Josh Hellrider Annis is a heavy metal performer and a poet. Here is his Bestial Transformation.
Twas two nights ago
He was traveling through the wood
The moon was shining full in the dark night
The warm fire of his cabin
He was looking forward to
The hill it rested upon was almost in sight
Whistling to himself
Happy to be heading home
From a long hard day in the blacksmith shop
When he heard behind him
A bone-chilling sound
That made his heart within him stop
It was a howl
But not a common howl
It had menace and evil deep within
As if it welled up
From the very gates of hell
Dripping with the blackest foulest sin
With trembling hands he drew his pistol
And turned slowly around
To see a horror that blasted his soul
Seven feet of fur,
Claws, and fangs
His vitals turned a dead icy cold
'A giant wolf?' he thought
'Standing upright like a man?
'What sort of horror now is this?'
Then as he stared
Into the damned thing's glowing eyes
He seemed to hear the wind around him hiss
"Werewolf!" "WEREWOLF!" it said
And with that realization
He wished God had struck him dead
For he knew
What was to surely follow next
And it filled him with a cold, malicious dread
The moon shone ivory
Upon the hell-thing's black fur
It growled and slavered, showing its fangs
Thick, slime-like drool
Dripped from its black maw
And the very bells of hell somewhere rang
With a fearsome roar
The monster fell upon him
Its fangs buried themselves deep in his throat
And from the pain, with a shout
The man blacked out
Knowing he would appear next in Charon's boat
______________________________________________________
He awoke in his cabin
Alarmed and confused
Somehow he must have crawled back there
Maybe the horror
Was nothing but a dream
But as he looked down, he realized in despair
That it was not a dream
But a reality from the dirt on his clothes
And wounds upon his neck
He knew deep inside
And from what he had learned
That he was to begin a hellish trek
His old friend, Elias
Professor and expert in the occult
Told him of werewolfism and its myths
It was regretful indeed
Especially at this time
That his poor friend had lately died of syphillis
He knew because of the bite
He would become a beast as well
The very thought filled him with such fear
His agonized mind
Began to conjure up
Future scenes into which he now did peer
The agony of transformation
The duality of mind
A murderous menace in Londontown
The townsfolk, including his friends
Whipped up into a rage
Hellbent on hunting the monster down
The cabin's walls seem to close in on him
And the wind began to howl
And he swore he heard it scream that he was damned
He covered his face in shame
And cried himself to sleep
As the moon hovered bloated over the land
_______________________________________________________________________________________
He was violenty awakened
By a knock on his door
His mind groggy and filled with fog
In confusion he peered out
His bedroom window, saw the sunset
And heard the croaks of frogs
"I have slept through the whole day."
He said to himself
And the knocking on the door became yet louder
Its vigour and violence
Sounded like to
Crush the portal's wood to powder
"Who could it be
"Knocking at my door now?"
He asked, seized by a growing fear
"Is it friend, or foe
"Rapping there now?
"Which of two fates is so very near?"
With trembling hand
He slid the heavy bolt
And opened the portal with a creak so slow
And saw before him
With great relief
That it was indeed no foe
For gazing up at him
With sad blue puppy eyes
And his blond hair cut in a bowl
Was a ten year old lad
Very dear to his heart
And of whom he was honored to know
It was little Davey Collins
His apprentice in his blacksmith's trade
He was young and he was learning fast
As he looked into
The lad's sad eyes
He thought of a particular fragment of his past
The blacksmith once had a wife
A very lovely wife
That he had loved with all his heart
Happy had been their life
They were bonded for eternity
Only the Spectre of Death would have them part
And one black night
That nefarious demon did arrive
And took his wife and son both in childbirth
For so long
Because of this tragedy
The blacksmith felt life had lost its worth
But he had come
To know young Davey, his apprentice
And now looked upon him as a son
And loved him he did
With all his heart
He no longer felt so despairingly alone
"Why, child!" he exclaimed
With shock and care
"Whatever are you doing so far out here
"All alone, by yourself?!
"When the coming of night is so near?!"
"Master Benjamin, sir,"
The boy explained
"I were a wonderin' why you weren't at work
"I were concerned about you
"You see
"The shop was closed and folk thought it quite a quirk."
"My dear boy,"
The blacksmith said kindly
As his mind tried to come up with some excuse
To cover up
The dreadful truth
Of the horror about to be loosed
"I fear the truth is
"That I've become ill
"I shall be out of town, abed for a few days,"
"But sir!" exclaimed the boy
"Who will run the shop?!
"I do not yet know all your ways!"
"Now Davey, calm yourself,"
Benjamin said
And then took parchment and began to write a letter
Then took he
A rather large key
And bound the two of them together
"Here's the key to the shop,"
Said he
"And a note, explaining my sickness
"Take it to my friend Barnabas
"He's worked in the shop
"And is a sharp soul, not given to thickness."
