"Humans?" I questioned tentatively, mimicking the language the werewolf spoke.
It was an odd experience but I did not have time to question it and was thankful that it made communicating easier.
'Maybe it is a language spoken universally by mythological creatures? Knowing only the words it has spoken will make this difficult.'
"Strong. Humans." It confirmed with a growl that carried over the distance. "Coming. To. Kill."
'To kill you. I should be fine as long as they don't know I'm a vampire.'
I had some doubts and reservations about whether I could actually hide that fact. I would have to hide my fangs, meet them at night and hope they do not ask me to go with them. Maybe it was best if I could stay hidden when they arrive and follow them, but if they are in a car and traveling by day then that would be a fruitless endeavor. At least I might find out which direction to explore.
Those were concerns for the future and right now I had to deal with this werewolf. If I agree with it then I should be safe until they arrive. Going against it was too risky and being noncommital might anger it. If I could be seen as trustworthy I might even get an opportunity to kill it. This all hinged on if the werewolf itself was a human and in my same situation. I had to ask but there needed to be no doubt so I could not merely point at it and say 'human'.
'Do I know more words that I seem to have forgotten? What about 'you'? 'You' is...'
Just as I was thinking about it, the word popped into my mind, and similarly with others. Not wanting to just sit there blankly seemingly learning a whole new language at record speed, I voiced my question as it observed me intently, our eyes level with it sitting.
"You. Were you human?" The words felt weird in my mouth, unused to the pronunciation and unsure if it was even correct.
A slight tilt of the head was its only reaction and as I was thinking it did not understand the reply that eventually came gave me a brief feeling of triumph.
"Human. Wolf. Bear. Wood. Body." It lifted one of its hands to point a claw at me. "Eat. Strong. Human. To get. Stronger."
This enigmatic reply neither confirmed nor denied if it had been human but it wanting me to eat humans made that detail irrelevant. It was more beast than man and while I did not know how eating people would make me stronger it was not nearly enough reason to ever do so.
"You. Look. Human. Bait." It was more of a statement than a request. "I. Kill"
I was shocked that it already knew I was not human but maybe it was the only reason it wanted to work together rather than kill me. I did not have time to contemplate however as it seemed to be waiting for a reply.
"I accept." Not wanting to risk upsetting it or testing its patience I answered immediately but after a brief thought had to add a condition. "But only at night."
I could not tell what it was thinking as it had made no reaction, causing me to tense up in anticipation to run but eventually, it stood up and beckoned with its hand. "Follow."
I stood rooted at the spot upon hearing its command, conflicted whether I should listen or risk it changing its mind about this so-called truce. Either way was a gamble and committing to my choice might be safer for the time being, but the worry of being too close to it to even defend myself did not make the decision of approaching appealing.
It was waiting for me without so much as moving a whisker and I resolved myself to take a step forward. I knew Qubit would follow me regardless from testing its range and hoped it would not spook the werewolf but it did not even glance behind me as I reached the opposite side of the bank. I did not want to turn my gaze away from the werewolf but needed to know if my one and only method of self-defense was with me and risked a quick glance. I was relieved to see its familiar glow right behind me already and turned my gaze forward once more with a snap. It was still watching and waiting, the distance between us undoubtedly more than close enough for it to lunge at me. At this point, I had practically already surrendered my life to its will and there was no going back so I quickly hopped over the stream and stood beside it.
My head only just barely reached up to its chest as it towered over me with its full height, its gaze and maw pointed downward at me. It was beyond nerve-racking standing this close with scrutinizing me with its intelligent eyes. It possessed both the cunning cruelty of man and the savage ferocity of a beast. The two corpses that I had seen and knew were rotting not too far from where we stood flashed in my mind. I was absolutely terrified of what it could do to me and my body started to tremble as it just stood there menacingly.
After much too long of a time of it just staring at me, it finally decided it had seen enough and turned to walk in the direction of the village center. Finally free from its gaze made me let loose an involuntary sigh of relief as I finally let go of the breath that I had been holding. I followed, keeping a bit of distance in between that I knew was pointless but gave me a bit of mental breathing room. Scanning the surrounding which I had only seen from a distance, I saw the occasional pool or splattering of dried blood and the broken down entrances of most of the buildings. Thankfully there were no bodies to be seen or smelled but I was sure there were more than just the two from the farm that had suffered a grim fate.
