Growl

by Ashley Fontainne

  Had I not been able to recognize them from their scents, determining who they were would have been difficult. Dane’s face was gone, his skin stripped down to the bare bone of his skull. He’d been scalped, his once beautiful head of hair missing and his once white shirt was red, covered in bright red crimson and gray brain matter. Chunks of flesh from his torso, arms, and legs rested in a mushy pile next to his feet. I closed my eyes from the horrific image and listened for the sound of his heartbeat, knowing I would hear none. I let out a low, whimpering growl.

  I opened my eyes and swung my gaze to my left. My throat opened and a huge whoosh of air left my lungs in the form of a tormented roar. Meemaw still had her face and hair, but every other inch of her exposed arms and legs had been shredded from her body. Her shirt had been ripped off and in her chest the letters S I N had been clawed into her skin. Two pools of crimson, each about the size of basketballs, had formed underneath where her arms dangled at her sides. The sound of her blood dripping as it left her fingertips made my vision blur as tormented wails growled from my soul. My hopes to save her were dashed when I realized she wasn’t breathing either. They were both too far gone to be saved, even by the Tree or the hand of God himself.

  Oh, God, their deaths were my fault!

  “Well, seems you can follow some directions well since you arrived in your weaker form. Sorry about the mess. Couldn’t control myself. You shouldn’t have made me wait. Patience is not one of my virtues.”

  The voice was from the ceiling, and I looked up just in time to see a body jump from its perch from the railing on the second floor. His feet landed on the concrete with a soft thud, his body crouched low to absorb the impact. He stood up, his dark brown eyes never leaving my own, and smiled. It was a sick, warped grin that I wanted to rip off of his face. As I stared at his familiar countenance, etching every line of his face, each curve of his body, every strand of long, thick ebony hair in my memory, I fought with all my might to control my anger. “I see you decided to take over Dane Witherspoon the fourth. Knowin’ your history as I do, I’m not surprised you killed your own child,” I responded, seething with fury at the man standing in front of me. “Your son may look like you, but thank God, he never acted like you.”

  His smile grew bigger as he replied, “I believe you mean used to look like me. You know…past tense since he’s dead. And don’t refer to him as my child. That word embodies a relationship. Feelings. Neither of which I had with him. He was just a potential vessel, and one I decided not to use. He was too weak…too kind-hearted. You seemed surprised by my actions, which I find rather odd. You know I’ve killed many.”

  With moves not perceptible to the human eye, I saw him begin to shift to his right. The predatory circling had begun, and I welcomed it. Hungered for it. He had wounded me, tore my heart to shreds, but I would strike back with a mortal blow. “No, you aren’t capable of real emotions. You kill without thought, without mercy, without reason. Not just strangers either. Family. Your ancestors. Your people, Hattak’katos. For this? For access to water tinged with the grace and power of Heaven? I already know the waters don’t contain eternal life. That’s only from God Almighty. It just has the power to extend life, but those who drink it will eventually pass. So why all this? Why the insatiable desire to control it? It’s not like you and I don’t possess the ability to live for hundreds of years on our own. But that isn’t enough for you, is it? You’ve jumped from body to body, from generation to generation. How vain of you to constantly seek out youth through your own flesh and blood. The gifts given to you weren’t enough, were they?”

  “Ah, you truly have become Nahu’ala, haven’t you? I hear it in your words and see it behind your eyes. Am I wrong?” Hattak’katos purred.

  “No, brother, you aren’t wrong. I just wanted to hear you admit from your lips your cowardice. My prayer is that when you hear the depth of your greed, the descent of your madness, you will finally be free of your curse and take ownership of the immense sorrow you’ve caused.”

  He threw his head back and laughed, heavy and deep. His thick, raven hair bounced in harmony, his features eerily similar to Dane’s. The disgusting sound reverberated off the walls of the building and caused some of the teetering debris to fall from the ceiling and crash to the floor around us.

