ToL-Claws of Revenge

Tales Of Lycanthropy, Episode 1: Claws of Revenge

(Oh-oh, here she comes) Watch out boy she'll chew you up
(Oh-oh, here she comes) She's a maneater
-"Maneater" Hall and Oates

I made sure I looked my best that night.  I’m not one of those girls who fuss around with lipstick, blush, and mascara but tonight was an exception.  Hell I even put on a lavender scented perfume, a definite no-no for me.  My black skirt was the shortest one I had lying around in my closet while my one size too tight pink tank top easily showed my cleavage.  I wore a sweater that was a darker shade of pink in order to look more presentable and so that my parents will let me go without forcing me to change my outfit.  I knew people would mumble words such as “slut” and “whore” once I walk out of my small, suburban house, but isn’t that what guys really go after.  I’ve seen men ogle over women like Paris Hilton and Tara Reid and they both tend to put on little or less clothing than the average gal.  I indeed felt uncomfortable, cold, and somewhat naked when I looked over myself in my bedroom mirror, but it was only for one night.
Of course, before I left, I told my parents that I was going to this adult supervised party down the block at Susie’s house with my new guy friend Tony.  I doubted the party was adult supervised and whether or not I was invited in the first place but my parents wouldn’t let my go unless they knew it was a safe environment.  Unfortunately, I lie to my parents a lot; especially during my nightly outings around the neighborhood.
I decided to walk to the party because it was a short distance away and I wasn’t in the mood for driving.  I was too excited and nervous at the same time.  My limbs started to shake and I could feel my blood rising inside of me.  I had to stop it; my trap wasn’t even set yet.
Not now, I said to myself as I tried to calm down.  After a few deep breaths my body started to stay still.  Finally calm, I continued my walk to the party.
I knew Susie’s street but not her house number.  I did write it down on a piece of paper but I left it on top of my dresser at home.  But even though I forgot it, her house wasn’t that hard to find.  It was the only house on the block with piles of cars parked in front and across it, giggling high school girls with guys on their shoulders entering the front door, and loud hip hop music playing in the backyard.  It was definitely the atmosphere for a wild and crazy teenage party.
As I made my way to the house, I started to get a little nervous, again.  My palms started to sweet and my stomach churned.  What made it worse were the dogs, barking like crazy while jumping up and down without stopping to take a break.  From the corner of my eye, a German Shepard came up to his fence and started to bark and snarl as if he scented danger nearby.  I just stared at him while mouthing the words “shut up” but he didn’t stop.  I know I should be use to having pets growl and snarl whenever I passed by but I wasn‘t.  The constant repetitive barks ringed in my ears, banging my eardrums to no end.  I tried to ignore them but it was no use.  I could’ve scared this one off; a low snarl and he would run away with his tail between his legs, whining to his masters.  However I didn’t want to make a scene so I just continued walking to the house, with the dogs behind me.
I got to the house and I was let in by Susie herself.
“Roxanne?”, Susie said with a surprise, “Um, hi.  What are you doing her?”
“Look Susie, I know I wasn’t invited”, I said to her over the loud music in the background, “but I need to see Tony.  We need to talk, right away.”
“Well, you’re lucky because he’s here.  To tell you the truth, anybody was allowed to come but I didn’t expect you after what happened that night.  It was wrong of Tony to do that to you.”
“Thanks Susie but I really need to talk to him.”
Finally the hostess let me in.  For someone who hangs around with the popular crowd, Susie was really nice.  At least she thought what Tony did to me was wrong; unlike my other fellow classmates who can’t help but giggle and point whenever I walked by.
Upon walking into the nicely decorated house with teenagers holding drinks with who knows what in them, no one really noticed me.  But as I walked on by, guys started to take notice while their girlfriends got angry at them for looking at another girl besides them.  I just ignored them.  Right now I was on the hunt.
