Werewolf Chronicles

by Traci Briery

  Enthusiastic cooing came from the group.

  "People were saying that I should start with the choreographer and let him or her do the picking, but I don't like that. I mean, I can dance, but I want to be able to do these moves, too! So, yeah, I've worked with choreographers in my videos, but I want someone I can… I don't know, I guess bond with her, or him. I have a rep as a perfectionist, and it's true. I am. But I think you guys are, too."

  "Ummm," she continued, "well, that's enough for the pep talk. Like I said, you guys are the last group I'm going to look at, and I can only take two others. I hate this part—turning people down, I mean—but I can't take everyone, right? Okay! knock me out!"

  Some of the hopefuls whooped and applauded to themselves, and all of them kept an eye on the competition while taking their places. Loraine had only learned the night before that Roxanne had not been called back. Loraine had offered comfort, but Roxanne had tried to pretend that it had been like any other rejection—a staple in their business. They both knew, however, that this had not been just "any" rejection; this truly would have been a major break for any dancer. Loraine even felt twinges of guilt for getting as far as she had. Roxanne had all but dragged her to the audition. Roxanne had been so excited about it, and Loraine, who had been so ambivalent about going, got a callback on an improvised dance.

  The situation had changed little. Loraine still had nothing planned. She had tried to work out something the day before, but had found herself preoccupied with discovering her "secret admirer." She had also been wrestling over whether or not to return Michael's call, or rather, calls by this time. She would do this soon, but not just yet. She could just tell him that she had been on a vacation.

  "Phyllis Turner!" a man's voice called. Loraine stepped up to center stage. Only one person had gone before her. Usually she disliked being up early, but this time, she wanted it over with soon.

  "Ummm," Loraine said, shaking herself out quickly to loosen up, "I've changed my name to Loraine. Just recently, that is."

  "We'll make a note of it," the voice replied. "Whenever you're ready."

  Loraine had snatched up "Thriller" no less than five minutes before leaving the apartment, and prayed that no one would laugh. In her state of mind "The Monster Mash" would have been just as appropriate. The tape was not even cued up properly, and started in at just before the chorus.

  Once again Loraine let her instincts guide her. The music was miscued, but she picked up instantly on the tempo and rhythm, and executed moves that put the Gloved One to shame. No one else existed as soon as she took her first step. She lived now in a world fifty feet wide by thirty feet deep, and called a stage. Friction and gravity also ceased to exist, allowing her to glide and fly across the stage at will. Even the music faded until only its beat remained. Loraine danced to the beat only, and would have continued even in its absence, except that the man's voice finally penetrated her mind.

  "—nk you!" it said. "Okay, thanks! You were great!"

  "Um," Loraine said, straightening herself up slowly, "um, thank you."

  "Don't leave yet!" came Taylor's voice. "Just stay off to the side, okay, hon?"

  "Yeah. Okay."

  For now, this meant nothing, because everyone had been asked to stay until the end. Only then would Taylor make her decision.

  Roxanne cried out and hugged her friend with glee. Loraine stiffened in surprise, then soon relaxed and returned the embrace.

  "Heyyy, it's just a job," she said. Roxanne slapped her shoulder playfully.

  " 'Just a job,' " she said mockingly. "This is a great job! Lead dancer and choreographer to Tamara Taylor?? So what would be a great job to you?"

  "I'm just kidding," Loraine said. "Believe me, this blows me away! But I've… there's just so much on my mind… This happened so fast…"

  "Well, when are you supposed to start?"

  "In, um_ a week," Loraine said as if coming out of a daze. "Yeah, a week. There are other people that are flying in from… New York? At least one girl is from New York."

  "Two, if you count yourself."

  "Nah, I've lived here long enough to be an 'Angeleno.' But hey; you don't have to pretend not to be pissed at me for 'stealing' a job from you."

  "I'm not pissed at you," Roxanne huffed. "I'm happy for you; I'm not faking this!"

  "I know, I know," Loraine said, forcing a smile. "I'm just… fucking with you, I don't know."

