Crossouts and rewrites

This is another possible Excertp from my -book- that I’m still writing. This one might be scrapped due to the story leading in a different direction than i planned. -shrugs- whatever.

“I know you.”

Dark eyes, void of any emotion, stared beyond my physical form into space.

The man I’d spoken to was a stout fellow, all square jawed and doe-brown eyes. His hair had always been an unruly Bird’s nest in a sandy blonde shade, which was now sheared down to the scalp. At five foot five, he’d always had to look up to most people, but his personality had had people looking up to him.

Children and Animals had instinctively trusted him, this man who’d carried sweets and treats and hand them out with kind words and a soft voice.

His name was Dennis Alyk, and He was nothing like I remembered him. Now he was a shell, dark and empty of life.

“I knew you.” I corrected myself sadly, my shoulders slumping down.

Death and reanimation did odd things to people. Some found freedom, others found servitude. Many found nightmares, regardless of how they were changed, in the shadows that they were now required to reside in.

“When did it happen?” I whispered to myself, knowing the Vampire nearby could hear me as if I’d shouted. Dennis was still going through the motions of gardening, deftly plowing a furrow and ripping up stubborn weeds.

“two veeks ago,” Dimitri seemed to morph out of the shadows. I didn’t flinch, being accustomed to his silent appearances.

“How did it happen?” I asked, just as softly, trying to be mindful of Dennis nearby. Dimitri shrugged, not seeming to care, but his hands were hidden behind his back and he stood as straight as possible.

“A man, full of jealousy, stabbed him many times.” I winced, that was a hell of a way to die, especially if they hit internal organs just enough to slice, but not sever. Bleeding out took a little while and was painful the whole time after being stabbed.

“Still shocked, I think.” He paused, tilting his head slightly to his left, in an almost human gesture. “The soft ones always take time.” He mumbled to himself.

Dimitri and I had been friends for well over a year now, We’d met multiple times, but I didn’t get to know him until after I’d gone through a few life changes. He’d been hiding somewhere and I’d spotted him before the werewolves did, which worked out in his favor.

Though there were times that he almost got attacked for trying to lure me away from my boyfriend Bubba. I hadn’t realized he was a Vampire until Bubba had pulled me aside and told me.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

“You’re kidding!! You have to be!” I laughed with almost manic hysteria.

Bubba shook his head, “I ain’t kiddin with you darlin’! He’s got it bad, and wants to snatch you away!” He huffed, irritated at my denial, especially since he’d already voiced his opinion about Dimitri.

“He knows he ain’t gonna have you unless I get gone, either dead or otherwise.” I was staring at the ceiling, head resting on Bubbas thigh as we lounged on the couch.

“I dunno Bubba, I don’t know if I’ve ever even seen this person, how can you be sure he’s following me?” I was peering up from my lashes to gaze at Bubbas’ concerned face. He was scowling and his eyebrows were furrowed as he fiddled with his phone, searching for something.

“That’s one a’ the reasons I asked you t’ move in with me. I knew there was sum’on out there, an’ not to mention he’s a friggin Vamp too.” He was getting more agitated, rubbing his left hand along my arm in a comforting gesture.

“I have some friends who’re male, but I wouldn’t say they’re Vampires. We’ve all hung out during the daytime.” I scrunched my face and pouted, “Or is that a Red Herring?”

Bubba sighed, and Turned to the Right to pop his neck with a loud crack.

“Yes, an’ No. Really old Vamps c’n stand sunlight, and the Vamps who break ‘t rules to feed on Fey can too.” He sighed and slipped his phone back into his shirt pocket then scratched the top of his head roughly. “S’pposedly Cain, the first o’ their Kin was jus’ a human with a taste fer blood.”

I grimaced, and shifted on the couch, looking towards the glass door that lead to the outside world currently covered in fluffy white snow. It was strange to think about, seeing as I’d been raised in a Christian household, I knew the story of Cain and Able.

Both brothers would leave offerings to god, but Able gave the best, while Cain gave only what was left. God favored Able, and Cain, in a fit of jealousy, Killed his brother. Cain was then cursed and cast out. That was the short version anyway. To werewolves, Able was their Progenitor. He started the whole race.

The story went, at least from what Bubba had told me, was that as Able lay dying he was offered  a new life in return for servitude by the Devil. Able, being a mortal man who feared death and the finality of it all, took the offer and became a Wolf. God was angry at this turn of events and cursed Able with madness every time he changed. Thus the Lycan Curse was born.

Cain, on the other hand, had been cursed to drink the blood of his Kin and their decedents for the rest of his existence. He lost all favor with God and would be barred from Heaven forever. Not to mention he wasn’t able to see his own reflection, and wasn’t able to stand the light of the sun anymore either. What I had learned from Bubba and Vic was that a lot of the things that were supposed to deter Vampires, really didn’t do much to them.

