Night Dreaming

 

1

I woke with a start and nearly screamed “No!!” all because of a fantasy that could never be true; or could it? I had never had a nightmare this bad before, it is number one on my list of nightmares which all have me running from or running with someone I know. But this one is the most shocking of all of them. It starts off as me walking in the forest, staying on the track like an obedient little red riding hood, thinking of nothing in particular and not paying attention to my surroundings. I don’t know what made it change from peaceful to downright spooky; it might have been the story my Dad had told me before going to bed. Anyway, the forest changed from bright and mesmerising to dark and spooky making me stop in my tracks; the even spookier thing is that I was watching me getting frightened out of my wits. The snapping of a stick made me spin around to look straight into the hazel eyes of Mr Burke, my maths teacher, I relaxed, took a step towards him about to say how grateful I was to see him when a fast moving, pale thing rapped its arms around Mr Burkes’ waist and sunk its teeth into his neck. For some reason I don’t know I moved faster than I had ever moved before towards the pale creature, grabbed it around the head, one hand was under its jaw and the other hand was on its forehead, and tore its head off with inhuman strength. I threw the cold head away then dragged the rest of the body away and knelt down on my knees next to Mr Burke. Putting my arms around his limp body I lifted him partially off the ground but two sets of hands came out of no-where to pry me apart from Mr Burkes’ body then I realised that the hands that had hold of me were actually the paws of a wolf but my only concern was Mr Burke who was being dragged away by the other set of hands; that’s what nearly made me scream “No!!” but I think I woke up too soon. I didn’t want to have that dream two times in a row so I hopped out of bed, went to the toilet, had a drink of water on the way back to my room and then went back to sleep to wake up early to the sound of the kettle being boiled, it was around six in the morning. I’m not an early bird so it surprised Mum when I came out of my room to sit on the lounge rubbing the sleep out of my eyes as I went. “What woke you up so early, darling?” My Mum asked still half asleep herself. “I had a nightmare last night so I have been sleeping lightly ever since, any noise would wake me.” I yawned wanting to fall asleep but I didn’t want to have the nightmare again. Mum didn’t ask what my dream was about, which is a relief, but knew half of it without knowing what the dream was about. “Your farther had better stop telling stories before you go to bed he should know from personal experience what the dreams do to you.” Mum kept on grumbling but I tuned her out like I always do when she starts grumbling about things Dad shouldn’t do, which I shouldn’t tune her out. Mum said something that caught my attention again. “Can you repeat that please Mum.” I said in a quiet voice and Mum smiled at me. “Sure. I said that even though the stories are true Harold shouldn’t be telling you the stories before you go to sleep. It could be very bad for you if you woke up with pain coursing through your body with the sound of crunching bones making you think you’re being attacked by a vampire when you’re actually going through the first stage of changing into a werewolf. Michelle you have to stay at home tonight, okay. Harold and I’ll be out so for your own safety please stay inside; we don’t want to do something we will regret.” Whoa Mum had never said that much to me about being a werewolf and now they wanted to keep me inside when they were going out, this is so frustrating when you’re told only half of what you want to know. “Mum can you please tell me more about being a werewolf and please don’t tell me I’m not old enough, I’m fifteen!” I could tell that she was going to say that before she knew she would, I have a special ability that enables me to here the thoughts of every one, human and werewolf alike. It gives my parents the creeps and my friends are also uncomfortable about it as well. “Mum I’m so tired that I’ll most likely fall asleep in class. So can I stay home? I’m also feeling a little sick today as well.” And I wasn’t lying either and Mum suddenly went all concerned which was a big warning bell. She never got concerned unless something big was going to happen.

