Episode 6

“Mm, they are.” Mandy flinches as the glasses are crushed between his fingers. “But you don’t need them anymore. In fact-“ She didn’t have time to react before the pair she had on met the same fate.

“Hey! What the fuck, man.”

“Yes! There it is isn’t? Anger, frustration. Keep going, let it all out.” The smile on his face growing big and feral. There were teeth. Teeth too sharp and big for his mouth. Freak! I’ll fucking rip your throat out! She lunges in a blur of movements, snarling and growling. Feeling such deep satisfaction when her claws burrs deep into his flesh. She wants to feel the blood pour into her mouth, lunges for the throat with blind glee. This is where he stops her. She is thrown off and slammed into a tree, she can hear it crack but can’t feel any pain. Just anger and a strange new euphoria.

“I am proud of you, little one, but enough now.” The anger doesn’t fade, not exactly, but it dampens. The need and want to hurt to bite to rip apart, gone. “That’s it. We have a long way to go, but don’t worry I will teach you everything you need to stay alive. You’re mine now, I gave you new life, and you will do the same for me.”

After considerable research, and some serious thinking, Dana must admit to herself that her list of causes for Mandy’s condition is short. Very short. At the top, she’s put secret government ‘super soldier’ project, followed by biowarfare, and lastly… lycanthropy. None of them are sane, not even a little bit. This list is embarrassing. Number one seems unlikely, unless the government wants hairy monsters in their arsenal, hard to see the use for that. If anything, the military wants to move away from sentient ground forces. Number two… well, why is it even on this list? If there had been more of them, or spread quickly, then maybe, but no there has been no mentions of that in the media. Pretty sure a horde of rage monsters would be noticed.

So, then there was one. Mandy could be a werewolf. An actual real life werewolf. Teeth, claws the works. She was bitten by a wolf- like creature and was miraculously fully healed the very next day, and not to forget the sudden agility and speed gains. It’s almost corny how it all fits together.

“Ok, my best friend is a werewolf… What the hell do I do about that.” Dana falls back on her bed looking around her room where, during the last 6 hours or so, she’d been brainstorming. The walls are covered in newspaper articles, blurry photos, and stories from old folklore worldwide. I want to find that guy from the game yesterday. I think they have a role to play in all this. Ugh, pulling an all nighter was baaad.

Episode 5

“Father. Don’t.” Aaron takes a small step towards Erick wanting to shield him from the arrow, but he stops short at another snarl from him. “Let’s all calm down. No one needs to get hurt here. Erick, I promise you, we won’t hurt your family if this isn’t their doing! Father, this is Erick! You know he wouldn’t hurt any of us.” For a few moments, nothing happens, no one moves. Only their breaths swirling in the air. Aaron pleads silently with his father, but is only met with a steely glare. Erick, however let’s out a sigh and withdraws his claws. The red in his eyes fade away. Aaron sees and quickly moves in between him and his father. “It’s over now.”

Elsewhere in the forest

The sun is barely up, it’s cold enough that everything in sight is covered in frost. Her footsteps make small crunching noises moving over the frozen leaves and underbrush. She’s pretty sure that it was here it’d happened. The body is gone, but the smell of it isn’t. She crinkles her nose at it and then covers her nose and mouth with a sleeve.

“They gotta be somewhere around here…”

Mandy lost her glasses when it attacked her. She’s been using an old pair, and hell if they haven’t given her a killer headache. She can’t tell her sister she needs a new pair, can’t afford it and she’d have to come up with a suitable cover story. Or, she can go out into the forest early in the freaking morning and look for the ones she’d lost. Great idea Mads, awesome. She tries to backtrack her movements from then, but it’s hard… It had been dark and she’d just picked a direction and run. Even so Mandy scourers the ground as she walks, hoping (beyond hope) to find them.

Mandy freezes almost stumbles when she hears laughter coming from behind.

“You know… I understand that habit can sometimes overrule your brains basic functions. But hey, I never thought it could trick someone into thinking they couldn’t see properly.” The voice has a teasing tone to it, but under it lurks a sharp sting of violence. Mandy slowly turns towards the voice. It’s a man. He’s tall, wears a long leather coat, (really? Jeez, is Buffy around here too?) and his hair flows in long black locks around his face. He’s standing just a few yards away, fiddling with what Mandy recognizes as her lost glasses.

“I don’t know what you’re on about, but I believe those are mine.”