Garlic? They didn’t mind it too much, Italian Vampires wouldn’t exist otherwise! Not showing up in mirrors? Well, that went out the window with the invention of Aluminum and other reflective materials that replaced the Silver-backed mirrors. If the Mirror was backed with Silver, the Vampire wouldn’t show up, otherwise they showed up like anyone else. Now, Bubba had just told me that even Sunlight probably didn’t stop them!

“So,” I stroked Bubba’s leg, and fiddled with a hole in his jeans, “It could be anyone.”

Bubba was tense and nodded, then sighed, “Y’know I worry ‘bout ye’ darlin’.” It was my turn to sigh, “I know, but you also know that I won’t just wander off with someone.” I turned to look up at his profile, and he smirked down at me. I could only grin in response.

“Besides, you’re the only one who can carry me without losing your breath.” I snorted and Bubba growled, then bent over to get a grip on my torso. I squeaked, not ready to be manhandled at all. He just snorted and slid me up his hard body and settled me on his side where he could keep a hold on me and buried his face in the junction of my neck and shoulder.

His sheer strength left me breathless sometimes. I settled down, knowing he wasn’t going to be letting me go anywhere anytime soon.

“Okay, so.” Bubba cocked an eyebrow at me, waiting for me to continue, as I took a moment to organize my scattered thoughts. “How can I figure out who the Vampire is? What can I do to keep them from trying to snatch me away?”

Bubba growled a little, his inner wolf rejecting the idea that he’d ever let anyone even try to kidnap me. Bubba was stronger than his instinct though and replied with a question rather than a straight answer.

“Y’know that necklace you got that make me break out in hives?”

I scrunched my eyebrows together, knowing exactly which necklace he was talking about. It was one that I had gotten from my mother, It was shaped like a snowflake and made of silver and Zirconium. The Chain was even silver, and because Bubba is a werewolf, he always reacted to being near it.

Then his meaning popped into my brain. “Vamps can’t stand the pure silver either can they?”

This is an excerpt from a book I’m trying to write, y’know, Generic stuff really. Girl find werewolf dude, vampires are chill, Dragons are a thing and while we’re at it, she’s a witch.  Oh, but it’s based in Alaska.  So yeah, here’s the stuff, this is from about the middle-end part.

“There’s nothing worse than knowing it’s all your fault”

“Shut the Fuck up Vic.” I snapped to the man traveling behind me as we trudged beside a stream in the backwoods of Alaska. I was peering around as we walked, looking for the clearing we’d be working in, but Vic was trying to pick a fight. 

He was getting on my nerves. 

He was the more successful of the two of us. 

“Make me, Wench.”

Pausing midstride, I turned to glare at him sharply. He was tense and growling deep in his chest. Great, he’s defensive and irritated, not like I was having a great day already! I sighed and rolled my eyes, as I turned to face Vic and he growled louder. “Don’t Fuckin start with me today Vic, we do NOT have time for this shit.”

“Then you’d better MAKE time! It’s your fuckin fault we’re in this mess!” He didn’t yell, but the vehemence in his tone was like a slap to the face. I hate being yelled at, and I hate being blamed for things I had no control over. I was already overwhelmed, and this was just a step too far. I stared at him for a moment, then bared my teeth.

“MY FAULT?” I started at a yell, “How is this MY fault?! ALL THIS SHIT STARTED LONG BEFORE MY GRANDPARENTS WERE BORN MOTHERFUCKER!” I stomped my way back to him, and his eyes widened.

He’d never seen me angry, he seen me frustrated, certainly! But NEVER angry enough to yell at people. He tried to make himself bigger, planting his feet apart and straightening his posture, as I approached him, tensing up even as I stopped a foot away and glaring up into his eyes directly challenging him to stop me.

“If I wasn’t a goddamn Omega, half the pack would be dead or worse!” I poked his chest with my left hand and practically pinned him to the tree he was standing in front of.

“Do NOT go layin’ this mess at MY goddamn feet!” I took another breath, trying to calm down enough to not strangle this judgmental fuckwagon. I crossed my arms, still glaring at him. His eyes were blown wide, the pupils pinpricks and his Irises changing from the clear blues to the green gold of his inner wolf. He held his head up high, and the low growl was vibrating in his chest.

Dominants don’t like being challenged, they obsess over order and  structure. Things must be ‘Just so’ in their world, and when that world order gets messed up or disturbed, they lose their composure. Vic was lashing out at me because I was the only thing he could project his feelings towards, but that didn’t mean I was going to take the abuse. I had been working for ages to re-teach the pack what was appropriate behavior and what isn’t.

We’d made progress, but this was something we were still working on.

“Vic,” He blinked, and looked away, “you know I’m not the person to blame right now.” I had modulated my voice, trying to speak more calmly and at a lower pitch.

