Dark Fugitive, page 8
part #2 of Nightshade Series
Dawn laid her aching head on his warm coat of banded fur and wept herself to sleep, as her face and hands shook violently with seizure-like tremors. Wolf licked her face a bit and watched over her for a while longer, before joining her in her much-needed rest. Dawn had a dream, where she was a breakfast cereal character, who magically leapt off the sugary box and murdered everyone in the family home.
When Dawn woke the next morning, Dawn and Wolf were still nuzzling together in mutual comfort and support. Hoping that the dire devastation of the previous night had been nothing more than a wrenching nightmare, she felt the dried, crusted blood coating her body, and found her dead baby still cradled in her arms. Her tears quickly revisited her sore eyes, but came much gentler this time. Dawn made one last futile attempt to revive the little guy from his eternal slumber by putting her mouth over his, and trying to give him CPR, knowing that her effort was in vain. She discovers something in the dirt beside her, which looks to be interesting enough to dig up. She uses her clawed fingers to dig around the small object and finally pulls it out of the ground. As she looks at it, she doesn’t identify or recognize what it is, but it turns out to be an XX rune stone.
“Hmm, interesting rock,” she says out loud to herself, before tossing it over her left shoulder like a pinch of salt. Dawn sets her cherished child down beside her, and turns and looks at her hairy friend. Wolf gently bats his eyes at her, as he releases a soft whimper. Dawn’s trampled heart is soothed as much as it can be by her friend’s genuine and unspoken sentiment. “I love you too,” she tells him. “Why don’t we have some breakfast, unalii.”
They get up off the ground and walk over to the two slaughtered bodies that Wolf had dismembered. Flies buzzed around the fresh corpses, and the stank was already rancid. They both simultaneously dined from the bodies, devouring their internal organs, as if they had developed a taste for raw and putrid meat. They gorged themselves, but not to excess. They only fed to the degree of sustaining them for the next couple days or so. Leaving the carcasses there, Dawn picks up her deceased baby, and she and Wolf continue to walk to the deserted rail yard.
On their way there, they come to a Cavender’s western-wear store. They veer off their route, to take care of what needs to be done. Stepping into the retail outlet, the employees and customers stop what they’re doing and collectively gawk at the terrifying duo. Dawn looked like Sissy Spacek did in, Carrie, while Wolf made sure that everyone remained subdued and subjugated. Ranchers and poachers stared at the conspicuous pair, torn on how to react. Everyone in the boutique was scared shitless at the sight of them. Dawn was still holding her dead newborn, whom everyone could clearly see, which only made her and Wolf even more frightening to the shoppers and staff. Wolf cautiously follows Dawn up to the checkout counter.
“I need a change of clothes, private use of your washroom, a lighter, and a gallon container of gasoline,” Dawn communicated, in a calm yet demanding voice.
“Um, we’re a family clothing store,” the female clerk told her. “We can set you up with a change of clothes and give you private use of our facilities, but we can’t help you with your other requests,” the woman told her, trying to hide that she was shaking like a leaf in the wind.
“I have a gas can in my truck,” one of the male customers volunteered. “I can help her.”
Wolf noticed that a more conventional family was trying to sneak slowly towards the exit, and quickly ran back to guard the doors.
“I’m sorry,” Dawn apologized, “but nobody can leave until my wolf and I are ready to leave. We’re not here to harm anyone. We just need your help with a few things, and then we’ll be on our way and out of yours.” Everyone seemed to be happy to comply, either with an agreeing nod or by holding their peace. “Thank you, sir,” she said, turning to make eye contact with the elderly man with the truck. “I appreciate your kind generosity.” Dawn started to make her way towards the young women’s section of the store, to find a fresh outfit, when it occurred to her that she was still holding her stillborn child. She turned back around one more time, and walked up to the counter to address the lady cashier. “I hate to bother you again,” she said, as she laid her child down on the counter, “but could you watch my baby and maybe put him in a box for me? I need something I can carry him in, when Wolf and I are finally ready to get out of your hair.”
