Renewal; A Tale of Katrina's Kitchen

Before

     Jonah awoke in the predawn, confusion at his surroundings. He started violently as he realized he was naked, and covered in blood and gore. As he moved, the pile beside him shifted. He recognized in horror the mutilated remains of a human corpse.

     His belly heaved, and the puking began. He tried to catch his breath. A glint in the vomit caught his eye.

     A scream that began in the remains of his soul tore through his body. He screamed again. And again. His eyes still seeing the piece of finger encircled by the engagement ring he had placed on it only two days before.

     Jonah was out of the bed and on his feet before he was completely awake. He was shaking violently and covered with sweat. After a few minutes he recognized the room he had rented from Missy McKay the night before.

     After several minutes, he quietly shuffled to the bathroom. He stared at the haunted face in the mirror, much thinner than the reflection he used to know.

     Life had been perfect back then, a good paying job as a loan officer in a prestigious bank. His apartment had all the bells and whistles he hadn't had while growing up in a lower middle class family. His fiance was smart, beautiful and loved him.

     Tammy managed an upscale clothing store. She was a photographer's dream, heavy blond curls and the darkest blue eyes he had ever seen. She took care of herself, working out twice a week, and jogging, as she had been the evening she was killed.

     He'd returned to work after the funeral, but couldn't concentrate. He began to take personal days. Getting out of bed in the morning had become too difficult. The company suggested it would be in his best interest to resign and get some help.

     Without an income, the apartment was more than he could maintain. After a week of unemployment he sold or threw out most of his belongings. Packed what would fit into his backpack and began to walk.

     After a week on the road Jonah had the first of what he began to call 'episodes'. Waking early in the morning, naked next to his scattered clothing. His back pack always close by, along with the remnants of some predator's scraps. Bits of fur or feathers. He chose to ignore the implication of those finds.

     After one of these episodes, Jonah awoke to find he wasn't alone. It was still dark, dawn an hour away.

     "Do you always sleep nude in the middle of no where?" the voice came from behind him. Jonah whirled around, panic filling him. "Relax, if I was going to kill you, you'd be dead already."

     "I don't have any money, nothing of value. Only my clothes."

     "Then, you might want to put those on. It makes conversation more comfortable."

     Jonah scanned the ground for his jeans. He found them a few feet away and quickly pulled them on. His visitor tossed him the shirt he had been wearing, then waited for Jonah to finish dressing.

     Once clothed again, Jonah turned his attention back to his new companion. He looked to be in his thirties. His brown hair was just showing hints of gray and needing a trim. It was too dark for Jonah to tell what color his eyes were.

     "What do you want? Like I said, I don't have money. If I did I wouldn't be sleeping in the woods."

     "So, why are you out here, away from everything? Hunting?"

     "No firearms either" said Jonah.

     "One doesn't need firearms to hunt. You didn't need them last night, did you?" the man's tone was matched by the smirk Jonah could just make out in the moonlight.

     "What? I've been sleeping. I don't hunt"

     "Again, I ask, do you always sleep in the buff in the woods? I don't think so. Why, then do you suppose you wake up that way?"

     "I have...black outs. Not that it's your business." Jonah began to size the man up. He was never a fighter, but he was thinking he may have to learn how to be quickly. "Wait. Last night? Are you following me? What the hell do you want?"

     "Relax, brother. I'm not here to hurt or rob. But I noticed your hunt last night and decided to introduce myself. I'm Jim. And you are...?"

     "Uh, Jonah. I don't know what you mean. My hunt?"

     Jim lowered himself to the ground. He sat easily, his legs crossed, his back against the trunk of a tree. He nodded and said, "Ah. You don't know, do you?"

     "Know what?" Jonah asked the question, not sure he really wanted to hear the answer. "What don't I know?"

     Jim chuckled softly, "Sit down, and I'll try to explain."

     Jonah found a fallen log and sat, still warily watching the other man. "Okay, sitting. So, what don't I know and are you following me?"

     "Alright." Jim began, "I need you to stay calm, and quiet while I tell you what I know. Your first reaction is going to be to freak out, yell at me, and throw around words like 'crazy fucker' and that will be one of the nicer ones." He hesitated a moment before continuing. "You were hunting last night. You got yourself a nice rabbit. "

     Jonah opened his mouth to speak, but Jim held up a hand, "I said no talking until I'm done." Jonah sat back and closed his mouth, though his muscles were tensed, ready to run.

     "You ate it, sniffed around a while then went back to where your clothing and pack were. You peed on tree, walked three times in circle, then curled up real cute and went to sleep. Cute is probably not accurate. I've seen a few werewolves in my time, and none of them were particularly cute." Jim waited, "Okay, your turn"

     "You are fucking crazy." Jonah was surprised how calmly he was able to speak. As much as he didn't believe what he was hearing, he kept seeing Tammy's mutilated body. "What is wrong with you? You follow people and tell them scary stories before you rob them?"

     Jim rolled his eyes, "See? There it is. Ugly name calling." He started to stand, Jonah immediately jumped up, ready to fight. In less than an eye blink, Jim was next to him, a hand around his throat. "I only came to check on you tonight to make sure you are only hunting rabbits, brother. I like it here, I don't want to have to leave because you make it hard by killing someone's kid or granny."

     "What the fuck are you? You, you moved...."

     "Yep, I'm a regular Flash. Remember that comic? I do, but then, it really hasn't been that long ago." Jim took his hand from Jonah's neck. "Okay, now sit again please."

     Jonah sat more from shock than obedience. Jim started again, "Think hard, brother. You're waking up naked. You feel full in the morning, right? You've probably found remnants of your meals. How did you explain that to yourself?"

     Jonah didn't answer. His thoughts were spiraling out of control. It was crazy. It answered too many questions. He saw Tammy again. "Oh no oh no oh no!"