Liquid Imagination Where Reality and Fantasy Blur Presents a Liquid Imagination Publication
Tooth and Claw:: a werewolf anthology
Publisher: John “JAM” Arthur Miller Managing Editor: Sue Babcock Editor: Kevin Wallis Cover Art: Sue Babcock Liquid Imagination, Tooth and Claw: a werewolf anthology, Copyright ©2013. All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be used or reproduced in any manner whatsoever without written permission except in the case of brief quotation embodied in critical articles or reviews. For information contact liquidimagination@gmail.com All stories herein have been compiled by Liquid Imagination under Liquid Imagination Publications. These are works of fiction. All characters and events protrayed in this book are either products of the author’s imagination or are fictitiously used. ISBN 978-0-9848590-0-9 Liquid Imagination Publications 7800 Loma Del Norte NE Albuquerque, NM 87109 www.liquid-imagination.com First Edition
INTRODUCTION by Linda Manning The werewolf mythos has spanned world cultures for hundreds of years. Recognized within the transmutational human-wolf creature of European heritage, the essence of this story pads through time with different feet, different faces, and different fangs. Indeed, if we include African werehyenas, shamanist animal totems, Egyptian theriocephalic creatures such as Ra, and the hybrids found in cave paintings, it can be argued that this myth has been following us throughout human history. Many cultures have embraced the dream of acquiring animal traits to enhance the human condition – the eyes of an eagle, the power of a tiger, the survivability of reptiles. This magic has been celebrated in our arts as a means to co-exist with hostile environments as well as to provide a vehicle into other levels of existence such as meditative journey or an afterlife. Religion has provided explanation for many a confusing thing, but what forces are at play when the human psyche snaps? Consider Dr. Jekyll serving tea to a charming Lon Chaney in a comfortably ordered parlor. No social rules are broken, no one gets hurt. Empires can be planned under such conditions. Outside, in the shadows of darkened streets, Mr. Hyde may roam freely with a wolf at his side, both fulfilling their natural animal tendencies by feeding base desires. The world continues to turn in a predictable way. As we strive toward the apex of civilization, we find that it is truly unreachable. Our existence in nature is irrevocably defined by having an animal tethered to our spirit. Such is the human paradox. Such is the heart and soul of myth.
Table of Contents INTRODUCTION by Linda Manning
iv
Werewolves Are Real by John “JAM” Arthur Miller
1
Taken Care Of by John Logan
5
Common Scents by John “JAM” Arthur Miller 17
Red Riding Wolf By Neil John Buchanan
29
Class Reunion By Robert C. Eccles
41
One of Those Things by Graeme Reynolds
45
Dark Virus by Sue Babcock
53
The Ravenous By Lucas Pederson
65
Werewolf Contingency Plan by Neil John Bucanan
87
Werewolves Are Real by John “JAM” Arthur Miller
Liminality Werewolves are real. They exist as metaphors that still influence society today. Before Dr. Bruce Banner’s repressed rage transformed him into the Hulk, before the strange case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde found its way into literature, there were only wolves terrorizing villages and plundering sheep in Europe. Sometimes nature produced wolves as heavy as 10 stones (110 lbs) that preyed on humans (Copper 69). Over time those wolves transformed, infiltrating our minds where they began to sniff out the dark places within our souls. When we allowed them inside, they consumed self-restraint, leaving nothing but the beast. Liminality was the result: a physically weak doctor transforming into a hulking monster; a gentle physician becoming a vicious cane-wielding murderer; the lycanthrope standing at the threshold of deep woods, removing the weakness of his village’s morality in order to bring down the weak. When the wolf manifests, it allows nature red in tooth and claw to evolve to the front of the pack. Gone are human restraints; all that remains is the urge to kill, consume and rend human flesh. Page 1
Tooth and Claw: a werewolf anthology
illustration by Jack S. Rogers
