Death Dreams Dire Wolves:

Chapter Twenty-Three: Silver Spoons

Manzer charges through the forest, his black speed makes white memories of the world that passes him by, and in so many visionless senses, too fast to be understood by the mind of a mere kid, and especially not one in the throws of a death calling of a werewolf, that stops at nothing to see its violent charge licked clean in the satisfaction of a bloodhound finding blood. The corridors of thought are narrow in the sense of a boy being taken for a ride. Even as the ride is full on steep in the wilderness of confusion and the might of a gorgan let loose into a world that has no answer for its power but one. Doing what this voice tells him to do, is like a dose of drugs in his system, but something else in Manzer has begun to grow, and this other small voice is nothing of a hint of power, but a hun of regrets and the idea of terror. Something in Manzers heart tells him that losing control is not what he had planned, is not something that he had ever hoped to achieve as someone who only wanted to live his life for the purpose of finding out the security of happiness, and the long awaited thought of having a place to belong.

This little voice in manzer pushed past the keyhole of his mind, taking the shape of yet another disillusionment of a wolf-like need to know of the bitter cost of becoming a monster.

“Manzer, what have you done? What are you doing? What are you going to do?”, says the voice in his heart, that tries to roll back only a few moments of after thought, as the images of blood and carnage move into the long term memory banks of his mind. Manzer slows down, coming to a halt in the forest as this small voice carries the unintended weight of a boy that now finally realizes that he might be a real monster.

Manzer then slows down, coming to a halt, taking his place amongst the trees and the dark overgrowth of a forest that has seen very little of the world of men, or monsters. The clearing is small, but it is enough for Manser to fall to his knees and grip the ground with his long sharp claws, and then, after a moment of self reflection, hje begins to shed tears from his big cat eyes, and into the soil of a forest that has nothing to hide of strange blue cats, that try to get a grip of their loosening boundaries of reality.

A manzer stops, he can sense something stirring in the world around him, something that seems attached to who he is in what his hunger is bound to in turn. Manzer looks up and finds himself face to face, with a small blue kitten. One that seems endowed in the light of so many dreams, and so many reasons to have them.

“Manzer. Why have you lost yourself?” He says, now looking at what he has become, apart from himself and in the way that keeps him pressed for answers. “ ARe you even yourself anymore, or are you just a raging thing? Too angry to even know that what you are doing is wrong. Manzer- why are you so angry? Why did you let this happen?”

Manzer is unable to think of the reasons as to why he allowed himself to become like this, of why he let so much hatred into himself, and did not think to try to examine what the purpose of his change was. He only wanted to save his new friend, to save Beatrice and the others from the Scarecrow, but failed. He is more enraged at himself than anything else, more conceited at his own fault then at the fault of his situation, but cannot make sense of all the other details that fell into place.

Why are so many voices trying to talk to him, why are so many things falling apart and into the abuse of what this night holds, crumbling like the bread of all those trying stay sated in a world of reasons to go hungry, and only try to find themselves feed by the cut of a metaphorical sword.

Manzer takes a moment to reflect, takes a second to look into the dark void of the small cat that sits before him. The mindless beast that he is, tries to resist thinking, and his hunger and lust seem to dwell with strength that sees them seated at the corner of all things to think of feel, but Manzer has never been one to let his own greed proceed him in purpose, and even now, as a merciless killing machine, something inside him tis fighting back and trying to gain ground.

Do not listen to Manzer.” Says a darker voice of hatred. “Kill, feast, revile and revoke. You are the culmination of all bad deeds, and no one is innocent. No One!”

“Who are you?” Manzer asks. “Why are you doing this, why do you just want to kill?”

“Because I seek vengeance on all things.”

“Why? Why the blood, and the violence? Why the horror of all of this?”

“Why do you want to be weak- boy? Why do you try to cheat yourself from your true destiny?”

“My destiny?”

“ Our destiny.”

“I don't not want to kill my friends, i do not want to kill Beatrice.”

“ You have no choice. You are a cursed boy, one of the most wretched things to ever face the light of the sun. Those who dwell in the light will never understand you, and those who chase the night will always fear you. Even your friend, she seeks to betray you to a coven of degenerate hags and self indulgent sinners. It is your purpose to kill them all!”

“No, no. I won't.”

“You weak fool, you cannot fight me, I am the wolf of Darkest night, now returned to claim my throne, and you are but my puppet. Now rise, rise from your deceptions, and seek the blood of the witch who tricked you into a bond she does not plan to uphold.”

