7 True Pain
I arrived at the cabin after following the aura of the werewolf, only to witness a strange scene unfolding before me.
The teenage girl from the parking lot was cradling the dying werewolf woman in her arms, while Elizabeth held her daughter just a few feet away from her.
Meanwhile, the werewolf from the woods had Argent's arm in his hand, but the problem was it was no longer attached to Argent, who lay unconscious next to the werewolf.
He discarded the severed arm and glanced at his daughter and the dying woman, then shifted his gaze toward Elizabeth and Rose, who appeared unharmed.
In his hybrid form, and with his monstrous voice, he asked, "What happened here? Leah, why is the girl free and unharmed? Don't tell me you let her go?!"
"No, Sam... it was me... I set her free. Leah did... nothing," replied the wounded woman.
"You did what? Leah, stay away from her. She deserves what she got. I'll find you another mother soon," Sam said, advancing towards his daughter.
Upon hearing this, Elizabeth and Rose trembled but seemed too frightened to flee.
"No, we need to remove the bullet and help her. She can heal afterward," Leah pleaded.
"I said leave her alone! She isn't worth being part of our family, never was... she's simply too weak."
"Then you must be the strongest one in the family right?" I asked him, while stepping out of the woods.
"Aiden!" Elizabeth exclaimed upon seeing me, and relaxed visible..
"Hello there," I greeted her as I approached the enraged werewolf, who grew angrier by the second.
"You! So Jared..." he paused, closing his yellow eyes momentarily before reopening them and screaming, "I've had enough of you! It's time to show you what real pain and suffering is!"
*Gaar!!!*
He lunged at me, slashing across my chest and tearing away some flesh, while I calmly watched his actions.
"True pain and suffering?" I ask him. "And that was it?" I stretch out my arms and, shock both the werewolf and the people around me with the gesture.
"Die!" He swiped again, severing my left arm. Then, he aimed for my face, and my vision turned blood-red before fading into complete darkness.
Then, I felt him ripping a portion of my neck out, and I couldn't breathe anymore. Finally, he pierced my lung, causing me to collapse to the ground.
What an amateur. This didn't even knock me out...
"Die slowly, suffocating on your own blood, you piece of shit!" the enraged werewolf spat, walking away from me.
"So, this is your idea of experiencing true pain and suffering? Some physical trauma to the body?"
---
I stand up again and retrieve my old arm from the ground. Why bother regrowing a new one when there is already one lying here? I reattach it to my arm stump until it heals and I regain movement.
My entire body starts to rapidly heal, with wounds visibly closing and flesh regrowing before the naked eye.
"What... what are you?" the werewolf asks, shocked.
"You want to know? Over the years, people have called me different things: Angel, Demon, Monster, and even... God. But I am none of those. I am simply myself... a man who cannot die, no matter what.
But let's return to my question. Is this all you understand about true pain? If so, then I must tell you that you know nothing about it," I say as I walk towards the stunned creature.
"A man who cannot die, no matter what. Let me test that!" He snaps out of his stupor and swings his claws at me again.
"Don't you think it's my turn now?" I dodge his swing, draw my dull knife from the sheath on the back of my pants, and thrust it into his stomach.
"Argh, you bastard," he exclaims, trying to grab me. But I headbutt him, causing him to stumble back. I remove the knife from his stomach and maneuver around him, then drive the knife into his back, targeting his spine.
Twisting the knife paralyzes him, and he falls to his knees. So I withdraw the knife again and walk in front of him. He spits out blood and struggles to breathe as he says,
"It seems your... and my perspective... of pain... are the same..."
"No," I declare, plunging the knife into his heart. "This is merely physical harm." I retrieve the knife from his body, and he collapses to the ground, lifeless.
---
When I approach the two last remaining werewolves at the cabin, Leah sets her mother down and lunges at me, baring her teeth. In response, I extend my arm, and she bites down on it, while refusing to let go.
"I understand you're angry, but do you want to eat now or save your mother?" I calmly asked the young werewolf girl. After hearing my question, she releases my arm.
"Save... my mother," she replies.
I pat her head and move towards the woman, while Elizabeth and Rose stare wide-eyed at me, as if they've seen a ghost. Perhaps witnessing me being torn apart and healing again was too much for them? Well, whatever.
"Ahhh!!!" screams the woman as I kneel down and use my fingers to remove the bullet. I couldn't use the knife since it was dull and not really suitable for werewolves...
"Easy there, it's already out," I reassure the woman as I extract the bullet and she falls unconscious afterwards.
"Leah, was it?" I address the young girl. "Bring a first aid kit, a spoon, something to heat it up, a towel, and some clothes from one of your larger brothers." Surprised, she nods and rushes inside the cabin, returning after a while with the requested items.
I heat up the spoon until it glows red and press it against the woman's wound. "Agh!" she screams in pain but remains unconscious. I proceed to bandage the wound and stand up, while Leah anxiously watches her mother.
"She doesn't seem to possess the same healing ability as you or the other pure bloods, but she will survive. Her body has already begun healing," I assure Leah. She nods, and I lift the unconscious woman, carrying her to the cabin with Leah trailing behind me.
