As the afternoon wore on, there had been no word on the condition of the man who'd been bitten. No news was good news, Jody tried to tell himself. But his nerves were jangled. Cathy could tell by the way he nervously flipped through the newspaper in his recliner. She turned off the cooking show on the TV and looked towards him.
"Jody, why are you so worked up?" She asked. "You can just call the hospital if you want and check on Mister Small if you're worried about him."
"That was his name?" Jody said the paper on the arm of the chair. "I didn't know, he came in with Andy and Patty."
Cathy thought about it for a moment, trying to find the right words to ask him without setting him off. "Jody, why wasn't that snake fixed?"
By fixed she meant de-fanged. A decidedly cruel and dangerous procedure to remove their fangs and venom. The one that got Callum Small still had fangs, and venom.
"That's a good question," Jesse said through the open screen door. When they noticed him he let himself in. "How come that one to still have fangs?"
"I don't know Jesse. Have you heard from. -- anyone?" Jody looked up at his brother.
"He's gonna live. All I know." Jesse shrugged. "It was a dry bite. But how did that one still have teeth?"
"I don't know, I pulled them myself. Must be a sign." Jody stood up and made his way into the kitchen.
"You know snakes grow their teeth back, right?" Jesse cocked his head slightly at Jody.
Jody turned to Jesse in complete shock. "Say what?"
"Snakes grow back their fangs, Jody. Didn't you know this?" Jesse repeated, annoyed at his brother's ignorance. "Maybe if you read something besides the Bible or watched TV, you'd know that. You ought not be messing with stuff you don't know 'bout. You're gonna get somebody killed."
With that Jesse turned and left. The screen door banged behind him. Jody watched him cross the yard and the road. Cathy said nothing but relaxed in her chair with her thoughts. This was indeed a dangerous game her husband played. But she dared not say it.
"God in heaven forgive me. I've been a fool." It was difficult to tell if he was praying or just talking to himself. Cathy assumed the former and when he pulled the liquor bottle from the side pocket of his recliner, she went into the master bedroom.
★
The days were growing longer but sundown still came early. When he realized dusk was coming, Gunnar knew he had to go home as much as he liked sitting by the river and watching the Lucas wildlife. He was reluctant, but even more reluctant to face his father when he was angry. Bryan had spent the afternoon with his cousin, fishing from the bank alongside the creek that ran behind her uncle Jesse's property.
Bryan headed back across the yard and the county road that separated the two houses. There was never much traffic on it. When he opened the front door, the smell of cheap whisky took him by surprise. Jody had been drinking and preparing for his evening service, mostly preparing how to explain the mishap this morning.
He looked up when Bryan came in, his eyes narrowed. "I told you to be back here half an hour ago to get ready for church."
Bryan felt coldness settle in his stomach. His eyes went to the clock on the mantle above the fireplace they seldom used. It was true, he was late. The fear rose, causing her voice to crack. "I lost track of time...the sun doesn't set as early as it used to."
"That's not an excuse! You never listen to me," Jody came to his feet with a roar. The room seemed out of focus to him and the furniture seemed to waver slightly. But he lunged after Bryan anyway.
Bryan thought about running but his fear froze him in place. Jody easily grabbed her arm in a bruising grip. Bryan became aware of his father's grip but fighting wasn't his strong point, but he struggled to escape. Which only resulted in him being pinned against his father's side with no hope of escape from his big arm while he fumbled for the buckle on his belt.
Gunnar burst through the door so suddenly, Jody stopped in his tracks. "What the hell are you doing? I heard it out in the yard."
Jody met his son's eyes with the sudden realization that the boy was no longer a small child he could back hand. He had heard the beginnings of brass in Gunnar's voice, his eyes seemed luminous somehow-almost golden. Jody struggled to find the words without hesitation. "He came in late. It ain't your business."
Gunnar dropped the car keys on the table by the door. His eyes didn't waver. "You're drinking, I see."
"What I do in my own house is my business." He dropped Bryan on the floor and took a step towards his older son. "In case you forgot, I'm the leader of this house, I make the rules. It's my job to make sure you three don't grow up to be whores and thieves! You don't make it easy, none of you. I can't understand why I was cursed with you three."
Gunnar watched Bryan scurry to his room, while he held eye contact with his father. He didn't speak. There was nothing he could say that wouldn't get him slapped or worse. But he held his posture, awaiting whatever his father dished out. Better him than Bryan.
