The Anomaly

We walked into the portal. Banged up from our ghostly encounter, we continued to walk. The times were still out of whack. We came to a time in the 19th century. 1830. We came falling on to the cement of the road.

“Uh. Where did we land this time? Freakin’ Pompeii?” Calvin was a little bit upset, stressed was a better word.

“A plecu a dispărea dim stradă! Este vârcolac!” A voice was calling down the street.

“What does that mean?” It was Romanian. A full moon was out and the moonlight was shining on us.

“Get off the street. It’s a what? Vârcolac? I should know that word.” The next moment, I could hear claws scraping across the pavement and a low howl.

“I don’t like the sound of that,” Calvin murmured, gulping a little more. I was still wrapping my mind around vârcolac. Then it hit me.

“Oh no.” Calvin probably heard the concern in my voice. A dark figure’s shadow was coming from a malfunctioning light post.

“What’s wrong,” he asked before a big, hairy thing moved as fast as a bullet and tackled Calvin to the ground. I was horror struck as the animal sunk it’s slimy fangs into Calvin’s neck.

Calvin’s piercing screams and grunting echoed through the street. I heard a gunshot and the beast froze. The creature got a bullet wound in it’s stomach.

“Uh. Ow. That hurt!” Calvin stopped screaming from under the creature. He pulled himself out from under the creature.

The creature, like magic, transformed into a human. Calvin finally stood up and looked at me, breathing heavily.

“What was that?”

“Vârcolac means were,” I gulped, “wolf.” His eyes widened.

“Werewolf? But they’re suppose to only exist in lore.”

“Yeah. And the Gods were mythical.”

He let that sink in. “Okay, but why am I still standing?"

“I seriously don’t know. Let me see your neck.” Calvin was now worried. He tilted his head to expose the 4 puncture wounds near one of his arteries which was also punctured.

The skin around the wounds were changing color as the slime went into the wound.

“Do you feel any pain, Calvin? As in right now?” Alex came and landed on my shoulder.

“I don’t feel any.”

“Oh My GODS! Are you going to tell him!?” Apparently, Alex knew.

The saliva had already sunk deep into Calvin’s blood. A way to become a werewolf 101. Get bitten by a werewolf. I pursed my lips and Calvin knew something was wrong. This was definitely bad.

“What’s wrong?” I was about to tell him but he answered his own question. “I’m going to guess. I’m going to become a werewolf.” He looked down at me and we locked eye contact.

“I don’t know what to do.”

“How about helping me?”

“What do you think I can do? I’m not able to change this. I am weak from traveling from my past life.” This was a complete turn of events. Then I mumbled, “I can’t lose you.”

“What do you mean ’I can’t lose you’?” I turned around and Alex flew off my shoulder. “Zoë?” Calvin put his hand on my shoulder, “What is going on?” I shook my head as I turned back around to face Calvin. “Does this whole thing, me meeting you, have to do with that prophecy?” Of course he heard me say it.

“I can not say.” I was holding back so much. He grabbed both of my shoulders.

“Why can you not say?” I narrowed my eyes.

“Apollo said I couldn’t, and I made a vow not to repeat to anyone else than myself.” That ended the argument. I was at one while Calvin was at zero.
* * *

The break of dawn was the best thing I have seen for the week. Images of my past life ran through my head. I wonder if somehow I’ll be able to return to it. I went to a clothing store. I was tired of this Xena outfit. I got some pants and a shirt. Calvin was still mad at me from last night’s ‘debate’, but tonight will be worse. It’s another full moon which will be his first transformation. The best thing I could do was to try to get rid of the bite marks. I sent Alex to go and investigate the village.

“I’m sorry.” I was rummaging through my bag for an apple.

“What do you have to be sorry for?”

“For last night. I just felt so… angry, annoyed. I didn’t know how much power I had with my anger. I just don’t feel human anymore.” Uh-oh, I thought, It’s the werewolf instincts kicking in.

“It’s the werewolf. You have to fight it.”

“That’s my problem, Zoë. I don’t know what is happening to me. I can’t fight the unknown.” I shook my head.

“You fight the feelings of anger, annoyance…killing. You have to fight the urge. You’ll feel torn between which to choose. It’s either to be human or get killed as a werewolf.” He noticed I had a point.

“Maybe you’re right. I just can’t…” I cut him off.

“Never ever say ‘can’t’. You can. Just believe.”

“In what?”

“Honestly, I have no clue. Alex might. Alex!” Alex came swooping and landed on the bench we were sitting on.

“How can I help you, Zoë?”

“We need some advice.” I whispered what we were just talking about.

“Ah. She is right my dear fellow. You have to believe that you can suppress this whole thing.” Calvin was looking at me like I was nuts.

“Uh. What did he say?”

“He said I was right and you have to believe that you can suppress this whole ordeal.”

“Oh. Thanks for the advice, Alex.”

“Anytime,” Alex said as he flew off to go and scout some more.

“Did I just talk to a bird?”

“Yep,” I sighed, “Except I don’t think he is a bird. I think he’s human as well.”

“Human? But don’t animals also talk in the past just like the future?”

