Night Made of Glass

Helene tucked a red strand of hair behind her ear. Her and her best friend, Laura, were watching the guys play pool. She giggled as Jack made several fantastic shots. Laura sighed. “You guys are so cute together, I wish I could find a man like that.” She turned to her. “He wasn’t always like that, he was pretty messed up before I met him.” Laura nodded. “Who could blame him? Growing up an orphan, that’s gotta be tough.” Helene involuntarily shuddered, the stories Jack had told her… she never wanted him to live like that again. Suddenly Laura spoke up. “Hey, where did your hunk of a boyfriend go anyway?” Helene’s head shot up. Not again. “God, he better not be in another bar fight.” She jumped up and ran for the club’s exit, tossing open the door and walking out into the cold night with only a light sweater. He was nowhere to be found. She ran her hand through her hair nervously. “Jack! Jack!” She yelled his name, only to be answered by a chilled wind. She had no choice but to go back inside, and wait for her man to come back.

By the time Jack got back to the club, Helene was nowhere to be found, she probably hitched a ride back to the apartment with Laura. His arm had been killing him moments before, but now the pain seemingly died down. He was still trying to wrap his mind around what had just happened, and his eyes clouded over from dizziness. He collapsed into the thin sheet of snow that coated the ground, and lay there for a moment, trying to regain his strength. He caught a second wind, and picked himself up. The guy had bit him, that whole transformation thing… it probably was just the effect of the beers he had drank. Sure, the guy was a sick fuck, but Jack was fine. He would just go home, tell Helene a dog had bit him, and put some antiseptic on it.

“God, Jack.” Helene had ran to him once he entered the home, wrapping him tightly in a hug. “Where the hell…” she trailed off, seeing his left sleeve soaked in blood. “Oh my God.” She rushed him to the bathroom, pulling out sheets of gauze from the cabinet. “Jack, what happened?” She asked him quietly once she calmed down and he was finally able to articulate words. “I- got bit. By something.” She dabbed alcohol on the gash, and he winced. “You got into another fight didn’t you? Jack, you’ve gotta learn to let these things go.” She wrapped up his arm, finally succeeding in stopping the constant stream of blood. “I’ve never seen something like this, though. Are you sure you don’t need to go a hospital?” He shook his head, he didn’t want to scare her. “I’m fine, Helly. I’m just really wiped out, that’s all.” She looked him in the face, “No more fights, okay? You scared me tonight.” He put a hand on her face. “I promise. I’m sorry, and I’m going to make it up to you.” He closed his eyes wearily, he had never remembered being this tired. She helped hoist him up into the bedroom. “You’ll get a good sleep tonight, that’s for sure.” He spread himself out on the bed, putting his good arm out so he was holding her when she lay down next to him. “Good night, Jack.” The lights turned off, and Jack was already asleep.

He was running through the woods. Leaves crunched under him as the night birds shrieked and flapped their massive wings. He was on all fours, and he realized he wasn’t alone. The scent of blood was in the air, and Jack was after it.

He shot out of bed. “Jesus.” Rubbing his forehead, he had broken into a cold sweat. “Baby.” Helene sat up, her hand behind his back. “Something’s wrong with me.” Helene titled her head, and gingerly unwrapped his arm. The gash had the appearance now of a small slit. “I’ve been checking it all night while you slept. It just keeps getting smaller. Don’t worry,” she wiped the sweat from his face, “it’s healing up. It was just a nightmare you had.” He squinted his eyes. “What time is it?” The sun shone brightly through the cracks in the blinds. “It’s 7:00. You had a full night of sleep!” Unbelievable. “I hate to leave you right now, but I have Pointe lessons in 45 minutes. Will you be okay here?” Still dazed, he nodded his head. “I go to work at 10:00 anyway.” He shook off the strange feeling he had. “See you tonight, baby. I love you.” He kissed her cheek, and she quickly slipped into a black tank and leg warmers. Before she left, she went back over to the bed to feel his forehead. “Take it easy, Jack. I think you should take off today, I’m sure they would understand.” He shook his head, “I’m fine, really.” She finally accepted that, and left for Radio City. Jack held his forehead in his hands, he was fine. Wasn’t he?

“Dude, that is insane!” Adam, a good friend of his, said after Jack told him about his night. The two were restocking CDs, it was a quiet day for the record store. “Yeah man, I feel so weird about it right now. But it’s probably nothing, I’m just freaked out, that’s all.”
“Yeah, I mean, a guy fucking bit you! Wonder what kind of shit he was on.”
“Whatever it was, I sure as hell wouldn’t want to be on it.” Stacie, a pale young girl who also worked at the store, walked up to them. “What’s up?”
“Oh, tell Goth Girl the story, I’m sure she can relate.” Adam remarked. Stacie rolled her eyes. “Adam, just because I have black hair does not make me a vampire. Keep it up, asshole.” Jack laughed. “Ignore him, Stacie. Yeah, some guy I got in a fight last night bit me.”
“Wow, that’s pretty sketch. Have you gotten it checked out?” He lifted up his shirt sleeve. “That’s just the thing, it’s completely gone.”
Adam rolled the restocking cart into the back room. “Well, you could be a werewolf, Jack. Better watch out, full moon in two days.” He laughed all the way into the back. Stacie rolled her eyes again. “I wish I could make him sexually harass me just so I could get his ass fired.” Jack laughed. “Whatever. He can be a nice guy at times. I swear, how the hell does he even know when the next full moon is going to be anyway?” The two looked at each other for a moment. “Loser.” They said simultaneously.