Something takes a grip of Manzers body, and forces his thoughts into a blank space of absence. The concept of the hunt becomes his online emotional focus, Manzer cannot fend off the strength of the entity that now has full grip over his body. “You gave me permission to do what needed to be done boy, now sit back and watch as I fix your problems once and for all.”

Then Manzer is off into another dash, racing through the trees. No control over himself, just the monster on a path for blood.

Meanwhile; as Manzer is having trouble coming to terms with himself, sister Therin has pushed the vehicle that she drives past its limits, several parts of the car have burned away, and the scarecrow man has done his fare share of damage, in taking what bits in pieces of this vehicle he can, in order to keep Sister Therin from reaching her destination.

Even in the dark of night sister Therin Knows that she must get close to where she is headed, as only so many twists and turns in the roads could be counted against the better sense of her ability to drive in a moonless night. As sister Therin is a person of faith, it seems that she has a great deal of it to spare, but not enough of it to hold her car together. Eventually sister Therins Car has to come to a halt, as the last part of her signals and prayers is burned away in the scope of a night, drenched in the evil of the scarecrow that follows them. The car's engine is eventually no longer able to function as the gaskets break, and the nuts and bolts holding it in one piece burn away. Sister therein stops the car, then gets out, and with a smooth motion of strength and influence opens the door and picks up Beatrice onto her shoulder.

Beatrice is in a very particular state of sleep, unable to close her eyes, she just sits their blinking, unable to move or speak on her own, as Sister therein had placed and fastened something to her forehead, a magic object that seems to be keeping Beatrice stuck in a trance of unawareness, and limp resolve.

Sister Therin draps Beatrice over one of her shoulders as she continues to try and make her way into the safe haven that she had planned.

“Lord, show me the way.” Sister Therin says in a prayer, and a blazing trail of light is soon emitted from the bottom of her feed, and out into the distance. It shows her that she is only less than a kilometer away from a massive castle that sits built into the stones of a hill. “Lord be praised” SHe says, as she begins to run, taking long strides and keeping a considerable speed in order to get to where she is going. The gravel beneath her feet, sound out into the echoless dark, as she keeps her pace, running as fast as her abilities can take her.

Sister Therin is quick however, the speed that she takes up is something like watching a person move at incredible speeds, this tears of the trinket on Beatrice's head, as as she comes to life she begins to struggle on Therins shoulder, and tries to fight against the grip that holds her place.

Beatrice tries to scream, but Sister Therin is quick to cup her hand on her mouth, responding almost immediately to the life she notices entering into beatrice.

“Be a quiet child.” Sister Therin says sternly, ``There are devils on foot, and not much to keep them from attacking us.”

Beatrice is not quick to understand the situation and still fights against the hand on her mouth. However Sister Therin is adamant in looking at her in the fact, and making sure that she is not being toyed with, and in the right hands. This causes Beatrice to settle down, but her heart rate is through the roof, and she knows that she can barely contain her fear.

“I knew there was some wisdom in you yet girl. Come now, we cannot tarry or run from the path.”

“Therin, what is going on?” Beatrice says as she tries to come to grips with the ever growing danger that seems so close and yet so prevalent.

“Manythings Beatrice, many things that it would take more than a lifetime to explain. Just know I am here to protect you, and keep you from straying into the dark. Have faith in me, and hold onto this prayer.” Sister Therin says as she hands Beatrice a Vile with a piece of paper in it. “If I fall, this will protect you. Never let go of this.” Sister Therin says, and then begins to move. “Follow me now, and pray to whatever good god that you know.”

Sister Therin and Beatrice start to move down the road, trying to keep to the path that sister therin seems to be following, Beatrice can see the Line of fire that THerin follows, and does not question the truthfulness in her words. However, with the enchantment placed on Beatrice's eyes, Beatrice is able to see a whole stirring world of shadows around her, as dark things tend to creep just out of the reach of the light. They are surrounded, but no creature is able to challenge the hold that sister Therin has on her charge except one.

Soon, Beatrice and Therein see someone walking the same path that sister Therin follows, except in reverse. He follows the first right to where Sister Therin stands, and confronts the both of them as they stand, only a few yards away from a gate that glows in amber crosses. It is the Scarecrow man, who holds in his hands a small rusty cross.

“You dare challenge the safety of the lord?” Therin says as she pulls what looks to be some sort of sickle out of her smock. It is drenched in holy light and silver unlike the likes of which Beatrice has never seen.

“I dare, and I must. I cannot let you have her sister, that is something that I just wont let happen.” Says the Scarecrow man. “Whatever that blue cat demon was, it was able to fly under your radar and straight into your little school. It makes that little witch- there too valuable to be left in the hands of your little bible group.”

