The Beast (14 page)

Thick, gunmetal fur padded my fall and large clawed hands helped to push me up onto my powerful legs.

I rose on my monster feet and shook my maned head. I snorted the dust from my snout and pulled my powerful shoulders down to lift my chest and throw my head back.

I drew a deep breath.

I howled.

In the howl was everything that I wanted to say when I was in my own weak body. It was everything that words could not express. It was declaration, question, defiance and apology. It was pain and joy and rage. It was everything that I was, in one long, low, note.

I caught the scent of something delicious. It wasn't familiar, it was something I knew would satisfy the hunger that everything I’d been trying to eat couldn’t. There was real food, and I had to find it.

I ran.

It took some time to get used to the new shape of my body, but after crashing into a few trees I felt freer than I ever had in my life. Every step covered as much ground as four or five steps would have. I could jump into a tree and grab a branch halfway up. I could leap from tree to tree and run circles around my prey. I could stand still until it got close enough and burst out of the brush to surprise it.

It ran, and I ran after it.

chapter 14

I woke up, trembling in shock.

It took tremendous effort to raise my head and look down at my naked body. Leaves and morning dew clung to my bare skin, mingled with dirt and dried mud. A distant feeling of being cold started to feel closer and more real.

I dragged myself up to my feet and looked around for my clothes. I couldn’t remember if I took them off or if they fell apart somewhere. I didn’t bothered to think about them, or where I was going the night before. I was free then. I was wild.

Now I was naked and alone, with fingers of fear slowly working their way around my heart.

I held my arms over my chest and moved as fast as I could, searching for anything familiar or anything to cover my body. My head jerked toward the sound of a passing car and I went toward it. The road. I kept the road to my left and searched high and low for my clothes. I found nothing.

Close to the road I saw some abandoned cardboard boxes. They would be my best chance if I didn’t want to expose myself to the world. If I could make it to a payphone, or an emergency call box, I could get a call to Sandra somehow. It would be hard to explain, but she was the only one I had.

I crept toward the road and almost fainted at my stroke of good luck.

Yard Sale.

A tarp covered in neatly folded clothes laid inconspicuously between a table of knick-knacks and a huge pale armoire.

The owners were still setting up, but that didn't stop people from crowding the driveway and swarming over the lawn. It wouldn't get any less traffic until the late afternoon, and I didn’t have that kind of time.

It's Los Angeles, I told myself. They must have seen stranger things than a girl in a cardboard box coming out of these hills. 

I took a breath to steel myself and went directly to the tarp, picked up the first top and bottom I saw under the sign that said "Med. Ladies" and hid behind the armoire to struggle into them without dropping my boxes. The lady of the house tilted her head and squinted at me, like she wasn’t sure what she was seeing without her glasses. The people on the street and most of them in the yard couldn’t see me, but from inside the open garage I was completely visible.

"I'm sorry," I rasped. "I'll bring you the money as soon as I get home."

She smiled warmly. "Don't worry about it. Do you need a ride somewhere?  I'll get my husband out to watch the sale. Bob," she called into the house.

Bob?
Oh, no, he can't see me like this. No one can see me like this.

"No, thank you," I said, regaining control of my voice. "My car is just around the corner."

I started to edge away and almost escaped before Bob emerged from the house, carrying a large box.

"Yeah, Honey?" He set the box down. It was not the Bob I knew. How stupid had I been to think that of all of the Bobs in the world, this would be the one I worked with?

Formerly worked with.

"How about shoes?" the woman asked, pointing with a coffee cup toward rows of old shoes. "They're not exactly stylish but there might be a pair that fits you okay."

"Thank you," I said.

"What's your name?"

"J-Julia.”

"What happened to you, Julia?" She had a way of talking that made it seem like we were the only people around. The crowd on the lawn had stopped to watch from the moment I ran across the street wearing a pair of cardboard boxes.

I couldn't think of anything so I jammed a pair of moccasins on my feet and said "Thank you, but I have to go now. I'll bring you the money to pay for these."

She wanted to help me. She would have invited me in and offered me a cup of coffee for the chance to save me. She couldn't save me from my demons. They weren't drugs, or booze, or a bad husband. They were real demons- monsters, and I was one of them. I wanted to run, but I didn’t know which way to go. I had no money, no phone, and no idea where I was.

I walked in one direction until I saw a familiar street name and followed it away from the hills. Eventually the street took me to a strip mall. I looked down at my clothes and was embarrassed by what I saw. Purple satin billowed out like a mushroom below my hips above where elastic bands gripped my thighs. A black and green hooded tank top hung straight down off of my chest, almost floating over the mushroom shorts. All I needed was a tin foil hat to complete the look. I already had the fringy leather moccasins.

The cloying scent of burning sugar turned my stomach when I opened the door of a donut shop to ask for directions to the bookstore that was near Sandra's house. I would be able to find my way from there.

And then what?

I worked on my plan on the several mile walk. Sandra deserved an apology of course. After that, it depended on her reaction. I went through every possible scenario. My best hope was that she wouldn't be home. I would be able to shower and change my clothes, and then come up with a real apology. Maybe even an explanation. 

Sandra and Jack were seated at the kitchen table. They rose when I walked through the unlocked door.

"Jade."

I smiled shyly. My six mile plan was already out the window. I had nothing to say. They both stared openly at my clothes.

"Where were you?"

"And what are you wearing?" Jessica's voice added from the hallway.

