*This story contains some disturbing photos and violent themes. Viewer disgretion is advised.*
The small town of Melville, Alberta is a peaceful community where good people live happy productive lives. An interior decorator named Jaimie Feldman has lived here her whole life and decorated nearly every business. Right now, she steps inside her favorite client’s café called “Black Sheep.” The ring of the small bell above the door announces her presence and her eyes go straight to the crystal chandelier that she talked her clients Danny and Toni Russo into. She feels a sense of pride every time she looks at those prismatic rainbows that cover the walls. It is a brilliant piece for the bakery.
A chipper voice greets her as she comes out the door from the back room. “Oh, good morning Jaimie.”
“Hi Toni.” Jaimie says to the effervescent stout woman with her brown hair all tied up. She smiles as she is carrying a cookie sheet to her display case. “You look lovely today.”
“Oh, even in this old thing?” Toni twirls and poses goofily in her white chef’s uniform, making Jaimie laugh. “Thanks. You want your usual?”
“You bet.” Jaimie says. “Think it will be a busy day?”
“Around lunch time it usually is.” Toni answers. “What about you? Any interesting clients?”
“Well I did give my business card to the new people who moved into the old Macaulay place on Baker’s street. Hopefully I’ll get lucky.” Jaimie says.
“Girl!” Toni says. “Anyone who knows you would say that you have the best taste in town especially with that gorgeous outfit you have on today.”
Jaimie looks at her coral shift dress and delicate white peep-toe pumps. She does a playful pose of her own and makes Toni laugh. After she goes back to her normal stance, Toni hands her a pineapple rum croissant, a lemon tart for her Friday treat, and a full moon tea to go. The full moon is a custom-made black tea that they sell there with the taste of almonds and spices. Jaimie has been hooked on this tea for weeks.
“Thanks Toni. See you later.” Jaimie says and walks out of the café. Despite Toni being a former client, Jaimie considers her one of her closest friends.
Jaimie walks down the street to her office. In big letters painted on her window is “Beautifully Yours.” She loves that sign with the cursive letters and cherry blossom tree branch behind it. To her the whole decor says, “vintage and romantic.” Just like her signature decorating style. If there is anything she knows, it is how to make a person’s home look like a modern but magical castle.
What she doesn’t know is that someone is watching her from two blocks away. They view how she walks, like a dancer in the wind. She is like a princess; always pristine, feminine, and classy. She is the perfect woman. The one they have been searching for. They will have her tonight.
*****
After work, Jaimie goes to her brother Kaden’s gun firing range. Although she is an expert marksman, she isn’t as enthusiastic with guns like both of her brothers are. Kaden with this firing range and Danny being a detective, it makes sense why they like guns. After the three of them finish with their rounds of shooting, the siblings clean their guns and put them away behind the counter. Kaden puts the guns safely away and they all sit outside on the picnic table. They open up their A&W bags and begin to eat their burgers and fries.
“I don’t know how Jay.” Danny says calling her by her pet name. Her brothers have been calling her that since she was a baby. “Out of all of us you are still the best shot.”
“I don’t know why either.” Jaimie says as she sits next to him and starts eating her fries.
Kaden looks at his sister and sees that she is gobbling her fries down. This means she’s in some kind of distress. “What’s wrong Jay?”
“It’s nothing but…” Jaimie begins as she unwraps her burger. “Lately, I’ve been getting these odd feelings like I’m being watched.”
“It’s not like you to be paranoid.” Danny says eyeing her curiously. “What makes you think that?”
“Well it’s just that…” She interrupts herself and circles her hands trying to find the right words. “I see someone in the corner of my eye and when I look directly at them, they turn a corner. I mean, it could be a coincidence but it just feels strange.”
“Hey sis.” Kaden says as he puts a comforting hand on her shoulder. “Not only do you live in Melville, the safest town in the world but you’ve got us. You are perfectly safe.”
“Yeah and besides the only crime you are likely to get is someone who steals all those hard candies you keep on your desk.” Danny explains.
