Werewolves and lovers
Sam strolled through the woods of whitefell, breathing in the fresh, cool air. The afternoon light lanced through the leafy branches of the birch trees, making dappled patterns on the soft, green grass underfoot. Birds warbled, hidden, in the trees.
Sam was smiling softly at nothing particular, just enjoying the moment. He passed a bush, and ran his fingers over the leaves, picking one off. He studied it for a second, before casting it over his shoulder. The lights from his bionics glowed softly, but the sunlight was bright enough to illuminate the forest floor through the thin, green canopy.
Eventually, Sam came to a small clearing in the birches. It wasn't much brighter in it, but the clearing had a pleasant, open feel to it. Sam glanced around, looking for something, and his eyes came to a rest on a fallen tree trunk, just the right size for sitting on. Sam dragged it into the middle of the clearing, turning it slightly. He sat down and sighed.
He was feeling very good today, excellent in fact. He was taking a cool, refreshing walk after having slaved away in the forge all morning. But all that hot, sweaty work had been worth it. He pulled out a sword out of his belt, and swung it through the air in front of him. He beamed when he heard the humming of the blade.
He had spent hours meticulously forging the blade, before sharpening it to a lethal point. It couldn't cut cloth that fell over it, only enchanted swords could have an edge that did that, and not shatter. He turned the sword over a few times, before putting it away. It was his best sword yet, and swords were harder to do than spears. Sam smiled as he remembered the excellent spear that he had given Mia, wondering what she was doing right now.
A small, secret part of him wished that she was here with him, and they could be alone, together.
Suddenly, the bushes to Sam's left rustled, and Sam quickly looked over. He saw a glimpse of brass and deep blue through the greenery. He chuckled; only one person would follow him all the way out here, and keep themselves hidden.
"Come out Mia, I know you're there!" he called playfully.
Mia poked her head out of the bush, giggling and blushing slightly. She looked around awkwardly, unsure of what to do now. She looked relieved when Sam patted a spot on the trunk, in a gesture to sit with him. She skipped over to him, sitting down quickly beside him. Sam nearly jumped when she put her hand in his. Mia giggled and sighed.
They sat together in silence, enjoying each other's company. Sam didn't try and get up, he was happy now. He smiled and squeezed Mia's hand, and she smiled back. Sam's heart felt like it would burst with happiness, he couldn't think of anything that would spoil this moment.
"If your father knew we were alone together...." Sam let the sentence trail off into silence, but his words weren't disapproving ones; he sounded glad that her father wasn't there.
Mia laughed, a sound like a clear stream to Sam's mind, "Well," she giggled, "Dad isn't here, is he?" Her voice was soft, tempting.
Sam was silent for a minute, and Mia rested her head on his shoulder. Sam smiled warmly. He let go of her hand, and put his arm around her shoulders, and she snuggled into his side. Mia looked into Sam's eyes.
"Sam? Do you... like me?" she asked, her face looking worried.
Sam nodded, smiling, "Yes Mia," he stroked her hair a little, "why are you asking, it's an obvious question," Sam chuckled, and Mia sighed contently.
"It's just... I like you, Sam..." she trailed off, looking embarrassed.
"Yeah, I know, I'm your friend; friends are meant to like each other," but Sam knew in his heart that she didn't just mean friendship.
"No, silly!" laughed Mia, before growing quiet and meek again, "No, I... I really like you, Sam. I really, really like you," she looked worriedly into Sam's face, which remained impassive.
Mia decided to tell him.
"Sam, I... I think I love you..." she whispered, throwing her arms around him. Sam's face grew into a wide grin, and he embraced her. Mia sobbed into his chest, crying tears of happiness and love, and Sam felt like would burst with delight. She loved him!
He gently stroked her hair, the pair rocking back and forth slowly, as one cried, and one comforted. Sam felt like crying with happiness himself, but he couldn't bear the two of them crying together, but he whispered quietly into her ear, his voice breaking,
"I love you too, Mia," Sam whispered, tears in his eyes, "I really do...."
* * *
The couple sat together on the log. After a while of this, Mia's tears dried up, and she awkwardly pulled away from Sam, who gently let go of the embrace. Mia looked down at her feet, before glancing at the sky,
"It's getting late," she said quickly, "Um... I better head back; Dadn will be worried. And he'll get angry if he sees us walking back, um... together," she whispered that last word, as if she was still unsure if what had just happened was real, or a fantastical dream.