“Sure,” the woman agreed without dispute or debate, as she pissed her pants, completely in shock.
“Thank you again,” Dawn showed appreciation, as she went browsing through the store. Everyone remained frozen in fear, while Wolf stayed by the door to keep people from leaving or entering.
Once Dawn had cleaned herself up and taken enough to replenish what needed to be discarded, she was ready to leave the establishment. While she had read about detestable mothers dumping their babies in public garbage receptacles, she wasn’t about to disgrace or desert her child that way. Besides, those mothers were cruel and unfeeling, doing that to their babies whether they were alive or dead. None of this changed the fact, however, that she had a stillborn son that she couldn’t bring back, regardless of how desperately she wanted to keep and resurrect him. She was faced with the unwanted task of disposing his remains, which she could either do by burial or cremation. Though it shattered her heart to do so, she decided on the latter option, as it would take less time and be more efficient in not leaving any evidence for the police to find later. Donnie’s corpse would only leave DNA for the cops to trace back to her. She couldn’t let that happen, as much as it destroyed her to say goodbye to Reuben’s son.
Dawn did not want to do this, and it began to show in her somatic demeanor. Wolf looked up at her out of alarm, sensing that she was acutely distraught. When she looked back down at Wolf, and locked eyes with his, she took on a whole other layer of psychosis. Though Wolf hadn’t imparted this at all, she heard a distinct voice come from him that no one else could hear. She, in her unstable and unhinged state of delusion, believed she heard Wolf tell her not to leave any loose ends. The voice, that she was confident she heard, was not in animal dialect but in fluent English.
“Toss me your keys,” she said to the old man who had offered to help her out with the gasoline. She could see the doubt and worry in his eyes, as he had expected to be able to walk out with her and get it for her. “I’ll throw you your keys back, I promise.” The helpful senior distrusted her, but he knew that he had no choice. Linda was there, as always, showing up to wail just before Dawn did her thing.
Dawn and Wolf walk out alone, leaving little Donnie inside with the dismayed cashier. While Dawn tends to the pickup, Wolf faces the doors to the store, making sure none of the patrons or personnel escape. Though it's the hardest thing for Dawn to do, she burns the infant's body in the Western boutique, along with everyone else. Dawn holds the doors shut, with her bare hands this time, while she once again commits arson. As the place burns to the ground, they can hear the deafening screams coming from inside. Some of the victims forcefully push and pull on the doors, only to find they were no match for Dawn’s strength or stamina. A few others bust through the window and try to make a run for it, only to be met with Wolf’s matchless agility and unrivaled aggression.
After the deed is done and everyone had perished, besides her and Wolf, Dawn honors her vow and throws the man’s keys into the blazing building. She could have taken the truck, but had enough prudence to know that it would only bring trouble. Dawn then collapses on the ground. Grabbing at the center of her chest, she falls apart and has another severe panic attack that feels more like a cardiac arrest. Her heart is pounding, her spine is tingling, and her vision blurring. This one was as afflicting as the last one, but because she now knew what to expect, she could better handle the agony. This unbearable trauma brings Dawn and Wolf closer together, but also hardens her heart more than it was already. Dawn had been carrying around the baby blanket that she had shoplifted earlier, for little Donnie’s arrival. It has a wolf pattern on it, blended with different pastel colors. Though their son was dead, she couldn't bring herself to get rid of the unused blanket, so she added it to the contents of her rucksack.
Dawn and Wolf spend hours that night, hugging and sobbing together in mourning. Dawn considered those people a burnt offering to the phlegmatic God, whom she saw more and more as a sociopath. From then on, she thinks that Wolf is telepathically telling her who to kill…as well as when and why. Only Dawn’s warped mind can hear him speak to her, and now Wolf’s alleged encouragement is at odds with Linda’s persistent dissuasion. Though this was merely symptomatic of her progressive meltdown and Wolf wasn’t actually directing Dawn in her warpath, Dawn had picked up on something else that wasn’t at all a psychotic delusion. Wolf could see Linda’s ghost when she would show up to wail at her deteriorating daughter, just before Dawn would take a life. As Dawn held Wolf close, cradling him in her arms, he buried his cold nose into her warm bosom. Wolf kept watchful guard, snarling at anyone who dared as much as look at them wrong.
