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Display a printable version Wolf Den There was no bed underneath him when he woke, just cold concrete. A dim light was in the distance, but wasn't enough to betray Jim's surroundings. He was lying in a nightmare's shadow, and he didn't have a guess or inkling of what was happening. Around him wolves were fighting. He could see their furred bodies lash out in deadly combat. Blood was being spilt. Long howls cursed Jim's ears, and they were punctuated by the sharp crack of a dog's neck. Jim couldn't count how many mutts had dying, or how many were standing. His vision bent in and out, like he was looking through an aquarium at the world around him. He couldn't make sense of anything, and he didn't know how to react. Naturally, he just sat and watched. Gladiators of fang and fur grew fiercer, but Jim sat still. He had nothing to go on. He had no memory, no true thoughts. He was a blank slate for his surrounding world. Eventually, the fight stopped. Jim counted ten dead dogs, with five that ran away. He doubted some of the deserters would make it far. One was missing a leg. Now, there was only one wolf left. It wasn't the largest by any means, but it had the fiercest eyes. They were a ghostly green that seemed to dance like flames. Haunting was the word that came to Jim's mind. "You're welcome," the wolf growled, as if he was insulted. Jim sat still, betraying no reaction because he had none. Then, the wolf begged Jim to follow him. *** The wolf's name was Mateo, and he felt the need to tell Jim about Jim. "We are wolves down here," Mateo started. "Werewolves." As if to prove his point, he slowly turned human on his way through the dark tunnels. He slowly grew taller with each step. He eventually used only his hind legs, but still used the forepaws to keep balance. Soon, he was completely upright. His fur then receded back into his body. He was as human as Jim. "You are in the Den," Mateo continued. "And, you are a wolf like us. Unfortunately, you won't know this yet. With a werewolf's bite your entire life starts again. Your memory is drained by the wolf disease, and is a blank slate for your new world. You will adapt quickly here because of this. It is a lucky consequence of lycanthropy. If you still had your memories you would be in a state of shock right now." Jim was nowhere close to shock. He simply kept strides with Mateo and listened, taking everything in. "We are trapped down here," Mateo continued. His voice was growing deep, with an obvious bitterness. "The true humans – that's what they think, that they're the true humans – keep us down in this maze of subway tunnels and isolated basements. They try to kill us if we leave. Just as we try to kill them if they travel down here. Two worlds separated by the human's choice." He paused. "You are here because they found you quickly. They've cast you down here before you even woke from the bite." They continued to walk and Mateo eventually led them to a room filled with broken furniture and vacant of any life. "You can sleep here tonight," Mateo continued. "Then, you're on your own. I'm not here to hold your hand, just open the door. Take the information that I've given you. I won't bother to repeat it. I hope you learned what I've said." Then, Mateo turned to leave. Just as he was in the doorway, he then turned. He looked right into Jim's eyes, which were blank and expressionless. Mateo continued his exit after uttering his one last thought. "Welcome to the Den," Mateo said lastly, and disappeared into the darkness. *** Jim was left alone his first night, just as Mateo had said. He called out a few times, hoping for some way to get bearings on his mind, his surroundings, or anything at all. Nobody answered him. Occasionally he would hear his own voice echo back. A few times a howl would come out of the darkness, emanating from some unseen wolf. But, in all respects, Jim was left alone. When it finally hit Jim, it struck him hard. He was left in a place he couldn't understand. He was left with a mind blank as the day he was born. He was left alone. Jim vomited, and continued until he was curled up and dry heaving on the floor. He passed out an hour later on the cold concrete. *** Jim awoke the next day to barks of laughter. He raised himself off his concrete bed with great difficulty. He lumbered into the dark corridors, wobbling on sore legs. Trying his best, he followed the noises. What he found were three dogs sitting around a poker table, playing cards. Or, dog-men. They