by H. T. Night
Everyone laughed and Yari didn’t correct me. There was definitely something going on between her and Tommy.
I peeked in Yari’s cup. The Styrofoam cup was stained red at the bottom. I couldn’t help but gag and Yari saw it. “Seriously, The Chosen just gagged at the sight of blood? What is wrong with this picture?” I left the kitchen and went to the living room and closed my eyes and rested a bit.
Some time had passed and Lena came over to me. “Josiah, you awake?” she asked.
“Yeah,” I answered.
“Just wanted you to know that it will be dark soon and our little friend is going to go all wolf-boy on us.”
“Where is he?” I asked.
“He’s putting extra chains on his cage.”
“Extra chains?”
“He thinks the fact that there will be so many Mani close by, the smell might drive him over the top.”
I stood up and went into the front room where Tommy was. He was inside his cage locking chains on top of one another. He would yank on the chains to make sure they were locked in tight.
“What’s going on?” I asked him.
“I’m reinforcing the chains, so I will be stuck deep inside and not harm anyone. I’m already starting to itch.”
“So, that’s why you itch. You always said it was because you were nervous about leaving for the reserves.”
Tommy laughed. “I had to tell a couple of lies to keep my cover.”
I walked into the cage and knelt down next to Tommy to see if he needed my help. He handed me a chain while he connected the smaller end to the back bar of the cage.
“Did my sister know about you?” I asked Tommy.
Tommy was quiet. My sister was always a touchy subject for him. So, I respectfully waited for him to answer me.
“Your sister knew.” Tommy continued to work on the chains.
“Is that all?” I asked.
“She knew, Josiah. She was the only Tandra that knew. She was the one person in this world I completely trusted.”
“Okay, Tom.” I decided to change the discussion. “I think we should have everyone else leave for the next 72 hours.”
“Why?”
“I want to do something with you that will take complete commitment from the both of us. It’s got to be about you and me, and you and me only. We need to connect in a way we never have before. I just think it’s in everybody’s best interest if we were left alone.”
“Have you let them know?”
“I wanted to run it by you first.”
“I think you’re nuts for trying this, but I’ll agree to whatever you want to do.”
“If there is the slightest chance that I’m on to something, this will be well worth it.”
“Well, you better tell your Mani buddies they need to find a Motel Six for the next three days.”
“They’ll stay at my house. Krull is only after me. Plus, Yari says our little showdown isn’t going to happen anytime soon. I’m worried more about your Carni friends who will be in full werewolf mode during the next three nights.”
Chapter Twelve
Everyone had left and made their way to my house. There were about forty minutes until nightfall and then the full moon would reveal itself in glorious moonrise. Tommy and I were in the room.
I went over the details of how I was going to tame the wolf from my dreams. We both had a sense I was winging it, but the end result would be that he could control his werewolf transitioning with cognitive thought. Tommy raised his concerns that he wasn’t the wolf that was in my dreams. I assured him he was and he and I both were destined to be here.
Tommy nodded back. “I trust you, Josiah. What’s the game plan?”
“Let’s chain you up first.” I went in and helped Tommy chain himself. We wrapped the chains around his ankles and wrists, and then fastened all four clamps. We put additional chains around his chest and groin. We gave a little pull on the chains to allow him to do small amounts of walking. When we were done, I walked out the door and locked the cage.
I turned around and looked at my friend. It was odd seeing him chained in as if he was about to pull off a Houdini-type escape artist trick.
“Okay, Tom,” I said. “I’m going to give you two kinds of emotional indicators. The idea here is for you to connect with me emotionally. The first wave will be verbal. I will give you commands as the ‘alpha male’, and you will need to submit to me. You will need to do all my commands. Once we have that mastered, we will do tactile. Through my touch, you will learn to trust me, as well as submit to me. Tonight, we will focus on the verbal, and tomorrow we will concentrate on the touching.”
