Cruel and Unusual - serialised novel EXCLUSIVE to Steemit Part 33

For the full list of episodes, please see this post: Episode List
Then, Episodes 31 and 32

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“As you can imagine, Hazel, the tribe had been exceptionally fortunate in the whole business so far. Regretably, the good fortune was about to desert them completely. By mere coincidence, the next ceremony was held to honour the moon – the full moon that helped the hunter. There were a few unhappy coincidences that contributed to the ensuing tragedy. One was that the pelt was no ordinary wolf as they thought – it was of course, a werewolf pelt. The ceremony of the Moon – held at the most powerful full moon, the one closest to Feralia or Halloween, as the Humes know it, and the final ingredient for disaster – the last coincidence - was that the one that had killed the Wolf would be the one to wear the pelt. Keme had offered the pelt to his grandfather in tribute to his Shaman but he declined the offer in view of the fact that he had one already and Keme did not.”

“Now, some of the legends of Werewolf lore are complete tripe, others are based in fact. You once asked me if a man that was killed by a Wolf would return to plague his killer - that is tripe, as is the legend that states hairs growing on the palms of one’s hands denote a werewolf. Tell me, do you have hairs on the palms of your hands? No? Neither do I. However, the legend which tells that if you kill a werewolf, skin it and use its pelt under the bright full moon, then you will become werewolf yourself – now that is based upon truth. Although it is not quite as easy as it sounds. The legend began because of shape shifters such as my Shaman teacher. I had heard of it, but as you can imagine, the practice is not widespread because of its obvious limitations. For one, there can be no going back. Once you have become Wolf, then that is how you remain – a man-wolf.”

“And I assume that is what happened to Keme.” Hazel said.

Anton nodded; he waited while Hazel pondered for a moment and then smiled as he saw the question forming and she asked.

“But how did they overcome him? It must have taken a while before you could get there, weeks if not months.

“You are quite right Hazel; it did take months of travelling, but more of that in a moment. At the ceremony of the Moon, Keme began his part and his grandfather noticed that he was altering. His manner changed to one who was more aggressive than Keme usually was when performing ceremonies. His voice had changed timbre and both of those things are attributes that we know so well, but that had only been spoken of to the Shaman, yet he had the presence of mind to know what to do. He gathered his wits and before the transformation had fully completed, he wrapped leather thong around his grandson and stopped the ceremony. Leather cord would not hold you or me but as Keme was a fledgling, it was just enough to hold him in his struggles. He had enough humanity left to not try to attack his grandfather, which happens to be the only good fortune that occurred that night.”

“The Shaman sent out the women to collect Wolfsbane, and he spent the next day preparing potions and stronger bindings for the coming ordeals. As darkness fell, he did not rely on his Shamanist knowledge alone; he also took great care for his own safety. He had fashioned a muzzle and much as he hated to use it, it was fixed firmly in place before the transformation began.”

“Now as the name implies, Wolfsbane is deadly to us but it is also a poison to not-Wolf too. The Shaman knew this and took as much care as he possibly could to avoid poisoning himself or his grandson. Over the next two nights the Shaman battled with his grandson, finding out that when the first full transformation occurs, the Wolf cannot change back to Hume unless a kill is made. But he also found out something equally important – Wolfsbane, in its distilled form, prevents Wolf from altering shape so that a Wolf in human form could not change to Wolf and vice-versa. It inhibits the muscles so that they cannot perform the metamorphosis. Because Keme had not killed or eaten human flesh, he was still Wolf on the next morning.”

“The same as I was on my first time.”

“Ah yes, exactly then. The Shaman was distressed at the thought that he could not reverse the change in his grandson. The rest of the tribe were not rejoicing either, but they stayed with them both and supported the Shaman in every way possible. A strong cage was made and Keme was forced into it, weakened by the Wolfsbane, and muzzled and bound, but he was still exceptionally strong in his misery.

“They carried him a long way from their camp and left the Shaman alone. Every day, a parcel of meat was left for them as well as other food. Given that this was in the beginning of winter and the tribe had lost a number of their best hunters in the Wolf attack, this was a very difficult time for all concerned. At the approach of the next Full Moon, Keme was becoming stronger still and the Shaman was becoming increasingly concerned for his safety as well as his grandson’s sanity. He did not realise that his grandson’s mind would be safe because the Wolf cannot reach the human psyche at such an early stage in his Wolfing. Although I do not recommend that a Wolf stay as such for a full month in ordinary circumstances, this was no ordinary Wolfing as we know it.”

“I agree. To be forced to remain Wolf is a painful and terrible experience, I do not recommend it.”

“You can remember the experience?” Anton asked with ill-concealed eagerness.

“Yes, it haunts me. The hunger seemed to be consuming me from the inside, my gut felt like it was trying to turn itself inside out and there was a scouring sensation on the inside of my skin. It felt as though there were sharp claws scraping the very flesh from my bones. I suppose it would be almost the same sensation as the Wolf that Keme skinned would have felt were he still alive when Keme skinned him.”