We headed to the largest of the houses but even then it was not much to boast about. It was the same shoddy medieval wooden construction as all the rest making me highly doubt I would have any luck finding a phone in any of them if there was none to be found in the one we are heading to.
As we reached the destroyed entrance, the werewolf ducked inside and I hoped that it did not want me to stay here with it.
'If only I knew more about what kind of personality it has. I don't want to find out it has a short temper the hard way.'
I followed into the enclosed space to find it quite similar in layout to the house I had claimed with the main differences being an extra bedroom and a larger common room. It was completely bare inside with all of the furniture aside from the beds having been removed. The werewolf had stopped in front of the only closed door which I assumed to be the pantry and opened it, taking a peek in before standing aside and looking at me. My earlier worry of being forced to stay here felt like it was becoming true but I did not want to jump to conclusions.
I walked forward and as I stood in the doorway, horror washed over me. Inside was a woman lying unconscious on the floor. She was breathing heavily and sweating profusely but what drew my gaze was her feet which had both swollen greatly around the ankles and pointing at odd angles. I took a step backward in shock and bumped into the furry chest of the werewolf who had moved to block the way out. I stood frozen on the spot with my eyes glued onto Qubit as my only hope to avoid a similar fate. I dared not turn around and slowly took a careful step forward. After nothing happened I took another before finally pivoting to face the beast which was still crowding in the doorway. I had a feeling of deja-vu of this exact scenario but with an added person in the mix. Last time I got away purely on luck and this time, while I had a new weapon, I doubted it would let me get away with my life again if I resisted.
It was once again observing me closely as if waiting for me to do something but it seemed to give up as it turned its gaze onto the woman on the floor.
"Kill." This single word chilled my blood as it finally became clear what it wanted.
Since I accepted its proposal it wanted proof of my willingness to kill humans, and rightly so as I had no intention of doing what it wanted. This was the price I have to pay for accepting the deal and I felt nauseous. I felt idiotic thinking it would be that simple to solve my predicament of surviving but at the same time I knew that the alternative would have most definitely led to a conflict I was bound to lose. This gave me an opportunity to live and get through this by staining my hands with the blood of an innocent person, and while I wanted to protest and refuse, no words came out. It all boiled down to a choice: my life or hers. I knew I was not bold or brave enough to play hero nor did I want to for a complete stranger, but seeing her miserable state without given any choice or chance filled me with guilt.
'I don't want to do this. I really don't. It's either you or both of us. I'm really, really sorry.'
I knew she could not hear my thoughts but I could not voice them out. I was glad she was not conscious as I do not know what I would have done had she cried or begged. Killing her now might even be a mercy as opposed to letting the wounds on her feet worsen and eventually getting eaten alive as what I assume was the fate of the farmers. Even if I did kill the werewolf by some miracle there is no telling when she would get medical assistance and if I would be able to keep her alive.
I knew I was just trying to make more excuses and justify my choice but it was the only way to get myself to actually do it. To begin with, I was unsure of how to even kill her, preferably as quick and painless as possible for both our sakes. Suffocation would be the simplest but I had an intense fear of it myself and did not want to subject anyone to it or see it happening for myself. Bashing her head in with Qubit was out of the question as even the thought made me want to throw up. I had a knife and scissors stored but did not want to take them out in front of the werewolf as it would reveal my biggest trump card. I settled on snapping her neck but not before my thoughts wandered to another one of my weapons: my fangs. I did not want to do it but two possibilities made me consider it. The first was what the werewolf said about becoming stronger from eating humans. Doing so might become invaluable to me in the near future if it was even true but I do remember feeling energized after the horned rabbit. The second possibility, and it was truly a minuscule one, was that I could maybe turn her into a vampire as well.
'No. I have to play it safe. I can't take risks right now.'
I decided against drinking her blood as on the off chance it did turn her into a vampire the werewolf might not take kindly to it. Once again the issue was how unreadable it was, with the feeling of being tested constantly nagging me from its penetrating gaze. I cannot fail after taking another life to survive, even if it was involuntary.
I once again apologized in my mind before taking hold of the poor woman's head.