The Strange Tale Of The Lupus Fang (332 hits)
Category: NoneRating: 0.73 on 16 reviews (Rate this item) (V)
Submitted by frankthebear (View user info) at 2008-03-03 02:23:41 EST
http://www.ubersite.com/m/111584
The Strange Tale of the Lupus Fang
My name is Steven Barker. About six months ago, I had what was, at the time, the most extraordinary experience of my life, I met a real vampire. Her name was Angelica Crawford, and she was a local legend in my home town. After helping her escape her confinement in her coffin and hearing her story, I headed out into the world to see if there were any other incredible stories I could collect.
I first intended to go south in search of the Chupicabra, but I was waylaid in Texas when I met a young man by the name of Jason Carmichael. I met him in a bar one evening during a terrible thunder storm. At first I didn't notice him, to me he just seemed like one more bar fly sitting hunched over a beer. What drew my attention was when he came back to the bar for another drink and I noticed a strange looking fang hanging from a chain around his neck.
Prompted by curiosity, I asked him what kind of fang it was.
"Mister," he said, "You wouldn't believe me if I told you."
I could barely suppress a smile as I said "My friend, you'd be surprised what I'd believe."
He looked at me for a moment as if trying to determine if I was kidding. I returned his look patiently, waiting for him to make up his mind. Finally he gave a little nod and invited me over to his table in the back corner of the room. He looked around to make sure no one was listening, then he leaned over the table and said "This is the fang of a werewolf. Now go ahead and make your jokes." he said leaning back.
"I've met a vampire." I said simply. He stared at me again, clearly waiting for me to start laughing in his face.
"Are you trying to be funny, mister?" he asked with a guarded look.
"Not at all. If I tell you my story, will you tell me yours?" He nodded. I told him my story as I have written it down in my notebook. When I finished he sat quiet for a full minute.
Then he said "I think I can beat that story if you buy me another beer." I waved to the waitress and ordered another round for the two of us. When the beer came he took a long drink, set down his glass, and started talking.
"Two years ago I was on vacation with my brother in Europe. We landed in England, took the Chunnel to France, and made our way up through Germany and Austria and then into Hungary. We decided to tour some local ruins since my brother was into all the classical architecture. We hired a tour guide and went around looking at a bunch of old churches.
"On the third day we came to a really old church that was really nothing more that a cellar hole and a couple of walls too stubborn to fall down. We were poking around the ruins when I stepped through an old well cover and fell into what must have been the old sewer system. I couldn't see a thing so I started crawling along, trying to find my way back up. As I was crawling through the rubble, I put my hand down on something sharp.
"I looked at my hand and saw this fang. At the time I was so distracted by the pain that it wasn't until later that I realized I could see clearly in the dark. I pulled the fang out of my hand, stuck it in my pocket, and made my way back up to the surface. I rejoined my brother and the guide, and it seemed like they looked different somehow. I couldn't put my finger on exactly what was different so I kept my peace. I didn't even mention the fang or my injured hand which had already stopped bleeding.
"We rode back to town in the guides truck, and it was all I could do to keep my lunch down because there was an awful smell coming from the guide and the truck itself. I couldn't believe I hadn't noticed the smell earlier. We got back to the hostel and I went to common room for a drink. As I was sitting at the bar trying to figure out why I was feeling so strange; trying to track down the source of this peculiar lucidity that had washed over all my senses. It was this lucidity that drew my attention to three men sitting at a table on the other side of the room.
"One seemed to be in his mid- to late sixties, the other two could have been anywhere from eighteen to forty. And I wasn't sure how I knew it, but I had the distinct impression that they had been staring at me before I turned to look at them. Either way, I didn't like the looks of them, so I finished my drink and went back to my room for the night.
"The next morning, it was time for my brother and myself to head home. Nothing happened on the way and I won't bore you with details. I was glad to be home where I could get a decent cheese burger or a real pizza, and I was about to forget all about everything strange that had happened to me in Europe when, three days after coming home, I saw the same three men I had seen in the hostel in Hungary. I quickly went home and locked the doors and windows. This was too weird. Who were these guys and why were they following me?
