Hairwolf

Stef pulls up to a deep ditch off to the side of the dirt road. Lillian clenches the dashboard as Stef slowly navigates over it.

“What are you doing?”

“This is my changing room.”

Stef sticks her head out the window, making sure her tires are properly aligned. She puts the vehicle in park and exits looking under the truck. The tires border the edges of the ditch perfectly. Lillian, still clenching the dashboard, questions … “Changing room? It’s a ditch.”

Stef offers, “I can’t be disturbed during the cross-over. So I dug a ditch to conceal myself.”

“From who? We’re miles from anywhere,” Lillian says, exiting. “You dug this out? With what, a backhoe?”

“Come on. We have to hurry.”

The sun has set below the horizon, painting the clouds a multitude of colors. Stef notices and urges Lillian to help her. “I’m running out of time.”

Stef opens the rear passenger door. Lillian exclaims - “Shit! Damn it! I broke a nail.”

Stef hands her the knife and belt set, “Here.”

“It’s a broken nail, not gangrene.”

“It’s not for your nail. It’s protection in case something goes wrong. I couldn’t live with myself if I hurt you. If I come at you, just stab me with it. Try to get me in the heart.”

“You come at me, I’m gonna shove it up your ass. Now can we get on with this? I’d like to get some shopping in before we find a motel.”

“Lillian, I really don’t have much time, so humor me. Okay? Please?”

“Stefanie, are you out of your frigging mind? Do you really think I’m going to stab you with a foot-long blade?”

Stef hands her a daypack, with - “This is your night gear. Where are those gloves? Here we go.” Stef pulls out a pair of bulky welder’s gloves. They’re extra-large and made of toughened leather. She tries them on. They’re long and cover most of her forearm. She peels them off.

“What the hell are those for,” Lillian asks?

“Welders gloves. So I don’t scratch you. Remember? I use them for wounded animals.”

Lillian finds these props clever if nothing else. She reaches into the bag and pulls out a black pair of military op’ pants, a black long sleeve shirt, and a pair of black boots. She has to ask - “What are we, invading Canada?”

“I thought it might help conceal you from her, but she has really good eye-sight and an awesome sense of smell. So you’re screwed either way. I’d still wear them, though. You’ll want to be covered head to toe due to the bugs out here. There’s a camp stove in the bins. Help yourself.

There’s food, coffee, yaddi, yaddi.”

“I’m still thinking about the bugs. How big? What kind? I’m not ready for . . .”

“. . . Lillian. Lillian. The bugs will be the least of your concerns.”

Lillian pulls out a mosquito-face-shield made of mesh netting. “What’s this?”

Stef puts it on Lillian’s head, letting the elastic string slap onto her neck. She smiles at Lillian, with, “Mosquito net. Keeps the bugs out of your orifices.”

“Can’t have bugs in my orifices.”

As Lillian gets dressed, Stef gets undressed. She slips out of her panties, concealed by the door and pulls on a black pair of men’s boxers and a very large black t-shirt. She ties it to fit around her waist. She’s barefoot, and pulls out a bag of carrots and starts eating one. Lillian eats one as well. Stef is ready as is Lillian. The two regard each other for a moment.

“I really can’t wait till tomorrow,” Stef says. “I’m so excited you’re here. This is going to change my life so much; you have no idea.”

“That’s what I’m afraid of,” Lillian murmurs quietly.

Stef retrieves the knife set and hands it to Lillian.

“You don’t have to stab me, but put it on anyway. I’ll feel better about it.”

Lillian takes a look at Stef’s outfit. She’s a-gasp. “Oh no! I don’t care what you turn into. You are not wearing that shit in public. Where’s your dignity?”

“It’s all I have. I’m not going out there naked.”

Lillian has a little package of her own she pulls out of her suitcase. She hands it to Stef. Stef unwraps it. It’s a stunning bright orange Capri, with a light black blouse.

“Oh, Lillian. It’s adorable.”

“You like it?”

“Yeah. But it’s going to be too tight in the butt. I get a big, black fat ass during the change. I’m all fur down there. It’ll rip before I even get out of the ditch.”

Lillian’s disappointed and puts it back in the box. “Well, I guess you’re going naked then,” she attempts stripping Stef from her clothes. “Take em off! Take em off! I’d rather you be naked than dressed like that. Where’s your fashion sense?”

“I’m not going on tour, Lillian. Stop!”

“And you’re not going out there dressed in that wife beater, starter kit.”

Stef’s attention is taken to the horizon and shards of moonlight cutting through the trees.