  “Cursed? Cursed? Is that how you view our abilities, brother? Come now, it’s just the two of us. Tell the truth, for I won’t judge you. Are you saying you don’t enjoy what we can do? We can walk the line between animal and man, enjoy the pleasures of our animalistic desires in both human form and when on all fours. Tell me you didn’t enjoy copulating with your mate, Beulah, in the woods, free from all inhibitions? Tell me the feel of the power running through your body and the capacity to control the thoughts of others, to bend them to your will, doesn’t make you feel like a god? Tell me the taste of flesh and blood doesn’t excite you in ways nothing else can? We are gods, brother. The water will prolong our reign and then, we will truly be blessed. And you are right. My quest to control it hasn’t been for monetary gain. I couldn’t care less about the pathetic humans. I want the ability to wield the power. Join me, Nahu’ala. Cast aside your misplaced loyalties and ancient moral codes for these feeble humans and embrace who and what you are, my brother. Together, we could rule the world!”

  “It has always been greed and power that controlled you, Hattak’katos. Power to control things you weren’t meant to, and covetous greed for things never meant to be yours. Those two wicked desires have overtaken your heart and your mind. Turned you into a monstrous beast with no morals, no values, and no ability to love or feel compassion. You orchestrated the near annihilation of our people, Hattak’katos. You have killed thousands of innocents in your attempt to take something that never belonged to you! We were to work in tandem to keep the Tree a sacred, holy place. God sought our race out because we stayed true to His ways. We worshiped Him as Creator and loved and respected the world He made for us. But your heart was already full of hate when your totem came. Look what it turned you into. A cold-hearted, vicious killer.”

  His feet began to move faster, his body making a slow descent into a crouch. I could feel his anger bubble to the surface, along with my own. I mimicked his movements, my eyes focused on his. Madness and fury pulsed behind them, and I knew my own reflected the same. “I should have killed you that night beside the river long ago, brother,” he spat, the words hurled like vocal daggers. “You have been nothing but a thorn in my paw…an annoying gnat in my face. I should have known better than to think I could lure you to reveal the location. Guess I misjudged your loyalty to those pathetic hunks of flesh, didn’t I? You didn’t come to save your mate so long ago, so your offspring and mine matter even less.”

  My response was low and angry. “Your lusts overshadowed your ability to plan, Hattak’katos. Had they still been alive when I arrived, I might not have been able to control the urge to save them, and may have taken them to the Tree. So don’t blame me for your inability to control your hunger.”

  “You are a fool, Nahu’ala. A stupid, old fool. You’ve been in the human realm too long. It’s made you weak, soft. Which will make ending your life as easy as swatting a fly.”

  “You’ve never been more wrong, brother,” I hissed back.

  The second the words left my mouth, I heard the sound I’d been waiting for behind me as my body changed forms. It was the unmistakable grind of metal on metal of a pump-action shotgun. Hattak’katos heard it too, but had already changed as well. The two of us stood, nose to nose, in the middle of the plant floor, the loud snarls and growls of anger filled the space, and more debris began to fall from above us and crash to the floor.

  The monster who had once been my brother made the fatal mistake of taking his gaze off my own for a split second to look in the direction where the sound emanated from. In that small blip in the vast ocean of time, all the pain our people endured, all the death, destruction, sorrow, torture, and bloodshed, congealed into one
throbbing mass of rage. The loss of Nana, Barbara, Dane, Meemaw, and others piled on top of it—the last spark before the pyre of my rage erupted into a fiery inferno. When I opened my mouth, the growl was so loud it sounded like a stadium full of women had just screamed all at once. I bared my teeth and lunged.

  My fangs sank into the warm flesh under his burly neck, my claws embedded in the strong muscle of each shoulder blade. The force of my attack knocked him to the ground, his shrieks of pain muffled from my grip on his vocal chords. He spat, hissed, and tried to knock me away with painful swipes of his paws into my back, but I ignored him. Chunks of my fur and flesh were ripped away, but I welcomed the pain. I had him in a death grip and nothing would make me release his flesh from my jaws.

