Chapter 17: Animalistic
Greasy brown fur with light-gray chest and ears. Canine teeth overhanging it’s lower jaw like curved daggers, each one longer than a human hand. Hooked claws sharp enough to dig scratches into the rocky cement pavement. A wolf. A massive wolf large enough to be confused for a bear, easily three times the weight of a full grown man.
The rough fabric of the curtains caught the sweat trailing down Eli’s cheek as he peered through the window. Vivi’s thin fingers tightened around his elbow, her eyes wide with curious terror. Julie stalked across the room to where their weapons were deposited on the dresser.
“Thanks.” Eli whispered when Julie handed him his gear, “It’ll pick up our scent soon. If it’s hungry enough, it’ll break through the door. Be ready.”
“You think it’s alone?” Julie breathed.
“I don’t know. I’d say it’s 50/50. But if it’s not alone, there’s probably a dozen more.” Whispered Eli.
The wolf’s snout twitched rapidly. It’s head lowered to the ground, and the beast followed the smell of prey around the parking lot. It stalked in ever-shrinking circles, huffing and snarling, until it zeroed-in on the freshest trail. A shiny black nose appeared in the crack under the rooms door, breathing in the smell of human presence. A low growl rumbled through the door.
Eli snatched his assault rifle from where it leaned against the wall. He slapped the bolt handle back, loading a round into the chamber. His thumb flicked the safety lever off and he tucked the rifle into his shoulder. He dropped to one knee and steadied his aim where the predator’s head should be beyond the wooden barrier.
“Mom.” He murmured, nodding to the door. “On my mark, open the door quickly, and stay behind it.”
Julie took her place at the door, hand on the brass knob. The wolf snarled and clawed at the door, it’s aggression rising with each passing second.
“Vivi. Stand behind me. We’ll open fire as soon as the door’s open. Don’t stop shooting ’til it’s down. Aim for the head and neck. And whatever you do, don’t fucking shoot me or mom.”
“Mm. Got it.” She said.
Vivi stood behind the kneeling Eli, a half step to his right. She pulled the slide of her pistol to charge the weapon, then readied her aim at the door.
The door rattled and shook violently; the giant wolf decided it was time to break through. Claws violently ripped into the wooden partition, the interior began to splinter and crack from the impacts. The snarling became rabid and frenzied as chunks of the door flew away.
“Now!” Eli yelled.
Julie yanked the door open, wedging herself between it and the wall. The behemoth canine stumbled forward, disoriented for half a second when the resistance it was facing disappeared. Half a second was plenty of time for Eli and Vivi.
Eli squeezed the trigger in rapid succession. Five shots? Ten? He didn’t bother counting. His ears rang painfully from the combination of his rifle and Vivi’s pistol. The wolf’s left eye exploded into red and white mist. It’s snout had been chiseled away to reveal gnarly upper teeth, which were completely shattered by gunfire. Deep crimson blood sprayed from the beasts neck and chest. Shards of thin bone were ripped away from it’s head as pink and grey lumps escaped it’s skull. The wolf had barely managed to take a full step into the motel room before it spasmed and recoiled from the sudden onslaught. It fell limp in the doorway, muscles twitching from severed nerves, it’s massive body completely blocking the entrance.
Eli stopped firing when the wolf went down. Vivi took his cue to end the assault and lowered her own weapon. Julie dashed out from behind the door, drew her machete, and swiftly ran the blade across the wolf’s wide throat. A pool of warm blood gurgled and poured from the open wound. Blood, brain, flesh, and bone had been sprayed or splattered across the door, ceiling, walls, and pretty much every surface in the front half of the room. Eli’s ears throbbed from the explosive gunfire in the small confined space. The smell of burnt gunpowder, hot brass, and viscera filled the air.
Eli dropped the magazine from his rifle and bounced it in his hand a few times, judging the weight.
About half left. Shit, I hope there’s not any more of the big bastards nearby.
He slapped the mag back into the gun before standing. Julie jogged across the room to join her children. The silence was deafening to Eli’s ringing ears while they anxiously waited at attention for more threats to appear. His palms were sweating against the polymer grip of his rifle, and his fingers tingled from the impacts of his previous rapid-fire shooting.
Several tense, agonizing moments later, when nothing happened to indicate further danger, Julie broke the quiet.
“I think we’re good.” She said, holstering her pistol which Eli hadn’t noticed she’d drawn.
“Yeah.” Eli flipped the safety on his rifle and dropped it onto the bed. “Let’s drag the carcass out of here.”
“We should drag it in. We don’t want it attracting Ferals outside if any happen to wander by. We’ll leave the body in here, and move our stuff to the next room.” Julie said.
“HUH?” Vivi asked. “WHAT? Talk louder, I can’t hear anything right now!” She half-yelled while rubbing her ear.
Eli chuckled, then pointed to the dead bear-sized-wolf, “Drag it in!” He yelled, then pointed to their luggage, “Move it out!”
“Oh! Okay!” Vivi said way too loudly, twisting her finger in her ear and working her jaw in a useless attempt to clear up her hearing.