"I quickly went home and was about to call the cops when I suddenly realized I couldn't prove anything against these guys, whoever they were. For all I knew, it could have been a really weird coincidence. Either way, I stayed in the house for the rest of the day, occasionally looking out the windows to see if anyone was hanging around watching the house. And nothing else happened that day, until after sundown. That night was my first full moon.
"I can't really explain what the transformation felt like. It was like...well it wasn't really like anything. My skin started to burn and itch, I felt restless and full of energy, I just wanted to go outside and run and run and run until I caught up with the moon. I did go outside, but by this time I was starting to have a hard time thinking clearly. I think my rational mind kind of shut down then, and my body was going on pure instinct. The last thing I can clearly remember is pulling my skin off like a...well again there's no analogy to describe what it was like. I pulled my skin off like skin being pulled off.
"I don't know how long I ran like a mindless beast, or what I did, but slowly I started to come to my senses, like I was waking up from a deep sleep. I found myself in the forest in the middle of eating a freshly killed deer. The smell and taste of the deer was intoxicating, I'd never experienced such a strong reaction from my sense of taste and smell before. I looked around and everything seemed to glow in the darkness, I could see and smell everything. I now realize that the glow was actually my eyes working in tandem with my nose. I could actually SEE what I was smelling.
"So anyway, there I was in the woods, full of fresh deer with the body of a fully fledged werewolf. Needless to say I was a little surprised. I probably would have panicked except something in my new form cave me clarity and composure. I could clearly recall the fang I had found in the sewer of the old castle in Hungary. Everything seemed to click then. I had pierced my hand with the fang of a werewolf and had become one myself. But why wasn't I a mindless beast roaming the streets slaughtering innocent people?
"I decided it was probably best if I got home as quickly as possible. I needed to think, and I would also need some clothes when I changed back. I knew instantly which direction to turn to get home, even though I wasn't really sure where I was or how I had gotten there in the first place. I made it home without being seen and hid out in the back yard until morning, when the wolf hide seemed to melt away, revealing my human body again.
"I let myself inside and got dressed. I was just about to plop myself down on the sofa to watch the news to see if I had killed anyone when there came a knock on the door. When I opened it, there were the three men from Hungary.
"'Excuse please, but ve haff to have words vith you.' said the older man.
"'What's this about? I don't know who you guys are or why you've been following me, but I want you to leave me alone or I'm calling the cops!" and I was about to slam the door in their faces when one of the younger ones said 'You don't haff to vorry about killink anyvon last night, ve vere there to keep you avay from innocent people.'
"Well this got my attention in a hurry. I was speechless as I stepped back and let the three men inside. They went into the living room as if they knew exactly where it was and all sat down on the sofa. I sat down opposite them in a recliner and gestured for them to speak. The older guy, who was clearly their leader, leaned forward in his seat and started to talk. I'll tell it in my own words to spare you from sorting out the accents. What he told me was this:
Back in the old country, many hundreds of years ago, there was a man named Lupus. He was a simple farmer with a small piece of land and a large problem. A pack of wild wolves had been raiding his farm at night, killing his livestock. So one night, he took his bow and his dogs and went out to hunt the wolves. He tracked them for miles before he found them, only it turned out the wolves had been stalking him instead. He drew his bow and managed to shoot several of the wolves, but one was too fast and got close enough to attack him.
His dogs fought off the lead wolf, but weren't fast enough to save their master. Lupus was bitten by the lead wolf before he could kick it away and finally kill it by crushing it's head with a rock. Lupus was badly injured and far from home. He was forced to make camp where he was and treated his wounds as best as he could. He stayed there for many days, hoping to regain his strength for the journey home, but the days turned into weeks and he was forced to kill his dogs for food.
Finally after nearly a month, and at the end of his strength, he was desperate to get home or he knew he would not survive. He started to drag himself through the forest, but had gone less than a mile before his strength gave out. He was beside a stream with many flowers growing on it's banks. Starving and desperate, Lupus ate some of the flowers. The flowers were Wolfs bane. Lupus finally had to accept he would not make it home alive. He pulled himself over to lean against a large rock where he could see the sky before he died. He fell into a deep sleep, and would surely never have woken up had strange forces not been called into play.
