Chapter 4
Lissa Russell did not sleep a wink that night. She could barely take a shower to wash off the mud and grime from her tumble. Her knees were weak and her hands were shaky from the shock. The shock of seeing him, her brother, Jack Russell, after so many years. That was unsettling. But the additional shock. The shock of it all being true. What her mama had told her, about Jack, about their papa, about their real papa, and about their family curse. That was a whole other feeling entirely.
Lissa held the perro totem in her hand. Moving her finger along the wood grain, feeling the intricate carvings that formed the animal sitting in her palm. There was a leather strap attached, meant to be worn as a necklace. For protection. But Lissa never wore it. Never thought she had to. Why would she if she didn’t want any of it to be true? Still, she brought it with her everywhere she went. For sentimentality if nothing else. It was the last thing mama gave her before she passed. Her last request was for her to keep it with her no matter where she went. She had to honour that. Had to honour family. Even when she had none to speak of. Even when Lissa moved away from everything she had ever known to go to school in a place she knew nothing about. A place that made her feel more isolated than she ever had in her life. Still it was better than being in her small town, where everyone pitied her and yet refused to talk to her because they all believed in the ridiculous story her mother had told. Things were stable here. She had routine with her studies. Routine was good.
But now everything had been thrown up in the air once more. Her long lost brother, the sweetest person she had never met. So kind and so much of a pacifist he cried while watching cartoons. Who never bullied any of the other kids even when they picked on him so mercilessly. Who had disappeared just days after his 19th birthday. Who had left the family in shambles. Leaving her, and mama, all alone.
He had found her.
And he was still the same soft-hearted fool she had known him to be. But unexpectedly, he was also a monster, who very nearly killed her. She could still remember that moment. When he pounced on her. When she was so certain she was going to die. In that moment, she couldn’t stop staring into those eyes of his. While everything else about him had changed, those kind eyes were still the same. And that was what she held onto of him, while she waited for the end to near.
Except it didn’t. Jack had stopped himself somehow. And before he could lose himself once again, some other creature had saved her. That was the third shock of the night. That Man…Thing, seemingly coming out of nowhere. She had heard the stories of course. Every on campus had. Of the beast beyond the swamp borders. But like everyone else, she thought it was urban legend. Stories to scare the freshman into staying in their dorms. But now she knew it was real and somehow intelligent enough to assist her and her brother. She had told it she would be back in the morning but would they still be there? Would Jack still be there?
Lissa looked at the time. She had stayed up all night wandering in and out of conscious thought. But now she was more awake than ever. She knew what to do. Sunrise was fast approaching, and for the first time, she took the perro totem in her hand and placed it over her head. Wearing it as a necklace. She was going to find her brother, she was going to give him a piece of her mind and make sure he knew he didn’t have to run anymore. Neither of them were going to run anymore.
“...and then when my mother told me about my father–that he wasn’t my real father–I didn’t believe her.” Jack ran a hand through his hair. "She told me to stay home. She told me that I needed to be careful that night because if I didn’t have the totem I would transform and be cursed forever. I thought she was delirious from the crash and I didn’t listen. And I didn’t care. I went out that night to some stupid beach party.”
Ted continued to nod, listening intently. Jack had given him a fairly good summary of his upbringing so far. How he grew up in a small coastal town in Mexico. How he thought he was just a normal kid who was a little skittish. How his mom got into a horrible accident that left her unable to express what she had meant to tell him his entire life. And how the man who raised him abandoned them once he knew the truth about their bloodline.
“I was young and stupid.” Jack continued. “And that night the moon was full and bright. The symptoms I know now, the itchiness, the cold sweats, the muscle aches–I thought I just had heat stroke or had drunk too much. But when the sun set, and the wolf took over…” Jack’s eyes looked away from his. “I just wish so many of my friends weren’t there. The wolf was out of control, I had no grip on reality, and to be honest I still don’t when I go manic. I don’t know how many people got hurt or–or–died, but I know it was bad. If I had just listened to mama I could have stayed. I could have dealt with it. Instead, I left my village terrified. And my sister alone. And my mama–before she died she told me that she would give my sister the totem, so that she wouldn’t turn out like I had. And this whole time I thought that if I kept my distance from her, she’d be safe. But then I got thinking about how ridiculous I thought the curse was. And how I didn’t keep the totem, and I thought I need to find her. Except when I went home she wasn’t there, and by the time I did find her, she was already 19. I was desperate. And scared, and I just needed to know if she was okay.”
Jack sighed.