And so the lad left
And the night closed in
Like a stygian, fearsome claw
And as he looked up
In fear, Ben did see
The bloated full moon over all
'The full moon,'
He whispered, 'There is now no escape
'Satan has me in his trap!'
And then he felt
A great pain wrack his form
His breath coming out in short gasps
The agony became
Too much to bear
And he emitted a heart-wrenching scream
He fell upon the floor
In the ghostly moonlight
The torment tearing him apart at the seams
His fingernails and toenails elongated
To claws
His teeth mutated into grisly fangs
His body felt consumed
By unholy black fire
As it continued the change
His ears stretched long
And beastily pointed
His legs and feet became like a hound's
His nose and mouth grew
Into a feral muzzle
As his brain with a pain did pound
Night-black fur
From his pores did burst
His eyes became like sinful fire
And his agonizing scream
Lowered in pitch
Instead of growing ever higher
The scream became a growl
A wild demon-like growl
And then the growl became an ear-shattering howl
Soul-chilling, mind-numbing
Straight out of the abyss
Emerging out of hell's darkest bowels
Taken over by a black force
He was no longer himself
His soul became a primitive beast
And the only thought
Upon his monstrous mind
Was the lust for fresh blood on which to feast
With a hungry growl
The foul horror burst through the window
Into the beherial night
And bulleted forward
With bloodlusting passion
Londontown straight in its sights
________________________________________________________________________
There is a graveyard that rests
On top of a wooded hill
On the way to Londontown
And on nights like this
It seems more sinister
Miasmic darkness all around
The graveyard's church
Stood all alone
A foreboding sentinel in the dark
And its windows stared out
Like the eyesockets of a skull
Not a light in them, nor a spark
Into the graveyard
Came two boys
Up to shenanigans as young boys will do
Eerie fog curling up
Around their legs
As if from a black witch's stew
"What're we doing here, Tom?"
Said the first boy
His stomach clenching in knots
"What's so important
"To you here
"To choose so sinister a spot?"
'Treasure, Bert, treasure!'
The other boy whispered
And displayed a mischievous grin
'Treasure that will make sure
'That both me and you
'Will never be poor again!'
" 'Ere now, Tom!"
Bert gestured with his torch
"There be such nonsense in your boasts!
"There be nothing here
"But the markers of the dead
"And maybe....sweet Lord, I hope not....ghosts!"
"Ah, but I would brave
"The ghoulies here,"
Tom answered then, bragging
"For the spirits here
"That inflict fear
"When their chains are dragging
"Guard riches somewhere
"In this place
"In a chamber beneath the ground,"
And then both boys'
Hearts froze to ice
As they heard the harrowing sound
Of a howl
Not of man nor beast
But a mixture of the two
And what they saw
Before them
Chilled the both of them straight through
For perched on top
Of the church's steeple
Was a being with glowing eyes
Beastly black fur
And sharp claws
And fangs that terrorized
With a fierce growl,
A leap, and a bound
It pounced therewith on Bert
And tore out his throat so fast
He fell dead
And nary felt the hurt
On Tom the thing turned
And began to stalk
And the poor lad's eyes grew wide
Nothing but stark black fear
Filled him now
He had lost all pride
With trembling hand
As the devil closed in
He reached inside his vest
And found with relief
The talisman
For which his hand did quest
It was indeed a crucifix
And he was taught
The power of the Light
Would drive away
With all its power
The satanic forces of the night
He pulled out the sacred object
With a triumphant shout
And held it up on high
He felt for sure
With a surging of relief
He was not going to die
But the hulking night-thing
Slashed its claw
And clove the boy's hand clean off
It would appear
That the poor boy was mistaken
Crucifixes were not enough
In his surprise
And shock
The lad did not feel a thing
He saw his hand
Tumble to the ground
And it began to rain
Lightning flashed
Thunder echoed
And lit the figure of the hell-beast
And its gaping jaws
Were the last thing the boy saw
Before he became its feast
________________________________________________________________________
In Londontown
The antiquer, old Phineas Hart
Was just closing up for the night
He contentedly whistled
As he put away his wares
By glow of lamp and pale moonlight
Upstairs above the shop
Supper was being cooked
By Phineas' sour old wife
But the old man miraculously
Still remained happy
No matter how much strain she put on his life
Their daughter, Gabby
Who lived with them
Was preparing the table
With her dark curly hair
And almond-shaped eyes
She looked like a princess out of fable
"Phineeeaaaas!
"Phineeeaaaas!!"
The old wife shrieked in a cringeworthy voice
"Supper's ready!
"Now get ye up here!
And stop making all that damned noise!"
"Coming, darling!" he answered
There were light footsteps
Up the stairs
And when he got to the top
His wife fixed him
With a vicious, hellish glare
"So, tell me now
"How much did ye make today?!"
