PUBLISHED BY DESKTOPEPICS Entertainment.
PO Box 1841
Marietta, GA 30156
Copyright © 2010 by Corey A. Burkes
Burkes logo design: The Fabulatory, LLC by A.J Dewey of the fabulatory.com.
All Rights Reserved.
Printed in the United States of America
Library of Congress Control Number: 2010932348
ISBN: 0-9796352-2-5
ISBN-13: 978-0-9796352-2-9
First Edition, July 2010
10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1
No part of this document or the related files may be reproduced, edited, changed or transmitted in any form, by any means (electronic, photocopying, recording, or otherwise) without the prior written permission of the publisher. A free short story does not equate to ‘public domain’.
Limit of Liability and Disclaimer of Warranty
The publisher has used its best efforts in preparing this book, and the information provided herein is provided "as is." DesktopEpics Entertainment makes no representation or warranties with respect to the accuracy or completeness of the contents of this book and specifically disclaims any implied warranties of merchantability or fitness for any particular purpose and shall in no event be liable for any loss of profit or any other commercial damage, including but not limited to special, incidental, consequential, or other damages.
This story is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, and incidents either are the product of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously, and any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, business establishments, events or locales is entirely coincidental … except Byrd Street, Hempstead Long Island. That’s an actual location.
If you purchased this eBook at any cost, other than nominal download fees, if applicable by a third-party distributor, you should be aware that this eBook is 100% freely downloadable. Please report any sites offering this eBook at a retail cost.
Creative License
This story is an adaptation from the original 2006 short film of the same name. Elements of this short story may be different than the original to expand on the fictional concept and, quite frankly, the author wanted to add a little more flavor.
The original film can be viewed through YouTube at:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gtljCR59hpg
As always … For my children
and the original cast
Toni
Jason
Maghan
Christian
Natal
Alexxis
Richard
Alixyandra
And Trina
Hempstead, New York
Saturday Morning
11:50am
“The Daylight Werewolf?” Toni, 8-years-old, read aloud shuffling 8 ½ x 11 printed sheets of paper under the low light conditions of the wolf bunker; a cardboard housing made from various old washing machine boxes with a singular slit in the side for external vision … as well as air. “Where’d you get this stuff?”
“I Googled it,” responded Teddy—the blond, focused 9-year-old sharing the cramped and enclosed space with his one of very few close friends. “Keep reading. You need to know everything I know.”
Toni sighed, tying back her excessively flowing jet black hair and wiping sweat away from her brow. Regardless of how good their friendship may be, even the tightest of spaces will gnaw at a best friend’s nerve.
“A werewolf in folklore and mythology is a person who shape shifts into a wolf, either purposely using magic or after being placed under a curse.”
“This one was cursed.” His teeth grinded the bubblegum in his mouth into flavorless goo, reminding him how certain jobs will be just as tasteless, at best … but someone had to do it.
Between the two hung a knotted rope latched to a hook; swaying through a hole in the roof of the box leading outside. The rope was apparently under a great amount of tension.
“Teddy, come in.” A radio by Teddy’s leg blared out a request from his second and final friend that completed his small circle. Russell did not sound very patient.
“You going to answer that?” Toni asked.
“Sssh. Read.”
One could feel Toni’s annoyance; raising the box temperature a notch higher within the cardboard shelter. “This particularly rare breed of …” she struggled with the words, “Ortus Solis Sapien Lupus completes its change to wolf only in sunlight, as opposed to moonlight, for … Are you kidding me?”
He looked back at Toni with the most serious of expressions.
Toni was unimpressed. “Only one hour in the morning? Once every five years? On a Saturday? Come on!”
“Do you think I would waste my allowance and Christmas loot building this network of the finest wolf trapping gear if I were playing around?”
Toni looked about the dilapidated and sagging box, tapping the rope hanging in front of her. “Nice investment. Remind me never to ask you to buy me anything … with my money.”
“Teddy!” Russell begged from the radio.
“What kind of inconvenient werewolf has such a tight and pointless window of time?” She mocked. “Hey, look at me. I’m the Daylight Werewolf. Oops. Here I go. I’m changing … all done. See you in five years on a Saturday … provided the Jets aren’t playing. Oh, excuse me … let’s back up. Who believes in werewolf’s in the first place? PychosaysIdo.”
“I do!” He said, checking the time. “It’s ten minutes to twelve. We already lost the better part of the hour and it’s still out there.”
“How do you know what hour he … hey, maybe she … will turn into a wolf?”
