The Chronicles of Beast and Man (17 page)

A large yellow envelope rested on Rod’s desk. Rod opened it up to find the autopsy report on Gabrielle Parker.

Finally
Rod thought. He began reading, he skimmed though it, already knowing most of the details. Then he found what he was looking for “ANIMAL ATTACK” had been listed as the cause of death. The report described the tearing of the flesh as being done by claws and sharp teeth. It also stated that gnawing on bones had been revealed as well. The autopsy could not confirm what animal it was that committed the murder, but that was not important anymore. Rod had already found that answer.

Suddenly the large plate glass window at the front of the station shattered into a million pieces. Something had violently slammed through it. Both Rod and Clancy braced for impact, but the only thing that hit them were tiny shards of glass. Rod sprang to his feet to find a brick with a piece of paper duct taped to it. Rod did not take the time to look at the paper; he instantly ran out of the building, pistol drawn, he hoped that he would find the person who threw the brick. Unfortunately all he found was the cold dark empty streets of Medusa. Rod walked around the block hoping to find the suspect, but he found no one. He went back to the station to see if Clancy had read the paper that was attached to the brick.

Rod walked in and Clancy handed the note to him. The note was simple and to the point it read: “GO FUCK YOURSELF.”

At First Rod thought it could have been done by Matthew Russell, if it were true that Matthew knew about his affair with Marcy. Rod quickly changed his mind, Matthew Russell seemed to be smarter than this; if he had wanted revenge he would find another way. It would be much more creative than a brick through a window.

Daniel Montvale!

It had to of been him. Rod had a feeling that Daniel was going to be a large source of his problems. It was then that another wild idea crossed his mind, it was a strange idea, but in a way it made sense…

-

The night had grown cold, and dark. The only light that gave him any vision was a dismal street light that kept flickering off and on. He looked up toward the bleak black night sky.

He looked down. No shoes? No wonder his feet were so cold.

He looked around to see the empty silent streets of Medusa, but something was different. There was a gloom emitting from the darkness of the nocturnal city and transformed everything. From out of the darkness a young girl in a long blue dress ran by fleeing with a look of terror upon her face. He wanted to reach out and grab her, stop her from running, and find out what was wrong. His feet would not move, he was stuck in place and he could do no more than watch her run. A chill then crept up his back. Something was approaching from within the darkness. It was moving closer and closer, it would not be long. A man covered in hair, dressed in a tattered shirt and slacks appeared under a faraway street light. It was running toward him; everything slowed down. Rod still could not move, he could only watch as it came forward. But, it had no interest in him, when it got to him, it continued to run in the direction of the young girl. Rod had to stop this thing, and perhaps he could figure out who this thing was as well. When it had been approaching him a moment ago he had turned away in fear.

To his surprise, his feet were suddenly free. Rod began running after the wolf-man, he had to find out who it was. By now Rod had realized that he was dreaming, but maybe seeing its face would unlock the secret of who was generating the chaos that gripped his fine town.

All of a sudden his legs were working at full capability, immediately he began running after them. He could hear the young girl scream. She wasn’t real, she was the least of his concerns, he had to see the wolf-man’s face.

It was not long before the two of them came to a dead end and the girl had disappeared. She was nowhere to be seen. Rod had caught the killer, even if it was just a dream. He was going to discover the answer now; he would understand everything in less than a minute.

The wolf-man turned to look at Rod. The wolf’s face was his own. He was shocked at first and then frustrated, he had expected to uncover the mystery, but it hadn’t worked

Rod woke up, the dream was over.

Three Days Later

T
here was a calmness in the air that morning that Rod had not been prepared for. It was almost as if the world had slowed down all of a sudden. The sun seemed to be shining brighter, the air smelled sweeter. Rod thought that this might be nothing more than just the calm before the storm. As if it were a simple stillness giving a warning to horrible things yet to come. Things seemed different, and Rod felt better about the situation in Medusa then he had in a long time. He had a hunch and was ready to test it, hopefully it wouldn’t fall through. Rod definitely didn’t think it was going to; it seemed that all the pieces of the puzzles were coming together.

Rod went into the police station early that morning to see that more than twenty-some people had signed up for the man hunt that night. Rod was glad that the people of Medusa were willing to try and help put a stop to the insanity. Rod asked Clara to call each person on the list and instruct them where to meet and to be sure to bring all their registration information and only registered firearms. Clara was not overly excited at the idea, but agreed to help.

Rod strolled out of the station with a renewed sense of assurance. He felt prepared to take on the entire town single handedly. He fired up the engine and drove to the east side of town, he turned down Ludlum road and stopped in front of the Montvale home.

Rod walked to the front door and knocked loudly, he was prepared for anything. Daniel Montvale had proved to be full of unexpected surprises. Katey Montvale answered the door, dressed in a long black t-shirt and a pair of tight blue shorts that did not fit her plump body.

“Ma’am, I need to speak with your son.” Rod said as calmly as he could. He had very little respect for Miss Montvale, but he was not about to disrespect her as a mother.

“What’n the goddamn hell did he do now?” Katey complained before taking a drag from her cigarette.

“He is suspected in a serious crime ma’am. This would be much easier if you’d just tell me where he is.”

Katey then shrugged her shoulders and began to guide him through the house. Rod was amazed at what an unbelievable mess the house was in. There was trash scattered throughout the house, newspapers on the table, and on the floor. The floor did not appear to have been vacuumed in years and the scent of cats was incredible. Rod was ready to grab a hold of Daniel and get the hell out of there.

