"I'll kill you motherfucker!" Reaper roared at Slicer and bounded around Zeke.
The Hell Hound Alpha savagely thrust his hind paw into Reaper's ribs.
Snap!
Reaper wailed in agony and toppled over.
Zeke grabbed Reaper by the neck and hoisted him high above the ground, shaking him from side to side like a ragdoll. "After I'm done with you, little brother," he looked over his mangled shoulder, "I'm gonna fuck that strawberry pussy to death."
Jamie writhed and strained against Slicer, her cries ripping into Reaper's soul.
Her pain is my pain.
Reaper snarled and choked, frantically clawing at Zeke's blood-soaked fur.
Zeke squeezed tighter; a rush of blood sloshed through Reaper's head. In his blurred vision, Jamie rippled like a funhouse mirror reflection of herself, stretching and widening in dizzying waves.
I'm so sorry, Jamie.
Reaper's body went limp as a muffled boom echoed in his ears like the rumble of ocean waves in a seashell.
Chapter 15
Muir Woods
Oz
Right now
Lucy caught a flurry of mauling and slashing as a bewildering Werebeast brawl played out in the center of Oz. An enormous roar punctuated the fight.
Staring up at the barrel of Granny's .44 Magnum, Lucy quickly scrambled to her feet, her worry for Xochitl blocking out anything else around her.
"Gimme that!" She lunged at Granny, snatched the gun from the old woman's hand, and spun to where her friend had been scuffling with Serrated Blade Hell Hound.
But Xochitl clearly no longer needed help.
Drenched in blood, the filthy Hell Hound lay unmoving on the ground; the long Bowie knife lodged in his throat.
Xochitl shot a cocky grin at Lucy, her eyes dark and distant.
A small smirk played over Lucy's lips. "Damn."
But their tiny second of mutual acknowledgment gave way immediately to the ongoing battle.
An enormous grey Werebeast with oddly tangled fur held the limp form of a golden Were aloft in one clawed hand. Rivulets of dark blood flowed over the golden one's fur as the Grey inflicted unceasing maniacal shakes, likely attempting to break the smaller Beast's neck.
"Drop it!" Lucy shouted instinctively.
"Jamie!" Granny screamed.
A high-pitched snarl and a whine pealed out. Not far from the knocked down statue and its gruesome burden, a brown Werebeast had mounted a smaller white Beast, a female. The silver white creature wailed and fought back fiercely.
"The white one's Jamie!" Xochi screamed, snatched her shotgun from the ground, and flew to intervene.
At the same time, Lucy raced toward the giant grey Beast murdering its helpless prey.
With a powerful heave, the enormous grey Werebeast threw the Golden's drooping body at Lucy, but she bolted out of the way, avoiding collision.
Alpha...Zeke?
The momentary distraction gave Were Zeke the advantage he needed to rush at Lucy. He slammed into her like a linebacker. She went straight down, his weight riding her all the way to the ground. The impact was shattering. Her already injured body cried out as every nerve ending detonated with agony. Frantic, Lucy pawed the ground for Clint, the gun just millimeters out of reach. Were Zeke plunged his jaws toward her unprotected neck, going in for the kill.
Chapter 16
Muir Woods
Oz
At the same time
Reaper's eyes shot open, and he sucked in a deep breath. His neck throbbed, and his throat burned as he barked out a painful cough. He pushed himself up onto all fours and shook out his mane.
The smoky air was thick with the smell of fear and rage as horrified screams echoed through Oz from every direction.
Across the commons, Reaper spotted an elderly woman pointing her cane and shouting instructions at Broglie townspeople like a drill sergeant as they scrambled through the decimated village, frantically trying to put out the fire engulfing Morey's Metalworks.
Granny? Where's Jamie?
Reaper spun around, searching for his mate.
Jamie sat on the damp ground, her right arm dangling at her side, and her matted hair plastered to her bloodied face. Struggling to keep hold of Slicer's hind leg with one hand, she ground her heels deeper into the dirt.
"Kill him!" she grunted through gritted teeth.
Slicer lunged at Xochitl Magaña, slapping her shotgun from her grip.
Xochitl scrambled away from Slicer, wildly slashing a curved knife at the Were while dodging his lethal claws.