were somewhere between the realm of mutt and man, for they were only partially transformed wolves. They had fur all throughout their bodies, and a slight protrusion of a snout. Other than that and their wagging tails, they say like perfect humans. Jim strolled closer, slowly. He couldn't manage to do it quietly, and the werewolves at the table heard him coming. "A newbie," said the gray-haired wolfman. He spoke softly to the other two. "Shift back. Don't want to keep him off his guard." The three men at the table then turned completely human, watching Jim walk towards them. "Hey, new guy," the gray-haired man called. He pointed towards and open seat at the table. "The names Hood. Have a seat and play a round with us. We don't play with money, just pride." "And Ace's losing in that department," the red-haired man grinned. "Almost bankrupt, in fact." "Cool it, Leo," the brown-haired man snarled. "Or I'll gnaw off your tail." "People, dogs, please," Hood said. "We have a guest to our humble abode." "Humble corridor," Leo corrected. "This old subway tunnel is hardly considered a home. I like to think of it as a vacation spot." The three at the table snickered as Jim sat down. He introduced himself, and they shook hands all around. They passed him a cup filled with some brown liquid and deal him into the next hand. "Do you guys live down here, too?" Jim asked. "Sure do," Ace stated. "This is the only place where a wolf can act like a wolf." "I thought we were trapped down here," Jim stated, not paying attention to his hand. "You've talked to Mateo," Hood said. It was not a question, but a sure statement. "It's a shame he was the one to introduce you to the den." "He seemed alright. Like he wanted to help." "Ha!" Ace cackled. "Mateo just wants his little rebellion, boy. You're going to have to learn that really quickly. He's insane, basically." "You're not so level yourself," Leo muttered, slapping down his hand. "Straight, I win." The cards were passed in and they shuffled. Ace cursed during the entire process. It had been fourteen hands since he'd won. "What my colleague here is getting at," Hood started, picking up his cards. "Is that Mateo has his own agenda. He likes to think that the humans have trapped us down here, and we have no other option. Now, it is true that the humans want us down here. You don't look like you wandered down here on your own; otherwise you wouldn't have that stupid look on your face. A human of some sort probably chucked you down one of the tunnels." Hood took a moment to look at his cards. "As I was saying, Mateo only thinks that we wolves are trapped down here. In truth, the humans can't do too much about it." "They can keep us down here if we're constrained in random packs," Leo noted. "Mateo likes the idea of every wolf for him, and thus being able to overthrow any human opposition." "Are you guys with Mateo? Do you want out?" Jim asked. "Hardly," Ace laughed. "We like it down here. Most wolves do. There are just some bad apples." "Like Mateo," Jim said. "He would be the worst of the bushel, actually," Hood said. He then slapped down his hand. He had won the hand with three of a kind. Ace started to cry out obscenities again while the cards were shuffled for the next hand. *** Jim spent the afternoon trying to learn his surroundings. It was easy for him to learn the corridors thanks to his blank mind; but, even after three hours of wandering the halls became to look repetitive. "Jim," a wolf called, racing towards him. "Yeah?" Jim replied, turning around. He turned to face a rather scrawny wolf. The wolf was out of breath and panting hard. "It was hard to find you. Quickly, you must follow me," the wolf then ran off. Jim followed, having no good reason not to. They ran for almost twenty minutes, which was hard for Jim. He had no clue how to access his werewolf powers, and he had to keep up with the strange wolf on human legs. As they ran, Jim heard shouts. They were angry, and he knew that was where the wolf was leading him. He only wondered what he might find. Instantly, stopping the twenty minute run, the wolf cut in front of Jim. "We move slowly from here," the wolf said. "Mateo doesn't want you seen." Jim nodded, not necessarily liking the idea that Mateo wanted him here. The two of them snuck around the corner to look upon the speakers. There were two men. One was Mateo, just as Jim had remembered him. The other was a mystery man, but was dressed up rather well, and seemed to hold himself in high regard. "Who's the other?" Jim