"The Strength of the Pack"

“Strength of the Pack”

By Cody Williams

 

1.

            As Jack Michaels sat rocking back and forth in his white wooden rocking chair as he pressed the Bud Light beer bottle to his lips and took a long sip. He took it away from his mouth and sat it down on the glass table top beside of him. ‘That hit’s the spot’ he thought to himself as he let out a relaxing exhale. He sat there in silence with his wife in the rocking chair on the other side of the table and stared out into the dark woods.

            “How was the business today honey?” His wife, Donna, asked him. He sat there silently for a moment before answering.

            “It’s alright. We got a new job next week that we have to go to over in Virginia!” Jack said taking another refreshing sip of his beer. Jack owned the Michaels’s Construction Company just down the road from where they lived. It wasn’t much. It didn’t get much business, but it was just enough for them to keep food on the table.

            The two sat there silently a few more moments’ hen a strange look came over Jack’s face.

            “What the hell is that?” Jack asked as he stood from his rocking chair and walked over to the edge of the front porch. Through the trees at the beginning of the woods, he noticed several flashing lights appearing through the branches. It looked that those white lights that many car dealers uses in their lots at night to light up the sky. But it couldn’t be that and Jack knew it. No, it was something more. The lights were not shining up in the sky they were shining directly trough the tree branches. The light came and went in pulses and when it did come it came all at once.

            “What? What is it?” Donna asked as she too stood from her rocking chair and walked to the edge of the front porch beside her husband. “Oh my God, what is that?” She asked him looking at the strange pulses of lights.

            “I got no f*****g idea!” He said with his eyes fixated on the lights. “Junior! Come out here a minute!” Jack shouted to his son. Junior busted through the front door and looked at his father.

            “What? What is it dad?” Junior asked him. Jack pointed into the forest. Junior walked to the edge of the porch and gazed into the woods.

            “What is that?” Junior asked looking over to his father. Jack just stood there shaking his head.

            “I have no idea. But I’m going to go and find out!” He said as he walked to the center of the porch and down the steppes. Junior grabbed two flashlights from the table beside the door and the inside of the house and followed. He handed one to his father and the two began to make their way to the woods.

 

2.

            “You know just about as anyone. People go hunting in these woods. It’s probably just a hunter’s flashlight!” Junior said, as they got closer to the woods.

            ‘You’re probably right. But I still want to know. If it’s a hunter’s flashlight, then why is it pulsing like that?” Jack asked. Junior shrugged his shoulders and the two of them continued to make their way towards the woods.

            As they got closer, the pulsing light began to distinguish. By the time they arrived the tree where the woods began, the light was completely gone.

            “Where the hell did it go?” Junior asked as began to shine his flashlight around. He noticed something strange. There was perfectly carved round tunnel in the ground. He knelt down next to it and began to explore it. It looked like it was craftily sculpted. It was as if a man or an intelligent animal carved it with care. He placed the flashlight down beside it and stuck his head in in amazement. “What is this?” He mumbled to himself. He heard a loud pop followed by the chilling scream of his father in pain. Junior quickly crawled his way out of the tunnel and picked the flash light up. “Dad!” He shouted as he ran towards his father lying down on the ground holding his leg.

            Junior dropped to his knees. There was a bear trap clamped to his right leg. His blue jeans turned read as blood began to spew from his leg. Junior grabbed a hold of the jaw of the bear trap and began to pry it open. He separated the two jaws of the trap just enough for his father to slide his leg through.

            “Now dad!” Junior shouted as his father lifted his leg out of the vise and moved it over beside it. Junior let go of the bear trap and it slammed shut. Junior stood to his feet and grabbed his father from under his arms. He pulled him up and placed his left arm around his shoulder. Junior looked around again for any sign of the lights once more. Nothing. He looked down at his father’s leg that was still spewing blood.

            “Come on, let’s get you out of here!” Junior said noticing the pain in his father’s face. The two slowly began to make their way from the woods. After they had left, the glow of the pulsing light once again appeared from the tunnel. As the light went out, a set of neon yellow eyes appeared in the darkness.

 

3.

            The next night, Jack sat uncomfortably on the front porch with his right leg propped up on a rocking footstool. It heavily bandaged with blood still seeping it’s way through in a few places. He and his wife sat out on the porch just like the night before but something was different. A deep fog filled the land. Jack stared into the fog and noticed something strange…everything was silent. There were not bird’s singing, there were no deer roaming the woods. Nothing at all.