Jamie! I have to help—
A savage roar — Zeke — wrenched Reaper's attention from Xochitl and his mate to the village center.
The hulking grey Alpha had pinned Lucy Lowell on her back, lunging and snapping at her with his deadly jaws. Lucy pressed one forearm against the Werebeast's massive chest straining to resist the attack as she desperately reached for Granny's .44.
What do I do? He'll kill her.
Reaper looked from Jamie and Xochi to Lucy and Zeke and back again, his mind splintering, warring with his instinct.
Protect Jamie! The Werewolf Whisperer dies. Protect Jamie! Granny dies. Protect Jamie! Everyone dies.
Reaper glanced at his mate. Through the darkness, her brilliant amber eyes sparkled softly.
I love you, Jamie.
He pulled himself up to his full height and howled with fury — then raced toward Lucy Lowell.
Chapter 17
Muir Woods
Oz
Right now
"Off!" Lucy snarled, possessed by panic and rage.
Were Zeke's body jerked back as if pulled by a tether.
Lucy grabbed Granny's Smith & Wesson from where it had fallen in the dust and cracked it across the side of the Beast's face.
She drew her legs up and jumped to her feet, gun on target.
A furious howl thundered. Something large barreled toward her from the side.
Lucy turned and fired Clint.
"Reaper!" Jamie's voice shattered the night. Everything slowed to a near stop.
Lucy watched the golden-bodied Werebeast drop.
Reaper! No!
Lucy heard Xochi yelling something she couldn't understand. Then she heard deep-bellied laughter.
Lucy thrust around like a cobra, her body tense, her arm straight as she aimed the gun toward the low sound.
Were Zeke bore down on her.
She squeezed the trigger once, twice.
Center mass hit.
The Alpha's body seized. He took one more labored step toward her, then went to one knee.
Lucy emptied the gun into Zeke's chest. The rapid-fire blasts pounded against Jamie's mournful howls and unleashed Lucy's primal rage. Her vision fragmented like a grossly pixelated TV screen.
Not enough.
A few long strides carried her to Were Zeke's keeled-over body.
Not enough.
She didn't know when she'd drawn the knife from the inside of the braided camel whip, but the long, pointed metal spike felt heavy in her hand.
Need to bury it. Bury it deep.
She dropped to her knees and plunged the rough dagger into Were Zeke's face.
Senseless sounds rushed all around her like a dissonant choir.
She screamed incoherent nonsense at the body.
No control.
Blood obscured her vision.
Tears.
"Your fault! Your fault!" she screamed at the dead Werebeast. "You made me kill the boy! Your fault!"
She wanted to stop driving the dagger into the hated form, but she couldn't.
The smell of blood and death constricted the back of her throat.
"Take it back." She choked on her own words.
She drove the dagger deep into the Beast's eye socket. She met resistance, pushed harder. A slight crack rewarded her. As if it were a broken wine bottle, hi
s skull let free a gush of red liquid.
Unleashed, Lucy arched and threw back her head. The pain that torpedoed through her body was unlike anything she'd ever experienced before. All of her anguish, all of her pain, all of her remorse, all of her fear. She tried to scream, but no sound came out.
Chapter 18
Muir Woods
Oz
Right now
Xochitl froze, paralyzed by the horror of Lucy covered in blood like Carrie at the prom as she stabbed and stabbed the grey Werebeast over and over.
¡Madre de Dios!
"Reaper! Reaper! Reaper!" Jamie wailed over the slain golden Werebeast — her primal screams ripped into Xochitl.
Reaper? How did this?… I don't understand…I got my shotgun. I shot—
She glanced down at the gruesome hole in the brown Werebeast's dead carcass; a yellowed molar dangled from a leather strap looped around its neck.
Slicer. Right? This is Slicer…I killed him…Jamie's safe.
Xochi looked back at Jamie and Reaper. The girl sobbed uncontrollably as she rocked Reaper in her arms, her blond hair draped like a shroud over his body.
Why did Reaper?…Why did Lucy?...
