Chapter 7 Werewolves

Another noise upstream had Gabriel freezing in place. Was it a monster? Could it be his father?

Almost as soon as he had tensed, he relaxed. The noise was the same as the day before. Moving over closer to the water's edge, Gabriel peeked through the thick reeds to watch the man and boy fish again. They seemed oblivious to what was going on, but a movement on the other bank had Gabriel on edge.

The shadow moved slightly, before revealing a long black muzzle dripping with saliva and exposing long sharp teeth as it snarled silently. The boy had turned to say something to his father when the creature appeared, so neither of them saw it. Gabriel watched in shock as the thing sprung to its full height and howled. It was fifteen feet, easy!

The two on the shore reacted quickly, with the boy dropping his stick and turning to run. The man pulled out a sword and took a stance, watching the monster jump into the water with a determined look on his face.

Gabriel was amazed at what he was watching. First, the stance the man took was the same one his father had taught him. Second, the creature seemed to be having no trouble swimming across the strong current of the river, making it seem almost easy.

Was this why his father was training him? To be able to deal with monsters like this? The claws on each finger were easily six inches long! This thing couldn't do anything but slash and gore things.

As it reached the bank with the man, it rose up and swung at him with those long sharp claws. Gabriel watched, entranced, as the man ducked under the swing and stepped forward to stab the thing through the chest. But, instead of going down, it whipped back around and knocked the man into the water. As the monster dived after him, all Gabriel could see of the fight was splashing water and deep red streams rushing towards him.

Snapping out of his daze, Gabriel scrambled back to the rock, ducking behind it as the monster rose up out of the water with the man grasped firmly in its jaws. With a shake of its head, the man was torn in two.

Grasping his wooden sword with a shaky grasp, Gabriel prepared to attack the monster as it fell to all fours and shook off the water that had accumulated in its thick fur. Just in front of him, the upper torso of the slain man bled into the rushing waters of the river.

Darting around the stone, Gabriel came face to face with the side of the creature, where the sword the man had shoved into it was still embedded. Without a second thought, Gabriel grasped the handle and shoved it in as far as he could. The thing didn't turn to attack him, like he thought it would, instead it stumbled back and fell heavily against the rock, shattering it into shards.

Backing away from the thing, Gabriel felt something that wasn't rock or mud under his foot. Glancing down, he saw that he had stepped onto a hand of the dead man. Dancing away from it, he ended up ankle deep in the water, hidden by the thick reeds as the monster tried to climb back to its feet.

His father was suddenly there, dripping water from his soaked clothes, carrying a long spear that he used to crush the monster's head in.

"Good job not panicking," his father panted, watching the monster for any signs of movement. "They heal quickly and…"

"Never travel alone," gasped Gabriel, spinning to look back at the far shore where the thing had first appeared.

A second monster, just as scary as the first, was already making its way towards them, diving into the river with no hesitation.

"Here," said his father, shoving the spear into his hands. "Get behind the dead one and wait for an opportunity to stab it in the eye. We want the brain damaged."

Gabriel turned without hesitation and rushed to the still warm beast, ducking down behind it as the sound of splashing from the second one drew closer. His eyes were drawn to the smashed skull as he listened for his father to engage the monster. A glint of light off of metal drew his eyes to the back of the dead monster's head and Gabriel saw that a knife was embedded into the hollow where the spine met the head. That must have been why it didn't attack him when he shoved the sword the rest of the way in!

A roar drew his attention back to the fight with his father, and he watched as the old man wove back and forth around the thing, drawing it closer and closer to where Gabriel was hiding. No matter how hard it tried to hit or bite him, his father was just out of reach.

Clutching the spear tightly, Gabriel watched for an opportunity to shove the metal tip into the eye of the monster, but it kept being too fast. Frowning at his possible failure, he decided he was going to have to do something to make the thing look at him to give him a good shot at hitting it.

His father had just ducked under another swing of the thing's claws when Gabriel jumped to the top of the dead monster's back and screamed at it. He was waiting and ready, shoving the spear as hard as he could into the monster's eye as it turned to face him. Its eye popped, spewing goo all down its face, and the monster reared back, turning away from Gabriel, as it roared in pain. The spear was ripped from his hands, and he slid down the wet pelt of the dead monster he was standing on, coming to rest next to where the knife was buried.

His dad took advantage of its distraction to shove the sword he had taken from the first monster, into its chest. Gabriel watched as it backhanded his father, sending the man flying over his head. Grabbing the knife, he jerked it free and as the monster turned its back towards him, he once again climbed on top of the dead carcass before leaping at the monster.

He stabbed it in the back with all his strength, but there was nothing to hold on to. When the monster spun around to meet this newest threat, Gabriel was launched out into the river, sinking below the rushing waters.

Fighting his way to the surface, he grabbed a lungful of air before trying to figure out where he was. The island was behind him, and it took everything he had to fight his way to the shore. Pulling his cold and wet body up over the rocks, he fell against the side of a tree, between two large roots and turned back to look at the island.

It was too far for him to see if his father was still fighting the second monster. Despite his aching body, Gabriel pulled himself to his feet and stumbled back upriver, craning his neck to see if he could see anything. Pausing next to a thick bush, he finally spotted his father's form heading towards the river. A few moments later, the man was standing next to him, dripping wet.

Without a word between them, they both turned back to head to the shed Gabriel called home. His father didn't say anything until they arrived and had stepped inside.

"Let me examine you," he said, taking Gabriel's arm and turning him around slowly.

The man checked every cut, scrape, and bruise before finally letting him sit.

"Those were werewolves. They are incredibly dangerous. A single scratch from their claws or nip from their teeth can infect a person and cause them to become a monster just like them."

"Did you get hurt?" asked Gabriel, wondering what would happen to him if his father became a monster.

"No. I will fetch your supper, then you may rest until tomorrow. It is time for you to begin the next phase of your training."

Gabriel watched him leave, wondering what that would look like.

The pitiful bowl of rice and beans his father brought him did next to nothing to calm the hunger in his belly, and after the man had left, Gabriel found himself up pacing the small space.

He had helped to take out two of the most fearsome monsters in the forest. Why must he be left so hungry?

Grabbing the doorknob, he hesitated for only a moment to listen and make sure no one was around to see him leave. It was dark outside, and the only noises he heard were the ones of the night time animals and bugs. Pulling the door shut behind him, he began to creep towards the main compound as the noises of people reached his ears. They were laughing and talking as they enjoyed their evening meals.

Gabriel was envious. Why did he not get to enjoy such things?

Reaching the nearest house, he peeked inside the window and saw a family of three sitting together by a fire, talking pleasantly with each other. Moving to another window, he saw that it looked into a kitchen. The remains of their evening meal were still laid out on the counter, waiting to be dealt with.

Gabriel licked his lips, then glanced around to make sure no one saw him. If he was caught, he could only imagine the horrors his father would deal to him.

Reaching inside the open window, he snagged a hunk of meat and a boiled potato before darting off back to the shed. The hollow feeling in his stomach shrunk to almost nothing and he lay down happily to sleep, not hungry for the first time since he was a babe.