whispered. "That's the mayor of the city," the wolf replied. "I should kill you right now!" Mateo shouted into the face of the mayor. "You've drug me out of my home, wolf!" the mayor shouted back. "How dare you! I have a city to run! I should not be treated like this." "You want to talk about treatment?" Mateo laughed. Then, he snapped his fingers. Two wolves drug out a corpse. The body had an arm torn off, cuts slashed its torso, and its face was badly mangled. Jim couldn't even tell the gender of the body. "Who's that?" the mayor asked. "What have you done?" "I'm sure you recognize him," Mateo growled. "He's one of your men. He showed up down here with a very special revolver. It was loaded with six silver shells. Sounds like a werewolf hunter, doesn't it?" "I had nothing to do with this." Mateo dove upon the mayor, tackling him to the ground. He shifted partway into a wolf, keeping the mayor pinned. "You are a liar!" Mateo snarled. He kept his mouth only inches from the mayor's neck. Dog saliva dripped down onto the mayor's jugular. "You are the one who sent him down here. You're the one you got him killed. My dear mayor, you need to learn that you shouldn't mess with us. This is our city. Don't make us prove it!" Then, Mateo jumped up, pulling the mayor with him. Mateo was soon full human again, holding the mayor off the ground. "If I find one more of your assassins I will fill your heart with those six silver shells," Mateo stated coldly. "You got that?" The mayor nodded, and Mateo tossed him onto the ground. Then, Mateo snapped his fingers. The two wolves showed back up. "Take the mayor to the surface," Mateo ordered. "And you don't have to be gentle." The wolves then drug the mayor away, dragging him by the shirt collar. The mayor's screams were heard in the distance. Mateo simply smiled to himself, looked over to Jim, smiled wider, and left. "Why did he bring me here?" Jim asked the wolf beside him. "He wanted to show you what it was like down here," the wolf said. "He wanted you to know that we aren't safe." *** Later that night, Jim found himself around a charcoal grill. Beside him, Hood was turning over hamburgers. Nearby, Ace and Leo chugged down a few beers and talked the night away. "I think he's trying to recruit you," Hood said to Jim's story. "He's always looking for fresh meat." "You think he wants me for his rebellion?" Jim asked. "I surely do. He loves to catch the new pups early on, no offense. You're about as ripe as they come. You probably can't even shift yet, can't you?" "No, I can't." "That's fine. It takes a while to settle in. Probably be a few weeks before you can control it. I'll warn you, though. You might get a few bad nights where you wake up with fur everywhere before you gain control. That's normal. Happens to everyone. The werewolf equivalent of a wet dream, you might say. Everything comes in time." "What do you think I should do? Should I avoid Mateo?" "I think that'd be hard to do," Hood admitted, throwing a few steaks on the grill. He was creating a werewolf meat feast. "Mateo gets around the tunnels and seems to know where everybody is. He thinks it's his job. No, I think you should make up your own mind on what to do. Just don't get what an old werewolf like me tells you. Hell, in dog years I'm three hundred and ninety-two in dog years, what do I know?" Jim just sighed, and took in his surroundings. Close by, Leo and Ace were getting in a more heated discussion. Soon, they were pushing each other. "Fetch!" Leo cried as he tossed a beer can down the hallway. The can bounced aimlessly down the corridor and then exploded in foam. Ace shifted and pounced on Leo. A dog wrestling match ensued instantly. "Must have been the last beer," Hood muttered, taking the burgers off the grill. *** The same wolf came to fetch Jim later that night. This time, the strange wolf seemed a little worried and wide-eyed. Jim found himself getting concerned as they traveled down the tunnels. "Welcome," Mateo greeted. They met in a dead-end subway tunnel. The end was blocked off by brick and stone, as if keeping something vile out. Or, as if keeping something vile in. "Hello, again," Jim replied. He watched the strange wolf disappear back into the tunnel, leaving just he and Mateo. "I bet you're wondering why you are here." "Partly." "Yes, well, I am having a bit of a problem. As it turns out, my pack is starting to suffer some casualties." "By the humans?" "You are a smart pup," Mateo cooed. He stood smiling for a moment, and then continued. "You see, to