by H. T. Night
“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 to 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 completed 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 any time soon. I’m worried more about your Carni friends who will be in full werewolf mode during the next three nights.”
I stuck my head out of the room and yelled, “Can everyone meet over here?” Within a few seconds everyone appeared. “Come inside Tommy’s lair.” I said. “I would like to speak to everyone.” Everyone stepped in the room.
“What is it Josiah?” Lena asked concerned.
“Tommy and I were talking and we think it would be a good idea if everyone was to leave for the next 72 hours.”
“What the hell are you planning to do?” Yari asked, insulted.
“I plan on doing bonding exercises. The least distraction that’s here, the more Tommy and I will be able to connect. It’s going be extremely valuable for us to do so, if this is going to work.”
“Josiah, have you ever seen a Carni in its werewolf state?” Wyatt asked
“No.” I said.
“It’s the scariest, most intense thing you’ll ever see.” Lena said, jumping in. “Are you sure you want to do this alone?”
“It’s the only way it can be done. I’m sure of it. I believe there’s more to the Carni than meets the eye.”
“What if there’s not? What if they are just crazed dogs?” Yari said intently.
“Then we’ll know for sure. As long as Tommy is willing to stand and fight next to us, we owe it to him to see what he is capable of becoming.”
“What about you Josiah?” Tommy said. “You have talents that you haven’t even scratched the surface of.”
“My time will come. I believe it in my core. This is what we need to do first.”
“We all hope you’re right, Josiah.” Lena said with an assuring tone.
“I believe that there is a chance there is something great inside Tommy. The Triat gave me the vision and this how I’m interpreting it.”
“So where should we go?” Lena asked
“Go to my house.” I said.
“Do you think it’ll be safe?” Wyatt asked. “We’re not exactly the most liked group of people in town.”
“I know,” I said, “but I’m sure you’ll be safe. Neither the Carni or Krull is after you. They are after me. If you do run into any trouble, just head to the Flatlands. At least you’ll have friends there.”
“Is that what you want?” Yari looked at Tommy.
“Yes, it’s what I want,” Tommy answered back.
“Then it’s a go.” Yari left the room. She seemed hurt, but this wasn’t her deal. She needed to trust me. Or at least respect the fact Tommy trusted me.”
“Here are the keys to my house.” I tossed my keys to Lena
“I guess we’re out of here,” Yari walked over to Tommy and hugged him. She let go and walked over to me. “I hope your right, Josiah. Your instincts have been right on so far. Please be safe.” Yari leaned in and hugged me tight.
Lena walked over to me also. “You sure about this?”
“Yeah, this is going to work.” I said. “I know it.”
Lena brushed the back of her hand on my cheek. It was a tender gesture, one that gave me goose bumps. “I guess we’ll see you two in a couple days.”
“I guess so.” With that all of them left the room and got ready.
Chapter Eleven
Everyone had left and made their way to my house. There was about forty minutes until night would come and then the full moon would reveal itself. Tommy and I were in the room.
“How do you go to the bathroom if you’re chained up?” I asked.
“That is what the cardboard is for in the corner. Most of the time I can make it.”
“Oh this is going to be fun.” I said.
“Just show me the courtesy of not staring at my junk when I go.”
“I don’t see that being a problem, Tommy.”
Tommy paced around the room, stopped and looked out the window. “I think it’s time to lock me in. So, what’s the plan Dr. Phil?”
“Well,” I said, “it is my belief that we need to bond in stages or phases as you will. Tonight, you will be chained in.”
“You’re planning on unchaining me at some point?”
“Yes, I am.”
“Josiah, if you’re wrong—”
“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 in the cage. I watched on as a spectator and friend.
“Josiah, you really have no idea what you’re in for.”
“Nothing surprises me by 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 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 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 emotiona
lly. 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 roll 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. “Alright, 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 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 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 four and let out another frightening howl! I watched as grey 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 use a restroom. His hair was a beautiful, silver mane. His nose now began to elongate and his ear begun 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 will very soon; when that happens, he’ll want to take my head off.
I watched on. What I was witnessing 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 anticipating him having. I thought he would be a crazed junkyard dog salivating for something. Instead, he was lying on the floor like golden retriever on a hot summer’s night.
Then something unusual started happening. Tommy started to whimper and he began to wine 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 in his presence.
Tommy got to his feet. I thought he was going to turn around and notice me. I anticipated the worse 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 heart breaking 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 my feet up 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, completely dumbfound, 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 somber 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 would want no 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 will 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 if 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 defe
nse.
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 some 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 a emotional level.