Wendy and Her Lost Boys -- The Lost Boys 1987

Chapter 22: The Monster at the End of this Tale

– Wendy –

The stereo fizzled out to static. A loud buzzing bounced off the cave walls and sent Paul and I stuttering through the last few beats of the song. A new light poured through a crack in the cave ceiling. Night had descended and the full moon now fell across our upturned faces.

Shadows shifted at the cave's entrance. Pebbles tumbled down followed by larger rocks and the sound of nails scrambling for purchase on the stone floor.

A keening howl broke through the sounds of shifting earth. Paul took my hand in his, pulling me down beside him as we jumped down from the fountain.

We had only just reached the others when the wolves came padding into the cave. All four of them moved swiftly, keeping us in a tight circle as they surrounded us.

We stood pressed together. There was little room to strike out at the wolves. Any stray weapons would risk injuring the people beside them.

The wolves circling us growled lowly, eyes darting back and forth as they searched for Ellie and Cody. Hearing the warning in the wolves voices, the pair moved to the forefront of our group. I caught Ellie's eyes for a fraction of a second. I saw a glimmer of something in them, though I wasn't sure what. All too soon, our eyes fell upon other things.

One of the older wolves moves forward, quick as a lightning strike and snaps its jaw at Ellie's arm, trying to drag her to them. She moved away at the last second but she wasn't nearly quick enough. A tooth scrapes her arm. Blood trickles from the wound, flowing freely as Cody pulls her back into our ranks.

In the commotion, Marko presses my spiked bat into my hands. The cool wooden handle grounds me in reality.

It seems this is happening whether I want it to or not.

I hold Marko's gaze for a moment. He smiles brightly at me as though to say he isn't truly living unless he's in the thick of a fight, blood under his sharpened fingernails, mangled bodies on the ground, and his brother's beside him.

But I can see the cracks in his mask, the places where his eyes crinkle too deeply, his brow furrowed as his mouth tugs itself down in a sneer. It doesn't quite line up with his 'give 'em hell' attitude, but then I suppose there's already blood in the air and the battle hasn't even truly begun.

First blood goes to the wolves.

Well, they'll quickly see their little outburst won't get them far.

We still outnumber them.

Behind me comes the sound of bones snapping out of place. The soft rustle of skin replaced by fur is all but drowned out by the sound of clothes shredding and falling away.

Turning from Marko, I find two wolves in place of Ellie and Cody. They are smaller than the wolves surrounding us, more lean and wily in frame. But their size makes it easier for them to slip past our ranks and pin one of the elder wolves to the ground.

All at once everything whirs into motion. The lost boys converge on the wolves, providing aid where they can.

To the side of the fountain, Ellie is locked in a fight with her grandmother. The sound of snapping jaws and tearing flesh fills the night air.

A few feet away from her, Cody is facing off against his father. He is far stronger than any ten year old boy ought to be. In a way, he is graceful and agile. Leaping to and fro, biting and clawing any place he can find purchase.

Michael moves in behind the pair, looking closely for an opportunity to take out the enemy wolf with a silver blade.

The wolf looks at Michael from the corner of his eye. In that split second, Cody latches his jaws around the other wolf's throat, trying to hold him still while Michael plunges the knife between his ribs.