Jaimie chuckles at them and knows that they are right. Their town is a peaceful one and nothing bad has ever happened here that they can remember. So, the siblings go back to eating their dinner and laughing with each other. Getting together, shooting guns, and having take out has become a Friday night ritual for them. The thing is, Jaimie feels safe because of this ritual and the closeness she shares with her brothers.
*****
It is a quiet and still night, the kind where the best sleep is just waiting for you. At 3:00 AM Jaimie is fast asleep in her bed after a full day. Suddenly a loud howl fills the air. She flutters her eyes awake and hears the howl again but louder. She turns her head groggily to look at the end of her bed and sees a tall masculine figure. She scrambles up and turns on her lamp. The stranger is a heavily bearded man with a muscular build and the cold, cruel eyes of a beast.
“Forgive me for disturbing you my love but I ask only one wish from you.” He says calmly to her. “Will you writhe under me as I pierce inside you? Then will you show me the sweet red nectar that flows through your body like a mulled wine?” His eyes get wider and his grin insanely wide. “Show me!!!!”
As he lunges at her, she rolls off her bed and throws her comforter at him. The quilt covers him and she is able to grab the rifle that she keeps at the edge of her bed for protection. As the stranger struggles out of the comforter, she shoots at him with the bullet piercing the wall behind him.
“GET THE FUCK OUT OF MY HOUSE!!!” Jaimie screams before she fires another bullet at the intruder and nicking him in the ear.
He spins around and dashes out of the room as Jaimie takes off after him with her gun in tow. She chases him all over her house until she winds up at the back door. It is wide open to the night and clearly the intruder escaped through there.
“Shit!” She whispered angrily at herself as she pulls out her cell phone and phones her brothers.
Fifteen minutes later, Jaimie has changed out of her pink PJs and into a simple peasant top and jeans. Her brothers are sitting around her kitchen table with coffee mugs in their hands. Jaime settles for chamomile and peppermint tea to settle her nerves. As she sits down with her brothers, Danny looks at her concerned.
“So, tell me again. What happened?” He asks.
“Well it starts with this howl that woke me up.” She begins. As Jaimie recounts what has happened, her brothers start thinking of what should be done.
“What should happen is you making a report at the station.” Danny says as he strokes his chin and continues. “If we have any way of catching this creep, this is the way to do it.”
“I don’t know, Dan.” Kaden says shaking his head. “This asshole attacked our sister when she was asleep in her bed. I want to go out and hunt him!”
“Me too.” Jaimie says as she gives her brother a reassuring smile and holds his hand. “That lunatic was going to rape and kill me.”
“As a sworn detective, I can’t comment on that but as a brother, I feel the exact same way as you two do.” He says and puts his hand on his sister’s shoulder. “It would destroy me if anything happened to you, Jay.”
Jaimie smiles at both of them. She’s never been so grateful to have the support system that she does with her brothers. However, her face falls as she faces the reality of the situation. “We wouldn’t be able to catch him anyway. He’s probably long gone by now. Tomorrow I’ll go fill out that report.”
The brothers nod at her decision. In their shared opinion, it is the best thing she can do right now. They all put their hands on that table to stand up but they hear a loud howl outside of the house. It is so ear-splitting it nearly shakes the whole place. All three of them quickly stand up and look outside the kitchen window.
“That’s the howl that woke me up.” Jaimie tells her brothers. “The one that man made! I’m sure of it.”
Kaden looks out to the night and determination fills him. “Get your guns!”
Without arguing, the three of them grab their guns and run towards Kaden’s Jeep. The lights blink on and the three of them drive off.
*****
After half-an-hour of driving circles around town, the trio finally believe that they have lost the man they’re looking for. With heavy sighs from all three of them, they look at each other, and silently agree to stop their search. Suddenly, that loud howl sounds again. They put the peddle to the medal and drive towards the cry. With her eyes wide open, Jaime scans the streets until her eyes spot a tall figure turning the corner.
“There!” Jamie shouts and points to the left street corner. “He just turned that corner.”