Tommy nodded. “What about the third night?”
“I’m going to play it by ear.”
“Play it by ear? What if none of this works?”
“You have my word, Tommy. I will not harm you, no matter what happens.”
Tommy told me, if at any point he went mad and attacked me to go ahead and take him down and do whatever was necessary to control him. I truly hoped it didn’t come to that. I proceeded to go through a series of questions with Tommy that he could hopefully remember while in his werewolf form. They were basic commands all the way down to asking him to howl.
It sounded almost as if he were howling at a girl on the street from a construction site. But it sounded good.
We proceeded to a number of commands: showing me five fingers, answering ‘yes’ and ‘no’ questions by showing paws, sitting in the east and west corners of the cage.
The sun began to set and Tommy began to itch wildly.
“I guess this is it,” I said.
“Josiah, be careful and don’t move too quickly. Be absolutely sure you have my trust.”
I watched on as the full moon became more visible. Then something started happening to Tommy’s entire body. I was extremely curious how the transformation looked. From the south window of Tommy’s room, he had a perfect view of the moon.
The moon was slowly developing into a giant full moon. Right when the moon hit full view, Tommy began howling. He hadn’t changed yet physically, but the transformation had begun. I watched and studied what was to happen next. Tommy dropped to all fours and let out another frightening howl! I watched as gray hair protruded out of his skin. The gray hairs flowed out of his face, arms, head and ears. He still had his jean shorts on, and luckily, those bad boys didn’t fall off. That was going to be a problem when it was time for him to relieve himself. His hair was a beautiful, silver mane. His nose now began to elongate and his ears began to rise. Within seconds, Tommy had become a full-blown werewolf.
Tommy’s head was down and I was certain that the beast had no idea I accompanied him in the room. He would become aware of it soon; when that happened, he would want to take off my head.
I watched and what I witnessed seemed trivial. Tommy was the same height and was slightly bigger in body mass. For the first time, I caught a glimpse of his eyes. They were the color of the sun—bright yellow. He turned his large body around and lay flat on the ground, staring at the back wall. He was completely calm. This wasn’t the first response I anticipated him having. I thought he would be a crazed junkyard dog salivating for a killing spree. Instead, he was lying on the floor like a golden retriever on a hot summer’s night.
Then something unusual started happening. Tommy started to whimper and he began to whine like a sad puppy. He was still unaware that I was in the room. I remained extremely quiet as I watched further. I wasn’t ready to let this werewolf know I was present.
Tommy rose to his feet. I thought he was going to turn around and notice me. I anticipated the worst as I held my breath. But the werewolf didn’t turn around; instead, he walked over to the south window and stared at the full moon. Then, he howled a heartbreaking cry unlike anything I’d ever heard. It had a symphonic tone in its misery.
As I listened, I realized it was no longer a howl, but a full-blown cry. My best friend in the whole world was crying at the moon a
nd it broke my heart. It was disturbing to listen to and it was really getting to me. I had to leave the room. I quietly backed up my feet and left. I went into the living room and sat in the big chair.
I sat there and listened to Tommy cry into the night. He did this for hours, three to be exact. I wondered if this was some kind of ritual—where werewolves go through some kind of grief period—at the beginning of their werewolf cycle.
I sat about 15 feet away from him in the other room, completely perplexed and dumbfounded the entire time. Then suddenly, he stopped.
The next thing that happened was even more bizarre than the crying. He fell asleep. I could hear the giant dog snoring.
This was not how I thought this night was going to start. Tommy slept for a good hour. We were now four hours into Tommy’s werewolf transformation and I had no clue what to make of it.
I dozed off myself. I was sitting in a big, comfy chair. Tommy’s snore had put me in a sleepy, hypnotic state. I was suddenly startled out of my slumber by a deafening, crazed, growl. This wasn’t any growl. This was the growl of a fucking werewolf.
