Chapter 12: Old Friend

The forest seemed especially frightening to Natalie as Blake guided her through the woods under the cover of night towards some undetermined destination. But she didn’t speak a word as he moved, afraid that any sound she made would be heard by one of the men that had just attacked them. Before long, Blake led her up a stone walkway towards a loft situated on the outskirts of downtown. He took in a breath and knocked once after checking the window to ensure he was alone.

After waiting a few moments he watched the owner approach the front of the house and exhaled his breath slowly. “Hello Nick.” Blake greeted in a flat tone as the door opened. The fashion photographer stood with a shocked expression on his face, his eyes darting from Blake’s to Natalie’s and back.

“Blake?” Nick’s jaw dropped and he backed away from the door as he tried to compose himself. Blake followed him inside pulling Natalie behind him as he moved and shut the door. “Blake? Are you…is this…what?”

“I know this may come as a surprise but…”

“Yeah to say the least! I thought you were dead!”

“I know and I had to be, it was just safer that way.”

“Safer? What the hell are you talking about? Where the hell have you been for the last four years?”

“Here, I never left town. I’ve just been…hiding. I know I have a lot of explaining to do but later, right now I need to ask a favor of you.” Blake looked at Natalie and Nick followed his gaze. With a heavy sigh, he took Nick’s arm and pulled him towards the kitchen leaving Natalie standing in the living room.

“Let go of me,” Nick growled and twisted his arm away from Blake. He leaned against the counter and watched as his friend paced around the room. “Who is that girl out there? And how are you still alive?”

“Her name is Natalie Silverman; she’s the daughter of…”

“Arthur Silverman of Silvercorp?”

Blake shook his head and ran a frustrated hand through his hair before taking a step back. “Nick I know it’s a lot to ask but I need you to look after Natalie for a little bit for me, just until I get back.”

“Get back? Get back from where? Where the hell have you been? What the hell is going on? You can’t expect to just disappear for four years and pop back up as though nothing happened! Why were you hiding? What happened to you the night you went missing? The police found your Shelby abandoned near some campsite. Blood and hair and your ripped shirt were on the scene! Dude! They looked for a week for any signs of you near that area and only found more and more blood! You were declared dead shortly after a medical examiner determined the blood was yours and enough of it had been spilled to indicate a fatality! And now you just show up here asking me to what? Babysit some rich guy’s daughter while you go running off to God knows where?”

“Look I came to you because you’re the only one I can trust with this Nick. Please, if there were any other options I’d have already tried them but,” he leaned closer holding Nick’s gaze, a serious tone took over his voice and he breathed deeply. “This is a matter of life and death.”

“Life and death? YOU ARE SUPPOSED TO BE DEAD! Where have you been Blake? I went to your funeral! Do you understand that? I watched them lower your casket into the ground and throw dirt on top of the box! I consoled your mother when she sat weeping her eyes out until early morning the day you were interred! How are you standing in my kitchen?”

“Will you keep your voice down please?” Blake looked towards the living room and watched Natalie pacing for a moment before pulling his friend outside to his backyard.

“Keep my voice down? Sure thing! Right after you tell me just what the hell is going on!” Nick again demanded and waited for Blake to finally spill his guts. Taking a deep breath and exhaling it sharply, Blake turned and faced his old friend with a sorrowful glance as he decided the best way to explain. “Well?” 

“The night I disappeared I WAS attacked. And for all intents and purposes I WAS dead. Something happened to me that night that forever changed me and being around people I loved became…dangerous.” He dropped onto a chair beside the swimming pool and looked up at Nick who quietly moved to join him.

“Something grabbed me out on that trail and between the ripping of my flesh, the burning of the gashes and the loss of blood I just passed out. I thought for sure I was done for. I mean at some point I woke to find my nude body in pieces; blood and skin was everywhere and to be honest I’m not sure if all of it was mine. I was in this cabin or something when I came to with no idea how I’d got there or where I was even! But the scariest part was that a lot of the injuries I’d suffered by this thing were healing!”

“I mean I was no longer in pain but I was cold, really cold. I thought that meant it was the end but the longer I laid there the better I felt until I could do things that were incredible! I could hear running water some twenty miles away or see the clear shape of stars in the sky! I couldn’t explain it; all I could think was that someone had drugged me at some point. Anyway I start down this really steep mountain towards what I thought was Cresting Heights but I was someplace else completely and it was three days later.”

“I make it out into the woods again at some point that night only to have the worst pain hit me like a ton of bricks. I couldn’t move, I couldn’t breathe, I couldn’t do anything but feel every bone in my body break.”

“What the hell are you talking about?”

Blake looked up into Nick’s eyes and saw doubt. His friend stared at him as if the entire story was made up and Blake realized how crazy the whole thing must have sounded. And the fact that he just rattled it all off in one breath did little to help his case. He shook him off and sighed. “It sounds crazy I know but I’m telling you the truth.”

“Right. You were abducted by aliens and probed and meanwhile we mourned your death.” Nick responded handing Blake a beer and watching him swill half the bottle before coming up for air.

“If only aliens were real,” Blake sulked hearing Nick mock his ordeal. “You said you buried a casket?” he asked zoning back to part of Nick’s shouting. His friend nodded and Blake took another sip from the bottle in his hand. “What was in it?”

Nick leaned forward and sighed as he took another swig of his beer before addressing his friend. “Old keepsakes and pictures, things your family and friends had that reminded them of you. My favorite camera; now I kinda wish I could get that back since well…you know. You know I learned to hunt?” He spoke with an air of humor filling his voice. “After I heard some cougar or something mauled you good up in those woods I learned how to handle a weapon. And every weekend for a year I went out there; never did find that thing though.”