Sam nodded, agreeing, "look, you go on ahead. I'll wait a little before heading back, and I'll go a different way as well,"
Mia sighed, and put her hand on his forearm in a loving way, "Thanks Sam... I knew that... that..." she stuttered, lost for words, "Um... thanks for being... you," she settled on, getting up quickly, and after a moment's hesitation, pecked him on the cheek.
It was only a small kiss, but Sam's heart soared, and any doubts about loving Mia were banished. He sat there demurely, basking in a hot, cosy feeling, which he only realised later, was love.
Mia blushed, before she turned and hurried off back into the forest, towards the village.
Sam sat there for what seemed like years. He felt like he was floating in love, but gradually, the feeling wore off, but the memory of her kiss still filled him with warmth.
He glanced around, noticing the lengthening shadows, and the grey colour that the world was taking on; twilight was fast approaching. Sam got up, wincing as his back hurt from leaning over an anvil all day. He turned to a slightly different way than to the way Mia had gone, and started off back towards his village.
* * *
As he walked through the shadowy woods, his thoughts turned, again, to Mia.
It's going to be hard, keeping this a secret, one part of his mind said.
It had gotten quite dark, and Tom sped up a little, just so they wouldn't be worried about his whereabouts.
Sam reasoned he was nearly out of the forest; he could just begin to see the glow of his village. Suddenly, something burst out of the bushes to his left, knocking into him. Coloured lights danced in front of his eyes as he smacked onto a tree, sliding down it to lay on the ground. Something was pinning him down. Something strong.
Sam looked at what had knocked him over, and was shocked to see a man, with ragged clothes, shaking with rage, pinning him down with only one hand. Sam tried to get up, but the man just laughed as the teen struggled under his hairy paw.
"What do you want?" growled Sam. The smile was wiped off the man's face.
"Nothing you could give me," he growled, "You have it so lucky..." he whispered spitefully.
"Well then, let me go!" cried Sam, struggling again, "If you don't want anything, let me go! I... I need to get back to my village!" Tears of desperation were beginning to well up in Sam's eyes.
"Hah, your village," sneered the man, "you won't need a village soon enough. You'd never find me anywhere near a village," the man spat on the ground in disgust.
Sam's eyes widened, "you're going to kill me?" he asked in a horse whisper, his throat tight with terror.
The man laughed cruelly, "You wish! What I'm going to do is worse than death, I'm sure you'll come to find, soon. Oh, sure, you can kill yourself afterwards, I'm sure you'll see why soon."
Sam was confused and scared, but he wanted to know what the man was talking about.
"What... what do you mean?" asked Sam.
The man chuckled, "haven't you worked it out by now?" he poked himself in the chest, "I'm a werewolf!"
Sam's blood froze. His heart nearly stopped. You heard... stories, about werewolves. Bad ones. Very bad ones. Werewolves were shunned, exiled, hated. To see one was bad luck in itself, but to be one... Sam shuddered, and suddenly the realisation of what the werewolf was going to do to him dawned on him, like a bath of icy water.
Sam screamed, and bucked and twisted. He managed to break out of the werewolf's grip, but it was too late. Sam rocketed to his feet, and tried to run back towards the village lights, but he glanced behind back, and his heart plummeted.
The man's body was melting into the form of a wolf, leaping through the air after Sam. As Sam tried desperately to sprint faster, he felt white hot pain blossom on his left thigh, causing him to stumble to the ground and scream out in pain. His body was nearly overcome with pain.
He looked around through pain-filled eyes. He saw the wolf, its mussel buried into Sam's leg; the teeth going deep into the flesh. Red, sticky blood seeped from the wound, staining the wolf's mouth. Sam felt bile rise in his throat. He forced himself to look away as the wolf tore his muzzle away from Sam's leg, causing Sam to scream out again; it was extremely painful, almost causing Sam to pass out.
Sam lay there on the ground. He was too sore, and too weak to move. He knew he couldn't walk; his leg wouldn't support him. He lay sobbing into the mud. He knew exactly what that werewolf had done to him. His future looked bleak.
