Hybrid (Book 2): Hunted

by Stead, Nick

  The outside world grew more inviting the longer I felt trapped in the old cellar and again I entertained the thought of exploring the city, where fresh water and prey would be plentiful. And I might have been reckless enough to venture out, if I hadn’t been naked and covered in dried blood. Clothes just weren’t practical when I was having to shift between forms so regularly and sometimes at a moment’s notice, as had been the case the night before. Even if I’d had access to any clothes that day, there was nowhere to wash in the immediate vicinity. Of course I could have transformed back to my wolf form to hunt, but with my energy already drained from the number of recent transformations without being allowed to feed long enough to completely replenish it, and with the hunger so powerful as a result, I didn’t want to risk another change unless I had to. There was no guarantee I’d be able to find enough meat to make the change worthwhile and as reckless as I had become, I hadn’t completely lost my ability to reason.

  Footsteps sounded from that human world I longed to roam and I tensed, adrenalin pumping through my system as I readied myself for another attack. It seemed the Slayers had found us, and I had no choice but to fight, hungry and weary as I was. The moment they came through the door there would be nowhere to run, an oversight on Lady Sarah’s part perhaps, but I don’t think she’d expected them to find us again so quickly.

  My rage blazed up and I gladly opened myself to it, relying on that fury to give me the strength to face my enemies once more. With barely a conscious thought, my teeth and nails lengthened into fangs and claws, but I had enough sense not to allow the transformation to go any further. If I tried to take it too far I wouldn’t have the energy for a fight, and it may well be the death of me. I would have to hope the supernatural speed and strength I possessed even in my human form would be enough, without tapping any further into the greater strength of my lupine nature.

  Time seemed to slow as I crouched there, my heart pounding with the anticipation of more combat. Yet the minutes dragged on and still no one entered the abandoned building. Then the footsteps grew quieter as the humans walked past. The Slayers hadn’t found us after all, or at least not yet. But that wasn’t to say it hadn’t been a group of them I’d heard outside so I didn’t let myself relax, nor did I reverse the changes, in case I had need of my own natural weapons.

  The anger still roared through me, the presence of potential Slayers a reminder of the very reason I was being forced to endure such discomfort. Even in a world without them where I’d been bitten and turned, maybe leaving my family behind might still have been inevitable to protect them from my predatory side. But if it weren’t for the Slayers I wouldn’t be forced to cower in the shadows like a lowly prey animal. Humanity were supposed to be my prey, their lives mine to crush just as I had with the spiders, their flesh mine to feed on. They were only mortal after all, so what did it matter if I was the one to rip their lives from them? No matter how great an imprint they left on the world or how intensely their souls burned in life, that light would eventually be extinguished one way or another. Their mortal end was inevitable, so why should I not be the one to end it for them? Why couldn’t I be allowed the freedom to kill them as easily as the spiders, especially when the world was crawling with a greater population than the earth could sustain. It was so tempting, but only the thought that, unlike the spiders, human prey could fight back, kept me from bursting through the old building and falling on the first person I came across. The danger they posed to even so great a predator as a werewolf or a vampire was enough to keep my anger in check, just enough to prevent me from doing anything stupid, but the rage wouldn’t drain away with the possible threat posed by the group of humans I’d heard in the area.

  All was quiet again outside but still I remained tense and wrestling with my dark desires, until finally life, for want of a better word, breathed through Lady Sarah’s corpse with the advance of dusk, and the vampire rose beside me.

  “More Slayers?” she asked worriedly, quick to notice I’d readied myself for a fight.

  “There were humans nearby,” I growled. “But they passed here a while ago.”

  “Let us hope they were civilians then. Come, we need to search for somewhere suitable for the full moon.”

  We were both wary as we left the darkness of the basement behind us and emerged onto the streets. All was quiet and we were able to slip away unnoticed, the adrenalin and rage that had been flooding my system finally beginning to fade in the absence of any enemies. Another wave of weariness crashed over me and it was only with an effort of will that I was able to keep moving, until the moon broke free of the clouds, bringing a much needed rush of energy. It was almost full, the wolf stirring within my subconscious once more, again feeling its call. I felt my eyes change from their usual human greenish brown to lupine amber, and it took another effort of will to suppress my desire to hunt. I would have loved to have given into the bloodlust once again and run free through the city, ripping and tearing the unsuspecting humans until the streets ran red with their blood. But the vampire would never allow it, so I had no choice but to keep running beside her.

  Once we’d passed through the urban area, Lady Sarah led us back into the countryside, searching for shelter isolated enough from civilisation for the full moon. She knew she was no match for the power the moon would have over me and thus wouldn’t be able to keep me from killing, so she planned to spend the next three nights as far from the human world as possible.

  It was another long night spent running over great distances, but finally we found a large stretch of woodland with an old abandoned building set in a clearing between the trees. The area appeared to have been used as a campsite once, but given the state of neglect the place had been left in, it seemed the site was no longer in use. Lady Sarah was not about to take any chances based on appearances alone, however. She had us search the grounds for any hint of recent human activity in the area, but there were no fresh scents of people passing through there.

