The Original's Return (Book 1)

by David Watkins

  “BAD DREAMS ARE FUCKING NORMAL JACK!”

  John held up his hands in the universal ‘calm down’ gesture. “I think I should leave you to it.” This time he got up and almost bolted for the door. Neither Jack nor Katie made any attempt to stop him.

  “You had a traumatic day,” Katie hissed. “Bad dreams are normal. Your clothes falling off you and ending up in shreds next to a dead man is not.”

  “I don’t know what happened!” It was Jack’s turn to shout.

  But you do know Jack. Oh yes, you remember it all.

  “I want you to go back to the hospital. Right now Jack.”

  “What?”

  “You heard. Go back and see that Doctor Maxler-”

  “Baxter.”

  She glowered at him and he realised a little too late that this wasn’t the time to be pedantic.

  “Josh will be awake soon. We will go to see the doctor, make sure you’re ok.”

  “There’s nothing wrong with me.”

  “Jack, please.”

  He realised then that she wasn’t angry at him, well not that much anyway. Angry Katie wouldn’t have stayed in the room with him. The post-birth hormones wouldn’t be helping her emotions either, but he was wise enough to keep that thought to himself.

  “I can’t just turn up and get an MRI scan.”

  “No, but you can go see that doctor and get yourself more thoroughly checked out.”

  He conceded defeat by raising his hands in a close mimic of John’s actions earlier.

  “I’ll go and get Josh, you ring the hospital. I’ll drive.”

  Chapter 13

  1

  They barely spoke on the long drive to the hospital. Josh slept all the way, head slumped to one side at that horrible angle only new-borns seem to manage. The head support in the seat seemed to be in danger of contravening the trade descriptions act. It took them just under an hour but seemed a lot longer. Jack remembered the journey taking him just over thirty minutes several days and a whole lifetime ago.

  He spent most of the journey trying to think of ways to break the ice. He didn’t even dare turn on the CD. He knew that Katie was worried about him and that currently, concern was manifesting as anger.

  He couldn’t blame her.

  He ran through the events of the last few days over and over again. He couldn’t deny the facts: something had happened to him; something horrible and strange. He couldn’t grasp the reality of it. Was he turning into an animal? Was he losing his mind? Something else?

  This is just absurd Jack. Turning into an animal? You really have lost it.

  More facts: running on all fours; the strange dreams; the taste of blood in his mouth; waking up in a field with no clothes and ripped clothing being found next to a dead man.

  As they neared the hospital, Jack became more and more certain that no doctor would be able to help him.

  2

  Katie tried to keep her anger in check. He was lying to her, she knew that much: what she couldn’t figure out was why. What was he trying to hide? From her, the mother of his child. She knew she was being more than a little emotive with that thought, but she couldn’t help it.

  She had been terrified to see him on the doorstep with no clothes on. Looking almost feral with dirt caked over him. Now she thought about it, was it just dirt? Could some of the dark streaks have been blood? That had been before John had turned up with his bombshell. But that really was what this boiled down to.

  What exactly did she think Jack had done?

  Attacked and killed a man? Not Jack, no way.

  The man who had taken her to a bookshop for their first date could not kill a man. He had taken her to Waterstones in Piccadilly Circus. It was huge, covering six floors, but that hadn’t been the reason for going. Jack had just smiled when she’d looked confused. A date in a bookshop? Hardly gets the pulse racing.

  Turned out there was a cocktail bar on the sixth floor. They’d sat and drunk absinthe all afternoon. They’d done it the European way too: melting sugar cubes covered in absinthe into the shot glass through a slotted spoon. It had felt a little like cooking up drugs - not that she’d ever done that.

  There was no way that Jack would have killed a man.

  3

  Knowles and Jones tailed from a very long way back. The entire family had got into the car so they had decided that both of them should follow. They also had inside information on where the Stadlers were heading. No alarms and no surprises. Knowles sang it to himself. Who had sung that?

