CHAPTER 1
JACE
As I run through the woods, I feel the stress and the worry of what the future holds falling away. I don’t think it can ever truly leave me, not when my future is so unsure. I sometimes forget about becoming a monstrosity, but then I look down or I feel my feral mind brush against my consciousness, and I remember.
As the years have passed since the Halloween party where I was unfortunate enough to drink Dr. Karloff’s special punch, the things I dreamed about are farther away. It’s not like my dreams were a big revelation, I just wanted to live a normal life.
I wanted to be the best park ranger possible and protect Screaming Woods because I loved getting lost there while being surrounded by nature and clean air without the noise of the town. I found solace in the quiet. I still do.
At least my job wasn’t hindered by my change. In fact, I’m probably more suited for the job now than I was before.
The rest of what I hoped for my life? Having a wife and kids? Finding happiness and reasons to smile?
Yeah, I don’t think those things will ever happen. Even with what seems like eternity at my disposal since no one has aged since that night, including myself. I’m not going to hold my breath.
How could I expect a woman to fall in love with me? I’m a fucking wolfman now. Hell, I had my doubts I would find it before one drink changed my life.
It’s not like I didn’t have women in the town interested in me, but I didn’t feel the same. It never felt right, and I’ve never been one to pretend. I sure as fuck wasn’t going to pretend to be attracted to someone or have a connection to get my dick wet.
There were attractive women in town, before that fateful night. I could appreciate them, but they never called to me. There was always a voice in my head that said to wait. I thought I’d feel some kind of pull to the right person.
Now, after a few years in my current state, I’m pretty sure the woods are going to be the only thing which gives me peace.
I’ve accepted my fate. At least I can protect the woods to the best of my ability and the more monstrous side of me loves being outside. I can run for hours without getting tired. My sense of smell is heightened and I’m stronger than I used to be. Anyone who wants to come out here and mess with the sanctuary I share with Mother Nature and a few of my other monstrous townspeople will have a fight on their hands.
I take my job seriously and everyone knows it.
As I run through the woods, I fight the primal need to mark my territory. During the last full moon, I couldn’t stop the instinct and my marks are still very…potent. I should be ashamed of it, but the feral thing inside of me is smugly proud.
I give Gregor’s property a wide berth as I head back toward my small ranger cabin. He’s an ogre and a permanent resident here in the forest. Like me, he’s a grumpy asshole.
It’s hard to be out here alone, as we are, and hold onto our humanity.
I snort at the thought. What fucking humanity? We’re monsters.
The humans of the town fled almost immediately, fear driving them, and I can’t say I blame them. If I hadn’t been unfortunate enough to be turned, I might have left too. I don’t know, these woods have always been my home. I’d like to think I would have stayed.
Maybe that’s why I was destined to drink the punch.
I howl, the noise coming from me unbidden as my feral side tries to cope with the sadness and despair trying to pull me under. It’s a daily struggle. Feeling sorry for myself isn’t going to help anything.
I grit my teeth, my pronounced canines straining my lips as I do. My howls can be heard for miles, and they only serve as a reminder of how much of an animal I’ve become. They do help me feel a release of those emotions, like a pressure valve, but part of me hates it. The part who is still Jace, before the change.
I make fists and run faster, my feet slapping over the ground, leaves and sticks, which litter the forest floor, crunching and snapping under my feet. My nails, which I hate to think of as claws even though that is exactly what they are, dig into my palms and draw blood.
I growl, but the pain grounds me in the now and reminds me that my life as it is, my state as it is, is something I can’t change. At least I have the woods.
When I get to my ranger cabin, I stomp through the door, intent on eating something and then sitting outside to search for peace. The weather is starting to cool slightly, but I run hotter now. I guess that is one perk to my wolfman state. Even the coldest days of winter don’t bother me.
It makes my life out here easier, but it hardly makes up for everything I don’t have.
The night of the party echoes in my head sometimes. We were all having so much fun. Everyone was wearing costumes and celebrating Halloween. It was festive and fun; it was the last night I’ve experienced that.
When Karloff arrived and started passing around the punch he made, it added to the atmosphere. He’d always been the eccentric of the town. Now, I’m pretty sure he’s the most normal of the bunch.
When he passed me my punch, he had a big grin on his face, “I think this is just what you need Jace.”
It’s a moment I relive, but I can’t take it back. Nothing will ever take back what we turned into. Karloff can try to find a cure for the rest of his life, but I’ve given up hope on it happening.