Sanguine Claws
Written by Rensis Schmitt
[[Begin/Preface]]
Smithtown had been a very secluded region since the day it was founded. Nestled deep into the mountains, it was an ideal place for a village. The open valley made for excellent crop. To protect them from outsiders, there were dense forests that formed a natural barrier. Small log cabins had been constructed by the villagers for their families. Much of the valley was full of tall grassy fields, where the children of Smithtown played. Among these children was a small solitary boy named Zeal. Quite the odd name, yes, but it was what he was named on the day of his birth, November 19th, 1801. He was a relatively tall boy for his age, a couple inches over his friend, Mance. Mance had been Zeal's only friend, his short dirty black hair that covered most of his face. Unlike Zeal, Mance made friends easily and had many. There was no one in Smithtown that could resist his charm. 
During the winter seasons, the boys no longer had to work on the fields, so they played. Mance's favorite game was one he called Snow War. The game consisted of making large snow forts and hurling snowballs into each others faces, much to Zeal's distaste. Zeal had other, less violent games he enjoyed, like Star Gazer. Star Gazer was exactly that, gazing deep into the navy skies at night. Each person would lie on the ground and tell the other what they saw in the stars, then making up a story to accompany it. This generally bored Mance, and he rarely had the patience to play it. Lucky for the boys, there was one game they both thoroughly enjoyed. This was the ancient game of Hide and Seek. They would sneak out late into the night and play in the woods, where hiding places were abundant. Winter nights remain lighter than those of summer. Although colder, the setting is better for Hide and Seek. The shadows cast by the tall trees created a perfect spot for one player to evade the other. However, the snow made it easier to track the hunted, and therefore winning the game was easy at first. As time went on, new tracks became hard to separate from old ones. Thus, a smart Hider might run in circles before hiding to confuse his opponent. [[End/Preface]] 

Zeal waited patiently in his room, watching the light seep in from under his door. For him to leave that light would have to be vanquished, signifying his parents were off to bed. Sitting on the side of his bed, he had a clear view out the window. The bluish light from the moon lit the snow making it appear to glow. The woods were very dark, despite the full moon's beams. A chilling breeze passed him from the window and he shuddered, looking to the jacket and boots resting at the foot of his bed. He ran a hand through his hair and sighed. He wasn't proud of sneaking out, but it was all he could do if he wanted to experience the night as he had. The crisp air, the quiet winter breeze through the forest, not to mention the extra time he could spend with Mance. 
The dim light seized, and there was darkness. The only source of light came from the window. He was to be the only person in the cabin awake in just a few moments. He quietly stood up and began putting his boots on, then his warm beaver fur jacket. He stood at the window and waited for just a couple more seconds, and when there was silence, and slowly crawled out the window and to the ground. The crystal-like stow crunched under his feet and he froze, listening for any movement from the house. Nothing. Slowly he had his way to the woods, loud cracking all the way. He saw something run into the woods from the corner of his eye. He picked up his pace, no way was he going to let Mance beat him to their meeting spot then he would have to be It. Finally he broke into the darkness of the tree line. Taking one last look to the cabin, he turned and made for the meeting point, a large maple tree. In the darkness its twisted branches looked even more demonic than ever. The bark made patterns that almost looked like faces. Zeal leaned against it, puffing as he looked for Mance. All at once there was a loud thump and he was knocked to the snow from something that dropped from the trees. He fought to get up and finally succeeded. Turning around to see what had tackled him, he saw a friendly face staring back.
"What's wrong? Not afraid of the demons are you?" Mance giggled.
"No... How would you like someone shoving you face first into the snow?" the other boy sneered brushing snow from his coat. "Besides, it hurt."
"It did, really?" asked Mance, nervously.
"Yes, it felt much like this!" Zeal called pouncing upon the shorter boy. They fell to the ground with a crunch as the snow shifted and packed down under their weight. Rolling around they began to mock-fight and only after they were breathless did they quit. Zeal lay next to Mance staring into the Prussian sky. 
"Are you going to play Hide and seek tonight, Zeal?"
"Why not? The moon light is splendid and the wind is not as harsh as yesterday." Zeal replied eyes fixed on the heavens. Mance looked to his friend, and moved closer examining his face.
"Zeal, your face is cut." He said, touching it gently with his index finger. A shallow trail of blood erupted from the small incision. 
"Must have been from the snow, I'd think. Does it look terrible, Mance?" Zeal questioned as he sat up. 
"It's flowing at quite the pace; you should go home to dress it." Mance responded as he stood up. He held a hand to Zeal, helping him up. They slowly made for Zeal's cabin, despite the wound. 
"Does it hurt?" 
"A little, yeah. I think it's from when you tackled me." 
A shadow wisped by them and Mance looked to Zeal. He had on a face of someone deeply frightened. His brown eyes wide and his face became pale.
"Do, do you think that was a demon?" 
"No, they don't exist. You know that, Mance. Now come on, I want to get home before I stain my coat." Zeal snapped, grabbing the shorter boys arm pulling him after. Mance hastily followed, but kept looking around nervously. Again, the shadow wisped by them, this time it’s stopped in front of Zeal. The taller boy stood petrified, but Mance tore away, but he was running deeper into the woods.