"Get Lucy. Get your damn car and leave," Granny hissed, hobbling quickly past Xochitl toward Jamie. "Now, before…"
Like a bizarre scene from a Fellini film, an extremely tall man, a short round bearded woman and two thick-muscled men holding shovels, marched across the commons toward them — a macabre army of freak show performers.
Granny's neighborhood watch…Shit. Lucy.
Xochitl shook out of her daze, harnessed her Remington and raced to her friend.
Lucy yanked the camel whip's spear from the Werebeast's pulverized skull once more, drawing an eyeball from its socket; Xochitl gulped down vomit.
"Lucy," she choked out. "We gotta go!"
Lucy didn't budge, but clutched the weapon tighter. Her mouth gaped open though no sound escaped. She went to thrust the dagger into the Beast again. Xochitl gripped her hand, stopping her.
"Please, Luce." Xochi pried the bloody whip from Lucy's fingers and threw it on the ground. "We need to leave." She heaved Lucy up by the armpits.
Lucy staggered to her feet, slumping against Xochitl's shoulder like dead weight. She grunted.
"You need to walk for me, Lucy."
Lucy peered over at Xochi, her bloodied face streaked with tears. Sorrow, confusion, loss filled her eyes. Xochitl had never seen her friend look so vulnerable — so young.
"I got you," she said softly and threw her arm around Lucy's waist.
"He's gone." Granny's voice cracked as she gently pulled Jamie away from Reaper, the girl's skin stained red with the blood from her golden Were. Cradling her granddaughter, the old woman's face was ashen with grief as if she'd aged a hundred years in the last few minutes.
"We didn't want…" Xochi whispered. "We didn't mean for…I'm sor—"
Xochitl cut herself off. No apology, no words, nothing could ever make what happened that night right.
"Murderer!" Jamie howled as Xochitl and Lucy limped away.
Can we ever make any of this right?
Xochitl ushered Lucy across Oz toward the psychotic Hell Hound she'd killed only minutes earlier.
Get my blade. Get El Gallo. Get out.
She ran the mantra over and over in her head, keeping her eyes fixed on her Bowie knife sticking out of the man's neck and away from the ever-growing crowd of Broglie townsfolk.
Get my blade.
A no-necked man covered in soot and sweat blocked Xochi and Lucy's path. He eyed the women up and down. "The Werewolf Whisperer," he scoffed and spat at their feet.
Get El Gallo.
Xochitl tightened her grip around Lucy and shuffled around No-neck Man. She leaned down and yanked her knife from the Hell Hound, flicking the excess blood and bone from the blade before sheathing it.
Get out.
She scanned the edge of the commons. Just beyond Patty's Herbal Apothecary, a narrow dirt road led out of Oz. Barely visible in the dark, Xochi caught the orange glint of her muscle car's tail in the firelight. Without thinking, she pulled the gold rooster key chain from her pocket.
Wait. El Gallo is here. What did you do, Granny?
Xochitl picked up her pace; Lucy lumbered alongside her, eyes glazed over.
A fiery pain shot up Xochi's leg.
"¡Híjole!" she hissed and looked down at her jeans. Blood trickled from a small gash in her thigh. She ignored the pain.
Huffing and wobbling, Xochi reached El Gallo, tucked Lucy inside and shut the door with a clank. Lucy leaned her head against the window and stared blankly out into the darkness.
We have to make it right.
Xochitl wiped a tear roughly from her face with the back of her hand as she shuffle-skipped around the Toronado — her body stiffening with each step. She slid behind the wheel and noticed exposed wires hanging from underneath the steering column.
"Dammit, Granny."
Xochi tossed the keys on the dash, reached down and sparked the wires together.
El Gallo's engine revved to life.
Oz smoldered in their rearview mirror.
Chapter 19
Bodega Bay
The Beach
Early the next morning
Lucy woke to the sounds of the ocean. She didn't know how long she'd been asleep, but the sun was up. She pulled her Sherpa-lined bomber jacket closed against the chill.
Wait. How did I get my jacket?
She looked down at herself.
How did I get clean clothes? How's there no blood on my hands?
The last thing she remembered was driving her blade into Zeke's skull. Then nothing. Until now.
The glare of the bright morning sunlight hurt her eyes. She squinted and patted the car floor for her sunglasses.