“It’s a he. I’m sure of it. Sunrise was 6:15am. I’ve tracked this wolf’s changing pattern since I first came across it and after researching others of its kind …”
“So you first …? Wait. You actually saw it? When?” Toni did the math on her fingers, shaking her head at him. “Every five years, so you were what? Four? Five years old? I knew you since we were three. You never told me any of this when you were throwing your pull-ups at me.”
“Because you’d think I was crazy.”
“Agreed.”
“Umm … Teddy … hello?” Russell’s voice and pacing sounded hurried. “Get at me!”
“If this is gonna happen,” Teddy spat his worn out gum aside through a flip out slot to his left, emphasizing the importance of his statement with a dramatic pause. “It’s gonna happen right here … right now.”
Toni rolled her eyes at him.
∞
11:51am
The rope between them continued to sway from by gravitational forces outside of the bunker: starting with a series of pulleys attached to the ground on the side of Teddy’s home, to the old rickety tree blanketing his backyard with an unknown green fruit which his parents demanded he not eat. After all, they were in New York and not the country—like upstate or deeper Long Island. Unless they purchased it from the store, all fruit growing from the urban township was suspect.
Still, the tree had its purpose. One season it was used as an old fashion swing—tire and all, bending the lowest branch until Teddy’s father deemed it a disaster waiting to happen. The next, it supported Teddy’s weight in a massive game of hide n’ seek, shielding him from pursuit for a legendary five hours. If it weren’t for his IPod, a stashed collection of comic books and a couple of bottles of water, he would not have been able to survive (so he claimed).
Now, ole’ creak, as Teddy and his parents tended to call the tree, suffered yet another indignation of a unique kind. While the other trees in the neighborhood simply sat there—leaves changing colors regularly to the season, untouched by the local brats—this one had a system of rope that lead to one final pulley and attached to a very large crate with an opening underneath. The crate hung a good sixteen feet above the ground, just over a plate of the best wolf bait Teddy could get his hands on: his mom’s leftover chicken winglet dinner from the night before.
If this didn’t get his prey, he would have to try the meatloaf.
Teddy hated meatloaf.
∞
11:52am
“I think you’re out of your mind.” Toni grunted, sitting back on the box, making it shake.
Russell was frantic. “Teddy! Pick up!”
“Answer that for me, will you Tone?”
“You got the radio.”
“I’m on the hunt. No distractions.”
“Oh please,” Toni snatched up the small two-way transmitter unable to contain her frustration. “Go ‘head, Russ. What’s up?”
“Well it’s about time!” He sounded off; a little fear in his voice. “I found the werewolf!”
Teddy’s eyes opened as wide as teacup saucers. “Where is he? Was … was the wolf where I thought he was?”
Toni kept the button pressed on the two-way, not wishing to sound as idiotic as her friend did right now. “Please tell me you got all that, Russ. I don’t feel like repeating …”
“Yeah,” Russell whispered, “I heard him. Tell him he was right about everything. Wait … wait. I think … hold on. I lost him. Whew!”
“Lost him?!?” Teddy grabbed the radio out of Toni’s hand disrespectfully. “I didn’t setup five years of planning for you to lose it! I’ve got everything riding on this, Russ!”
“Yeah, like your sanity.” Toni reminded.
“If you wanted this thing so bad,” Russell huffed through the radio static, “you’d be out here with your BB gun doin’ …” Static filled the speakers. “One minute …” Russell disappeared again over the radio and then, “Okay … now he’s coming after me. Not part of the plan! Not part of the plan.”
“Russell! Go Plan B!” Teddy yelled frantically. “Go Plan B!”
“Go Plan B?” Russell was definitely running. “I’m getting my …” Static. “… out of here!”
This was the moment Teddy was waiting for. He strapped on a vest and donned his hunters’ fedora. Toni sat behind him wanting nothing more than to call the mental hospital on her dearest friend. Friends wouldn’t let friends lose their minds, chasing what could amount to just a big dog.
“This is good, Russ. Head to base just like we planned. Lead it to the trap zone and we’ll be waiting for you.”
Toni frowned miserably at him. “We who?”
Teddy unhooked the rope above his head and handed the end to Toni, grasped her hands with both of his; eyes aflame with excitement. “I’m trusting you with this.”
“If you don’t let go of my hands …”
“When I give you the signal, let it go. Whatever you do, don’t hesitate. Time is crazy important right now.”
