Chapter Ten: John

Michael's transformation has taken place, and one citizen of the town fights to protect his family

              John sat next to his boarded-up window, peering between the cracks.  He was watching, waiting.  His family huddled in the next room, fearing what would happen.  John held his musket close.  He had a feeling he would use it tonight.  He only prayed it would be enough.  The moon peered out from behind the clouds.  Only minutes had passed before he could hear the first crash.  The sound came from the direction of the inn.  Mere minutes later, the first screams arose.  No.  That...thing is killing already!  John could hear his little Jacob whimpering in the next room and the soothing sounds his wife, his precious Mary made seemed forced.  John couldn't blame her, he doubted even he could comfort his little boy tonight. 
                Then he saw it.  A figure on all fours running through the street.  Something was in its mouth, but John had no desire to find out what.  The beast passed his house.  John breathed a sigh of relief.  It had skipped his family for tonight.  He shook himself.  It's not a time to let down your guard, John, He told himself.  It's still out there.  It was strange tonight, though.  There was only one wolf.  Usually two hunted the town together.  But this was unlikely to make a difference.  One wolf could destroy the town by itself. 
                 Crash!  The sound came from his own house!  The back door!  John picked up his gun and ran to his family.  No!  We barricaded the back door!  No!  Not us!  He pushed all thoughts from his mind except for one: protect his family.  He threw open the door and found Mary in pieces and Jacob lying in a pool of blood, looking up in horror at the wolf.  The beast saw John and rose to its hind legs, standing straight up.  It towered over John, but the fear didn't even register.  Blinded by rage, John didn't even fire his gun.  He charged the wolf, raising his weapon like a club.  The creature batted aside the gun and kicked John in the chest.  The man crumpled to the ground, trying desperately to breathe.  He used all his strength to raise the gun and fire.  The shot hit the wolf squarely in the shoulder, but it did not seem to even affect it.  The beast merely glanced at the wound before turning its attention back to John.  It snarled at him and settled back to all fours.  Then it bounded out the back door and down the alley behind the houses. 
                  John knelt next to his boy.  Jacob had been bitten in the leg but didn't seem to be hurt too badly.  John bandaged the wound and held his sobbing boy tightly to his chest, covering his eyes from the sight of his dismembered mother.  John's eyes stung, but he wasn't crying over the loss of his wife.  What burned in his eyes wasn't sadness; it was rage.  The beast was going to die.

Reviews

[Ardeth Lane]

Is Jacob going wolf now? I hope not, he's so young..

[loowzerX]

Haha you even used the name Jacob (subconciously you were thinking about twilight. ADMIT IT :P im kidding)
how sad @ wife and the emotions conveyed are very very very well expressed.

[Shin]

Damn, it's pretty sad his wife was killed, but what will happen to little Jacob? He was bitten, so the logical thing is that he too will suffer the werewolf changes... Let's see how this turns out, I'm loving even more your story.