Hairwolf
Chapter Forty Three

Up on the roadside, Foster, Lillian and Brizzbee inspect the area around Stef’s Tahoe, looking for hints as to what may have happened. It’s clear she didn’t just park here for the hell of it. Something caused her to stop and leave the vehicle.

Foster’s, unknowingly staring straight at the brush covering the trailhead where Stef entered but doesn’t know it. The trail is covered, hidden from view.

“Where are you, Stef?” Foster asks, more to himself. “Talk to me. Where’d you go?”

“I don’t know what to do,” Lillian says. “It’s like, pick a direction.” Then to

Foster, “what are you looking at?”

He doesn’t know. But it gives him an idea. He pushes through the bushes momentarily and then calls out - “She went this way. Snow mobile trail.”

He exits the bushes and crosses to the truck. Lillian questions how he knew that but doesn’t wait for an answer. Foster returns with Stef’s clothes and a daypack.

“It’s gonna be too late for the clothes, now.” Lillian says. “She’s already full fur.”

Foster returns them to the vehicle and they push through the bushes.

The Creature-Stef scrambles to her feet, removing the lariat from her torso and yanks on it. The man on the other end is pulled off his feet into the mud. She continues pulling him towards

her until he’s at her feet. She raises a foot and stomps on him. Man two racks the bolt action on

the rifle. This gets her attention. He raises it and fires but Stef is too quick and springs into the trees above him.

Foster, Brizzbee and Lillian stop suddenly reacting to the shot. Foster pulls his side arm and races down the trail.

Meanwhile, the Creature-Ralf, exhausted from his change, is also alerted by the gunshot. His features are much like Ominous but less mature. He shares the band that both Ominous and Stef wear. He’s prominent and proud. His hair is long and falls well passed his shoulders. He’s a

fine mix of muscle, mass and good looks for a werewolf. He rises, ripping the tight shirt from his chest as if shedding skin. He checks his hands. The claws are short black daggers, which he coils

into his palms embracing the change. He leaps out of the area and races towards the direction of the shot.

At the compound, the man with the rifle searches the trees feverishly. He knows it’s either him or that thing but he can’t see anything. Then suddenly, from overhead, the Creature-Stef swings down, attached to a bending sapling, and grabs the man. As the sapling springs back upward, she lets go of the man, launching him into the main cabin. She jumps onto a weaker sapling and descends to the ground.

Man one rises from the mud, inches away from her. He finds the rifle close by and strikes her with the butt-end sending her head-over-heels. She’s dazed and struggles to all fours.

Dinks tackles the male and starts beating him senseless. She watches as he punches the man. This gives her time to recover. Man two scrambles out of the main cabin and grabs the rope. He races towards her, looping the rope around her neck and pulls it tight. She’s torn from her feet and hits

the ground. He lashes the rope tight around a tree and reaches for a stick. Stef rolls onto her

stomach, blood dripping from her lips and forehead from the debris.

“No,” yells, Dinks, racing towards the man. The man strikes him with the stick but that doesn’t stop Dinks. He takes the blow and drives the man into a tree, pinning him with a sturdy forearm to his neck. “You don’t do that. She’s my friend.”

“Let me go, you crazy son of a bitch.”

The man reaches up to Dink’s neck and grabs hold of it. It’s a standoff. The man spins away

from the tree, pinning Dinks up against it. Just then, from behind, a large, furry hand slaps the man’s shoulder, and he’s gone. Dinks, nearly choked out, drops without noticing his savior.

The Creature-Stef stands over Dinks, curious of him. She breathes him in and knows he’s familiar but she doesn’t know how. He tries to get up but he’s having trouble seeing. He’s very dizzy. She wants him to stay down and gently pushes him back.

“I can help, Stef. Let me help.”

She growls loudly at him and he freezes. He isn’t sure what’s happening now. His eyes are slivers from swelling. He reaches up to her and finds her dress. It’s her, but what happened to her voice. He webs his hand into hers, obeying. This reminds her of something pleasant. She likes it. She likes him. She pulls back, tapping his head, suggesting he stay put.

Outside the camp, three more poachers enter, each armed with heavy caliber rifles and bear pelts. They trudge hurriedly up the slight incline towards the edge of the compound but they’re not alone. Something trails behind. They’re aware of it, they just haven’t seen it yet.

Following from above, the Creature-Ralf jumps silently from branch to branch. His leg strength allows him to cover a great distance while making little noise. But then, he lands on a weak branch and it breaks. He grabs another branch and watches the dead wood fall to the ground just behind the men. The men jump as the branch lands hard behind them.

“Jesus,” says the lead man. “Keep an eye out above.”

“I can barely see the ground in front of me, never mind above,” he says, looking up. He

sees something but it’s too dark to identify and ignores it.

“I got the feeling something is following us,” says the tail-man.

The Creature-Ralf watches curiously from above as the men continue to the compound.

As they approach they spy something strange in a dress.

“What the hell is that?” asks the middle man.

The three hunker down and watch from a concealed position. The lead man raises his rifle and peers through the scope at the Creature-Stef. Surprised, he hands the rifle to the middle man. He reveals equal surprise.

“What the hell is that thing?”

“A female Bigfoot.”