As I entered each room, peering into each corner, I sniffed the air.  I knew his scent really well and it was lingering in the air along with alcohol, cigarettes and various other scents.  With each sniff, I was close to my target.  I concentrated on the task at hand, ignoring my surroundings.  Soon everyone around me moved in slow motion; it was like being in a trance.  It was only a matter of seconds until I could only smell him and him alone.  I walked slowly through the house, lessening my pace.  I could feel my body being tense as I stalked him through the house.  The sounds of the party were behind me.  The blaring music, the guys ogling me making wolf noises, the girls whispering and leering at me seemed miles away.  Suddenly, I saw him in plan site.  Tony Vito, my prey for tonight.
The guy was the most popular kid in school; short brown, frosted hair, no blemish of pimple in site, and a proud player for the school’s football team.  All the boy’s wanted to be him and all the girl’s wanted to date him.  As for me, I never thought for a second that him and I could even be in the same room together.  I was never the favorite among the popular crowd because of my style of clothing, which was average compared to theirs, and overall personality, I prefer to read and study then going out with a group of mindless, giggling girls.  Plus I never wore tons of makeup and my hair was always the same style; long, brown and straight.  Why is it so wrong to think out of the box and have a life that isn’t just a carbon copy of someone else’s?
The day Tony came up to my locker was one I will never forget.  As I packed my things for the day’s lessons, he stood beside me and smile with his straight, white teeth.  Thinking that he just wanted to copy my homework, I tried to brush him off, saying that I didn’t do any of it last night for some reason.  However, he didn’t ask for my homework.
“I just wanted to say Hi.”, he said to me that day, “I sort of feel bad that we barely know each other.  I mean, you seem like a nice girl; you’re smart, unique, and different than everybody else in the school.  Maybe, one day, we could hang out somewhere; at the beach, or the mall, or…”
“Are you asking me out?”
I just blurted out the sentence because it seemed right.  I never had a guy flirt with me before or at least take an interest in me; it felt sort of strange.  He did, however, answered my question.
“Well, if you want to call it that.  I don’t know whether or not you’ll be comfortable…”
After years of being bullied and taunted at, one would see this as a cruel prank or some sort of bet being made by a group of guys.  But, then there is the fact that he could like me and that I shouldn’t base certain people on popular stereotypes seen in the movies and on television.  So, I hushed him up and played that card:
“Sure, I would like to go out with you.”
“Really?”, he said when I gave him my answer, “That’s great!  So can I pick you up this weekend?”
“Sure, that would be wonderful.”
After exchanging information and getting it through his head where my house was located, we parted our ways and headed towards our classes.  It wasn’t until that weekend when I found out that the card I played was the wrong one.
On Saturday night, Tony picked me up for the movies.  I was excited the whole entire time; my first date and with one of the jocks at my school, of all the people.  His scent was intoxicating, as it traveled to my nose.  It floated everywhere we went and it was delicious.  When the movie was over, I figured the night was too.  But he drove a few blocks past my house, to a park located near a small wooded area.  I didn’t feel comfortable and asked him repeatedly why we were at the park in the middle of the night.  As I look back, I repeatedly ask myself why I was so stupid.  His scent was so wonderful that I failed to sense the odor of sex in the air, or the way he looked at me from time to time.  My shirt barely showed my breasts but he was staring.  Before he could make his move I told him I wasn’t ready.  I wanted to get out but he kept pushing me close to him, trying to kiss me and caress my breasts.  But before my animalistic side broke out, my human side told me to defend myself before any of us gets hurt.  So I did the only thing I could think of while struggling from his grip; I kicked him in the balls.  That one weak spot all men have and, sure enough, he felt the pain.  This was my chance, so I ran out of the car as fast as I could and straight to my house.
I didn’t tell anybody, not even my parents.  After that incident, I tried to stay away from Tony as much as I could.  However, protecting his already damaged manhood, if you know what I mean, the son of a bitch started spreading lies about our weekend experience.