Episode 4

Two men have set up just inside the tree line. They’ve brought bows and arrows with them. The air is cold and their breaths form white puffs around their faces. They let loose arrow after arrow at a target sitting further inside the woods. When the sun rises over the hills, colouring the sky a beautiful red and pink, they start packing up their things. The younger of the two strolls over to take down the target board, but halts mid step. He thought he saw something move, but he can’t be sure. He looks back towards his father, then shrugs and veers off to the right. Whatever it was had been silent. He readies an arrow as he walks, makes him feel a little safer. After only a few steps that same figure moves in his periphery. He freezes mid step. “I know you are there.” He says into the silence around him. “Better come out before I get the wrong idea. One could think you’d want to hurt me. That would be inadvisable by the way.”

He hears a snicker at his 5’o clock. “It is you, isn’t it? Been a long time Aaron.” Aaron let’s out a big sigh of relief and braces himself on his knees.

“Damn, Erick. Don’t do that to me.” Aaron smiles as he turns to look at his friend. He hasn’t changed much, that crocked smile is still in place. They move as on que and come together in a bone cracking hug. Erick even lifts Aaron of the ground a little, quickly setting him down though.

“Jeez, lay of the cheetos Aaron!” He smiles wide and fakes a hurt back. Aaron snorts and pats Erick’s belly.

“You’re one to talk.” They smile at each other and then both start talking at the same time. Erick holds up a hand to stop Aaron. He has a serious expression on his face now.

“Why are you and the rest of the Argents here Aaron? Me and mine have been good. Been that way since you left. Better not be here for us, I have a family of my own now. I won’t-“

Aaron stops him with a heavy hand on his shoulder. He shakes his head and gives him a reassuring smile. “You know we won’t bother anyone who’s been following the rules Erick. I trust you when you say your family isn’t behind the resent killings. But you know we must consider-“ Aaron hesitates for a moment. “You know as well as me it’s not a cougar roaming the woods.” Erick shrugs the hand away and takes a step back. Mouth open in a snarl, his eyes glowing bright red.

Aaron notes the fangs are still retracted, but takes a few slow steps away from, he now realizes, the alpha. So things have changed then since they last saw each other. He holds his hands up in front of himself.

“Take as much as a step towards my son and I lodge an arrow in your heart.” Aaron twists his head towards his father who’s standing to their right, with a bow and arrow at the ready.

Episode 3

The school of Beacon Hills, the school Mandy and Dana goes to, has a thing for lacrosse. If you are anybody then you play lacrosse. This year Mandy wants off the bench, this year she wants to play first line, this year she just knows she can do it. Tryouts is ongoing and she is on fire. It’s like everything is moving in slow motion, she suddenly has more time to catch the ball, to score. It feels amazing.

“What the hell are you on McCall?!” Caitlin murmurs in passing. She’s pissed. “I’ll find out! And then you can kiss first line goodbye, forever.”

Mandy doesn’t care, she’s not on anything, Caitlin just doesn’t want to be replaced. I’d be pissed too. Mandy thinks and can’t stop the smirk growing on her face.

Caitlin, however, isn’t the only one raising their eyebrows. Everyone notices Mandy’s improvement, even Ben and… is that Aaron? Shit, he’s here? Omg, omg, what do I do? Deep breaths Mandy, deep breaths. She pulls her helmet off and waves at him. He nods her way and smiles. This day might just be the best day ever.

Dana sits at the sidelines and just watches. She’s frowning. Mandy is playing too well, it doesn’t make any sense. Besides, yesterday she needed help just getting into bed and now there’s not even a twinge. So, a monster takes a bite out of her best friend and the next day said friend becomes a lacrosse genius… Something is not adding up. Dana will find out what’s going, she always does, until then though she better keep an eye on Mandy. As she looks out over the field she notices a guy lurking at the edge of the forest. He’s staring at Mandy, following her every move. Not at all creepy. Who the hell is this guy?

Episode 2

It’s been 13 min and 53 seconds, 54… 55. No Mandy. She’s lost, she fell and can’t get up, she’s dead. She’ll be walking out from behind that tree any second now. Dana doesn’t fiddle when nervous, doesn’t pace, she solves puzzles and writes her stories. This, all this shit, is like a cheesy fanfiction or something. B-list detective drama with supernatural villains… It must be, right? Because this can’t be real. THIS is NOT real. Dana can’t make sense of that thing. It doesn’t fit any of the known variables. Too big to be a dog, hell too big to be a wolf even. Didn’t move right either, front legs (legs? arms?) were too long. Like an ape’s? No no, that’s not it.

After a few more minutes of waiting, Dana climbs into her car and turns on the engine. It sputters alive coughing a little. It’s not warmer in the car, heater broke a while back… but it feels safer. She’s been thinking about leaving to get help. Even calling her dad and telling him what they did, what she did. If Mandy’s not… dead, then she needs help. It feels wrong to leave even worse to stay. Fuck. She thinks that this will be the very last time she taps into her dads police radio.