The next few days got even stranger. The terrifying night visions intensifed, even though it was a full week after the incident. He didn't tell Helene however, she was under the impression that everything was back to normal. But he sure didn't feel normal. And tomorrow was a full moon. He shook his head, now he was being paranoid. He could thank Adam for putting dumbass ideas in his head.

The next day went by almost uniformly, Jack was able to get the ridiculous notions out of his head, even if only temporarily. He drove home with his windows down, he was burning up, despite the city being in the deepest throes of winter. Suddenly, he noticed something in the air. It smelt marvelous! He had to have whatever it was. Something came over him, and he sped up. Driving his car towards the scent, he finally reached what is what giving the odor off. A slaughterhouse. He felt sick to his stomach. Why the hell did he drive miles out of his way to find this place? What was happening to him?

Jack was almost afraid to go to bed. He couldn't explain it, but something told him that once he fell asleep, he wouldn't be himself. Luckily he managed to ward off sleep temporarily, seeing Helene get on top of him, straddling him there on the bed. "We haven't done this in awhile." He lifted his head up to kiss her deeply. She tossed her head back and laughed. "It's been a week!" Jack couldn't take it anymore, he could see her chest through her white tank and could feel himself getting hard. "Too long." In one quick motion, he flipped her over so that he was on top, the two sharing another passionate kiss. She wriggled out of her clothes, revealing her soft slender body, so perfect it seemed like porcelain. Jack stared into her eyes as she lay under him for a moment before taking his own clothes off, he loved her so much, he couldn't remember feeling this way over anyone else. Working his way down from her face, he slowly kissed every curve on her body, teasing her and making her moan with pleasure. She wanted more, and he was about to give it to her. He plunged his member into her opening, and worked it in and out, her cries of ecstasy filling the room. It was like they were meant to fit together, and Jack continued to satisfy her every want as they prepared to come together. "Oh, Jack!" she screamed as she reached her climax. He felt himself explode inside of her, and remained on top for a moment to catch his breath. He then fell beside her, both of them gasping for air and glistening with sweat. He was so tired, and with Helene on his chest, slowly slipped into a slumber.

Cold. Fuck, someone needs to come fix the heat vents. Jack opened one eye. What he saw wasn't his alarm clock or Helene's angelic face. He saw a tree. He wondered if he was dreaming, but realized something was sticking in his ribcage painfully. He reached down, yanking it out. A stick? He scrambled up. He was completely naked in the middle of Central Park. And it must have been close to four in the morning. How did he know that? And why was he sticky? He could think about this when he reached home, there was no way anyone could see him now.

He slipped into the dark apartment, careful not to make a sound. He locked himself in the bathroom, staring into the mirror with his bloodshot deep blue eyes. He looked like himself, his longish hair was a bit tussled, but it was always like that. He was filthy though, like he had been rolling around in mud. Wait. He leaned in closer, trying to see past the dark chunks of mud and grime covering him. It was scarlet, and crusty. It was blood. He checked his body. Besides the damn stick in his side, he was unharmed. "No." Jack shook his head. "Impossible." He was sure something had scratched him. There was no way... Jack have given up trying to think rationally, he didn't even know why he woke up in the park, much less remember ever leaving his home. He just wanted to get in the shower, and slip back to bed hoping Helene didn't notice anything.

"Where were you last night?" Helene asked during breakfast. Jack resisted the urge to flinch. "Adam called me over, he had jsut broken up with his girlfriend and needed someone to have a drink with."
"At midnight?" So that was when he left. What happened during those 4 hours? He shrugged, he couldn't worry her. "It's five o'clock somewhere, baby." She frowned, then continued to eat her cereal. "Well tell Adam that at night, you're all mine, okay?" He smiled, she bought it- this time. He hoped that this was a one-time only deal, whatever deal he had somehow gotten into. Helene got up and switched the television, she loved watching the morning news while she ate. A story was on, featuring several shots of Central Park. "This morning, the remains of several deer were found in Central Park. It appears they were viciously attacked by a dog of some sort. The remains were too graphic to be shown on television. Animal control is now investigating the incident, but do not be alarmed. Please stay tuned for more updates." Jack's stomach lurched, and he lightly touched his mouth. "Those poor things! Hey, where are you going now?" She asked as Jack stood up and got his jacket hurriedly. "To the library."