SEPTEMBER 16, 1978
LUNAR ECLIPSE
Dawn cuts herself with a fillet knife that she found in the dirty kitchen, slicing her arms deep enough to draw blood and leave scars, but not enough to sever a major artery. She’s sitting on the neglected floor, in the corner of the cabinets, while the water pours out of the faucet in the sink above. Wolf, of course, licks her wounds clean, even as she makes them. He hates seeing her like this, but is wise enough to know that there is nothing he can do to stop her quest of self-destruction. He only hopes that his loyalty and friendship will be reason enough for her to slow down the process some. The Deep Purple hit, Smoke On The Water, is playing on a radio that’s plugged into the wall. The wall looks like an electrical hazard, the radio is covered in cobwebs, and the hot steam is turning into a black mist.
The one positive side to Dawn’s persistent self-mutilation, was that the werewolf in her made her immune system like none other. So, even carelessly using a rusty blade on her own flesh, which was considerably unhygienic, she was no longer prone or powerless to the myriad of diseases that others needed to guard themselves against. Dawn was by no means invincible, but she had become exceptionally resilient. She would, on the other hand, never get used to or grow numb to, the pain that had taken up permanent residence in her broken heart. They say that time heals all wounds, but it only teaches how to live with them, if you can survive at all. Those who claim that what doesn’t kill you makes you stronger, have never known real tragedy or suffered the way Dawn had. Anyone who could believe such nonsense, had clearly never been backstabbed by life or let down by God.
That night, Dawn had fallen asleep spooning with Wolf, in the old, ramshackle house, which from the looks of it had clearly been relinquished long ago. This place was off by itself, in the middle of the woods, miles from any neighbor or business. Dawn had found some dusty blankets that she shook off on the porch, and brought back inside to construct a makeshift tipi for them to sleep under, while they laid together on the floor. As Dawn snuggled with Wolf from behind, wrapping her left arm around his neck, she spoke softly to Reuben as if he was actually there with them. About nine minutes before she completely fell asleep, she began to dream…while she was still awake…which would carry on and continue in her slumber. A lunar eclipse was taking place in the night sky, which completely escaped Dawn’s attention, as she was too focused and burned-out to notice.
In Dawn’s dreams, she was as deadpan as she was in reality. Her personality was a reflection of her lament. This dream would be different, as it would revisit the fair-haired fox that she had seen before. Her dream launched with a wolf running through the wilderness. This wolf wasn’t the frosted, lovable companion she had come to befriend, but felt like a literal double of herself. This wolf was dirt-brown, had sky-blue eyes, and was undoubtedly female. Dawn couldn’t tell if she was running from or towards something. She felt connected to this wolf, in a way that she couldn’t share with Wolf. It was as if this dark wolf was a mirror-image of her own soul. The wolf, as an animal totem, is fiercely loyal and true, yet usually retains its freedom and independence. The wolf is also often associated with the psychic aspects of lunar lore.
As the brown wolf ran voraciously through the remote forest, Dawn could feel her feelings and see through her eyes. Just as they merged into one blended spirit, she saw the rosy-haired stranger again. This time, the mysterious beauty was standing in a clearing, which was encircled by towering trees. She was alone, bare naked, and held her arms up to the heavens, as if looking up in solemn prayer. Her hands began to glow with this blinding white energy, which quickly spread over and engulfed her entire body. Her Kool-Aid-treated hair began to flow back behind her, as if she was facing a storm that wasn’t there.
As the wolf continued to frenetically run towards this enchanting woman, she leapt up into the air, once she got close enough. As the brown wolf was in mid-leap, she turned from animal-form to Dawn, who was also stark naked. Landing on the pink-haired mystic, she knocked the woman over, and before she knew it, they were enthralled in the throes of uninhibited passion. While they were engaged in a heated embrace, going at it as if there was no tomorrow, Dawn noticed the woman’s eyes, which radiated an engrossing oceanic shade. Before Dawn knew what she had dove into, this intimate stranger was draining her life force and not letting her go until she fed on Dawn’s very soul. She sucked on her, both bodily and spiritually, as Dawn could feel herself losing control and getting lost in this woman’s affections.