Tommy was no longer sleeping. He was now a beast, a killer, something that wanted nothing more than to tear a Mani from limb to limb.
I took about ten deep breaths and got up out of my chair and crept over to the room. I slowly stuck my head in the door. Tommy saw me and immediately went absolutely ape-shit. I could hear the chains scraping against the bars of the cage. He zeroed in on me with his fierce, yellow demonic eyes. I nearly peed my pants. This was not my friend. This rabid beast had one goal: kill anything in its way.
I needed for this beast to become used to the sight of me. He needed to know I wasn’t here to harm him. I needed to stay in the room no matter how intense the situation became. Eventually, just like all living things, he would tire out. So that’s what I did—I stayed in the room.
This werewolf screamed bloody murder at me as it snarled, growled, and even bit the air in my direction. I calmly and lovingly looked at him and didn’t say a single word.
I just gave him a caring, empathetic smile. Eventually, after what felt like an eternity, the overgrown canine finally shut up. I was still looking at him. The wolf stared back at me confused; about every ten seconds he would make a small little grunt. He looked at me as if I was prey, determining which level of ferocity he would engage me in.
I figured this was the moment where the alpha is decided in the animal kingdom. I had to act now. I had to be larger than life. I had to make him submit to my commands. Hopefully, he will recall something we had done earlier when he submitted to me in his Carni form. I stood up and yelled, “TOMMY! SUBMIT!”
Tommy lunged in my direction and was pulled back by the chains. The odd part about it, he did this without making a sound. I took that as a sign of weakness. “TOMMY!” I yelled even louder. “YOU NEED TO SUBMIT! This time he growled—not an attacking growl, but a growl to let me know that he was still there, and he would defend himself if need be. This was good. He was no longer on the offense. He was now playing defense.
This was progress. This was damn good progress. “TOMMY!” I yelled one more time, “SUBMIT!” This time Tommy, the werewolf, lowered his eyes. He was well aware that I could be the enemy. I was aware I was still dealing with a wild animal.
“TOMMY! SIT!” I bellowed. Tommy took a step to the left and then another to the right. He stared at me unsure. He was listening. So, I calmly said, “Tommy. Sit.”
Then it happened. Tommy lowered his head and sat on the floor. Holy shit, he fully submitted. I immediately continued my commands. “Tommy,” I said with authority. “Look up at me!”
Tommy looked up at me. He no longer had the devil eyes ready to devour anything in its way. Instead, he looked at me the way a dog would look at its owner. They were still as yellow as the night was dark.
“Stand!” I commanded him. Tommy immediately stood up on all fours. This was amazing. How amazing? I did not know. But this was definitely a breakthrough.
I proceeded to give the werewolf basic commands such as speak, roll over, and walk on two legs. Tommy was not only obeying, Tommy was having fun with it. I even saw his tail wag at one point.
It was nearing daylight and Tommy would turn back into his Carni form. I wanted to raise the stakes before that happened. I began asking Tommy questions, and having him raise his left paw for ‘yes’ and his right paw for ‘no.’
I stared at this amazing beast. “Tommy,” I said. “Are you older than me in years? Tommy stared and then slowly raised his left paw. That meant ‘yes.’ Tommy had answered it correctly.
“Tommy,” I said. “Did I win when we fought our only professional, mixed martial fight together?” Tommy looked at me with a familiar look. For a second, I saw one of Tommy’s expressions when he was being cocky. Tommy raised his right paw proudly. I couldn’t help but laugh.
“Tommy.” I said, “Are you a Carni?” Tommy raised his left paw.
“Tommy,” I said, “Am I your best friend?” Tommy stared at me and I saw his yellow eyes gleam. He raised his left paw. This was fantastic! Tommy not only answered all my questions correctly, he was connecting with them on an emotional level.
I decided to once again raise the stakes. “Tommy,” I said. “Is it okay to kill a helpless Tandra, Mani or Carni?” Once again Tommy’s eyes looked up at me. This time he had a noble stare. He raised his right paw. Which was ‘no.’