  We rolled over and over on the cold concrete, knocking more debris from the shaky ceiling and second level. A large piece of metal ceiling landed on my back with such force I felt my bones in my back haunches crack, and my grip around his neck waivered for a brief second as I took in a lungful of dusty air. He sensed the advantage and with one mighty jerk, braced his back legs against the wall and pushed with his front paws at the same time with all the strength he possessed. I felt my body fly backward and knew I was heading toward the metal cylinder where Dane was tied. I tried to shift the trajectory of my torso so I wouldn’t crash into his corpse, but I overcompensated. Before I could veer further to the right, my head slammed into the control valve next to the metal tank. The cold steel sank deep into my eye socket, the pain so intense it took my breath away. When I pulled myself free, I collapsed from the pain.

  “Die, you unholy beast! Die!”

  The sound of the familiar voice rang out, followed by the bellow of the shotgun blast. My ears rang when Drexel Kilgore fired, pumped once, then fired again. From my spot on the floor, I watched the hairy, black torso of Hattak’katos shudder as chunks of his flesh were blown off his right flank and shoulder. He roared in pain as his body crashed to the floor, the blood spatter covering a full ten feet around him.

  God, help me end this.

  I summoned every screaming nerve to obey my command to move and stood up. My legs wobbled as I made my way across the debris and blood strewn floor over to the quivering body of Hattak’katos. His breath came in heavy gurgles from not only the damage I’d done earlier, but the gunshots as well. His enormous feet pawed at the air, a sad attempt to deflect my attack.

  With ears back and teeth bared, I shot my head forward and ripped out his throat. Hot blood squirted from his artery, and his gurgles ceased as I yanked his windpipe from his torso, then spit it back on the floor next to him. He jerked twice as his eyes rolled back in his head and his paws fell to the ground. Blood poured from his wounds and covered the floor and my feet in seconds. I heard the last lub-dub of his heart and felt his life force leave his body. When it did, he was no longer in animal form.

  I rocked back on my hind feet, ignoring the pain in my hips, and brought both my heavy paws down on top of his fragile human skull. His head exploded under my weight, shooting out blood and gore in all directions. When I stepped back to examine my work, I chuffed in glee.

  The battle was over. This time, Abel slew Cain.

  “Is it dead?” Drexel Kilgore yelled from the other side of the building. His voice was full of anger and awe at the same time. Without moving to face him, I nodded my head. “Good! Now, come on. We got to get outta here before the whole place falls down on us.”

  I didn’t know how much longer I could stay conscious and on my feet, but there was no way I was going to leave the body of Dane and my meemaw. I wasn’t sure how well the connection and control I had over Drexel would work when I was in this form, but I needed to find out. I swung my gaze and locked eyes with the old man and spoke in his mind. Help me free them and take them out of here.

  Drexel didn’t move for a full ten seconds, but then seemed to find his legs. He crossed the plant floor in long, purposeful strides, making sure to steer clear of not only the dead corpse of my former brother, but also from me. I limped behind him, my thick claws making a strange sound against the cold concrete. In seconds, he was next to Meemaw and the sharp knife he produced from his back pocket sliced through the old rope with ease. I crouched down right next to her feet and tried to ignore the rank stench of her death. Place her on my back, and then climb on as well. Hold her so she doesn’t fall off.

  Drexel complied, and I moved with slow, tender steps through the mess of the plant and out to the soft grass next to the front parking lot. He jumped off my back and eased my meemaw down on the grass. I started to head back inside to get Dane, but just then, a bright bolt of lightning hit a tree less than twenty yards from the back of the plant. It was followed by a loud clap of thunder that shook the entire area. Under my feet, I felt the movement before I heard the sounds of the interior of the plant collapsing in.

  I bolted and ran back inside, desperate to free Dane before the entire place was a pile of rubble. Pieces of metal showered around me, peppering my back and head. I made it to Dane’s corpse just as a twelve foot section of the second floor railing crashed near us. I latched on to the rope, bit through it, gathered Dane’s remains in my mouth, and started to head back to the front.

