Before The Mask

Chapter One

The waves lapped at a young boy's feet as he stood at the river shore. To others his disheveled jet-black hair, light skin and tall frame appeared perfectly normal. However, those who knew him would agree that this child was anything but normal. In his short 10 years of life, his gunmetal-grey eyes showed with a ferocity that was almost as raging as the fires in his heart. All who knew him would agree that this boy was unsettlingly dangerous without considering the reasons behind their caution.

He knelt down to the sand below him and gazed at the skeletal remains of a fox. This sort of sight was typical for him as he would often go into the forest in search of the forgotten bones of animals passed on. He took hold of the carcass's skull and pulled it's lower jaw free from it's head. He turned the mandible over in his hand and admired the sharp, white teeth.

He felt a sense of familiarity as he ran his thumb along the edge of the canine tooth. Among many things, he was often known for possessing teeth much like the teeth of the fox jaw he was holding. His canines were longer and sharper than they should have been and his molars each ended in points instead of being flattened as normal molars should have. He recalled how the dentist referred to them as "dog teeth" due to the striking resemblance his molars had compared to the molars of a dog-like animal. His canines, however, earned him the nickname of "vampire kid" from the nurses of the dentist's office due to their long and sharp appearance.

He looked down at his phone to check the time which read 3:40 PM. It was a simple flip phone that only had three phone numbers programmed in and could only contact those specific numbers. The numbers belonged to his step-father, step-brother and his mother. This was his parents' way of controlling who he could contact and communicate with. The time of 3:40 PM indicated it was time he headed home before he got himself into trouble with his parents. He stood from the river bank, gripping the fox's jaw in his hand and began to walk home.

The forest was dense with undergrowth and the Texas heat bore down on him as he walked. This didn't bother the boy, in fact he preferred the heat due to his body's difficulty regulating its own body temperature. He would often dress in clad black clothing in temperatures reaching 105 degrees Fahrenheit without so much as breaking a sweat. However, he often found himself shivering at temperatures below 70 degrees Fahrenheit no matter how well he bundled up.

After what seemed like hours, he finally reached the edge of his forest. He stepped beyond the coverage of the trees and looked back for a moment as if bidding his 'home away from home' goodbye. He continued his trek, gazing down the street of his neighborhood that ran adjacent to the edge of the forest. He couldn't help but feel uneasy and he nervously checked the time on his phone once more; it read 3:55 PM. He felt his heartbeat pick up in speed and he began to follow suit, quickening his pace as he headed home. If he didn't move faster he surely would've been late. Getting there before his parents did was an absolute necessity. The boy wasn't exactly permitted to leave the house.

At some point along the way he started to jog and some time after that he began to run. Fears and doubts crept into his mind, eliminating any sense of calmness he had during his time in the forest. 'What if they come home early? What if I'm not fast enough? What if they find out I left the house?' The thoughts raced in his mind, urging him to run faster. He vaguely noticed the strange looks of the neighbors as he sprinted past. 'Stop looking at me...' he silently pleaded in the back of his mind. He skidded to a full stop once he reached the edge of his driveway, taking heavy breaths with his hands on his knees. He swallowed hard and looked at the front door to the house he could hardly call his home.

Just as he figured he made it there in time, he heard the familiar honk of a car horn. He straightened up and looked over his shoulder. There waiting just behind him was a silver 2005 Saturn. He could see his step-father in the driver's seat and his mother in the passenger seat. The look of anger on her face made his stomach turn as he moved out of the way so they could pull the car into the garage. He stood frozen in the spot with his head low, waiting there as still as he possibly could. He could hear the car doors slam followed by the garage door leading into the house opening and closing. His eyes were fixed on the pavement as he waited. The sounds of flip flops clapping towards him from the garage sent chills down his spine.

"Why aren't you inside?" His mother's tone was sharp and unforgiving. Her brunette hair fell just past her shoulders. Her face was chubby and freckled, unlike her son's which had strong, defined features and lacked any markings aside from the various scars across his face. She was only 5'4" and overweight in nature. Despite her child being only 10 years old at the time, he was nearly taller than her in height. She wore the same clothing she always seemed to favor; grey sweatpants, flip flops and a simple tank top that struggled to contain her mass of fat rolls and oversized, bra-less breasts.

He hesitated for just a moment but he wasn't quick enough with his response.

"Answer me. And look me in the eye when I'm talking to you, Wolf." She spat, glaring down at him.

Wolf slowly lifted his head up and locked eye contact with his mother. "I was..." he trailed off.

"Spit it out!" She shouted, causing her son a sudden jump. One of their neighbors who was outside watering his lawn, looked over at the two in the driveway with a suspicious stare. Wolf's mother caught sight of this and waved to him, smiling sweetly. The man waved back and seemed to brush off his look of alarm, continuing to spray his lawn with the hose. Her focus went back to her child and her eyes narrowed further. "You're embarrassing me" she seethed.

"I was about to check the mail." He stumbled over his words slightly, blurting out the first excuse that came to mind. His mother's cold eyes left him for a moment and drifted over to gaze at the mailbox. Her posture stiffened and she slowly turned her head back to Wolf.

"Lying is a sin. Do I need to wash your mouth out with soap?" Her expression morphed into a sly grin that made Wolf's blood run cold. He remained quiet, unsure of what to say. He thought of answering with a simple "no ma'am" but the words wouldn't come out. No matter what answer he gave, she would have still went through with her threats and the wrong answer could potentially earn him a harsher punishment. "That's what I thought. Get inside, now." She barked. Wolf turned sluggishly towards the door. "What's in your hand? Give it to me." Her words stopped him in his tracks and she moved towards him from behind. Before he could move or speak, her hand grabbed his wrist tightly. With her other hand she pried her son's hand open and snatched the fox jaw from his grip. She examined it with a disgusted look on her face. "Where did you get this? This is disgusting." She spat.

"I found it." He muttered, trailing off. His eyes once more found themselves glued to the concrete beneath his shoes.

"So you did go somewhere." She grinned. It was then that Wolf realized his grave error. His heart pounded rapidly in his chest and his breathing came in short, shallow breaths. His mother brought her hand back in a threatening posture and he flinched, expecting the impact of a harsh smack. She chuckled under her breath and chewed her lip, still grinning in satisfaction. "Inside, now." The child obeyed and began to walk towards the front door of the brick house, moving subtly as to not antagonize the woman following closely behind him. With every step his dread of what was to come increased like dark water rising above his neck.

[A note: All events of this story are true and directly from the accounts of Wolf himself as he releases the story of his past.]