Sam felt himself slip into unconsciousness, darkness appearing at the edges of his vision. He saw the wolf stand in front of him, and turn back to human form. The man looked scornfully down at Sam's shivering figure, his leg a bloody mess. The man kicked Sam's frame, and when Sam didn't respond, span on him in disgust. The man's saliva was crimson with Sam's blood.
Suddenly, voices and lights came from the direction of the village. The man whipper around, shrugged, and bent down to Sam,
"Good luck, glowey boy," he whispered spitefully, before turning back into a wolf, and bounding away back into the forest.
Suddenly, light fell on Sam. It came from a lantern, which was held by Mia's father. He looked at the boy and grimaced. Sam had just enough strength to look up at him. His vision was blurry, but he could just make out another figure behind him. Sam heard the figure whimper, and Sam recognised the voice as Mia's. The memories of the clearing came flooding back to him, filling him with that warm feeling, but unconsciousness finally got the better of him.
His last thought before succumbing to the darkness was:
How would he tell them that he had been infected by a werewolf? Would Mia still love him when she found out that he was a werewolf now?
Sam shuddered, as the darkness closed in and he passed out completely.
ONE MONTH LATER
Sam groaned, stumbling back towards whitefell. His mind was numb, his conscience on auto-pilot. He tripped, falling onto his face. He contemplated just staying there, hoping he would melt into the ground, never have to get up again. He sobbed softly as that pins-and-needles feeling returned; the feeling of thousands of hairs forcing themselves to grow exceedingly fast. His hair.
His body went from a sleek, grey-and-white wolf, to a plain, mechanically-augmented human. The strong form was gradually replaced by the weak humanoid one. It was a painful process, very painful. Sam didn't scream, it would only instead draw unwanted attention. Instead, he bit his lips so hard that he punctured it. He winced as hot, red blood spurted out over his chin, filling his mouth with the metallic taste of blood. It almost caused Sam to morph again; he was hungry for blood, meat. He whimpered, trying to suppress his new, animalistic feelings.
And then his memory caught up with him.
He balled up his fists, his nails cutting into his palms. He bit his lip harder, in an effort to stop himself crying. He curled himself into a foetus position, in the mud, hoping that his memories were fake, not his. They couldn't be his. It was... impossible. Sam thought he would never do those things he did that night. He felt the rest of his face. Sure enough, hot, sticky blood appeared on his face. He knew horribly that it wasn't his.
After the memories had passed, he raised his head up the path. He wasn't too far... He could probably make it to Mia without anyone seeing him. It wasn't that people wouldn't want to see him. He didn't want them to see him; he felt... unclean, unworthy to be seen. He felt... alone.
He crawled up onto his knees, and winced as he put his weight on newly re-formed legs. Slow, shaky step, after painful, weak step, he made his way up the path, to where light was spilling out of an open door. He crept through the bushes on the other side of the path, avoiding the light. He wanted to isolate himself, to stop another incident like tonight from happening.
Eventually he got to paths that he recognised. The full moon cast a silver glow over the hills of Whitefell, making the trees into huge shadows atop the crest of the hills.
Sam passed his small house, glancing in at the unlit fire, at his half-finished projects. He looked at his bed, unslept in. He shivered; there would be people out there wouldn't have the opportunity to return to their beds. A tear crept to his eye, running down the bloodied skin of his face, evaporating when it crossed his hotter lights from his bionics. He kept going.
The glow from his augments faintly lit the path ahead, allowing him to see obstacles. He heard quiet conversation coming from the bright, open mouths of doors, and the occasional burst of laughter. Sam let out a quiet, pathetic sob.
Finally, he got to Mia's house. Sam didn't even know if she would be up at this time; it was nearly morning time; it was the witching hour. Sam was slightly relieved to see a low light coming from the cave opening, but only slightly. He would rather just run off and never come back; he didn't feel worthy to live here, amongst innocent people, who could easily get hurt.
He tried to make himself small as he knocked softly at the entrance to her room; a part of him secretly hoped that she would notice him. He glanced up, seeing if she was there at all. He hoped she wasn't, but she was.
She was sitting on her bed, which looked like it had slept in, but gotten out of. Mia was staring at the opposite wall, looking worried. Sam followed her gaze, and was surprised to see her eyes resting on the spear he had given her, a sharp iron weapon. Sam had heard that it was one of her most precious possessions.
