Hunter It was a beautiful June afternoon. The weather was perfect, and the town was unusually busy. People were roaming the town’s numerous shops, and children were playing baseball in the middle of the square. But to Claudia, the day was just as any other, one where she would continue to suffer. And one where she would continue to search for something that may not even exist. Claudia is a werewolf. She has been for nearly ninety years. She lives with the burden every day, and she cannot escape it. Since she was turned, she has traveled in pack with two companions, Peter, the man who turned her. And Jon, a man that Claudia had turned in a fit of anger during a brief vampire war over 40 years ago. Together they voyage the country, searching out and running from certain evils, such as vampires and other ungodly kinds of the world. She hates what she is, but she has no other visible option. Claudia stepped out of the shower and wrapped a towel around herself. She was finally getting used to the old, leaky apartment. They had been in Riverview for nearly a month. The town was in Pennsylvania, coincidentally very close to where she grew up as a child over one hundred years ago. The town is completely different then it was, she was surprised to hear that it still even existed. She got dressed and went into the kitchen to make coffee. That is when she heard a sound. It was a very low banging sound; she was surprised she even heard it in the first place. She first thought that it was her neighbors. Then she heard it again, louder this time, and coming from the wall facing outside. She stepped into the living room, and just as she entered, she saw a gloved hand smash into the window. The glass shattered like an explosion; and she couldn’t see what happened next until it was too late. A man promptly jumped through the broken window and kicked her onto her side. She was caught off guard; she wasn’t prepared for a personal attack. She quickly got herself up and tried her best to think through all of what just happened. The intruder wasted no time, he went for another kick, but she caught his leg and pushed him back into the lightwood coffee table. She directly went for the floor lamp next to the doorway; she tried to swing it downward but he grabbed the lamp and yanked it from her. Confusion overwhelmed her, and she didn’t know what to do. She ducked when he swung the lamp at her as he was getting up, he swung it again and missed; she then kicked him in his stomach, and fell back again. Exhaustion was setting in on the man. She urgently ran into the kitchen and stood next to the doorway. She waited for what seemed like decades, but was only seconds. All she could think about was Peter; he should be here by now. As the intruder stepped in, she kicked him on his side with immense force. She still didn’t feel like she could do any of this, but somehow she managed. He stumbled back, and quickly composed himself for battle. He swung a kick and barely missed her as she jumped up and away from him. She came around him fast and jammed her elbow into his gut. He yelped and fell back in front of the old 50’s style gas stove. He was quick though; he swung his leg and caught her feet. She fell back awkwardly away from him. She felt her whole world fall when she did. He got up without hesitation; he went over to her and she quickly crawled backward, stumbling as she tried to stand up. She couldn’t believe that she wasn’t dead yet. He kicked at her again, but she moved away quickly. She then jumped on top of the butcher’s block in the center of the room; she immediately jumped down on the other side. He came around; and she kicked him straight in the groin. He slowing fell to the ground in pain. She then ran into the hallway, where another intruder who looked much like the first, was waiting for her. She was somehow prepared for him; she first hid around the corner in the living room. Fear wasn’t overpowering her anymore, at least for the moment. When he went to find her, she swung around and kicked him in the center of his chest. He was very surprised at her force. This man seemed very certain of himself. She took advantage of that. She kicked him again, this time a little lower. He went down. She kicked him once more in the head, and then he was out. She moved into the bathroom to her left and quickly closed and locked the door. She was still completely surprised by all of this, its not the way vampires work. And she didn’t know who else would be doing this. She couldn’t wrap her head around all of it. Nevertheless, she had to deal with it, she had work through it. She knew that by now the first intruder would be coming off of the pain, and searching for her. That’s when she heard the door handle jiggle. It was one of the most horrifying sounds she had ever heard. If it were a vampire, the door would be opened in seconds. She had to think quickly, she had to find a weapon. She searched