Lillian notices and turns back to Stef with a cocky tone - “Show time.”

Ignoring her, Stef reaches into the truck and retrieves the map

“Take this. This is my path. If I’m not back by sunrise, come and find me. I may be up in a tree sound asleep. Once I leave, stay in the truck. Lock the doors. Keep the windows up – mosquitos. Stand in front of that tree. Not behind it. You don’t want to startle her. It could be bad.

And don’t disturb me during the cross-over.”

Stef pulls Lillian in close, smelling her hair, neck, shirt, and hands.

“What are you doing?”

“I’m taking in your scent. Hopefully, I’ll recognize you.”

“Great. A werewolf with dementia,” Lillian, remarks.

“Not dementia, Lillian. More like amnesia. I’m not me in that state. I’m her. And she doesn’t know anything about me – or you.”

“This is getting way out of control, Stefanie. You really are starting to scare me. Are you

schizophrenic? Do I need to worry about this?”

“It depends. How’d your last experience with a werewolf go?” Stef takes a moment and considers Lillian seriously. “I don’t know how she’s going to react to you but I really don’t think she’ll hurt you. At least not intentionally. She likes to play. So keep that in mind.”

Stef reaches into the truck and grabs a god-awful fanny pack and throws it in the ditch. Lillian notices ...“What was that?”

“Nothing. Okay – remember, she can’t talk, but she . . . Oh my God. I don’t know if she’ll even understand you. We’ve never been with anyone before. Too late now, right? We’ll see. Good luck, Lillian. Did you bring the toilet paper?”

“Just get on with it, will you, please? Talk your way through the goddamn night.”

“Oh, wear a coat. It gets a little cold out here at night.”

“I don’t mind being cold, as long as I’m warm.”

Stef isn’t sure how that could work but coming from Lillian, it must. As Stef crawls under the truck, Lillian backs away, vying for a better view.

“I can’t see you,” Lillian warns.

“That’s the whole idea.”

“How do I know you’re not wearing a mask?”

“Tell you what, if the claws, fangs and fur don’t convince you, try pulling on my cheek. That was a joke, Lillian. Do not pull on my cheek. That will end badly. Trust me.”

Lillian leans against the tree, patient and doubtful. “This whole night’s gonna end badly. And it’s gonna start with my foot up your ass. Things I do for you.”

The moon is cresting over the horizon and is in full view. Lillian checks the ditch. It’s too dark to see anything. Stef warns, “Okay, here we go. Yup! That hurts...”

Lillian waits patiently, attention more on the chirping birds in the area. They’re nice. Relaxing. Then there’s silence. The birds have gone. Everything is quiet. Lillian looks back at the truck, drawing closer for a better look. She’ll need to know how Stef pulls off this stunt just in case she gets that far. Lillian kneels down under the rear bumper. She can see a shadow of Stef in the dark. She’s on all fours, facing away from Lillian and unaware.

Lillian watches as Stef’s back arches and drops. Could be convulsions. The sides of her legs are getting darker. Maybe it’s the shadows. Why did she have to crawl under the truck? Why couldn’t she just perform this act in plain sight? Lillian’s growing inpatient and for good reason. Based on the movies she’s seen, this transformation is usually painful. Where’s the pain? She stands up and walks back to the tree, confident it’s all going to be a hoax.

“Werewolf my ass,” Lillian murmurs. “Nothin but a big bunch of nothin. Oh, girl, you and I are gonna get into it now.”

Lillian leans back against the tree, unaware that she’s almost rendered invisible due to the black clothing and dark of night. She spies a stick nearby and picks it up. It’d make a good hiking stick. It’s a little thin, but it could work. She picks at the loose bark with her fingernails. It peels away rather easily.

“I can see why you like making hiking sticks. It’s relaxing.”

Just then, breaking the silence, a deep, guttural growl coming from under the truck. But it

couldn’t have come from there. Lillian scans the area from the tree. She can’t see anything. She looks around the tree but still sees nothing.

“What’s that, a bear? She didn’t say anything about bears.”

She returns to her position and is surprised to see Stefanie standing near the truck, head down, long strands of black and blonde hair mixed covering her face. She’s not moving. She looks spent. Tired.

Lillian isn’t impressed. She falls into the tree, waiting for what is to come next. There’s another growl, and it’s coming from Stef. She’s both thankful and unimpressed at the same time. Thankful it isn’t a bear and unimpressed because this appears to be nothing more than a trick. A cheap voice-altering device she probably picked up at a theater shop.

Stef drops to her knees into the full moonlight. And there she is...full on werewolf.