  "Okay… Roxanne said, leaning forward against a stool and nodding her head slowly. "So… why am I happier that you've made it than you are?"

  "You know why."

  "Not really, no."

  "It's what you keep saying I need to see a shrink about, that's what. Or, what was another one? A priest?"

  "I didn't mean to bring up a priest; I don't even know what I was thinking," Roxanne said.

  "I think you meant it, though, even if just a little bit."

  "It doesn't matter what I mean," Roxanne said. "I just want you to be happy. If even this new job doesn't do that, I… I don't know what to say." She picked up her purse and shouldered it.

  "Are you leaving?"

  "Just to Linda's."

  "Wait a second," Loraine said. Roxanne stopped, but did not face her friend completely.

  "What?" she said. "Oh, Michael's been calling lately."

  "I know. I'm going to call him back, but I can't until a few days from now. See, I have to leave, too."

  "Where? Is it for the job?"

  "No, it isn't for that," Loraine said. "It's before the job that I have to leave. I have to get out of town, or… go somewhere. Anywhere, as long as no people are around."

  "Why?"

  "Because… I want you to see something first."

  "What?"

  "I've been expecting too much from you. I owe this to you, I think. I'm gonna show you the whole thing. Not just a hairy hand, but the whole thing. My whole body. Do you think you could take it?"

  "What are you saying?" Roxanne asked. "Oh, Phyl; please don't tell me that you're going to change into a werewolf."

  "But that's just what I have to do!"

  "Hey, uh… really; that's okay," Roxanne said with a nervous smile. "You don't have to change into anything if you don't want to."

  "Quit being all… sarcastic and stuff," Loraine said. "I don't want to do this. Do you think it doesn't scare the shit out of me, making myself change? But it's probably the only way I can make you believe me!"

  "Um… y-you don't have to prove anything, Phyl," Roxanne said, backing away slowly. "I mean—oh, did I call you Phyl? Oh, man, I can't even remember your new name."

  "Loraine."

  "Loraine," she repeated. "I know you don't owe me, but I was. you know, wondering why that particular name."

  "I hate the name Phyllis."

  "Oh, I know," Roxanne said. "It was just a matter of time before you changed it. But in the middle of an audition?"

  "It just came to me, really," Loraine said. "And it wasn't until I got home that I remembered that it's Joanie's middle name."

  "Your aunt?"

  Loraine nodded. "Funny how we never really met until maybe two months ago, other than our two seconds at her wedding. We were like instant friends, y'know? She's the way I wish Mom had been. You should go with me back to Wisconsin. You'd love her. She's so sweet and… and warm." Loraine seemed lost in thought a moment. "Huh," she said, "Yeah, my deep subconscious, I'm sure. Obviously I want to be just like her and live on a farm and cook pot roasts every day."

  "I doubt if it's quite that extreme," Roxanne said. "You admire her, that's all. There's nothing wrong with—

  "I'm still going to show you," Loraine said. "I have to."

  "Have to what?" Roxanne said. "Wait—you mean you're still serious about changing into a wolf?"

  "I don't blame you for freaking," Loraine said. "I know this makes me look… obsessed, I guess, but I need to prove this to myself, too. Just stand over by the door."

  "You don't have to do this,"
Roxanne said. Loraine stepped forward to usher her friend to the door. "Phylum, Loraine, it's okay," Roxanne protested meekly. They both stopped at the apartment door. Loraine opened and shut it very quickly.

  "Just keep your hand on the knob, and if anything happens… I mean, if you think you're in any danger, then get out and run like hell."

  "Now you are scaring me."

  Loraine looked her friend in the eyes.

  "I'm sorry," she said softly. "Please do this for me. All I'm asking is that you stand there and watch. It's all I'm asking."

  Roxanne nodded her head slightly as Loraine went to the far end of the room. Roxanne's palm that held the doorknob was already sweating. She watched Loraine shake out her arms and legs and take several slow, deep breaths. Loraine blew out one long breath as she shut her eyes.