“That’s the point Calvin. They can’t speak in the past. In the past, people were cursed to turn into an animal. I believe that is how Alex is a telepathic bird, but does so much more than fly and do his bird calling.”

For the rest of the day, Calvin asked me questions and I answered them as accurately as I could. Then the sunset was not as inviting to me as the sunrise. The change would occur when the full moon would come out of the darkness of the universe. The full moon came out to play.

As it rose into the sky, Calvin stared at it. A complete trance I couldn’t interfere in. His transformation had begun. He stood up from the bench, as did I but I stepped back a bit. His muscles ripped right through his linen shirt. Hair began to cover his body as his hands and feet turned into great big paws with super sized claws. His eyebrows started to connect to each other. His mouth and nose turned into a muzzle. His sea clothes had become torn. He had transformed into a 6”5’ft, black werewolf.

As the moon got higher, he began to howl. My eyes began to widen. This was a nightmare to watch. The only thing that didn’t change was his deep calf-brown eyes.

“Calvin?” He looked up with a look of hunger in his eyes. I shook my head. “Fight it, Calvin!”

The werewolf instincts had taken control of his human being. But I had to remind him to fight the instinct to kill and eat human flesh. But this could get me killed as well. I backed up and tripped, scraping my elbows on the pavement. Alex swooped down and tackled into Calvin’s head.

“Run Zoë!”

I got up and ran towards the forest at the edge of the town. Stupid thing to do since Calvin could hunt me down with one sniff, but I had to do something so he wouldn’t get shot by a silver bullet. (Plus, my powers needed to recuperated.) I was whacked in the arms and legs by the trees and plants. It felt like the trees were going against me. Alex couldn’t hold off Calvin forever. So I started to climb a tree, listening to the approaching footsteps. I had to think of a way to stall him. But first, I would have to climb higher than the first branch. I got higher, about 20 feet as the footsteps came closer. Alex flew above me. I grabbed my glove and he landed.

“I’m sorry Zoë. I couldn’t hold him off.” Alex sounded exhausted as I was of running and climbing.

“I knew you couldn’t hold him off. I just have to figure out how to stall him till dawn.” Calvin walked over to our tree and looked around. At least he didn’t look up. He was right beneath me. Crazy idea time. I put Alex on a branch.

“What are you going to do?”

“Drop on him.” There were no branches between him and me. I wouldn’t break my neck unless he moved.

“Are you nuts?”

“Uh….Yeah.” Calvin was still sniffing as I kind of as the term is or was “dropping by”. I landed squarely on his shoulders and he collapsed. I made sure that he couldn’t follow me in a matter of minutes. Then, I ran to the village. Calvin did not take a long time to regain his instincts.

I grabbed my arrow that I had completely forgotten since my encounter with Artemis. I grabbed my hair pin and squeezed it. A very thin, wooden bow appeared. I knew that it was a little bit magical. I gulped as I notched my arrow.

“A omorî,” the villagers chanted as they gathered around me. It meant kill it. I gulped again.

My aim would be deadly if my arrow wasn’t full of a sleeping odor. He got closer and closer. I shot my arrow and his running speed stopped dead. He fell and slept. I walked over to the bench, hoping it wasn’t permanent. Thankfully, it wasn’t. Dawn came upon us in a few minutes and he woke up. Then, the dawn broke free and he transformed.

Back to the tan, brown haired, 17 year old.

“Uh… What happened?” Then he saw me, cut up and I was so exhausted that I fell asleep and kind of fell over. I landed on something other than the bench I was sitting on. I slept for maybe an hour.
* * *
I woke up on Calvin’s lap.

“Zoë? Are you okay?” I woke up with a headache.

“Do I look okay?” I was a little bit irritated.

“Uh…No.”

“Then I’m fine.” I got off his lap and sat up. Alex came and perched on the arm of the bench.

He was yelling at me for being so reckless.

“At least I saved his life.”

“But you nearly killed yourself with that stunt.”

“I looked before I leaped.”

“Just, next time, be careful.” I nodded.

“Now will you tell me what happened?”

“I don’t think you want to hear it.”

“I’d rather.” Persistent, isn’t he?

“Okay,” I started to explain the whole rest of the story from the beginning of his transformation to the arrow that made him collapse.

“You shot me?” His face was amazed and incredulous.

“Could we just drop that?” His mouth was ajar. “I guess not.”

“You shot me?”

“Yes, I shot you. So you wouldn’t be killed as a werewolf. We need to get out of this time.” I got up and waved my hand for the portal to appear.

I put on my glove and Alex perched himself on it.

“Let’s go.” Calvin got up and wrapped his arm around my waist. I flinched. Apparently, he knew how tense I was.

“I’m not going to hurt you, Zoë.”

“Of course you’re not going to in this form,” I agreed, “But my future might change because of it.”

“What do you mean?”

“I don’t want to talk about it.” I wasn’t going to break it to him. I kept telling myself that I would tell him when the mission for the future was complete. But you may not live to see or talk to him afterward, My mind kept saying.

Calvin stared at me with concern and worry.

“Are we going?” I nodded.

Calvin wrapped his arm around my waist again as Alex clutched harder into my glove. And we pressed on.