            They sat there in silence for a few moments. Something just didn’t seem right to Jack. He sat up in his fair lifted his leg off of the footstool. He stood to his feet and hoped over to the edge of the porch.

            “What the hell are you doing? Come back here and sit…” She started before Jack interrupted her.

            “Shh!” He said as he stared into the foggy darkness. Something didn’t feel right. He knew that something was wrong. His skin began to crawl and the hair on the back of his neck began to stand erect. “We got to get out of here!” He said as he quickly began to limp over to his wife. He grabbed her by arm and began to scream with mixture of fear and pain. He walked her inside and slammed the door shut behind them.

            “What the hell has gotten into you? What the hell is wrong?” She asked him. Jack locked the door behind them and glanced out the window through the blinds. As he looked out into the darkness he noticed them. He couldn’t quite make since of what they were, but they were not natural at all. Their yellow colored eyes glistened in the darkness and they began to make their way towards the house.

            “I don’t know what they are.” Jack said as he continued to look out the window. Donna walked over next to him to look out the window. She leaped back with fear.

            “What the hell are those things?” She asked frightened. Jack continued to look out the window.

            “I have no f*****g idea.” He said as the creatures continued to move closer to the house. He thought silently for a moment

            “Guns!” He said to himself. He slowly limped to the door. Donna followed him and grabbed him by the arm before he could reach for the lock.

            “What the hell are you doing?” She asked him.

            “I’m going out to get some goddamn guns from the pick up truck!” He declared.

            “Are you f*****g crazy? You set foot out there and those…things will tear you limb from limb!” She told him.

            “But if I don’t get anything, then we’ll be torn limb from limb anyway when those things get in!” He told her. The two of them stood in silence before hearing a thump from up stairs.

            “Lori!” Donna said. Lori was their sixteen-year-old daughter. She must have been up. Donna turned around and began to walk towards the staircase.

            “Jack, I’m going to go up and check on Lori. Promise me that you will stay put!” She said to him. He nodded in agreement and Donna walked up the stairs.

 

4.

            Jack began to look back outside at the creatures as they continued to make their way towards the house. He could hear the door steps squeak on the porch. He stared the creature in the eyes as it stood up on its hind legs and began walked towards the door. He reached over to the black light switch next to the front door and placed his index finger on it.

            Part of him knew that he probably shouldn’t turn it on, but how could he not? He flipped the light switch upward turning the front porch light on. What he saw made the hairs on the back of his neck stand straight up. The light turned on revealing what looked like some sort of super wolf standing on its hind legs. A wolf man if you will. But something strange happened when light turned on. The creature howled in pain and quickly leaped off of the porch and disappeared into the darkness of the fog.

            “They must not be able to set foot in the light!” Jack said. He thought to himself for a moment. He looked towards the stairwell and listened for his wife to return. “I bet if I trigger the motion lights, I can get to the bed of my truck and get the guns out!” He said to him self. He carefully unlocked the door and opened it. He then stepped outside onto the front porch and shut the door behind him.

 

5.

            Jack walked gingerly to the edge of the front porch and slowly began to limp down the stairs. The creature’s eyes once again appeared from the darkness and began to charge. Jack threw his arms up in the air trying to trigger the motion sensors on the garage just across from the house.

            Beads of sweat began to roll down his face and his heart began to pound harder and faster as the beats grew closer. Jack desperately waved their arms in the air trying to trigger to light. He could practically feel the breath from the creature’s snouts as it ran towards him. One lashed out and scratched him on the arm when the light turned on. Jack stood there and stared the beast in the eye as it gave him an angry look. The beast howled in pain again and fled from the light…but this time, they didn’t disappear. They circled around him as if they were stalking prey. Jack stood still for a moment. The beasts growled at him.

            ‘They’re going to attack!’ He thought to himself. ‘I need to get back inside!’ He said to himself. He slowly began to make his way towards the porch. He touched the railing when the sensor light went out. The creatures began to charge and Jack through himself onto the porch and into the light. The creatures stopped and he picked himself up and rushed back into the house

            He closed the door behind him and locked it.

            “What the hell were you doing out there?” Donna asked him upset. She looked at him with the face of anger and then with pity. She could tell that he was frightened. His entire body was trembling with fear and his completion was paper white. She reached in and hugged him.