"Good grief, Jody, you're as drunk as Cooter Brown." Cathy's voice rang out behind him, making Jody turn clumsily. "You better sober up, you got church in an hour."
"I'm not done with you," Jody looked back at Gunnar and hissed. He begrudgingly admitted his wife was right. "We will finish this after service."
Usually he forgot, Gunnar thought, walking quickly past Jody to find Bryan. "Hey, you okay?"
Bryan was in the closet, putting on a shirt. He looked away quickly before speaking. "Yes, I will be. I hope you ain't gone and got yourself in trouble."
"I'm gonna live." He shrugged. "It's you I worry about."
He nodded, his face still slightly flushed with tears. There was a moment of silence before Gunnar hugged him. Gratefully, he snuggled against him.
"I better get ready for church." Gunnar whispered lightly.
Dana walked in then. She scoffed at her siblings. "Aw, how sweet. Way to make him a pussy."
Gunnar turned on her with a glare. His eyes burned with unsaid things he knew would cause pain and ultimately do no one any good. "Shut up, Dana. Say anything like that again and so help me--"
"You'll what?" Dana watched him storm over and close the door in her face.
"This ain't your room." Gunnar said through the door.
Bryan only gave the door a glare and then followed Gunnar to his room. They tried to love their sister, but Dana made it difficult. Jody didn't seem to notice or care what she did, when she did get in trouble it was usually with Cathy.
"We better not keep dad waiting." Gunnar quickly changed shirts.
"I don't want to go," Bryan looked up at his on mm m mmmnbkbrother, pouting. He wasn't as tall as Gunnar yet, maybe he never would be. His hair was sandy blonde, and his older brother's was black. Bryan noticed for the first time that he looked nothing like his brother.
"I know, I don't either," Gunnar said as he buttoned his shirt then rested a hand on Bryan's shoulder. "But we gotta put up with it just a little longer until I get us out of here."
"He'd just gonna go on about those damn snakes and-"
"Be still before you have dad in here."Gunnar told him and tied his hair back. "We gotta lay low till my birthday, got it?"
Bryan nodded slowly. Gunnar ruffled his hair and they walked out together.
★
The night was cool but humid, more rain was moving in. Inside the church, the mood was somber. Caleb gave an update on the situation with Callum Small; he was alive, it had been a dry bite, and while he was talking Callum walked in.
Gunnar tuned out the voices around him seemed to give way to a rythmic pulsing roar that he realized was his own blood pumping through his veins. The pulsing was joined by the sound of his heartbeat, strong and maddeningly loud. He glanced towards the podium but his vision was uncomfortably bright, but not clear. Everything was fuzzy, lights seemed to have bright glaring auras around them.
Waves of nausea washed over him. He stood up slowly, but no one noticed, and made his way outside. The night air was cold against his arms and gave but it felt good. Gunnar took a deep breath and was immediately overwhelmed by scents from everywhere, the tangy earthy smell of the fur and juniper trees, the acrid stench of motor oil from the card in the parking lot, various colognes and perfumes, and the tang of a distant fire. There were more, but these ones he could identify. He rubbed his face, willing himself to pull it together. But he had no luck.
He walked across the backyard of the church where kids often played after service. He could actually hear the creek down the bank and through the woods running. He wondered if rain had brought the usually calm creek up out of its banks. He didn't walk down there, his legs felt like rubber and he sank against a tree. But the rest of his body was hot and tight, he felt as if something inside him was pushing its way out. He felt as if he were going to vomit, as if he'd feel better if he did.
Squatting in the grass behind the church, Gunnar grasped for the threads of his sanity as heat waves pulsated through him. He jerked roughly and his vision went blue. Gunnar looked around, alarmed at this new development and just how crisp his vision was, he could see through the darkness as plain as day, even though everything appeared in varying shades of blue and black.
Something nice in front of him, in the brush at the forest's edge. Gunnar's eyes instantly went to it. There in the dark shadows was a wolf, not unheard of but not common in these parts. His immediate thought was that it was a large coyote, they were pretty common. But even as he thought it, he knew it was wrong. This was a wolf. It started at him for a long minute before it turned and bolted into the darkness. Oddly, he felt no fear.
Cathy noticed him gone before Jody did, she walked to the back of the church to the office door and peered in, but Gunnar wasn't there. The bathroom door across the room was open, so he wasn't in there. She turned to glance through the church to make sure she hadn't missed him. A draft of cold air caught her attention and she turned to the back exit, which wasn't far from the office door. The door was closed but not all the way, a tiny crack in it allowed the air in. So Cathy followed it out.