"We're leaving now," I announce as I make my way towards the door. However, before I step out, I turn back to Leah and add,
"Oh, by the way, not every member of your family is dead. I left your brother hanging in the woods not far from here. It's up to you whether you want to free him or not..."
Leah remains silent, and I prepare to leave. However, my attention is caught by a bloody camera lying next to the guy I shot, bearing the name "Jack" on it. Intrigued, I quickly grab the camera before making my way out.
Then, I turn to the mother-daughter duo and ask, "Are you both going to keep staring or are we going to leave?"
"Wait, Jack should be around here too. We need to save him," Rose speaks up, the first time she has spoken since I met her…
I look at the camera and reply, "I'm sorry, but I don't think he made it." and hand her the camera.
"No!!!" she cries while clutching it tightly.
"It's alright. I will make sure that everyone knows what happened here. They will pay for it, every one of these monsters." says Elizabeth while trying to comfort her daughter.
Actually, I'm not sure if this is a good idea...
"Let's leave first, and then seek revenge," I suggest. Then grabbed the towel, clothes, and burner and we begin to depart, with Elizabeth leading her crying daughter.
Oh, wait, I forgot about someone... "Are you only going to aim that rifle at me, or will you shoot?" I place down the burner and look at the old man, who was pointing his rifle at me while holding his arm stump under his armpit.
"I... I'm not sure yet. You've been bitten, so... this could be an easy way out for you."
Oh, right, I was bitten... there was even a momentary itch there before my body fought off the invading something...
"I mean, you can still shoot, but I don't think it will do much. Why don't you take the burner and tend to your bleeding wound before holding the rifle?"
"Yes, I should do that, shouldn't I?" he says, dropping the rifle and collapsing to the ground too.
"Argh!!!"
Since he couldn't do it anymore, I grab the burner and cauterize his wound while he screams, and then he falls unconscious from the pain. I hope that his repeated loss of consciousness doesn't worsen his mental state further...
After tending to his wound, I use the first aid kit to bandage it. Then, I give the clothes and towel to Elizabeth, while I carry the man back to my shelter and later to the cars. Elizabeth calls then the police and an ambulance.
"I need a shower, or the police and medics will faint after seeing me. So I'll say goodbye now," I inform Elizabeth and Rose.
"Wait, we need to tell the police what happened here!" Elizabeth exclaims.
"Do we? First, I don't think they'll believe a werewolf story. Secondly, do you really want the werewolves to come after you and your daughter once you spill the beans? Think about it,"
I warn her. Her expression turns fearful, and I continue, "Yeah, that's what I thought. Just say it was a group of crazy people in the woods and direct them to the cabin. I'm sure Argent will agree after he wakes up."
"Yes, I'll do that," Elizabeth reluctantly agrees. For a brief moment, Rose appears disappointed in her mother, but then she refocuses on the camera in her hands.
"Ah, wait, I forgot something," Elizabeth says, rushing to her van and leaving me alone with her daughter, who seems lost in thought.
I sit down next to her and say, "You know, over the years, I've experienced immense physical and emotional pain.
But the worst thing has always been losing loved ones. No matter what I did, it never got easier. So you can trust me when I say that I'm sorry for your loss."
I place a hand on her shoulder and begin to walk towards my car.
"But how am I supposed to go on now? He was the love of my life," she says, her voice filled with grief.
"There's no easy answer to that, but you can do what I've always done— simply keep going and live your life to the fullest so that no one you've lost would be disappointed in you.
Who knows, in this world, they might even come back and scold you for not doing so," I chuckle and walk away, leaving the young woman deep in thought.
As I open the car door, Elizabeth suddenly comes running towards me. "I told you to wait! Didn't you forget something?!"
She hands me a paper, and I look at her with confusion. "You said you wanted your share for rescuing my daughter."
I take the check, which amounts to over $25,000, and throw it into the car before sitting in the driver's seat. Then I say, as sirens grow closer, "Then the job is done… so it's time to say goodbye. Don't get into trouble again, and take care of your daughter."
She smiles and replies, "Yes, I will. But before you go, can I ask you something?"
"Go ahead," I respond, expecting the next question.
"What exactly are you?" she asks, her eyes filled with curiosity.
"Me? Like I said before, just a guy who can't seem to die. So, goodbye." I start the engine and drive away, waving at Elizabeth. She initially stares at me, then waves back as I leave my old home just before the arrival of the police and ambulance.
Later, I read about the incident in the newspaper. It was reported as an attack by deranged individuals in the woods, targeting hikers and wanderers. The police discovered even their cabin but found no one there.
Vedauwoo was temporarily closed down, but once the search yielded no results, it reopened to the public. Surprisingly, it attracted more tourists than ever before, and the number of missing persons also increased since that day...
I also come across an article about Rose Calvert, who became a producer for various survival shows. She mentioned in interviews that she got the inspiration from her late boyfriend, who filmed himself on a survival trip from which he never returned.
And with the shows, she wanted to honor his memory...
---
After the Bobby story arc, which monster or being should appear next:
⇒ Vampire
⇒ Djinn
⇒ Demon
⇒ Pagan God
⇒ Witch
⇒ Shapeshifters
⇒ Murderer / Murder Families (Michael Mayer... The Hills have eyes)
⇒ Something else (write a comment what)
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