It was absolutely necessary for him to be calm before we set to work, magic was finicky like that. Intentions have a lot of influence in magic and I didn’t need him screwing the whole thing up while I was working. Sighing, I lifted my chin to expose my neck, making myself as non-threatening as possible. I wasn’t giving into his statements, but I was acknowledging his emotional state. A few moments ticked by, and his shoulders began to droop.

“You’re a goddamn Omega Bitch.” He started, his eyes slowly leaking back to blue, “Why don’t you just…” He flitted his hands between us as I lowered my chin and smirked.

“If I just Omega’d all our problems away, you fucker’s’d never learn anything.” He snorted, smirking back showing the tiniest bit of canine. “It’s gonna be another decade before you teach me anything Bitch.” I just sighed again, moving to a boulder nearby to take a seat. Adrenaline rushes were exhausting.

“Vic, I know you don’t particularly like me, and I can’t say I’m terribly fond of you, but at this moment in time, we are working towards a common goal, right?” He was walking stiffy to the river we’d been following. Turning his back to me indicated that he was either seeing me as an ally, or that I was unimportant. Either way, he wasn’t going to attack me. He paused, then crouched down and was picking around at the rocks in the riverside. He seemed to be thinking pretty hard, and the silence was broken only by the chittering of some small birds and the burbling of the nearby water.

“ I can’t say I hate you, but yeah, we’re trying to set things back to a better place?” He was looking up at the canopy of the trees now, “ I just, like, I dunno.” Scratching the back of his head, he then stood up and placed his other hand on his hip. Turning to me again, his expression was neutral, but his eyes were dark with emotion. “This ain’t my shtick, I’m better at fighting and winning, Brain stuff is more Bubba’s thing.”

“And we’re here to help get Bubba back to keep doin’ his ‘Brain Thing’ Yeah?”

“I dunno, you’re the witch.”

“I’m not a witch, I’m Wiccan.”

“Same shit, different name.” Vic Grinned wide, his nose crinkling slightly. It was his way of teasing me without actually being nasty. I sighed dramatically, I’d be sighing a lot for the next few years if I have to live with this asshole.

“Whatever, can we get back to finding the damn clearing?” He nodded once, taking my sigh as a victory, which made his wolf side happy. I stood, grimacing slightly when some muscles decided to protest moving, as well as the bruises I’d accumulated recently. I didn’t groan, or ask for help, both were signs of weakness, and at this moment, I was in charge.

I was considered Bubbas’ ‘Mate’.

He was honestly only my boyfriend, but in the pack, once a bond was formed, only death would break it, unless you knew some fairly powerful magic to remove or at least sever the bond. Severing bonds was nasty work, and painful as all hell to boot. I love him, with all my heart, but I wasn’t sure if I was ready to commit fully to being a werewolf and his full mate.

I stroked the Bundle I had in my coat pocket as I lead Vic through the dense forest. This ceremony was going to take a few hours of time to conduct. I’d already been out with Bob setting up the space and making sure all the items on the Alter were in their right places. He’d then popped me back to the Den so I could pick one of the pack to come with. Though, pick wasn’t really the right word. I’d asked for a volunteer to help me get Bubba back. Everyone had been quite standoff-ish, and I couldn’t blame them. Magic is a fickle thing and can harm just as much as help, or more.

Besides, I also knew that if Bubba found out what I was doing, he’d yell at me. He hated when I put myself in danger, especially if he wasn’t there to protect me. Hell, Bubba hated it when I went to Bob for my ‘Lessons’.

He’d tried coming to watch once (or to at least assure himself that Bob wasn’t trying to steal or harm me) but Bob had put his foot down and told him to wait outside. Bubba had had a fit, and fumed for over a week, thankfully he had a  lot of work to catch up on, so he’d taken it out on the materials at hand rather than any people. Bob’s reasoning for kicking Bubba out had been that he wasn’t naturally magical and could mess up the workspace with his Werewolf magic.

Personally I believed him, at least a little bit.

Werewolf magic was a bundle of strings wrapped tightly around each person. It encased them from top to bottom and ‘squeezed’ as they changed to make their new shape. Natural magic ebbed and flowed like water, it was denser in some places, and scarcer in others. The biggest reason though? We’d move into a ‘Pocket Universe’ that Bob made just for teaching me magic within a safe space. If anything exploded, no one would get hurt.

Bob is a dragon, and in his natural form he was a huge magnificently opalescent dragon, each scale reflecting multiple colors and shiny rainbows all over the place when the sun hit at just the right angles. Standing over fifteen feet made him pretty imposing in his dragon form. He claimed to have met Christopher Columbus, though from his account of the man, Columbus was a gigantic moron.

Bob also knew many other Universes, some similar with minor differences and others so alien it would be impossible to assimilate. That was one subject we were still discussing in my lessons, which worlds would be sympathetic to my needs and which ones I need to avoid at all costs.