“And too dangerous for the likes of you to have, villain.” Sister Therin says as she makes small gestures to Beatrice to stand where she is, and never moves. “You might be able to break me from the path, but I have trudged in the dark long enough to know how to fight my way back.”

“Well then, maybe after I take your head from your shoulders, I will make a special example out of you then.”

“Still trying to figure out how i Die, scarecrow?” Sister Therin says with a smirk.

“Forever and always.” The scarecrow man says, pulling out a sickle of his own, then in the blink of an eye, they clash, red and white sparks blazing out into the night, as so many clashing blows are deflected out from one another, so much so that the field of grass around them is sparked into a blaze, and the world is soon on fire.

With the eyes of an enchanted witch, Beatrice is able to see them clash, though it might be surmised that no other person would. Sister Therinand the Scarecrow move at a speed most unnatural as they dodged and duck and take steps in this brutal fencing match, fighting within the division of so many split hairs, that Beatrice can have no idea who might take this fight. They confront each other with such ferocity in the force of a spinning blade, and flashing steel, that entire moments in time seem to be broken in the clash of motion, leaving after images of light in the dark. They cast bitter resentments at each other in the form

of blades, sharper than a second, and neither of them seems to be wavering in their charge to see the other one fall and into as many pieces as possible. These are master sickle fencers on a line of silk, never taking a moment to distrust a single flinch, or making a play for something too risky. They barely move, inching and shifting back and forth only slightly as the ground around them is cut into hot scares of red strips.

Beatrice stands right behind Sister Therin as they face off against the man responsible for an endless night cloak of horrors and all the shadows that follow them, the curious creeper in the night shrieking and watching as the two battle it out for the souls of one innocent girl, hoping and waiting for blood to finally spill, and the line be broken from the road. All whispers and stories and murmurs of the dark can be seen being passed ear to ear, as a mass of assorted monsters all keep eye on where the line is, and who will break it first. Gasps go out into the knight, as it looks like a few attempt to fake out the other opponent, take grip into stand still and parrys, but nothing is more tense then when sister Therin loses her grip on her weapon. The scarecrow having pressed an offensive move paid off in the loss of both of their ability to hold onto the flying blades, with only the scarecrow coming up from the hardest point as the faster opponent. Sister Therin does a standing back hand never losing contact with the line in order to avoid following sweep of blades, using her feet to spin the length of the sickle around her body during the backbend. The cut comes up clean, and the scarecrow man is forced away from his hat in order to dodge the blade. Sister Therin takes this moment to do a cartwheel over the back of the scarecrow man, cutting him across the back with sickness as it switches back to her hands. And in the second cut, the scarecrow man is beheaded in front of the monsters that look in the forest. A grimacing rage can be felt in the crowd, as they all snear and his at the results of this maneuver, and they show their hatred with vishous disdain.

“Cheater.” Says one of the monsters as everyone looks on from the dark. “You cheated.” They say and try to force their way into the light.

Therin Grabs onto the hand of Beatrice as the scarecrow man's body falls to its knees, but never falls any further. Instead it just sits. A void comes from the inside of it, as a number of dark worms regrow his head. And reshape into the metal face of the jumping jack of shadows. They only have a second, but sister Therin is up with her charge, and not waiting around for the scarecrow to get his back. They run as fast as Beatrice can move without being hurt, or torn apart, and the skulls and cries grow ever so hateful at Sister Therins Escape makes fools of them all.

Beatrice cannot believe her own eyes in the result of such a miraculous fight, but all things considered it looks like things could soon be getting much worse. Beatrice feels as though her entire body has been pierced with arrows, and can not bear past the pain of any step. The moment hits her like a ton of glass falling into a sheet of paper, and all that is left of Beatrice is the deep well of un thinking pain. Beatrice feels as though she is about to die, period by a thousand holy arrows that shred into her bones and body.

This slows down Beatrice's run, and breaks her from the holy trail of fire. Sister Therin feels

Beatrice's hand slips, and the loss of the trail that guides them in the dark, as the fire diminishes into the cold night, surrounded by a gallery of the thieves of many souls to break from the path.

The monsters begin to chuckle and laugh, and creep in on the unsuspecting two.

Sister therin is on her guard, trying to lift beatrice as as possible, and get her into a position to be defended, she runs fast and hard, and does her best to cut away any creature foolish enough to get within her range, saying a prayer imbues a weapon with the searing light of holy power.