She looked up, and saw him. Her face broke into a joyous smile, and she jumped up off the edge of her bed, and threw her arms around Sam. "Oh, Sam!" she cried, her voice almost breaking with happiness, "where have you been? I've been worried sick!" but her joy turned to puzzlement as Sam tried to break away from her.
"Stay away from me!" yelled Sam, "I... I don't want to hurt you..." his voice slipped into slow sobs, his voice had been pleading, scared.
Mia looked confused, and a bit scared. She backed away slightly. Sam breathed out slightly. The smell of her skin... the feeling of her close to him... her heartbeat... all these nearly caused Sam to turn, her sheer life had hungered him; how was anybody supposed to be safe around him?
"Sam?" asked Mia softly, scared, "Sam? Come inside, you look... horrible. Are you ok?"
Sam shook his head, but staggered into her room anyway. He sank into a chair, and the memories returned. He barely managed to get up before he threw up, violently. The bile left an acidic taste in his throat, and his lip continued to bleed into his mouth. It was all he could do to stop himself giving into his animalistic feelings.
When he sat back down, he noticed that Mia was trying to put her arm around him affectionately. Sam flinched, leaning away. His reaction caused tears to appear in Mia's eyes.
"S... Sam?" she whispered, "you're not ok, a... are you?"
Sam shook his head slowly,
"D... do you need something?" she asked softly.
Sam was silent for a moment.
"I don't know what I need, but I do know that I'm leaving. Now." Tears appeared in his eyes, and this time he didn't stop himself from putting his head in his hands and sobbing.
Mia looked distraught, "L... look, I'll just... go and get Dad," she suggested, starting to get up.
"NO!" yelled Sam, angry at himself at Mia's expression; she looked hurt, "I... mean, no, please," he begged, "don't tell anyone. I'm packing my stuff. I'm leaving. I thought I'd tell you... before I... go,"
"But why Sam?" pleaded Mia, "Why do this?!"
Sam sighed, unsure on how to break it to her, "Look, you see... All this?" he asked, gesturing to his face. Mia nodded slowly, seeming appalled at the mess of gore his face had become. Sam started crying again. He mumbled something.
"What?" asked Mia, her voice a horse whisper.
Sam took a deep breath, and said softly, nearly unintelligibly, "Most of it isn't mine," he confessed, "I can't stay here, I'll put everyone in danger!" The last sentence came out in a strangled sob.
"S... Sam? What are you saying?!" asked Mia, her voice small and scared. Tears were in her eyes again. Sam hated to see her like this. He had to leave; to stop any harm coming to her.
"I'm a monster. I can't stay here..." replied Sam quietly.
"You can't say that, you're a wonderful person, you're not a monster," said Mia warmly, trying to be kind. I was the wrong thing to say.
"Yes, I am!" cried Sam, turning to her, "I killed people, Mia!"
Mia suddenly looked deathly scared, "N... NO! You couldn't have!" her voice was pleading, hoping that Sam was lying. But Sam never lied to her.
Sam tried to take deep breaths, his resolve quickly breaking down, "Yes... Mia? Mia! I... I'm a werewolf!"
ONE WEEK LATER
Sam hiked up the hill that overlooked Biggerton. He was angry, and upset. Mia trailed along behind him nervously, occasionally glancing at him. They reached the crown of the hill. The side of the hill facing the town was clear of trees, but the other side was covered in a thick forest. The top of the hill was clear, and offered a nice view of the town. Or it would have, had the sun not set a while ago, and only the light of the moon provided anything in the way of light.
Sam scooped up armfuls of branches and twigs, and laid them in a pile in front of a log, which he sat in and buried his head in his hands. He stayed like that for a while, with Mia watching him awkwardly. She tried to break the silence,
"Um... I'm sorr-" she began, but Sam quickly cut her off.
"Shut up. It wasn't your fault. Just shut up. I shouldn't have lost my temper," he looked up and scowled at her, and his expression caused Mia to step back in alarm.
"but- but-" she stammered,
"but what?!" exploded Sam, kneeling down to try and light a fire.