Man three pulls out a mini monocular and peers through the single eye-piece. “Look at that thing. Can you wound it? Shoot it in the leg or somethin? We can’t just kill it.”

The lead man takes the rifle back and looks at her. “You still have to contain her. How do you suppose we do that?”

The men creep into the camp, watching as the Creature-Stef walks away from them, unaware. There’s another man struggling to his feet, reaching out for her.

“That’s Dinks, dumb son of a bitch,” says man three looking through the scope again.

“Looks like Lil John and Robbie over there. I don’t see Jesup.”

“Put a bullet in it,” says man two.

Man three raises his rifle. He’s got the creature sighted in. He steadies his rifle, slowly and quietly chambering a round with the bolt but it’s not quiet enough.The Creature-Stef, freezes. She knows somebody is watching her. Her enhanced hearing pinpoints the exact location in the woods. She turns facing them, approaching cautiously and slowly. She doesn’t know who or how many but that’s not going to stop her.

Man three readies his shot and fires. But the Creature-Stef hears the hammer drop before the shot and twists her body just in time to let the bullet speed by her. She rushes towards the source but then freezes, eyes locked on something just above the them.

Hanging from the top of a bending tree, the Creature-Ralf lowers silently behind the men. They turn to the cracking and bending of wood and find themselves face to fur with him. He lets go of the tree and it snaps back to straight. It’s now him and the them.

The Creature-Stef, threatened by this new beast, runs towards Dinks. She grabs him and carries him out. She puts him down near the frog pond. He’s un-steady and confused. His eyes are nearly swollen shut.

“My head hurts real bad, Stef. You should go. There’ll be more.” He raises his hand to gently send her away but she’s nowhere near where he’s reaching. His vision is totally compromised and she knows this. She grows anxious over what to do with him.

The Creature-Ralf throws the last of the men’s rifles to the ground. The barrels are bent and useless. As he turns back on the men, one of them stabs him in the shoulder with a bowie knife.

The Creature-Ralf cuts loose on all three of the men. It’s a brutal assault. His strength is too great

for them. They struggle and fight but it’s pointless. The Creature-Ralf makes quick work of them,

leaving them in a pile.

The Creature-Ralf looks for the Creature-Stef. But she’s gone. Just then a lightning strike hits a dead tree overhead. The sound is deafening to him and he covers his ears. The strike sends a tree limb crashing down on top of him. He’s down and out.

The Creature-Stef carries Dinks up the dirt road. She can’t leave him here but she can’t keep him with her either. She’s too hurt and exhausted. Up ahead, flashlights bounce above the ground. She ducks into the brush with Dinks and lays in wait. As the lights approach, they slow in pace.

It’s Foster, Lillian and Brizzbee.

“Smell that?” Lillian says. “Wet fur. Stef. Stef, is that you?”

“Lillian,” says, Brizzbee. “What if it’s Ominous?”

She hadn’t thought about that.

The Creature-Stef emerges from the bush with Dinks. She knows them and approaches eagerly, dropping to her knees and laying Dinks out in front of them.

Lillian rushes her ... “Oh, Stef. Thank God we found you.”

She’s exhausted and excited about seeing them but she also knows there’s danger close by. Danger from everywhere. Her eyes find Foster and she scrambles to him. She thrusts her head into his chest, pushing him away. She grabs Lillian and pushes her too. She then sees Brizzbee. She’s very excited about all three of her playthings being together at the same place but they’re all in danger.

Brizzbee reaches for Dinks. “It’s okay, Stef. Let me have him.” Brizzbee inspects Dink’s wounds. He’s in bad shape. The Creature-Stef turns back towards the compound but Lillian pulls on her.

“No, Stef. No. Look at me,” Lillian says, inspecting her injuries. “Look at her.” Lillian says, pushing her hair aside, looking at the cuts. “Somebody beat the hell out of her.”

“It wasn’t Ominous,” Foster says with confidence.

“This one has head injuries, too.” Brizzbee says. “We got to get him to a hospital. Who did this, Stef?” Brizzbee points to Dink’s eyes and face, gesturing, “Who? Where? Where are they?”

“Where, Stef?” Lillian asks, pointing in a variety of directions.

The Creature-Stef, elated she’s able to connect with her, takes Lillian’s arm and points down the trail. Lillian wraps her arms around her. “That’s my girl. You’re doing good, Stef. Good.”

“Get him to the hospital,” Foster says. “I’m going to stay with her.”

The Creature-Stef holds Lillian tight. She looks back at Foster, very confused.

“Look at you.” He takes out a bandana and wipes away the blood, pressing her wounds closed. She closes her eyes, welcoming his touch. But it’s short lived. She has to go and protect them.

“Stef, come with us,” Lillian says.

“Whoever did this got to her before she could change.” Foster says. “Damn it.”

She reaches up to the back of Foster’s neck and pulls him into her forehead. He reaches up behind her head and caresses her wet hair. She pulls away sensing danger. Foster’s aware she’s about to leave and reaches for her hand -

“Stay. Stay with us.”

She remembers the warm feel of his hand in hers. She likes it. But something lurks close by and she needs to deal with it. A bolt of lightning strikes nearby, causing a brief loss of sight. And that’s the second she needs to disappear.

“Damn her,” yells Lillian.

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