Chapter 5: Lycans and Werewolves
Justin, the guy who had volunteered himself, was getting more and more edgy as we fast approached the forest. I looked over, expecting to find Stella shivering with fear, but to my astonishment, she looked determined. My prep talk about Dominic had worked like a charm. As we entered into the woods I couldn’t help but admire her courage and her utmost devotion to Dominic.
Justin stopped the car and looked at me apologetically and said, “ This is as far as we can go by car. From here onwards there is no pathway, we would have to travel by foot.”
I nodded and got out of the car, taking in the surroundings.
Damn now, even I was getting freaked out, and I am not one to spook easily. There is just something ominous about the place that creeps me out. The trees were so tall and all hunched together that they blocked whatever little sunlight was trying to make their way in. Soon, it would be dark and I was damn sure that if the woods were this creepy when there was a little light, it would be a whole other level when it becomes dark.
I shuddered and looked at Stella who was clearly freaking out too but was doing a passable job of keeping it together. We started making our way deeper into the woods. We heard wolfs howling at one point and immediately fastened our pace. But after hours and hours of walking, we couldn’t see any ruins. Everywhere we looked, there were trees and more trees. Justin motioned with his hands to stop and whispered, “ We are so lost….We have been going round and round the same spot.”
I had figured as much. No wonder we weren’t even close to the ruins.
“ What to do we do now?” Stella asked, and both of them looked expectantly at me.
I sighed. Okay! I guess I was the leader of their Sect, but I was so inexperienced and much younger than them….. I still don’t know much about our sect, much less about the other sects. And the very little knowledge I gained was from the crash course Stella gave me before leaving. I cursed Dominic for leaving me in such a situation after just a day of our marriage. Would it have hurt to tell where the fuck they were going? Ughhh…
I took a quick scan around, noticing that the all the trees surrounding us were more or less the same.
I took out my knife and said, “ Let’s start marking the trees on our right side to ensure that we don’t walk in rounds again.”
They nodded and we started walking again, this time making sure not to go in rounds. I was getting dehydrated and tired and the little water we had brought with us was already finished. My throat was burning with thirst.
I gasped out loud which freaked out Stella and Justin, because they thought I had seen something dangerous or something. I quickly assured them that everything was fine and moved on… Where is that goddamn ruins? Oh god, this is so hopeless. I was about to suggest we go back home, when Stella started pulling at my arm.
“What? “
I followed her gaze and immediately froze. I was staring right into the dark black eyes of an enormous wolf. I whispered to Stella, “ If Vampires exist, werewolves probably does too, right?”
She nodded at me. I gulped….umm this isn’t good, this isn’t good at all.
“ So is this a regular wolf or a werewolf” I turned my question at Justin because Stella seemed to have gone into shock. She wasn’t moving, God! She was even holding her breath.
“Regular wolves aren’t that huge” He muttered through his teeth.
He was eyeing the wolf carefully from all the angles, clearly analyzing any weakness.
I was relieved that at least one trained guardian was with us right now….
“ Uhmmm, Mr Wolf, can you hear me now? Or can you only understand what I am saying in your human form?” I directed the question to the wolf who was darting glances between the three of us, trying to figure out which one of us would pose a problem for him and who all he could easily tear apart without much effort on his part. He however locked his gaze into mine when I asked the question. Damn….. bad move, I should have let the wolf continue evaluating Justin.
His jaws opened and a voice came out which freaked me out completely.
“ I can very well understand, little girl.” He snarled at me.
Had I been in my right frame of mind, and not scared speechless I would have probably been very offended by the ‘ little girl’ remark . I sensed Stella stiffen slightly next to me.
I was however preoccupied with the ugly sneer on his face…. I was totally freaked out by hearing the wolf speak.
“ You aren’t supposed to speak in your wolf form, werewolves can only speak when they are in their human form” I muttered which earned a howl from the wolf…
Then, it hit me …..He wasn’t a werewolf was he? He was a goddamn Lycan…. I was able to quickly identify this only because I was obsessed with paranormal fictions.
Holy crap! We are so royally screwed……
The wolf…. No….ummm.. the Lycan started approaching me and I froze instantly. I watched Justin step between me and him and they both started to prance, circling each other.