Now, the ceremony we were going to try today was something familiar to me, as a Wiccan by religion.

Wiccans use ceremonies to help initiate contact with forces around us to hopefully influence good vibes and make positive changes in our lives. Others would try to curse people, but thankfully most of those ceremonies had been translated incorrectly, if Bob was any judge, and they did no harm to anyone because they involved no actual magic. He had taught me to look for many indicators of true magic and how to tell if it was ‘good’ magic or ‘dark’ magic.

He’d explained to me once, “The ceremonies are similar, simply because the humans of the bygone days would observe us and make their own guesses. Many humans back then actually had magic in them, so the ceremonies would work, at least partially.” He chuckled at my grimace, Half-formed magic was wild and did unpredictable things. “After much experimentation, some found what worked best for them, but they were never quite as powerful as ours. Those ones generally either became Hedge witches, or Blood witches.” He had sighed, and a faraway look was in his eyes, “Back then, some of my brethren took pity on these little naked things and taught the strong ones, who showed great humility and generosity, the lesser forms so they could help their fellow humans to survive.” He smiled lightly at that, “the great Talex, The Mirror scale, is to be thanked for that.”

“Are we there yet?” Vic whined petulantly, snapping me back to reality and out from my memories.

At least he was back to his normal attitude.

“Don’t get your panties in a twist, We’ll get there when we get there.” I snapped back, he chuckled to himself and was about to retort when Bob appeared before us from behind a tree. He appeared pretty suddenly and Vic yelped, then growled when he realized it wasn’t a threat.

“WHAT THE FUCK OLD MAN?!” He yelled, voice rising in pitch. Bob started laughing heartily, one of his favorite tricks was to suddenly appear and scare people. He was laughing so hard that I could actually see tears rolling down his cheeks. Sighing heavily, I shook my head and crossed my arms, trying to give Bob a disappointed look, but it was honestly funny to hear a werewolf yelp.

The woman I’d found on the beach had been gorgeous, but had also been bleeding heavily, it looked like a shark had attacked her, but the bite marks were massive. Whatever had attacked her had bitten her entire right arm off as well as torn her side open to expose her internal organs. They made a grotesque red splash against the pale sand, dark reds and vivid purples of flesh that wasn’t meant to see the light of day displayed on the surface of the earth.

I’d been terrified, the body of a woman splayed on the beach wasn’t something you expected to see when you were walking along the shoreline. Ignoring everything I’d learned about dead bodies and what to do when you found one, I approached with my cell phone in hand. When I had gotten close enough to see her face, I began to dial for the police, not intending to get any closer.

It wasn’t until she shifted her head and fluttered her eyes, that I rushed to attempt to help her, dropping my phone in the process.

She was pale, which was expected, as her blood was all over the beach. Her hair was as pale as the sand and strands of seaweed seemed to be tangled within the braids that peeked from her scalp. I wasn’t sure if I would hurt her if I moved her, so I’d clutched my hands together and bent over to try and see if she was still conscious.

“Miss?! Please speak to me if you can!” I all but pleaded, voice cracking in fear.

I’d never seen anyone die before. I mean sure, I’d seen plenty of violent movies, but I’d never seen a real person die right in front of me before! I really didn’t want this to be my first experience.

I reached out to touch her and her eyes snapped open wide.

She saw right through me. Her eyes were completely black, not a speck of color in them at all. I froze, not out of fear, some internal force kept me still. We stared into one another’s eyes for what seemed like an eternity. Time had slowed, the tide no longer rushing up the sand to engulf the woman’s legs, the breeze only a distant memory.

A voice echoed in my mind, “Don’t leave me…Please..” It was faint, like hearing someone at the other end of a long tunnel. The voice had left me bereft of happiness, all joy washed away with her plea. I couldn’t say no.

“I’ll be here for you, I’m not leaving.” I choked out a sob as tears streamed down my face to fall on hers, little gems of saline that wound around the pale curves of her face. Her own eyes began to fill with tears as well and we both stared together.

“Why do you cry?” She finally asked in my mind.

I honestly didn’t know. I didn’t know her, her name, or where she came from. I’d only just spotted her lying on this beach. I finally searched my mind for an acceptable answer, and settled on one that I felt was right.

“Because I don’t like that you’re hurting, you should be whole and untouched.” I whispered.

Her eyes widened.

“I may only be a man, but I don’t like seeing people hurt, and I’ve never seen anyone die before.” I continued, feeling like I was racing against the clock, the clock that was her strength, her lifeblood draining from her body. “I know this much about people; No one should ever die alone and unwanted.”

Her eyes shined with more tears, and I could feel a welling in my chest, like the soft warmth of the sun on a bright and windy day. This warmth wasn’t my own, that much I could tell, but I smiled for her, just a little.

“You asked me to stay, So here I am.”