Home Alone, Sort Of

 

2

After Mum had made sure I was alright about staying home alone tonight and making sure I was feeling alright they went out to frolic in the forest which was not a good picture in my mind. It’s the 3rd of March, Mum and Dad’s marriage/mating anniversary. They’ve been together for 39 years now and it’s also my birthday. We had a party earlier in the day with all the family including the undead part of the family, the good undead part of the family. The Muller’s are vampires that don’t kill humans they live of animal blood which gives them the beautiful golden eyes that I love so much. I have golden eyes which no one can explain because I’m not a vampire; I’m a young not-there-yet werewolf who has vampires as extended family. Any werewolf other than my parents would be disgusted with my family for associating with vampires and not killing them after they trusted us completely. It’s just that they are not accepted by the other werewolves because they are vampires even if they feed on animal blood they are still not accepted which would get us killed if any werewolf found out about our relationship with the Muller’s.

Speaking of the Muller’s I can smell one of them, wait . . . smell them? That’s not a good sign at all; not without my parents here. The smell is like, like, that deodorant that Will wears, what’s it called? Lynx chocolate or something like that but it has another smell with it. . .

Human blood.

I could hear this rumbling and feel it as well; suddenly it stopped as I looked around me trying to find the source of the noise. When I settled down again and started getting comfortable I heard the creak of a floor board on the veranda and went still as a statue. The rumbling started up again as I moved from my spot on the lounge towards the sound and when I heard the hastily retreating footsteps the rumbling got even louder. That’s when I realised that the rumbling was coming from me.

I walked in a daze back to the lounge where the TV was still going on low volume. Another of the signs that I heard Dad talking about to Vince and Molly preparing them for IT when it happened just in case it happened while I was with them or out in the woods hunting with them. Mum and Dad thought that with me growing up around the vampires I had already gone through the first stage of being a werewolf. You see they have been around before I was even born, I mean they have been friends with Mum and Dad before I was born, so I pretty much was raised with two sets of parents. When Mum and Dad had to go somewhere the Muller’s would take care of me and my brother which back then was very often because they still worked for the pack back then but after a while both Mum and Dad got replaced so they could spend more time with us. Usually Mum and Dad would have sent me to the Muller’s on their anniversary but ever since the two new members of the family have come here my parents are being very suspicious by not sending my brother and me over there. But I wouldn’t go over there unless I knew that Will wasn’t there first even though he lives there now. The Muller’s had built a cottage for him and his brother which seemed to me to be a sign saying that they don’t entirely want them in the house with them especially when my brother and I were there.

I sat there staring blankly at the TV thinking of the rumbling that had been coming from . . . me. I pretty much thought myself into a scared frame of mind and impulsively decided to ring Vince. With my mind set I purposefully walked toward the phone that was charging on the counter in the kitchen. I saw a movement from the corner of my eye as I reached to grab the phone. My heart started to hammer. I knew not to look because then whatever it was would freeze and not move again. How did I know that? The feeling I was having felt like an instinctual reaction to the adrenalin that had pumped through my body at the sight of the movement. I admit I’m becoming paranoid. With what Dad was telling me about vampires and with Mum being all frantic and concerned that I wasn’t feeling well, who could blame me? Enough thinking, start dialling! I listened to the voice and started dialling the number.

It was answered on the first ring. “Michelle is everything alright?” Vince asked without asking who was at the other end of the line. It made me smile.

“Vince, I’m scared. Someone was outside earlier and I started . . . I started to . . . to-to growl. And then when I went to pick up the phone there was a movement outside the kitchen window.” I whimpered as a saw another movement through the lounge room window, which I have never done before. “Vince, could you please come over here or could I come to your place? I don’t feel safe Vince. Please help.” There was a weird noise coming from the phone. It sounded like wind rushing by. I listened to the noise as I couched in front of the lounge and tried to keep my breathing even.

Bang! Bang! Bang! The knocking at the door sounded so loud in the quite house. “Who is it?” I called from my position in the lounge room. I heard the answer both through the phone and from outside.

“It’s Vince. You asked if I could come over. Let me in Michelle. I’m not going to hurt you,” That’s an odd thing to say coming from Vince.