the bathroom. All she could see were useless objects, a toothbrush, a comb, toilet scrubber, nothing she could use. The man was pounding on the door now; it would open any second. She turned to the shower and saw the perfect tool; she tore off the flowered shower curtain and pulled out the metal rod. At the moment, the door burst open. She could tell that it was the first intruder standing in the doorway. He practically tried to jump on top of her; the bathroom was much too small for an ideal battle. She swung and hit the man on the side when he was mid-air. His jump was halted when he hit the ground; he seemed too shocked to fight back. She hit him over the head with the rod; then once more on his backside. She didn’t think the rod could actually kill, but she thought it certainly knocked him out. She started to step over him when he grabbed her leg and knocked her forward. She fell right on the threshold. He quickly forced himself up and took the rod from her hands. She felt completely hopeless; she didn’t understand why all of this was happening, and why it was ending like this. He swung the rod downward and hit her back with great strength. She gasped; the only thing she feared now was more pain. Before he could take another swing, the front door opened and quietly shut. Then it was complete silence. She prayed with all her might that it was Peter, not another intruder. But then she saw a woman enter the hallway. For some reason she felt so much better when she saw her, as if she was an angel. However, she could tell that this woman was human. She had long blonde hair; she was wearing jeans, a pink shirt, and a gray velour jacket. She was also holding one of Claudia’s kitchen chairs. The intruder on top of her was surprised, and caught off guard. The woman held the chair over her head as she stepped in front of the doorway, and then she swung it and hit the man. He didn’t falter at first, even though he was weak from his first two encounters with Claudia. The woman hit him again, harder this time. A leg of the chair broke, and the man fell with a bang. “My, what a busy morning,” The mysterious woman said. “My name is Bella, I live next door. I heard all of the commotion and I thought I would come and see if you were alright.” “Hi,” was all that Claudia managed to get out. The woman helped Claudia up and helped her to the living room sofa. Claudia couldn’t figure out what was so special about this woman. She just seemed very familiar to her. “Now, where’s your phone? I’m calling the police for you.” Bella seemed too calm, almost cheerful. “What?” Claudia said. “No. That’s not necessary.” “What do you mean it’s not necessary? You were just beat up by two men who broke into your home. How is this not a time to call the police?” Claudia was nervous; how could she come up with a lie to cover this? “It’s just not, okay? I know what happened here today, and I am not about to explain it to you. I know what to do from here. Thank you for saving me, I appreciate it more than you will ever know. But you can leave now…” Just then, the front door burst open. That scared the life out of Claudia until she saw Peter and Jon walk into the living room. Then fear returned to her once more when Peter grabbed Bella the moment he saw her. “Peter stop! She saved me. She wasn’t part of this, let her go.” Bella was screaming and kicking, but Peter would not let her go. “Claudia, you don’t understand, she…she”- “Let her go Peter. Let her go now. She won’t talk.” Peter reluctantly let the woman out of his grasp. She immediately ran to the other side of the room. “Claudia, I don’t think you quite understand what…” Jon was trying to tell her something. But she didn’t get it. “Look, I bet you can have these guys help you from here. You’re right; I don’t know what happened here. And I really don’t want to know. I promise I won’t tell a soul. I’m just going to leave now…” Bella stumbled quickly out of the apartment. Peter started to run after her. “Peter, no. She won’t talk. I know she won’t talk.” Claudia couldn’t understand why she trusted the woman. She didn’t know her at all. “Claudia… She knows. She knows what we are. I don’t know how or why she found out, but she did,” Jon tried to explain. “What the hell are you talking about? The woman saved me. Who in their right mind would save me if they knew what I was? What I could do?” “I don’t know Claudia. I really don’t. We saw her apartment. It’s full of books, articles, movies, all about werewolves.” At that moment of silence, they heard something. It was a loud, clock-like sound coming from the kitchen. They all glanced at each other, half-knowing what they heard. They all made their way to the kitchen and saw a small digital timer on the counter. It was counting down, and there was less than a minute before something went off. I’m leaving the story here. There will be a second part to this story though.
Copyright © 2005 Hayden Woods |