Kraal

Chapter 15: Rose

I didn't even bother with the pretence of changing for bed that night. I dressed in jeans and a long-sleeved top, my feet clad in sturdy boots that stomped as I paced the floor. I had my camera bag in hand and a personal alarm I picked up from the hardware store earlier.

I hadn't seen Josh all day. My stomach rolled uncomfortably every time I thought about him.

I listened for Gran and Mum going to bed and then I waited a while until the house was silent and I knew they would be asleep. I crept stealthily out of the house, drawing my coat around me as a sharp wind hit me in the face, making me breathless. It sent crisp, fallen leaves scattering across the yard and the trees by the roadside swayed. My path was illuminated by the huge, yellow moon hanging orb like above the line of the trees.

I felt more afraid than I ever had before, and I wasn't sure what scared me most – the thought of finding Josh hurt, or worse, or seeing him hurt someone else.

I was more familiar with the route to the cage now, and with the light of the torch beam cast out in front of me, I stepped easily over the gnarled roots and mounds of moss.

When I got closer, I darted behind the base of an upturned tree, the roots creating a canopy over my head. I listened to the raucous voices, my heart pounding against my ribs. When I dared to hazard a glance, I found a crowd much bigger than the last time I was here. The spotlights had been replaced with tall floodlights, that lit the cage up like a football pitch. The crowd was too vast for me to see anything inside, I could just hear scuffling intercepted with the clang of metal. I had to get closer. I edged around the upturned tree, using the branches for cover. Fear gripped me when I saw the creatures in the cage, at least seven feet tall, covered in hair, long, sharp fangs. The floodlights showed them in all their glory. They were monsters, wolves... werewolves. With a kind of terrifying thrill that made the hair on the back of my neck stand up, I thought about what Seb said about the dates on Nixon's website, the moon phases, and I thought about what Josh said about not being human. My breath started to come out short and ragged, I couldn't believe it. I wouldn't. And yet, how could I deny what I was seeing in front of me. I forced myself to watch the beasts, wondering, half-sceptically, if ones of them could be Josh. I shook the thought away. "This isn't happening." I said to myself. I fumbled for my camera, releasing it from the padded bag and I held it shakily in front of me. Tonight, there was enough light to capture the images of the beasts and I took multiple shots. A sudden roar from the crowd made me drop the camera, it clattered to the ground and the flash went off. I froze. The faces of those standing closest to me whipped in my direction. I hoped that the shade of the trees had kept me hidden, because I couldn't move. Suddenly there was movement, two men broke free of the crowd and started slowly in my direction. I hastily scooped up my camera and ran as fast as I could. I still had the torch in my pocket and I threw it's beam out in front of me until I joined the footpath. There, I turned it off, worried it might draw more attention to me.

I heard rampant footsteps behind me and I urged myself onwards, my lungs burning. But it was no good. I felt something heavy collide with me and I fell to the floor, my shoulder stinging. I turned to find the teeth of a wolf-like creature inches from my face. I screamed until my throat was raw and the best growled hungrily, snapping it's jaws and flecking my face with saliva. Tears gathered in my eyes, I was going to die, out here in the woods, ripped apart by a monster.

It had me pinned, but I could move enough to grasp inside of my pocket. I pulled the alarm out and pressed the trigger, holding it as close as I could to the creatures pointed ear.

I didn't expect it to work, but the creature leaped back from me, yelping in pain. I scrambled unsteadily to my feet, my whole body shaking and ran as fast as I could, my camera clutched to my chest. I saw a figure up ahead, maybe a hiker, my heart leapt as I raced towards them.

"Please, help me." I could hear the creature behind me again, growling, low and guttural.

It was a man up ahead and he was holding something. As I got closer, I saw what it was clutched in his hand. He raised the shotgun to his shoulder, the barrels pointed right at me. "Get down." He yelled.

I threw myself to the ground as the shotgun went off, sending a flock of birds scattering from a nearby tree. I heard a yelp behind me, but I didn't dare look. I squeezed my eyes shut as the sound of the shotgun rang in my ears.

The alarm was silenced and then I felt a firm hand on my shoulder. "You're OK now, but we have to hurry. He won't stay down for long." At the sound of the familiar voice I opened my eyes.

"Ryan?"

He nodded curtly as pulled me to my feet, carefully cocking the gun across the crook of his arm. "Thought you were told to stay out of the woods."

"Curiosity got the better of me." I looked over my shoulder, the beast was lying on the ground, but I could see its back rising rapidly with every breath.

"Yeah, well curiosity nearly got you killed."

I started to laugh then, high and hysterical. "I... was nearly killed.... by a werewolf."

"A werewolf?" Snorted Ryan.

"Yes, Ryan. A werewolf, I know what the thing was."

I glanced sideways at him as he helped along the path to the entrance of the woods. I saw his jaw tighten. "You know what they are too." I said.

When we emerged onto the road and I could see the farm, I started to breathe a little easier.

"Listen," Ryan said, rounding on me suddenly and grabbing my arm. "You have to forget what you saw tonight. Don't mention this to anyone." His eyes were wide fearful."

"You're hurting me."

He released me. "Sorry, but you have to understand how dangerous this is. The people involved in this, they could hurt you, they could hurt your Mum and your Gran too."

Fear shot through me. "That cage is barely a mile from our house."

"I'll call it into the police, it should stop them meeting there for a while."

"What will you tell them, the police I mean?"

Ryan looked down at the shotgun on his arm. "I'll tell them I heard gunshots, it's not uncommon for poachers to come down here. They shoot pheasants and rabbits mostly, but the police will want to check it out, especially with everything that's going on." 

Ryan held the gate open for me as we made our way into the farmyard.

"Ryan, what were you doing here?"

"I mean it's late, why are you still here? At work?"

Ryan looked across the yard to the house, his face half set in shadows. "I've been working on that old tractor of your Grandfathers, lost track of time."

"Did you follow me?"

He considers me for a moment. "Not at first, but when you didn't come out of the woods, I had to make sure you were OK."

"Well, thank you."

Ryan nodded curtly. "Now get yourself inside."

I left Ryan in the yard and headed straight to bed. My mind was wired, so sleep was impossible, and every time I tried to close my eyes, I saw the beast standing over me, his sharp teeth snapping together inches from my face. I could still smell it, the scent of damp fur, earth and blood.

I flicked through the photographs on my camera, my heart hammering in my chest as I looked at the images of the beasts in the cage.

It was only when the dawn came that I realised something. I had left my camera bag in the woods, the camera bag with my name printed inside.