WEREWOLF LIFE

Lydia Swain gave a heavy sigh as she threw down the pen she had been holding. Her mind was a complete blank. The composition notebook in front of her was filled with the disturbing thoughts of her childhood. Ever since she had returned home from the hospital, her parents would shout that she needed to go write or something, like it never meant anything except that she didn't explode. The last time that had happened had been catastrophic and she wasn't anxious to have another 'episode'. She rested her head against the small half-filled book. There was nothing left to write about.

She was stuck.

It was hard enough to keep her temper under control and find something to write about in the one horse town of Chadton, Nebraska. She sighed again and closed the composition book. Nothing ever happened in this town worth writing about. Slipping the journal under her bed, she placed her decoy on the desk. Lydia knew very well that her parents liked to snoop through her journal and see if there was anything worth convicting her on. At least this secured anything she didn't want known. The house was quiet, ceasefire in a war zone. Rubbing her eyes as she looked at the grandfather clock in the hallway, she started walking downstairs where she could hear the TV on.

The news was playing. All over Nebraska there had been sudden vicious attacks. The police stated that they believed it to be the work of coyotes from the south as Lydia sat on the couch. "We plan to find any coyotes and shoot them with a tranquilizer and transport them to a safe location in a desert reserve where we can keep check on them." Lydia frowned slightly as she hugged her legs. Coyote's weren't often seen in Nebraska much less so far north in the state. Lydia winced as she saw the picture of the man who had been murdered. His throat was ripped out and his whole body was ravaged.

Shaking her head, she picked up the remote and turned off the TV. Again the silence in the house worried her. It seemed that everyone in the whole world had temporarily disappeared. Lydia cherished the moment, closing her eyes and listening to the darkness surrounding her. Suddenly the silence was broken by a loud purring sort of growl. Lydia jumped, startled at the sound. Peering out the sliding glass door leading from the living room to backyard Lydia's eyes grew big as she saw a pair of bright yellow eyes staring at her. The growl grew deeper before she gave a scream and dashed towards the hallway. There was a shatter of glass, alerting Lydia that the creature was inside now. She rushed towards her parents room at the end of the hallway and looked back as she started to shut the door.

The animal outside hadn't been any coyote. It looked distinctly like a wolf but the nose was squashed and it moved strangely as if its whole body were moving in longer distances then it was truly allowed. Lydia slammed the door shut as the coyote, wolf, or whatever it was slammed into the door. She could hear the growls and howls from behind the door as she rushed to the bed and picked up the phone, her shaking hands dialing 911. The thing had began to ram the door. "911 emergency. How can I help you?" "Th-There's something in my house!" she shrieked. "I think it's one of those coyotes!" "Alright miss, if you can just tell us where-" Lydia could feel her heart pounding in her chest as the line went dead. There was more of them, there had to be.

The door was close to breaking, she could tell, as the hinges tore from their screws. Breathing heavily, Lydia dashed into her parents walk-in closet, half of her mind thinking she'd be safe and the other thinking she was crazy to stay in there. The door suddenly came crashing down and Lydia huddled amongst the dusty, moth-eaten clothes in the back of the closet. As if she were standing out there, Lydia could sense there were at least three of them and they proceeded to wreck the room without abandon. The bed was torn; fluff and springs flying everywhere. The dresser came crashing, its contents spilling all over the floor.

Then one of the creatures appeared, sniffing the cracks of the sliding door to the closet. Tears filled Lydia's eyes as she remembered the picture on the news. She was going to end up like that if they found her. Suddenly the door to the closet crunched under the weight of the animal and it stalked slowly towards where the girl hid. Trying desperately not to allow her breathing to be heard, Lydia felt her tears falling down her cheeks, keeping her eyes shut.

Suddenly, hot, heavy breathing was in front of her. She knew what was there, knew it with every ounce of her being. What made her open her eyes, she didn't know. The next moment was filled with screams and loud, echoing barks. Lydia could feel blood pouring down her sides and arms as the animal's claws raked her body as if digging through her to find something inside. Her eyes began to grow heavy from loss of blood and suddenly one of the animals appeared in front of her, its hackles raised, a deep growl emitting from its throat. Lydia gulped and the coppery tang of blood stung her mouth. The thing reared back its head with a loud howl before moving back down and biting Lydia's shoulder.

Her final scream sent her into darkness.

