Lupine Encounter (standard:fantasy, 881 words)
Author: Virtual Adept	Added: Jan 22 2001	Views/Reads: 3731/6	Story vote: 0.00 (0 votes)
A Victorian suspense piece I crafted for my Creative Writing class, this one deals with a Werewolf sighting in London.

Lupine Encounter 

The night was cold, snowy and downright dreadful, which is precisely the
reason I had decided to stay inside. I had no desire to catch cold. It 
was a nicer night indoors. My lovely wife, Elisabeth was sitting, legs 
crossed by the fire, knitting a sweater for our soon to be born child. 
I was in my den, reading the evening news, smoking my pipe. The 
headlines were most peculiar I thought. 

"Werewolf sighting in downtown Boston!" I thought it was absurd at the
time. 

"Utter poppycock. Werewolves. Such nonsense." I mumbled to myself. I
folded the paper, and left my den. Elisabeth looked up from her 
knitting, and smiled. She glanced down at the paper under my arm, and 
her look turned to one of slight horror.  She spoke. 

"Oh! Have you been reading that John? Werewolves! I wonder if there is
really such thing running about!" I scoffed at the idea. 

"Come come Elisabeth. You've been inside too long. Don't be bothered by
such nonsense. The man who printed this was probably drunk when he 
spotted a dog! I shall be going to bed now, I suggest you do the same." 
And with that, I tossed the paper into the fire with authority. I 
turned and began marching up the stairs. I secretly was wondering about 
the whole situation though. Werewolves, an intriguing thought. I made 
my way to our room, and began undressing. Before I got into bed though, 
I removed the revolver from our nightstand, and inserted into each 
chamber, a silver bullet I had made long ago when this sort of thing 
had happened last. I slid the revolver under my pillow, and turned back 
the sheets. I drifted off into an uneasy sleep. 

Some time later, someone entered the room, and I was awoken, it was only
Elisabeth however, and I closed my eyes once more. Some hours later, I 
awoke again. I couldn't put my finger on the reason for my premature 
awakening right then, but I made up my mind and decided to go 
downstairs. Careful not to wake Elisabeth, I got into my slippers, and 
took with me the revolver and a candle. I struck the flint against the 
steel piece and the candle threw it's dancing light over the walls of 
the hallway. I still wasn't sure why I was awake, but when I heard the 
banging against the door, I knew. I crept down the stairway slowly, my 
eyes trying to adjust to the meager source of light. Maybe it was just 
a lost traveler? I attempted to calm myself by saying. I knew it really 
wasn't. When I finally made my way to the foyer, the banging had 
ceased. 

This was most curious. One moment, it was a horrible banging, and then,
gone. In order to satisfy my curiosity, I set the candle down and 
opened the door slowly. The night air rushed in, and snuffed out the 
candle. It was a tad cold. I shivered as I stepped out onto the 
doorstep. Nothing was around, save for the man who put the lamps out at 
night. He rounded a corner down the street, and left. All that was 
outside was snow. I doubted that snow was the cause of the noise. 

Satisfied, I turned around, when I heard a strange sound. It sounded a
bit like padded feet on snow, I thought. I came about, and saw the most 
horrible sight I had ever seen. A wolf shaped man, walking erect at 
what I estimated to be eight and a half feet, was across the street, 
rummaging through rubbish cans. Trying not to shake excessively, I 
raised the revolver, and fired. The wolf-man turned about almost 
instantly, and the silver bullet struck his left hand. It howled in 
rage, as it made a most spectacular leap up onto the roof of the 
building it was near. I fired again, striking it slightly below the 
shoulder. The werewolf cleared the next roof, and disappeared into the 
night. Lights had started to come on in neighboring houses, and I 
decided to make my way back to bed. 

Elisabeth was up, and waiting for me with a worried expression. "John,
what in god's name were you doing?"  She asked. I dismissed my actions 
as fending off a burglar, and though she wasn't satisfied, she said no 
more, nor did I. I went back to sleep. Early next morning, I rose, and 
got myself dressed without waking Elisabeth. I made my way downstairs, 
and stepped out. The door was thoroughly gashed and clawed apart. I 
ignored it. I really couldn't have seen what I did the night 
previously, could I? I dismissed it as a dream. My reason for leaving 
was to go to the market, and I did as such. However, on my way, a man 
who appeared to be a vagrant stopped me. I shook my head, and pressed 
several coins into his hand. He looked up, and smiled at me. Though 
happy, his smile was unnerving to me. He pocketed the coins. 

I started to walk away when he called for me. I turned, and he proceeded
to wave. Or he would have if it weren't for the bandaged stump where he 
might have had a hand......... 


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