Cruel and Unusual - serialised novel EXCLUSIVE to Steemit Part 20

Exclusive for Steemit - serialisation of Cruel and Unusual – my second novel

Episodes:
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19

Images from Google Images and/or Pixabay

He woke up in his bed with sweat running down his chest. He was soaked through. His bedding and the slickness of his skin made him panic once more until he realised that it was not his lifeblood that had soaked him through, but the sweat of his exertions.

He tried to remember what he had been dreaming about, but each time he grasped for the answer, it faded; it was like trying to grip smoke in both hands. Each time he thought he had it in his grasp, it evaded his every effort to recognise and comprehend it, until at last, even the most slender of memories was gone, faded back into dreamland.

He got out of bed to hear Lizzie coming in through the back door as she usually did on Saturday morning. He dressed quickly and felt disgusting under his clothes. He assumed that it was the residual perspiration on his skin that made him feel clammy and wretched and made a mental note to take a bath once Lizzie had finished her work and gone home.

At last she did finish, though she seemed to be concerned about her employer and was kind enough to make him a nice breakfast and then lunch before she at last left.

Jack did not know what he was going to do. He could not live in utter terror for three nights out of each month and his curious scientific mind was clamouring with questions that he needed to answer.

At last, late in the afternoon he made a decision. He took an hour or more to prepare, but once his mind was made up, he went about his task in his usual methodical and efficient manner.

He searched his study for a notebook that had not yet been written in and took it down to his basement laboratory. Then he set about removing the old experiments and prepared the entire area for some new ones.

When he deemed himself ready, Jack dressed in older clothes and though he had none that were shabby, he thought that his attire was not quite as conspicuous as it had been forty-eight hours before. Satisfied with the way he looked, he went out of the back door. This time, however, he kept away from the street where he had met the girl. He did not want to chance running into her again. He had already decided that he would keep her for special occasions.

Tonight, he would watch and wait.

He became aware of his scalp prickling, but the sensation did not become any stronger and nor did it make any progression along his neck and shoulders. While he was waiting - for what, he did not yet know - he mused upon this phenomenon.

In the theatre foyer, his scalp had tingled, as did his palms. Just like last evening, they had become unbearable with the itchiness and upon both occasions, he had seen a terrible vision. He could only have described it as thus.

He did not wish to go down the path of thinking that they were hallucinations or delusions – or dreams. On both occasions, the eyes had glowed but the visage was different on both times - or was it? He forced himself to clear his mind and to concentrate on what exactly he had seen.

He tried to remember every detail of the man in the theatre. A handsome and young face, but no real distinguishing features apart from the fact that his face had altered into a wolf’s face - turned purely feral.

Then he thought of the face at his window earlier, a wolf face to begin with, a Werewolf in all probability, the face of which had also altered, changed to that of a man, but were they the same man? Jack could not be sure.

He wanted to be certain but he was a man of science and needed proof and so could not draw any conclusion as yet.

On both occasions, his head, neck, shoulders, arms, fingers and especially palms had tingled with a static shudder and then his palms had gone further and began to itch. Both times he had been frightened out of his wits but of course, he had not been expecting the encounter.

What would happen then, if he was expecting the encounter and how could he ensure that it would happen under controlled circumstances? Could he entice a Werewolf into a controlled situation? Not to trap it but to watch.

He knew everything it was possible to know of the creatures; surely it would be a matter of simplicity itself to attract one?

It was a bright full moon, the most likely time to find a Werewolf and he knew that there was at least one in the vicinity, he had seen it and sensed it. Now he had to try to make one come to him.

Yet he knew that this was a dangerous experiment that he was planning to undertake, not only was his personal safety at stake, but also the reputation that he had built up over many years of hard work and hard study. His reputation as an eminent surgeon would not be given up easily. If he were discovered, all would be up with him. Still, the stakes may be high, but the rewards were even higher.

Though he loathed rushing an experiment, he knew that tonight was the optimum time. The full May moon was beginning to wane; it was the last night that he would be able to conduct this experiment for twenty-six days.

Thinking quickly as he spied a lone woman, he had to make his move. She seemed to be very drunk and she staggered along holding onto her shawl with one hand and the wall with her other. Her gait was unsteady and her clothes were dirty, shabby and dishevelled – even more than what seemed to be the norm. He took one swift look about him to assure himself that there were not many others close by and none that were within a number of yards of her. Steeling himself now that he had made his decision, he stepped out of the shadows.