The sounds of the choir singing grew louder outside the church, and then were muffled by the door when it closed. The sounds of crickets and frogs surrounded her outside. Cathy looked around, expecting to find Gunnar leaning against the church or lingering somewhere near the cars. But he wasn't there. Concerned, she walked around the side of the church, her eyes falling on a dark lump several dozen yards away.
"What in the world?" Cathy asked as she walked up beside her son. She squatted and touched his back. "Son?"
He saw her shoes, sensible gray flat loafers with a silver buckle. Not bothering to look up, he sighed in relief as his senses returned. "I'm okay, I felt like I was gonna be sick. I'm okay now."
She touched his face with the back of her hand, "You don't feel warm. What did you eat at Amy's this afternoon?"
"Nothing." Gunnar stood up, his joints ached from the episode. "I'm fine now. I guess we should get back inside."
"Yes," she said, accepting his hand to stand. "If your daddy notices, we'll tell him you got sick."
"Isn't that what happened?" Gunnar was confused.
"I guess," Cathy stepped up onto the concrete slab outside the backdoor. "I wasn't out there now was I?"
Inside, Jody was still rambling on. He was speaking about how the church needed more faith in it, the whole mustard seed spiel. Gunnar blocked it out, which was easier than he thought. He couldn't clearly understand what was being said, it was as if Jody was mumbling. Every few words were audible but the rest he couldn't fully make out. He assumed his father was drunk, Jody usually was when he preached.
"I'm gonna wrap up, folks. I know you're all eager to get to the dinner we have over in the reception hall." Jody motioned over everyone's head towards the door, indicating the metal shed that was attached to the side of the church and served as reception hall.
Gunnar stood up to follow his mother and the others out, but he felt a hard hand on his shoulder. He turned and came face to face with his dad. Jody frowned, "Let's talk in my office."
His stomach flipped over, force of habit. Being called into the office at church was more terrifying than being called to the principal's office at school. It usually meant a beating just out of sight and earshot of everyone for acting out of line somehow in church. But he followed, again, force of habit; Greg, Bryan, Dana, and the other kids whose parents utilized the same tactics had learned long ago to go without a fuss and avoid calling attention to the situation.
Jody's office hadn't changed in the nineteen years he'd used it. Same books, same old executive desk, same file cabinets- though Gunnar wasn't sure what the church needed to keep files on. Eager to get this over with, Gunnar leaned on the desk. "What did you want, pop?"
"I hate when you call me that," Jody said with a glare. "Why did you run out during the sermon?"
"Felt like I was gonna throw up," he shrugged. There was no way he could explain this to his father. "I came back."
Jody stared at him as if trying to decide if he was lying or not. "It's not the first time I've seen you do it. You and your brother. I'm warning you now, you'll be eighteen soon but as long as you live in my house you will follow my rules. Got it? Don't interfere with my raising of your brother again like you did this afternoon or the times you've helped him escape service."
Gunnar's jaw tightened, his fingers gripped the desk edge beside where he sat so tightly his nails scarred the underside of the desk. He felt that energy again, rage rising up in him. The words that escaped him were acidic in his mouth, they were the product of years of fear, and they were lies. "Yes, sir."
"Good, let's go eat before people start to wonder." Jody turned and left Gunnar there.
He hung back, collecting himself again. He rubbed his face and sighed, something was going on, but he didn't know what. If he told his parents, they'd probably say he was possessed or just rebellious in spirit. But Gunnar knew it was more than that. It occurred to him, there was one person he could talk to. His uncle Caleb who was president of the biker club that Jody used to ride with. He only occasionally participated nowadays in casual rides.
★
He couldn't sleep, all Gunnar could do was pace his room in the dim light. The energy built up in him was something like a panic attack. He stared out into the side yard, the way his window faces he only had a view of the strip of grass between the house and the woods - and of course the woods themselves. He watched the dark wood line, half expecting to see that wolf again. Where there was one, there was bound to be two. Gunnar decided that soon he'd take a hunting trip down behind the church and find them.
