Adrian crept cautiously forward, keeping his breathing to a minimum. This was his fourth visit to the Mayor's larder, where the richest and finest meats were stored. Ordinarily, he would not dare to enter such a place, but his stomach had been yearning for the physical pleasures of fresh meat. Reaching for the nearest joint of ham, Adrian was overcome by an animalistic urge - he snatched the meat hastily, and engaged in a feeding frenzy.
A creaking floorboard alerted Adrian that it was time to leave - meat juices dribbling down his chin, Adrian ran for the back door, narrowly escaping seconds before the Mayor burst into the larder. Wooden mallet in hand, he searched the room, before discovering the decimated ham lay on the floor. Observing the remains and the moist trail on the floor, Mayor Lemary fiddled with his beard thoughtfully, and was then hit by a terrifying realisation.
"The Blood Curse......Impossible!"
*****
"Lycanthrope."
The heavy leather bound book landed clumsily on the table, startling Adrian from his late sleep - Max hopped from foot to foot, brimming with excitement at his recent discovery.
"I searched the town archives for information on the creature that attacked us, I've been looking for days. But then I thought, what if its not in the records? And that's when I realised I was in the wrong records! So I found out it was a lycanthrope from the mythical section. I sort of knew where to look - I got one of those feelings."
"Lycan...thrope?"
"A werewolf!"
Adrian rolled his eyes in disbelief at his brother's ludicrous explanation, but knew that it was pointless to do anything other than oblige to Max's incessant pestering. Sighing reluctantly, Adrian flicked through the discoloured pages until he found the one titled "Lycanthropy". His finger trailed aimlessly across the page, skimming through the intricate lettering.
"By day the lycanthrope retains his human form, but in the light of the full moon he is cursed to walk the earth in the skin of a wolf. His hunger for flesh is insatiable, his speed is incomparable, his cunning is uncontrollable. The curse is passed on through bite or scratch, dooming another to join him forever. No cure is known for this ailment."
Adrian's stomach twisted as his finger traced the last sentence. The truth came crashing down on him in an instant - the swift healing of his wounds, the visions, Micah's warning. Suddenly everything was pieced together in one destructive moment. Tearing the page from the book, Adrian staggered out of the house - no sense of direction or purpose mattered any more, all he wanted to do was run.
*****
As he ran further and further into the forest, Adrian felt a strange compulsion to abandon his human posture and move on all fours. Running faster and faster, he was free, a new sensation that washed over his entire body. A branch snapped nearby - Adrian paused, sniffing the air as a strange scent overpowered his nostrils. As the smell became almost unbearable, Max leapt down from a tree, with an arrow nocked to his bow - lifting it to take aim, a single whispered word escaped his lips.
"Sorry."
Before he could shoot, Adrian howled angrily - he pounced at his brother, aware of a distant tugging feeling at his body.
*****
"Adrian! Knock yourself out of this!"
Micah towered over Adrian, the cool evening breeze disrupting his scruffy hair. Adrian pulled himself from the forest floor where he lay, a feeling of amnesia occupying his mind.
"How did I get here? I don't remember....."
Micah opened his palm, revealing the page from Max's book. The word 'Lycanthropy' seemed menacing, even taunting to his weary eyes.
"Adrian, I think it's time I explained everything to you...."
YOU ARE READING
Blood Curse
Horor"By day the lycanthrope retains his human form, but in the light of the full moon he is cursed to walk the earth in the skin of a wolf. His hunger for flesh is insatiable, his speed is incomparable, his cunning is uncontrollable. The curse is passed...