Kaden swiftly turns that corner and they don’t see him but they hear another howl. They follow that wail and after two right turns, they see that same figure turn another corner. After what seems like a long chase, the three of them end up at the parking lot for the town hiking trail named, “Into the Woods”. Kaden turns his head lights to bright to get a good look at the area around them. They see a heavily wooded zone in front of them full of a variety trees and no sign of the howling man. The three of them prepare their guns and step out of the Jeep.
“Stay together everybody.” Danny warns as he aims his gun towards the woods.
“Yeah, who knows where this creep is.” Kaden says as he closes the driver door before holding his gun out to the west side where the parking lot entrance is.
Jaimie jumps out of the jeep’s back seat with her gun ready and points it in the southeast direction. Each of them has a direction that they search but they stay close to the car to keep safe. With Kaden’s lights on bright, it is very easy to see all around them. The parking lot is so quiet that the three of them can hear their own breathing. Suddenly, there is an inhuman growl that spooks all three of them.
“Where is that growl coming from?” Kaden asks before he gets knocked unconscious and lands on the ground by an unseen assailant.
Danny hears a thud on the opposite side of the jeep and goes to see what’s going on. “Kaden? You alright?”
He looks to see his brother unconscious and runs up to him. He sets his gun to the side and kneels to check Kaden’s pulse. Danny didn’t know that he is being watched by the sinister man hiding underneath the Jeep. He crawls out unnoticed from the bottom of the Jeep and slams Danny’s head into the Jeep’s door. He looks at them for a second and decides to claim their lives later. He never really cared about men but in this case he can’t afford any loose ends or witnesses. Never-the-less, it’s the woman that he wants and he is determined to get her first.
“Danny? Kaden?” Jaimie runs around the Jeep to see both of her brothers are unconscious and the bearded man who was in her house standing over them.
“I’ve been looking for you.” He says to her with a disturbing grin on his face. “You belong to me and now it is time for you to fulfill your promise.”
He pulls out a knife and steps towards her. Pissed off and having enough of this crazy lunatic, she cocks the gun and is ready to blast him. She yells. “Get the fuck away from my brothers! And if you come anywhere near me, I’ll shoot!”
“I love that you have a fight in you. That’s what makes this the most satisfying.” He smirks and takes a step to her.
Before she can fire her gun, an eight-foot-tall creature jumps on top of the psychopath. The impact of it landing on him knocks Jaimie off her feet. She lands on her back and her gun fires out into the sky as it lands on the ground away from her. She studies this creature as it attacks the man. It looks a lot like a wolf but it’s bigger, more muscular and has a body that you would only see on an extreme body builder. What makes it more frightening than anything else is its insanely sharp teeth and long hooked claws. It is clear that this creature can tear through flesh like butter.
Jaimie scrambles towards the jeep and watches the beast mutilate the man. It scratches him and blood spills out of his body. It takes a bite out of his shoulder and rips his arm right off like a juicy piece of meat off of a bone. Her heart pounds in a rabid pace and she sees that her gun is at least ten feet away from her. The wolf beast looks at her and stands up as if it is going to walk towards her. She looks tearfully towards the creature as it strolls slowly towards her. She is absolutely frozen in fear and realizes that this is how she dies.
The wolf creature goes down on all fours and starts sniffing at her. She turns her face away from it while she awaits her death. The wolf makes some odd noises at her as if it is trying to talk to her. She turns to face him and sees that this wolf has the eyes of a man. They seem humane and emphatic in a way. With something like a grunt, the wolfman rushes towards the psycho’s body and leaps off into the woods with him.
She looks on towards the woods where the beast disappeared. Her brothers come to and shake their heads like they have a massive headache. A moan and groan escape their lips as they look to each other. They intend to fuss to their sister like they usually do but they forget their pain when they look to Jaimie and see that she is in shock. They both rush towards her and stand on either side of her.
“Jay?” Danny asks his unblinking sister. “What happened?”
Shakily, Jaimie points her finger towards the woods and both brothers look towards it. They hear and see nothing out there but it is clear to them that they had better get their sister out of there. Kaden, carefully picks her up and puts her in the back seat while, Danny goes to retrieve her gun. They all get into the car and call it a night.
