Wednesday, April 14, 2010

Lycanthropy Awareness

Midnight on the mountain is dark and breezy. Fluttering hems of clouds wisp across the moon like rotting lace. From the west, a lone howl lifts up into the sky, echoing across the hills. Your skin is cold, a sharp contrast to the warm evening. An itch spreads under your flesh. Your belly cramps and you fall to your knees, the howl reverberating against your eardrums even though it's faded from the air. Your eyes bulge in their sockets as you feel your body seize.

Your nostrils flare as their diameter suddenly expands. You feel your scalp prickle and begin to bleed as chunks of hair shove through your skin. You raise your hands, hold them in front of your contorted face. They're twisted and locked into grotesque shapes. White knuckles, straining digits, fingernails rippling and popping as they thicken and extend into points. Your ears elongate, every sound intensifying until even the wind in the grass is a thunderous chorus, washing over your senses in an unrelenting flood.

Minute ripping noises reach your ears, sliding in under the dissipating howl's echo. Your shirt stretches and tears into long strips as your torso elongates and widens. You feel ribs rearrange, crackling under the blunt shelves of your expanding muscles. Your bones pull and lengthen, groaning like weathered planks of wood.

You rear your head back, eyes streaming as they dilate and darken. Moonlight washes over your retinas and just for a second you see veins in your eyes, backlit by the hateful blue kiss of Luna. A gathering roar fills your throat. Your larynx expands, straining with the force of your answering howl. The sound pushes past your quivering, thickening lips just as the merciful curtain of animalistic thought drops over your rational mind.

The last thing you clearly process is the sensation of cool dew on your forelegs as you lope easily down the mountain, tatters of clothing hanging like streamers from your haunches and shoulders.

There's a werewolf in each of us - the stranger with the face we don't recognize. We pull it out for examination every once in a while, and some people don't like what they see, don't appreciate what's revealed. Your inner beast only cares for its own needs and desires. Its selfishness appalls us and fascinates us at the same time. We keep it at arm's length, wondering if we should give in to its alluring song... Come with me, it says, Come with me, and I'll show you what life really is.

Are you listening?

28 comments:

RHYTHM AND RHYME said...

WOW what a creepy tale but I enjoyed it . I did wonder what the L letter word meant.....now I know.

Thanks for sharing.

Yvonne,

Sugar said...

very nice...sucked me right in..

Sophia said...

"Your bones pull and lengthen, groaning like weathered planks of wood." Yes. The entire piece is well written with a good mix of sensory information (good in all writing but especially beneficial in second person perspective) but that simile in particular appealed to me.
- Sophia.

Unknown said...

Wow that grabbed me right away!!! I loved it! How creepy!

Talli Roland said...

Wow, did you write that extract? So creepy!

I'm not sure I'll be able to sleep tonight, I'll have to keep one eye on my husband!

Unknown said...

I liked the end, the part not in italics. That's the part I found most creepy.

Lola Sharp said...

LOVE IT!!!

Great use of POV.I also agree with Sophia, that was my favorite line. Pure gold.

But why you gotta go and write that truly evil part at the bottom? That's just scary.

You know...

I always thought of myself as a one woman wolfpack. But then I met you, and then there were two, two in the wolfpack....

;o)

ps-I still cant follow you. And it is ONLY you. Isn't that weird?? Wazzup with that?

Anne Gallagher said...

Love this! Natalie Goldberg had written something akin: She called it the Wild Mind. You can write in wild mind, and living it was the best way to live.

Oh yes, I have released my inner wolf, were or regular, and howled at the moon. It's a great experience.

Beth Zimmerman said...

That was very well written! :)

Anonymous said...

I'm listening now. How could I not? I wonder what the moon will be like tonight? Nicely written.

Mel Chesley said...

That. Was. Cool!!!

Very, very nice. And yes, I listen to my inner "demon". The only time I ever let it out to play is through my writing. I have to keep a very tight hold on that leash. XD

Laura S. said...

I had to peek in the mirror and make sure I was still me, ha! I saw everything as if it were happening...excellent sensory detail.

sarahjayne smythe said...

Wow. Eerie and evocative. Very creepy. :)

Raquel Byrnes said...

I just love, LOVE, how you write imagery.

Fluttering hems of clouds wisp across the moon like rotting lace.

...for a second you see veins in your eyes, backlit by the hateful blue kiss of Luna.

How do you come up with that stuff? Color me jealous and impressed.

Jemi Fraser said...

Very nice :)

ggray said...

What a delightfully wicked morsel from the pen of B. Miller. Take if from me folks who has read all of the WIP, as awesome as this werewolf piece is, this is just a sampler of what's to come From B. Miller's novel. Just a teaser, just a hint, just a scratch on the forearm, folks. Yesseriee... the teeth have only just broken the skin.
By the way, B. Is this aimed at what I'm thinking it's aimed at? What we talked about last night at writers meeting? If so - its a winner in my book.

Alex J. Cavanaugh said...

That's excellent, Miller!

Ella said...

Great imagery; I love all the detail and the depth your words evoked!
I want to be a beast, selfish and
only worried about my wants; that would be a vacation, for me!

I agree, excellent!

Rebecca T. said...

That was crazy! I loved it! Thanks for sharing :)

Susan Fields said...

Such great description, put me right in the scene! I love your imagery.

Elliot Grace said...

...dude's got skills:)

Arlee Bird said...

Vivid!

Lee

B. Miller said...

Thank you all so much for your kind words about this entry.

Yes, I did write it, and it's funny how it just flowed out. I was going to write a blog expressly about the last paragraph in the piece, about the stranger who lies in all of us, and how as writers we're even more connected to it. But then (much like the subject of the short) it just... changed. I decided not to fight it, and I'm pretty pleased with the result. I'm so glad y'all liked it. I'll post more bits and pieces of prose here every now and again.

It really made me happy to read such positive feedback. You guys rock!

Hart Johnson said...

FABULOUS, vivid description! And I think I like just as well, the philosophical question you present afterward. Writer's dance around that dark stuff inside with more regularity than most people, but you've made it more vivid--tangible.

Survivormama said...

Wonderful and captivating! You sure can write a story! Definitely took me for a little ride in the imagination department!

Creative Chronicler said...

That was fabulous!!!!

Natasha said...

What a fantastic piece of writing. And the best part was the last paragraph where you relate it all to what lies dormant in most of us.

Thank you. And can anyone tell me why your blog doesn't show up on my google reader when I am following your blog?

B. Miller said...

That's really strange. I have someone else who's having a problem following me. I wonder if it could have something to do with the html theme? Anybody know?