The Veiled Truth by Pent Ghelsburg
Disclaimer: The characters depicted in this work are purely fictional. Any resemblance to persons alive or dead is purely coincidental. They are the original and rightful intellectual property of their creators. I use them with permission and respect. This work involves underaged characters and transformative content. You have been warned.
A twisted tree unfurled with burly bark that thickened towards its base. It's leaves different shades of orange, brown, and yellow. Some of them cascaded to the ground as the brisk breeze carried past them with a gusting wind that blew in every particular direction. Underneath it, no leaves had piled up as the wind was much too strong for them to gather. A glistening yellow-brown moon glowed its light gaze, pouring onto the land below with an eerie glow that seemed to billow up from the land.
It was that time of year…the clock had struck in chimes. Its bellowed echoes carried across the flat valley. Pumpkins and Jack-o-lanterns lay strewn across the various porches. Some decorations stood about in various places with the constant theme of undeath or fear hanging about them. Of course, some yards were more playful…more colorful, and designed with the younger kids in the community in mind. But it was all too apparent the time of the harvest had come.
Halloween was that time of year that most kids looked forward to. It was one of the only times of year when their parents didn't care as much about what they did. The idea of letting go and dressing up as whatever they wanted appealed to them for that particular year. For every kid, the experience was all too different. Each of them found solace in whatever aspect of it they enjoyed most. Still, the overall enjoyment that came with the holiday was celebrated by the community as a whole.
Nait was a 12-year-old boy who lived in the community known as the "Ospice". The community was a gated one with high-end homes than some of the other ones around it. He lived with his parents in a large home in a suburb of the big city. His life was a somewhat sheltered one. He hadn't traveled much and knew only his school and the community in which he lived. Yet, his naivety a large was partially due to his age and partially due to his parents always working.
The young boy often found himself alone at home. He was old enough now that he didn't need a sitter. His parents had decided he was mature enough to handle himself as he had shown responsibility in the past. Nait was a good kid, one who cared for the most part about his grades and even more about his friendships. Nait was one of those kids whom everyone got along with, one of those kids whom it was difficult to dislike.
Nait's best friend was a boy of the same age…one he affectionately knew as Max. Max was Nait's next-door neighbor. They had been close friends since they were toddlers, though they couldn't remember as much. The two of them enjoyed hanging around with one another. They had spent just about every Halloween together, going trick or treating within the community in which they lived. If all went as planned, this year would be one of the best.
Rumor had begun to swirl of a few things on the horizon. Nait's parents had told him that the community meeting had mentioned full-sized candy bars this year. It wasn't so much as mandatory as it was neighbors trying to outdo one or another. When this news was shared with the young boy, he was all but ecstatic to learn this. Nait had a bit of a sweet tooth and he loved nothing more than chocolate.
Additionally, the local news was forecasting a full moon. Nait knew all too well about the superstition that surrounded a full moon. It was one of those events that happened rarely and yet everyone knew about it. The stigma of how people acted weird…how strange things often happened….and of course the ever-present folk legends of lycanthropy.
"The beast of the bend…. its unkempt fur, gnarled fangs, and razor-sharp claws are something to be feared. Rampaging the town to add to its pack so that's brood becomes ever larger. Shaping the world in its image so that it may finally come out from its den without fear."
It was a tale as old as tall tales themselves. Told by the older generations to younger ones, always in some variations of the actual myth. But it's a true story…was one lost to the wind. One that people had forgotten over time and one seemed all but lost.
Nait knew of this tale. Heck..everyone did. Many of his age-mates had even dressed up for the holiday as the fiend in question. Yet… its form was mysterious and ever-shifting. No one person had a firm idea of what it actually looked like. After all, it was but a story and to worry about such things seemed frivolous at best. Even still it remained a popular costume across the spectrum of ages of people who continued to participate in the event.
That year Nait had decided to indulge in the costume of what he called "Lucian." A simple costume with naught but a pair of lupine ears on his head, a lengthy grey and white tail strapped to his butt, and a torn pair of jeans and matching shirt to complete it. His mother had agreed to decorate his face to look like it had fur on it but the rest of his body remained the same skinny and scrawny body that he hadn't quite grown out of yet.
When he told his parents of what he'd chosen to go as, they were surprised. They were used to him going in what they referred to as kid-friendly costumes. Things like superheroes…animated characters…and the one-off sheet-clad ghost. But to this date, the boy had never done something that was designed to be "scary." Yet they were all too keen to support this decision and allowed him to do it all the same, after all, it was just in good fun in the name of getting candy.