Crap. Lost my shades in San Francisco.
Her hand bumped into the barrel of her Beretta.
Don't even remember picking that up.
"What happened to me?"
Her hands trembled as she leaned down to get the gun. She left it where it lay.
Xochi sat on the hood of the Toronado, facing the ocean. She didn't turn around.
Lucy dug through the glove box, choosing the ibuprofen over a pack of cinnamon gum. She swallowed two pills dry, thought better of it and downed two more before stashing the plastic bottle again. Then she popped a piece of gum in her mouth.
Lucy anticipated pain and moved with care. She opened the passenger door, slowly put both feet on the ground, and wiggled her toes in her boots.
Not horrible.
One hand on the door, one hand clamping onto the car roof, Lucy raised herself upright.
That feels okay.
Her body ached, but the intense pain she'd experienced the night before did not return.
I thought I'd broken my tailbone.
Lucy didn’t give it another thought. Instead she joined Xochi.
"Nothing on the radio about Broglie exploding. Though another pound blew up," Xochi rambled. "Fresno this time. Don't think Granny will squeal...I mean, it was self-defense...We didn't do anything illegal..."
A heavy silence settled over both of them. They sat and stared at the waves.
The beach was empty, the ocean waters splashing over the sand and then retreating. The back-and-forth movement coupled with the soothing sound was hypnotizing.
Lucy breathed in the salty air.
Time slowed. Stopped.
"Never went to the beach much as a kid," Xochi said after a long while. "It's nice."
"Peaceful." The September sun warmed Lucy's face.
"Want some?" Xochi offered her a small bag marked Pepitas.
"What is that?"
"Roasted pumpkin seeds."
"I thought they were bigger."
"No shells," Xochi said with a quirk of her eyebrow. "Salted. They're good.
Try some."
Lucy reached into the crinkly bag and took out a pinch of the little seeds. She picked one out of her palm.
"They are good...If you're a pigeon." She continued nibbling.
Xochi gave a little laugh.
Lucy rubbed her eyes.
"You look...better," Xochi said, studying her face.
"I feel..." Lucy didn't know what to say. Her eyes and lips twitched, betraying her sudden urge to cry again.
Xochi looked at her, helpless. "We're gonna be all right," she said finally.
Lucy cleared her throat. She let her eyes wander upward.
Bright blue like the ocean itself, the expanse of the sky was breathtaking and unmarred by even the wispiest clouds — a comforting blanket, keeping everyone safe. A smile came to Lucy's lips.
"Yeah, we'll be all right."
Epilogue
Thirteen Months Later
These are segments recovered from my son's blog "Inquest of the Truth." If any of you "Questers" have heard from Ronny in the last six weeks, please contact the hosting company. He's 31, stands 5'8" and weights 125 lbs, brown eyes, brown hair, thick black glasses. His father and I are worried sick. Please help us find our boy.
Please leave comments:
Hey Ronny's mom, bummer about Ronny. Here's the full "Inquest of the Truth." Hope this helps. The one-world government can't keep a good Quester down.
-TardisStarkillerForce
Inquest of the Truth - Ronny Hayes' blog
Disclaimer: The Anti-Werebeast Commission (AWC) and its founders Reverend Dr. David Barns and Rebecca Richards are not affiliated with, nor responsible for, the content of this site and its pages or any other affiliated online bloggers. The AWC does not promote or endorse the activities and/or statements, thoughts or opinions of Mr. Hayes or his "Questers."
The Werewolf Whisperer Trial
Hey Questers,
Are you watching it? The Werewolf Whisperer trial started today at 10 A.M. Pacific Time. How'd you like to be on that jury? Lucy Lowell sure looks nervous. She should be. This is where the Hound Chow hits the fan. They are gonna dig, and she won't be able to hide her government ties. Are you excited? Maybe you didn't catch it, but in the opening statement (about 7 min in) they mentioned the horse trailer video that we've all seen. But did you notice the reference to the recovered cell phone footage backstage of that "rumored" Christmas infomercial? Like I've been saying all along, Questers. It's real!!! I am gonna find it, but if anyone else finds it first, post the link in the comment section below.
Beast Out Of Hell Page 9