Blood and Rain (14 page)

Chapter Twenty-Three

Nick opened his eyes against an impossibly bright light and felt a warm breeze dance across his body. He was stark naked, lying in his backyard, and hadn't a clue how he had ended up this way. Had he lost a whole night? He picked himself up off the lawn, noticing an instant change in his well-being.

Not only did he not feel like death, but quite the contrary—he felt outstanding. He heard every chirp from the creatures in the woods beyond his mother's broken fence, which her boyfriend Jerry promised to fix two months ago. He glanced around at the grass and could see every crimp and curve in each blade that surrounded him. He held his hands out to his sides and flexed. His muscles were hard, taut and strong.

Nick rose to his feet and noticed his nosey neighbor, Tina Bazinet, staring at him from behind a transparent curtain in one of her back bedrooms. He looked down at his own nakedness and leered back at her. Her mouth dropped, and he could have sworn that he'd also heard the gasp as it escaped past her false teeth. He waved.

She screamed and ran from the window, disappearing out of sight. She would probably call the police, but what the fuck did he care. Let her. He would be gone by the time they managed to mosey on over here. He had better things to do. The sun was shining high up in the sky, and he felt that he should be out enjoying its warmth and beauty.

Nick stepped through the back door and found Jerry at the counter, pouring a cup of coffee.

“Ah…sorry, Nick,” Jerry said. He shielded his eyes and scurried out of the room. “I guess you didn't know I was here.”

Nick followed him to the doorway.

Jerry sat on the couch.

“Your mom had to go to help her friend Cindy with some errands. She should be back around noon.”

Nick felt his mouth tighten; then his teeth, protruding from his gums, began to fall to the floor with a series of tiny taps. The taste of blood on his lips elicited an electric charge within him. His labored breaths were loud to his ears.

“You okay…?” Jerry craned his neck away from the morning show on the television.

“Jesus, Nick. Your mouth…” Jerry's eyes went wide, his skin transparent. His heart beat like a conga drum in Nick's ears.

“What the fuck is going on?” Jerry stepped and stumbled over the glass-covered coffee table. His mug hit the rug below him with a whispered
thud
that to Nick sounded like the thump of a book on concrete.

Jerry fell on his elbow before the television stand. He held his hand up to ward off Nick. The hand quivered. “You, you, you…” he stammered.

Nick was on top of him in seconds. Jerry's shriek was interrupted as Nick's bloody mouth—his jaws now extended, his new teeth dripping crimson—chomped down over the man's maw. Jerry's body jerked, his hands and feet flailed in spasms.

Nick savored the crunch of his mother's boyfriend's teeth and bones in his mouth before he spat them to the floor. He rose up and noticed the black daggers at the ends of his fingers.

There was a mirror in the bathroom.

His swollen forehead appeared heavy over eyes that were yellowing from the edges inward. The bloody fangs in his large mouth were stained pink. The coppery taste on his tongue only made him crave more. His knuckles were also swollen, shaping his hands into claws. Whatever he was becoming wasn't waiting for the moon to replace the morning sun. This beast was not chained to the night.

Nick stepped out into the morning, his changing form naked for the world, or his neighbors, to see. He'd never been so alive. He clenched and unclenched his hands. His body and mind were exploding with cravings, the majority of which were nasty, even vile. He ran across the road and into the woods. He headed toward Emerson Lake, with images of sun, sex and blood playing before his jaundiced eyes.

Tina Bazinet sat anxiously holding a cigarette in one shaking hand, a loaded shotgun in the other, and awaited the arrival of the Gilson Creek Sheriff's Department. She had watched out her kitchen window as that pervert next door, Nick Bruce, stood naked in his driveway flexing his hands.

As she watched him, she realized he didn't look right. The smile on his face seemed somehow unnatural to her. And his face, especially his mouth, looked funny. Like a kid with fake vampire teeth in his mouth. Complete with fake blood. She felt a malevolent weight to the air suddenly press down on her.

He crossed the road and disappeared into the woods. That man was going to do something very bad. She wasn't sure where that ominous thought had come from, just that it was right. She lit another cigarette and continued to wait.

Deputy Clarke arrived ten minutes later.