“Why would I think you’re going to hurt me?” I knew the answer before he said. Because it was my natural instinct to think that a vampire would hurt me.

“Because it’s your natural instinct to fear being hurt by a vampire, Michelle. At the moment all your senses are heightened, including your instinct to survive. Please Michelle open the door, I can help you. This is what your parents wanted me to do in case of them not being able to do so – to help.” Before I could think things over I raced to the door, threw back the locks and swung the door open to reveal a worried and almost fearful Vince. He was standing there still with the earpiece, which is a portable hands free phone, still on. He reached up slowly to turn the earpiece off and then he raised his other hand to show me he has nothing in his hands. It broke my heart to see him showing me he was weapon less and that he was leaving an opening for any attack.

“Vince you don’t have to do that, your family.” Even with saying that all my instincts were telling me to back away slowly until I reached the lounge room then run in there where it would be easier to defend myself. I fought to control these instincts as I waved him in while I stood ridged beside the door.

“Michelle I can tell from your body language that this is not comfortable for you. It is important that you see me as not a danger if I’m to help,” he leaned down so that he was at my eye level. “Remember Michelle, I will never hurt you.” As he was speaking memories of Vince and Molly protecting us from a grizzly bear and then a mountain lion when we had ignored their warnings about going into the forest alone when we were little. Also a few years ago when two vampires had come to the house while Mum and Dad had been away, Vince and his family had protected me and my brother. Whatever instinct that had been telling me to run was now overridden with the feeling of family . . . of pack . . . of protection . . . of safety. I suddenly lost all the stiffness from my body and slowly fell into unconsciousness. I was vaguely aware of Vince moving with vampiric speed to catch me before I fell.

**************************

Slowly my sense began returning and with each sense came the feel of something warm cradling me, of the dryness of my mouth, of the sound of a heartbeat and breathing close to my ear, of the smell of someone I knew and the slightly blurry image of Vince looking down at me. “Hello sleeping beauty. Decided to wake I see.” He smiled as I barked out a laugh that ended in a cough. He reached for something beside him as he said, “you probably need at drink before you can say anything.” He carefully poured some water into my mouth from a plastic cup.

I grimaced as I swallowed it. “Yuck, where did you get that water from, it’s disgusting? You didn’t get it from the. . .” The look on his face stopped me from saying the rest. He looked really, really worried. “What’s wrong?”

In the silence after my question I took in my surroundings and I was in my room on my bed cradled against Vince’s body. This was starting to feel weird, very, very weird. As I was about to repeat my question I suddenly could smell something out of the ordinary and it was close by. It smelt like something . . . something from the forest . . . I just couldn’t put my finger on it. The thought of the weirdness of being in my room being cradle by Vince on my bed faded to the back of my mind as the smell started to get stronger.

“Michelle . . . can you smell it too?” His voice was soft and low.

I lowered my voice to the same low pitch as his and looked at him with a puzzled expression. “What is it? I . . . . . know the smell from somewhere I just can’t put a name to it.”

“Michelle . . . the smell . . . it’s coming from you. As soon as you realised we are in your room and on your bed that smell appeared. What is going on in that head of yours?” He looked at me in a way he had never looked at me before, with an intensity that almost made me blush.

“Nothing is. It just feels . . . weird for some reason . . . I . . Never mind.” I looked away before I started to wriggle out of his arms when his grip tightened and he gently grasped my chin to make me look at me. He stared into my eyes. To me it looked like he’s searching for something in my eyes that would tell him what I’m thinking.

“What’s going on with you?” he whispered the question not really asking me but this time as he asked me I did blush.

