A Dream in the Deep Forest
Full Moon! Time to howl. And time for another half wolf, half man tale. Enter the deep forest and read another werewolf story, also published originally in the Daily Prompt app. Awhoooo!
A Dream in the Deep Forest
I had a very bad feeling about camping in a forest where we had never been before. Not that I was afraid to get lost or that we’d be attacked by bears, it was something stronger than that. A foreboding I couldn’t explain.
‘Don’t be such a sissy,’ Stan, my older brother, mocked me. ‘It’s going to be fun exploring a new place.’
My youngest sister Sally giggled. She was only 8 but she already shared Stan’s adventurous spirit. I too was adventurous but I really didn’t like this idea. I just couldn’t explain why so I kept to myself to avoid further mockery and discomfort. My parents decided to join too.
Nothing could have prepared me though for what happened on our first night in the tent. I was the first to snuggle into my sleeping bag, even before Sally did. I heard my family chat outside while they drank hot chocolate and chatted about past events. I could see the bonfire flames swirling and slowly assisting me to drift away to La La land along with the sound of the crickets and frogs croaking somewhere in the distance.
Everything was peaceful except for a sudden vicious growling I heard. I couldn’t understand where it was coming from. It seemed to come from me, from my stomach. But hey, stomachs don’t growl like that even if starved. I tried to open my eyes but couldn’t. I heard screams from outside. Whatever that thing was, it was attacking my family.
‘Matt!’ I heard Stan shout my name before an horrifying gurgling sound invaded my ears and my mind.
I saw his eyes staring directly at mine in sheer horror. I was there but for some reason I wasn’t of any help. I just couldn’t stop the carnage. I saw Sally running away to the woods as my father dropped on the ground bleeding profusely from his chest and throat. I tried to go after her but my body wouldn’t obey. Then I saw my dead mother on the ground, fright still dancing macabrely in her lifeless eyes. What was going on? Why couldn’t I protect my family?
When I finally managed to open my eyes, the sun was starting to rise.* I exhaled a deep sigh. Thank goodness it had all been a nightmare. I sat on my sleeping bag still confused though. Where was Stan? Where was Sally? They were supposed to be sharing the tent with me but they weren’t there. Then I noticed the tent was open. Actually not just open. The entrance was ripped off. I panted as I jumped off my bag and was suddenly outside wide awake.
‘Mom, Dad!’ I shouted, fear and despair taking over my body. “Stan, Sally!’
A spasm swept through my body as I saw my brother lying dead on the ground, his throat slit. What the hell had happened? Had my dream actually been real? But if we had been attacked, how was I still alive? Whatever had attacked us, why had it not killed me? Or maybe I was dead and didn’t know?
Suddenly I was aware of myself. I stared at my hands and pyjamas. They were ripped but the worst was all the blood around. My hands were caked with earth and blood and even small pieces of wood. I had been attacked too, yet whatever it was had let me live. How come my skin was whole though? I didn’t have a single scratch but I had blood on me.
Tears came to my eyes. Why? Why kill my family but let me survive? What was going on?
I thought of Sally. She had run away to the woods. Could she have escaped the massacre? I darted to the woods too in the direction she had followed, praying with all my heart that she was still alive.
‘Sally! Sally!’
Only silence replied. Not even a bird was chirping. I had been right about not wanting to camp in this infernal forest. Now all I could do was try to find my sister and go to the closest police station. The future would tell how we’d recover from this dreadful trauma.
‘Sally! Sally!” I shouted again as I gave a few steps forward.
This time I heard cries and sobs. Sally! She was still alive, thank God. I ran towards the cries as fast as my traumatised legs allowed me. I found her sitting next to a huge oak, her small body shaking with sobs.
‘My God, Sally, you’re alive!’
If I had expected her to jump into my arms for a tight hug, I was in for one of the worst shocks of my life. Sally’s eyes widened in horror as she saw me. She jumped from her spot and walked backwards.
‘Stay away from me, Matt! Go away!’ she screeched.
The words were stuck in my throat as I extended my dirty hand towards her, pleadingly.
‘It’s ok…’ I finally let out. My throat was parched. It didn’t even sound like my voice.
‘You killed mom and dad and Stan!’ she yelled, tears leaving a white trail through her muddy face.
‘No, no, no! That’s not true. It was some vicious creature, some beast.’
‘It was YOU!” she was now as angry as horrified, I saw her cheeks flushing behind the dirt. ‘I saw you coming out of the tent. You had big teeth and big claws. It was YOU!’
‘No, the beast also attacked me but let me live. I…’
But as she let out a deafening NO and cried like mad, everything started to make horrible sense in my mind. The growl I thought had come from my stomach. Stan staring at me in the eyes while dying. Me unable to help my family. My torn pyjamas yet not a scratch on my skin. All the blood and dirt on me. Dear God, what had I become? What had I done?
Sally ran away again screaming but I just couldn’t follow this time. Tears rolled down my cheeks and a lump nearly suffocated me. Hopelessness made me fall on my knees and dizziness made my head spin. I wanted to vomit. What could my life be from now on if a bloodthirsty beast dwelled within?´
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Enjoyed this story? Check some of my other Werewolf Stories, which
I post every Full Moon:
Officer Brooks' Creepy Blue Eyes
Midnight Shift at the Zoology Museum
Or some of my non-werewolf stories:
Fluffy, the Spiteful Cat
Behold the Brave New World
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