Monster or Lost Soul?

Once upon the moonlight night, in secluded village within the woods, the villagers heard what they had always dreaded hearing, a chilling howling that they had heard this same Halloween night a year ago and they were terrified of the reality that the curse was once again awakened.

The villagers whispered of sightings of a ferocious creature with glowing red eyes and a shadowy figure hiding within the bushes waiting for its victims to pass by, but they were as quiet as a mouse, careful not to rustle the leaves making their presence known.

They questioned each other where this creature came and why it showed up Halloween night year after year. One brave young woman named Ellen decided that she would learn the truth about this creature once and for all.

She suited herself up with guns wearing a protective metal breastplate to shield her heart from a vicious attack and took a lantern to light her path. Several brave villagers accompanied her determined to learn the truth as well.

When they walked deep into the woods, they stopped suddenly, hearing a rustling in the woods.

As soon as they heard the howling, they all hid behind the surrounding trees. As the creature emerged from the bushes their suspicion was confirmed. It was a werewolf. It’s glowing red eyes and large sharp teeth made them gasp.

The werewolf heard them and tore through the bushes, tearing them out of the ground.

When Ellen saw the evil creature approaching the tree where she hid, she had to act fast. Emerging from the tree, she was face to face with the terrifying beast. She raised her shotgun, too fearful to think and shot several bullets into the creature.

The werewolf howled in agony, making their souls cringe. As the werewolf fell to the ground in pain, Ellen and the others slowly approached the dying creature. What they didn’t expect was it began to transform into a human being. What was worse, it was a human boy, no older than 14 years old.

His last words crushed their hearts. “Thank you,” he struggled to say. Apparently, the nightmare the villagers faced was even a nightmare to a young boy who had been cursed with becoming a vicious werewolf years ago.

Of all his victims of past years, the greatest victim was with his soul. Ellen lifted the boy’s head onto her lap and whispered into his ears, “We forgive you.”  With that a peace shined on his face as he took his last breath.

The lesson of this story is that sometimes beneath a ferocious exterior lies a weak and suffering soul.

Connor