Lydia's head felt as if a rock was currently resting on it. All around her the ground was sticky and was matted into her long blonde hair. Though her eyelids felt like heavy weights, the girl forced them open. A soft drip of water was leaking from the stone roofing above her, slapping her forehead before trickling down into her hair. Lydia gave a groan as she moved the few inches to avoid the icy water. Her eyelids fluttered as she made an attempt at moving her arms or legs; both felt like heavy weights holding her body down. Blinking hard, Lydia decided enough was enough.

With one hard shove, the girl lifted herself into a sitting position.

Around her was what looked like a scientific laboratory. There were syringes and something that looked like a doctors chair with sharp, alien looking objects surrounding it. In a see-through bucket Lydia could see something shiny piled up inside it. "Ahh-so our little cub is awake...It's a pleasure to see you again my dear..." came a soft voice. Lydia rubbed her eyes and looked towards a squat little man. He wore thick spectacles and had thinning grey hair. One of the eyes of his glasses had a magnifying glass on it, making the eye that looked at her three times as big.

"Who are you?" Lydia demanded, moving her back against the wall. The man's grin made her queasy as he bowed towards her. "My name is Gustav. And I am, as you say, your host for this evening. Come here and let me clean you off." Lydia narrowed her eyes looking warily from the man to the doctor's chair with the sharp instruments around it. Gustav rolled his eyes as he started to take keys from his pocket. "Try to be nice, get a mute kid." The door opened and Gustav stepped inside the little cell holding a box of something.

Lydia sat quietly at the edge of the cell waiting for Gustav to get closer and the moment he drew near, she kicked the legs out from under him. Gustav gave a shout as he fell and Lydia was up faster then a jackrabbit. Leaping over Gustav she rushed out the door slamming the cell door shut and locking the old man inside. Moving around the doctor's chairs and tables, Lydia rushed to the door, shoving it open and rushing outside. Running as fast as she could, Lydia could feel the icyness of the rooms around her and it stung her cheeks as she ran.

Lydia could hear voices a few rooms ahead of her. Putting on an extra spurt of speed, the girl yanked open the double doors. Gazing around the now silent room, Lydia could feel her body shaking from its sudden movement and the fear of the people now looking at her. Men and woman, mostly in their early to late twenties but some of them were elderly. Two or three of the couples had enourmous dogs sitting obediantly at their heels. Not waiting a moment, Lydia tore off through the elegant room before anyone could move. She could hear yelling the second she reached the door. "Get her! You must stop her!" came the echoed shout. The few dogs in the room were set loose and Lydia made sure to slam the door shut as fast as she could as she saw the dogs bounding towards her, anger in their eyes.

It was a dark, freezing night, immediately making Lydia's lower lip tremble. Her head throbbed, forcing her to blink to remain concious. If she stayed still any longer, the girl knew she would be caught. A gate was just within her view. Taking off as fast as humanly possible, Lydia aimed for the gate, her eyes darkening with each slam of her foot against the cobbled drive. Her body trembled harder then usual, her blood ran hot inside her. Looking up into the sky, Lydia watched as the clouds moved away from the moon. The moon was bright and round, encompassing her whole mind and giving her nothing else to think of.

Lydia sunk against the gate, her insides churning. She shook her head to try and clear her thoughts but nothing seemed to work. She gave a scream as she felt her back lengthening, her head hunching over. She crouched against the gate, hugging her knees feeling as though her whole body were on fire. Not daring to look at what was happening, Lydia forced her eyes to remain closed until the feeling past. But the problem was, it didn't pass. The fire dulled her senses and made her body feel numb, growing stronger as she wretched, her ribs pressing usually tight to her sides.

Then suddenly, all at once the feeling had stopped. Lydia collapsed against the soft ground and heard herself let out a small whine that sounded like a dog. She tried to stand but nothing wanted to work. The dogs she had seen earlier were running towards her and it was obvious they had no vicious intent this time. At least that was what she had hoped as she fell unconcious again.

Lydia felt as though she she had died and then been forced back into being. The other night had ended so abruptly, she didn't know what time is was. The light blazing into her eyelids alerted her immediately that it was day time. Her back ached, as did her feet and arms. Everything seemed to have a hurt to it. "You know-if you don't wake up now, you might not be able to fall asleep tonight." came a voice. Someone was in the room with her. With that saying, Lydia would suppose it had been her mother stopping her from enjoying an afternoon nap.

