'Monsters': Pre-Order Sneak Peek

while I finish getting the pre-order information together, here is a bonus sneak peek of 'Monsters'

Kurt squinted into the darkness, trying to see who the voice had come from.  A man stepped forward, silhouetted against the light coming from the far end of the room.  From what Kurt could see, he had slicked down short hair and a slender face.  He appeared to be wearing a suit, the outline of a collar and jacket visible where his neck joined his shoulders.  Wisps of smoke came up from a cigarillo held between his fingers.

“Kurt Farkas, I take it?”  The same voice as before said.  “I’m Miles.”

“Yeah I’m Kurt.  And if you are who he said, you know I am about to transform into a wolf in about twenty minutes or less.”

“Yes yes.  I suppose you are right, no time for idle chit-chat.  What did he tell you about me?”  Miles took a puff of his cig, the smoke billowing around his head.

“Said you were some kind of dog trainer.  That there wasn’t an animal you couldn’t tame.”

“He was right about that.”  Miles walked to the far wall.  “I have been a dog trainer for some time.  Spent a few years in Berlin training circus animals: the wildest and baddest there were.  Nobody had wanted them until I got ahold of them.  So once I got back to the states, I decided that I wanted to try something new.”  He flipped a switch on the wall and the whole room was illuminated by old fluorescent light fixtures.  “I wanted a new challenge, and to help.”

Miles was tall and slender, his slicked hair jet black and parted on the side.  He had an aquiline nose.  He looked as if he had once been quite handsome, his face now lined by premature aging, probably due to his work and smoking.  Kurt guessed that he was not much over forty.  He had narrow hazel eyes, his face set in a seemingly permanent serious expression.

“Why help me?”  Kurt asked suspiciously.

“Because, I heard that you were looking for a way to lead a fairly normal life.  And I have been working with wild and disobedient animals for so long, I want to shift my work to helping people.”  He put his cigarillo out in an ashtray on a nearby table.  “If I can tame the wolf inside you, I could revolutionize living arrangements for werewolves all around this area - maybe even around the world.”  A small smile spread across his thin lips.  “It’s time your kind stopped having to hide.”

Kurt looked out the door.  The sky had grown darker, he knew he did not have much time before the transformation.  “What are you proposing?”

“Come with me.”  Miles motioned to a back room and Kurt approached him.  Miles stood next to him a moment, shoving his hand at Kurt.  Kurt looked at him blankly.  “Well shake it,” Miles said, snickering, “we’re business partners now.”

Kurt smiled slightly and shook Miles’ hand, following him into the back room.  Miles flipped another switch and a large steel-barred cage came into view.

“A cage?”  Kurt felt his heart sink.

“Only until I can teach you certain commands.  Heaven knows I wouldn’t want to put either of us in any real danger until I see what kind of contro- how easy it is to tame you.”  Kurt looked at the cage uncertainly.  “What have you got to lose?”  Miles urged him.

Kurt knew he did not have much time to deliberate about it.  “Alright.  I guess we can give it a shot.”

“Excellent.”  Miles rubbed his hands together, opening the cage for Kurt to go inside.  As Miles locked the door behind him, Kurt’s whole body began to convulse.  His skin began to ripple.  He clenched and unclenched his fists as he bent over, the bones in his back beginning to shift position.  “No!”  He cried out, his cry turning into a growl as hair sprouted on his face and worked its way down his neck to his torso.  Hair sprouted up on his arms and his nails grew into pointed claws.  His face began to elongate and take on a canine look, his hair assimilating into the fur now covering his head as his ears became more pointed.

He stood in the center of the cage, breathing heavily.  His now-black nose twitched and he suddenly turned to face Miles through the bars, his eyes no longer housing any humanity, now a bright yellow.  Miles stood confidently, popping his knuckles.  Kurt let out a loud roar and began to charge the bars.