I was so ashamed of myself at that moment…. I couldn’t even move my leg to run. I was frozen to that particular spot. Even Stella was prancing, eyeing the wolf, while I was watching helplessly from the sidelines. My eyes bulged as pure terror hit me. I don’t think my little knifes would even scratch his thick fur. I could only simply watch Justin jump on the wolf. The wolf threw him aside as if he was a doll and went straight for Stella, and threw her at the big oak tree. I winced. Justin was knocked out cold. For all my tough talks and high and mighty attitude, I realized that I was the coward here. Stella and Justin had gone out fighting, but me no……. I was busy wetting myself.
I took a deep breath, trying to calm my racing heart and willed myself to move my legs, which had suddenly turned into jelly and started making my way to Stella, who was nearer to me, to check if she was fine, when the goddamn wolf….ummm….lycan jumped in front of me and bared his teeth. I instantly started praying to all the gods, which was something considering the fact that I was an atheist. I am deeply ashamed to say that my first instinct was to abandon my friends and run. But I couldn't even if i wanted to, with the current way my legs were I wouldn't even make it a few steps before the Lyacn rips me apart. I fought against my growing panic and firmly stood my ground.
I looked at his eyes resolutely.
I took the tiny little weapon I was carrying and with perfect aim threw one straight to his chest. I know I had a mean throw and the knife obviously hit its mark as intended, but the problem was that my earlier assessment that these knifes wouldn’t even scratch his fur was correct. He didn’t look hurt, he merely looked annoyed. I was flabbergasted Now what to do?
He bend his knees and pranced towards me, I instantly held up my hands bracing myself for the impact. But it never came. Another wolf… this one was really a werewolf jumped and threw himself on the Lycan who was in the middle of his prance. Where the hell did he come from? Not that I was complaining. I quickly retreated my steps and went towards Stella and helped her stand up. The wolf and Lycan was trading heavy blows. I winced automatically seeing the wolf getting hit hard. I shook my head and started concentrating on my friends instead. Stella looked mortified, her hair was a mess and she had a huge gash on her forehead. She gestured towards Justin, who was laying helplessly at the roots of a gigantic tree. I nodded at her and together we both went towards Justin, who was still unconscious.
Both of us put one arm around him supporting his weight and started moving away from the ugly fight that was going on. For a minute I was scared for the werewolf because lycans are genetically stronger and faster than them. I looked back and found that werewolf however seemed to be holding up on his own ,just fine. I looked into the werewolf’s eyes and he blinked his eyes at me as if telling me to get going. I smiled at him relieved and started moving towards the opposite direction. Whoever the werewolf was, I would find him later and thank him properly, I vowed to myself.
We soon stumbled upon the ruins, which to be truthful looks haunted, which didn't pacify my already trembling nerves at all. The statues in the grounds of the now ruined church were all destroyed, some had only bodies, while some was missing their hands or limbs. We laid Justin nearby positioning him over a slab of concrete and tried to wake him up, but to no avail. He wasn’t budging. We soon gave hope and decided to look over the ruins for some signs of water nearby so that we could wake him up.
The church was so unjustly destroyed because even now in its destruction, it was still eerily beautiful. Looking up I realized it was already dark. The moonlight shone the marbles of the church as if it was complimenting the traditional Victorian architecture.
I wandered alone into the church curious while leaving Stella in search of water.
I opened the door and immediately a hurricane of bats flew over my head. I immediately shrieked taken by surprise. Stella came running and asked, “ Why? What happened?”
“ Bats “ I murmured.
“ Jess, let’s just stay together. It’s not wise to split up and search in such a place”
I nodded and gestured her to follow me inside the church. I stopped in front of the statue of Jesus and gasped out loud. Holy cow! Jesus was missing a head…. An headless Jesus was perched on the cross. Even though I didn't believe in gods, seeing a headless Jesus freaked the hell out of me. I started moving towards it when I saw a black snake emerging from the hole in his neck, which made me halt abruptly. Seeing a black snake emerging from the body of Jesus made me sick to my stomach and made me feel like vomiting.
Stella started shifting uncomfortably behind me. I looked at her with annoyance and was about to tell her to stop fidgeting when she froze. Not the kind of thing people do when they are afraid. She literally froze. I hesitantly looked behind me but found nothing behind me. I looked back incredulously at Stella, who seemed to have frozen in time. I waved my hands in front of her face……nothing……. I put my fingers right next to her eyes…..still nothing….not even a blink….
I sighed getting frustrated and yelled at her, “ Now is seriously not the time to play games Stella”
She stood still like a statue. I started cursing when a voice, [seeming to come from the ceilings, which was impossible since the church didn’t have any ceilings left] said,
“Forgive me Miss Jessica Rupin Valdemeire, but I thought it better if your friend din’t join our conversation”……………………….