be effective in our war, we must know our grounds better than our adversaries." "Shouldn't you know the tunnels by now?" "There are over a hundred miles of subway tunnels and forgotten foundations lost underneath this city. Sewers and drains that go unused are uncovered and added to the den every day. It's ever expanding, and nearly impossible to find your way around outside of your territory. Which, is why we have maphounds go out." "Maphounds?" "Yes, precisely. They are selected wolves that creep through the lost tunnels of the Den. They find places that even the eldest of dogs don't know about. It is with their information that we are able to be so effective against the humans. How else do you think we got the mayor down here?" Jim stood silent. "Hm, you must not have liked my little show then. You will learn that it's a necessity for survival. We can't let them just push us around. The humans have been after me personally for nearly three years. That was not the first assassin I found. I just need to stay three paws ahead of them." "Where do I come in on all this?" "Now that you mention it: I need you. Like I said before, I've been losing wolves. They've all been maphounds. I want you to be part of my pack." "You want me to be part of the rebellion?" "I want to realize that you don't have another choice if you want to survive!" Mateo said fiercely. Then, catching himself, he stepped back. "I'm sorry if you missed my meaning. I am not threatening you. I merely mean that if you do not help rise up against the humans, you will most certainly be one of the first to die. They will go after the ones that won't fight first. They are dirty and cunning creatures. You won't remember being one of them, but it's a despicable way to be." Mateo paused for a moment. "You must realize for all of us to survive we must all help each other." *** "You have a decision to make," Hood stated. "It's a tough decision," Jim replied. He sat down on a beaten couch. He had been rolling over the actions of the past few days in his head, unable to come up with any conclusion. "It's the toughest that you've ever had to make." "No," Jim said slowly. "It's the toughest that I remember. Who knows what decisions I used to make? I could have been in charge of anything. I could have been making million dollar decisions at a software company." "Or, you could have been a scavenger who robbed for every meal." "True enough," Jim said, exhausted. "I guess I'll just have to sleep on it." Jim then left. "That looks like another dead dog to me," Ace said, walking up to Hood and watching Jim disappear. "He's not dead yet," Hood said. *** The next morning Jim decided to go try and map out his surrounding area. Whether or not he'd turn his findings into Mateo was a different story. The only decision he was made was that'd he'd do a little mapwork. After all, he did need to find out his surrounding area. He worked for a long time. He crawled through the vacant tunnels with a poor lamp. Crude drawings were scratched on his parchment as he traveled, but it suited him enough. He could understand them, but he couldn't be certain anyone else good. If he would give them to Mateo he would have to revise them. He snuck along the tunnel for almost four hours. Jim sat down to finish his last map. He was drawing the final line when his world went black. *** Jim woke up sitting at a steel table. A lone figure sat across from him. The man was smartly dressed in a gray suit. There was nothing else in the room, save a black door behind the suited man. "Where am I?" Jim asked, struggled to get out the words. "You are in custody," the man said. His voice was cold and emotionless. "You will be released shortly, I assure you." "Why am I here?" "You are here because you work for us, Jim. You don't remember this, but you are an employee of the United States government." "What are you talking about?" "I'm saying that you are a plant. You, Jim, are no wolf. You have had your memory wiped, and we thrown into the Den. We know a lot about the den, but we needed someone on the inside. You were that man. You even volunteered. In the bank you have over three million waiting for you. You're getting a new life." "I volunteered to go down there?" Jim repeated in wonder. The idea was foreign to him. "What kind of person was I?" "A person who knew how to help his country. You're helping stop a plague, Jim. A plague that might kill off the human race if it was left to spread." "I don't believe that," Jim said softly. "You did. You knew that. You