The tension on the rope forced Toni to hold it down with a little more grip than she anticipated. Then again, she didn’t anticipate big game hunting a mythic creature. “You’re certifiable … and so is Russell. Heck, I’m crazy for sitting in this box, doing nothing on a Saturday. I oughta be in the house sitting on the couch playing video games … chillin’.”
Teddy threw a hand up, cutting her off in midsentence while he stared through the slit in the box. Yet another offense that she planned to address when the time was right. “Hold that though, Tone. Here he comes!”
∞
11:53am
Russell, a tall, handsome and physically fit young boy of ten years, hit the fence that separated Teddy’s backyard from his neighbor’s with the force and desperation of a grown person on the run … because he really was.
He vaulted over the six-foot wooden railing, landing out of breath and sweating—running in the direction of the wolf trap.
A large dark shadow snapped at his heels and was just too big to climb over the fence. The pursuing thing with dark yellow eyes had no alternative but to burst through it.
The force of the splintering wood sent Russell rolling to the ground. Face to face with an insanely large, jet black, sharp toothed beast—a sick cross between a common wolf and an overfed, razorback wild hog with glowing eyes—Russell crawled backwards, away from the animal as best he could, slipping over the wolf bait in his path. “What the ..? Chicken?!?”
∞
Teddy was about to jump out of his skin, pointing back at his partner. “Toni! Toni! Now!”
Unfortunately, she wasn’t paying an ounce of attention, thumbing through a recent catalog of back-to-school fall fashions. “Now what?”
With timing of the essence, Teddy smacked her hand to release the rope. That, of course, being the final straw for Toni’s patience over this matter, prepared to haul off and knock him out … until she heard the wolf’s angry howl less than ten feet outside of their box, sending a cold chill from her head to her feet.
Her perspective … and nerves … changed dramatically that very instant.
∞
11:54am
The released rope slipped around and through each pulley and branch until the weight of the crate hanging directly over the wolf fell from the tree—encasing the beast with a ground shaking thud. A kickback of dust and debris clouding the backyard obscuring Russell’s vision.
He sat in the grass, a mere couple of inches from being the actual food on the plate he sat on. The wolf howled angrily, not accustomed to missing its potential meal.
Teddy and Toni join Russell aside the rocking and shuddering crate. Bright, shiny panels checkered the trap with a patchwork of wood pieces and various nails and bolts.
None of which looked like they would hold the creature inside for very long.
“OMG!” Toni screamed, spelling out each letter. “What the heck is that thing?!? What’s keeping it inside? That box looks like it’s about to bust!”
“Hey,” Russell stood up, brushing off his clothes. “I’m good, by the way.”
“Good work, Russ. I owe you.”
“Yes!” Russell pointed. “Yes, you do. Dang gone thing almost got my Jordan’s. If you want my opinion, I think we’re out of our league and I don’t think the traps gonna hold. Who’s with me to get up out of this piece?”
“Me!” Toni raised her hand.
Tilting his hat back, Teddy leaned a foot on the unstable crate, unwrapping a new stick of gum; quite proud of himself. “Guys, don’t worry. It’ll hold. Besides, I went old school with this one. The whole trap is spread end to end with 100%, pure silver.”
∞
Meanwhile, inside Teddy’s home, his father was in the middle of a hunt of his own. With the holidays approaching, he was the kind of man that prepared for everything. Early setup for Christmas lights, the correct amount of egg dye for Easter, etc. When it came time for entertaining guests, nothing but the best would do.
“Honey,” he called out to his wife. Teddy’s mother kept herself busy elsewhere in the house, but always within earshot of a possible skinned knee or something misplaced that her husband couldn’t find. “Have you seen the good silver? I can’t find any of the spoons, forks … nothing.”
“Good silver? I thought it was all fake?”
“Yeah it is, but …”
The loudest and angriest roar echoed from outside his home, shaking the dishes, cups and vibrated through his bones, abruptly stopping Teddy’s father from any further thoughts.
∞
11:55am
The three children took a reasonable, safety step backwards from the shaking wood box. Pieces started to fall off in various sections worrying Toni.
“You know,” Teddy rubbed his chin, thinking. “The box may not hold after all.”
Toni glared at him annoyed. “I don’t want to be your friend anymore.”
“Look, Tone,” Teddy’s look of confidence was fading fast. “Whatever happens here … if one of us doesn’t make it … think I can get your PlayStation?”
“What? NO!”
“How about your Wii?
Toni grabbed him by the collar, clearly meaning business. “Solve this, Teddy!”
“Fine! Go get me some rope and some silver. Any amount of silver that you can.”
“Where am I gonna get silver from?”