Jody and Cathy weren't in bed, they were watching something on TV in the living room. Bryan had retired to his room too, but that wasn't unusual since it was technically a school night. Dana had left before evening service and wasn't back yet. He heard the TV go silent and the tell-tale sounds of his parents locking up the house and putting glasses in the sink. Gunnar was thinking about sneaking out to the kitchen for a snack, his hunger had been constant the past few weeks. He was listening for the sound of their bedroom door to close. But instead he heard Bryan's door open. And then chaos.
Bryan had a small handheld video game, the kind with only one game on it, battery operated. Gunnar had gotten it for him a few weeks ago and warned him to keep it hidden. Video games were strictly forbidden under Jody's rules, he believed they were satanic. In the next few moments Gunnar completely blacked out. He heard the yelling, he heard the beating start and then when he came to his senses he was in the yard and his uncle Caleb was there.
He'd attacked Jody. Gunnar didn't recall the shift, just that something came over him again. That same blue haze to his vision, the same sharp hearing, and strength neither of them expected. As luck would have it, Caleb had been out on the porch when he heard the sound of fighting and Cathy screaming. He and his wife, Jo, had come running over to help get them apart. Now Caleb was holding Gunnar back with one arm and Cathy was tending to her husband's wounds while Jo went to see about Bryan.
"You okay, son?" Caleb looked down from his six foot eight height at his nephew. His eyes were calm and gentle, somehow. Caleb assumed Jody had started it. "What happened?"
"Yeah," Gunnar wiped his mouth with the back of his hand. A faint line of blood was left behind from the couple shots Jody had gotten in. "Just the usual. He went off on Bryan and I sort of-- I don't know what happened. Everything went blue if that makes sense."
"I figured it was about time for it to." Caleb smiled warmly. "Let's go get this straight between you and Jody."
"I'm gonna get in so much trouble." Gunnar winced, already he could almost feel the beating he was going to get now.
"Don't let him," Caleb put a hand on his shoulder. "You're a man now. You were only protecting your brother."
Gunnar reluctantly followed his uncle over to the porch. Jody looked up at him over the bloody paper towel pressed to his nose. "You-- I told you do not interfere with me raising your little brother again and-"
"I ain't interferin'. I just stopped you from beating him for no reason." Gunnar replied angrily. "There was no reason for that."
"He's defied me twice today and I can see now why." Jody stood from the step, tucking the bloody paper towel in his pocket. "Your spirit is rebellious. You are rebelling against me and my authority, but most of all, God's authority! That girl has ruined you. She's put the seeds of the devil in you, Gunnar. I knew this would happen. You've laid up with her haven't you?"
Gunnar looked at his uncle Caleb with confusion plain on his face. He turned back to his father, "Yes, I have. Are you happy? I've known her in the biblical sense."
"I knew the girl was a whore when we met her. Didn't we?" Jody looked at Cathy and she nodded sadly but refused to look at Gunnar. "Now look at what's happened."
"Amy didn't do this," Gunnar scoffed. "You did."
"Until you've left that girl and are ready to repent, you are not allowed back in this house. I can't have you poisoning your little brother." Jody announced.
The words hit Gunnar hard. He planned to make a break for it when he turned 18. He planned to run and never look back. But somehow the words his father spoke were painful and felt so final. He looked down quickly and then met his father's eyes. He spoke, willing his voice not to waver. "I need my clothes."
"For what? You think you're going to go live with that slut? I don't see her parents allowing that." Jody scoffed. "So where are you going to go? No one is going to take you in."
"I will," Caleb looked over at his wife and she nodded that it was okay. "He can stay with us till we get this settled."
"Fine," Jody nodded to his brother and looked over at Cathy, "Help him get what he needs. Nothing else. Everything else in there I bought and paid for."
Gunnar followed his mother back inside and Caleb sighed, "He's shifting, Jody. You knew this was a possibility."
"It's been happening for a while, I've noticed it in his body language. Tonight is only the beginning and that's why I'm cutting him off now. I can't have that in my family, Caleb. How's it going to look, with me being a preacher? Damn our great great grandpa for passing on that gene." Jody spoke of the 'were' genes. No one knew exactly where it came from but they all knew that great great grandpa Jacobs had been a werewolf. Not the bloodthirsty, crazed, horror movie kind, they more or less turned into actual wolves.
"It's a sad day when you turn blood away in favor of the church. But I'll teach him the ways. You won't need to worry." Caleb replied in a voice calmer than he felt. He felt like shaking some sense into his brother. Gunnar came out and Caleb motioned him to follow. "Come on, Gunnar, let's get you over to my house where you'll be safe."