  “So what do you think is going on here?” Jones asked.

  “I don’t know,” Knowles said honestly.

  “Come on, after all we’ve been through – you must have more info than us.”

  “I really don’t. Stadler came to our attention when he fell into that cave. I think it was because he was unhurt. Our op is purely surveillance.”

  “Yeah, but surveying what?”

  “I don’t know.”

  “Do you think he killed that man?”

  “Jonesey, we’ve both killed people, but it was in the line of duty,” Knowles said after some deliberation. “Kill or be killed. But it doesn’t matter-”

  “That shit stays with you.”

  Knowles nodded. “Yeah. It does. If he did it, then God help him.”

  4

  The hospital was as busy as usual and they had to wait nearly five hours to see Doctor Baxter. He seemed much younger to Jack than he had the first time they’d met. He had a day’s worth of stubble and big bags under his eyes. He fought back a yawn, but – much to Jack’s annoyance – brightened considerably when he saw Katie.

  “It’s Mrs Stadler isn’t it?”

  “Yes,” she said, smiling at him. The man was handsome, in a public school boy kind of way. Jack could feel his pulse quickening and a cold sweat ran down his back.

  Stay calm Jack. You know who she’s going home with.

  “So, Jack, how are you feeling today?”

  “I’m fine, Doc.” Jack tried to keep his voice neutral, but judging by Katie’s stern look he had failed miserably.

  “Well, what can I do for you?” Baxter looked between the two of them, his face almost comical in its puzzlement. “Is there something wrong with the baby?”

  “His name is Josh,” Jack snarled. He felt his pulse increase a little again. Josh was asleep in a sling tied to Katie. They looked beautiful together, the new mum and the content baby. All babies are beautiful when asleep.

  Katie put her hand on Jack’s leg. He felt his muscles tense at her touch, but in a good way. He felt the heat of her hand and it seared up his leg into his groin. His pulse shot through the roof and the sweat was now pouring down his back.

  “No, there’s nothing wrong with Josh,” Katie said, smiling at the doctor again. She looked stunning and Jack knew that Baxter could see it too. “We’re here about Jack.”

  She shifted her gaze to Jack and inclined her head towards Baxter. Jack sighed and tried to get his pulse to slow down by deep breathing. It didn’t work. Baxter leant forward, hands on his knees. His gaze was firmly on Jack, but his hands were millimetres away from Katie’s bare legs.

  “Something happened last night,” he started slowly. “I-”

  “Go on.”

  Jack tried not to let the interruption annoy him. “I was attacked by a man. I was hit on the head then ran away and woke up in a field. I can’t remember how I got there.”

  “Where on your head?”

  “Back, and my left leg too.”

  “Well let’s have a look at you. Is it ok to roll your trousers up or do you need to take them off?” Baxter was looking at Katie as he spoke. He was smiling at her, eyes lingering on her legs. Stop fucking my wife with your eyes. Jack tried to bury the thought, but too late. Always too late, Jackie boy.

  “I think you should leave. I want another doctor,” Jack gasped. He could feel his insides moving, his bones beginning to stretch.

  “Jack-”

&n
bsp; “Mr Stadler, Jack, are you ok?”

  “You need to leave-”

  Jack started to change.

  5

  It was approaching dark. Jonesey put out his cigarette and went back in to the waiting area. Knowles sat reading a gardening magazine. It was a very incongruous sight. Jones suppressed a grin and sat next to him.

  “Where are they?” he asked.

  “They’ve just been taken by a doctor,” Knowles said as if it were obvious. “Third curtain down the hall on the right. The doctor came out and got his kit, then went back in.”

  “Why do they do that?”

  “What?”

  “Get their kit after you’re in the curtain. You’d think they’d have it all to hand.”

  Knowles shook his head. “For fuck’s sake, it’s been a long shitty day, you watch the curtain.” He threw the magazine onto the coffee table and stood up.

  “Where you going?”

  “For a slash. Just watch the curtain, Stadler doesn’t leave without us, ok?”

