Degree In Lycanthropy
Curtis nestled under a large lavender bush, licking the dried blood and dirt from the cuts on his body. He couldn’t clear his mind. He didn’t know where he was, even who he was. This was the seventy-second time this had happened. Three times every month he would lose consciousness and wreak his room. Perhaps he should stop drinking dog-bites or pan-galactic-gargle-blasters at the student's union.
It took him a few hours to regain his composure. He still couldn’t recollect what had happened to him, but he knew he must find his girlfriend, Sarah. What was he to do? He was naked, miles from his flat, in broad daylight. To his great delight Curtis saw a skip, full of rubbish. Surely there must be something wearable in there, but all he could find was an old dust sheet.
“It’ll have to do.” thought Curtis. Grabbing the sheet, Curtis ran towards the nearest phone box. He passed several people as he went. Two old ladies pointed and laughed, whilst several students started shouting abuse. This was awful, if only he could contact Sarah, she could help him - but what would he tell her?
Arriving at the telephone box, Curtis was dismayed to see it occupied. What was worse was that it was by several school girls. Should he hide and wait, or stroll nonchalantly up as if nothing was amiss. Cowardice prevailed, but only too late. They had seen him, and had bundled out of phone box in a mixture of screaming and hysterical laughter.
“It’s easy. I can explain.... I was at a Stag Party” cried Curtis, but they would have none of it. Then one of them grabbed the corner of the dust sheet and pulled it from him. In a twist he was back in the nude, in front of about a dozen people.
“Oh my god!” called an old man.
“Revolting!” cried another.
“He must be one of those pervy sodo-masacisms! Look at those cuts on his body” bellowed an ignorant unshaven man. Curtis wanted the ground to swallow him up, but he gritted his teeth, and stepped into the phone box. Not only did it give him some privacy, it also shielded him from the wind. It was autumn, and Curtis was freezing.
Sarah was very excited. Tonight here favourite band was playing live at University, and her boyfriend Curtis had managed to get the last two tickets. What a sweetie he had been to her over the last few weeks since they had met. She hadn’t had to pay for anything whenever they went anywhere, and he always remembered to be the perfect gentleman.
It was late afternoon, and Sarah marched up to Curtis’s door, and knocked loudly. There was no reply. She tried the handle, but it was locked. She called out but there was nothing.
“He can’t be out, as we have to leave soon. Perhaps he’s ill? I haven’t seen him today or last night.” she thought.
Sarah had her own key to Curtis’s room, so she opened the door. Her jaw dropped!
All the furniture had been turned upside down. Sheets were torn, cups and glasses were smashed, and expensive text books ripped to shreds. The walls were caked in unrecognisable red and brown muck. In the middle of all this destruction was a pile of torn clothes - but no Curtis.
She raced downstairs to ring for the police. Just as she replaced the receiver, it rang again. Sarah picked up the phone, and accepted the reversed call.
“Curtis, its you! I’ve been so worried, where have you been?”
“Can’t speak now. Come to the park, and meet me behind the fountain. Bring me some clothes as well please.” gabbled Curtis.
“Curtis! What’s the matter with you?”
“Got to go - bye.”
The phone went dead!
Curtis had seen twenty enormous rugby players striding down the road from the Leisure Centre towards him, being led by one of the school girls. Their scowling faces were redder than their scarlet shirts. No doubt she had told him that some dirty, naked pervert had tried to attack her.
“Oh hell!” yelped Curtis, and in a flash he was off down the road in front of all the evening rush hour traffic. One bloke even leant out of his window and shouted “Good on’ya mate!”
Curtis tried to hide his body as best he could, but there was little an empty packet of crisps could accomplish. He knew he must get to the park. At least there would be plenty of bushes to hide in until Sarah arrived. To his surprise it took him only a few minutes to get there. He found that running in bare feet was quicker than with wearing shoes, albeit less comfortable.
Sarah couldn’t take it all in at first, but dutifully did what Curtis asked. Making her way swiftly to the park, she waited by the fountain.
“Psst!” called Curtis. Sarah spun round to see her beloved boyfriend, ankle deep in mud, covered in scratches, hair all mated, shivering excessively - with only a crisp packet for honour.
“What the f...!” exclaimed Sarah.