The wife grouchily barked
"Don't worry
"More than enough, dear wife"
He smiled, lighting his pipe from a spark
"I do tire of ye smoking that damned pipe!"
She scowled
"It be raisin' such a stink!"
And so his wife continued
Grousing and yammering so
That he could hardly hear himself think
"Come now, Mum!"
Gabby piped up
"Da' works hard for us, you know that!
"Please stop givin' him
"So much grief"
And down to supper the three sat
Mum now grouchily
Huffed and puffed
As she ate her food
And suddenly
The three began to hear
A clawing on the outside wood
Their eyes grew wide
As the clawing grew closer and closer
And they heard a deep guttural growl
What hell-spawned horror
Was climbing their house
Hid by night's dark cowl?
There was a crash through the window
And there in the moonlight
A black-furred demon stood
Its eyes glowing like hell
Its fangs bared
Freezing the family's very blood
Phineas grabbed his blunderbuss
From its place upon the wall
And prompty fired at the beast
The monster swatted
The projectiles aside with his claws
And leapt upon the man to feast
Mum shrilly screamed
And quickly grabbed a pot
And hit the devil over the head
The fell thing roared
And struck with its black-furred arm
And the old crone hit the wall dead
Gabby
Shaken with terror and grief
Shrieked and quickly fled
Down the stairs
Out of the shop
Her family now all dead
A hand grabbed her around the mouth
And pulled her into the alley
Soundly stifling her shriek
And when she was turned around
To face the stranger
She saw the eyes that made her knees go weak
"SHHHH...it's me, my darling..."
The man whispered
It was her lover, Bernard
A local musician
With dashing good looks
Who had won Gabby's heart
"What ever has happened?!"
He worriedly asked
The night breeze blowing his dark hair
She buried her face
Into his cloak
And wailed in deep despair
"My whole family, Bernard, is dead!"
She sobbed
"A...t.t..thing took them to the grave!!"
They both held each other
So tightly
As the night closed about them like a cave
"I saw a shadow prowling the streets
"And rooftops."
Bernard whispered in fear
"And I grew curious
"To find out
"Just what horror has come here."
"But Bernard!
"Why endanger yourself?!"
Gabby wept, confused
Bernard sighed wearily
"I admit
"Here I stand justly accused
"Of meddling in affairs
"Man has no business in
"But I have special knowledge, you see."
Then he started
As he heard
A flock of birds dash from a nearby tree
"Knowledge, what knowledge?"
Gabby asked, confused
"I don't know what you mean!"
"Do you remember my uncle, Elias?"
He asked
As he kept anxious watch for the fiend
"Yes, vaguely,"
She answered
"He died, did he not?"
"Yes," Bernard sighed
"And he is missed greatly."
In his words, Gabby now was caught
"But before he died
"My uncle imparted knowledge
"To me and me alone
"Knowledge of unseen
"Shadowy forces"
They began to walk the cobblestones
"Of demons, and angels
"Spirits, and monsters
"Of magic and all things in between,
"Knowledge hidden
"And kept secret."
Gabby stared into his eyes so green
"There are dark forces
"That prowl this world, Gabby
"And this thing is one of their kind,"
And then they heard
A soul-blasting howl
And quickly glanced behind.
"I now know
"What this thing is!"
Bernard fearfully droned
"And now, Gabby
"You must follow me
"To to the warehouse my father owns!"
________________________________________________________________________
Benjamin
Awoke in the woods
A painful pounding in his brain
The dark clouds
Hid the rising sun
And it began to rain
And from his naked body
The rain washed
All the blood and gore
That was splattered and caked
All over his form
From the killings the night before
"What have I done?!
"Oh God! What have I done?!"
He howled up to the sky
"How is it that I am chosen
"To receive this curse?!
"Oh please Lord, tell me why!!"
He pounded angrily
At the soaking ground
And moaned and thrashed and screamed
Oh how he would give
His very life
For this to be all a dream
Loping back to his cabin
He drew hot water
For a bath
And as he sank
Into the tub
He let his mind take him on a path
Far away from this place
And into the void
And in that dark, he heard a voice
Calling to him
Beckoning him
With such seduction, that he had no choice
But to drown himself
In its nocturnal presence
Its sinister, savage caress
And the beastly yet seductive voice
Echoed in his mind
"To your God, you have called out in distress.
"But your God has turned his back on you
"I tell you the truth
"You are damned!"
And to heed and believe
Its words completely
The darksome voice did command
"You will kill once again
"On this night
"And then I shall call once more
"And reveal to you
"Your true destiny
"That the Dark One has in store."