  Jones nodded.

  “And get us more coffee.”

  Knowles was halfway to the toilet when the screaming started.

  6

  Katie watched hair sprout along her husband’s arms and his nails grow, curving into claws. Her mind couldn’t cope with what she was seeing. The hair was now thickening, matting together until it resembled fur. She looked at his face, her heart hammering so hard against her chest she thought it might escape.

  His eyes were a bright yellow, almost golden colour. The pupils were an enormous black circle in the centre of a sun. The remaining white bits were red-rimmed and laced with blood-vessels. His teeth were far too large for his mouth and as she watched they too grew and sharpened. The strange thick black fur was sprouting along his chin and now his mouth – no, face – was stretching to accommodate those terrible teeth. His skin was rippling, like waves off shore.

  She couldn’t help it. She felt her bladder go, warm liquid splashing over her legs and feet. She opened her mouth and screamed.

  7

  Baxter started moaning as soon as he saw fur sprouting on his patient’s arms. In five years of medical school and three years of practical experience he had never seen anything like it. Jack Stadler was changing in front of his eyes, his entire body going through some kind of metamorphosis.

  This is going to make me rich.

  The first step would be to get this written up and then published in one of the journals, but which one? The mental health ones would be a waste of time as this was clearly happening- it certainly wasn’t all in Jack’s head. Infectious diseases? Hereditary genetic disorders?

  He was still thinking when something seemed to explode out of Jack. A thick, hairy arm topped with razor sharp claws swung at him and took a large chunk out of his face.

  8

  Katie screamed louder as Jack swung his arm at Baxter. The younger man fell backwards, blood pouring out of the large cuts in his face. He had three lines running from his jaw line, across his nose and other cheek. Skin flapped loosely around the cuts and Katie knew that Baxter would no longer be good looking.

  He fell to the floor, pulling the curtain off its rails and rolled around there holding his face as if trying to stop the skin falling off. He pushed hard on the cuts, but blood poured out through the gaps in his fingers, pooling around his head like an obscene halo.

  She turned Josh away from the thing that was standing where her husband had once been. Tears rolled down her cheeks and she couldn’t stop screaming. She stepped through the curtain into the corridor and started sobbing in between the screams.

  Doctors and nurse were sprinting towards her. Somewhere a fire alarm was urging people to clear the building. Its klaxon sounded as if it were under water because all her senses were being dominated by the thing. She felt the huge presence behind her, felt hot air being blown onto her neck and turned slowly.

  Two well-built men not in hospital clothes were running towards her, but it seemed as though everyone was running to her so that hadn’t been what had got her attention about these two. She recognised them. They had been in the pub yesterday, watching Jack. She couldn’t focus on that now. Couldn’t focus on anything other than what was happening behind her.

  She continued to turn, forcing herself to look at the thing that had exploded out of her husband. Jack. Her eyes skated over what he was doing, refusing to take it in. Something warm splashed onto her face.

  Oh God, Jack, what have they done to you?

  He opened his mouth and roared when he saw her looking.

  “Get away from my son!” she screamed as loudly as she could. “Get away, get away, get away!”

  Then the world was sliding, getting dark and she fell to the floor.

  9

  Knowles turned at the scream, hand straight to his weapon. He had a brief moment of panic and felt the surge of adrenaline that had been a near constant companion in Afghanistan. He forced his hand away from the weapon – analyse first. Doctors were running down the corridor, towards the screams. The public were on their feet, or those who could stand anyway, and were edging towards the door. Jones was looking at him and pointed down the corridor. Watch me, follow me. He wanted to run, but a group of people blocked the way. He reached over and smashed the cover to the fire alarm with his elbow. The people looked up at the sound of the siren and then, muttering all the way, they started to head for the exit.

  God help them if it had been a real fire.

  He saw the doctor who had greeted the Stadlers fall back into the corridor, ripping the privacy curtain as he fell. Blood was pouring from multiple wounds on the doctor’s face and the man was trying to stem the flow with his fingers. Knowles could tell he was wasting his time.