Mia looked guilty and sheepish, "If I hadn't followed you..." she proffered,
"If you hadn't followed me," spat Sam, "you would be safe in SamdaMia, not chasing around after a deranged werewolf. You would have a home. You would be... accepted," tears began streaming down his face, and he pointed down at Biggerton, lit with the orange glow of torches,
"you saw how they reacted when they saw what I was! I'm not being hard on myself; people hate werewolves!" He gave up trying to get the fire going, and sat back on the log, glaring at the pile of sticks, as if he could light it with just his gaze alone.
Mia sighed, "but if I was back..." her voice broke, "home. If I was back there, I wouldn't be with you..." she said sweetly, trying to sit beside him, but Sam pulled away, and the look on Mia's face was one of utter confusion, loss, and betrayal. She grew angry.
"Fine! If that's how you're going to treat the only person who actually cares about you, who actually loves you, then I see why people hate werewolves!" she exclaimed, but Sam's expression didn't change.
"But why?" he asked, "You could have a wonderful life back at whitefell, but you chose to come with me? You left your home, knowing full well that anyone who knows what I am is going to try and kill me, and... kill you too..." he looked into her eyes, and Mia gasped.
His eyes were empty. Sam had resigned himself to his fate; an outlaw, unloved, and most definitely unwanted. He only wanted the best for Mia, but she had cast her life away and followed him. Did she really love him that much?
Mia gathered herself, and said defiantly, "I'm staying with you, ba- babe," she blushed, and hid her face in her hands, embarrassed at what she had just called Sam.
But a change had come over Sam's face. A smile flickered on his lips for a fraction of a second, but then his depressed expression returned,
"Babe..." he whispered quietly, before saying louder, "but why? I heard there are hunts going on for you back... back in whitefell. Do you care what others think? I don't want you getting upset that I can't give you what I want..." he went back to staring at the unlit fire.
Mia looked saddened, "But I only want you..." she whispered, gently stroking Sam's cheek, and when he didn't respond, her face grew into a mask of hateful fury.
"Why am I even trying!" she screamed, and Sam turned to face her, "I love you! Don't you understand?! I'm the only one who's ever going to give a damn about you, and you don't care?! Do you even love me?"
Her face was flushed, and Sam had the decency to look embarrassed, "I do love you, but I only want for you to have the life you want. Do you really want to spend the rest of your life running around after me? Is that what you want?" his voice hissed; all empathy gone.
"If I get to spend the rest of my life with you, then yes! Yes, I do!" she screamed angrily, panting. Then her face hardened in resolve.
"forget it." she hissed. "you don't care. I can see that. I'm going back to whitefell, if that's what makes you happy. You can starve out here on your own, alone, but at least you'll know that I'm safe. But that won't make me happy. I just want to be with you, but you keep pushing yourself away! Well fine! I'm going, you... you..." she sighed angrily, "I don't even know what to call you," she eyed him hatefully, and with a grunt of effort, slapped him, hard, across the cheek, leaving a red streak across his cheek, before she turned and ran into the forest, away from Sam and Biggerton.
* * *
Sam sat there for a while, motionless, in shock. After a while, he raised a hand to his smarting cheek, where Mia had struck him.
"Mia..." he whispered in a small, scared voice.
Then suddenly, his suppressed anger and rage surfaced. How dare she treat him like that! He loved her! And he wanted the best for her! But no, she has to go and sulk off about it.
Suddenly, all of Sam's problems tumbled out, and he found a way to blame them all on Mia, no matter what they were, or if she had even been there. All Sam's hate for the world was suddenly channelled into a spear, and it was pointed in Mia's direction.
He screamed, a wild and animal scream. His body morphed, bones breaking and mending, skin stretching and contracting, hair growing rampant. Where Sam had been, stood a snarling, vicious wolf. It howled, and sniffed the air. Mia's scent was still fresh. The wolf grinned evilly, and set off after the fleeing Ardoni.
* * *
Mia was walking in a fume when she heard the howl. She knew that howl, it was Sam's. But something was... wrong. Something inside her told her to run. Fast. And her legs broke into a run, and she struggled through the dark forest, with the monster in pursuit.
Sam ran through the trees, the wind streaming through his fur. He had forgotten how much he had forgotten the thrill of the hunt. Suddenly, he saw a blue glow up ahead, flicking through the trees. He turned towards it, and ran faster.