Chapter Twenty-Four

Too much booze spilled around inside of Joel's head like poisoned sludge. He was grateful at least to find Wes up and at it. The car was loaded. Wes slammed the passenger door and grinned.

“Coffee, bud?” Joel said.

“There's some in the lobby.”

“That shit?”

“Hey, it's free.”

“And it will make me crap like I just ate a bunch of dead people.”

Wes walked in past him. “We can hit the Dunkin' Donuts on our way out. You gonna shower?”

“Nah, figure my stink will help attract our specimen.”

“Ha, more like scare it away. Well, man, if you're ready, grab your shit and let's get goin'.”

Joel grabbed his Chucks from the end of his bed and threw them on. “Ready. We are coming back tonight, right?”

“Yeah, unless you get eaten.”

“Shithead.”

They rode in silence. Joel's excitement from last night crashed into a wall of anxiety. He wasn't afraid, exactly, but all of the other emotions seemed to be hitching along. Wes's creased brow and clenched jaw told Joel that his friend was feeling it as well.

“Is this it?” Joel said. Two four-foot-high blocks of concrete marked the dirt road that appeared to descend into the mouth of the woods.

Wes turned the car onto the gravel. The faded sign came into sight.
Emerson Lake Open Sunrise to Sunset. Lifeguard on Duty. Swim Safe.

A freshly painted sign just below it read
TONIGHT ONLY: BEACH CLOSES AT 5 p.m. NO EXCEPTIONS
.

“Owooo.” Joel laughed.

Wes stopped the car and reached in the backseat.

“What are you doin'?”

Wes aimed one of his cameras at the signs and snapped a photo. “In case we get enough to dedicate the whole issue to our little wolfy.”

“Right on.”

Surprisingly, they weren't the first ones there. About ten other cars and Jeeps were parked in the grass parking lot.

“Pig, dude.” Joel pointed at the cruiser on the far right.

“Okay, here's what we'll do. We'll go set up the park first, and then come back here when the place is packed. We'll blend in a lot better with a crowd.”

Sonya checked the window. Heath's Jetta was parked in the driveway.

“Come on, hot stuff,” Kim shouted from the passenger side.

“Be right down.”

Sonya pushed the sunscreen lotion into her backpack, threw on her sunglasses and strolled out her bedroom door. She hopped down the stairs and saw the yellow notepad on the couch.

Hey, honey,

I know this is a lot to ask, but I really need you to stay home today. Alex and the gang can come over if they want. I left thirty bucks on the counter if you guys want to order in. There's supposed to be a wicked storm later. I just want you kids off the road tonight.

Love you,

Daddy

Bullshit. She already had plans. Like she'd told Alex's Uncle Ted, there hadn't been one single animal attack in nearly a month.

Sonya grabbed a bottle of water from the fridge and went to meet her friends.

“Hey, lady,” Kim said. “What took you so long?”

She climbed into the backseat. “My dad left me a note. I'm supposed to stay home.”

“What? Why?”

“I don't know, but I did hear him on the phone last night saying that he's closing down the lake at five. He did say you guys can hang out here?”

Heath met her eyes in the rearview. “Under the sheriff's watchful eye? I don't think so. Besides, we agreed—beach and then movies. I'm seeing the new Spider-Man movie today. Everyone has seen it but me.”

“Shut up,” Kim said. She slapped his arm. “We can still do both, right, Sonya?”

“I don't know? Why don't we just get to the beach and we'll take it from there?”

“I'm down for staying here tonight,” Kim said.

Heath sighed. “Well, the movie starts at four. I'm goin' to the movie.”

Kim looked back at her. “We'll hit the beach, catch some sun, grab some lunch, head to the movies and be back here by dark. Me and Alex went and saw Spider-Man already, but it's definitely worth seeing twice.”

Sonya didn't want to worry her dad, but she knew it was really the night that he was stressing about. “Okay, that's the plan. For now.”

“Good, are we ready? Can we get this show on the road?” Heath said.

Kim looked at Sonya. They both burst out laughing.

“Okay, you guys have your fun. Payback's coming at the beach.” Heath reached over and squeezed Kim's knee.

She laughed and slapped his hand away.

He grinned and backed the car into the road.

Sonya saw Mr. Donavan out on his porch, smoking his pipe. She waved.

He nodded in return.

“So what time is Alex off?” Kim said.

