Chapter 10: In the Morning

Archibald stopped at an empty cabin in the woods. He was spent from continuously running, in his beast form, all night. He looked around and surmised that no living person was nearby. He swung open the cabin door, and a barren room welcomed them. There was a cot on one side, and a table and a chair on the other side. Other than those, there were no furniture in sight.

He let Selene down. Her eyes were still puffy but her gaze still had the sharpness he was familiar with for a while now. He transformed back to his human form. His head wound already healed completely.

“We’ll stay here until morning,” he announced. “Take a rest on the cot there while I keep watch.” He closed the door and made his way to the table. He dragged a finger on it, and felt the thick dust of disuse. He looked at the cot and it looked as abandoned as everything in the room. He looked for something to brush off the dust on the bed, but there were no personal items anywhere, except a couple of utensils on the cupboard.

Selene stood silently in place, still staring daggers at him. He can’t shrug the feeling of contempt she was directing at him.

“I’m sorry,” he said using all the honesty he could muster. “I’m sorry for not listening to you, and for disregarding your decision. But I hope you understand that I can’t let you do that to yourself.”

“Yeah, because you’re obsessive! You are obsessing too much on me. I am not asking for your help. I don’t need you! I need my parents.” Her voice was still hoarse from screaming and crying, but she started sobbing once again. It was clear her tears were dried up, and she also looked dehydrated. “I miss my mother. I miss my father. I just wish I can be in our home right now. I miss them so much.” She dry-heaved and stepped back to sit on the dusty cot.

Archibald took the initiative to go outside to fetch water with a bucket he found. “Wait here,” he said as he opened the door. “I’ll get you some water.”

He looked around the cabin and focused on the sounds. He heard the faint gurgle of a flowing river nearby, so he made his way towards it. He thought about what Perseus’ howl meant. He knew it was filled with anger, but he was not sure to whom was it directed. Did he attack the townspeople? Did he realize he ran Selene away? Was he pursuing them as they come here? Are they safe to stay here?

As he reached the river, he washed himself and cleaned the dirt and blood on his body. He tried to push the thoughts running through his head. What they should be doing is taking a rest. They would go early in the morning and continue their way to Ulminster. He surely hoped though that Perseus was not after them, or he will surely reach them anytime.

He returned and saw Selene still sobbing on the side of the bed, with her hands on her face. He prepared a cup of water for her to drink and passed it onto her. “Drink. You need to rehydrate.”

She reached for the cup and drank. She returned the cup to him without looking him in the eye. She was silent for a while before sobbing once again. She looked tired and defeated. A frail chick crying out for its long-lost parents.

He sat beside her and offered his shoulder, but she pushed her away. “Get away from me,” she insisted. “I don’t want to see your face.”

He remained firm on his position and reached out to her. He pulled her close to his chest and stroked her back, trying to comfort her. Her grief and loss came down on her simultaneously and it left her drained. They stayed still for a while until he felt her sobbing stopped and her breathing became regular.

He brushed off the dust on the cot and slowly lay her onto it. She was fast asleep, beaten by the deluge of emotions in the past couple of days.

He brought the chair beside the bed and sat on it. He watched over Selene as she took a rest from the shitshow of a life she was having.

***

Elise was not sure what the commotion was about when he heard Perseus howl outside. She initially thought he was attacking villagers but he instead went over the fence and towards the woods. She was sure he was not supposed to go there, his companions were on the opposite direction. But she shrugged it off. What was important was that she’s safe at home.

She went outside her room to look for her parents and saw them downstairs, at the living room, with makeshift weapons. They got startled when they saw her come down the stairs.

“Where did you go?” they concernedly asked in unison. They rushed towards her and hugged her tight.

She told them the whole story of what happened. And how the man she met in the inn – she left the dirty parts – was actually a werewolf.

“Where is he now?” her father asked.

“I saw him go north,” she answered.

“Do you think he’ll come back?” her mother asked.

“I don’t think so. He hated being here, and he was after his companions down south, anyway. So, I think it’s highly unlikely that he would come back.”

“I sure hope so,” her parents said.

As they were huddling in the living room, they Mayhearts heard the villagers outside saying they heard howls and gunshots outside of town. Elise rushed outside despite the protestation of her parents.

Crowds of men and women gathered outside with pitchforks and torches. They were looking north. She listened for the sound, and they were right. There were howls and gunshots coming from the north, where Perseus went.

Who is he attacking?

“Larry,” she called out at the old man with the crowds, as she approached them. “Did anybody go outside with guns?”

“Where have you been? We were looking for you after we found the mayor. We thought you were dead,” the old man said with genuine concern. “We counted every living and dead, and the number seemed right. Except for you, we know nobody was unaccounted for, so we don’t think anybody went outside.”

“Where are our guns? Why are you using pitchforks?” she questioned. The town guards are known to be equipped with silver weapons – silver knives, bullets, guns – so it surprised her that nobody got any viable weapons with them.

“They were gone. All the weapons from the guard tower were gone. I think the werewolves got them.”

Elise finally pieced together what was happening.

“The werewolves are fighting each other,” she proclaimed. “The werewolves are fighting each other outside!”

“What do you mean?” the crowd asked her. “Why would they fight each other?”

“I can’t really explain why, but I think one werewolf is currently fighting the others who attacked the town. Ida knows who that werewolf is,” she pointed at Ida from the crowd. “He is one of your guests. Perseus.”