“Tommy, have you been rejected by your own people?” Tommy didn’t like that question. Tommy barked and growled.
“Easy, Tom,” I said. “I’m sorry. I’ll ask you a different question.” But before I could ask another question, this amazing werewolf, slowly raised his left paw. He didn’t want to and I could see it in his body language. But he answered the question anyway.
“One more question, Tommy,” I said. “Do you trust me?”
Tommy calmly raised his left paw.
“That’s a good boy,” I said. Then it dawned on me, he must have been starving. He hadn’t eaten all night. “I’ll be right back,” I said. We had some leftover chicken breasts in the fridge. I heated them up in the microwave.
I brought a plate full of chicken to Tommy. One by one, I threw them in to him. He ate them up like they were chicken nuggets. I grabbed a breast and ate one myself. I leaned against the wall and stared down at my best friend. I had a smile on my face bigger than the full moon itself.
Chapter Thirteen
I’d had an exhausting night and I was resting against the front wall.
I closed my eyes and drifted off to sleep. I was startled by a brush of wind hitting my face. I opened my eyes and was no longer in the room with Tommy; I was back at the castle. I was having my second vision.
Once again, it was foggy. This time, the fog was thick and had a distinct smell: a combination of morning dew and auto exhaust. The castle was about a hundred feet away. There was a siren in the distance. I definitely did not care to know what that siren meant; it was more annoying than a car alarm. I wondered if the siren was real or just a ringing in my head.
I rose to my feet and walked up the hill toward the castle. The castle had layers to it and almost appeared to resemble a mission. I hadn’t remembered this detail from the last dream. At the front of the castle was distinct writing that was chiseled into the gate. I could barely make out the letters, ‘B’ and ‘R.’ The rest was blurry as if water and age had deteriorated the remaining letters.
I worked my way up the steep hill and stood at the front of this magnificent castle. I approached the great castle and the doorway that the blue gnome had previously stood in was now closed. The blue gnome was nowhere to be found. I opened the unlocked door and walked into the glorious castle. I was surprised to see the door led me to a middle courtyard. It was spectacular with a cathedral-like quality. At the other side of the courtyard was another door that was open. I decided to enter the door; I wasn’t sure what to expect upon entering such a glorious castle. As I made my way
through the corridor, I could barely see. It was dark and I felt my way by touching the walls. The walls were coarse and prickly. It was like touching coral at the bottom of the ocean. I made my way to an open room in the back of the castle. I could hear someone talking in the room. I peeked in and there he was—the blue gnome.
“Who are you talking to?” I asked.
“I was talking to you,” he replied.
“How did you know I was here?”
“How could I not? This is your dream.” The blue gnome sighed and came over to greet me. I motioned for him to sit back down.
“Have you tamed the wolf?” he inquired.
“Not yet; I’m working on it.”
“Very good. You must build a bond and then the wolf will break free.”
I was pleased to know my instincts were right and it was Tommy who was to be tamed. “What then?” I asked.
“When you are done, you must come back and see me. Then we will start your training.”
“Visit you?” I asked. “In my dreams?”
“No, Josiah, you’ll need to find me here. I will be here... waiting.”
“Here? Where?”
“Josiah!” someone screamed loudly. I woke up instantly. It was Tommy. He had transformed back into a Carni and was drenched in what appeared to be water or sweat. His long brown hair looked as if he had dipped his head in a pool.
“Are you going to let me out or what? I have to piss!”
“Oh yeah, where’s the key?”
“It’s in my coat pocket. My coat is hanging on the wall outside the door.”
I unlocked the door, and Tommy ran past me to use the restroom. When he returned, I asked him if he remembered anything. He told me he needed to sleep on it. He said he had more images than normal and he needed to sort them out. I felt were onto something.
Chapter Fourteen