  He saw Katie Stadler stagger backwards, screaming and shielding the baby as best she could. Something fell on the doctor’s prone body and buried its head in his neck in an obscene parody of a lovers’ kiss. Blood geysered out of the wound, showering Katie - not that she seemed to notice – and he knew that the doctor was gone.

  “Get away from my son!” he heard her scream. “Get away, get away, get away!”

  The thing had reared on its hind legs, clearing her head by at least a foot. Thick black fur covered its body and sharp teeth filled the mouth. Blood dripped out of the open orifice creating an image that Knowles would find hard to shift every time he closed his eyes.

  Katie collapsed, somehow shielding the baby as she fell. The thing fell to all fours and sniffed at her, like a dog at a bin. Knowles could hear the baby – him – crying over the fire alarm. The thing turned to look at him as he sprinted closer, and too late, he wondered if rushing towards it was a wise move. Too late, he reached for his weapon.

  It pounced and hit him full force in the chest. He fell backwards smacking his head on the tiled floor. His gun clattered away from his hand. Stars exploded into view and he grunted, expelling the last air from his lungs. He was pinned by its paws and his entire view was filled with two rows of razor sharp, blood stained teeth.

  “Fuck!” he screamed as the creature roared, lowering its head.

  Bullets tore into its flank. He heard the distinct pop! pop! pop! of a Browning firing. The animal – wolf – roared in pain and then leapt off him. He rolled quickly and swept up his gun. He fired three shots in quick succession, aiming at the thing’s back. It howled again and ran past Jones, heading for the doors.

  The hordes of people heading for the doors all paused as one. The thing ran past them all, accelerating as it ran into the night. It let off a final roar before it disappeared – a high pitched, guttural and completely animal sound that chilled the blood.

  “What the fuck?” Jones gasped.

  “Thanks man.” Knowles stood slowly, checking himself for cuts as he stood.

  “You hurt?”

  “No.”

  They both turned to where Katie and Baxter were lying on the floor. Baxter’s eyes were wide and unstaring. His blood was
still expanding, running into Katie’s hair and face. A nurse in a blue uniform had lifted the baby and was trying to soothe it. Another nurse was checking Katie’s pulse. Around them were signs of panic and bedlam. Doctors and nurses tore up and down the corridors, shouting instructions at each other. A crash cart was thundering down the corridor, the doctor pushing it white faced. Some patients were crying and the ones the wolf had run past were extremely pale.

  “Where’s Stadler?” Jones asked, surveying the pandemonium.

  Knowles paused for several seconds before answering. “I think he just left.”

  They looked at the door and the shocked faces surrounding it.

  “Jesus.”

  “Yep.”

  10

  The wolf ran and ran. The ground passed quickly under its feet. As soon as it left the hospital, it crossed a road, ignoring the screech of brakes as it went. It was soon in a field, then woods. Birds took to the air noisily ahead of it. Deer and other nocturnal creatures scuttled away through the undergrowth. The scent of salt filled the air as it breathed and it followed the smell.

  Blood stopped leaking out of its side as it ran. If it had been running on a road, it would have heard the clatter of the bullets landing after they had been pushed back out of its body. It felt stronger and stronger as it put more miles the hospital further behind.

  Eventually it broke through the tree line and saw large mounds rising ahead of it. The ground became softer and the salt scent became almost overpowering. It slowed to a fast walk, sticking to the natural shadows. It climbed the sand dunes and avoided a small fire and tent in a hollow. The smell there. Something familiar.

  It soon found an empty hollow away from the camp. It sat on its haunches and looked at the sea. The sound of the waves was calming. It lay down, head on its paws, gaze fixed on the horizon. Soon its heartbeat slowed down, breathing became more regular. It watched with no emotion as the fur began to seep back into its limbs.

  Jack sat up and began to cry.

  Chapter 14