Katey cracked a flimsy wood door and turned back to Rod. “He is asleep.”

“I’ll wake him.” Rod insisted, and Katey stepped out of his way.

-

“Good morning, asshole.” Daniel heard a strange voice say to him from somewhere distant within his bleak and dark blue colored dream.

“Wakey, wakey, dip shit.” The voice then said.

Daniel slowly opened his eyes to see Rod Truex sitting in the recliner that sat beside his bed.

“What the hell are you doing here?”

“You know exactly why I am here.”

“No, I don’t, and I think it is time for you to leave.”

“If I go anywhere you are coming with me.”

Rod studied Daniel’s bedroom, it was just as much of a mess as the rest of the house. It was cluttered with trash, fast food wrappers, and an overflowing ashtray stuck out to Rod the most. On the wall there were posters from metal bands such as Slipknot, Anthrax, and Pantera. In the corner of the room there was a pile of ripped and tattered clothing. It was all making even more sense.
When his transformation would take place he would rip right though all his clothes.
Rod thought to himself.

“What hell is that mess?” Rod asked.

“What?”

“Oh, I am sorry this place is such a goddamn mess you probably don’t know what I am talking about. Let me explain, I was commenting on the large pile of torn clothing over there.” Rod said as he pointed toward them.

“I used to have a dog.”

“A dog?”

“Yeah. A pitbull, why don’t you get out of here while I get dressed?” Daniel said as he got out of bed and put on a pair of jeans.

“No, I don’t give a shit about what you want. What happened to your dog?”

“My dog?
A
re a member of the animal rights organization now?”

“No, but you are going to wish I was.” Rod said as he reared his fist back and punched Daniel in the face. Rod had lost control, he was losing control of everything. How had he let things get this bad so fast?

Daniel started to move up, Rod jumped on top of him and began punching him in the stomach. He then wrapped his hands around Daniel’s neck strangling him. Daniel began to lose his breath and started to turn red.

What am I doing? I can’t kill this kid just because he pissed me off. I know that he is the one that broke that window…and I am sure he is responsible for the deaths.

Gabrielle Parker, Ryan Lovett, even Dusty Welker’s dog entered Rod’s thoughts. Rod’s grip became a little bit tighter. Daniel’s breathing was then seriously impaired, he was getting closer to the end. Rod then removed his grasp, and Daniel began breathing in hard and fast. Rod dropped back down in the recliner and held his head in hands.
What the hell is wrong with me? This isn’t me.

As Rod questioned himself, he noticed a butterfly switchblade knife lying on the floor. He quickly reached down and picked up the knife and hid it within his hand before Daniel could notice.

“What is wrong with you, you crazy asshole!” Daniel said as he rubbed his neck where Rod had just choked him.

Rod did not reply, he sat and starred at the young misfit.

“I am going to have your goddamn badge. You stupid motherfucker!
”
Daniel exclaimed in a vulgar explicative laced tirade.

“I am taking you in.”

“How do you figure that? You tried to kill me.”

Rod then revealed the switchblade knife. He flipped it around to present the blade. Daniel was shocked to see him holding the knife. Rod then turned the knife on himself and stabbed into the thick fleshy park of his own thigh. Rod had read somewhere that a stab wound to this area would not cause serious damage. The pain was instant and dreadful, Rod quickly removed the blade and began to care for the wound. He removed his jacket and wrapped it around his leg.

“What is wrong with you?” Daniel yelled.

“You stabbed me, you little prick! Your prints are all over the weapon, it is my word over yours, let’s move it, dip shit!”

Rod was able to spring to life and had Daniel handcuffed before the confused kid could even protest.

As Rod pushed him through the house, Daniel’s mother asked what he was being arrested for. Rod told her Daniel was being arrested for assaulting a police officer. She looked down to see the bloody area on Rod’s right leg, she then began screaming at Daniel. Rod could not help but smile. He once again felt that he was in control. Perhaps this was exactly what he needed.

A
fter taking Daniel into the station and throwing him into one of the holding cells, Rod made his way to the hospital. There he was treated for his wound that was supposedly given to him by the juvenile. Even at the hospital, when explaining what had happened to him, the nurse that patched him up gave him more respect than he had received in a long time. To Rod it seemed that things were only getting better for him.

Rod wanted to go back to the police station, but he could not do that right now. He had to go and meet with the men preparing for the manhunt, which was assembling on the Lovett property. Rod doubted that this was probably the right location. The beast had not struck in the same location twice and probably wouldn’t. Still, if this was where everyone was going to begin the manhunt, (which Rod didn’t think should be called a manhunt in the first place) then he should be there.

When Rod arrived he was surprised at how prepared and serious everyone seemed to be. Rod spoke to Deputy Dolgen for a moment. He shared with him the (false) facts of what happened between him and Daniel Montvale.

-

Matthew Russell stood with Trent Green talking about something unimportant, which only was unimportant to Matthew because of his focus on Rod. He was going to have to keep a watchful eye on him if his plan was going to work. He had to try and find that moment when he could get him alone. Little did Matthew know, Rod was not planning on staying long. He had other plans altogether. He was going to use his new injury as an excuse to not have to walk through the woods with everyone else. Rod Truex had to concentrate on his theory, he was still convinced that the true beast laid within Daniel Montvale. Of course, this is a piece of information he was going to keep from everyone else. If he let anyone know that he thought a werewolf theory was even possible, he might as well hand over his gun and badge at the same time.