Crimson Overlord
Chapter 264: Side Story: Moonlight 2

Chapter 264: Side Story: Moonlight 2

There was one incident with his best friend Xavier that was the turning point for all these symptoms. At this, he knew there was no going back to his former life.

"Xav," Waylon said to him as they walked to class.

"Do you ever wonder..."

"Wonder what?" His friend asked.

"This may sound weird, but...do you ever think about human flesh? I mean like-"

’’Like skin you mean?" Xavier asked. "What do you wonder about? I mean, yeah, skin can be weird sometimes, but-"

"No...I mean, what would it taste like? Would it be like chicken, or-"

"Are you considering being a cannibal, Waylon? Is that what this is? You’re turning into a human-eater? Oh no! Don’t eat me!" Xavier chuckled, giving Waylon a light shove. But Waylon wasn’t joking about it at all.

"I’m being serious, Xav. What if cannibals are right? Do humans actually taste...good?" Waylon spoke with weariness in his voice, and he did seem like he was being serious. Xavier stopped smiling.

"What are you saying? Are you actually a cannibal?" Xavier had a look of pure fear in his eyes, as if he thought Waylon was going to bite him any second. Waylon hated that look.

"It’s nothing. I was just...thinking. I have to get to class." Waylon rushed towards his next class, leaving Xavier behind. His stomach knotted tightly inside of him. What was he becoming?

There was one night where Waylon saw the raw, defrosted chicken in the kitchen, and he almost ate it, but his mom came into the kitchen to tell him something so he stopped. But if she hadn’t, Waylon knew he would have eaten it, right there and then.

Waylon knew all of these things were happening because of that creature that bit him. But what he didn’t understand was, what was it? One night, he decided to research and find out if anyone else experienced these things. He found forums of people saying they had the same symptoms, and most unsettling of all - people claimed these were symptoms of becoming some horrible monster. The pictures and drawings that he found didn’t help. Was he really becoming...a monster?

That Friday, the varsity soccer team had a home game at six in the evening. Waylon didn’t mind night games, but today he felt very off. He had a weird dizzying sensation and this thirst for blood and flesh was growing. Now, he was always hungry. He just hoped he would make it through the game.

It was a slightly chilly night. The fall leaves had already started turning to warm shades and falling gently to the ground. As Waylon walked to the soccer field in his soccer cleats, the leaves crunched under his feet, as they baked to a crisp the previous day under the sun.

The sun was still out when the game started, but as always, it got darker as the game progressed.

Waylon noticed that his playing was a little off today. He kept getting distracted by staring at the other teams’ skin, and he almost let the ball in a couple of times. Others started to notice this too. Xavier was also on the soccer team, and he was one of the most concerned people, because Waylon had talked to him previously about his wanting to eat human flesh, and ever since then, Xavier couldn’t help but notice that his friend was acting very strange.

Even when Waylon subbed out and sat on the bench, he was in some weird state, and he didn’t cheer for his team because he was distracted by...something. And he didn’t know what.

It only got worse. In the last minutes of the game, Waylon let the ball in because he was staring so intently at someone on his team’s shoulder. It was getting hard to tame these feelings. Unfortunately, the opposing team scored a goal, and the game ended as a loss for the team. Everyone saw Waylon being distracted, and when they came back, they were all staring at him with a look of disappointment and anger.

"Waylon, are you okay today? You seem a little off." the coach asked him, after he talked to the whole team.

"I...I have to go to the bathroom, sorry," Waylon quickly rushed towards the school. But he didn’t go inside. He lingered outside in a place where no one could see him.

What’s happening to me? I just caused a loss for our team, that almost never happens! He thought with dismay. He took a few deep breaths, but the thoughts of craving raw flesh were still there. Why? He leaned against the brick wall. He looked at the rustling branches and the falling leaves. He looked at the sky. The moon looked so beautiful that night. It was so full, and round, and glowing, and its light reflected off Waylon’s eyes.

Suddenly, Waylon began to feel tightness in his shoes. That was weird. He never felt that before, maybe his feet grew really fast in the past couple of days. But it was getting tighter. Why? For some reason, he kept thinking about this question, why. But then he forgot what he was asking why. Where was he again? Why was he here? The shadows of the trees seemed to be moving. Was the dirt shifting? Maybe he was dreaming, but he didn’t remember passing out. The ground seemed so far away...had he grown taller? And his jersey felt too small. In fact, it seemed to be shrinking. What was happening? Was he getting a seizure?

I’m hungry. I’m hungry. I’M HUNGRY. Was all he could think about. And the moon, the beautiful moon, just hanging there in the sky, casting its moonlight onto everyone. How nice of it. Waylon’s breathing became hoarse, like a sound he heard before, but he didn’t know where. He looked down and saw big, furry paws and feet. He didn’t care. All he thought about was finally being able to taste delicious human flesh, after waiting so long. He didn’t think that he might be killing people, or that people would feel sad. All that mattered was that he would be full, and he would get to hear their screams. It was his time.

He howled. He never had before, but it just seemed natural. Like something he was supposed to do but was never taught. And it was a triumphant howl. It was a howl that said, this is what you were made for.

He thought of all the people he would devour, and it felt so good to think about it. If it felt this amazing to think, what would it feel like to actually do it?

°°°

This is how the first werewolf was born and this young man was someone related to Snow.