The night of Halloween came to pass before long. The gated community had put everything in place, making it as safe as possible. They had hired extra security to roll around in golf carts around the place. The idea of course was to make sure that any wayward mischief did not occur and both parents and homeowners were all too happy to welcome. For the younger generation, it was something they didn't think about much so it didn't matter to them much.
Nait looked out his window. The dark yet serene surroundings around his home made it difficult to see very far. His window was open with the chilled yet brisk air blowing through it. The sounds of leaves rustling in the distance could be heard. He put down the game he'd been playing for a while, making sure to turn it off so his parents didn't yell at him for being forgetful. Easing himself off the bed and onto the soft carpeted floor.
The boy made his way to the closet where he'd kept the costume until now. The five-piece set hung on a small hanger that clung to the side of the door nearest to the mirror. He pulled it off and started getting dressed, changing into the shirt and pants. The hardest part was attaching the tail which had to be hung between two loops of his jeans using a Velcro strap. Having the thing hang behind him seemed weird but he figured he'd get used to it a while. He attached the ears to his head and looked at himself in the mirror, giving the best scary face he could attempt.
Once he felt he had mastered it, he began to make his way down the hall. His mother was already waiting for him in the living room with a makeup kit. She had been watching television until then as it had been a low-key night for her in terms of other responsibilities, especially since they'd ordered in earlier for food. Nait poked her from the other side of the couch and she snapped back to realize that he'd arrived.
"Alright kiddo, kneel and I'll make your face dog-ish." She said with a warm smile on her face.
The boy grimaced. "Mom…Lucian is a wolf, not a dog…"
"Dog…wolf…same difference. Now come kneel in front of me so I can put makeup on your face." The mother grabbed the makeup kit from where she had placed it earlier and put it on her lap.
Nait walked around to the other side of the couch. He'd never put makeup on before and wasn't sure what to expect. He kneeled in front of her and began waiting for her to start. She began working on him. The boy's mother was no make-up artist but she'd watched a few tutorials online on how to put together the look of a lycan. She was slow and delicate, ever so careful not to smear it near the boy's eyes or nose.
It took her a good 20 minutes before she was able to finish. The process was a bit more tedious than she expected. She looked him over once she was done, seeming more than happy with her work. Once she finished, she held up the little mirror and rotated it so that Nait could get a good look at himself. Nait saw his face had been greyed out…his nose darkened…and little dark lines were strewn across his skin to make it look like he had fur.
"This is neat Mom, thanks!" The boy smiled widely at her.
She winked at him. "I'm glad you like it. I have a surprise for you."
The boy's mother reached over the side of the couch into a bag she'd hidden over the side of it. Pulling out two fur-covered hands with black claws on the fingers. She handed it over to him. The boy's smile grew only larger as he looked at it. The thing even had black paw pads on the side of it and the sleeves were long enough to cover the lower half of his arms to cover the rest of his skin. He slid them on his hands and gripped his hands into the plushy fabric of the paw pads.
"Thanks, Mom!" Nait got up to hug his mother, almost causing her to drop the makeup kit she was still holding in her lap.
She hugged him back. "No problem, kiddo. Now go out and have some fun. I want you back by 9, alright? You have school tomorrow…"
"Okay, I promise!" The boy stood back up and backed away from her.
Nait started to head towards the front door. His mother had already left a plastic pumpkin for him to carry around as a makeshift treat bag. The woman followed him out to see him out safely. They walked together to the front yard. She remained there watching her son walk to the next-door neighbor's house. Once the door was open, she decided everything was going to be alright. She was always worried about her son's
well-being and tonight was no different.
The boy arrived at his best friend's home within minutes. Being next-door neighbors the benefit of meaning he could hang out with the other boy whenever he wanted, as long as his parents were alright with it. Nait knocked on the door waiting for it to be answered. His friend's home was nowhere near as decorated as his own. Max's parents had a mixed relationship with the holiday and only put a few small decorations in the yard.
Max answered the door before long. The bigger boy smiled upon seeing his best friend. Max had decided to wear a vampire getup. His father had lent him a semi-formal pair of slacks, a shirt, and a vest. All of which had to be tailored down to cut the boy's smaller size. On his back, he wore a black cloak with a spiked collar that was designed to look like the wings of a bat. In his mouth, plastic fangs and faux blood poked out from his mouth.
"Nice costume, Nait. What are you supposed to be?" The bigger boy "blehed" as he finished his statement.
