Night of a Thousand Frights. (A Merlin Halloween Story.)

Chapter 8. - Merlin's Horror Story.

Chapter 8. - Merlin's Horror Story.

“Right.” Merlin said, half his face still in shadow. “This is a true story. It happened when I was seven. I was in Ealdor with my mother, when we heard screams coming from all corners of the village. The sound of wolves howling echoed around in the darkness. The villagers were all running for the forest but those that didn’t get away quick enough were ripping to shreds before our eyes. But what the people heading for the forest was that, loads of other wolves were waiting just inside the forest. The wolves were bigger than normal wolves, they were huge and when they stood on their hind legs they were taller than bears.” Merlin said. He looked at the others a few of them were looking scared already, including Arthur.

“I could hear the wolves snarling as they ripped the people to shreds. Due to the crowds I was separated from my mother. I was only seven and I was terrified, I had no idea where to run or where to hide. But just behind me I heard a low guttural growl. I could feel a sharp glare on my back. The smell of rotten flesh gagged me as the huge black wolf came up behind me. I froze and slowly tuned round. There behind me was a huge wolf, but it had only just half transformed. It still looked sort of human but with patches of wolf fur all over his body. His facial features looked as though they had been smashed apart then hastily glued back together. He grinned at me, with a long cold smile with sharp canine yellow teeth, his smile was too long for a normal human’s mouth to even manage. He licked his lips while he stood there staring at me.

His eyes were a weird colour; flecks of red mixed with gold, brown and blue. I stood there staring in shock at the man before me. He licked his lips again. Then he spoke, his voice low and guttural and he could barely speak due to the wolf instincts that he was holding within. He wanted to split me open and feast, drinking the life force from my body. “Do you want to see a fawn?” he asked. “It’s back in the forest just there.” He said pointing into the forest. I nodded, as I didn’t know what he was then but I soon learnt what he was. He led me into the forest and showed me a fawn but it wasn’t what I had expected, it had been ripped apart with all the purple intestines hanging out of the corpse. I gasped. “Here it is. Do you like it?” he asked. Tears welled in my eyes. “Why don’t you pet it?” he said. I shook my head but he grabbed my wrist so hard, I knew it would bruise later then forced my hand to bush the fawn’s fur and then he shoved my hand deep into the pool of blood and intestines. I burst into tears there and then. You see the werewolves love torturing and tormenting their food before they eat it.” Merlin spat. He glanced at the others they all looked terrified now.

“The wolf pulled my hand away as I began sobbing. That’s when he could hold his wolfish instincts no more and he transformed fully into the wolf that he had been holding back for so long. He licked his lips as he stood there staring at me, my hand was  still drenched in the fawn’s blood and guts. The wolf leapt at me, claws outstretched for my side, they ripped through my shirt and into my side popping through my skin, making me scream louder. His claws then edged towards my face and dragged them slowly down the side of my face. Then he did the same to my arm and bit it too.” Merlin finished. The others were staring at him, looking absolutely terrified.

Arthur was the first to recover. “If this is true then where are the scars?”  Merlin sighed, he pulled off his scarf and used it to pretend to wipe something away from his face. But Mordred saw his mouth move to cast the spell to remove the vanity enchantment. Merlin turned his head so the shadowed side was in the light, there on the side of his face was a long thick scar that only a wolf of considerable size could make. Then he lifted the side of his shirt, revealing where the wolf had pierced his side. Then he rolled up on of his sleeves to reveal the bite mark and scar that stretched down his arm. Everyone’s faces blanched. Merlin lowered his eyes as they flashed a dull gold to put the vanity spell back in place. “Now you know.” He muttered darkly. “I only wish I had found that wolf and killed it, to get revenge.”