“Can I have my clothes please?” whispered Curtis.
“Not until you tell me what’s going on.” retorted Sarah abruptly.
“Stop messing around, I’m freezing!” said Curtis angrily.
“All right then,” conceded Sarah, “But I still want to know. Was it the lads’ party last night?”
“No.”
“Please, don’t tell me it’s another woman.” said Sarah nervously.
“Never!” replied Curtis firmly, “But if you want to know what happened to me. I will tell only if you promise to believe me.”
“I will, I will - just tell me!” shouted Sarah.
“Last night I had one of my funny turns. I’ve been getting them for a couple of years now - but recently they’ve got really bad. It happens a few times every month, and I think I know why now!”
“For Heaven’s sake... TELL ME!” screamed Sarah.
“Sarah... I think I turn into a werewolf.” whispered Curtis.
There was a hushed silence. Sarah looked at Curtis quizzically and he started to get dressed.
Curtis continued ,“My mind just flips, and everything goes red. I must have trashed my place pretty bad, just look at my body”. He showed Sarah the huge lacerations all over his arms, legs and back.
“I thought there had been a break in. I thought you had been kidnapped or worse.” spluttered Sarah.
“I doubt it” replied Curtis, “"I'd probably have torn the intruder's throat out last night."
Curtis smirked at his words, but Sarah looked slightly frightened.
“Don’t worry pet. I would never hurt you. I couldn’t.” said Curtis sweetly. “If your worried, I’ll go and see the doctor.”
“I would like that.” said Sarah. “I don't think it's possible, but if you say it’s true - then that’s good enough for me.”
“Thanks honey.” replied Curtis
“I suppose tonight’s off then.” sighed Sarah.
“Sorry Em, but I’ve only had the first of my three bad days. You go without me.”
“No. I want to stay with you. I want to see the real reason behind your problem. Perhaps your epileptic?” said Sarah.
“Perhaps..” replied Curtis, unconvinced.
That night, Curtis stayed with Sarah. For a time he sat on the floor, just looking at her combing her long golden hair. It would shine so beautifully in the moonlight. How he loved her. Even though he had told her such a ridiculous story, she had not questioned him. For all she knew he could have been with another woman, and got beaten up by her husband. Then Curtis shook his head. He shouldn’t be there. What would happen to Sarah if he changed? Could he guarantee Sarah’s safety? Just as he thought that, he felt his clothes begin to tighten.
“Give me a cuddle” giggled Sarah, “And turn the light off as you go. The moon’s bright so you shouldn’t stub your toe.”
Curtis said nothing.
He climbed into bed, and pressed up against her. Sarah sensed that something didn’t feel right. Was the bed sagging more than usual? Was Curtis putting on weight? And she was sure he wasn’t that hairy-chested........
Early the next morning, Sarah sat motionless on the bed, looking at Curtis next to her. “I understand now” she said quietly. “You poor thing.”
Curtis said nothing, but growled quietly to himself as Sarah stroked his muzzle. The fur was soft and shiny, and Curtis cold wet nose glistened in the lamp light.
“What can we do? There must be someone who can help you?”
“What does it matter now?” growled Curtis. “I thought this kind of thing only happened in movies. Not in real life. I must have done something pretty bad to deserve this?”
“You don’t know that. It might be hereditary or something else. How do we know?”
“What am I going to do? It’ll soon be day light and I’m still like this!” he cried, holding up a pair of hairy paws to Sarah.
“What’s worse, we’ve got our seminar today as well.” replied Sarah.
“I can’t miss another lesson, but I can’t go like this either.”
“Can’t you get dressed, and bandage your hands and face, and say you’ve got a nasty rash?” asked Sarah, rather timidly. Curtis growled again, and then said “None of my clothes will fit me now. Its hopeless!” Curtis put his paws up to his muzzle, and whined like a lost puppy.
“Wait a minute, I’ve got a long cape and shawl. Perhaps you could put that on. Sure, it’ll look weird, but you can make up some excuse. At least your voice still sounds human, albeit one with a sore throat.” And with that Sarah dived into her trunk and produced the long black garments. She had to stand on the bed to reach Curtis’s shoulders.