The smaller boy snarled playfully. "I am Lucian…the Lycan prince."
"The one from the Underworld movie or whatever?" Max recalled the name from a popular movie that they had seen recently in a theater together.
Nait nodded. "Yeah. Ready to head out?"
Max nodded and the two boys began their trek out from the front of the home to the street where they lived. Car traffic was to be non-existent that night, as the community had, forbade it on Halloween. If someone had to work or had some other errand they had to attend to then they had to temporarily park in a designated rental lot located near the community.
Once they got to the main streets, they could see the avenue was filled with kids going in both directions on the sidewalk. Only a few of them had ventured onto the pavement as an occasional bike passed through the middle of the street. Nait and Max joined them and began heading towards the next home to the right of the bigger boy's house. The brisk breeze began blowing against them, making a slight whistling noise as it bounced against the metal exterior of some of the manufactured homes nearby.
The first home they came across was Max's neighbor. It was a two-story house with a yard littered with decorations. A large inflated witch stood erect in the yard, its eyes glowing green with some LCD panels glowing from within. A metal mobile was sticking out from the center of the other side of the yard with yet another flying about it. On the porch lay a caldron with some fog pouring out from it with a large wooden spoon hanging out from within.
Nait and Max approached the door, having to go around the cauldron to do so. The smoke from the pot billowed around them, smelling of an odd but not rank odor. They knocked on it but there was no immediate answer. They waited a few moments before they did so again. Upon making the second set of knocks, the cauldron began to pour out even more smoke. They turned around to look at it, suspecting some mischief was afoot.
A person soon arose from the cauldron, a woman adorning a witch's hat with robes that bubbled from the rising smoke below. She did not completely emerge from the pot, half her body remaining within. In her hand, she held a small tray of cookies offering out to the two kids in front of her. Nait and Max couldn't help but smile at the over-the-top display of theatrics. The two of them take one cookie each.
The woman soon re-submerged herself back in the cauldron, to await her next visitor. Neither boy was sure of what to make of it and shrugged off the experience as no big deal. Each of them looked at the cookies, thinking it was an odd treat to be given. The cookies were shaped in the form of pumpkins with matching orange icing on the top of it. They began to trek off the porch to the front yard. Nait was quick to nibble on it but his best friend wasn't quite so eager to indulge.
The treat was a mixture of savory and sweet. The cookie crumbled in his mouth the moment he put it inside his warm orifice. Nait found it to be quite delectable and considered asking for the other, staring at the other boy's hand with a look of intent in his eyes. Max gazed over towards him and noticed that his best friend was looking at his hand with increased interest. The bigger boy offered it over to him without a word.
Nait gladly snatched the cookie without a second thought. The idea that he was selfish or otherwise greedy didn't occur to him. He quickly stashed it into his mouth in a single bite as if he believed the other boy was going to take it back. He gobbled it down without even bothering to taste it. It was as if he had an insatiable appetite for the treat. The smaller boy gazed back to the porch where they just come from.
"Ready to head out?" Max asked him so that they could move on to the next house in the community.
The smaller boy softly nodded but did not respond. His mind was much too distracted by the cookie. He ignored his desire and decided instead to carry on their night as they had originally intended it. They made their way to the next house in their line of neighbors. The next building was a much smaller one. Its yard is larger with a plethora of shrubs, bushes, and trees in front of it.
The decorations were absent from the building. By looking at it one would think that the family within didn't celebrate the holiday. Still, that didn't stop the boys from heading into the yard. The shadows of the trees cast over them darkening their approach to the front porch. The door to the place opened the moment they stepped onto the stairs leading up to it. A soft voice from within, beckoned them to come inside.
Nait and Max made their way inside. The door closed as they stepped into it. Darkness surrounded them with only a bit of the moonlight shining from within. Suddenly their feet let out from underneath them. Their bodies raced forward down a slop, and a swift wind broke past them as they descended downward. Landing on top of a large cushion their bodies came to an abrupt stop near the bottom of it.
A torch soon lit up before them. An old man wearing viridian mage robes carried a staff with a large gem sitting on top of it. Its emerald sparkle glistened against the flickering fire beneath it. He slapped his staff against the wooden floor beneath him causing a thud to reverberate through the room.
"Wohoho~ What brings these wayward children to my steps on Hallow's Eve?" The man hunched over the staff as if relying on it for support.
Both of the boys looked at each other, neither knowing what to say. Nait picked him up and held his friend to do the same. Looking over to the man who still stared at them, expecting an answer.