Taken Care Of by John Logan Dehydrated leather, brittle and sharp, bit into the skin behind Tim’s leg, and he scooted side to side as he looked for a more comfortable place to sit. He couldn’t find it. “Uncle Luke?” he said. His uncle lifted his eyes to the rearview mirror. “Yes?” “Are we almost there?” “No.” “Halfway there?” Uncle Luke shook his long, stately head back and forth like his neck needed a grease fitting. His bushy sideburns raked against his high collar. “No, sorry.” Tim stared at his uncle in the rearview, studying him for the first time since the trip began. Uncle Luke returned the stare, occasionally glancing at the road in front of him. For the past hour, there had been nothing but long straight roads and endless grassy fields. “Dad used to tell me . . . we’ll get there when we get there,” Tim said. Page 6
Tooth and Claw: a werewolf anthology
illustrated by Jack S. Rogers
Common Scents by John “JAM” Arthur Miller I remember the scent of wet fur and the musk of desire from the females. It was when my Pack met for Jubilee in the woods north of the metropolis, outside New York City. I sniffed again, the smell of females overpowering. Yet sealed in a plastic bag within my pocket burned my salvation, preventing temptation. Inside the plastic bag was a handkerchief that held the scent of my lover. When alone, I whiffed the handkerchief and whined. The smell reminded me of last time— Even now I want her! —we were together. When I left the Packs, it was to see this woman… a human. It didn’t matter that it was against the law. I had to see her. While the Packs howled beneath the full moon, I sneaked to my Landrover and drove twenty miles. Gravel crunched beneath my suede shoes outside Jimmy’s Bar and Grille. A cacophony of noise exploded as I opened the door and stepped inside. A heartfelt rush swept through me when I saw Samantha. An additional surge of excitement exploded through my veins when she touched my wrist. She gave a smile, gestured at the empty barstool beside her. Page 18
Tooth and Claw: a werewolf anthology
Illustrated by Jack S. Rogers
Red Riding Wolf By Neil John Buchanan We watch the Lancaster bomber explode out of the night as if cast from the hand of God. The fuselage, warped into a metal ball, sets fire to the trees of Central Boulevard before punching through the roof of the Wilheim Church. “Wasn’t Ma buried there?” Silda says, slipping her hand into mine. “Yes.” I lead her away from the flaming wreckage. “But she was a bitch and better off dead.” Silda resembles an angelic cherubim standing amidst the carnage in her cotton nightgown and tiedback hair. The gown remains spotless, unlike my skirt which is stained a uniform grey, and not for the first time I wonder how we could be sisters. We pass two abandoned cars and the charred remains of a bus, its wheels melted to the tarmac. A skeletal figure, still wearing his conductor’s hat, remains propped behind the seat. “What about him?” Silda says. “We can do better.” Silda’s face has drained of colour; her mouth is a puckered hole, and her eyes sunken pits. Blood drips from the ravaged wound in her throat. Page 30
Tooth and Claw: a werewolf anthology
illustrated by Sue Babcock
Class Reunion By Robert C. Eccles He had been the captain of the football team and pretty much the most popular guy on campus, but high school reunions had never appealed much to Jim Bader. Of course that was before he became a vampire. Now he actually looked forward to seeing some of his classmates again, especially the ones who had been a pain in his ass. Jim pinned his name tag on as he walked into the banquet hall. The tag included his high school yearbook picture, his name and his occupation, which he had boldly given as “vampire,” figuring everyone would get a big laugh out of it. As Jim wandered through the crowd he saw that most of the girls he had found attractive in high school had either ballooned in weight, lost much of their hair or otherwise held little interest for him. The exception stood at the bar; a tall, leggy creature with long, chestnut hair. She wore a skintight sequined red dress, stockings (the ones with the line up the back) and red stiletto heels. She looked familiar, but Jim couldn’t see her name tag. He ogled her as she walked from the bar back to her table. As she reached the table a scrawny man sporting bent wire-frame glasses and a comb-over held her chair out for her. She kissed him on the cheek and sat down. Jim didn’t have to look at the guy’s name tag to figure out that this gorgeous woman had come to the reunion with none other than the class dweeb, Chester Nelson. Page 42
Tooth and Claw: a werewolf anthology
illustrated by Sue Babcock