“He said Josh only needed him for one job this morning, but that it involved lifting an engine out, so it could take a while. Said he'll call when they're just about done.”

“That's cool. We can have some girl time while he's slaving in this heat.”

“What the hell am I supposed to do?”

“Oh calm down,” Kim said. “You brought your cooler full of ‘iced tea'. You can drink and swim.”

“That sounds safe. How about we have a three-way instead?”

Kim smacked his arm again. “You wish, jerk.”

“C'mon, babe, you know I'm joking. I would never touch another girl.” Heath's eyes glanced to Sonya in the rearview mirror. “No offense, Sonya.”

She waved him off. “None taken.”

“You'll be fine,” Kim said. She leaned across the center console and kissed his cheek. She turned to Sonya. “So the beach closes at five today?”

“Yep. Dad's orders.”

“Lame. Oh well, we'll probably leave around two or so. Otherwise we'll burn up like a couple of lobsters.”

Sonya waited for Heath's wolfman comment. He didn't offer one.
Curious.
“Oh, I almost forgot.” She pawed through the front of her bag. “Here, can you put this in?”

Kim took the CD from her hand. “Full Moon Fever?”

“Trust me. Just put it in.”

The opening chords to a Tom Petty classic wafted through the car.

“I love this song!” Kim said. She turned it up.

Perfect summer song for a perfect summer day.
Sonya leaned back and watched her town whiz by the window.

Joe got an early jump on the day. He'd driven up and down both Christie Road and Old Gilson Creek Road twice already. “Calm before the storm” was a cliché, but damn if it wasn't true of this morning. This town was beautiful. He'd lived here his entire life. Met Lucy here, had Sonya. For all the heartache in the last decade, he wouldn't change a thing.

He was grateful to have Randy on board and seemingly ready for what the night might bring. They had decided to break the truth to Clarke and Glescoe. They were good kids, but they didn't have the pedigree or the experience of Somers or Paulson. They were raw, innocent. Hell, they might even think he was fucking with them.

Werewolf.

They'd think he was as crazy as Old Mike. Whatever the case, his back was now firmly pinned against the proverbial wall. He decided to let Hines and Glescoe catch a little more shut-eye before hauling them in for the meeting. Though, he was sure Randy's sleep was probably as useful as his had been.

It was hard to close your eyes and not see the blood. Joe didn't like the bad feeling that seemed to slowly be conquering his confidence, either. That awful dread, that this time things weren't going to go down as easily.

Daylight was burning fast. It was nearly noon already. He'd spent part of the morning reassuring people that the Full Moon Monster was just a bunch of rubbish concocted by a couple of punks trying to sell copies of their trash rag.

Hazel Betts called in and said she saw something lurking around her garage. Something just like Theresa Turcott described
.

Damn those
Insider
jerks.

Dwayne had to leave his spot at the lake to find out what the hell Tina Bazinet was freaking out about. Something about a naked man in her backyard.

Joe had hoped his town would keep it together a little better than this, but the combination of boredom and supernatural hype was apparently too much to handle for some small-town minds.

“Sheriff?”

“Go ahead, Rita.”

“Pug Gettis just called. He wants you to come out to his property. Says something has his dogs howling and growling. Says he's convinced there's something in the woods that's causing them to go crazy.”

Here we go again.

“I'm out that way now, Rita. I'll swing by.”

Nick Bruce slipped through the forest, quick and agile as any ninja he'd ever seen in a movie, hell, more like a cheetah in the Sahara. He stopped at the site of Christie Road. He was near the spot where the sheriff had turned him around the night that out-of-towner's body was found mangled and mutilated. A glimmer from the ditch before him caught his attention. He reached down and picked up a rearview mirror. Checking his stinging eyes in the reflection, Nick Bruce saw the thick mix of orange and yellow around his larger-than-normal pupils. His mouth, still smeared with blood, jutted forward a good four inches from where it normally was. He knew what was happening. Belief was not a choice.

He
was the Full Moon Monster. He was the wolfman. He wondered what the final result might be. Would he remember it? Would he have control? He turned his hungry eyes to the other side of road and dropped the mirror. His destination was on the opposite side of town out by Old Gilson Creek Road. He bolted across the empty street and headed toward Emerson Lake.