
In the weeks that followed, Mackenzie searched for a place safe enough to turn, that is, if she were going to turn. She still wasn’t quite sure that she wasn’t going crazy but she wasn’t going to take any chances.
With just a single day left until the full moon, Mackenzie had to find somewhere to go. Although on the trip north, she did pass a mental institute, she considered that might be her best option.
Middlesex Fells Reservation was a somewhat popular place for parties and camping among the students at Harvard. She knew about where it was from their descriptions and after an hour of walking, she found herself surrounded by tall trees. The leaves had mostly fallen, blanketing the ground in a mix of beautiful oranges and horrid browns. Crunching under her feet with every step, Mackenzie traveled deeper into the forest. If this place was going to work, she had to go off the beaten path, deep into the woods and the thought terrified her.
Nights in Massachusetts, especially in late fall, were very cold. Frigid even. What if she went so deep into the trees she couldn’t find her way back? She could die out there! But then that niggling thought of ‘what if’ joined in. What if she did turn into a vicious Werewolf? She might kill someone. As her mental battle raged on between what she had believed was simple fantasy and the horrifying realization that it might truly be her new reality, she found herself in front of a large cave. Glancing back over her shoulder, she could see that the sun was still high enough in the sky that she could have a small look around inside without needing a flashlight.
The mouth of the cave wasn’t very large and just inside she could see that a boulder sat to the side of it. A careful look at the ground showed grooves where the boulder had been rolled back and forth, almost as if someone had used it as a door. But that couldn’t be, because it was huge. It would take someone with incredible strength to even move it an inch.
She could see the bones of a few dead animals lying about and realized that she had most likely stumbled into an animal’s den. Not wanting to confront yet another wild animal so soon, Mackenzie quickly left the cave and found her way back to the well-worn path.
Breaking through the trees, she heard a man’s voice calling out. Down the path a ways, stood a tall man wearing what looked to be some kind of uniform. Mackenzie stopped when she had both feet firmly planted on the dirt, right beside the ‘Do Not Wander Off Trails’ sign.
“Miss, you need to stick to the trails. It isn’t safe for people to go any further. There are wild animals out there and if anything were to happen, should you fall or get lost, we wouldn’t even know you were out there,” the man said.
“Sorry, won’t happen again.” She turned and headed the way she came in, knowing she had just lied to the man. If she had stayed and if he had pressed the issue, she knew she most likely would have lost her temper again. It seemed to be happening a lot more often in the past few weeks. Hell, all of her emotions were off the charts. She went off on her professor when he told her she had answered a question wrong and she was certain she was right. She bawled like a baby when watching a Lifetime movie in the student center with a few of the girls from her class, and she became so happy that she giggled and began shedding happy tears when she found out that her favorite restaurant from back home was opening up a location near campus. Yeah, maybe she really did need to see the mental health advisor.
~*~
Mackenzie tried to act normal the next morning. She knew that after that night, she would know for sure if she was no longer fully human. Shaking her head and mentally rolling her eyes over how crazy she sounded, she dragged herself from bed and through all of her typical morning rituals. Maybe she would get the mental hospital’s number ready just in case.
Something in her felt off. She couldn’t place what it was, but it was as if her skin were crawling like when she would watch a scary movie. It had to be all in her head. She just wasn’t certain where her life was going and that terrified her, not to mention the possible murderous animal that lay beneath her skin. If she could just get some fresh air, she would feel better. That’s what she needed. She was sick of being confined and wanted to get out and run. She wanted to blow off class and spend every minute of the day outdoors. Unlocking her door and stepping out into the hall, she decided that was exactly what she needed to clear her head and return to normalcy.
“Hey! Mackenzie! Where the hell have you been?” Jordan ran up beside her and instantly began the interrogation she knew was coming. “I have been trying to catch up with you for weeks now. You come to class and then bolt, not answering the phone even. Seriously, why haven’t you gotten those creepy eyes fixed yet?”
It was true, she had been blowing her off, but she didn’t want to tell her that nor could she explain what she thought was happening. She didn’t want to hear the comments on her eyes or her temper, and she didn’t want Jordan to look at her as if she were insane. Jordan didn’t believe her, after telling her about the attack the morning she came to check on Mackenzie. Jordon had chalked it up to a hallucination.
“Sorry, I’ve been trying to figure some things out. I needed some time to myself. And there is no fixing my eyes apparently. They don’t know why they changed color, but they did and now this is it.”
“But Bailey told me you watched a movie with her and her girls the other night. Not too busy for them?” Jordan stopped walking and stood with her arms crossed and hip out. It was her typical ‘I’m pissed and you better fix this’ look. Honestly, Mackenzie didn’t really care.
“Not that it’s really any of your business, but I was already in there reading when they came in and turned the big screen on. So yeah, I watched it. It’s not as if I chose to hang out with them. When the movie was over, I went back to my place. That was it. Look, I have a lot on my plate right now and I don’t have time for this.” Mackenzie had to speak through gritted teeth and clenched fists. Her anger was on the rise and she had to retreat quickly.
Storming off from her only friend, she felt like an ass. Jordan worried about her and lost her temper. Again. Mackenzie continued to walk away, even though Jordon was yelling her name. And some other colorful words she knew she better ignore. She figured it would be easier to apologize tomorrow if she didn’t make things worse by arguing further with Jordan. Or what she really felt like doing—punching her square in the nose. Then again, if what she thought were going to happen that night really did happen, maybe it would be for the better if the friendship ended over a stupid argument. If Jordon was so pissed that she never wanted to speak to her again, she wouldn’t be around and accidentally get hurt if Mackenzie lost her temper.
Mackenzie realized she had been spending all her time planning on how to handle the turn, should it happen. She still wasn’t ready to completely accept that it was going to happen, but she had spent no time whatsoever on what to do after, if it did happen. Would she stay and try to make it work? Would she run away? No, she was a strong woman; she didn’t run away from anything. Even when she was younger with an over-critical mother, a father in jail, and no money to even buy new clothes at Wal-Mart, she never gave up. She alway
s fought for what she wanted and was as headstrong as they came.
She could handle it. She just knew it.
~*~
As the day continued, her strength became harder to control, her sense of smell had her running for a toilet to puke when she walked by the boys restroom and the door opened, sending out a whoosh of pungent air. She was able to hear the faintest moans that came from her neighbor’s apartment from the downstairs entryway, and she was angry all day. The tip on her pencil broke in class and it infuriated her so much that she threw it across the room, promptly followed by her explosion of curse words when the professor asked her to leave his classroom if she was going to act like a toddler. She knew she should have blown off classes and gone for a run.
When her final class concluded, she practically ran to her apartment to pack a bag. She had never been camping and she wasn’t even sure that she would stay the whole night. If the books were right, the change would happen the minute the full moon rose to the highest point in the sky.
Stuffing a few water bottles, some energy bars, and a blanket into her backpack she headed out. Looking at her apartment one last time, she closed and locked the door, wishing she could go back inside and hide under the covers. As she left her building, she was filled with dread. She really hoped she was just insane. It would honestly be the better option of the two.
With every step and passing minute she moved closer to Middlesex Fells, she felt more and more like she was walking in someone else’s skin. Her heart was heavy and tears spilled down her face as she thought about everything she might be losing—how she might be losing herself in the whole thing, too. When she finally got to the first trail of the reservation, she started to get angry. Angry at the damn wolf for biting her, angry with the doctor for not listening to her, angry with Jordan for not believing her, but mostly angry at how stupid she had been to wander through the park at night alone.
The Tempering (The Mackenzie Duncan Series) Page 3