The Change

3

Vince

She blushed. “I don’t know what’s going on.” She whispered back. She buried her face in my chest and started to cry. I held her as she cried and I thought about what was going on with her. She had never felt weird with me holding her this way before and she had never blushed when I had stared at her like I had done before she started to cry. And not once had she ever buried her head in my chest before. She only did that with Molly. Something is wrong. The fact she had rang me instead on Molly had also surprised me that is the reason why instead of say ‘hello, who’s this?’ I had asked what was wrong. She had she was scared and that someone was outside watching her through the windows and lurking in the dark. Actually . . . he had smelt something as he came rushing over . . . it had smelt like Will’s cologne and . . . blood, human blood. Could he have been lurking around the house? Would Will do that after swearing that he would stay away from her? Yes, he would. His own brother had said he wouldn’t stay away because he had been told to not go near her and so he would do the opposite. His own brother! Obviously Will’s brother doesn’t like him. It must be something to do with Will turning him into a vampire.

** **********

Michelle

Even though I had my head buried in his chest with his arms tightly hugging me to him I could tell he was thinking hard about something. The tears had slowed to a stop and I sat there shivering in his arms. Suddenly the temperature dropped and Vince tensed as he thought of something. A low rumbling started deep within his chest I could only hear it because I had my head against his chest. “What’s the matter?” I mumbled into his chest and he moved slightly.

“Nothing, I just had a thought about something.” He mumbled in reply and I knew then that whatever it was that had made Vince growl was – is going to face his wrath. Vince never growls like that unless something deeply angered him. I started to move away from his chest to look at him but I found I could not move. His arms around me had turned into a vice but it is not because of what he is feeling but what I am feeling or I should say hearing.

Crack! My whole body went numb with the sound just before I howled in pain. Followed seconds by another howl from Vince. He is feeling the same pain I am. His sixth sense is that of feeling. He could numb the pain but the pain, my pain, had put a barrier up to stop any numbing that could have be done. “Michelle . . . I’m sorry but I can’t numb the pain . . . I think. You’re. Going. Through. The first . . . Change!” He had to push the words out through gritted teeth.

“Let . . . Go. It would . . . be . . . easier if . . . you . . . did.” I had trouble getting those words out and they are going to be the last I will be able to say until IT is over. Vince tried to let go but he physically couldn’t let go. He had turned into an unbreakable solid rock of a person. I started screaming and I couldn’t stop. Suddenly my whole body as if it is on fire!

. . . .

In the distance two wolves skid to a stop. Their ears swivelling around listening. They had heard something howl in pain. They did not move they only stood there waiting for any more noise. Then came the scream. Deep down the two wolves felt an agonising pain within their chests. They knew who the scream belonged to! It was their daughter, their pup! Their pup was with another. The guardian they had been teaching to take care of her. Vince Muller the Vampire was with her. She is safe. Yet in pain. They needed to be there. With that single thought resonating in their minds the two wolves raced towards the house they called home. They howled.

. . . .

I barely heard the howling of a wolf, or is it two?, over my own howling of pain and of the howling of  Vince echoing my cry. My hands are curled into tight fists and I swear my whole body is trying to curl in on itself. There came a crash from the front door as something big hit it causing it to crash to the floor in splinters. I may not have been able to see this but I could hear the unmistakeable sounds of splintering wood. The sound stopped and replaced by the scratching of claws on the wooden floor boards. One minute I was being held tightly to Vince’s chest on my bed and the next I was curled up like a kitten when you pick it up by the scruff of the neck clutched to his torso in the corner of the room with Vince crouched and curled around me protectively. He’s visibly shaking from the pain he could feel from me because even now he is still touching me when he could have put me behind him to stop anything from getting to me without the haze of pain clouding his mind. Two wolves come into the room on the other side of the bed and they are so big that they could see us over the top of my bed without lifting their heads held too high. They both bared their teeth at us and growled. One slowly stalked around the bed while the other leaped onto my bed. Vince started to growl and he also bared his teeth at them but even I knew he could do nothing other than threaten them.