Therins first priority is to run, but the road gets blocked, and the path is narrowed and the only option she has is to diverge through the only openings that she can find. All for little more than nothing, as the ther more powerful monsters take their place to block off her escape, and soon they are surrounded, stranded, caught in the middle of the road with no place to go but down. The fight against the creature of the night is a brave one, as too many monsters try to overtake them, Sister Therin using the one hand she has, to balance and defend what attacks that she can, fighting with magnificent resolve, and taking strikes like a figure of stone would. Blood falls from the skin of sister therin and stains the ground in an odd green glow, causing life to take its place in the form of plants.

They end up coming only so close to the gates of the church, short by only ten yards. Sister Theri would become injured enough to take a knee, but still fight against the encroaching claws of the dark that seek to do the work of all things sinister, and upon those who now fall defenseless.

The bell in the Church strikes, and all monsters fall silent at the tomb of the clock, frozen in place for a moment as the sound of holy bells echoes out from the church carved into the harmonic stone of an entire mountain. As the Clock strikes, all of the night is blessed by its noise, and all things that find themselves in the way of things wicked and inhuman flinch and pause at the sound of the night bells. It is a sound many of them have dreaded for years, hoping never to be forced to face the sound of a hollow hill.

Some of them are dispelled, lose their forms and shapes and claws and are forced to take on the shapes of humans, simple people as they look in the light of a calling sun. They shriek in pain and turmoil, and find themselves soon running into the night.

“We were tricked” Says another one of the night kings. As he steps into a big limozin and drives away into the distance. Having watched the entire endeavor from a distance.

Chapter Twenty Four: Haze and blood

Sister Therin stands up, her body covered in the claw marks of monsters that had managed to lay hands on her, and her voidless expression fuming of someone looking for a hard pressed inquisition into the depowered monsters that lay on the ground arun her. She is badly injured, but still manages to hold Beatrice by her side, a girl who coughs of a steady stream of blood as the life leaves her body.

Sister Therin sheds a tear for the poor girl, as it seems that Beatrice is one of those unlucky enough to die almost totally alone. “I wish it didn't have to be this way. God have mercy on this girl.” Sister Therin says as she holds Beatrice closer to her. Saying a prayer for her, adn letting her blood into Beatrice's mouth. “The road ahead is going to be a hard one, I hope never to commit anyone to this hell, but Manzer needs you. You are his only hope.” The blood of pure life brings Beatrice back to life. But she is still unconscious, and wrapped in a deep cloak of death. As sister Therin Stands there, another dark shadow shows up to greet her. It has a skull whose eyes have been covered in skeleton hands, as a third eye shows through a hole in the skull's forehead, and only for the face that sits just above the bends of its shoulders.

“Sister Therin, do you really plan on cheating me this time?” The shadow says as he looks over Beatrice. It was supposed to be her time to go, you know. He says in a grinning voice.

“Back off.” Therin says holding out her sickle,

“No, not this time. This one changes things and you owe me, you are screwing with God's plan, of course you know this.”

“I am here to do what is right, not follow the rules. What you understand of God's plan, I know of his mercy in kind.”

“Then you seek blasphemy?’

“I seek redemption.”

“It will take forever to fix this. The bond she has made with that cat. Is not something that was made to way in this endeavour. That boy is not meant to be a force of Good, Therein. He is destined for evil. This will only make things worse.”

“Only if God wills it. God willed me to exist and persist Vince, so why has he not struck me down?”

“Fine, be that way. See where this takes you. You will die by his hand, and all will know him as God's worst sin.” Then the shadow is gone.

“Then so be it.”

Sister Therin gets up, and tries to carry the limp body of Beatrice onto the holy ground. But as she does some of the monsters begin to rise, and take up anger against their lack of power in form. As monsters are in their ability to take forms, each of them knows that they have been exposed in their lives to sister Therin, and will be hunted until dead. A good number of them try to pick up sticks and stones in order to land a blow that might end the nun in her injured state, but the sounds of agony in the distance get their heads turned to face the horror running out of the forest. Blood begins to stain a field of grass as the Cat Demon known as Manzer takes up whatever victims he can, and is as defenseless as possible. He is coming straight for Therin and does not show the invention to stop or change his course. He gashes at any monster that gets in his way, spilling their blood and insides all over the field, sending part of their bodies into the distance as a killing machine still on the loose with no honor for anyone, and no reserve for the other monster's defenselessness. They are all victims to Manzers rage, as he soaks himself in the blood of creatures of magic and evil. This causes him to rage worse, as the lust for the addictive rush of being soaked in blood, makes him more unstable, faster and more violent.

“Kill them all!!!” Says the voice in manzers head, the raging black dog that knows nothing but thirst and hunger.