And so Benjamin
Began to sink
Into a deep and dreamless sleep
And somewhere
In a realm unknown
He heard the shades of his dead family weep
________________________________________________________________________
That night before
In Londontown
When Bernard and Gabby had escaped
He had taken her
To his father's warehouse
And sorrow and fear about her did drape
In the warehouse
There was a small apartment
Of which he stated was his
Its walls were completely
Lined with books
Not a spot was missed
As Bernard proceeded
To start a fire
Gabby saw in its light
Some objects that
She wouldn't expect from him
To her a very strange sight
Upon one table
There were assembled
Beakers, tubes, and vials
Filled with strange
And curious liquids
And formulaic papers in piles
And upon another table
Were odd talismans
And statues oh so strange
And also upon this sat
Somewhat unusual weapons
Used for both short and long range
As soon as the fire
Burned bright enough
From his library, Bernard grabbed a book
Immensely large
Bound in red leather
And through it began to look
As Bernard set it
Upon a table
And through it he did browse
Gabby saw depicted on the pages
Such terrible creatures
That she went as silent as a mouse
Things covered in scales
Horrors with horns and claws
And pupiless glowing eyes
Fell beasts with slimy tentacles
And bat-wings, and fangs
That made her throat go dry
And Bernard quickly stopped
Upon a page
And said "Yes! I have found our beast!"
And though she knew
She shouldn't
The poor girl let her eyes feast
Upon the picture
Of the horrid monster
Bathed in pale moonlight
Man-shaped, but with a canine head
Bristling with fur
Slavering in the night
"The Werewolf,"
Bernard did say
"Satan's man-wolf slaves.
"Foul dark creatures
"Of the night
"It says that the way is paved
"To become one
"Either when a human is bitten
"By such a fiend
"Or by suicide
"Or some other dark deed
"Or so it has been deemed."
"Yes, that is it,"
Gabby choked
"The thing that killed my da' and mum!"
Tears began forming
In her eyes again
She felt purely alone in that room
Not only in the room
But in the town
In the very world
Bernard gently embraced her
Running his fingers
Through her curls
"Have no fear my love
"I am here to protect you."
He gently cooed in her ear
"I will be
"By your side now
"I will drive away all fears."
"But where will I go?" she sobbed
"Where will I live?"
She shivered without cold
"Why you can live here with me, of course,"
Bernard answered
"I too need someone to hold."
And they kissed each other
So tenderly
With such passion and such love
That the angels themselves
Took notice
In the realms of heaven above
Then from the pack on his back
Bernard took a mandolin
And sat by the fire to strum
His fingers working intricately
On the strings
And he began to hum
"So...so what do we do
"About this...werewolf?"
Gabby sat beside him and asked
"We hunt it," Bernard said
A determined look in his eyes
"Until it breathes its last!"
"But how?" she asked
"How do we hunt such a monster?
"And what weapons do we use?"
A dark look crossed Bernard's face
As he answered
"Not ones you would normally choose.
"We must employ
"The herb called wolfsbane
"Also silver will be the key
"Silver arrows, silver blades
"Silver musket balls
"It is fortunate I have all with me."
"Why silver?" Gabby asked
"Of all the metals God put on this Earth," he answered
"Only silver can kill this beast."
"Only it and wolfsbane
"Can stop its evil,
"Put an end to its satanic feast."
Bernard saw Gabby's eyes
Begin to grow tired
And let her rest her head in his lap
And gently sang to her
And strummed her to sleep
As the logs on the fire did snap
________________________________________________________________________
On the next night,
A bloated crimson moon
Rose above Londontown
And it caused eerie,
Loathsome shadows
To float across the ground
And deep in the night
Among lighted torches
In an alleway so dark
Gathered a mob
Whose anger
Was ignited by a furious spark
A vulture-like face
Glowed in the torchlight
And sneered an ugly scowl
"It be true, me boys!"
The old man said
"There's a demon on the prowl!"
"Me own son's throat
"It did rip out!
"And I wants revenge!"
And with the fires
Of furious wrath
This man's eyes did singe
"Old John's right!"
Portly Dick did say
Who sported a huge mustache
"The thing ate my own wife alive!
"After throwing her
"Through my bake shop's glass!"
"Let's drive this beastie
"From our town!"
A tall dark young man piped up
"It tore me poor little brother
"To shreds!
"And upon his blood did sup!"
"Stop and think
"All of you!"
A middle-aged vicar did shout
"It's no pitchforks or torches
"Or mortal weapons
"That'll drive this devil out!"
"On thet point, Father,
"Yer partly right."
A gruff voice from the shadows said
"And if yer town pays
"Me handsomely
"I'll make sure yer monster's dead!"
"And who be you?"
Old John snarled,
"What business is it of yours?!"
"It be my business, if'n ye want to survive!"