To him, it was the other way around, sort of.  In his tale, he was the victim and I was the person craving sex.  Turns out I was smuggling beer into the move theaters and drinking left and right.  Under a state of drunkenness, I was in the mood to make love.  Well, Tony, being the kind, angelic man he claims to be, refused up and down but I kept saying yes.  It all ended with him taking me home and explaining to me what I was doing was wrong.  I cried bitterly while he comforted me.  Sounds like a nice story, if it was true.  Well, I was so mad at him that I had to tell everyone the truth.  And of course, everyone believes him instead of me.  However, a few people did believe me but not enough to stop the taunting, the staring, and the gossip that floated around the school.  Thanks to prince charming, I was seen as the teenager who can’t hold her liquor and control her sexual desires.
So I decided that tonight, Tony and I, were going to have a little chat; alone.  No buddies, no future playboy bunnies; just me, him, and the moon.  With a deep breath, I inhaled his scent.  A mixture of horribly scented body spray, his own body scent and sweat filled my nostrils and lingered there.  When I was in eye shot, he found me.
He was indeed shocked to see me there, standing all pretty like with a smile across my face.  With wide eyes, he walked over to me, bringing the scent of his own hormones along with him.  Smelled like someone was craving sex tonight.  He was holding a drink of some kind and I could see his golden high school ring with a red gem placed in the middle along with our year of graduation and high school emblem.
“Hey.”, Tony said when he was in front of me.
“Hey.”, I said back.
“I had no idea you would be here.  Didn’t even know if you enjoyed coming to these kind of parties.”
“Well, I had nothing better to do tonight.  Plus I was hoping you would be here.  We really need to talk, alone.”
His face instantly changed as he gulped.  Could’ve sworn he looked nervous.  But he had nothing to be scared of, yet.  Than I realized, he was probably thinking about the little tale he told all his buddies.  Of course he knew I knew, it wasn’t a big mystery.  However, I needed to reassure him that I just wanted to talk, nothing else.  But before I could say anything, he finally said something:
“Um, look, could we do this another time…”
“It won’t take too long.”, I said, “Please; it’s very important.”
I tried to convince him as calmly as possible.  He looked me over again; probably thinking that he’ll get some sort of reward if he obeyed.  I guess his anxieties relax because he said okay.
Suggesting to go to the park, we walked side by side, away from the party.  The park wasn’t that far away, only a few blocks.  When we got there, I started to remember the last time I was here.  Images flashed in my mind and I started to get really angry at this guy standing next to me.  But I couldn’t show my anger, not just yet.
We continued walking until we got to the small patch of woods near the park.  No one was allowed to go in there, in order to preserve the peace of the wildlife that lived among the trees.  However, no one was around and it was dark.
“So you’re not really upset about what I told everyone?”, Tony asked as we walked past the trees.
“Well, to tell you the truth, I was.”, I said as I looked up towards the sky.  Clouds were slowly parting, letting the moon spill its light onto the land.  It was beautiful.  We stopped for a bit as I continued.  “But then I got to thinking, you have an image to uphold.  If people find out you tried to force your way into me, no one would look at you the same way.  I can see that your reputation is far more important then mine.”
I have to say, he did look at me like I was crazy.  Guess he was waiting for me to cry out to him and yell curses to his face.  But I wasn’t.  Instead, I stood in front of him and took his hand.  I knew he was wondering what I was doing but his train of thought changed when I leaned close to him, lips parted.  I can still smell his aroma as it rise in the cool night air.  He leaned in close and we kiss.  However, he didn’t get the chance to score with me that night.  I moved my head back, trying to detach my lips from his, and slapped him across the face.  The impact made him back away, covering his left cheek.  He moved his hand away from his face and saw, to his horror, blood.  That’s right; red, shiny blood coming from his cheek, and claw marks from where I slapped him.  You heard me, claw marks.  Now he was scared.  He looked at me with horror in his eyes.  As for me, well I just lifted my right hand, which had long claws where my fingers nails would be.  The sharp talon-like nails where covered in blood; his blood.
“What the…”, Tony said with a white face.
“You honestly think you can get away with humiliating me and spreading false rumors!”, I said to him, “You thought your reputation was better then some geeky classmate’s!  You didn’t think I had feelings or emotions at all!  Well you are wrong, very wrong.”