That night was the full moon, and Lupus transformed, reborn as the worlds first werewolf. And for many years, he terrorized village after village, eating anything or anyone he could catch. No one had a chance of killing him because no one knew what he was. As the first werewolf, there was no folklore among the people about how to kill one. And in small farming villages, no one had any silver anyway. So it was that Lupus grew older and more powerful, and eventually he became so powerful that he was able to retain his human intelligence while transformed, and he could even transform at will, without a full moon.
Lupus lived for seven hundred years, and could have continued living as long as he liked, but he was growing weary of the world. Saddened by the endless killing and worn by the relentless pull of the moon, Lupus decided he had lived long enough. He sent out messengers to the werewolf elders, those he had turned in the folly of his youth, and gathered them to perform a ceremony that would allow him to end his life. They gathered in the lowest part of an old church and there Lupus transformed for the last time.
With his own hands, Lupus pulled out one of his fangs and entrusted it to Eldreth, the first of the Turned, with instructions to hide it away until a time came when his people needed him again. For the fang contained all his power and strength, and could turn anyone into a living replica of Lupus as he was of old. Eldreth then drew a silver sword and thrust it deep into Lupus's heart. The Turned entombed Lupus beneath the alter and hid the fang away near where Lupus fell. And there it was kept safe until an earthquake broke the church and buried the fang beyond reach.
"'Until now,' said the old guy. 'You haff found the Lupus Fang, unt haff become Lupus himself.'
"'So you're telling me that when I put my hand down on the fang and cut myself with it, I became the master werewolf?' I said.
"'That's correct, master. Ve are your people, unt ve haff come to you.' said the old guy.
"'Why are you calling me master? Who are you anyway?'
"'Forgive please. I am Eldreth.'
"'YOU'RE Eldreth?!'
"'Yes master, all these long years, I haff guarded the ruins of the church unt vaited for somevon to claim the fang.'
"'And what am I supposed to do with this power?'
"'Lead us against the vampires, of course.'
"Vampires?!" I interrupted. Jason nodded at my outburst.
"That's right. Vampires. I know they're real, and that's why I knew you were telling me the truth. Well that and I can smell when someone's lying."
"But why do you have to lead the werewolves against the vampires?" I asked.
"From everything I've learned, the vampires are planning on taking over the world, and they mean to move soon."
"But that's...well that's incredible!" I said. "Why have the vampires waited until now to take over?"
"Probably because they've been waiting until they had enough numbers." he said, finishing his beer. "It takes a great deal of personal effort for one vampire to make another. You should know that after the story you heard from your vampire friend."
"I hope you don't suspect her of anything." I said.
"Nope. From what you said, Ms. Crawford has been out of the loop, and has no malevolent intentions. So rest easy, you haven't betrayed your friend."
"So what are you going to do now?"
"Well, I have to stay in hiding until I finally get the hang of these powers. I've been moving from town to town, and whenever another werewolf in the area catches a whiff of me, he or she approaches me and offers any help they can give."
"How long do you think we have until the vampires make their move?"
"Not long now. I'd say another year at most. After that, there's going to be open war."
I was speechless. Vampires revealing themselves in an all-out bid to rule the world, and the only hope humans have is in a secret army or werewolves. I felt cold.
"Well Mr. Barker, I think it's about time for me to move on again. I hope you find whatever it is you're looking for down south, and I wish you luck with your book. And for what it's worth, I give you my permission to use my story in any way you see fit."
He shook my hand, slapped a dusty cowboy hat on his head, and left the bar. I noticed two men get up from their table and follow him out. Werewolves? I wondered. No! These two men were extremely pale, and they glided across the floor when they moved. I'd known only one other person who moved like that. I quickly got up and followed the two vampires, hoping I could warn Jason before it was too late...
To be continued...
User Reviews
Submitted by HellRazer (user info) at 2008-03-03 16:59:17 EST (#)
Ranking: 2
Definatly worth reading imo.
Submitted by rob_berg (user info) at 2008-03-03 16:57:38 EST (#)
Ranking: 2
Submitted by monkeyswithguns (user info) at 2008-03-03 16:31:41 EST (#)
Ranking: 2
For the fortitude of writing all that, even though I'm not reading it.