“Good! I’m glad that you didn’t or else you’d have ended up like me.” Blake let silence fill the empty space between them and looked back towards the loft checking for where Natalie was. Placing his beer on the ground, he stood and put his back towards the wall. “Nick I’m gonna tell you something that you have to promise not to tell anyone. I mean it man, no one can hear what I am going to say.”

“Yeah Man I promise.”

“The reason you weren’t able to find the ‘cougar’ that got me is because the night I went missing I wasn’t attacked by some wild animal. It was something else; something bigger. You know how you always joked about there being other things out there; creatures of the night that hunt humans?”

“Oh so what are you telling me is that you weren’t abducted by aliens but that you got cut up by some Bigfoot or something?” Nick joked and elbowed Blake’s side. “Right. Next thing you know you’ll be trying to convince me of the existence of werewolves or something.” Nick’s laughter slowly died down when Blake didn’t join in the humor. “Oh come on! Werewolves?!”

“Shh! I’m not…” he closed the sliding glass door and moved back into his spot in front of Nick. “I’m not messing with you. I was attacked by a wolf, half man, half animal and it turned me. That’s the reason I’m standing here right now and not lying in that damn coffin!”

“Blake come on! Do you have any idea how completely psychotic you sound right now? Are you seriously telling me you think you’re a werewolf?”

“No! I’m not telling you I think I’m a werewolf! I’m telling you that 100%, without a doubt I AM a werewolf. Watch, I can prove it to you.” Looking back towards the house again, Blake made sure Natalie was far off away from them before reaching his hand towards Nick and extending his claws.

Nick jumped back in fear as he looked up into the glowing yellow eyes of his friend and the four very large, very sharp fangs that had taken up each corner of his jaw. The skin of his face took on a bushy thickness beneath brown fur and seemed to grow darker the brighter his eyes got. “Dude what the fuck!?” he yelled and nearly tripped over his own feet as he moved back.

“Relax, don’t – don’t do that please; don’t run from me. I’m not going to hurt you Nick I can control this thing…for the most part.”

“‘For the most part’? What the hell does that mean? Do you see what you look like? You’re a fucking…you’re a…a…what the fuck?! Is that why you’re wearing that mask, to hide yourself? That’s not normal Dude! What the fuck are you!?”

“I’m your friend,” Blake responded calmly as he retracted his claws and fangs. “I’m someone you used to regard as ‘Brother’ and someone you’ve known your whole life.” He sighed and dropped back onto the lounger and lowered his head into his hands. “Now you see why I couldn’t come back. I’ve been alone for four years Nick. Do you have any idea how hard it’s been for me? Knowing the people I love will never be able to know the truth? Knowing that I could never again be around anyone for fear of attacking them like that thing did to me? The worst feeling in the world was knowing that my Mother cried because of me and that I couldn’t be there to comfort her.”

Nick slowly started back towards Blake. Rolling over the information trying to figure out how best to process it, he grabbed one of the patio chairs from the other side of the deck and took a seat beside him. “She’s ok now, Bro. I visit her every week and check on her, she calls almost as often and she’s, she’s healing. It’s been slow but she’s getting there.”

“I know, and thank you,” Blake grinned at Nick’s confusion and answered before he could ask. “I’ve kinda been keeping my eyes on everyone. It’s the closest I could get to the real thing you know?”

“Right, yeah. I’m not gonna lie, that’s a little stalkerish,” he laughed and shook his head.

“Well what would you have me do? Just forget everyone and everything and pretend that when I died so did the rest of the world?”

“I guess not,” Nick sighed as he swallowed a mouthful of beer. “But just tell me you weren’t perving on me in the shower or anything right?” Blake shot him a look and Nick laughed boisterously at the accusation. “Sorry I had to ask. I mean…Dude, you’re a frickin’ wolf! How fucking awesome is that?”

“It’s not as glamorous as it seems.”

“Oh yeah? You have a taste for flesh? Howl at the full moon? Oh hey what do you do about fleas? Do werewolves get fleas?” Blake growled and Nick jumped back with a smile. “Easy Fido, I’m only teasing.”

“You seem to be taking this fairly well.”

“Dude we’ve been best buds since the fucking crib. I mean I taught you how to handle your first camera! What was I supposed to do? Run away screaming my head off like a girl when you came to me for help? Besides you know how I’ve always dug the idea of otherworldly creatures, wolves especially; so this is a majorly fucking big deal for me!”

“Well like I said it’s not as glamorous as it seems,” Blake paused a moment and noticed Natalie growing tired sitting alone in the living room. “I think there are dangerous times ahead for me now that I’ve come out of hiding. That’s why I need you to do me the favor and look after Natalie for me; just for a little while.”

“Yeah sure, I’ll take care of her Man, you can count on me.” Blake turned towards the railing and prepared himself to jump. “Hey wait a sec,” Nick stopped him before he moved and he turned to look at his friend. “Does she know about uh you know?”

“No Nick, you’re the only one I’ve told. Natalie thinks I’m some sort of escaped mental patient.”

“Ok well what do I say when she asks where you went?”

“Tell her I went to find the people that attacked us and she’ll be safe with you.”

“Attacked? What are you talking about?”

“I’ll explain later I promise. Just whatever you do, don’t let her leave,” he responded. Jumping over the railing he landed on all fours as he touched the ground.

“What? How am I supposed to do that? What do you want me to do? Drug her?”

“If you have to, I’ll be back as soon as I can.” Blake disappeared into the woods behind Nick’s place and he watched in silence as the branches bent beneath his trek.

“It was a joke,” Nick sighed silently to himself and looked back through the patio doors to find Natalie sitting quietly on his sofa.

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