Sister Therin can feel death quickly approaching, as the raging Blue cat tears through a field of minor ghouls and goblins who all thought this was finally going to be their night of revenge against her efforts in the past, and now caught in between their greatest enemy and a killer with no other purpose. She rushes to get inside the church gates. She says the prayer that opens them, trying to rush her words to get the sanctuary to accept her into the house of gods protection, it takes more effort than some would realize as the gate only opens enough for someone as thin as Beatrice to slip though. As sister Therin stops saying her prayer, the gates begin to close, and Manzer is only a few yards away from the both of them. Sister Therin pushes Beatrice through the gates, and only just barely. Then sits silent accepting her fate.

Manzer cuts his way to the gates, leaving a spray of blood and mist behind hiem that creates a red cloud of vapor in the dew of the night, so much blood being thrown into the air, and the vale of mist being stained with it. Manzer is completely drenched by this by the time he gets up to sister Therin, and seems only concerned with the girl that now sits behind the gates, and not in sister therin at all. MAnzer tries to get his claws past the gates of the church and far enough to pull Beatrice out. The shurche is not something that is easy to complete, as a cage is built in front of the entire crack within the mountain, keeping the church like a bird's cage.

Manzer does not know how to surpass this, and the more he claws and rages the more the gate tries to push him back, unti Manzer is no longer able to even touch the iron of the Church cage. Sister Therin just sits still trying to remain unnoticed, but Manzer then turns his attention to the de-clothed nun, and lays down at the gate walls. His rage filled eyes meet with hers, and Manzer is taken by a single minded purpose of just getting to Beatrice and ignoring whatever it is that Sister Therin is, as she does not come up as a target to the voice in his head.

Manzer rages more, runs back into the crowd of monsters that still try to escape into the night, and goes after them with a frenzied blood lust. Then tries to summon up enough strength to break through the bars, using the blood it soaked in to pull around enough energy to break space, but even the bars still hold. Its only after this that Manzer turn his attention to Sister Therin in full. “Open the Gate!” Says MAnzers aura as the presses against a weak sister Therin.

“No,” She says in defiance of the creature that rages in front of her.

“I said open it!!!!”

“Never.” Says Therin still standing against the might of such a terrifying creature.

“Manzer gets in really close to sister therins face, appearing within the blink of an eye, and pressing her against the bars with his claws, gripping into her shoulders and arms.

“Manzer please, don't do this. You are not evil, I know you aren't. Just please, do not let the beast tell you what to do. Do not let the monster become you.”

A hint of remorse crosses over Manzers eyes, and he lets sister Therin go. Manser looks at his hand soaked in both the blood of men and monsters, and begins to see for himself what it is he is doing. His inner voices begin to fight themselves, and all things come down to manzer Roaring into Sister Therins face, just as the light from a helicopter falls onto them both. Suddenly turning and running towards the lights of town, MAnzer is gone in a warp of energy, and all things to try to catch sight of him lose restraint in trying to track down where he is. The light comes up over the hill of the town, and all dark things scatter into the gaze of a new day.

(I manzer is covered in blood he is faster and stronger, he can use the energy that comes out of the blood of his victims as wolf magic. The night runs red and there's nothing to stop him. All things set in his sites are made victim to his single driven mind.)

Bonus- Character Log:

Midnight King: A type of creature that is the master of a assortment of goblins. Ghouls, and creepers. The often look like scarecrows and have extreme intelligence and strength. They can use shadows to produce a number of objects.

Rasp: A monster of extreme beauty, one that alway calls to others to their bidding. Rasps feed off of youth, or old age, depending on the type of rasp they are. People who know them either live forever, or not long at al

Sister Therin: No one knows what Sister Therin is. But she has the abilities of saint. She has the powers to call upon the abilities of that saints, but only through a limited time. It is underdetermined how old Sister Therin is,

Hollow Ground: Ground that is in some cases literally hollow, evil things have a difficult time dealing with hollow ground, as those bared their are blessed, and it is a crime against god to step on their graves.

Manzer Oblight: A type of werewolf no one has seen before. Manzer is a kid with troubled past, and a sharp sense of observation. Until the Events of "DDDW (Death Dreams Dire Wolves) He did not know he was a werewolf, and had no idea that monsters existed. It is hard to say how Manzer Came to be a Werewolf.

Thesaurus:

Death Dream: A state of werewolf transformation in witch, the werewolf has fully cut loose, and lost most control of its higher functions. There are several death dream states, and they considered to be incredibly powerful.

Hollow Ground: Ground that is both hollow and blessed. It resonates holy sound.

Wolf Dream: A state of werewolf transformation that changes the world around you.