The floor was slick with viscous blood around the wolf’s corpse. Julie and Vivi tugged on one of it’s dirty front legs while Eli yanked on the other. Eli’s boots skidded in the gore on the ground, making the task both disgusting and obnoxiously tedious. His mother and sister didn’t fare any better, their faces scrunched up in effort and annoyance.
Sweat dripped down his forehead when Eli released the wolf’s leg. The damn thing was heavier than it looked, and it looked like it weighed more than a pallet of cement bricks.
Eli released a sigh and wiped his brow with his forearm while stretching his back. Vivi had already grabbed two of their supply cases, the ones with the least amount of wolf chunks on them, and trudged through the blood pool, out the door. Eli and Julie snagged the remaining luggage and weapons, then abandoned the horror scene inside the room, closing the tattered door behind them.
“Shit.” Eli said.
“Hm? What is it, sweetheart?” Julie asked.
“That.” Eli pointed to the three bullet holes in the roller’s now mostly-shattered rear window.
Julie giggled, “It’s probably fine, but I’ll check it out after we get cleaned up.”
“Alright. Dammit, we’ll have to wash the towels tomorrow, we’re down to one clean set each. And I’m out of fresh clothes.” Eli sighed.
Vivi had already laid out their last remaining vacuum-sealed cleaning towels for everyone on the new room’s bed. Eli, knowing she wouldn’t wait for him to leave before stripping, hurriedly dropped his items on the floor by the window, snatched up his wash rags and his cleanest change of clothes, then rushed to the third renovated room, alone.
His skin raw from scrubbing off blood spatter with the rough towels, Eli sat on the creaky bed to wipe the gore from his boots. His thoughts drifted back to Vivi, and her earlier declaration of love.
Haaah. She’s my sister, my best friend, of course I love her. But I’ve never been sexually attracted to her. I mean, sure, she’s a beautiful woman…..woman….yeah, she’s not a child anymore, is she? And I obviously agree with mom, she deserves happiness. Dammit, man-up Eli. Alright. I already love her, so I can try to accept her love for me. I did promise to do whatever it takes to make my family happy, after all.
Once fully dressed, he tucked his discarded clothes and towels under one arm and breathed out a sigh of resignation, or determination. He strode out of the room and was closing the door when the neighboring door clicked open. Julie emerged, caught sight of him, winked suggestively, then trotted off to check the status of their vehicle. Eli’s mind was too focused on Vivi to stare at Julie’s ass like he usually would. Well, almost. It was impossible not to at least glance at the beauty before him. He gripped the doorknob, took a deep breath, straightened his posture, and pushed the door inward.
“Eli,” Vivi said, standing up from the bed and stepping toward him. “Look, about earlier, um….”
Eli dumped his armload on the floor, pushed the door closed, and pulled his sister’s hand, wrapping her in a firm hug.
“I love you Vivi.” He said softly. “I’m going to try to love you the way you want me to.” Her thin arms tightened around his back, “My feelings won’t change immediately, but please be patient with me. I swear to fall in love with you, as a woman.”
“Mm.” She nodded her head against his chest. “I get it. I’ll try to be patient…”, she leaned back to look into his eyes, “….for your love.”
Her eyes narrowed with seductive mischief. She pulled her lower lip between her teeth, the same sexy way that Julie often did. She moved her arms up, over Eli’s shoulders, and folded them behind his neck. Bringing their bodies closer together, she pressed her breasts against him and pulled his face down toward hers. Her sultry eyes closed, her chin tilted up. Her pouty, soft lips touched her brother’s.
Her mouth opened slightly and she used her tongue to part his lips. Eli, blindsided by the pleasure, accepted her small tongue and brought a hand behind her head. She moaned desire into their kiss, her body relaxed in his arms. His hand around her back slowly moved down to rest on her hip, pulling her against his rising lust.
Vivi pulled away from their kiss, breathing heavily. Her eyes fluttered open to look into his.
“Sorry,” she breathed, “but I’ve wanted that for years. I’ll wait patiently for your feelings to change, but I want you to claim my body tonight. Right now.” She took his hand off her hip and slid it around to her firm ass. “Please. I want you.”
Eli’s instincts snapped. All logic fell away from his mind. The woman in his arms, with her pleading, upturned eyes, her full breasts pressed against him, her round ass in his hand, sparked his primal desire to claim her as a mate. He wanted her. A small part of him still recognized her as a sister, but the animalistic lust inside him was screaming to push her down, to make her his woman. His breathing was ragged, her feminine scent further stoking his urgent desire.
Fuck it.
He stole her lips in a fervent, passionate kiss. Before he knew it, he was lifting her off the ground, his hands squeezing her round ass, her legs locked around his waist. She rocked her hips, grinding herself against him. Her hands held his face as they gave in to their overwhelming lust together. Aggressively, desperately, their kiss deepened. He carried her to the small bed and laid them down across it. His hands groped the curves of her chest as she panted heavily and moaned against his lips. This wasn’t his sister underneath him, it was a woman, his woman.
