Lychan Part 5

After all the wildness, they got back in their van and drove away in silence. Never knowing fully what happened. All were too proud and…

Photo by Louis Hansel on Unsplash

After all the wildness, they got back in their van and drove away in silence. Never knowing fully what happened. All were too proud and angry to ponder anything but their own maddening minds. The adrenaline was still stuck in their chests. Caelan pulled up to the driveway and parked the van. They all stopped and waited.

“Back there,” Ivan said finally. “What just happened: we leave there. Understood?”

“Yeah,” Ricky said. The two others nodded and angrily stepped out.

The four friends got spruced up dressing their best in a way that shouted their intentions. Ivan was ready waiting for the other guys as Ricky came up. “Lookin’ good, brother.”

“Yeah?” Ricky wore a nice white collared shirt open with khakis and brown shoes. Ivan wearing a similar shirt but with a leather jacket, slicked his brown hair back.

“Old school, man.”

Then Caelan and Nick walked down.

They look like trash.

“Where’d you guys think we’re goin’? The gym?” Ivan asked. Caelan wore shorts and a wife beater, an open flannel with an orange pattern. Nick had a Judas Priest black T-shirt with gym shorts and slippers.

“What? Who cares?” Nick said.

“I think we look good,” Caelan said proudly.

“Whatever, let’s go,” Ivan said rolling his eyes.

Ricky was ready for anything hoping for a good time, especially with a lady.

That would be nice.

They drove far into inner Lansing closer to downtown where the party scene was at a lounge and club bar that opened past eleven. The real party was about to start. It was quite dead as they walked in around nine thirty and had a few drinks early.

After many shots and some cocktails Ricky hadn’t even tried before, Ivan asked, “So, what brings you out here, brother? What do you hope to find?”

“Freedom. Something I don’t have.”

“I like you, Rick. You’re real, you know what you want. People like us, don’t get along with the status quo.

“They don’t know it yet but it’s being upended.”

“Whadya mean?” Ricky sipped.

“The murders. They’re showin’ that life is pointless. There’s no truth. It’s all bleak man. Might as well enjoy it before you get your throat slit. Enjoy while you can. That’s how we live our lives.” He downed his drink.

“One day at a time,” Caelan said.

“Don’t preach that bullshit,” Ivan said abrasively.

“What? It’s a good thing. That’s what my dad always says.”

“The AA system — again another system, another class, another group where you go and tell people everything wrong about you. Who cares? Be who you were meant to be. Don’t let the man tie you down. I know we don’t.”

Ivan had a point. Systems, creeds, religions, everything planned and designed by humanity had faults. Everything had cracks which evil seeped through and ruined men’s lives. Humanity and their hearts were broken which in turn made everything broken.

“It’s all broken then,” Ricky said realizing the nature of things.

“That’s right, it’s all arbitrary, Rick. Everything is free game. Including those chicas over there.” Ivan nodded to Ricky who turned his head and saw three beautiful young ladies coming in and sitting down at a table to order.

Caelan sighed, “Whatever, bro. It’s not a system, it’s a spiritual awakening.”

“What more spiritual awakening do you want?” Ivan said annoyed by his belief.

Ricky heard and he decided to ask, “Does this have something to do with Austria?”

Caelan put down his drink and rubbed his eyes furiously, “We should’ve never told him.”

“Relax,” Ivan said ordering another drink. “Give him another one. It’s on me. As a matter of fact, it does.”

“What’re you doing?” Caelan exclaimed loudly.

“Give it a rest, he’s ready.”

“No, he’s not. I don’t know anything about him,” he said complaining.

“He’ll be fine,” Nick said sipping slowly his pink martini. “It all happened there, bro.”

Ricky was very interested now he felt like he was finding a diamond in the rough, a secret few knew. It was an ancient proverb or story handed down to multiple generations and it was within his reach. Everything was forced out in the open and he had found the key to the inner circle, a brotherhood he always wanted but never could have, a purpose a way to upbuild himself, to be reigned in as a supreme man held high in honor and loyalty. It was being given and he simply acted.

“Tell me,” Ricky said waiting, hoping it would be a fountain of youth moment.