The passenger door is ripped open with force and the car wobbles as someone (omg thing?) is thrown inside. The door is slammed shut too hard and it bounces open again. Slammed shut once more and stays.

“Dana! Fuck! Dana, fucking drive already!” The last few seconds reverses and plays back for Dana, and she understands. Mandy made it back, there’s blood so she’s hurt, and she want’s Dana to fucking drive already. Easy input. She can do that. She fucking drives.

Mandy is short of breath, winces at every intake and holds her side where blood has soaked through her sweater and now trickles down onto the car seat. She has leaves in her hair, Dana notes, and smudges of dirt all over her clothes and face.

“I lost my glasses. Dana, shit, I lost them. My sister’s going to kill me.”

Dana blinks at her. She’s sitting there bleeding and her main worry is losing her glasses. Un-fucking-believable.

“I think she might care more about the hole in your side, Mads.”

Mandy looks down at where she is pressing her hand to the wound, as if she’d forgotten it was there. She starts shaking and tears well up in her eyes. “It bit me…” It’s barely a whisper. “I- I think it bit me D.”

The next morning everything seems brighter and less scary, less crazy. Or well, maybe not that last one. They had managed to clean the wound and dress it. It had looked gnarly yesterday, and Mandy hesitates to look under the dressings today. It doesn’t hurt as much now, a good sign she hopes, but still doesn’t dare look at it. With a sigh she throws on a fresh t-shirt then grabs her schoolbag on her way down the stairs. She jumps down the last few steps landing with a thud. Without stopping she grabs an apple from the kitchen and yells a goodbye to her sister around the first bite of it. Mandy feels fine. Awesome actually. The woods and the creature seems far away kind of like a dream. Today will be a good day, she can feel it. She hums a little tune and slams the door shut behind her.

Christmas Calender - 2016

Episode 1

There’s a shriek and then a heavy thud heard from outside the window. Mandy, like any normal person on a school day is asleep at 01.00. At the noise, however, she startles awake and tries to grab for… for anything! But alas there is nothing to keep her from crashing to the floor. Dazed and a little confused she tries to untangle herself from the covers, kicking and wriggling does not seem to be all that effective. She sighs and then yawns. Still shaking the cobwebs out of her head, she decides that the floor is actually a really nice place.

“Mandy!”

Nooo, I don’t want too! Is all Mandy can think right now. She pulls down her pillow and covers her head with it. Never mind creepy whispers coming from outside her window…

“I kind of need your help… Come on, Mandy!”

Mandy blows a raspberry and takes a fortifying breath, accidentally inhales some dust and is thoroughly reminded that the floor is actually not that awesome. “Dana… Why?! I’m sleeping. It’s late! What are you even doing here?”

“I’m- I’m stuck. Help?”

It still doesn’t make sense as she peeks out from under the pillow and out the window. “Why are you upside down, dude? How are you even doing that?” Mandy finally untangles herself off the floor and scurries over to the open window. “I mean, I’m kind of impressed...”

So, that’s how they both ended up in this mess. Totally Dana’s fault, all of it. A fancy word here, alluring information there. And voilà! Off to see the wizard they go. Well to the forest actually and not to find a wizard but a body… half a body.  Whatever. It’s freezing, Mandy can’t see shit and, she’s fucking running for her fucking life! Dana got left behind back there, but at least that thing isn’t following her.

There’s a roar coming from behind. It doesn’t sound like anything Mandy’s ever heard before… outside of a movie theater that is. She’s running through the forest, hopefully towards the road. She hasn’t seen it, but it sounds big and hungry. She imagines it has lots and lots of teeth. The better to eat you with. Stupid fucking brain. Shut up!

Mandy suddenly stumbles on a root, her foot gets caught and twists in an entirely unnatural angle, but honestly Mandy hasn’t noticed that part yet. She lands with a heavy thud right next to a girl. A very dead girl. Half of a very dead girl, her legs are missing. Ripped off(?). Mandy can’t stop it, she lets out a yell, horrified by the sight. That’s when it lunges at her. It’s huge. Massive. Looming over Mandy its teeth are very real and very close. It snarls and snaps it jaws at her, she tries to hold it off but her hands slip in the things fur. It’s wet and filthy, the stink of it overwhelming.

It happens fast. The bite doesn’t hurt, not at first, the thing squeezes its jaw around her ribcage and all Mandy can focus on is drawing breath. So, this is how I go? Fantastic.