Slowly the one on the bed started to shift and it looked like the fur was melting into the skin and the bones were changing shape. The shape that I slowly saw before my eyes changed into my mother. She had clothes on and as soon as she finished shifting she raced over to them but stopped short when Vince growled even more harshly. “Vince, calm down it’s only me, Maria and my husband, Scott. You know us. We would never hurt Michelle. We are her parents, remember?” Even though I couldn't see his eyes directly I knew that he wasn’t going to let go of me until I stopped hurting and he wasn’t in his right mind himself because of the pain I was feeling.

“I’m sorry Vince . . .” I could only whisper it to him and he squeezed me a little letting me know he had heard me. Instead of looking at my parents one in human form the other in wolf form I buried my head in Vince’s chest again and waited silently for the pain to stop.

“Vince let me hold her. I need to and she needs me to hold her. Things will happen if I don’t hold before she stops hurting.” Even as she said that Vince and I both knew that it was already too late for that. Just being in the presence of Vince while going through the first change had transformed her in a way that not even her parents would be able to comprehend. I could not let him go if I tried and he could not let go if he tried. This had only happened once before and the two people who it happened to had been killed on the spot when captured by their own species. It was unnatural and an abomination when a were-pup bonded to a vampire in such a way that they saw the vampire as the only one who could keep her safe and protect her from anything. Usually the father would hold her first then the mother it was what created the bond between mother, father and child that kept the pack together.

Now there was no chance of that happening and it was also happening with her brother and Molly. The same thing as me was happening to my brother and my parents didn’t even think about him and what was going on. “You are too late . . . to stop this . . . for both . . . of your pups . . .” Vince said it in such a way that it sounded like an accusation and a sorrowful statement.

Both my parents howled with grief and sorrow for they have lost their children and there is no way of getting them back. They did not seem to blame Vince but even if they didn’t they still turned their sorrow and grief into anger and aimed it at Vince.

By the time my Mum shifted back into a wolf I was now being held by Vince like the pup that I am though in size I am no pup but compared to my parents, I am a pup. They stalked towards Vince and me, teeth bared and snarling. Before they could get any closer I leaped out from the protection on Vince’s body and stood in front of him with my hackles raise and with an almighty snarl ripping through my body and out into the air.

My parents stopped. Stared. Then snarled again. This time at me. I did not back down. I realised just as Vince stood up that the pain was gone and that colour had return to Vince’s face. We are bound. Vince and I. Nothing can break this bond. We are family, we are pack. My parents are not and even though they are no longer my pack there is still a gaping big hole where they should be. It felt very empty.

My parents see the pain in my eyes and they know it is not from transforming. They stopped snarling and lowered their lips to hide their teeth. For they know that their little girl is not so little anymore and neither is their little boy so little anymore either. The howl of a young wolf came from outside they saw my ears prick and my tail start wagging. They knew this would be their little boy that comes because they knew I would not react this way if it isn't my twin brother.

I howl in return the noise filling the room and shaking the house slightly. I watch as my parents step aside to let us past Vince being not too trusting of my parents jumps over the bed to the other side before saying to them, “You once told me there would come a time when you will lose your daughter and son to me and my family. Little did you know when you were teaching me how to take care of her in the time of need you were setting it up to be this way. It is not my fault and is not hers, is it yours? Because I didn’t ask for you to teach me nor did I wish to do this to you. But even if you hadn’t taught me how to take care of your children I still would have come when she called and I still would have done all that I did. I do not regret this.” With that he raced out of the room just before my parents went to leap for the door way where he had been standing moments before. Still even with their age and strength they did not beat me there for I turned and snarled at them again. Whatever I did I would always take care of Vince because that is what packs do they protect one another. My parents understood this now that I had snarled and defied them twice now for Vince. They are family but Vince is pack and family. He was there for me instead of my parents and I had no idea why I rang Vince instead of Molly which I normally would have done and Molly would have sent Vince to help me but instead I had rang him directly and asked for his help. I have a feeling the same thing happened to my brother.

The Letter

4

Impressum

Texte: S.C.Taufa
Tag der Veröffentlichung: 25.03.2012

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