Werewolf by Night

First Night

My name's Jack Russell and Things finally seemed to be looking up for me. I was 18 years old today, my whole life in front of me. I could finally get away from my Step-father and have a little independence. One thing that did suck though is that I would be leaving my mother and younger sister Lissa at the mercy of him and his 'chauffeur'.

My Step-Father was a wealthy movie producer in Hollywood. He didn't much care for me and my sister, but we were a packaged deal if he wanted to keep my mother. How this snake ever managed to get himself wrapped around such a sweet woman like my mother is beyond me. And then there was his driver. A large boorish man named Grant. He seemed more like the muscle for Philip Russell than just his driver.

Grant was a small man in reality despite his physical size. He liked to remind others how alpha he was to everybody, especially my mother. He'd grab her too hard, pull her forcefully, and get in her face if what she wanted went against what his employer said. I wanted nothing more than to kick his ass, but I knew that he would destroy me in a fight. It was a really frustrating situation to tell you the truth.

Whatever, I wasn't going to let this spoil my mood. It was my 18th birthday and I was going to celebrate it proper. First I had to make sure my mom was okay of course. I got her an ice pack for her newest bruise. I tried to tell her to get out, to get away...but she told me I would understand when I was older.

"I'm 18 now mom. How much older do I have to be?" I asked her. She didn't respond, instead she just reached up and put a gentle hand on my cheek and wished me a happy birthday. I kissed her forehead and shook my head before leaving.

"Gonna see Emma tonight?" Cane a voice that made me smile as I reached the door. I turned around and it was my sister with a shit eating grin on her face. Her and I were only a year apart in age so we were the best of friends. I picked her up and she tried to squirm her way out but there was no escaping my iron vice.

"What's wrong Lissa? Afraid I'll replace ya?" I teased and moved to give her face some smooches and as I predicted, she screamed and swatted at my face.

"Get off you fucking loser!" She cried out on laughter. Before I could put her down myself a very angry voice called out my name. It was Philip. He stood in the doorway, cigar in his mouth and annoyance clearly painted on his features.

"You're a man today Jack. I suggest you start acting like it." He said sternly. Like I said, he didn't like me and my sister. I put her down and looked at the man, narrowing my eyes at him. Oh I couldn't stand this bloated jerk.

"I suggest you mind your own business Phil. As you said, I'm a man today. I don't need to listen to you asshole." Where did that come from? Even Lissa looked surprised at me. I was always rather quiet around Philip. Before he or anyone else could say anything, I left the house and slammed the door behind me.

When I got outside, I found Grant working on my mother's car. The way I had slammed the door had clearly gotten his attention. He stood up, wiping oil from his hands with a rag. "Well, aren't we feeling aggressive today rich boy?" He said with that damn smirk of his. I hated when he called me that. I never asked for any of this. It wasn't my fault my mother married a rich man who treated her like a trophy. And this guy, my Step-father's attack dog always liked to talk down to me and my mother. I clenched my fists and I'll admit, I really wanted to clock him one good. But, I knew better than that. I wasn't an idiot. Instead I just brushed past him, making sure to bump my shoulder into him as I walked. That was the wrong move.

As soon as I walked past him, I felt my hair get grabbed and tugged back. I was pulled by Grant who delivered a punch right to my stomach which knocked the air out of me. I fell to my hands and knees and I tried to catch my breath. "Ya think just cause you're 18 now that you can be a tough guy?" Grant asked. "Lemme tell ya something bitch boy, your dad owns your ass. Forever." With that, Grant turned back to the car and continued working. I got up, feeling only slightly dizzy from the unexpected punch. More so I was running on the adrenaline. Maybe Grant was right, I was feeling aggressive today. Must just be the hormones. Puberty wasn't done yet for me after all. And my mood always took a nose dive dealing with Phil and his rabid dog.

It was already starting to get into the late afternoon by the time that I'd gotten to the Shake Shack. It was a favorite spot for me and Emma. When I walked in I saw her sitting at our table. She'd already ordered for me which was fine. She knew what I liked. I gave her a kiss before I sat down across from her. "Sorry I'm late." I apologized and then explained what had happened before I left.

"What an asshole. Well, don't worry. When we get our own place, you'll never have to deal with them again." She said as she stirred her strawberry shake. It made me smile. We've been looking for a place we could rent, just the two of us and we were getting close. Emma and I met in high school. She has moved to LA from the Poconos so she was suffering from some culture shock.

I befriended her, nothing romantic at the time. But, as we got closer our feeling for one another seemed to become more apparent. And now? Now I was crazy about this girl. Her eyes just had this way of drawing me in. I loved those eyes. I think they were my favorite part of her, as cheesy as that sounds. I really think she's the one. "It's gonna be a full moon tonight you know?" She asked with a grin. "I was thinking for your big day that we could have a midnight picnic. Stare up at the moon and stars, make a little love..."

"Get down tonight?" I finished off her thought with a chuckle. "Honestly Em, there's no other way I'd rather spend my time." I said with a big dopey smile on my face. We finished eating our food, paid, and off we were in her car. I drove despite the fact that I didn't have a car of my own. Philip said o hadn't earned it but it was really just his own way of keeping a leash on me.

The sun was just about set by the time we pulled up to our spot. It was perfect. We could look down and see the city lights, and we could see the sky above clearly as well. I just held Emm in my arms, we discussed our plans, our dreams, and just enjoyed each other's company. The moon rose as we kissed in the back of her car, and that's when things changed forever.

First Night:

I had to pull away from kissing her which sucked as much for me as it did for her. But I had to. I started not to feel well at all. "Jack?" She asked, putting her hand to my forehead before quickly retracting it. "Jesus, you're burning up..." She was right. It felt like I was on fire, both inside and outside of my body. I had to cry out it was so intense. I had to cool down. I ripped my shirt off, yeah actually ripped it. Somehow, it just made the heat worse. I cried out to Jesus to help me, but I would learn that he had already forsaken me.

My body began to shake and convulse as if I was having some sort of seizure. Emma and I both screamed as we watched the bones in my hands began to break and extend. The pain was blinding but it was nothing compared to what was coming. Hair began to grow over my body as the sounds of my bones shaping, breaking, and moving began to drown out our screams. Every vertebrae on my spine popped out and became prominent one at a time and each one hurting more than the last. My nails grew out to claws and my legs extended and bent horribly. Emma tried to call 911 and explain what was happening, at least I think that's what I heard. The pain was too much to focus on much else. I could feel my organs start to go into failure, and somehow I still lived, and then they got bigger inside of me as my body did as well. My teeth sharpened to points abs the bones in my face ripped from my skull and pushed forward in agonizing torment. Thankfully, that was when things had finally gone black.

I woke up god knows how long later? I was in the woods, near a stream that was rippling along. When my senses were finally about me I looked around for Emma, or her car. When I called out to her, that's when the taste in my mouth became apparent. It was like raw meat and metal. I looked at my hands and saw them covered in blood. My jeans were torn to shreds and my stomach was on fire. I couldn't stop it from coming out. The red bile that came from my stomach and out my mouth had shocked me. I could see bits of flesh strewn about it. But then I saw something that made my blood run cold, a sight I would never forget as long as I lived. There, in the bloody vomit floated the surface...it was Emma's eye, the eyes that I had fallen in love with, the eyes that I had gotten lost in more times than I could could. Why...why was it here like this?

Dear Lord, what have I done?