The stranger guffawed
And stepped into where the light poured
Before them stood
A short, burly man
With a matted, long black beard
Steel grey eyes
Shone in the torchlight
That betrayed no hint of fear
He was decked
In gray leather armor
And on his head was a wide-brimmed hat
And in the wind
Billowing behind him
Was a cloak the color of a dead rat
In various sheaths across his person
There bristled weapons
Of a peculiar sort
Certainly not the kind of arms
You use simply for hunting
Or sport
"Ye may call me Borson
"The demon hunter."
The stranger did speak forth
"All manner of creatures of darkness
"I slay
"And I shall give ye your money's worth."
"How can we trust what ye say?"
Dick did inquire
"How do we know you're no liar?
"How do we know you won't turn and run
"When too hot
"Grows the fire?"
"I've talked to yer mayor,"
Borson replied
"Here be the documented proof."
And Old John snatched up
The scroll he produced
As he clucked his tongue on his tooth
"It be legitimate,"
John growled reluctantly,
"He's worked a deal, sure enough."
Borson smugly crossed his arms
And smirked under his beard
So rough
"Leave the job, to me, boys!"
He growled,
"And go back to yer homes,"
And they all shuffled home
The wind out of their sails
With grumbles and chafed groans
"Now then beastie, where could ye be?"
The demon hunter chuckled
As he pulled on his hat
"Come on out now
"You fell thing
"I'll roll out the welcome mat!"
And behind and above him
He did hear
A demonic howl piercing the night
He whipped around
And on the high roof above him
Was the hellbeast right in sight
"AHA!" he laughed
As he produced his flintlock
Loaded with silver balls
But the werewolf jumped
High in the air
As its sharp report did call
And with a snarl
Borne out of the pit of hell
The monster did descend
But the hunter possessed
More than just one weapon
With which to defend
As the werewolf's feet
Hit the ground
A cutlass of silver he did flash
And Borson was surprised
As he struck out with it
When he heard a mighty clash
With utter terror
He did see that the devil
Had the blade clamped in its teeth
And as the thing wrenched the blade from him
It broke his hand
And Borson let out a pained shriek
Holding his throbbing hand
In his other
The hunter kicked out with his boot
And as he aimed his kick
For the beast's head
The hell-wolf grabbed his foot
And as it pulled the hunter
Off the ground
And began to swing him through the air
Borson reached for something else
On his person
Fighting off the despair
With his good hand
He did bring out
A sawed-off musket gun
And as he shot it
With a prayer
There was a loud boom and a thrum
It was a grappling gun
He had shot
And with great force it lifted him
Out of the monster's clutches
So deadly
And so grim
And so the hunter
Took to the rooftops
His bad hand hung limply by his side
The pain throbbing within it
Grew worse
And could not be denied
The werewolf took
To the heights behind him
And though Borson's heart shook with fear
He unsheathed from
Beneath his cloak
A mighty silver-tipped spear
Deftly he did grip it
With his good had
And as the devil toward him did race
He flipped it toward
Its pommel-end
And smote it in the face
With an angry whine
The hell-thing fell
Tumbling toward the edge of the roof
"Now I have you!"
The hunter rasped
"Of life in you they'll be not a proof!"
As the demon clung to the edge,
Borson crept carefully near
And did lift his spear on high
"Now you abomination,"
He did shout,
"Send my regards to your master as you die!"
But in a flash
Using its upper strength
Onto the roof once again, the horror sprung
And with lightning speed
He tore out the hunter's throat
Before he let the next breath from his lungs
_______________________________________________________________________
Poor Benjamin
The tortured Blacksmith
Awoke at the steps to his home
And as the sun began to rise
He felt so cold
And so crushingly alone
He crawled into his cabin
Blood and gore
On his body once again
All that remained of his clothes
Were torn pants
So threadbare and so thin
He barely made it
Through the door
Before he collapsed on his face
And found himself drifting
Once more
Off to that darksome space
He heard that seductive voice
Once more
"You have done well.." it said
"To this mortal frame of yours
"You will soon become
"Totally dead
"And be reborn
"In darkest glory
"This night you shall see!
"And now I will let you
"Feast your eyes
"On one small glimpse of me!"
And in that miasmic darkness
He saw there
Two feral eyes
Both terrifying
And beautiful
Beyond any mortal guise
Their glow
Was a sepulchural green
That pierced the very soul
The things that both nightmares
And dreams are made of
All within the whole
'It is a female's eyes
'That I gaze upon!'
Ben proclaimed in his mind
"Yes, my chosen,"
The beastly voice purred
"And tonight, you will be mine!"
"You will know
"The path to take.
"My voice will guide you there.
"And together we will make
"The human world
"Tremble in despair!"
_______________________________________________________________________
An arrow thudded
Right on the bullseye
Out in the warehouse yard
And an astonished
Yet pleased look
Came from Bernard the Bard
"Truly,
"You do know your archery,"
He said to Gabby with a smile
"Oh yes," she said
"Da' trained me with various weapons
"For a long, long while.