“Then you….have more compassion…than most…” She started, her breathing becoming more labored, and her eyes fluttering closed.

“Please….take this gift…..and use…..it…..wisely…….” Her body was going limp, and from what I could see, her feet were dissolving into foam, like foam from the sea.

“What do you mean? A gift? What are you?” I was scared, I’d stumbled onto a creature! Not a woman! This creature wanted to give me something as a parting gift, but in all the tales I’d ever read, most gifts given to humans were more curse than blessing.

“Goodbye……Friend.” In a shimmer brighter than the glare from water, she dissolved completely into foam and the seawater seemed to reach out to wash her and all that she was away.

I was perplexed and scared. One moment a dying woman, or woman-shaped creature, was on the beach, the next, there was nothing to tell you that anyone had been lying on the sand. I dug in the sand a little bit, looking for one shred of proof that she’d existed. In the sand I found a necklace, shiny with pearls of every color imaginable, with a pendent made of Abalone. The colors were mesmerizing.

Then a pain in my skull began.

IT struck from the base of my skull and rapidly spread to the rest of my cranium, pulsing in time with my heartbeat.

Colors swirled in my mind, confusing me and setting my skull ablaze in a feeling like fire. Vibrations bounced around in my skull, beats, melodies, a cacophony of sound in chaos that I couldn’t decipher. The blazing in my head spiked again and I screamed, it wasn’t a manly screech though, it was high pitched, and blasted sand and surf away from my body, the melodies and beats strengthening and picking up tempo in my mind.

Dealing with snow was difficult, I don’t even remember why I moved into this little honkey-tonk town to begin with.

Oh, that’s right, my folks BEGGED me to come and live nearby so they could visit their grandchild more easily. It wasn’t all bad though, the view was nice and the mountains kept the worst of the weather at bay, plus it was a pretty rural area.

There were Farms nearby that my son could visit and learn about various animals and the farmers themselves were friendly enough to let him run all his energy while playing with the foals, or even letting him pet the hatchlings. He was fascinated by the small critters that would flow and ebb around his ankles, and was ecstatic when a horse would trot up calmly to meet with him.

Personally, I loved farm animals too, but being so incredibly lazy, I knew that raising them was a  task larger than I was willing to deal with. My five year-old son would come home with stories and beg to keep some of the smaller animals, most notably chicks and ducklings. He’d been begging for weeks now, ever since the other kids all got to play with and even keep at least one pet from their parent’s farms.

His eyes had been huge, begging me silently for the opportunity to have a small life that he could coddle and nurture all of his own.

“Now, you know animals are not toys. If you have one, you have to take care of it.” He nodded emphatically, His dark brown curls bouncing off his forehead and tumbling with each movement. “You know they must be Fed multiple times daily, they need to have their area cleaned up, and you need to play with them. Plus, IF,” and I stopped, Hands on my hips, Tilting my head to drive the point home.

“IF I get a pet for you, you will be in charge of it, anything it does wrong will be your fault. You have to train it to be good. Okay?” My son’s eyes danced, his wide grin so hopeful and bright.

I didn’t stand a chance.

“I’ll be really good momma! I’ll give it baths and play with it and even take it for walks, jus’ like Genny from the Holted’s farm does with the Lambs!” He was dancing in place, so excited. He didn’t seem to care if I was getting him a dog, cat, foal or even a mouse, he just wanted a pet. Something he could nurture and be proud of.

I sighed in defeat, “Okay, but it’ll have to wait until I can talk to the farmers nearby to see if any of them are willing to let you have one of their animals okay?” He squealed with delight, tackling my legs and hugging them tight. “THANK YOU MOMMA! I’LL BE THE BESTEST PET OWNER EVER!”

He then turned and ran out the door to plow through the snow I had yet to shovel from the walkway.

Shortly after he ran off to somewhere, most likely to one of the farms that he loved to wander around, I was outside and shoveling the drifts back up to the yard. It was hard work, using muscles that I didn’t normally work out.

I was just a simple single mother, working as a receptionist at a company about three hours’ drive from home into the city round-trip. It was pretty easy work, seeing as it’s all I’d been doing for the last decade. I had moved into the Rural area to be closer to my folks, plus the classes for my son were smaller and The housing was pretty darn cheap. Even more so when my folks owned the house, and land, and let us live in the mother-in-law house. All I was required to pay was the utilities for my portion.

It was a sweet deal, and after the nasty break up with the father of my son, it was a haven. I could relax and not have to worry about what that man was doing to our child while I was working. I was also getting more time to spend with my son. He seemed to flourish with all the nature around us.

I had just finished the walkway to the garage that sat next to our little home when a big Red pickup truck pulled up next to me and rolled his window down.

“Hey there Teddy, how’s it going?” Theodore was a Farmer from a few houses down, which was an average of 5 miles away, he came to visit occasionally since he met my son and preferred to be called Teddy. His Farm in particular housed larger animals. Cows, Bulls, Horses and even a few Ostriches, I still didn’t know why or how he came across those huge birds.