“I should have been more careful, I know, but if you’ve been through what I’ve been through, seen the things I’ve seen–I just didn’t want her to be on the run like I am. Monster hunters are ruthless, and I’ve been inside their dens, I know what they do to the monsters they catch. They treat us like animals and will chase you to the ends of the earth if need be. I didn’t want her to have that life. I’m trying to do better, trying to be better, but it gets hard doing this on my own. I can’t keep doing this on my own. That’s why I hope I can have a friend in you and all the other monsters I meet along the way. I used to think being alone was the only way to keep others safe, but I’m starting to realize that the only way to ensure everyone else stays safe from what’s inside me, is to make sure that I have people to rely on, and who can rely on me in return."
“A support group.”
Jack chuckled.
“Exactly.”
“Has it gotten easier with time? You seem so optimistic.”
“I try my best. My biggest problem is monster hunters, but it’s getting easier. Hard to track a werewolf without any sightings. I’ve been careful to keep a low profile, stay in my safehouses. I just wish I could settle down. Stay here and keep you and Lissa company. But there are greater things at play…you won’t forget me will you?”
“I’ll try, but it’s been difficult when there’s nothing to hold onto. Like I said, it comes and goes.”
“Well maybe if we got you a phone line out here or–I don’t know a mailbox?”
“I’ve got a better idea.” A voice came from out of the bushes. “What if I just came and visited him instead?”
The bushes parted and the last person Jack expected walked out.
"Lissa!"
"Hello, Jack."
“What are you doing here…” He made a move to get up and greet her but once again fell down. “Urgh…That hurt– I was coming to see you, just as soon as I was done talking to Ted here. We had a lot to talk about.”
“Oh, I heard…” she said with a slight smile.
“Really? How much?”
She helped him up from the muddy ground before embracing him in a hug.
“Enough.”
Still supporting her brother she turned towards Ted.
“Thank you, for taking care of my brother. And for not killing him.”
“Killing me?” Jack asked, eyebrows raised.
Ted grew flustered but Jack was quick to quell his worries.
“It’s okay amigo, wouldn’t be the first time it happened.”
“Really?” Lissa asked, surprised.
“Eh…” Jack made a so-so movement with his hands. “Besides I’m glad he stopped me, I probably would have killed you otherwise.”
“I wouldn’t be so sure…”
“What do you mean?”
“We’ll talk about it later. In the meantime, we got to get you cleaned up. Please tell me you have more than a tarp to wear?”
“Of course I do! It’s at the safehouse…”
“You have a safe house? Why didn’t you go there last night!?”
“Well, I would have if you hadn’t had such a late class…”
“Why didn’t you come to my morning lecture?”
“Because I didn’t know those existed!”
Ted began to laugh so hard you could almost see a smile break through the plant matter that made up his face.
“What's so funny?”
“I can tell you two are siblings.”
That made the rest of them laugh, and smile from ear to ear. Lissa patted Jack’s shoulder.
“Come on Jack, we got a lot of catching up to do. And a wound to dress.”
“You’re right…” Jack begrudgingly agreed. “But Ted–we’ll be back later. Don’t forget about me by then. Alright?”
“Alright.”
“Promise?”
“Promise.”
“And if you start to…” Lissa added. “Just take a look at these flowers, they’ll remind you to remember.”
“Flowers?” Ted asked.
“These ones.” Lissa reached over plucking some from the brush. They were a brilliant blue, and blooming in small clumps. “They’re called ‘forget me nots’.”
Ted took them in his monstrous hand and cradled them gently.
“Thank you.” He said softly.
“Thank you.” Lissa said in return.
Jack took Lissa’s arm as they helped each other out of the swamp. Her holding him up, him guiding them out. They only had so many hours of daylight before sundown, and Jack knew they would spend as much of those hours as possible trying to get to know each other all over again. He had never thought in a million years he and his sister would be together again, or that he would have ever trusted someone enough to call them his friend. But this chance meeting with Ted, the Man-Thing, Guardian of the Nexus had changed things irrevocably for Jack.
Jack may be a monster, but he was dealing with it, and Ted would too. Jack knew they would find a way to live. To be happy. To exist in a world where they were hunted, where they experienced pain in ways no human could come to understand. But that didn’t matter. What mattered is they had found each other, they had understood each other, and they would remember each other for now and always.
Years would pass when they wouldn’t see each other. Where Jack would disappear to Europe. Where Ted would hibernate in the Everglades. Where either monster would be captured and sold to the highest bidder. But they would always find each other and help each other get out of scraps. For a family forged under monstrous conditions, can survive anything.
The...End?