SEPTEMBER 21, 1978
MABON
HARVEST MOON
The turncoat trio are browsing the local head shop, which sells a wide variety of natural and metaphysical supplies. Joy carefully looked at the different herbs on the many shelves. Certain ones like marigold, sunflowers, hibiscus, roses, and myrrh, were luckily marked down in price. Maria was busy checking out the selection of sterling silver rings, each of which had a specific stone on the top; such as amber, tiger-eye, and citrine. The management had come to dread these three girls, so much that they let them take whatever they wanted, fearful that any attempt to upset or apprehend them would only lead to eternal retaliation.
“The great Sun had awoken,” Bonnie said, while stuffing her mouth with a handful of purple grapes that she hadn’t paid for. “Let’s go to church,” she suggested, while standing in the produce section of the elaborate and eclectic store. Joy and Maria both turned their heads to gander at their grazing friend, and smirked with her in one accord. “It’s the Autumn Equinox. We should go celebrate,” she suggested, hoping that Joy would agree.
Despite her better judgment, Dawn makes a valiant effort one last time, to reach out to the Nazarene Lord. Though she’s pretty certain, at this point, that God hates her, it didn’t change or remove the fact that she was terrified of the idea of burning in Hell. The tormented half-Cherokee enters the tainted church, with her head hanging low, seeking temporary sanctuary from the growing blue-heat outside. As Dawn sat in the back row of the church, listening intently to the fundamental service. she continues to get nasty looks from the other parishioners for having brought in a wolf with her. In spite this shunning abhorrence and detesting judgment, Wolf calmly sits at the end of the pew next to Dawn, like a well-trained domesticated pup, not making a sound or a scene.
“Acts 7:42 tells us that God turned his back to them, and gave them up to the worship of the sun and the moon. The Gospel warns us about idolatry in Exodus 20:3&5, 34:14, and what the harsh consequences are in Deuteronomy 6:15. He tells us in John 14:6 that no one will be allowed entrance into paradise, unless they treat Jesus as the only true God. Then, in John 6:44, we are told that Jesus won’t allow the dead into Heaven until the day of his second coming, which means that all of our deceased loved ones are neither in Heaven nor Hell, but waiting patiently in the darkness of the ground, for God knows how long,” he preaches, doing what every minister does, as he misinterprets the Bible and misrepresents God.
As Dawn tries earnestly to listen to the mountebank at the pulpit, she is distracted by three young women who are sitting on the pew across from her, to her left. They look to range between eighteen and twenty-two, and are all dressed in matching, vibrant, yellow, hooded sweat jackets. They’re giggling, and staring at her and Wolf, making Dawn feel awkwardly uncomfortable.
“She’s a shaman,” Bonnie whispered to Joy. Bonnie had short hair with long bangs, that was straight but curled inward at the ends, which covered her ears and forehead; as opposed to Joy and Maria, who both had long, straight hair.
They clearly weren't listening to the sermon, which quickly resumed to the pastor preaching about false gods, not having other gods before Jehovah, and witchcraft being a forbidden abomination. Halfway through the Sunday morning service, the three child-like women get up and come over to sit next to Dawn. Again, Wolf remains completely calm and unthreatening.
“We love your familiar,” the green-eyed Maria whispered in Dawn's ear.
“My what?” Dawn asked, softly, as to not disturb the congregation.
“Your pet,” Joy clarified, in layman’s terms.
“He's not my pet,” she whispered back. “He's my friend.”
Overhearing this, Wolf whimpered, and licked his mouth as he looked up at Dawn, whom he couldn't have adored more. Though Dawn is a little freaked out by these girls, she begins to feel strangely relaxed, as she breathes in the jasmine-scented aroma coming from the three young women. Her strong sense of smell can also detect a hint of lavender, coming from their shared perfume.