"Trick or Treat?" The smaller boy said, not sure what to expect from the man.
The man smirked. Slapping his staff on the ground again. The thud sound from before seemed to grow much louder. A light green light emanated across the room, bathing the entire room and their bodies in a neon tint. Nait began to feel warm for a moment, the glow made his entire body begin to itch. Rubbing one of his clawed fingers over the side of his stomach. Yet each scratch he indulged in, seemed to make the tingling sensation spread through his body.
Nait looked next to him and noticed his friend was nowhere to be seen. His vision began to blur as he rubbed his eyes. His body continued to become warmer with each passing moment. The itching sensation had spread across his chest now and no matter how hard he tried, he simply could not keep up with it. He tried taking off one of the sleeves of the paw on the right side of his body but the thing would not budge.
The boy tugged again. The fur seemed to cling to his body, there was no apparent space between the hair and his body. Extending one of his claws into the fur, it seemed like he could see his skin underneath, taking on an ever darker tint. Nait felt the dire to flee. Fear filled his heart as he tried to take flight. His legs instead caved and his body collapsed onto his behind. His shoes were beginning to feel tight now and he wanted nothing more than to take them off.
Reaching forward, began to fiddle with his laces. His thicker fingers could not grasp the strings of his laces. Taking one of his claws he cut right through the fabric of the lace with ease with the sharpness of a razer. The pressure of his foot continued to push against the end of his shoe. He tried to pull it off, the shoes proving to be more difficult to get off. Within moments what appeared to be furry toes split through the front of them.
Nait's feet lay in front of him. He removed what remained of his shoes with ease. Looking at his legs were covered in the same colored fur that his arms were. His feet…no longer resembling what they had only moments before. Black claws springing from the front of his ticker toes. He reached forward, trying to pull off some of the furs. An instant flick of sharp pain rushed through his foot as the hair had ingrained itself in his body. He rested his paws around his head realizing a long canine-like snout with a wet nose now protracted from his face.
The green light soon began to fade. The emerald-like gem on top of the staff absorbed what was left of it. The man smirked at his captive audience, slamming the staff to the floor causing a bright flash of illumination to blind the boy. His vision remained blurred for a moment as his eyes tried to refocus. Once he could see again, he found himself outside. The darkness of night and tall shrubs surrounded him as he realized he was in the home's front yard again.
Next to him stood Max. The bigger boy looked down at him with curiosity. A look of shock was ever apparent on his best friend's face.
"What happened?" Nait asked as he wasn't entirely sure himself.
Max stammered a bit. "I-I'm…n-not…s-sure…?"
Nait stood up, his now bare
feet touched against the grass. The cool blades pushed against his fur and skin. He couldn't help but look down, the same footpaws from before lay below him. The boy took his hands in front of his face. Beastial claws adorned the end of his paws which looked much thicker than he remembered. He touched his face…just to be sure and the same extended snout extended from his nose.
It was then he realized that what he was experiencing was not his imagination. His body had turned…to something. Looking over at the other boy he noticed that he was now eye to eye with his best friend. Max had always been the bigger one for as long as he could remember. Now it was apparent this was no longer the case. He looked behind him and noticed the costume tail he'd been wearing all day now visibly wagged behind him.
"Do you feel alright? You look…different?" The human boy extended his hand across to touch the other boy as if in a state of disbelief about what he was seeing.
Nait snapped his head back forward. "I feel fine…just not sure what to do."
"It looks like you turned into your costume…You look like the lycan from the old folk stories." The other boy touched his fur finding it to be thick and full.
The lycan boy smirked a bit. "It sure seems like it…This is cool. Do you want to continue?"
"Don't you think we should go home to see if we can get you help or something?" Max removed his hand from the other boy.
The cub shook his head. "Nah…let's keep going. We just started and we still haven't gotten any full-sized candy bars."
"Alright…I guess if you promise you're not feeling sick or anything." The human boy handed his friend back the treat pail that he'd dropped earlier when he disappeared.
Nait smiled back. "Heck yeah…let's go."
The two boys walked away from the yard, continuing down further through the main street of their community. Heading to the first house they came across. This one much was larger than the last with cobwebs thrown all over it. The sound of faux lightning could be heard thundering from a nearby loudspeaker. A sign over top of the door read "Approach if you dare".