knew the risks that exist in the den." The man leaned forward, staring right into Jim's eyes. "I need you to tell me everything you know about the wolf named Mateo." "You're insane." "Your country needs to know about the rebellion! It's an issue of national safety. Tell me all you need to know about Mateo!" Jim sat silent for a moment. "You'll be put back into society," the man continued. "You'll get to start a new life with a fat bank account. And, you'll help save your country." "What about the other wolves?" Jim asking, thinking of Hood and the others. "Mateo is the one we're after. We're going to cut off the head of the alliance. Mateo is that head, and he must fall." "Alright," Jim said after a while. "If you can assure me the other wolves won't be touched." "They won't need to be. With Mateo gone, so is the rebellion. Then, the wolves are safe in that little Den of theirs and won't think of leaving." Then, Jim told the man everything he knew about Mateo. He told him about the maps. He told him about the Mayor. He told him about Mateo himself. "Is that all?" the man said, after Jim was done speaking. "Yes," Jim replied. "That's all I've learned. I wasn't down there for long." The man smiled. Then, behind him, the black door opened. Mateo stepped in. "What the-?" Jim started, but Mateo interrupted him. "I'm disappointed in you, Jim," Mateo said. "I thought you had potential." "What is going on?" "I needed to test your loyalty. You failed. You would have been a great wolf, but you seem to like the idea of being human better. You should be proud of who you are, Jim. You should realize that you're a wolf. I could have taught you how to shift myself. You could have been at my side." "You're insane!" Jim shouted. "I'm a werewolf, and proud of it," Mateo said. "You are not. For that, you must face the consequences." "What are you going to do?" Jim asked, standing up. Fear started to infect his heart. Mateo just smiled, as his teeth lengthened to sharp points. Hair started to grow out of his skin. His eyes grew darker. Then, the werewolf lunged at Jim. Jim swung hard, hitting the wolf in the muzzle, but didn't stop him. The wolf pinned him to the ground, snapping vicious jaws only inches from Jim's nose. Jim flailed his legs wildly while trying to push the wolf off him. "You have betrayed your own kind," Mateo whispered harshly. Then, with all the weight and anger he had, Mateo lunged for Jim's neck. Jim squirmed and shouted as jaws clenched his throat. He could feel blood flow warmly down his neck. He couldn't breath. Mateo let up for just a second. He was a sadistic wolf playing with its prey. It was in that moment that Jim fought back. Jim lunged forward himself. He acted completely out of instinct. He didn't feel his teeth grow or his claws extend, but something inside him knew they were there. He sunk his own teeth into Mateo's throat and wrestled him to the ground. He clawed at Mateo's chest without mercy. Mateo howled in pain, blood matting his fur. Jim didn't care. He waited until he had dealt enough pain and then he ran. He ran out of the black door and away from Mateo. He knew he was going to be hunted. He knew that he was soon going to be a meal for Mateo. He knew that Mateo would see him as a hindrance to Mateo. But, Jim didn't care at the moment. He only wanted to put as much distance between him and Mateo as possible. Time would handle the rest. As Mateo had said, Jim would have to face the consequences. END
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| Last updated on 1/3/2008 8:45:25 PM by Jennifer Brozek |
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Needles and white frocks were the last things that Jim saw before he fell unconscious. When he woke up, they were the only things he remembered from his entire life besides his name.
Scott Almes currently resides at the University of Pittsburgh underneath a stack of calculus and physics books, trying his hardest to get a degree in Mechanical Engineering. He also thorough enjoys the suburban equivalents of adventuring, even if it means a backyard campfire, a simple trip to his friend's cabin, or a 80 mile journey to the nearest IHOP.He has been told that he has the ability to find humor in whatever life throws at him, and he agrees with that statement with a smile. He's had stories in the Writers Post Journal, Flashshot, Appalling Limmericks and Scifaikuest Special Edition. He has two stories in the upcoming Grants Pass Anthology and one in the upcoming Triangulation: End of Time Anthology.