*****
The next morning, Jaimie wakes up at her brother Kaden’s apartment above his shooting range. When she looks around, she clearly sees that she has fallen asleep on his couch.
“Kaden?” Jaimie calls as she lifts her head to look for him.
When she looks to his clock, she can see that the time is 12:00 PM. She had slept the whole morning. No doubt he is downstairs, opening the doors to the gun range. As she sits herself up, she straightens her shirt out and puts a hand through her sleep tangled hair. She stands up and groggily goes towards the bathroom but steps on her brother’s TV remote. The TV turns on and the news pops up. Jaimie shakes her head at that. It drives her crazy that her brother is so messy. Suddenly, something on the news catches her attention.
“Serial killer and rapist, Robert Klein was found in the wooded area close to the small town of Melville, Alberta.” As soon as Jaimie hears that she dashes back to the couch and listens to the anchor talk. “The police have tracked the suspect down in the woods and found his body brutally mutilated and eaten away by wildlife. Police believe that a pack of rabid wolves attacked him and has succumbed to his injuries. Citizens can take a sigh of relief knowing that this country’s deadliest serial killer will never kill again.”
Jaimie’s eyes go wide as she sees the picture of the man who attacked her in her bedroom. She replays what happened last night in her head. She heard the howl and that’s what woke her up in the night to see this asshole in her room. When her brothers came, they heard howling all over town that lead them to this man. When they couldn’t trap the creep, that’s when the beast attacked. It also had a chance to attack the three of them but it didn’t. In fact, it saved her and her brothers’ lives. As they anchor said, she takes a sigh of relief as she realizes the truth. The beast was a werewolf and if it hadn’t come along, she and her brothers would be another tragic statistic. Tears stream from her eyes. What is she going to do? To her surprise, it only takes her a second to make a decision.
She stands up, brushes away her tears, and gets ready to live her day out. After she slips on the white summer dress with blue flowers that she slipped in her pack last night, Jaimie picks up her phone and sends both brother’s texts to let them know she is awake. Her brother Danny texts her immediately offering her a ride home which she happily accepts. After a few moments of pacing, Kaden comes up and checks on her.
“Got your text. You okay?” He asks and she shakily nods. He walks over to her and comfortingly rubs her arms. “Hey. Have a seat. Do you feel like talking about what happened last night?”
“Sure.” Jaimie says and sees Danny walk in. “Hi Bro.”
“Hey.” Danny says and sits on the ottoman across from Jaimie. “You sleep okay?”
“Yeah. I was just about to tell Kaden what happened last night.” Jaimie says. “That evil fucker knocked you both unconscious. I was about to shoot him when this wolf attacked him. Other wolves came and he was just screaming. I dropped my gun, and it fell to the ground. I tried to get to the jeep but one of the wolves looked like they were going to come for me so I froze. Then they just ignored me and dragged him off to the woods.”
“Okay.” Danny says and pats her arm. “You need to come down to the station and make a statement.”
Jaimie smiles and nods at her brother. That is just what she will do and then she will get on with her life. As she walks to Danny’s car, she thinks out to the werewolf. Thank you for my life, my brother’s lives, and for all the future lives you’ve saved. She promises never to reveal what saved her that night. If anyone found out about the werewolf, people would seek it out and possibly kill it. She couldn’t let that happen. She won’t let that happen.
Special Thanks to:
The Black Sheep Bakery : For their yummy treats and tea. 140-815 17 Ave SW, Calgary, AB T2T 0A1 - https://www.black-sheep.ca/
Silver Springs Botanical Garden : For their beautifully run volunteer gardens. 37 Silver Springs Dr NW, Calgary, AB T3B 4N3 - https://www.bgss.ca/
Straight Shooters Calgary : For the fun and informative gun lessons. 1305 33 St NE, Calgary, AB T2A 5P1 - http://www.straightshooters.ca/
Thriftopia: For the cute clothes. 214 62 Ave SE, Calgary, AB T2H 2E6 - https://www.thriftopiayyc.com/