  There was some silence, and Roxanne continued to watch. Her hand began unconsciously twisting the knob back and forth. Loraine then appeared to tense up. She began to grit her teeth and let her head tilt forward. Her hands curled up into fists as her concentration intensified. Loraine held this position a few moments before her body began to quiver. The quivering never became shaking or convulsions, but it was enough to partially conceal the beginnings of the transformation.

  Loraine opened her eyes and looked up briefly. It was in that moment that Roxanne first noticed the change in eye color and the entire shape of the face. Of course, it couldn't really have been growing outward. Loraine's arms weren't actually growing hair, nor were the hands compressing into paws, or the ankles stretching out into animal legs. Roxanne's hand had stopped fidgeting with the doorknob. Her whole body was immobile, while Loraine's appeared to be quite fluid. Loraine's limbs stretched and flowed into non-human proportions. Hair appeared to be falling onto her to cover her otherwise perfect skin. Fangs that could tear open any throat glistened in a mouth lined with black lips. Roxanne watched her friend reach up and tear open her clothes like paper. There was a brief struggle, but the clothing lost and was immediately tossed away.

  Loraine dropped onto all fours; four true legs held up her body now. She was now standing and not taking the clumsy crawling position that humans took. Roxanne was still frozen in place; if anything was to happen, she would not be at all prepared for it. It appeared that Loraine's change was complete; there was now one human and one wolf in this apartment, but the wolf continued to quiver. It pushed up several times on its front legs, until it pushed hard enough to stand onto its hind legs. The bones of the hind legs flowed into new proportions, as did its front legs. Paws stretched out into claws. Once again the she-wolf had two arms and two legs, but it was not human.

  The wolf/human creature looked up at the frozen two-legger at the other end of the room. It appeared to be studying her a moment, then curled its black lips into what, under other circumstances perhaps, Roxanne would have thought was a smile. Then a slow, low growl came from its throat. The growl became something like a bark. It made different barks that Roxanne heard, but did not react to. The creature cocked its head and… shrugged? It growled again.

  "Now—doo—yoo—bleeve—meee?" came the words again in quick, painful bursts. The creature waited for Roxanne's response. She responded, but not the way it had expected or hoped. Her eyes rolled up. The last part of her body to fall was her hand which had, until then, been gripping the doorknob.

  The creature barked and fell forward onto its hands and knees. It tried to sit up, then collapsed and shivered. The sound of each gasping breath became higher and less harsh, until it was clearly the sound of a young woman gasping in pain.

  As soon as she could move, Loraine struggled to her feet and scrambled the rest of the way to her fallen friend.

  Loraine had only just touched her friend's forehead with a wet washcloth, when Roxanne bolted upright. "Is it still here?" she asked.

  "No, it's gone," Loraine said. "Shhhh, it's okay. Lie back down."

  "It's gone?" Roxanne asked. "Are you sure? Did you look? Where did it go?"

  "Shhhh, it's okay, hon, it's okay," Loraine said softly. "It's gone. Really. It's gone."

  Roxanne allowed herself to be laid down once more. She rested her arm on her forehead and blew out a breath.

  "Why am I lying here?" she asked. "Was I asleep?"

  "You fainted," was the answer. Roxanne responded with silence. Eventually she let her arm drop onto the sofa and opened her eyes.

  "That was you," she whispered, "wasn't it?"

  "Yeah, it was," Loraine whispered back. A brief silence followed.

  "Shit."

  "I didn't want to do that," Loraine said. "God knows, I was more scared than you were. I didn't know if I could do it, and… and still be sane. I was scared to death that I'd… hurt you."

  "You were scared to death…" Roxanne muttered.

  "I almost fainted with you, but it hurt too much."

  Roxanne began to sit up.

  "It hurt?" she asked. "Like, you're in physical pain?"

  "Sometimes," Loraine said. "It hurts more to… become that thing than to change back. Maybe it's because I'm always fighting it. But then, I'm not about to just let it happen."

  "Please don't."

  "I won't," Loraine said. "Like I said, I'm not going to go running off into the woods every month. I can't even be happy about this great new job I have. As soon as it's over I'm going back to Joanie's."