"I don't care-just let me sleep." Lydia grumbled. There was a hard laugh and Lydia felt her body tipping softly to the side. The mattress she supposed was under her, felt soft and warm against her bruised feeling arm. "You won't have the full benefits of my teaching unless you wake up now. At least open your eyes, Lydia." Lydia's eyes snapped open. "How did you know my name?" With her eyes still groggy, Lydia couldn't see who it was in front of her. Blinking a few times, Lydia reached up and wearily rubbed her eyes.

There was a man maybe only a few years old then her, sitting at the edge of the bed, looking down at her. He had a rough physique and short cropped black hair. His hazel eyes crinkled into a grin as he looked down at her. "You gave us something of a scare the other night. I had been waiting for you to escape. I had only hoped you would've allowed Gustav to make it so that you could run without having to go through your first transformation. Honestly I would have rather been there."

Lydia gulped and continued to blink, still being slightly asleep. "Transformation?" The man nodded. "Yes. The first of many I'm afraid. Had you been calmer, I might've come down to help you through it but since you decided to be so obstinant-" he gave a grin as though he were pleased with how she had reacted to being captured. "Who are you?" Lydia asked, letting out a yawn. The man smiled. "My name is Matthias. But you may call me Matt." "What am I doing here? Where are we?" Matt smiled. "So full of questions. I enjoy that. You're in my family home, more specifically in my room. It's located in the Rocky Mountains. You have only been lucky enough that my pack and I have decided we needed a female."

Lydia furrowed her brow. "Excuse me? I should be lucky?" Matt stood up and walked away for a moment. Lydia, feeling slightly better then she had the other day, slowly sat up and leaned heavily against the headboard. Matt leaned against the huge bay windows, looking outside. "Yes- -I'm certain you have seen how we dispose of those we don't need. The news is having a field day; and yes, we do get the news shows out here." Lydia rubbed her arms, tucking the warm covers up to her neck. "But how did you find me?" Matt smiled out the window. "Well I enjoy roaming the countryside at night. Especially in the town where we found you." "Chadton?" Matt nodded. "It's quiet there...the forest is lovely. There's one place in particular I love to sit and watch from. A place called Widows Peak, I believe?"

Lydia nodded and chewed her lower lip. Widows Peak was one of her favorite spots out in the woods. She had often sat atop the precipice and looked down into the wonders of the Earth. Matt looked deep in thought again and Lydia looked over to the door, wondering if perhaps she might risk another escape. Taking another glance back at Matt as he gazed out the window, Lydia lifted the covers slowly so as not to raise his attention. She kept her eyes ahead raptly, to make it seem as though she were still listening to what wasn't being said as she moved her legs to get out of bed. The jingle of chains alerted her.

Matt looked to the ground as Lydia looked under the covers. Someone had chained her ankle to the bed. "I figured you might want to try and run again so I took the liberty of attempting to let you hear me out." Lydia glared at Matt. "I don't want to be here. I want to go home." Matt turned towards her, his face placid as if nothing bothered him. "Back to the home of verbal abuse and parental tyranny I took you from?" Matt walked over to the desk nearby and picked up what Lydia recognized as her own personal journal. "You've been sleeping for nearly two days...that gave me plenty of time to read this." Lydia's jaw dropped.

"You READ it?! ALL of it?!" Matt nodded, setting it down on the desk again. Lydia tucked her knees up and rested her forehead against her knees. How dare he, read her personal thoughts and dreams like it were a book he had purchased at a bookstore! Lydia's lower lip trembled. "You're angry now. Aren't you?" Lydia glared up at the man. "Who wouldn't be? You kidnapped me from my home, you're keeping me here prisoner, and you read my personal things. Who couldn't be angry?" Matt's face broke into a small grin.

"Then attack me. Jump off that bed and attack me." Lydia took a deep breath. "I can't. Since you've decided to take a procaution. Otherwise- believe me, you'd be on the ground already." There was a small awkward silence. Matt seemed unmoved by Lydia's threat though she had meant every syllable. "Anger is one of the first lessons you needed to know. Incidentally it's the hardest to learn. Without anger, we'd all be gone." "We?" Lydia asked contempuously. Matt nodded. "Yes...'we'." Lydia shook her head. "Who is we?" Matt sat down next to Lydia. "The pack you're now induced into." "Pack of what?" Matt gave a semi-wicked grin. "Why-a pack of respectable werewolves."