Rougarou

I could feel the bones under my skin breaking. The white hot fire that wracked my body caused me to scream out in agony and writhe about in pain. The bones in my legs were breaking in what felt like every spot; I could feel them lengthening and regrowing to fuse back together. My fingers and toes shot out beyond their normal length; my nails disappeared in exchange for claws. The worst pain came from my head. My nose and jaw cracked until they were able to extend into a muzzle. 

I had been warned. It was a well-known fact throughout the area; the curse would always catch the naughty. I always thought that it was an old wives' tale that our families would tell us to get us to behave. I had never in my 27 years of being on this earth seen the curse take anyone, and I knew some wicked people, so why was I the lucky one?

I knew how the curse was said to work. You would succumb to it if you broke societal rules or if you crossed a voodoo priestess. You could break your curse after 101 days by biting a human or seeking out a voodoo priestess to help you. I knew which one my curse fell under. I knew that it was Lent, yet I decided to do it anyway. Lent was almost over; I should have held on a little longer, but I couldn’t do it anymore. I was so sick of not eating meat on Fridays; it was always a tradition of mine since moving out of my parents' house to make myself a steak on Friday nights to celebrate and reward myself. In hindsight, picking a Friday probably wasn’t the smartest idea, but no one ever said that I was Einstein. I also knew that giving up my voice for 40 days was pushing it, but my job doesn’t require me to speak, and I was just so tired of having the same circular conversations with my parents. I figured that they would leave me alone if I couldn’t respond to them, but it seemed to draw them in even more. They become emboldened without me being able to speak back to them, and I wouldn’t take another second of their voices. I had yelled at them to shut up with their nonsense and stormed out of their house.

Now I was destined to live as a Rougarou for 101 days.

I was almost done with my sentence; only one more days to go, and then I could be freed. The beginning was hard. I had never been a night owl; and now I was a nocturnal creature that craved to hunt at night. I had new instincts that allowed me to easily find those who were being naughty; a new sixth sense that seemed to develop overnight to find children who stayed out past their curfews and those who broke the traditions of Lent. It was a hard transition at first; I never wanted to hurt a human for the choices they made, but there was a deep seeded part of me that required it. They must be punished for their crimes.

Faint sloshing to my right broke me out of my thoughts just as my snout caught the scent of disobedience and my heart lurched with exhilaration. I let the human get closer, keeping to the shadows that lurked in the swamps that I called home. The air was thick with anticipation as I impatiently waited for the human to reach me. I wanted them to feel my eyes on the back of their head, watch the hairs raise along the back of their neck and along their arms as they realized that a monster lurked nearby.

The human came into sight: a tall boy no older than 15. Although I watched the clumsy steps that came from his lanky body, I could tell that he was an athlete in the making. He was clumsy, but still held an air of calm assurance, like he had taken this path in the dead of night before. Oh, how I longed for that to be true; I hadn’t had a good chase in weeks. 

I could see the moment that he knew he was being watched. His steps slowed to a crawl, and his eyes kept darting in every direction, hoping to find the cause of his unease. I relished in knowing that I had the advantage, that his life was laid bare in the palm of my hand, and he didn’t even know it yet. I let a low snarl rip from the back of my throat. His eyes snapped to his left as he hunted the trees all around him for the source of the sound.

The benefit of living exclusively in the swamps for the last 100 days is knowing them like the back of my own hand. He may have grown up playing in the swamps like I had, but nothing would compare to spending almost every waking moment plunged in the darkness of the moon while traversing across these murky waters between the cypress trees. I learned how to move silently through the waters while keeping myself concealed within the moss of the cypress trees.

I slowly made my way around to his backside. A vicious growl rattled through my chest and slowly made its way out of my clenched jaw as my top lip pulled back in a snarl. Drool started to drip down, hitting the water below as it slid off of my teeth, as I salivated at the thought of such young and tender meat. 

He slowly turned his head until his eyes locked onto my chest; he quickly craned his neck to meet my eyes while I towered over him. I could feel the trembles that wracked his body through the small waves they created in the water, and nothing but pleasure slid down my spine at that knowledge. I growled louder at him in warning, and he swiftly turned from me and ran. I may have been a Rougarou, but I wasn’t the devil. I would give him a couple minutes head start, allow him to build a false sense of hope before crushing it beneath my feet. My lips pulled back even more at the thought, pleasure sweeping through me, as I let an ear-shattering howl slip from my mouth.

I quickly gave chase after a couple of minutes, finding it all too easy to hear his pounding footsteps ahead of me. I could feel the terror wafting off of him in waves, making me salivate even more. He was fast, faster than I thought he would be with those clumsy legs. Excitement grew in me as he tore through the cypress knees and dark waters like the hounds of hell themselves were chasing him. And I guessed to him, they were.

I was getting closer to him, now able to see the fear in his eyes as he continued to glance behind him. This kid had guts though, not only for sneaking out past curfew, but not a single scream left his lips as he was chased through the swamps. I gave him a couple more seconds of thinking that he might actually reach freedom before pouncing on him. I pinned him down, my front claws digging into his shoulders enough to draw blood. He looked at me with such horror; I could feel his body shaking even harder now, and the water around us suddenly warmed as he released his bladder. Such sweet victory.

Tomorrow night, my one hundred and first night, I could bite someone and pass this curse on to them. But I’ve embraced this new life given to me; given myself away to the dark. My soul was broken piece by piece with each person I consumed, and tonight the final piece would break away. Why would I want to pass such a wonderful gift to someone else when I enjoy the hunt so much? I would never have to hear another snide remark from my parents, who thought so little of me; I could be who and what I was shamelessly. Besides, it’s so much more fun to tear them to pieces before devouring them anyway. That was the last thought that crossed my mind as the screams of the lovely 15 year old boy before me permeated the air, and pure bliss from the hunt filled me.

Author's Note

This is my first time writing any kind of spooky/suspense kind of story, so I would love to know the emotions that you felt when reading this and if it actually feels like a spooky/suspense/thriller kind of story!

Reviews

[Nightmist]

This is incredibly well-written, the build-up of tension is very well executed and it makes you want to keep reading, on the edge of your seat. I absolutely loved it! I could definetly feel the emotion, the fear, the delight and I loved reading from the persepctive of the 'monster'. The ending is also very good, I didn't see it coming, but it fits the story very well.
I would've loved to learn more about what Lent is
And why do humans play in the swamp, why do they still enter it, they must realise how many people dissappear/die there?
Also, the way the narrator has really taken on their role as rougarou and got more wild, finding thrill in the hunt feels very real, which strengthens the story as a scary tale.

[George Rockefeller]

The story's presentation and layout are excellent, it's easy to follow through and understand. The change in the narrators' view of their situation was very entertaining to read.
Suspense and thrill were definitely there, but I can't say I felt spooked: even though what happened was terrible, it was described through the beast's point of view; I felt the thrill of the chase instead of the terror I would have felt from the victim's point of view (that doesn't make the story any bad though).

Keep up the good work and thanks for sharing!

[FlatDaddy]

An interesting read, Amber, that kept me interested enough to keep reading when I only meant to read a paragraph or two, perhaps to return another day to finish it if it felt worthy. Well, I stayed. My wife tried to say something to me, but I grunted and waved her away.
One point: although the ending was good, I was looking for a twist. I saw the "rougarou" completing her sentence and turning her last victim into what she had been, only to become its meal the next night. But hey, it still works well as you have it. Keep writing.

FD