Hey gang, given creepy is the reason for the season, we thought we’d share something extra special with you all.
Regular keen eared listeners will remember that over the years I’ve mentioned this Werewolf story I started and repeatedly hit a wall on.
Well, in the last year or so, and though it’s still untitled, I’ve made some great progress on it and it’s probably a few months away from completion.
So, with that in mind, we thought it would be fun to share a little taste of it while we’re deep in the heart of Halloween season.
Now, if you dig this, be sure to head over to Patreon.com/NerdBlitzPod and join up to get the full story when it releases.
You’ll also get instant access to a few other stories, as well as early releases of comic book reviews and such.
If you join at the $5 level you’ll also get instant access to over 200 hours of exclusive audio, including a ton of Halloween themed episodes!
Now, with all of that out of the way, give it a read and let us know what you think…
I woke with a start on a concrete slab, face down in a puddle of my own sweat, delirious & confused about how I’d gotten there…where ever there was.
With a groan, I pushed myself up enough to get my legs under me, knees splattering my sweat pool over a wider area. It was dark, but I could just make out shapes around me due to the waning starlight shining down through a half collapsed roof. It looked like I was in a desanctified church that had been abandoned.
I got a flash of a dream. Claw and fur, moonlight shining brightly down, trees passing by as I run through the woods. A glint of light off of thin metal, a crowd closing in, flames flickering, a small pinch in my chest. The moon, bright and full, silvery and looming.
Shaking my head, I could hear water slapping against rocks, I could smell salt and copper in the cool night air. My heart was pounding in my throat, my lungs beating against my rib cage, joints ached with each movement, as I tried to get to my feet.
Wobbling as I stood, I looked around and saw pews overturned and stacked haphazardly everywhere. I saw a hill through a collapsed wall and started walking slowly toward it, wanting to see if I could figure out where I was at. I stumbled twice, the third time I fell and decided it was easier to crawl the rest of the way to the hill’s crest.
The breeze felt great on my burning hot skin as I reached the top. Expecting a flat grassland to sit or stand on and get a good look, I was shocked to find a sharp drop off and ocean as far as I could see ahead of me, at least now I knew where the sound of slapping water was coming from.
I rolled over onto my back, stared at the disappearing stars and wondered aloud “Where am I?”
I stayed there until the sun started to rise in the eastern sky, trying to calm myself.
I sat up, pulled my knees close to my chest and looked down the hill at the half standing church. In the distance, at least a half away, I spotted a small village on the shore. There were no signs of movement yet, and no other signs of humanity as far as my eyes could see.
I stood up as a breeze swept past me, that’s when I found what alarmed me the most. Since I’d been so worked up, I hadn’t noticed that my skin was hanging off of my body in great sagging folds as if I’d blown up to thrice my size and shrunken back down. Clearly my skin didn’t get the shrinking memo.
I felt my face and the rest of my head and found my flesh loose there too. Feeling panic start to creep up again, I decided to make my way to the little town and see if anybody was there and if they could help me figure out what the hell had happened.
*****
By the time I reached the idyllic little hamlet the sun was beating down on the waterside town, giving it a slight ethereal glow. The entire town was eerily quiet, no real movement other than a single chimney puffing smoke into the air and up into the heavily wooded mountain next to the water.
I started down main street, which was lined with identical little cottages on either side. I knocked on the door of the 1st house and got no response, I tried a few more doors as I made my way toward the smoking chimney and I could swear I heard movement inside a couple of them, but nobody answered.
I reached the last building before the chimney, which I could see now was a chapel and knocked. This time there was an explosion of noise, it sounded like somebody had knocked over a chair or something.
I knocked harder and yelled that I knew somebody was in there and waited, just as I was about to knock a third time a little voice hissed at me. “Go away, you beast! Didn’t you cause enough trouble last night!?”
Stunned, I called back “Please, what happened? What is this place? Where am I?”
At that I heard a shotgun cock and the voice hissed again. “It may not have worked last night, but I’ll shoot atcha again if you don’t leave, freak!”
The curtain on the door swung to the side and a double barrel swept into view, I stumbled backward off the little porch and turned toward the chapel.
There on the steps stood a giant bear of a man waving me toward him, there was an odd familiarity about him. I ran down to the chapel, hoping the man that was making his way inside would be able to shed some light on what had happened to me and this town.
*****
Let us know what you think of this in the comments below or tweet us @NerdBlitzPod.
Check out our first foray into publishing with our original short story collection, The Camping Trip And Other Stories!
Or take a look at my non-fiction writings in Doomed: The Collected Essays And Reviews Volume 1!
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And finally, given the state of the world, do what you can to leave it a little bit better than you found it.
As difficult as that may be currently, it can have an impact far greater than you know.
Until next time, stay safe out there, gang.