  "You mean Wisconsin? What if… what do you think is there?"

  "I keep telling you, the thing that did this to me," Loraine said. "Even if I learn to control it, like today…" Loraine shook her head quickly. "No. It's not worth it."

  "I was wondering about something," Roxanne said.

  "What?"

  "Well, the… the stuff you did at the tryouts," Roxanne said. "All that leaping around and… come on, everything you did was… was…"

  "It came from the wolf," Loraine said. "I know it does."

  "No, that can't be it," Roxanne asked. "It came from you, not from—"

  "Do you want me to change again and show you that it's true?" Loraine cried.

  "No!" Roxanne said, curling up into a ball on the couch. "No, really, you don't have to do that again."

  "I'm sorry," Loraine said, reaching out to her friend. "I didn't mean that. I won't ever do that in front of you again."

  "Why don't you just not do it again, period?" Roxanne suggested.

  "What do you think I'm working on?" Loraine snapped. "Sorry. I'm just trying to figure out what the hell I need to do. I have two days to figure it out or get out of town."

  "Two days?"

  "Until the next full moon. If I can't find something that can help me, I'll—go to the desert or something, I don't know. Somewhere where there are no people."

  "But what about Tamara?"

  "What about her?"

  "Well, doesn't she have you coming back in a few days now? How can you do that it you run off to the desert? Oh, there's got to be a better way to do this. You can control it, can't you? I just saw you do that."

  "I'm not gonna stick around here to try and meditate myself out of changing. What if it doesn't work, like it didn't last time?"

  "Well… well, keep practicing," Roxanne said, shrugging. "You don't have to change; you can control it, right?"

  Loraine met Roxanne's query with a long silence. She appeared to be stifling frustrated laughter. Loraine bit her bottom lip and shook her head to herself.

  "This is changing the subject," she began, "but I was wondering it you've noticed something lately."

  "Like what?"

  "Well…" she said, scratching her chin, "it's kind of hard to explain. At the audition, did you notice anything weird about it?"

  "Like what?"

  "Like… someone was watching us while we tried out?"

  "But someone was watching us.

  "I meant besides Tamara and her entourage, and the rest of the dancers and… I guess I'm not making a strong case for myself. Let me try this: when I was at the first tryout, I
felt somebody… watching me. It was different than the feeling I got from everyone else. It was like someone, or even something that was watching me, but I couldn't see him. It could have been a her, though. A she, I mean. Am I making sense?"

  "Um… um…" Roxanne fumbled.

  "Never mind, you've answered the question," Loraine said. "Thanks for trying, though."

  "Uh… anytime."

  Chapter Twenty

  Loraine had happily given notice to the restaurant manager, how that she finally had a job that really would pay the bills. She was in her room packing for a short trip, when Tamara phoned and asked Loraine to meet with her at her Los Angeles office. She had until the next morning before the bus to Barstow left, so Loraine left her packing on hold for the moment.

  "I want us to work together before everyone else gets here," Tamara announced as soon as the formalities were out of the way. "This is my first major tour, and I wanna look good, you know what I'm saying?"

  "Uh… uhhh, you want to start right now?" Loraine asked. "This minute?"

  "Yeah," Tamara said without a qualm. "You said you didn't have anything major going on right now, right?"

  "Uh… well, no, not this—I mean… yeah," Loraine said. "Yeah, let's do it, then. What did you have in mind?"

  Tamara began pacing around her office as she spoke. A man sat quietly and immobile on the soft couch that wrapped around half of the room. Loraine had only just realized that he had been there. She did not recognize him from the tryouts. He could have been her manager, boyfriend, bodyguard, or anyone at all. Tamara did not pay any attention to him during their conversation.

  "See, I can dance," Tamara continued, "but not like you, of course. Not that good. Your job is to make sure I do look good."

  "Of course."

  "I want simple, but fresh moves, you know what I'm saying? It has to… has to be choreographed, but I hate stuff that looks choreographed, you know what I'm saying?"