“I’m all good ‘Belle, how’s Gunter?” His cocky smile always made me feel warm inside.

Theodore was one of the few Bachelors still living nearby, and was a total package deal. He was tall, around six foot five, and had thick black hair. His pale green eyes seemed to sparkle when he talked about his two great passions his farm, or food. He had the traditional Farmers’ Tan and was built like a brick house. He swore he had the money for the ‘Fancy machines’ but was convinced that they made more problems than they fixed, so almost everything was done the Old-fashioned way with sweat and muscle.

He did have a couple of four-wheelers for feeding his animals and even took my son out to go meet the herds once or twice.

“Gunter’s been begging for a pet again, and I just couldn’t say ‘no’ one more time.” I sighed as Theodore chuckled.

“’E’s a good boy! A pet would do him some good, mebbie settle ‘im down some.” I pursed my lips and shot him a look of disbelief. He just continued to smirk, then changed the subject.

“Anyway, I was wonderin’ if you’d be so kind as to feed a poor bastard for the’ night?” He took on a pleading look, clasping his hands out the window as if in prayer. I sighed again, “And here I thought you liked me cuz I’m pretty!” I giggled as his face lit up.

“Just help me with the driveway so you can park and You’re mor’n welcome to stick around.” He whooped and backed up his truck quickly, then tumbled out into the crisp snow after he’d parked on the side of the road. He quickly rummaged through the truck bed and pulled out a sturdy snow shovel and began on one end of the driveway while I started at the other.

Within the hour the whole driveway had been cleared and salted just as more snow decided to fall.

“I wonder which farm Gunter decided to wander off to this time?” I wondered out loud, Teddy shrugged and dusted off his jeans as we entered the mud room to the house.

“I’s Sure he didn’t go my way, I woulda’ spotted ‘im and brought ‘im back with me.” Teddy slipped his work boots off and we both walked into the house, rosy cheeked and sweaty.

I pulled off my jacket and rested it on the nearby chair and pulled my cell phone out of the top pocket. There were no new messages, but I sent out a text to the local Farmers asking if they’d seen my son and to let me know if they needed me to come get him. In the meantime, Teddy settled down at the kitchen counter, practically draped over the stool. He sniffed the air, drinking in the scent of the pot roast I had prepped hours ago as it bubbled in the crockpot. I smirked as he hummed to himself.

Shaking my head I pulled out the potatoes I had peeled and boiled earlier and set to mashing them. Teddy always seemed to pick the days I was making a good-old fashioned lunch or dinner to ‘pop’ over and invite himself in. I didn’t really mind, seeing as he was a gentleman and always tried to help out with things that needed fixing.

He’d helped fix the roof last summer and even helped with prepping the garden back in spring so that I could actually start growing something. I’d done the work of planting, but getting the posts in the ground and the boxes in place? All Teddy’s handiwork.

“Would you please grab one of the Pie tins from the Pantry? And the smaller bag of flour too please!” Teddy may have been relaxing, but he was quick to react when I asked for something. Soon enough I’d had all the potatoes mashed and the pie tin waiting for me on the counter.

Teddy stretched and touched the ceiling with his fingertips as he sauntered into the living room. I blushed lightly, since his stretch had pulled his T-shirt from his jeans and exposed a part of his sculpted lower back. He was deliciously handsome and Fit, if only a hunk like him was interested in a flabby wench like myself. I sighed, dashing that thought from my mind.

No man in a rural area wanted a pre-started family, especially with the kind of baggage we brought to the table.

As I put together the Apple pie, the timer on the pot roast went off and I opened it up to check how it was doing. Teddy had turned on the Radio to one of the local rock stations. I tasted the stock from around the roast and cut into the meat, checking how soft it was. It was perfect.

The potatoes had been put in the oven with some garlic and butter sauce to cook a bit more and the pie was in the smaller oven browning to perfection. I was very satisfied with myself, in less than a year, I’d learned to cook some damn-fine meals. It didn’t hurt that a lot of the women around the area traded recipes all the time. Adding to that, quite a few of the farmers would barter meat and eggs for veggies and fruit too.

My contribution was that since I went into town so often, they would trade me staple goods for exotic things from town, or fetching packages from the post office for them when I was on my way home. I loved to bring home bulk items that I could then later trade for some fresh eggs or milk.

I pulled the Mashed potatoes from the Oven to cool on the rack and arranged the Pot roast and Its fixings on a plate. When I turned to start setting up the table, there was a knock at the door. It sounded almost urgent and I wiped my hands on a towel I kept on the oven handle.

Teddy heard the rapping on the door and had emerged from the Living room, brows knit together and frowning slightly. He stood behind me as I opened up the mudroom door and unlocked the outer door. Teddy’s arms were crossed and he leaned on the doorframe as the outer door opened to a harried looking Farmer from three houses down the road to the north.