“Oh,” she blurted out in surprise at the revelation. “How did you know?”

Elise told the story once again. The villagers were shocked at the events that happened under their noses and tried to point a finger at Ida for taking in werewolves.

“No!” Elise stopped them in renewed vigor. The shock of getting manhandled and violated by Perseus was gone, and replaced by the desire to be fearless for her people. “She doesn’t know their true identities. She’s also a victim here. Passing the blame to a sweet old woman is just messed up.”

“What are we going to do now?”

“We can only wait. If he survived, I believe we’ll be safe. But if not…” she hesitated to say it. “Well, we’re doomed.”

***

A pack of wolves led by a much larger white wolf was sprinting down a dark forest. The crunch of the twigs and leaves on the ground, and the pants and growls of the wolves filled the air like a symphony of incoming death and carnage.

Ahead of the beasts was Selene as a girl, riding on top of a stallion with her parents. They were galloping frantically on the forest floor. She was situated in between her father and mother, holding her tightly as they ran away from the pack behind.

But they were heavy. They were three people riding a single horse. The pack are getting closer, and will soon be able to grab onto them.

Selene’s mother tapped her on the shoulder. She looked back to face her and she saw her smiling down at her. She was confused why she was smiling. Can’t she see the wolves coming behind them? Can’t she smell the blood in their breaths?

Nonetheless, she tried to smile back to her mother. But as she did, a wolf jumped up and dragged her to the ground. In a second, she was gone in the dark and all she heard was crunching and shredding from afar.

The horse was able to go faster once her mother was dragged away. Selene wanted to go back, be with her but she can’t. They need to go forward or the wolves will get them.

She cried as they ran faster ahead. She grabbed onto her father tight. He looked around to face her. He looked sad, but he still tried to comfort her.

They were running faster but the wolves were faster still. In no time, they were able to catch up to them. She heard their panting as if they were right behind her ears. She squeezed her father tight as if it will make them go faster. But she felt his fingers prying away her arms.

“Why?” she frantically questioned her father. “Why?”

“You don’t need us anymore. We’ll just weigh you down.” He smiled at her and patted her head, before falling sideways on the horse. As soon as he fell on the ground, the wolves pounced at him.

Selene cried out and hit the horse to stop. Just let her die. But the stallion did not stop. Instead, it went faster than ever. A single girl does not weigh much without her family. They zoomed far from the wolves, leaving them behind. The large, white wolf howled, and the other wolves followed in response.

The sound awoken Selene up, sweating all over. She sat up and gasped for air. Archibald immediately reached out another cup of water, as if anticipating her rise.

“Thanks,” she said.

“Having a nightmare?” he asked with concern in his eyes.

“Yes,” she replied after gulping every last drop of water.

“You were tossing and turning in your sleep, so I thought you were.”

“How long was I out?”

“About an hour, I guess.” An hour? But it felt like she was being chased for days.

“Oh,” she said. She returned back to bed and tried to go back to sleep. She closed her eyes but whenever she did, she was hearing the howls of white wolf in her head. The longer she had he eyes closed, the louder the howl became, echoing around her skull like bouncing ball.

“I can’t sleep,” she told Archibald.

“I know just what to do,” he replied. He stood from his chair and sat beside her on the bed. He looked at her and smiled. “Do you trust me?”

She stared back at him and said, “Yes.”

He slowly lay beside her and put her arm around her, placing her head on his arm. She immediately felt his warmth covering her entire body. She was tired and lost, but now she somehow felt refreshed and secured. She turned to face him and placed an arm on his bare chest.

“My mother used to tell me stories to make me sleep,” he told her. “I have always loved stories since I was a child. It is comforting to know that the no matter how dark the night is, the light will shine bright in the morning.” His voice was soft and comforting. He stared at the ceiling with a hand behind his head and another wrapped around her hand.

He told her stories, made her laugh, made her smile, and without realizing it, the darkness of sleep did not feel scary at all.

***

“Somebody’s on the gate!” Elise heard one of the villagers shout out from the tower.

Elise rushed to go above the tower to look at the person outside. She was gasping for air when she realized Perseus made it back, and he looked to be in the brink of death.

“Open the gate,” she said.

“But,” he looked down at the other villagers, as if looking for somebody else to tell him what to do.

“Open the gate,” she repeated. “Now.”

He hesitated but he relented. He unlocked the gate and Elise rushed her way outside the gate to check up on Perseus. Upon seeing his wounds, she shouted at the people inside, “Get help! We need to help him right now or he’ll die!”

“Don’t let in the werewolf!” some of the people shouted back.

“He saved us for fuck’s sake! Somebody please help me carry him inside.”

The villagers looked at each other, unsure of what to do next, until Ida stepped forward. “I’ll help you,” she slowly made her way to Elise.

“Stop,” one of the men said. “I’ll help her,” he said to Ida as he ran outside.

“Me too,” another one said as he followed.

The other villagers scoffed at them and said, “You’re bringing a monster inside the town!”

Ida faced them and put her arms on her waist. “You’re all worse than monsters if you’re willing to let somebody die outside your door without helping them.”

The men carried the badly wounded Perseus inside. He had open gunshot wounds all over his body, and blood covered him like red paint. “Where to?” the men carrying him asked.

“My inn,” Ida said as they carried him inside.

Elise looked at the other townspeople staring at them maliciously. “Ungrateful bastards,” she said as she followed into the inn.