The large form bolted past Zeal, and after Mance. The snow smashed beneath their feet at the chase lead them to the tall tree that he and Zeal had loved so much. There, Mance turned to face his attacker. He saw a long grey snout, which wrinkled up, exposing large pointed teeth. A low growl erupted as steam poured from its lips. It approached its cornered prey, at a slow slinking stride it stopped only three feet away. It quickly turned to face Zeal, who had finally caught up. He stopped suddenly when he saw the large canine beast. It sank to the ground, shifting its hunches from side to side. With the last seconds he had, Zeal flashed Mance a look of apprehension. Before Mance could respond, the beast leapt into the air, landing full force on Zeal knocking him to the earth. It began tearing into his arm as he shielded his face. Mance stood up and ripped a limb from the tree. He swung madly and managed to hit the creature behind the head. It yelped out and fell aside. Again and again Mance struck it, until finally monster fled into the forest howling in pain. 
Throwing down the splintered branch, Mance ran to his friend's side. He looked him over, Zeal's arm although badly maimed, but still attached. He didn't appear to be conscious, his eyes closed. Mance made once last glance around him, and then began his difficult task, bringing Zeal home. He cradled him in his arms and picked him up. 
****
The days following the incident were not easy for the two boys. The townspeople had become weary; some would even going out of their way to avoid them. Zeal had become increasingly aggressive, which didn't help the situation. He'd lash out at others, for what seemed like no reason. While collecting firewood with Mance, the shorter boy had accidentally dropped a piece, hitting into Zeal's leg. This sent the boy swirling into a violent rage, and he struck Mance in the face. Reeling back he fell into the rest of the stacked firewood, knocking it everywhere. Unable to control himself, Zeal leapt upon Mance and brutally beat him, until two villagers pried him off and restrained him. Hours later, the boy realized what he had done, and what he now needed to do. Despite what the taller boy had done, Mance seemed pleased to see him, and gratefully accepted his apology. This filled Zeal with unbearable guilt, he had hurt his best friend so badly yet he had so quickly to forgive and move on.
It had been weeks since the attack, but Zeal's temperament had only grown worse, time after time and lost control. It was an especially bright night outside, and Zeal stood in the doorway of the warm log cabin.
"Shut the door, boy. You'll let the cold in." His father bellowed, from his chair beside the fire. The boy complied, and went into his room. He felt restless, like he belonged outside. He slowly opened the shutters, and climbed out. The snow packed beneath his bare feet as he walked towards the woods. The trees seemed to reach for him as if to greet him. The shadows didn't seem so black, but more like a veil to a hidden utopia. He decided upon visiting the Giant tree, maybe that would ease his restlessness. 
From behind him he heard a crack, and he quickly spun to face the source. Standing a few feet away was Mance. He approached Zeal, gasping for air.
"What are you doing? Why didn't you tell me you were coming out so early?" he demanded, arms crossed.
"I...I'm not sure why I came out here, really." Zeal answered his voice monotone almost as if he were in a trance. He stood, looking up for a moment, then to Mance. His eyes were wide, his face white as the snow around his feet. 
"What's wrong?" the shorter boy asked, reaching out to rest a hand on Zeal's shoulder. The tall boy abruptly yelled out and fell to the forest floor, quickly curling into a ball. In a panic, Mance dropped next to his friend. He begged Zeal to tell him what was wrong, until he saw the boy's face. His face was twisted into a terrible snarl; his hands looked like the claws of an eagle. His fingernails appeared to get longer and shaper by the moment. Mance scrambled backwards smashing into a tree. He tried to stand, but his legs gave out beneath him and he slumped to the Earth. Zeal lay convulsing, his body seemed to be rearranging itself, the bones moving and shifting. 
Mance finally regained control and began to run towards the village, he kept looking back wondering if Zeal would follow. Nearly to the break in the trees, a black form flashed across in front of him. His judgment clouded by fear, he began running again into the forest deeper. The form bolted across his path once more, and Mance fell to his knees. Now sobbing he quickly glanced from side to side, trying to find his stalker. 
Before he had time to react, a giant paw smashed into his head, knocking him over, three inch claws raked across his flesh, ripping his face open. Warm fluid poured from the wounds and down his neck. The giant beast then leapt upon him, ripping the struggling boy’s throat out, and he ceased movement. The large animal began feeding on the corpse, until there were only clothes and stains in the snow to be found.
****
Zeal awoke and quickly sat up, scanning his surroundings and quickly realized he was inside Mr. Malkin's barn, a few meters away from his cabin. Mumbled voices could be heard outside. He got up and looked out a small hole in the wall; there were two of the villagers standing with rifles. 
"You made sure it was dead, right?" one said. The other nodded and slung the gun over his shoulder. They stepped toward away from the forest, and there was the form of a large wolf at their feet. Larger then any Zeal had ever seen. It must have been what attacked them last... Zeal quickly looked down at his naked body. Blood, blood everywhere. He fell to the ground releasing a shrill shriek. He had attacked Mance. He had killed hid only friend. He was like that wolf at the hunter’s feet, however he was still dangerous. 
Bursting from the barn, he ran crying into the woods, he needed to retreat as far from the village as he could before he could harm anyone else. After what seemed like a lifetime he reached the giant tree, climbing into its branches. He cried and the gentle tree seemed to almost cradle him, as if it understood his curse. He would never be able to return to the life he once knew, and he'd have to face that he was alone. Never again would he know what human companionship felt like, for now he had let go of humanity.