I hadn't counted on everyone being there. I hadn't counted on Jessica starting a pot of coffee while Cole started the oven. Six miles was not a long enough walk to dream up this nightmare scenario. Jack and Sandra caught me by the elbows when I realized that I was falling, suddenly too weak to stand on my own.

They guided me to a chair and I realized that all I wanted to do was sleep. I needed water. I croaked for it and it appeared.

"Jade, you know we love you, right?" Sandra started.

I nodded, gulping the water and the refill that took its place.

"We need you to take a drug test," Jack said bluntly.

I nodded and reached for a third glass of water. "Okay."

They looked around at each other, waiting for the other shoe to drop, for crazy Jade to get violent.

"Like, right now?" I asked after downing the fourth glass and feeling finally satisfied.

Jack nodded. I could tell by his rumpled hair and the bags under his eyes that he had stayed up with Sandra talking about what they were going to do with me when I got home. They seemed a little disappointed that it was so easy. "It's all ready to go in the bathroom. You just have to pee in the cup, put the lid on and turn it on its side."

Sandra and Jack eyed me warily. Jessica smiled warmly after me with her green eyes glittering and Cole slid a tray of scones into the oven. I peed in the cup, secured the striped lid and tipped the cup on its side on top of the toilet tank. I looked into my haggard face, realized there was nothing I could do about it and washed my hands. Longing to change my clothes, I rejoined the group at the table.

"Anything else, guys?"

"Don't get all defensive about this now," Sandra warned. "We're just looking out for you."

Jessica poured coffee for everyone and sat down next to me, smiling. "Did you really call your boss stupid?"

"He's not my boss," I said. "He's the supervisor."

"But he fired you," Sandra pointed out.

"That's great," Jessica grinned. "I wish I had the balls for that."

"It is not great," Sandra said. Her tone was harsh, but there was a little glimmer of amusement in her eyes. I knew that she wished she'd been there to see it. 

A timer went off and Sandra and Jack got up. I assumed they were checking my results. Of course I would be clean. At-home tests don't check for "werewolf."

Werewolf
.

I was a werewolf.

Another timer went off and Cole pulled an oven mitt on.

"So if it's not drugs, what is going on with you?" Sandra asked when they returned.

I couldn't think of a lie fast enough. I couldn't tell the truth. I clammed up.

"Jade! I can't have you living here if I don't know when creepy drug dealers or Mafia guys are going to be showing up at my door! You're really scaring me." Sandra was dangerously close to breaking.

"I-." How could I prove anything? I couldn't transform in front of them. I didn't know how to. Maybe that wasn’t even possible. What could I say? I'm a werewolf, just give me a month and I'll show you?

Of course I couldn’t say that.

"I'm scared too, Sandra, and the less you know the better. Trust me."

I turned my head toward the oven and a caught a glimpse of movement. I jumped out of my chair and grabbed a knife.

Everyone jumped when I did.

A huge creature lumbered into the room.

I had one arm out as if I was big enough for everyone to hide behind. Werewolf or vampire, or some other thing that wasn't supposed to exist, I would protect them all from this monster.

The huge beast, a dog roughly the size of a small horse, sniffed at me curiously. Its upper lip twitched and I could see that it was about to growl.

"Sorry!" Jessica jumped up and said, "Go lay down, Beefcake."

The massive dog raised its gentle brown eyes and she made a motion in the air with her open palm like she was making ripples in a pool. The dog, nearly as tall as she was, walked away and dropped to its big belly.

My heart took a few moments to slow down.

"Sorry," she said. "Sandra was scared and I don't like to leave Beefy alone too much so I brought him over."

"It's okay," I said, removing the hand from my chest and setting the knife down. "What kind of dog is that?"

"He's just a big mutt," she said fondly. "He gets the size from his Mastiff daddy."

"I didn't mean to freak out," I said. "I just thought- I wasn't expecting it."

She giggled. "Most people aren't. I have kind of a reputation for being a stupid little redhead, and guys like to pretend that they can protect me. Then I introduce them to Beefcake."

"He's a big sweetheart, though," Cole said.

Jessica gave a short laugh. "Don't think for a second that he won't tear your throat out. Watch."             

She called the dog over and looked at Cole. "Beefy, bad man."

She clenched her fist and the huge dog started to growl. He bared his huge white teeth and snarled. Jessica moved to the dog's side, one hand resting on his big, dark brown shoulder.

"See? Now come give me a kiss and see how much of a sweetie he is to you."

"No," Cole said. "I think I'm good over here."

Jessica ruffled the dog's fur and motioned for him to lie back down, which he did.

"Sandra," I said quietly while the others were still distracted. "I'll tell you what is going on but it has to be only you. No one else."

She nodded. "Well, thanks for all your help guys, but I think that we need a moment. Come back for dinner, though. We can play a board game or something."

Jack was the first to move to leave. He took a fresh scone, kissed Sandra and whispered something in her ear. She nodded. Jessica gave me a long look, then looked at Sandra. "Call me if you guys need anything. I mean it. Anything at all. Come on, Beefcakes."

The dog stretched and followed her out.

Cole grabbed a scone and downed the last of his coffee. "Good luck," he said. I didn’t know if it was for me or for Sandra.

My heart pounded against my ribs. I hadn't expected it to be that quick or easy to get rid of them all.

"So," Sandra began. 

"I don't understand it myself. Weird things have been happening."