Neither boy was bothered by it, after all the holiday was to enjoy the stranger things in life. They approached the door which opened as they stepped foot onto the front porch. From within an old man wearing a Wolfen mask, donning overly large green robes. The older male hinged onto a walking stick with a green gem on top of it. Looking at him, Nait couldn't help but think he looked all too familiar.
The man smiled at the two boys, looking more so at the lycan boy than the human one. Offering them a small tray of candies. Allowing them to take whatever they wanted from it. As they got what they wanted, he slowly retracted the tray from their reach. Standing erect in front of them, he met the Nait's gaze with his own. The two stared at each other. The older man smirked at him but still kept silent.
Max soon tugged on him to follow. After all, he wanted to carry on with the night as normal as it was still early. Nait soon rejoined him and the two walked away from the house and back into the street. The human boy stopped once they were in the middle of the street. The cub looked back towards the two houses, which seemed to have vanished. A vacant lot lush with shrubs, bushes, trees, and overgrown greenery made it apparent that no one lived there.
He looked over at Max who was nibbling on one of the hard candies he'd been given by the old man. Nait pointed back towards the lot to get his friend to look at it. The human diverted his gaze over to it and saw the same thing.
"What? They tore down the house that was there. Don't you remember? They were supposed to build a park but it never happened." Max didn't seem to remember walking there just moments ago.
Nait stammered a bit. "But…didn't we just walk over there…and there was a house...two of them even."
"We went next door. Are you sure you're feeling well?" The human boy wanted to make sure his friend wasn't overdoing it.
The lycan cub nodded. "Yeah…I guess."
"Alright then…don't worry about it. Let's just try to have fun and get the candy we can." Max patted him on the back as if to ease his best friend's apparent anxiety.
They soon returned to trick or treating. The rest of the night went by quickly. They were able to make it to every house on the block and the blocks parallel to it. They kept at it until every house was hit and their buckets were past full of candy of every imaginable variety. By the time their pails were completely overflowing, they finally were getting tired from the day. The entire time they had enjoyed themselves and had been chuckling each time one or the other was frightened.
Max's phone soon buzzed reminding him that it was about time to head in. Both boys had curfews and understood that they needed to be in before bed. Nait walked Max over to his house first since it was closer to where they were walking from. Both boys gave each other a fist bump before they parted ways. Nait once again looked a few houses down back at the vacant lot, still ever overgrown by the plant life that flourished within.
Nait decided to let it go, making his way back to his house. Just as he was about to go inside, he looked to the moon letting out a soft but elongated "Awoo." His shrill yet high-pitched howl resonated in the wind seeming to die out and fade into the distance. The boy let himself back inside the home. His body was sore and tired from the day he'd had. Deciding to not check in on his mother since she was probably catching up on work.
He left his candy pail in the kitchen before heading to the bathroom and stripped the remainder of his clothing. He looked at himself once more in the mirror. The lupine visage of his canine face gazed back at him with a piercing grey glow. He pinched himself to make sure he wasn't dreaming yet he remained there all the same. The boy turned on the shower and stepped into it. Allowing the water to soak over his body as he stood there idly.
A thought occurred to him; How would he explain this to his mother? The realization dawned upon him as anxiety built within him. He closed his eyes and began to search for answers. Wanting nothing more than to return to normal. The warm water cascaded over him as he stood there still for a few moments just allowing his body to relax. After a few moments of this, he opened his eyes and grabbed the soap.
Extending his arm forward, he saw no signs of the furry limb he'd recalled from moments ago. Gazing over to his other side and then back below, to noticed his skin had returned to its former state. Part of him felt happy yet part of him wondered what had happened. He began to quicken his pace so his mother didn't yell at him for being in the shower too long. Soaping up and then rinsing his body off once he felt like he was clean enough.
After he dried and changed into his pajamas, his mother came to check on him. Nait shared the details of his night, leaving out the choice experience that he believed he had as he wasn't sure if he imagined it or not. She wished him goodnight and kissed him on the forehead. The boy rested himself on his bed but looked out the window towards the moon. The sudden desire to howl again stirred within him.
He tried fighting it but before long it consumed his entire being. Letting out another howl out the window. Some of his neighbors complained before he hid himself underneath the covers and tried resting. His mind filled with thoughts of what was...When he slept...his dreams were visited by similar. Of wolves running in the wind...he among their pack. Frolicking in the fields...hunting down prey...and howling to the moon.
"What was once lost is now found...And so too...one has found their true way as what they were truly meant to be. When they truly embrace this truth...then so shall their inner self be truly awakened for what it is."
