by H. T. Night
“I’m not wrong.” I said confidently.
Tommy sighed then stretched as if he was preparing for a MMA fight. When he was done stretching, he entered the cage. I watched as a spectator and friend.
“Josiah, you really have no idea what you’re in for.”
“Nothing surprises me at this point. The last two months have been insane.”
“How do you plan to tame the wolf?” Tommy asked.
“In stages,” I repeated again. “We need to build trust—more trust than we ever had before.”
“Josiah, have you thought about the possibility that I’m not the wolf the Triat talked about in your vision? Think about it, I lost to a Mani, even though he did no magic whatsoever against me. I humiliated my own kind to the point they left me to die. I will never be forgiven by the Carni. I’m damaged goods. Why would the Triat choose me?”
“You might never be forgiven by the Carni, but there is no way in hell that you’re damaged goods. Look at you; you’re built like a pit bull. I know in my heart that the Triat looks fondly on you. The Triat knows you are a good man and full of character. You need to trust me and believe in me. Together, we will change everything.” I then gave Tommy a comforting nod.
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 to get 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.”
“Josiah, if at any point—I turn on you—and you need to attack me to save your life, you’re going to have to do it.”
I looked at Tommy dead in the eyes. “It won’t come to that. I promise.”
“Are you in there tight?” I asked.
“As tight as it can be. We have about 25 minutes, so we better get started!”
“Okay, Tommy. You need to forget that I’m Josiah. You need to look at me like I’m your master. You need to take on the role of a typical dog who listens to the commands of his owner.”
Tommy looked at me perplexed. “Okay, then what?”
“You’ll need to obey my commands, no matter how lame they seem to you, or how silly you feel.”
Tommy chuckled. “All right, let’s do it.”
I took a deep breath and so did Tommy. I took a moment and just trusted the silence and then I began. “Tommy!” I shouted.
Tommy looked at me a bit startled and then lowered his head to show me that I was the one in control.
“Tommy,” I yelled again. “Look me in the eyes!”
Tommy eyes slowly raised and met mine. “Good boy,” I said. Tommy smirked.
“Tommy,” I pleaded, “please take this seriously. Concentrate on my command and just let everything go.” Tommy nodded his head.
“Sit!” I commanded him. Tommy hesitated at first and then obeyed. He sat on the ground.
“Good boy! Now stand!” I said with authority. Tommy stood up.
“I want you to sit and stand three times.” Tommy shuffled his feet.
“Do it now.” I commanded. Tommy obeyed and stood and sat three times.
“Good boy,” I said. “Now, howl!” Tommy howled.
It sounded almost as if he was whistling 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 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 was accompanying him in the room. He would very soon; when that happened, he would want to take off my head.
I watched and what I witnessed was very trivial. Tommy was the same height and was slightly bigger in body mass. For the first time, I got a glimpse of his eyes. They were the color of the sun—bright yellow. He turned his large body around and laid 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 got 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 and 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 was
n’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 get 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 it got. 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 do 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 to 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 had 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 Twelve
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 got 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 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 inside 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 inside 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 got up 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 f
ind 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.”
“How did you get out of the cage the other times?”
“I had a friend do it, someone I trusted.”
“A Mani?” I asked.
“No, an everyday human: a Tandra.”
“It was my sister wasn’t it?”
Tommy looked at me with a desperate look, “Yeah, it was, bro. Now please let me out or I’m going to piss right here.”
“Why are you soaked?” I took the key out of his coat pocket.
“It’s what happens when we turn back. It’s sweat.”
“I think I’m going to throw up.” I unlocked the cage door. I entered the cage and Tommy was still very much chained up. One by one, I unlocked his wrists and ankles and then his chest. When I got the last lock off, Tommy bolted past me and ran to the bathroom. I heard him do one of the longest streams of pee I have ever heard in my life. I swore it took three minutes. He came back into the room with a look of relief on his face.
“Tommy, my sister died two years ago. Who has helped you since then?”
Tommy paused and looked at me. “You don’t know her,” he said. “It was someone I trusted and cared about.”
“You have a lot of secrets don’t you?”
“I need my secrets; especially now that I’m flying solo.”
“You’ll never be solo, Tom.”
“We’ll see.” Tommy had a familiarity behind his eyes I hadn’t noticed before. “So, how did it go?”
“Do you remember anything?”
Tommy just stared straight ahead. He didn’t say anything.
“Tommy,” I said waving my hand in his face. “Do you remember anything?”