You Fight For All The Wrong Reasons

The cold arms of the forest embraced me as I stepped into their shadows. Silently, my footsteps carried me to their darkest depths, a place where only monsters are meant to dwell.

Monsters like me.

I stared down into a puddle left over from last night’s rain and watched my figure transform from a pale, brown-eyed girl to a terrible creature with magnificent brow fur, marked with flecks of gold and red.

For so long I had been holding back.

Now I was finally free.

I threw back my head and let out one long, chilling note. For a moment, the only sound was the gentle wind carrying my echo through the trees. Then, eight more howls replied in unison. I felt my lips pull back over my teeth in some sort of smile.

The voices of my pack brothers and sisters whirred around in my skull:

Nice to have you back in the woods, Audrey.
Hurry up and meet us by the creek, Audrey. I’m starving.
We could always eat Missy Forthright.
Exactly. It’s technically not cannibalism. What do you say?

I laughed at Mitchell’s comment and imagined the most obnoxious girl ever to attend John Hanson High School being crushed in his powerful jaws. Sounds like a plan to me. I replied. A burst of adrenaline flowed through my veins as I ripped through the forest at lightning speed. In these trees, I was indestructible.

I reached the creek in record time and was greeted by a chorus of excited yips and howls. Audrey! Long time, no see. Julia rubbed up against me, her silky black fur glinting in the moonlight. About time you recovered from mono. We all missed you.

I grinned and set my eyes on a werewolf with a brilliant white coat, its fur slightly ruffled. Really? I asked. Even Mitch? Aw, that’s sweet.

The wolf approached me, his expression probably the same as mine: mouth set into a smirk, eyes sparkling. He playfully bit my ear. I bopped him on the nose with my paw, and so began our routinely chase around the creek. I realized, as I leaped over a fallen log, how much I had missed this place.

Dang. I heard Mitch say after nearly running into an oak tree. Not even mono can alter your speed.

I slunk into the creek, trying not to make a splash. Even in April, the water was still cold. But I could endure semi-frigid temperatures if it meant ambushing Mitch.

Aw come on, don’t hide after I just gave you a compliment.

I snickered from my liquid hidey-hole. Above, I could feel Mitch getting closer. I hoped he would hurry up. I couldn’t hold my breath forever.

I thought I could glimpse Mitch’s figure slowly passing by the creek bank. I pushed off the creek floor and burst out of the water with ferocious speed. My paws landed evenly on Mitch’s broad shoulders with enough force to topple him over. I growled, then barked happily when I saw the frightened look on Mitch’s face. I laughed and got off him, making sure to step on his forehead. Mitch jumped up and shook himself with as much dignity he had at the moment, still shaky. Geez, you scared me.

I laughed, victorious.

Mitch smiled. Alright, you win. I have to admit, that was pretty good. But I’ll get you next time.

In your dreams, dog. I smugly trotted out in front of him. Mitch snapped at my tail. Look who’s talking.

An ear-shattering howl came from further out in the woods, stopping Mitch and I right in our tracks. It was Christina. Audrey! Mitch! Come over here and look at what we’ve found!

Mitch glanced at me before taking off into the darkness, following Christina’s scent and sound. Hey, wait up! Mitch ignored me and kept sprinting ahead. I didn’t blame him. Christina’s call sounded urgent enough. Eventually I caught up with him, matching his stride.

We reached the others. Christina and Ryan were dragging a figure along the ground. As the got closer, I could see that it was a girl our age. She had messy, wavy red hair fell over her face. Her clothes were tattered and she smelled something awful – she had to have been dead for about three days now. Scratches all over her body showed that she had put up a fight with whatever killed her.

As I looked even closer, I recognized the girl. Jenn – my lab partner at school.

I stared at her in horror, then glared at Christina and Ryan. You killed her?!

Both looked taken aback, even fearful. God, no! Ryan motioned to his left. We found her over there, under a pile of leaves. I felt the other three pairs of eyes that attended John Hanson lower their gazes from Christina and Ryan. Sorry. I whispered shamefully.

I sniffed Jen’s face, hopelessly trying to find a source of whatever killed the innocent girl. What I saw made my blood run cold, and then begin to boil with anger.

The bad smell was not from an aging dead body. Right on Jenn’s neck were two perfect punctures, still trickling blood.

All of the despair and sorrow inside me let loose from my lips in a spine-tingling howl that floated up into the sky.

Vampires.