Chapter 3 THE PAST MEETS THE PRESENT

More than a decade ago...

"Sorah, what are you doing out of the house at this time? You know we shouldn't be outside at this hour!" A teenager Jack hissed/yelled to his sister, who was just a year older than him.

"What? Nothing's gonna happen! Besides, I'm technically not even outside the house, I'm just sitting on the roof, Jack, what could go wrong?"

"I don't know, but you know they tell us those stories for a reason, Sorah..."

"The legends? Just fairy tales to keep us kids inside the house at night. Do you really believe that it is possible that something like a werewolf exists? I'm no longer a child and I can't really believe those tales, brother, sorry."

"Just because you're eighteen now, doesn't mean that you just can do whatever, sis... Please, come back in or I'll tell Mom and Dad."

"Ugh, fine, fine... you're a traitor, Jack, you know that? And you talk like an old grandma."

"No, I'm your brother and I'm supposed to watch over you."

The young lady tried to go back inside the house, carefully walking on the roof shingles and down to the ledge. It took all of her self-control and balance just so she wouldn't fall while trying to get back to her room via the upstairs window.

Her brother moved away and allowed her to jump in, still serious while she giggled and fixed her skirt.

"Grumpy kid, aren't you too young to be so serious?"

"I'm not a kid! I'm just a year younger than you. And I'm not grumpy, just not as crazy as you are..."

She still giggled and danced around the room, opened the door, then started to walk away. "Remember what I said, though. You need to learn how to have some fun!"

As soon as the words left the girl's mouth, a loud thud was heard downstairs. Their parents ran out of their room that was right next door. From the looks of them, they were just about to get ready to go to bed.

"You stay here. Jack, protect your mother and sister."

"Yes, Father."

Followed by their mother, the young man pulled his sister into their parent's bedroom. The door closed behind them, and Jack stood with his back glued to it. In front of him, her sister sat in bed beside their mom, concern written all over their faces.

Not long after, the noises of a fight, things falling down, a scream, and another thud resounded downstairs.

Then it was silent.

The quiet that hung in the air was more unnerving than the earlier racket.

A few more minutes and then there were sounds of growling, soft sniffing, and muted shuffling...

Were those the products of an imagination fed by the old stories told all over town? Those that his friends repeated to scare one another? Or like the ones, some worried mothers would tell their children?

Jack pushed his back even harder against the door. His knuckles got white as he grabbed the doorknob with all his strength, and he couldn't explain why he started to feel that fear...

Increasing from the pit of his stomach, making his cold sweat roll down his face.

But why was he so afraid?

The three of them stayed in the room, waiting for the head of the family to go back to them, and tell them that it was a raccoon that got into the house...

A very large, angry, and violent raccoon.

The first flight of stairs creaked down on the first floor, pressed by the weight of something that was way larger than the one they called father.

"Get under the bed, and don't make a sound!" Jack whispered, rushing to the ladies, who followed his instructions immediately.

After they were secured, he went back to the door and positioned himself against it again. The second step creaked, and then the third, and slowly, whatever it was, moved up to the top of the flight of stairs.

The three within the bedroom wished with all their might that it was their beloved parent and husband... Hoped with all their beings, almost with blind, irrational faith, that it was he that was just outside the door... Unfortunately, these beliefs were only fueled by the denial of what could be now lurking inside their house...

Something - or someone - who they had no idea on how to fight, let alone win against.

BAM!

A gunshot was heard from downstairs, aimed at whatever was now right at the other side of the door that Jack naively held with all his strength.

And after that, a bloodcurdling, angry, and deafening snarl!

The rest happened in just a blink of an eye...

The door flew off of its hinges, throwing the young man into the room. A monster with huge claws and fangs stood tall, about seven feet high, right in front of the shocked and hurt Jack!

Mother and daughter covered their mouths and noses to avoid even breathing so that things would not find them. However, the monster sniffed the air and with one paw grabbed one corner of the bed, then shoved it high in the air as if it was a weightless sheet of paper. It then pulled the younger woman, Sorah, towards him, hugging her from behind, his arm around her waist.

Her clothes immediately soaked in the blood that was on the creature's paws, claws, and furry torso.

It didn't seem to matter to the monster that he had a bullet hole through his shoulder. After all, the legend said that no regular bullet could kill them. It didn't matter too that the teenager he held in his arms was screaming her lungs out while trying with all her might to get free.

Rushed steps were now thumping up the stairs!

The monster looked at Sorah, then behind her, and finally at the window. As if barely caring about her, he curled over the girl's thrashing form, right before jumping through the window!

All of that happened during the few seconds that it took Jack to get back on his feet due to all the pain and bruises on his body. He stumbled to the window and tried to see if he could still find her, but it was too dark. Also, the two were now out of sight.

He couldn't even hear his sister now, nor the monster's growls. Just the cries of his mother as she ran to her husband, checking if he was alright and, at the same time, telling him about their daughter.

Jack cursed under his breath and was soon planning to go after the beast's trail of blood. But even as he shuffled out, his father entered the room and grabbed him with a firm hold, stopping him in his tracks.

"Father, we can still find them, please! We have to get her back!" Tears started to fall down the younger man's face. Tears of frustration, impotence, sadness, and disbelief...

The father didn't say a word. He just put his rifle away and hugged his son tightly against him. They both cried grieving tears, sure that he wouldn't let his son follow his daughter's fate.

"Father... Please!" Jack tried once more, but knowing that his father would not let him... would never let him go...

The mother joined the hug and continued crying, saddened that their girl was now lost, but happy that there were survivors in her family. As it was, they were lucky that they were still alive at all.

Of course, back then, going to the town, and asking for help to go after a werewolf, would have stigmatized their family forever. Most likely, they would get no help at all, just laughs.

The parents chose not to do that for the sake of their son and carried on with their lives.

It took a long time for Jack to understand that, but they did not hold that against him and unconditionally loved him, no matter what he thought about them.

Family should stay together...

Always.