Ivan leaned in close, looking around, and said, “You won’t believe us.”

“Try me.”

He nodded to the other guys. The drinks came slowly and Ricky drank faster. They all cheered again to new life and all clanked their glasses in a salutation of friendship. Everyone remained quiet.

“Alright, but you gotta promise it stays here. Alright?”

“Yeah, you got it,” Ricky said sincerely.

“You’re one of us, now,” Ivan said holding up his drink and taking a big gulp. “It wasn’t what we expected. Hell, we had no idea what we were being led to but the shaman led us to Austria and so we go. Awesome place and then he says go to this commune where these women are and so we find ’em. We follow the voice, this weird voice, I… I can’t even describe it to you but we find it. And It leads us to this place which we don’t know anything about. I walk in and the women hold hands while praying. They have a nice scent and beautiful young ladies who are all decked in white with veils. I don’t speak Austrian none of us do, but they’re so nice. They lead us to this chamber and… and they pour… blood on us, but not human blood, goats blood and we’re covered in it, I mean drenched and we had no idea what’s going on.

“And then they tie us up. Keep us there for hours chanting and chanting. For hours they do this and then nothing. We don’t hear anything for days, but then one night they come. We’re all huddled there nearly naked…

“And then it happened, they opened a little window, and the moon so big and bright shines on us and it burns my eyes, it burns all of our eyes and makes it so painful. Then we shed our skin and the doors open and we wake up.

“The next morning all filthy, naked, lost in the forest, in the mountains of Austria. They find us, the woman. They bow and say something. They anoint us saying in broken English, “You… are now Lycans. Beast… man.”

“Lycans?”

“Werewolves,” Caelan said sighing. “Then we come back here and we’re never the same.”

The noise of the bar deadened and everything stopped, but then Ricky laughed.

“That’s pretty good,” he smiled wide. “Wow, I never knew.” The three knew he didn’t believe them. And Ricky kept on and drank. “I guess, I’ll never know.”

“Guess not,” Ivan said quietly.

“So, that’s your story you tell people for taking shrooms?”

Ivan smiled, “It is.”

“Nice, sounds like a good time. Speaking of good times what about those chicas over there?” It started to get crowded as it rolled onto ten o’clock, and the music started slightly. The ladies looked stunning in their low-cut dresses showing their succulent legs and high heels that made their calves look amazing. “Come on Caelan, wanna join me?” Ricky got up briskly without waiting.

He strutted over confidently and the three young girls all talked rapidly gossiping. “Hey ladies, how ya doin? Where you from?” His Jersey accent was too strong.

They talked and greeted each other exchanging names. They were Hispanic. Eventually, Ricky sat down gazing into their big brown eyes. The two on his right were sisters Josephina and Emilia Cabrera and the one to his left whom he really liked and was most beautiful was Maria Estevez, the sister’s cousin. They were students at Michigan University down south. Being from here, they enjoyed a night out.

The sisters were extroverted and talked his ear off. Being more interested in him they tried hooking him in with their laughing and touching. Caelan and Nick came over after a bit.

“What’s up, man,” Caelan said. “Who’re your friends?” he asked Ricky smoothly.

“Ladies, this is Caelan. He’s a good Irish lad, he is,” he said with an Irish brogue causing the ladies to giggle. They were introduced keeping the sisters occupied while Ricky positioned himself closer to Maria.

They went on talking late into the night until two in the morning. They danced grinding on the floor. Maria liked Ricky and he was a lucky guy but she didn’t talk much and always looked off to the side when he was talking always distracted but she smiled politely and laughed appropriately.

Ricky drank way too much. He was groggy and the girls all seemed to have too much too. Maria started to sleep on his shoulder. His vision was going as he nodded off.

Then he woke up at the house. He lay on the living room couch. The half-crescent moon gleamed in the darkness penetrating his eyes.

Empty and quiet inside, his vision went fuzzy and he fell down on the dirty floor. Cheerios and Cheetos flung everywhere as he got up suddenly and heard wicked laughter. Women’s voices and then a stunning scream. He was so tired that he hit the floor hard falling unconscious.