Friday, Half past 9

  It was Friday night movie night. Darren’s wife, Dakota, had had a few too many glasses of wine and retired to bed early. Leaving him and Sally, their 8-year-old daughter, to finish their movie alone. Sally was all but asleep, curled up in a blanket laying against her father's chest.

  Darren liked times like this. It was quiet, but there was enough noise and company to keep his mind from wandering too far. He did have to concentrate especially hard on not chuckling too hard lest he wake Sally. Few beasts could rival the unfettered rage of Sally if you interrupted her naps.

  As Darren amused himself thinking of his daughter with horns and a pitchfork, and her pinchable little cheeks, he saw something glance past the windows beside the TV. Or at least he thought he did. Could have been a shadow from his wife tossing and turning upstairs, or maybe a squirrel. Not a big deal.

  He brought his focus back to the movie as he stroked Sally’s hair and fought off the uncomfortable feeling of seeing something pass by the window or maybe even farther off in the woods. His vision wasn’t what it used to be, especially his peripheral.

  Then, just as he had begun to accept it was just his tired mind playing tricks on him from a long day at work, he could have sworn he heard a low thump and a small flash of light. And while Darren was many things that some would describe as “not so great” he was no coward and would rather not have someone hunting in his backyard.

  He slowly scooted out from beneath his daughter, attempting not to wake her, which he had done so successfully. He moved towards the sliding door that led to their backyard. He reached for his Glock, which he had bought when he found out Dakota was pregnant. It was quite the expenditure to explain, since his wife was far from pro-gun. But he had to have something he could carry that he could count on.

  He grabbed it from the table and slipped it and its holster into the waistband of his shorts. He pulled his gun from his waistband holster and stepped out the door, closing it behind him “Hello, is there someone out ther–”

  [-]

  He woke up the next morning to a knock on the door, laying on the couch. He felt as if he had doubled his wife's usual intake of wine, or even tripled. He remembered vaguely the night before, but everything after standing up to go outside was foggy to say the least.

  Before he could dwell more on his thoughts, a rapid 3 knocks echoed from the front door again. He labored himself off the couch, clutching the back of his head and moved up the stairs to the front door. Opening it while rubbing his head to see a man in an all-black suit with a bald head, short gray beard, and sunglasses.

  “Hello, Mr. Callson. It’s a fine morning, isn’t it?” he said in a flat tone, quicker than average pleasantries usually tended to be delivered.

  “I guess so, ya. I just woke up. Sorry, but what time is it and who are you?” he said as he tapped his pockets and noticed the distinct lack of his phone or wallet.

  “It’s 2:32. PM. and you can call me Mr. R. I was hoping to ask you some questions. I’m with the government.” Mr. R said as if he had said those exact words hundreds of times before. Obviously in an attempt to eliminate any more small talk or questions about why he was at someone's doorstep.

  “Oh… ok, nice to meet you. Why don’t you step inside, and I’ll get you something to drink while I make myself some coffee?” he squeezed his eyes shut and mumbled to himself, “Not feeling that great. Hopefully coffee will fix me up.” Darren turned to walk to the kitchen before he had even finished his sentence.

  Before he could take his first step, Mr. R put his hand on his shoulder. “I don't believe that will help. And, it’s best we talk here. Now.” Mr. R’s tone had long surpassed the annoyed by your mere existence DMV worker and now edged on listen and comply or bad things happen.

  Darren had never taken kindly to pushy government types, especially if he hadn’t seen a badge and especially especially if he was in his own home. “If it’s so important, I believe I should see a badge, and you should start talking.” Darren said in the best demanding tone he could muster as he reached for his Glock with his back still turned to Mr. R.

  “Very well.” there was a ruffling of cloth as Darren realized his piece was not in his holster. “When was the last time you saw your wife? Where’s your daughter? And you should really clean this thing.”

  Darren whipped around to see his Glock in an evidence bag in Mr. R’s hand and his strange badge with a crow emblem on it in his other.

  After the initial shock of his gun being in an evidence bag wore off, he realized those were very bad questions to be asked. Made a hell of a lot worse with his gun being in an evidence bag with what seemed to be a little blood on the slide.

  His mind began racing. He saw his wife go upstairs last night minutes after they started the movie and his daughter was asleep on the couch before he… blacked out? Darren quickly went from shocked, to worried, to fucking terrified. Where were his girls? What happened last night? WHERE WERE HIS GIRLS?