“This will never work.” protested Curtis, but Sarah was insistent. When she had covered him in her cape, Sarah hugged him. She would still love him, whatever he looked like. In fact, she found him quite sexy.
“Thanks Sal. I don’t know what I’d do without you.” whimpered Curtis.
“What about breakfast?” asked Sarah, “I’ve got some bran flakes”.
Curtis snarled, and rolled his huge yellow eyes at her. Fortunately, Sarah had some raw meat in her small fridge-freezer, and this she gave to Curtis. She was taken aback though when Curtis pushed the plate onto the floor, and ate his breakfast off the ground.
“We better make a move” said Sarah, “It’ll be light soon and people will be about.”
Curtis started to cough violently, and Sarah looked anxious.
“Don’t worry,” said Curtis when he had stopped coughing. “I think it was just hair-ball.”
Under the cover of darkness, Sarah and Curtis sneaked into the library.
“Morning.” said the librarian. Sarah and Curtis froze to the spot.
“Urh... morning.” replied Curtis. The old man on the desk didn’t look up from his newspaper, and the odd couple continued into the economics section. No one ever went there, and it was next to the emergency exit that lead to their department.
They got into their lesson early, and sat at the back. After an hour or so, the other students filed in. Most were either half-asleep or hungover, and none questioned the giant cloaked figure sitting next to little Sarah. The lecturer was too interested in what he had to say to notice. To Curtis and Sarah, the lesson seemed to drag on for hours.
“What’s that smell?” asked Sarah quietly.
“It’s me” said Curtis sheepishly. “When I’m stressed, I sweat like a...”
“Werewolf?” interrupted Sarah.
They both chuckled.
The lesson eventually ended about lunch time. Sarah and Curtis waited for everyone to leave before they made their move.
“What do we do now?” asked Curtis.
“Get back to my flat without being noticed.” said Sarah calmly.
“That’s not going to be easy at midday.” replied Curtis. The two got up, and started down the long, crowded corridor to the exit. Once they were out in the open, it wouldn’t be too bad.
“Hey Sarah. Whose your new bloke?” called out a girl from her hockey club, “Glad to see you dumped that wimp Curtis”
Sarah gave the girl a cold stare, but Curtis just kept walking. They had almost made it to the door when the girl heard Curtis’s claws scraping on the linoleum floor. Sarah did as well, and looked down to see the glint of the sharp talon protruding from under the cloak. What was worse, several other people had now seen it as well.
“Hey! Who the hell are you?” called the girl.
“We’d better run.” said Sarah, and they bolted for the door. The black cape got caught on the handle, and fell to the ground. Curtis was left in full, hairy view.
The corridor was suddenly full of screams, shouts and fainting women - but Curtis and Sarah didn’t stay to see what happened.
“We can't go back to either flat now!”
“Get on my back!” yelled Curtis, and Sarah scrambled up.
Sarah clung on for dear life as Curtis started running on all fours towards the woods. The sounds of pursuit died away. Eventually, Curtis stopped and Sarah got off.
“I must go away.” said Curtis, “If I stay here we’ll both become part of some freak show or government investigation.”
“I’m not leaving you.” cried Sarah.
“You must, it’s the only way.” sobbed Curtis
“Then I’m coming with you” she protested.
“No baby, you are human - I’m not. I must go.” said Curtis. The last thing in the World he wanted was to give her up, but he also wanted what was best for her.
Sarah stood for a moment thinking, and then said “I could become a werewolf too.”
“How?”
“If you bite me, that should work.”
“I can’t. You’ve got so much to look forward to. I would probably fail my exams anyway - but your a model student.”
“I don’t care” replied Sarah, “All I want is you.”
“I won’t bite you anyway.” said Curtis firmly.
“You don’t have to.” replied Sarah, and she produced a small penknife from her pocket and before Curtis stop her - slashed her wrist. Blood poured from the wound.
“You must lick the wound, or I will bleed to death. Werewolves can recover from wounds like this - humans can’t” she said faintly. Curtis now had no choice. He padded over to her and licked her wrist. He then kissed her on the lips. It worked. Sarah suddenly sat up, and then fell forward onto all fours. Her long hair then started to spread all over her body. Once the transformation had finished, Curtis growled “We had better go now” and they ran off into woods together.