Boy Meets Beast

✧ 10 ✧

Ilya had a dream, or what he thought was a dream. He was back at Charlie's house, laying on that filthy couch. It was as if he never left.

But something was different this time.

The house was too quiet, or so it seemed at first. Then Ilya's ear caught a weird noise coming from outside the house. No. Not one sound, but many. A lot more.

Ilya heard people moaning. They roamed around the house, wailing, some screaming. Their voices got louder, closer. Ilya couldn't tell if they were in pain or insane, but they scared him.

They reminded him of the sound coming out of that faceless man's throat.

Ilya's attempt to move and sit up was in vain. The back of his head was throbbing. His limbs were weak. His eyes were heavy. It felt like he was in a state between sleeping and waking up.

Then something, or someone, moved into the living room. Ilya slowly moved his tired eyes to see that he was not alone anymore. He saw someone with a cowboy hat and a long coat—Charlie's trench coat.

Charlie's tall frame was hunching over, turning his back to Ilya and his eyes on the front door. His arms were raised on both sides as if he was about to perform a jump attack.

"Ch... Charlie?" Ilya said, wearily.

"Shhh," Charlie said, turning halfway until the side of his face was visible. "Do ye hear that?"

Ilya blinked a few times until Charlie's fuzzy image became clear.

It seemed like Charlie's grey beard got thicker and longer. The side of his face, his hands, and feet became hairier. Then Ilya noticed that Charlie wasn't just hunching over. He was anticipating, excited even; like a predator about to hunt for dinner.

The front door banged as the creatures gathered there. Eerie throaty sounds made Ilya gasp. Next, the windows rattled.

"It's the dead," Charlie said, his voice getting deeper. "They're everywhere."

Charlie ditched his coat and unbuttoned his shirt, eyes never leaving that door.

"They know you're here." Charlie tilted his head toward Ilya. "Those bastards followed your blood trail."

Ilya could feel his heartbeats running faster. It wasn't only Charlie's excitement that scared him; it was how his body gradually morphed in front of him.

First, it was those eyes; Ilya could have sworn he witnessed them glow like cat eyes in the dark.

Charlie's smile got bigger, showing teeth too white and too sharp to be human. His body was already hairy, but it got hairier by the second until a coat of fur covered every inch of him.

Then Ilya heard a shocking sound coming from Charlie's bones; they were cracking as they moved inside him, changing his shape.

Charlie growled in pain as he grew taller. His back curved and hunched over like an animal. Thick claws cut through the tip of his fingers, replacing his nails. Then the bones in his feet shuffled, elevating the back of them above the ground, while the front of them turned into paws.

Charlie groaned with a monstrous voice, "Don't fret, lad."

He raised his head and roared as his mouth shifted into a long maw full of fangs.

Ilya's eyes shot open when he realized what Charlie had become.

A werewolf!

When Charlie fully transformed, he looked at Ilya with bright yellow eyes and smiled. His wolf form was beyond terrifying. If Ilya was afraid of Charlie's giant human form, then this form would give him nightmares for the rest of his miserable short life.

Then, with a spine-chilling inhumanly deep voice, Charlie declared, "I'll protect you."

Ilya's breathing got faster. He closed his eyes and prayed that this nightmare would end soon. He prayed that he would wake up. He prayed and prayed.

Wake up! Wake up, now!

Do you think Ilya was dreaming the whole thing?

Sorry if this chapter is a little shorter, but don't worry! The next one is coming soon :D

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