Did you pick up a keyboard of fortitude +4?
---
WITH A VORPAL SPACEBAR?
um... I didn't actually read much of this, but it was about vampires and werewolves and who doesn't like that kinda shit?
Submitted by monkeyswithguns (user info) at 2008-03-03 16:31:41 EST (#)
Ranking: 2
For the fortitude of writing all that, even though I'm not reading it.
Did you pick up a keyboard of fortitude +4?
Submitted by Axolotl (user info) at 2008-03-03 14:12:55 EST (#)
Ranking: -2
Submitted by frankthebear (user info) at 2008-03-03 05:20:50 EST (#)
Ranking: 0
Submitted by woolfe (user info) at 2008-03-03 04:25:55 EST (#)
Ranking: -2
Cliche ridden, unspectacular, and quite frankly, your accents are appalling, the writing uninteresting, and your narrow, american-tinted view is rather sad.
LARP.
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your reviews mean nothing since you can't be fucked to post anything of your own, stupid alter
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fortunately i have made posts
I guess my opinion means more than most people according to you??
Submitted by Brdn_Nkd (user info) at 2008-03-03 13:38:39 EST (#)
Ranking: 2
eh, i enjoyed it.
Submitted by HurtByTheSun (user info) at 2008-03-03 13:00:39 EST (#)
Ranking: -1
Submitted by EmissionImpossible (user info) at 2008-03-03 17:51:10 GMT (#)
Ranking: 2
why not
=========
Because it kind of sucks.
Submitted by EmissionImpossible (user info) at 2008-03-03 12:51:10 EST (#)
Ranking: 2
why not
Submitted by orphelia (user info) at 2008-03-03 12:50:22 EST (#)
Ranking: 0
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Submitted by sicosemen (user info) at 2008-03-03 12:31:02 GMT (#)
Ranking: -2
No Comment
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Dude, I told everyone you had left!
Submitted by Ltap (user info) at 2008-03-03 08:15:44 EST (#)
Ranking: 2
Submitted by woolfe (user info) at 2008-03-03 04:25:55 EST (#)
Ranking: -2
Cliche ridden, unspectacular, and quite frankly, your accents are appalling, the writing uninteresting, and your narrow, american-tinted view is rather sad.
LARP.
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You're an asshole. Of course it was cliche-ridden, but it was a pretty good story.
Submitted by sicosemen (user info) at 2008-03-03 07:31:02 EST (#)
Ranking: -2
No Comment
Submitted by JoeyG (user info) at 2008-03-03 07:19:00 EST (#)
Ranking: 2
didn't read it, but the picture was cool enough for me.
Submitted by LittleMonster (user info) at 2008-03-03 07:16:11 EST (#)
Ranking: 1
No Comment
Submitted by Berty (user info) at 2008-03-03 06:05:39 EST (#)
Ranking: 1
Submitted by woolfe (user info) at 2008-03-03 04:25:55 EST (#)
Ranking: -2
Cliche ridden, unspectacular, and quite frankly, your accents are appalling, the writing uninteresting, and your narrow, american-tinted view is rather sad.
LARP.
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He's right you know.
Still, I did find it quite easy to read.
Submitted by frankthebear (user info) at 2008-03-03 05:20:50 EST (#)
Ranking: 0
Submitted by woolfe (user info) at 2008-03-03 04:25:55 EST (#)
Ranking: -2
Cliche ridden, unspectacular, and quite frankly, your accents are appalling, the writing uninteresting, and your narrow, american-tinted view is rather sad.
LARP.
----------------------------------------
your reviews mean nothing since you can't be fucked to post anything of your own, stupid alter
Submitted by woolfe (user info) at 2008-03-03 04:25:55 EST (#)
Ranking: -2
Cliche ridden, unspectacular, and quite frankly, your accents are appalling, the writing uninteresting, and your narrow, american-tinted view is rather sad.
LARP.
Submitted by czwij (user info) at 2008-03-03 04:01:11 EST (#)
Ranking: 2
pretty good, little far fetched as i doubt someone would tell a complete stranger such a tale, but ya gotta start somewhere...