  Darren leaped towards the steps. Making his way to his daughter's bedroom as fast as a man could. He flung open the door. Nearly hard enough to rip it off the hinges. Her sheets were a mess and her window was broken, but there was no Sally.

  Operating purely off instinct, he went to the bathroom. Nobody. Then his bedroom. Nobody. He paused, he couldn’t immediately think of another place they could be. THE KITCHEN! Maybe there was a reason that fucker at the door didn’t want him to go to the kitchen. That damn badge looked fake anyway.

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  He raced back down the stairs and towards the kitchen. Noting along the way that Mr. R was still standing at the door without a worry in the world.

  As he reached the kitchen it was information overload. Blood on the floor and walls. Shell casings littering the countertops and tile. His backup magazine, was lying empty by the floor-to-ceiling windows that were shattered. This was not good. He didn’t know what it was. But he knew for sure what it wasn’t. Good.

  He wandered towards Mr. R, whom he would’ve sworn had a smile tugging at the edge of his lips. Like he couldn’t decide if he should be reassuringly professional or attempt to be pleasant. He stopped in front of Mr. R looking at him as if… well, as if his whole family had just disappeared overnight.

  “Where are they? What happened?” Darren echoed to Mr. R.

  “We’re not sure just yet. That’s why I’m here. I need to ask you some questions about your wife’s hist—” *bzzt* Mr. R held his hand to his ear and nodded before continuing in the same dull dmv-esque tone, “Oh, I stand corrected. It seems we do know where they are, and it seems as though your wife would like to negotiate.”

  “Take me there! Now!” Darren’s vigor had returned to him in a single sentence.

  Mr. R stepped aside and motioned to his car. Darren got in Mr. R’s black sedan and they drove about halfway down their mile-long dirt driveway before coming to a stop. “They’re over there. Around a mile and a half. I understand your impatience but you need to follow behind me. It’s for your safety.” Mr. R spoke softer than Darren had heard him do so before.

  Without a word, Darren nodded and trudged into the woods after Mr. R. If he was scared or confused, he didn’t show it. His brain had practically shut down after he saw the kitchen. He just wanted to see his girls again. Everything else could wait. Including the fear and confusion.

  As he began to near them, he saw several men clad in full black tactical gear surrounding… something. Weapons drawn, the same crow emblem on the Velcro on their arms, and then they parted to make room for Darren and Mr. R to walk towards this… thing.

  It had hair, the same color as Dakota’s flowing from its scalp to its feet. It had fur below that and was probably nearly 10 feet tall if it stood instead of curling over something as if to protect it from a falling building. The most damning of all, it had horns. Horns of a dear protruding from its deer-like skull, which was frighteningly exposed.

  Darren’s brain was working overtime to both process the monster in front of him and completely ignore the fact that it terrified him. He looked towards Mr. R, hoping for an explanation, as soon as he did Mr. R started talking, and not to Darren.

  “Miss Callson, I’ve been told you promised to show us that the child was unharmed if we brought your husband and showed the same. Now I think it’s time to deliver.” Mr. R’s tone was something Darren had never heard before. It seemed as though he was both amused and condescending. It was almost strange enough for Darren not to realize what Mr. R actually said. However, before Darren could spiral ever further into confusion and terror, Mr. R started again.

  “Miss Callson, I’d really rather not ‘ruby ridge’ a family today. We’ve already hunted your pack to extinction. If you behave you may actually make it out alive. Along with your human family.” Mr. R seemed less amused and spoke with a waning sigh.

  “Do you think I don’t know what you’ll do to me?! My daughter!? Why do you think I ran? I was peaceful! I didn’t break any rules! You should have left me alone!” the infernal beast roared as smoke billowed from its skull.

  “‘DIDN’T BREAK ANY RULES!’ How fucking stupid can you be? You raised your own pack, you practiced your arts, and not to fuckin’ mention the kid. Holy shit, the kid. You can’t even imagine how many rules that broke. Hell, I’m not even sure I know. You’re lucky we didn’t wipe this whole fuckin’ place off the map.” Mr. R was obviously angry, but curiously enough he seemed disappointed as well. Like a sheriff talking to his daughter after she got pulled for a DUI.

  “It’s not my fault! I didn’t mean to. I honestly didn’t even know it was possible to get pregnant while I was shifted, much less deliver a healthy child. But I… I couldn’t have just killed her. Or told you. I knew what it would be like for her to grow up there. And that would be worse than death. So I did what I thought I had to. To protect her.” the monster wept. If it could weep. It sounded like compressed air released through a chimney.