  We did come across a large pond, murky and uninviting, but thirst drove me to my knees at the water’s edge, my body’s need for liquid overruling any misgivings my brain might have had. Lady Sarah waited impatiently as I lowered my head to drink, my reflection just visible, faint and ghostly. I paused to study the image of myself, the face of the human boy I’d been still physically the same, yet no trace remained of who I once was beneath the dried gore staining my skin. So little time had passed since the curse had robbed me of my humanity, but already it felt like a lifetime ago. Memories of the happier times with my family and friends seemingly belonged in a past life, as if it had never been truly me, or not the current incarnation of me. Maybe it had only ever been the dream of a monster who wished for a human life, and now there was only the cruel reality of the present and the knowledge that this was for eternity. The past would become increasingly like a distant dream.

  I might have stayed there for the rest of the night, transfixed by my own reflection, but my thirst soon broke the spell. The stagnant water tasted terrible though I lapped it up anyway, grateful for the soothing effect of the liquid washing over my dry mouth and down my parched throat. Behind me I was aware of the vampire growing restless, no doubt feeling we’d lingered too long when there were still things to do before the sunrise drove her to hide inside another makeshift shelter, and I was forced to rise before I could drink my fill. At least I’d be able to come back for more later in the day, which would mean one less discomfort to cope with while I watched over Lady Sarah.

  We also found a rabbit warren. By that point the vampire had deemed the area acceptable for our current needs, for which I was relieved. I welcomed the chance to rest, exhaustion suddenly taking over as the moon retreated behind the clouds once more. But first we fed on the family cowering inside their burrows, though there was not nearly enough blood and flesh to satiate either of our hungers. I’d caught the scent of deer as we’d searched the grounds but the trail was a few days old and they weren’t likely to come bac
k to the area while we were there. The meagre meal the rabbits offered would have to do for that night, though such small prey would not satisfy when the moon rose again as full. If Lady Sarah had plans to help me manage it without endangering us both she didn’t let on, but I suspected it would be the hardest trial I’d face in that first week of struggling to adapt to this tough new lifestyle.

  Once we’d eaten, I was permitted a couple of hours sleep before the new day dawned. Lady Sarah sought shelter in the old building which was little more than a converted barn. There was a large storage cupboard no doubt once filled with supplies for groups staying on the site, but now empty, save for more spiders that had taken up residence there as nature slowly reclaimed the area in man’s absence. The cupboard was just big enough for the vampire to climb into for the day and she did so without complaint. Such a cramped space was far from ideal for her, but no doubt she had been forced to make use of far worse shelters in the past.

  Safe from the sun’s deadly rays, the vampire spoke to me through the wooden doors before entering the death like sleep of her kind.

  “Try not to give into the change too early tonight,” she said. “All being well, I will be with you when it happens, but if you let it come too soon I might not awake in time. The last thing we need is for you to run off alone.”

  Her counsel was as good as ever but I still wanted to rebel against her. I’d only survived so long in my hometown because the Slayers there had wanted to use me to gather an army of undead for them to massacre and bring us that bit closer to extinction. And if they’d succeeded in killing me in that battle it may well have been the extinction of my race, since Lady Sarah believed I was the last werewolf alive. I don’t think they’d expected us to find enough strength to defeat them, believing us to be but a shadow of the great predators we once were, reduced to skulking in the shadows and scavenging on what we could. If I indulged in the greater bloodlust the moon awoke in me and hunted freely, I was much more likely to be discovered by our enemies, and it seemed they would no longer suffer me to live, as evidenced by the trap we’d almost been caught in the night before. Yet I wanted nothing more than to run rampant, answering the moon’s call to hunt and gorging myself on the flesh of the human prey I craved until I was so full I could eat no more.

  I tried to settle down to keep watch while the vampire was vulnerable through the day, but I was far too restless to stay still. I could feel the coming of the full moon that evening, and though the exertion of fighting and fleeing, coupled with too little sleep, had begun to take its toll on me only hours ago, I felt charged with energy once more. My lupine instincts were as strong as ever, urging me to hunt. I paced back and forth in the old building as I struggled to keep control, but since the human part of me wanted to hunt just as badly as the wolf, that was one fight I was never going to win. I soon found myself stalking through the woods, intending to find more rabbits to prey on or perhaps some birds, even though it was humans I truly desired.

  I prowled between the trees, trying to tread as lightly as possible, though my lupine half was still a far better hunter than I was. I could move with some of that animal grace and agility wolves possessed, but there was still some human clumsiness as my bare feet crunched over ferns and other plant-life. Unless I surrendered control of my mind completely to the wolf, I was never going to move quietly enough to catch any birds. Even with my supernatural speed, they took flight too quickly for me to grab them. And I was having no luck finding any other prey, unable to sense any more rabbits or rodents to kill. It must have been late morning when finally I was forced to return to the old building, aware I shouldn’t leave the vampire alone too long in her corpse like state.

  Tiredness crept over me once more and I settled down miserably on the hard floor, cold and hungry as ever. But exhaustion soon got the better of me and I dozed off into a light sleep.