"He started me out
"At about nine
"And was the perfect mentor through the years,"
And then Gabby lowered her bow
And her head
And her eyes filled with tears
"I will miss him and Mum dearly,"
She choked
"But they be gone to a better place,
"And I swear on their graves
"That I will end this demon!
"And it will be gone without a trace!"
And coldly she pulled
A silver ball-filled pistol
From its place within her belt
And blasted the bullseye
Splitting the arrow there
And Bernard's heart did melt
For he knew
She felt such inexplicable pain
Deep within her soul
And though she tried
To heal her wounds with steel
He still saw her heart's hole
With tender hands
He gently lowered her gun
And wrapped his arms around her waist
"Do not worry, my dear love,"
He cooed
"You are safe within this place."
She turned around
And caressed his face
"Only you hold my heart, Bernard,"
And her tears
Did flow onto his face
As she tenderly kissed the bard
_______________________________________________________________________
The night caressed the monster as he stalked
His dark lady's voice
Echoed in his mind
Tonight they would be together
In black union
Tonight he would find
A mistress
To pledge his heart to
And he would become one with the dark
All the feral forces of evil
Upon him
She would mark
No killing tonight
For he must meet with her
He leapt across rooftops alone
He must meet the one
Who haunted his mind
And through him, her will would be done
He slavered in anticipation
Snarling and panting
His fur bristling with wicked delight
His pointed ears pricked back
In excitement
His wild howl seared the night
"Come to me!"
The purring voice in his head did beckon
"Come, my lover of darkest dreams!"
But another voice
Within his mind
Let out an opposing scream
"No! My husband! Please do not!"
Shrieked the voice
Of his long dead wife
"She will utterly damn you!"
"She will drain you
"Of every ounce of life!"
Benjamin in his monstrous form
Growled fiercely
And shrugged off the voice
Of the shade of his
Departed beloved
That bade him to make the right choice
His hell-given senses
Led him to the edge of town
Where there stood an abandoned church
Its gothic steeple
Piercing the dark sky
And in its graveyard, dark forms did lurch
There among the crumbling tombstones
And nighted tombs
Of the dead
Stood four shadowy beings
In black robes
Their cowls obscuring their heads
And without a word
They did beckon him
Into an obsidian sepulchre black as night
The hell beast's feral sight
Guided him
He needed no torch nor light
The four spectres removed the lid
From a coffin
That was upon a dais
And the eerie silence
Was so thick, that with a sword
Through it, you could slice
There were steps within the coffin
And the werewolf
Followed the four down
Down, down,
Into subterranean depths
Where only their feet made a sound
And then the monster noticed
The four robed ones'
Wild and darksome smell
The feral, cloying
Beastly odour
That he knew so well
For that odour
Was like unto his own
The stench of a man-wolf beast
And intermingled with it
Was the scent of blood and gore
From the victims of a satanic feast
'These are my brethren'
He thought, 'Other wolf-men
'We share the mark so obscene
'And on this blackest, blasphemous
'Night of nights
'I shall be with their Queen!'
As further down
The steps they went
Into stygian black halls
Benjamin
Within his beastly heart
Heard there sound a squall
The cry of
His unborn baby son
Echoed through his brain
And he saw the shade of his dead wife
In his mind's eye again
Her tears falling like rain
The tears were tears of
The reddest blood
She was weeping out her soul
Her heart-wrenching pleas
Did cry out
And echo through his skull
"Please, my dear husband!"
She sobbed,
"It is not too late!
"Turn back, my dearest love,
"Turn back!
"This doesn't have to be your fate!"
The brooding monster
Buried his canine head in his hands
And let out a tortured yowl
And the four other brutes
Grabbed and pushed him forward
With threatening, snarling growls
And at last they came
To a vast vaulted chamber
Upheld with cyclopean columns so high
That they disappeared
Into the shadows of the ceiling
Like it was a subterranean sky
And in their sconces
On the columns
Their blazed torches of a cold-looking fire
The same blazed in a huge brazier
On the floor
Whose tongues seemed to reach ever higher
And the brazier stood in front
Of a hideous throne
Built of bloody human skulls
And the one who sat upon that throne
Benjamin recognized
To the full
The sepulchural eyes
So green
That enticing, piercing glare
He fell completely
To his knees
As into his soul she did stare
A beautiful coat
Of the purest white
Covered her entire form
She flashed her strong
Powerful fangs
Which into many a poor soul had torn
Lean and muscular
Sacred feminine
Yet a presence oh so dark
Upon his mind
And upon his soul
She intended to make her mark
There were scores of werewolves
Hulking in this chamber
A congregation of fiends
Eyes there were
Glowing hellish red
And yellow and blue and green
There were wolf-men of titanic proportions
Muscles rippling beneath their fur
And there were vicious-looking
Whipchord-like werewolves
Their teeth snarling
Like wretched curs
There were black-furred blasphemies
Like Benjamin
And there were devils of brown and gray
And silver and blood-red
And tan and bronze
All hungry for human prey
But only one wolf was pure white
And that was the one
Who sat on the throne
Magnificent
And terrible
Claiming the night as her own
And then there did sound
From her throat
A savage growl
And raising
In a fearsome crescendo
It evolved into a howl
And the hordes of night-things
Threw back their heads
And all gave voice
To a howl that would summon
The lords of hell
And Benjamin had no choice
But to let his howl
Mingle with theirs
In a night-spawned voice of doom
As the haunting, feral cacophony
Threatened to shake the foundations
Of the room
"I am the first, the supreme Queen!"