“I don’t know. I’m all tapped out after melting down my dad’s silverware. Aren’t your cousins in town? Go ask them!”
Toni released Teddy, glaring at him as she ran out of the backyard. Surprisingly, Russell left right behind her without saying much to Teddy at all. “Russ? Hey, Russ! Where ya goin’?”
“To change my underwear!”
∞
11:56am
Summer, Asia and Meghan visited Toni from down south, maybe, twice a year. When they were all younger, they were much closer and played together more often. Time, distance and separated interests had driven a noticeable wedge between them, making Toni wonder the relevance of her cousins visits anymore when they had so little to talk about.
Regardless, being her mother’s sister’s children, her home wouldn’t ever be closed to them, even if Toni spent their visit looking for other things to do.
Which is why she agreed to Teddy’s off the wall suggestion to hunt a werewolf.
A werewolf, Toni shuddered. It was either this or her overly fashion conscience cousins; forever doing their hair and nails, taking over her room and making it smell like perfume and hairspray..
Adding to the tension—today was Summer’s 13th birthday.
Toni busted into her bedroom, catching the three visitors in mid-conversation. Summer looked at her indignantly. “Oh, no you didn’t!”
“Oh yes I did! Remember, you’re just a guest in the Toni suite. Anything you touch, you bought.”
“Puh-leese. I don’t want nuthin’ up in here.”
Toni was through with all of them. “Anyway, I got some pressing business and I need some silver. You guys got any? How about those earrings and that rope chain? Cough it up.”
Meghan, Toni’s exact age with a different temperament than her sisters’, reached into her little purse, digging through for something to help her family out without a second thought. “Well, I think I have some …”
“Quiet,” Asia interrupted. “We got this room until we leave. What are you doing here?”
Summer, the bratty of the three, stomped her foot in defiance. “I’m tellin’ mommy!”
“Shut up and listen to me!” Toni demanded. For that split second, she commanded absolute attention from them all. The room went silent. “This is my room! You don’t know what’s going on and I need some silver and I need it NOW!”
That second came and went quickly. Summer approached Toni with a threatening finger, pushing her back out the door. “YOU don’t know what’s going on. Today is my birthday and I’ve got a problem with you being alive right now.”
“But ..?”
Asia finished the sentiment, slamming the door on Toni. “Get … out … of … our … room!”
“It’s MY room!” Toni yelled from behind the closed door.
∞
11:58am
The crate, and its evil contents, rocked back and forth on the lawn unappreciative of its predicament. Teddy watched over his captured prey, jotting down notes on a piece of paper.
Toni scampered back to his side with a thick rope wrapped loosely around her shoulder.
“You got the silver?” Teddy asked.
“No, but I found a gold pen.”
He stopped his writing to question her. “What am I going to do with a pen?”
“It’s got a silver tip.”
“Do you know how this werewolf thing works? This isn’t Scooby ...”
The werewolf bellowed loudly sending tremors through the children. The weakly made trap couldn’t hold the animal for much longer—particularly without real silver—shattering in a burst of wood and wreckage.
Teddy coughed and spat out dirt just in time to see the fence on the far end of the backyard blow out and a wicked, razor sharp tail leaving the scene. His prey was on the run.
“It’s getting away!” Toni pointed. “We’re gonna die and your dad is gonna whup you good.”
“Hmph. Hardly. I prepared for this. It’s heading right toward the second trap. Checkmate. Game over. I win.”
“Second trap? Where did you put it?”
“You know,” Teddy said sheepishly, “funny you should ask.”
∞
11:59am
Considering the past few days of intermittent rains, this weekend turned out to be bright, sunny and spectacular—a perfect day for an outdoor backyard birthday party. Toni’s mother, the consummate party-maker, wouldn’t have anything less for her niece. Once Teddy’s father brought over the silverware she would borrow, it would be perfect. For some reason, he was very late.
Since a young girl only turns thirteen once, everything from the expensive Mylar balloons to the finest linen and porcelain plates were decked out on a rows of party tables prepared for the forthcoming guests.
A tree, similar to the one in Teddy’s backyard and much older, shaded the yard, parting slivers of sunlight through its leaves and branches. Blades of light glimmered over the scene splendidly; a sign from the heavens today would be flawless.
As Toni’s mother smiled at her grand achievement—proudly looking over her pristine accomplishments …
… everything went suddenly, terribly wrong.
The rear wood fence behind the tables exploded out, collapsing party tables and released balloons to the sky, sending Toni’s mother running for her life. Plates, cups … everything … were destroyed in a hail of destruction.