            “Everything’s going to be alright!” She said in a soft voice. Jack pulled away.

            “Turn all the lights on and get Lori! We’re going to sleep together tonight!” He told her. She looked at him confused for a moment. “These things can’t set foot in the light! They are afraid of it I think!” He explained. She nodded and began to turn on all the lights in the house.

            Jack slowly limped into the kitchen. He opened the bottom drawer and grabbed two large knives and a meat mallet. He limped back into the living room and slowly began to climb the stairs. Jack reached the top of the stairs and then limped down the hallway to his and Donna’s bedroom. He walked in and Donna and Lori were lying on the bed next to each other. Lori was crying with fear. Jack walked over to the bedside and got in the bed. He handed the meat mallet to Lori in the middle and the other knife to Donna.

            “Everything will be alright! I promise!” He said. The three of them laid there in silence before one by one drifting off to sleep.

 

6.

            The rays of the sun peaked through the blinds onto Jack’s eyes waking him up. He looked around and realized that they were still alive. He sighed a sigh of relief and began to shake his daughter and wife.

            “Hey honey, wake up! We made it through the night!” He said with happiness. Donna woke up and sat up in the bed and looked around. She smiled happily. She reached in and hugged Jack. He rubbed her on the back and she patted on the back of the head knowing that they had won.

            Then, a shadow began to appear through the blinds. It was the beast. She began to tremble with fear. Jack let her go and turned around facing the window. The creature burst through the window and landed on the floor. The beast growled and looked at them with anger and rage. The three of the huddled together when they heard the growl of another beast from behind. The three of them screamed out in terror as the creatures charged at them.

Copyright 2014 by Cody Williams

Courtesy of TRUE TERROR PUBLICATIONS

A division of TTP Entertainment

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Author's Note

This one took a while to write. I hope you all like it. I couldn't quite find a great title for it so "Strength of the Pack just came to me. This is a balls to the wall horror story. An old fashioned horror story about werewolves...before Stephanie Meyer fucked that idea up. I hope you all like it! Thanks for reading!

-CW

Reviews

[Lyn Anderson]

This is a solid short story. There are a few misplaced apostrophes, the usual. Sorry, I did not re-review the stories I already read. If you want corrections to the minute details, PM me and I will do it that way. I hate coming across as the insufferable grammar queen.:)

[Cody Williams]

It's no problem. Thanks for reading KL!

-CW

[Gre7g Luterman]

I'm a huge fan of werewolf stories, but this one didn't really do it for me. The dialog was hollow, the characters wooden, and the drama didn't hold my attention. I think you need to go slower and tell us what is in the character's mind as we go along. Make me care about what happens to them.

[Gracious]

Well done! Can we all just take a second to applaud you for all the time and effort you obviously put into this? You obviously have a lot of talent. Keep writing! Stay Awesome!

[Cody Williams]

Thanks a lot!

-CW

[Dayran]

A man may fight huge monsters for the sake of saving humanity ... or he may join with the beasts ... and help man to understand his origins. Each of us feels our calling at some point. For Jack its begun ... Certainly one of your finest CW! Clear and easy to relate.

[Cody Williams]

Thanks so much for reading Dayran! It really means a lot!

-CW

[Quinn]

Fantastic read and very well written. Keep writing stuff like this it's all wonderful.

[Cody Williams]

Thanks for reading Zoe!

-CW

[Stephanie M]

That's a great story. You had me at the edge of my seat.

[Cody Williams]

Thanks for reading Stephanie!

-CW

[NoelHC]

Cody, this is another interesting read, with a lot of potential. KL goode pointed out numerous errors, and I know you will expect me to as well. You need to proofread and correct before you put this up, as the mistakes really detract from the enjoyment of the story.
Keep it up, these are good, just watch the little details.

[Sami Khalil]

"The light turned on revealing what looked like some sort of super wolf standing on its hind legs. A wolf man if you will. But something strange happened when light turned on. The creature howled in pain and quickly leaped off of the porch and disappeared into the darkness of the fog."

This was long but I enjoyed it with anticipation. You have a great imagination and know how to excite your readers...Bravo...................

[Cody Williams]

Thanks for reading Sami!

-CW

[Sami Khalil]

You are welcome...:)..................