One of Those Things by Graeme Reynolds February 6th 1993. Metro Centre Shopping Mall. 16.45hrs A pudgy hand grabbed the elevator door just before it closed. The doors slid open, and a large woman with arms full of shopping and a small fat child in tow forced their way into the already crowded elevator. “Room for a small one?” she said to the other occupants. No one said anything, but a silent communal groan hung in the air as people shoved and jostled to let the woman in. She turned to a middle aged man who was crushed against the controls with his wife and teenage son. “Can you press number six for me?” The man turned, pushed the button and elbowed his wife in the process. “Oh for goodness sake, George. Can you try to be a bit more careful?” George winked at his teenage son. “I’m sorry, Caroline, but there’s not much space to move. Anyway, I’m sure it was John that elbowed you, not me.” John reached across and punched his father on the shoulder. “Stop trying to get me in trouble, Dad. You know she’ll go on about it for ages.” Caroline wriggled to face her son. “John Simpson, don’t you talk to me like that.” Page 46
Tooth and Claw: a werewolf anthology
illustrated by Jack S. Rogers
Dark Virus by Sue Babcock If you’d asked me a month ago if I would kill, I would have said no. I would have said that I am neither brave nor feral enough. I would have been fooling myself, for civilization is not even skin deep. Oct 3 What I know about werewolves was written on the palm of my hand, notes cribbed during stolen minutes at work. My palm read “full moon bite lycanthrope virus science fiction myths.” This will be a great Halloween party. I would do anything for my son—what mother wouldn’t?—even though the whole idea of Halloween disturbs me. Oct 4 A darkness more than a shadow but less than a cloud passed over my window tonight. Even as I searched for ideas for Donny’s party, awful pictures filled the pages. Illustrations I would swear were photographs had they been about any other subject. “A curse,” the caption of a photograph showing a tiny vacant village set amid tall oaks and broad mulberries proclaimed, “is said to have caused a sickness that spread through this entire town. All other villages and towns in the area seem to have been spared from the illness.” I shivered as I peered out my window into a thick blackness. Lights from the park across the street Page 54
Tooth and Claw: a werewolf anthology
illustrated by Sue Babcock
The Ravenous By Lucas Pederson You know it’s about to happen. And you know you’ll be too slow to stop it.
*** Somewhere just beyond the glow of the garage lights, beyond the edge of the woods across the driveway, a stick snaps. The frogs and crickets serenading the night pause. Josh Connor straightens in the walk-in door of his parent’s garage. A double jet of smoke shoots from his nostrils. His heart quickens like a spooked gazelle. Absently, he takes another drag from his cigarette, blows out silvery smoke. It swirls around him, lifts into the night like magic mist. After a moment or two of scowling at the woods, Josh’s body slackens. Just a deer. Page 66
Tooth and Claw: a werewolf anthology
Werewolf Contingency Plan by Neil John Bucanan Imagine you’re out camping in the woods at night when a haunting cry echoes through the trees. You consider running but are frozen in place by an animalistic growl. Emerging from the dark is a creature straight from legend - the werewolf. What do you do? Run for your life, and try to make it to the car – never happen – or pull out your trusted .44 Magnum and offload six wonderful rounds of pure silver into its hairy ass, because unlike other potential victims you had the good sense to prepare a werewolf contingency plan. Werewolves have been amongst us for centuries. Perhaps they’ve always been here, waiting in the shadows, ready to pounce. Earliest mentions of the werewolf stem from the Greek legends of the Arcadian king, Lycaon, who was transformed into a wolf-man by the god Zeus after Lycaon tried to serve him human flesh. But to be fair, werewolves didn’t hit their stride until the Middle Ages where superstition and ignorance were the order of the day. In this festering pot of paranoia and indifference the werewolf thrived. Untold hundreds were murdered for lycanthropy or consulting with the devil. It seemed for a while you couldn’t pop down to the local butchers without being attacked by a werewolf or two. Think of all those deaths that could have been avoided if only they’d put a little planning into their full moon excursions. Page 87
Tooth and Claw: a werewolf anthology