The she-wolf seated on the throne
Spoke forth
"And unto me
"Do all of you
"Owe your very worth!
"I am the first offspring
"Of the Demon Queen Lilith
"Born at the dawn of time
"Cain is my father
"His savagery
"Flows within our line!
Then She looked
Straight into Benjamin's glowing eyes
And said "My high priests, bring him to me!"
And the same four robed ones
That led him to the chamber
Dropped him at her dais on his knees
"You may wonder, my dear savage one,"
She flashed her fangs at him
"Why I have chosen you,"
And the bestial Ben admitted
In his mind that he hadn't
The glimmering of a clue
"You see, I desire a king
"To rule at my side
"There was one who came before you
"His human name
"Was Gilles de Rais
"The same child-killer that history has rued
"He was foolish
"And was executed by the Church
"These....putrescent "Knights of Christ..."
And the last phrase
She spewed out of her mouth
As if it had a rancid bite
Her white fur glowed
A hell-fire red
In the light of the brazier fire
And still Benjamin
Was transfixed by her eyes
And an insatiable desire
"But you ask yourself,"
She purred once more
"'Why a humble blacksmith like me?
"'What special thing flows within
"'Of great dynastic evil
"'That would appeal to thee?'
"When one of my servants bit you
"He knew a certain blood flowed
"In your veins
"This blood, he reported
"Was of a most
"Peculiar strain."
"It can be traced back
"To the ancient Empire of Babylon
"To Nebuchadnezzar the Great
"The king that ruled
"With an iron fist
"Of tyranny and black hate."
"Your blood is not your destiny,
"My love!"
His sad wife's shade echoed in his head
"Turn from this path
"Of monstrous evil
"And millennia-old dread!"
The object of the Queen's affection
Buried his monstrous head
In his claws again
And let out once more
An agonized howl
Of struggle and of pain
In an instant flash
The Wolf Queen was beside him
Her claws giving seductive caress
Cradling his lupine head
She hissed
"I know who causes you such distress.
"That wife of yours
"Is lost now
"In the abode of the dead
"Abandon her now
"My savage lover
"Banish her existence from your head!
"We will rule the Children of the Night
"Together!
"For millennia to come
"Let the dark joy
"Dwell in your heart
"For you have now come home!"
And then something snapped
In Benjamin
To strike out against the dark
He lunged and grabbed the Queen
By the throat and snarled,
"Home is wherever I have my heart!!"
A single shot
In the cavernous chamber
Suddenly rang out
And from the throat
Of a young man
There arose a shout
"Wicked hellspawn
"Of the night
"Know that you've been followed here!
"And now you will have this place
"Brought down
"Around your ears!"
The leader of the four cloaked high priests
Snarled
With fangs bared
And growled from the deepest part of his gut
"Who now speaks?!
"Who dares?!"
As the lycanthrope Benjamin
Still had the Werewolf Queen
Pinned by the throat
He saw his gathered dark kin
Part like water
In a moat
And in the midst of them
Stood Bernard the Minstrel
Wielding a silver sword
And beside him
His dearest love, Gabby
With musket leveled against the horde
And behind them
Was a mob of townspeople
All armed to the teeth
Their weapons
And their torches
All desperately hungry to greet
The hellbeasts with
Swift descending death
And completely snuff them out
They would die
Fighting these blasphemies
There was no other route
While Benjamin was slightly distracted
The Queen savagely clawed him
In the face
And the blow felt to him
As like a hammer-strike
From a mace
He reeled and collapsed
Falling in a heap
On the floor
While the sounds of battle
About him
Began to roar
He called out to his wife
In the realms beyond
"My Love, please give me strength!
"Although I am still a demon
"I have chosen the Light
"Help me end my nightmare's length!"
Then he felt bloody tears
Caress his face
And on his lips was placed a kiss so sweet
And within him
There arose
A righteous, feral heat
He opened his eyes
And over him stood
The Queen in utter rage
All the anger and darkness
In her was
Now completely uncaged
"We could have ruled the world together!"
She snarled
"A dark empire so supreme!