“Fredrick, what’s wrong?” I was surprised, normally Fredrick wore a sort of soft half-smile. Like he was privy to a secret and was never going to tell anyone.

His pure white hair was sticking up on all directions and he had an almost wild look to his soft brown eyes. “It’s Gunter,” He croaked, and my body went cold. Ice seemed to shoot up my spine as my stomach tightened.

“W-what about Gunter?” I whispered, Fredrick ran his hand through his hair, making it even messier. Fredrick refused to look into my eyes, and instead stared at Teddy.

“Fredrick?” I was scared, and being ignored wasn’t helping. I looked to Teddy, who was frowning and looked almost murderous. It was chilling to see the fire in his eyes, as if he was going to break the first thing he touched.

“Teddy?” I was cautious, I had seen my Ex-husband with that look, and when I’d bothered him, He’d tried to break me to soothe his anger.

Unfortunately for him, I refused to break.

Teddy clutched at his shirt and took a deep breath, leaning his head back as his eyes closed. Just as rapidly, he stepped forward and I stepped back. I pushed myself against the wall in the mud room, trying to keep from aggravating Teddy. He shoved his feet in his boots and threw on his jacket.

“Teddy.” I breathed his name, my chest tight. His shoulders where stiff and he stood with both hands fisted at his sides.

“’Belle,” He started, voice rough with what sounded like fury, “I’ll try t’ be back ‘fore sundown.” He strode forward, Fredrick rushing to his own Deep green SUV. Teddy practically stomped up to his Red pickup and seemed to rip the door open. I’d followed them outside, where the snow was gently falling around us, almost surreal.

Once he’d gotten into the vehicle, I tapped on the glass of his driver’s window. He took a moment to breathe, then rolled it down to face me. His eyes seemed to blaze, sharper and brighter than before the green even more vibrant than before.

“What happened Teddy? Please tell me!” I begged, Gunter was my baby, He’d been a complete surprise to my-then-husband and I.

I’d been elated to prove the doctors wrong, as I’d been told I was infertile only a few months prior, but my husband had been furious. He hadn’t wanted a child at all. Not only had Gunter proven the doctors wrong about my fertility, but they proved them wrong about my ability to carry at all. I had carried him successfully until two weeks before my due date, the day my husband first started beating me.

It had been a shock to have the man I’d married hit me so hard. Sure, we’d argued a bit, but that was normal and we’d always found a common ground and made amends. Something about having a child drove my husband crazy and he’d finally snapped.

We’d been arguing about where we’d move to after he’d gotten his promotion. He wanted to move to the East coast, but I was adamant about moving to the Midwest. At the time we’d lived a bit between the two. I wanted to be closer to family, both his and mine, and He wanted to start living more ‘in-style’.

I’d refused to move with him to the East coast, and He hit me. I was so shocked that I had frozen on the floor where I landed and just stared at him.

It had taken me only a week to decide to leave him the first time.

We’d made up for it later and had struggled to cope, but in the end All I asked of him, was to leave us alone. I didn’t want his money, or his name, just the child we’d created together. He agreed and signed the paperwork that released me from the nightmare of being his Wife.

Teddy was tense, and I thought he was going to lash out at me for getting in his way. He moved his left arm quickly and I flinched back, anticipating a smack, but it never came. I had closed my eyes reflexively, but cracked them open to see Teddy with his arm held out, a strained look on his face and the green of his eyes pale again. He gripped the steering wheel with his right hand so hard that It creaked, and he gently held his left hand to my face.

“ ‘Belle, I will never, ever hurt you on purpose.”  He practically growled as his hands felt rough against my skin but he rubbed my cheek so gently, as If I was made of spun glass, just waiting to fall apart. Tears were welling from my eyes and I was on the verge of bawling, I just wanted to know what was happening to my son!

As if he heard my mental cry, he cupped my chin once more, and gently pulled me to look up into his eyes. The green had lit up once more, and seemed to search inside mine for something.

“I’m sorry ‘Belle.” He whispered, “I cain’t tell you what you want to know.” He took a deep breath, releasing my chin. He then leaned against the doorframe and propped himself out the window to kiss me.

His lips were softer than I’d imagined, and the rough feel of his stubble was almost delightful, making warmth spread down into my core. My hands reached up and I took a step forward wrapping my arms around his neck to pull him in deeper. He groaned against my mouth and reached out again with his left hand and mixing his fingers into my wavy blonde hair, his right keeping him steady In the window. I stood there like a statue, reveling in the feel of his warm mouth and dancing tounge.

Suddenly he parted from me, and groaned while shaking his head. I was blinking, still overwhelmed with everything and in complete disbelief. Teddy just kissed me.