  The snap of a twig brought me back to the waking world with a jolt, my instincts recognising it as a potential threat and making me instantly alert. So close to the full moon, I had the usual sense of wanting to swivel my ears towards the sound, but I was still in human form and knew I had to remain so until that night. The hunger would be powerful enough without another transformation prior to the unavoidable one the moon would bring, and since the vampire was probably going to make me try to fight it, there was no sense in making a nigh on impossible task even tougher.

  I listened closely to my surroundings and seconds later picked up the sound of another footfall. Though I still hadn’t fully mastered my enhanced senses, I knew the smell of humans well enough by that point and I had to assume they were more Slayers. I vaguely wondered how they’d found us again so quickly, but such thoughts were soon lost in the chaos of my rising bloodlust. I could feel the wolfish part of my mind strong as ever in response to the lunar cycle and for once we both wanted the same thing – to tear into the soft flesh of human prey and enjoy a bloody feast that would satisfy both the hunger and my need to kill.

  I could spare the energy to grow fangs and claws once again, and with a feral smile I got to my feet as quietly as I could manage. There would be no Lady Sarah to hold me back this time, and surely she couldn’t argue with the need to fight in this instance. She was vulnerable through the day and it had fallen to me to protect her. Fleeing was not an option so I had to make a stand and defend her sleeping, corpse like form. And my need to kill and to feed would not be denied so close to nightfall. It was a fight I wanted, and I welcomed the oncoming bloodshed, summoning forth my rage once more as I prepared to face the foolish mortals who dared test me yet again.

  My anger was quick to respond to my summons. I felt it stir and claw its way up out of the darkness it resided in, a separate beast to my lupine side – one born solely of the human in me. That anger was everything. It was the fire smouldering in the dark pit of my being, blazing up into a raging inferno whenever it was fed and given rise to consume and control me. It was the tidal wave that rose up and crashed back down, flooding my body with fury. It was the storm that sparked into life, its thunder rumbling as my rage awoke like a sleeping giant, flashes of lightning streaking within the dark emptiness where once there had been a living soul.

  I gave voice to that anger in a primal roar, before charging to meet my enemies once again. No longer attempting to be stealthy, my feet crashed over the dead leaves and twigs littering the ground, the sound of my own heartbeat loud in my ears as the anger and adrenalin coursed through my veins. I judged this latest group of Slayers to be roughly a mile away, but it only took me around a minute to reach them, running at full sprint.

  The humans had frozen, perhaps at the sound of my roar, wondering which form they were going to encounter me in. I crashed into the first one, smashing his head into a large tree root and cracking open his skull like an eggshell, shards of bone and brain matter exploding over the ground from the impact. Moving far too fast for the mere mortals to follow, I rose from the corpse and slashed another one of the men. My claws were long and sharp enough to rip through his clothes and into the wall of his stomach, shredding the muscle to expose his guts. A loop of intestine slipped through one of the claw marks like the coil of a snake, or a huge slug emerging from the hole, so slick with blood it appeared slimy in the autumn sun. He stumbled back in shock, hands pressed against the wounds to try and keep his organs in place. Disabled by the pain, he was no longer a threat so I left him for the time being and lashed out at a third, this time raking my claws across her throat. Blood spurted from her jugular vein and she too fell, death quick to take her.

  I turned to the last two in the group, utterly confident in my power. So few of them. When would they learn to stop underestimating me, especially with the moon giving me even greater strength? Clearly they’d thought I’d be an easy kill with no Lady Sarah to save me if I lost myself so completely in the bloodlust as I had in the last fight, but I would not make that same mistake again. Still, if they wanted to believe such a small group could kill me who was I
to argue? All they’d achieve would be to send more lambs to the slaughter, and I was all too happy to oblige in that.

  My eyes had turned lupine again but I didn’t try to wrestle the wolf back into our subconscious this time, though I didn’t grant him complete control yet either. He would have his fun during the night but this was my prey, and I would enjoy killing the last of them and eating my fill.

  I felt invincible as I rushed the last two Slayers left standing, but suddenly the glare of the bright autumn sun was in my eyes, blinding me. In my arrogance I’d failed to notice they’d manoeuvred themselves so it was behind them, and I was forced to slow, squinting as I tried to keep track of their movements. I heard gunshots but I’d already anticipated it and darted to the side, the bullets thudding into the trunk of a tree just behind where I’d been standing. I didn’t give the men chance to fire again, grabbing the nearest and throwing him against the same tree the bullets had lodged in. He fell to the ground screaming in agony from numerous broken bones, including an open fracture in his upper arm where the jagged edge of the bone had pierced the skin. Like the other survivor I’d left alive for the time being, he was too lost in the world of pain I’d thrown him into to be a threat, leaving me free to take my time with my final victim.

  I pounced on him, his gun flying from his hand as he landed on his back, just out of reach. The man reached for a knife even though he knew he was finished, but I caught his arm as he attempted to slash at me and twisted until I heard the snap of another broken bone. He screamed and dropped the blade, and finally I gave myself completely over to the bloodlust, savaging him with tooth and claw like the beast I truly was, and gulping down chunks of bloody flesh.