"But you have chosen death!
"I must punish you
"For crushing my dream!"
But Benjamin summoned
All his strength
Soaring high into the air
His razor fangs bared
For the kill
His claws raised to tear
The Queen too leapt
To meet him
High above the battling crowd
Below Bernard's sword
Drank the blood of the damned
While Gabby's musket spoke loud
The townsfolk began
To fall one by one
As against the fiends they raged
And time seemed to slow down
As if it was being caught
Within a cage
Benjamin saw
The Queen's glowing eyes
Drilling into his soul
His fear and rage
Grew to a fever pitch
As her maw opened like a fanged black hole
"She desires to completely devour me."
He thought
"Well, I will drag her down to hell!"
He decided in his monster-encased mind
That it would be both of them
That fell
A black missile
And a white missile
Screaming for each other's death
Both of them
Dedicated to fight savagely
Until their final breath
The two finally embraced
In feral hate
Their two pelts blending in war
Benjamin gained
The upper hand
And catapulted her into the floor
She yelped in pain
As two of her ribs broke
And Ben kicked her in the face
The kick sent her spiraling
Far across the chamber
Towards a crowd-cleared space
As he stalked towards her
Beaten form
Sprawled upon the floor
He heard emerge from her
A plea
Instead of a bloodthirsty roar
"End it, my once beloved..."
She wheezed
"I am beaten, I am done
"Put an end to me
"And let me voyage
"To my destiny alone..."
Benjamin's wolfen ears
Cocked with suspicion
He could not understand
What happened to the Queen's
Deep-seated evil
And her diabolical plans?
"I see what's in your mind
"Creature of the Night," she rasped
Blood trickling from her mouth onto her coat
"I am spent
"I have no longer any
"Dark hope to keep afloat
"I am old
"I am tired
"I've grown weary from this road
"In the end, despite all my evil
"All I wanted
"Was someone to love, someone to hold....."
Ben had no idea
That werewolves could cry
But tears flowed from his beastly eyes
"Dammit, woman!" he choked
"I can't kill you!"
"There's no way I can even try!"
"Take me in the thoat
"And it will be quick..."
She wheezed with fluttering breath
"I swear you will turn back
"To your human form
"If you will give me this death...."
Ben looked once more
Towards Bernard
His sword whirling, cutting through the air
Dealing to the amassed
Horde of Satan
Stinging death and despair
And he spied Gabby
One more time
As her gun blasted gaping holes
Through the flesh and fur
Of the charging, rampaging
Hell-gnolls
"What will happen to the rest?"
He asked
Meaning both the battling sides
"You will see..." she croaked
"With my death,
"I will stem the tide!"
With one final, anguished
Earth-shattering howl
Ben sank his teeth into her neck
The Queen instantly fell limp
And all about Ben
Grew the battle's ruin and wreck
The whole chamber
Began to shake
As if from a great quake in the Earth
The floor cracked open
In great rifts
And from the depths, geysers did spurt
Behind the dais
And the throne
There receded a great door in the wall
And all the beherial beasts of night
Scrambled toward it
As columns and masonry did fall
And as the chamber was
Wracked with great spasms
Benjamin's body did the same
He fell to the shaking floor
Screaming
In great pain
His night-black fur
Began to recede
Back into his skin
And his elongated muzzle
Agonizingly
Shrank and compacted back within
His eyes turned from
Their glowing red
Back to a sky blue
And his fangs and claws
Became again his teeth and nails
He was free of the devil's tattoo
Gaining his composure
He ran like hell
Ran until it felt his lungs would burst
And he cared not
If they did
For he was free of the curse
In the tunnels, he was felled
By a great slab of ceiling
As it fell onto him
He knew
As the crushing pain came
That this would be his end so grim
Ahead of him, Bernard and Gabby
Called out his name
For they knew him well
They would not leave him
In this collapsing
Subterranean hell
"It's too late for me
"I fear..."
He gasped with his last few breaths
"There is nothing left in this world for me
"My friends
"So I gladly embrace my death."
"We can't leave you!"
Gabby sobbed, and Ben smiled
"My child, you have no choice
"These tunnels
"Are caving in
"Go now, and heed my voice
"For Londontown
"Will need protectors
"Against the Children of the Night
"And I believe you two
"Have been blessed by God
"To train others to take up the fight!
"Your calling is upon you!
"Take leave now
"And go!
"The world has more need
"Of ones like you
"Than you'll ever know!"
And then Benjamin
Breathed his last
And the two escaped with the townsfolk left
And so they lived
Together in passionate love
And Londontown was not deaf
To their cries
To take up arms against evil
To train those who would
Stand against the foes
From hell's gates
As they themselves stood
And somewhere
Reunited with his wife and son
A watch Benjamin's shade did keep
Against the things
That lurk in the night
While unsuspecting children sleep
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