“’’Belle, stay here. Please.” His eyes still blazed, but there was some gold creeping in, he looked almost feral. I nodded dumbly, not thinking at all.

“Don’t open the door after sunset, and do’n open it ‘till after Sunrise.” I was transfixed on Teddys’ face, as I nodded again, and I opened my mouth to question why, when he shook his head once and grimaced.

“I cain’t tell you darlin’, not yet.” His hands were shaking, and he finally put his truck into gear. I stepped back, finally realizing I’d been standing there longer than a few minutes and shivered.

“I’ll tell you what I can, when I can. Jus’ …sit tight, I’ll find yer boy and git him home safe. That’s a Promise!” He pulled out of the driveway and directed himself northward, to Fredrick’s farm. The Truck squealed in protest at changing gears so quickly, from reverse to drive and then being pushed to dive through the fresh snow at a high speed.

I stood there shivering until his truck faded from sight into the woods that surrounded my home. It was a few moments before I turned to go back inside, and by then the pie I’d been preparing was ruined, and I flipped the oven off. The pot roast was now dry and even the potatoes were cold.

So much for Dinner.

I was still in a state of shock, Gunter was God-knows-where in some sort of trouble, and Teddy had kissed me. Between the Elation of that kiss and the Fear of losing my only child, I was frozen. I stumbled into the living room, ignoring the food or the mess it caused in favor of hopefully making sense of what was going on.

I knew when I had moved in only two years ago, that this town was small and had its oddities. My folks had always told me to check the eaves for bats, make sure that there were no animal tracks around the house and to water the toadstools that circled the small house I lived in.

The bats and the tracks I could understand, but the mushrooms? I didn’t question my folks, and did as they said. Once or twice I found coyote tracks and raccoon tracks around the house and showed Gunter how to distinguish them from one another.

He was practically a natural at picking up practical knowledge like that. He even went so far as to have someone teach him to make plaster molds of the more interesting prints he found and asked to keep them on a shelf in his room. To this day he had well over a dozen tracks, some canine, a few feline, and a few deer tracks too.

I was still shivering.

I wasn’t cold anymore, but I couldn’t stop shivering. There was something my mother had told me before they’d suggested Gunter and I move out to live with them.

“There’s quite a few tall tales around this little town, most of them having to do with werewolves. I know it seems far-fetched, but these folks take those tales seriously.”

Werewolves, was Teddy insinuating that they were real? That Gunter had been caught up with them? Or did something terrible happen and no one wanted to be the bearer of Bad news? I had started scratching my arms in a nervous fit, only realizing I was doing so when I felt warm liquid running down the rest of my arm.

I’d scratched right through my skin, leaving me bleeding. I swore to myself,

“This isn’t getting me anywhere!” I stomped over to the bathroom and tended to my arm. Once that was finished, I still felt the need to be ‘doing’ something.

Teddy had been pretty adamant about me staying indoors once the Sun set. And a quick glace outside had me guessing that I had about an hour before I needed to close myself in for the night.

Quickly, I put on my thickest sweater and leggings, hoping that I could make it outside and back before the stipulated time. I rushed through the mud room and yanked on my knee-high boots a colorful scarf, and my parka jacket.

After thinking about it, I returned to the living room and reached up to the doorway where the Remington 700 was perched just for safety’s sake. I checked the barrel from the loading mechanism, and it looked all clear. Pausing by the closet nearest the door to the mudroom, I rifled through the jackets until I reached the back wall where the dial and handle was visible for the safe where I kept the ammunition.

A quick turn of the dial and the safe was open. I only took five bullets from the box and loaded them into the Rifle. After which I shut the safe and locked it back into place.

Slinging the rifle over my shoulder carefully, I headed out the front door.

I had checked the doors to the house and had locked both of them. The mud room was never locked, to shelter people from the cold or heat depending on the season. If Gunter came home and everything was locked, he wouldn’t be in danger staying in the mud room.

I turned to the Road in front of the house, took a deep breath, and stepped beyond the circle of dormant Toadstools around the house. It was going to take time, but If I walked, I was less likely to miss hearing screaming or shouts. I had started my trek facing North. Since that was where the men had run off to, that’s the most likely area that Gunter was.

I quickly realized, no matter how motivated I was, I was not physically ready to make this trek. I was breathing heavily, and sweating terribly. My knees and feet had already started to hurt, and when I glanced behind me, I couldn’t see my house anymore. The sun, however, was just touching the skyline. I was just getting close to the neighboring farmstead.

The Nylors home was ranch-style and honestly very pretty, if a bit more rustic than I liked. I trudged up the shoveled walkway and stopped to catch my breath before I attempted to knock on the door. Their Mud room was much larger, and much nicer than mine, but then again, they had a larger family and had also been living here much longer.

I finally found my breath and knocked on the house door after stomping out the snow from my boots. I heard some scuffling, and then heard a creak as someone stepped up to the door.