The moon was completely full behind me.  I could feel its rays hitting my body, giving me permission to have my revenge on this pathetic excuse for a human being, let alone a man.  The changes were starting; they were indeed going to be painful, but it doesn’t compare to the pain I felt after what he did to me.  I didn’t hold anything back this time, I finally let myself go.  My fingernails became claws as sharp as knives, my teeth became large gruesome fangs, and my bones began to rearrange, creating gross, popping sounds that would send chills down anyone’s spine.
“What the hell are you?”, my prey asked with a shaken voice.
“What am I?”, I asked as my voice began to change, becoming deeper and less human, “I’m just an innocent, quiet teenager, who doesn’t mind being taunted or used, remember?”
I gave a loud roar that shook the entire forest.  This sent the little shaken rabbit, by the name of Tony, running.  But what was the point of running?  His scent of body spray mixed with his own and a dash of fear lingered in my nostrils.  I had him where I wanted him.  Now who’s the victim.
My transformation continued as the moon shined in the dark sky.  I could feel my deep brown fur growing out of my pores while my muscle mass began to increase.  A muzzle formed in front of my face while furry, pointy ears made their way to the top of my skull.  I could see better, hear better, and smell better.  I felt stronger and fiercer than ever before.  All I could think of was the need to run, to hunt, and to kill.
My powerful limbs lead me to my prey; a helpless human who thought that he could ruin one’s reputation without being punished for it.  Oh how wrong he was.  And than I found him, lying by a tree trying to catch his breath.  As he breathed in the cold night air, he looked around franticly, thinking I was about to strike.  His face was white like snow and he stunk of fear.  For a high school jock, he looked so weak.  Licking my chops and smiling with delight, I knew I had him where I wanted him.  Without warning, I pounced on him and clamped my jaws around his neck.  He screamed out in pain but no one could hear him, it was just him, me, and the moon.  His blood and sweet meaty juices filled my mouth.  Right then and there, I wanted more.  I feasted upon his flesh, like the rabid animal I was that night.  There was no point in stopping, he was my prey and he tasted good.  I howled into the night, filling the forest with my song of triumph.

Early in the morning, when I was still asleep and had no plans on getting up, my mother came running into my room.
“Roxie?  Are you up?”, she asked while shaking my shoulder.  I turned over and looked at her.  She had that look on her face that read that something terrible had happen.
“I’m getting up.”, I said as I made myself comfortable, “Why?  What’s wrong?”
“Did you see your friend Tony Vito last night?”
I knew what was coming up, so I sat upright on my bed, to show I had her full attention.
“Well, I did see him last night.”, I told her, “We left the party and took a little stroll around the neighborhood.  When it got late, I told him I had to go home because I was tired.  So I walked home.  I think he was going home as well, but I don’t quite remember.  Why do you ask?  We didn’t do anything last night.”
“No, it’s not that.”, she said, “I was watching the news and they found Tony dead in the woods, by the park, this morning.”
“What?”
“They said he was attack and killed by some sort of wild animal.”
I acted like I was horrified and sad at the same time.  Pretending to weep, I hugged my mother who returned the favor.  She rocked me back and forth, trying to calm me down in a soothing tone of voice.  I continued by performance until she left my room, telling me to make sure I eat some breakfast.  But I wasn’t really hungry that morning; I did have a late night snack.
I didn’t really feel bad for lying to my parents.  They had no idea I was a werewolf.  Actually, no one knows about my lycanthropy; except for the dogs that lived in my neighborhood but who are they going to tell.  Anyway, I can see the police blaming the death of poor Tony on a big, rabid dog or some sort of wild animal that doesn’t roam around the streets of suburbia.
I got out of bed and walked over to my dresser to see what I had to wear for the day.  I spotted the piece of paper with Susie’s house number written on it along with a shiny, golden ring with my school’s emblem on it along with my graduation year and a red gem placed in the middle.  It was a high school ring but it didn’t belong to me.  It was Tony’s, who decided to wear it last night.  I thought I would take it, as a trophy.  He’s not going to be needing it, anymore.