Today was it, the day I was going to my grandfather’s farm. I’ve been dreaming of this for so long and now that my college classes were over, I could finally come by and visit. Now I know you might be thinking, there’s a million other things I could do. Well you would be right but nothing compares to the lush fields of wheat, the smell of the non-polluted air. My favorite part though was the stars. In the city I could usually see maybe three stars and nine out of ten times two of them were helicopter lights, but out in the farm where the only light source was the dim porch light you could see a whole new night sky.
I arrived to my grandfather’s home at around 7:15 pm. There he was, rocking back and forth in his grey shirt and overalls. Puffing away at the old corncob pipe that was given to him by his father. A beard seasoned with age and experience hung down from his chin to his potbelly. Even at 20 years old I could barely hold my excitement I already had a huge smile on my face and my grandfather could clearly see it.
“Well boy, are you just gonna sit there in your car grinning like an idiot or are you gonna come say hi?” He bellowed. Yep, still the same man, no matter what was constantly changing in my life I knew he would never change. I got out of the car grabbing my suitcase and walking up the dirt and gravel pathway.
“Listen old man, can’t I just enjoy the moment I had a pretty tough semester!” I replied.
“Yeah yeah I bet you’ll be missing all that computer science when I get you working in the fields tomorrow morning.” I walked up the old steps and bent down to give my grandfather a hug. The smell of wheat and hay hit my nostrils and his rough hands patted my back. I sat beside him and began to bring him up to speed on my life. The one thing i liked the most about him, was that he actually listened, he didn’t turn the conversation about himself. He knew when to make jokes and knew when to give advice when necessary. It’s hard to find that in today’s world, with social media turning us into self absorbed creatures addicted to likes and shares.
“So granddad, how are the animals doing?” I asked while rocking opposite of his chair.
“Oh you know, same old, same old. We have a couple young ones that were born just a month ago. Adorable little things, i tell ya.”
“That’s great!” I replied
“Yeah it would be even better if they had time to grow. A good client of mine wants veal and the mother’s meat.” i could see the look of disappointment on his face. You see my grandfather’s animals were like his children and every time he had to put one of them down, it crushed him.
“Oh, well at least the mother will be with her baby.” I said with a pathetic attempt to cheer my grandfather up. He simply nodded, taking another puff from the pipe. We sat there in silence for a few minutes, looking up at the stars as a streak of light passed by.
“Well then it’s getting late boy, we should head to bed. I want you up at 6am sharp, you have a long day ahead of ya.”I nodded and got up, heading to the guest room. I wasn’t gonna lie, I was beat. As soon I put on my pjs on, I fell right to sleep.
“ARGH! F*****G DAMN IT!” the sounds of clattering dishes woke me up from a dreamless sleep. I tore my away from my pillow, slobber connected from the corner of my lip to the puffy head rest. I ran down the stairs, panic building with every step down. I turned the corner to the dining room. It was covered in streaks and hand prints of blood. My grandfather sat there holding his arm. A massive bite mark was on his forearm, rivers of crimson were flowing down his arm dripping off his fingers.
“Christ, what the f**k happened?!”
“Argh f**k, well I was trying to separate the calf from the mother but the mother really didn’t like that so she bit me. Worse of all, she escaped with the calf.”
“F**k we should get you to the hospital who knows what infection you could have contracted!”
“Forget about that those two are our top priority, i’m sorry for putting this on you but you have to get them back. Don’t worry bout me I’ll be fine. ”I stood there, it felt wrong to just leave him there, bleeding and in pain. He locked eyes with me, a look of seriousness I’ve never seen.
“GO!” I flinched and nodded. They couldn’t have gone too far, I knew why they headed north though, beyond the tracks, north of the farm was grasslands as far as the eye could see. I ran quickly, legs burning from such an intense and sudden exercise. My breath quickened, I was gaining on her, I could tell. The smell of her sweat and the cries from the newborn, excitement was filling my very being. My face began to elongate, thick fur began to sprout out, my already fit muscular frame was growing and soon I was too big for my own clothing. My teeth began to sharpen and grow longer, before I knew it I was on all fours, fully immersed in my lycanthrope state.
“Please god only a little further. Just a little more.” she said to herself, her newborn’s cries were like a dinner bell to my ears. I was only a couple meters away from her, she was completely naked. Her blonde hair whipping in the breeze, a branding mark with the number thirteen that was seared onto her left shoulder blade when she first arrived with the others. She tripped over a root and fell to her side holding her baby close to her. This was my chance, I lunged, her last memory were only of teeth and claws.
After licking the blood off my fingers, I realized there wasn’t much to take home. Grandad was going to be pissed. Oh well, he had plenty of others to choose from back in the barn. They were just cattle to us anyway.