This, of course, triggered another wolf trap high in the trees limbs; landing squarely on the escaping werewolf in the middle of more dust, making the once serene celebration look like a sudden junkyard.
Toni, Teddy and Russell stomped into her backyard with their mouths open wide. In the middle of broken tables and chairs, a wolf trap cratered what was once going to be a festive event. Now, Toni’s mother was in tears and her cousins were in a state of panic.
“Good for them!” Toni felt justice was served on her bratty cousins … then she noticed her mother, a total wreck. “She’s going to kill me.”
“Are you kidding? We’re heroes.” Teddy said this picking up a bottle of soda that rolled by his foot. He popped open the cap and drank the beverage down after a hard day of work. “That’s some good soda. Come to think of it, I don’t remember getting an invite to the party.”
“Can you wonder why?” Russell smirked. “What happens when we roll through?”
“We tear down the joint!” Teddy laughed.
“You got that right.” The boys give each other congratulatory high-fives, totally annoying Toni who pushed past them to tend to her mother.
“Alright,” Teddy crumpled up the can, “let’s do this. Everybody listen up! Step away from the box. Professionals coming through. Anybody with a camera, get it ready.”
Teddy’s wristwatch signaled noon during his approach on the box. “Just in time. Help me with this, guys.”
“Theodore!” Toni’s mother screamed. “What is this? What have you done?!?”
“Theodore?” Russell chuckled, receiving the look of death from his friend. “Oh, yeah. Right. Teddy.”
Teddy gripped a side of the box with Russell and Toni getting the opposite ends. “This is it! I want everyone to witness … the Daylight Werewolf!”
The children pulled back the box—all others took a protective step back. A slick yellow and grey steam crept from under the box, releasing air similar to opening a vacuum sealed jar.
In its wake, the horrid smell of wet dog hair and spit on hot cement caused everyone to gag. Lying in the middle of the box, confused with his clothes in shreds, was 18-year-old regular guy, Kevin.
“I knew it!” Teddy raised his hands up, seeking applause for his accomplishments. “Somebody call Ripley’s ‘cause I just don’t believe how great I am.”
Toni’s mothers’ blood pressure couldn’t handle the utter devastation of the party that never would be. Additionally, the sight of Kevin sitting on her lawn in a mist of the worst smelling fart she ever smelled … mouth wide open … overwhelmed her and she collapsed, out for the count, over the birthday cake.
“Hey Ted,” Kevin shivered, looking around at everyone and Teddy. “What’s going on?”
“Nothin’.” He leaned against the box, picking the dirt out of his nails with a cocktail umbrella toothpick. “What’s up with you?”
“I’m good … I think. Why am I under a box, half naked?”
“Long story. Werewolf every five years … yadda, yadda, yadda. Say, you got that ten spot you owe me?”
Kevin checked his torn jeans; hands going through the holes that checkered his entire statement to ruined fashion. “Yeah, I got it right here ... duh!”
Asia moved between the crowd, stepping over her aunt still lying in the cake. “Toni, what did you do?”
“Me?” She pointed at Teddy.
“Why did you put Kevin in a box?” Not that she wasn’t appreciative; her personal crush on Kevin was well known. Stroking her hair, she wanted to make sure she was exceptionally cute regardless of Kevin’s bad boy condition. “Hi Kevin.” She said with a strong hint of melody.
Toni had made it such a habit of rolling her eyes today, she was getting a headache.
Summer, however, wasn’t easily pleased by a handsome face, looking squarely at Toni, stamping a foot. She ignored the fact that Kevin turned from wolf to man, the wolf trap that fell from a high tree and that her aunt was still unconscious. “Why are you always ruining my parties?”
“What?” Toni started indignantly. “We just saved your life! Look, I’ll be the first to tell you that I thought Teddy was a crackpot. Totally ready for a padded room. Had me sitting in a box and everything all morning. But here’s the proof. This evil … thing … No offense, Kev. How’s the family?”
“None taken. They’re good. How’s yours?”
Toni just had to point at her mother lying in frosting to give him an answer. “Therapy will fix things, but we’re good. Anyway, he almost got all of you … and considering I want all of you out of my room, I should have let him.”
“Kevin? Evil?” Teddy waved dismissively, at the same time, putting on some protective gear and a face mask. “He’s harmless. The real problem is the bigger werewolf that comes for an hour right after him. Now THAT is a big bad wolf.”
Teddy gestured behind everyone, preparing himself with a bat just as a louder, much more earth quaking roar scared them all.
End