The Nation (Part 3) (593 hits)
Category: NoneRating: 2 on 2 reviews (Rate this item) (V)
Submitted by aliasjxc (View user info) at 2004-07-14 13:33:44 EDT
Part 1 http://www.ubersite.com/m/37831
Part 2 http://www.ubersite.com/m/37965
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Ren and I made our way out of the cave into the damp forest. I followed him in an uneasy silence until he finally spoke.
"It's hard, the first time." He glanced over his shoulder at me, his eyes full of understanding. "I know it was for me."
"The first time?" I raised an eyebrow, not sure of what he meant.
"The first change. It's why they were chasing you."
I could feel the blood drain from my face. "No...I did something. Something bad."
"It's ok...that's normal for our kind. They don't understand the rage."
"I don't understand it."
"You will."
"When? When is someone going to tell me what the fuck's going on? What I am? Why this is happening?"
He sighed and stopped, leanining against the trunk of an oak to look at me. I felt his eyes study my face as if he was trying to decide something.
"Alright," Ren finally spoke with a sigh, "I'll explain what I can."
"We are the chosen of Luna. We protect the earth and fight the evil that would destroy it. That's
what the rage inside all of us is. She gives us power to keep our world safe, but with that power
comes a great anger at what is being done to the world. Pollution, violence, intolerance--all of this sparks our rage."
"Luna. The moon." I was still skeptical.
"Yes. Now, this rage is dormant inside of us for many years while we grow, and at some point, it boils over and we change for the first time. Like you did the other night. We unleash the rage. We kill."
I shivered. I could remember the blood on my hands and the screams of the child I'd found the other night. As the memory played in my mind, I found I could also remember tearing that poor child apart with feral claws and teeth. I'd left the body in the park before I ran away--on four legs.
"None of us have a happy first change. I killed my parents. It was years ago," he paused to brush a lock of hair from his saddened eyes, "but that night plays in my mind like...like a 3D IMAX stuck on repeating the same scenes."
He looked down for a moment, gathering himself, and took a deep breath before looking back at me with a forced smile. "I understand what you're going through, believe me. I understand your doubt. Your fear. The way your heart broke when you realized what you'd done. It's something we all live with. It's something we work to atone for."
"I killed a child...how could I ever make up for that?"
"By accepting what you are. By filling your role as a werewolf, and protecting the earth."
"And if I don't accept it?"
The question hung in the humid air. Ren took his time before settling on an answer.
"Then you'll never have peace. You'll be hunted wherever you go, and they will eventually find you and destroy you."
"Oh." I sighed softly. "Who exactly are 'they?'"
"The hunters. From what we know, they track our kind. They work for the dark side of the moon. Luna's enemy. We serve the brighter purpose, and they serve to destroy it."
"I guess I don't have much of a choice then?"
"There's always a choice. It's yours alone."
I glanced around me at the forest. I could sense the life of the trees and the flow of the energy through the roots and the ground. I could feel it giving me strength and faith. I glanced at my new mentor, determination taking over.
"Where do I start?"
User Reviews
Submitted by Fabish (user info) at 2004-08-24 03:36:30 EDT (#)
Ranking: 2
Nothing to be ashamed of here minus the lack of circulation of this piece. But I suppose that if you were looking for a lot of attention, you'd know by now that the majority of what is submitted to this site doesn't garner much popularity.
I personally hope you finish this series. It's got my attention, and I will be looking for your name to see if this series is being continued. Hopefully your month long absense is just that, an absense and not something more permanent.
Submitted by Random Joe at 2004-07-14 13:44:15 EDT (#)
Ranking: -2
ZZZZzzzzzzz boring.