  I was overcome with physical and mental pain at the taste of his blood in my mouth. Sorrow distorted my thoughts long enough that I never heard the sound of the steel girder above me creak and whine until it was too late. The tail end of it smashed into my right hip, knocking me to the ground. Dane’s body went flying out of my jaws, bouncing like a broken toy in front of me. Sickened by the sight, I roared in pain and dug my claws into the concrete, pulling myself across the floor on my belly. It took several seconds to reach Dane, but once I did, I scooped him up in my jaws and willed my body to obey my commands.

  Several minutes later, my torso trembling from pain and exhaustion, I reached the threshold of the main entrance. I could hear sirens in the distance and feel the cooling rain pepper my fur. Drexel was suddenly by my side. “Come on, honey. Let go. I’ve got him,” his gentle voice urged. I unclasped my mouth and waited until I felt the weight of Dane’s body leave before letting my head collapse on my bleeding paws. “Sheryl, you must change back. Hurry. You can’t let others see you like this.”

  He was right; I knew he was. But my mind, body, and spirit were destroyed. I didn’t have the strength or stamina to move any more. I couldn’t feel my back legs or see out of one eye. Consumed with grief and sorrow of so much death and destruction, my mind began to shut down. As the sirens neared, I felt a warm hand touch my snout.

  “You said if things got bad, you wanted me to say the word Talulah, and it would give you strength. So, Sheryl, Talulah. Come on, Talulah!”

  Just as the ambulance and fire truck turned in the drive to the Cohestra plant, the entire building behind me collapsed. I could smell the acrid stench of fire as flames roared to life. I paid it no attention and just focused on the name I had commanded Drexel Kilgore to repeat if things went sour.

  Talulah. Talulah. Talulah.

  When I realized I could feel pebbles press into the skin on my bare cheek, I knew I’d succeeded in changing. Drexel squatted down and whispered in my ear. “Your secret’s safe with me.”

  I heard the doors to the ambulance and police cars open and four sets of heavy footsteps running our direction. With my last bit of strength, I reached into the mind of Drexel and the others heading in our direction. I’m fine. Do not take me to the hospital. Call my mother. Now. Then I reached up and grabbed Drexel’s hand and whispered only in his mind.

  And you will remember nothing about my visit or what you’ve seen. You just heard yelling and stopped to help. You were out tracking the bear that killed Tami and heard a commotion.

  PART FOUR - NEW BEGINNINGS

  TWENTY-THREE

  The pencil in my hand snapped as the emotional weight of my memories hit me. I looked down at my feet and noticed it was the fifth one I’d broken during the last three hours I�
�d been writing. Remembering that day had drained me.

  I smiled when I heard footsteps in the hallway and answered my mother before she had a chance to knock on my door. I rubbed my stomach to quiet the growl of hunger. “Come on in,” I said, setting down the shattered remains of the pencil, then scooping up the others at my feet. My fingers were tired and needed a break, and the food she brought smelled heavenly.

  “Wow, you’ve been a busy gal. How many pages you think you’ve written?” Mom asked as she set down the tray in front of me, full of baked chicken and fresh vegetables from our garden.

  “I’m not sure but enough that my fingers refuse to do any more writing today. Thanks for the food, Mom.”

  “No thanks needed, precious. You must be feelin’ better today. I see some color is back in your checks. A nice, healthy pink glow.”

  I replied with a smile I didn’t feel on the inside and took a huge bite of the crispy chicken. With a slight nod of my head to the chair across from me, I motioned for her to sit. As she did, I saw her cast a quick glance at the stacks of paper on the table, a heavy dose of curiosity and revulsion behind her brilliant blue eyes. I could tell she was desperate to ask, but instead, steered the conversation in a different direction. “Your dad called earlier to tell me some interestin’ news. Said the whole town is gabbin’ about it.”

  I swallowed the mouthful of chicken and followed it with a long gulp of cold tea. “Oh yeah? I hope it’s somethin’ other than what happened three months ago.”