* * *
Suddenly, Mia burst into a clearing, and looked around. There was nowhere to run. She turned around, facing back the way she had come, backing away for the entrance slowly. A monstrous wolf, glowing white, stood in the entrance, and it was snarling and drooling.
"Sam!" Mia screamed, full of terror, "It's me!" she begged desperately, "please..." tears streamed down her face.
Sam saw the human in the clearing, and came to the entrance. She seemed to be... begging? What was her name again... Oh, yes. Mia. Sam licked his chops hungrily, and Mia whimpered. All this... it was obviously her fault. All her fault, thought Sam.
He pounced.
Mia shrieked as the wolf came sailing at her, knocking her to the ground. The wolf snarled, and slashed her torso, cutting deep without the barrier of ribs to stop him. And then again, the wolf clawed Mia's stomach, causing her to scream out in pain and terror. The wolf didn't stop.
With every slash, Sam blamed Mia for something. He cut her for him being a werewolf. He cut her for him having no friends. He cut her for him being alone...
And so on...
Soon, Mia stopped screaming, and her face began to be covered in a sheen of sweat, and she became limp. But Sam still continued, until he had no problems left to slash Mia for. He had put all his anger, fear, hate, love, terror, into those slashes. Everything.
Tenn, as suddenly as the fit of rage had appeared, it left Sam, and he collapsed onto the ground, back in his humanoid form.
He stared at Mia's abdomen, and screamed in fear. It had become a tangled and gory mess of guts, scars, and blood. Her eyes flickered, and Sam threw himself across her, and tried to check her face for breath. She was breathing, but shallowly.
Sam glanced down again at what he had done, and felt the lance of guilt claw at his moral fibre. But now was not the time to be wallowing in his own misery, how could he save Mia?!
Suddenly, a phrase floated across his mind's eye, calling him to his senses. He couldn't remember where he had read it, but now it had been dredged out of his memory in this time of need:
"Werewolf saliva has incredible healing powers, and, when applied to a wound, will begin to heal it at an incredible pace ... Werewolf saliva can be applied to human wounds, as well. It will heal the wound, but has the adverse effect of infecting the person with lycanthropy once the wound is healed."
Sam gasped; he could heal her! But... but then she would be a werewolf, just like him. Outlawed and unloved. Why should he have to make that choice for her?
It's that or she dies, said a voice in his head, and he took a deep breath, nodding. This was going to feel a bit weird, but it had to be done. He gathered the moisture in his mouth, and spat onto his hand, wincing as the saliva slapped onto his palm. He hesitated over Mia's form, but when he saw her marking flicker again, he flipped his hand and plunged it down onto the mass of scars on her belly.
He did it again. And again. And again. He spat onto his hand, and lay it on Mia's wounds. Again, and again. Until he had no more saliva left to spit, and his mouth felt like sandpaper. He managed one more spit blob, slapping it onto Mia's stomach for the last time, and then he stood back and looked at his work.
All of the scars and cuts had scabbed over, and now instead of looking bloody and gory, merely looked excruciatingly painful. Sam had worked so long that the sky had begun to lighten with a new day, and in the grey light, Sam assured himself that Mia looked less pale. Maybe.
He sat there with her until she woke, stroking her hand, and when she did wake, he guiltily recounted what had happened, and then revealed what he had done after. Mia listened with a blank look, and didn't appear grossed-out or repulsed by Sam's actions. She didn't look surprised when he told her that she is probably a werewolf now, but a wry smile crept over her lips. Sam was confused by this reactional and asked about it.
She smiled and laughed, a sight which brought joy to Sam's heart, but he rushed to her side when she seemed pained by her wounds.
"Oh, Sam," she cried, "don't you see?! I can be with you now!" She beamed.
"Why don't you hate me?" said Sam in a small voice, "I tried to kill you!"
Mia giggled, "But also saved me," she whispered sweetly, "you could have left me... to die, but you didn't. I love you Sam, and I'm still sure that you love me too..." she smiled a watery smile.
Sam broke into tears at her sweetness, and put his arms around her carefully, trying not to cause her pain with her wounds. Wounds that he had caused. And cured. He stopped down and kissed her, and she giggled and took his face in her hands, and drew his face towards hers, and this time it was a while before they broke away again. Sam sat back with a dreamy look on his face.
"Mia?" he said softly, "I god damn love you. You know that? I really, really love you Mia..."
THE END