  “I do not care why you did what you did. I brought your husband. I did not hurt him and you did not hurt him. Show us the child, cooperate, and you and your family can plead your case to the humanities department.” Mr. R spoke as the DMV personified once again but softened his tone at the end.

  Darren couldn’t take it anymore. His brain simply would not take any more of this. He came all this way to see his girls, and he got what? A deer monster? A wendigo? And why was everyone pretending it was his wife? Had they all gone crazy? Had he gone crazy? Was this all some kind of bad dream?

  He began to laugh frantically, causing the monster to look in his direction and begin to stand. When it fully stood, it walked nearer to him and kneeled. It’s skull smoking until it was invisible. As the smoke faded, it had the face of Dakota, but it looked sad. No. Even sadder than sad. The look you give someone who you know you’ve cause pain, and you know a simple apology won’t cut it.

  At this point, Darren dropped to his knees and his frantic laughter became a horrid amalgamation of laughter and sobbing and screeching. As he spoke through it, he said, “You kinda look like my wife. Ha. Hahaha.”

  He locked eyes with the monster until his tears dried and his throat went raw. Then he just stared at her… it, with his arms by his sides. Defeated, utterly confused, and filled with denial.

  As he sat on his feet his memories of last night came creeping back to him. He remembered what had happened after he stepped out into their backyard.

  [-]

  “Hello, is there someone out there?” he was tackled from the side by his… wife? A partially shifted wendigo? She whispered in his ear.

  “Rahronkas yakonkwe ehnita.” the words sounded both beautiful and terrifying. Terrifying won in Darren’s mind.

  He put his gun to the thing's ribcage and pulled the trigger 3 times. By the fourth, he had been flung up the stairs and down the hall into the kitchen. He saw the thing walking towards him now yelling more sweetly awful words he didn’t understand but the similarity to how his wife scolded him for making a mess of something was uncanny, even besides the face.

  He pushed those thoughts far away and emptied his mag toward the monster, while it dodged and threw blood all over the walls and floor from its wounds. He flung the mag out of the gun and went to reach for his other as the monster grabbed him by the head and slammed it into the floor. He could have sworn he made out the words “sorry babe” as his consciousness faded.

  As he came back to himself, the fog cleared from his eyes. “It was you… you’re her… you're you. Dakota?” his voice was shaky and scratchy

  The monster cupped his cheek and wiped the remaining tear from his face with her thumb. “Yes, yes. I’m so sorry. This is all my fault. I should have told you.”

  Darren’s gaze shifted to behind his wife, where his daughter lay with a single horn sprouting from her forehead. She was unconscious, but she looked visually unharmed. “Is she okay? Are you okay? I mean, I shot you, but you look… fine?” He wasn’t sure what was or wasn’t fine for what looked essentially like a vaguely feminine deer corpse as a torso.

  “She’s fine, I’m fine, You’re fine. It’ll all be okay.” she stroked his head with her other hand, and she started to become noticeably less monstrous.

  One of the men in tactical gear walked to the child with Mr. R and scanned her from a distance while she slept, and then whispered something to Mr. R. Mr. R then held his hand to his ear and started making what were obviously orders as the other soldiers began moving.

  [-]

  Over the next hour more and more people. With more and more equipment had shown up. The family was now leaning against a tree cuddled up with each other, with Dakota covering herself with a blanket that one of the new arrivals had brought with them. She had practically all but gone back to looking like a woman, except for the horns.

  Darren looked over at her thoughtfully while taking another one of the pills they gave him for the headache and said, “What happens now? And don't worry about my response to this. I’ll tear you a new one as soon as I know my family will be in one piece at the end of the day. There’s just too much going on to fly off the handle right now. Plus I think there’s more in these pills than just aspirin”

  Apparently, Dakota hadn’t expected him to be that forthcoming. She let out a small whimper and then spoke, “I’m not really sure, but besides this, I’ve been on really good behavior, my whole tribe has. Since before I even met you actually. So they should be somewhat lenient. They might even let us return to normal on probation.”

  Darren just nodded and hugged his wife and daughter tighter. “I can’t believe you didn’t tell me about any of this.” a small tear left his eye as he pinched his daughter's ear.

  “Sorry, Dad. Mom said I could never tell anyone. Not even you.” Sally whispered as she stared at her toes.

  Darren shot his wife a death glare unrivaled by Hades himself.