Poisoned Bloodlines

I was just testing You

I hugged my dad when he climbed over the ropes.  The announcer shouted my new title into the microphone.  I shook Clare’s hand when she got up. After the crowd subsided, Bob Chat approached my family.  He introduced himself and turned to me.

“Congratulations on your new title Juletta, I see great potential in you, and would be delighted to coach you.  If you accept this, we will start tomorrow.” He looked at me hopefully.

“I would love to have you as my coach!  Of course, I’ll come to the ring early tomorrow.”  Coach Chat smiled and shook my hand one last time before we left.  That’s when everything began.

I went to the hospital and found out my collar bone had been broken in the fight.  We thought nothing of it. I had a high pain tolerance and could barely tell. Ever since I was little, I had been a fast healer.  So we went to sleep easily that night, knowing I would be able to meet with the coach bright and early the next morning.  

When I woke up the next morning, my collar bone was healed.  I quickly got dressed. Then I realized how late it was, it was already seven o’ clock.  Thirty minutes later I had done everything. I had showered, eaten a light breakfast, and gathered up my equipment.  In a flash, we were at the ring.

Coach was sitting in the ring when I got inside.  He had a pile of two by fours, and a bag of nails, for what I didn’t know.  I climbed over the ropes and kneeled in front of him.

“What are the nails and boards for coach?”  I asked him.

“They’re for your training.”  Was all he gave as an explanation as he stood up, and then urged me to do the same.  I stood in front of him and saw an evil gleam in his eyes. He looked at me with a grim expression as he grabbed a board.

“This type of training is only for the people who really want to be champions.  I want you to kick the boards, and snap them. After you snap them all, you need to hammer nails in, but a hammer is not provided.  Also, the minimum of nails in each board is two.” He finished, holding a two by four in front of himself.

“But coach,”  I never got to finish my question, because he swung the board at me.  With a wild high kick, I hit the board. My scream echoed into the rafters.  I had just broken my foot.

Coach Chat glared at me.“Do you want to be a champion or not?  You either endure the pain, or give up, those are your only options.  Now we will begin with the hammering. Use your fist to punch the nails in.  Don’t hesitate, and obey my orders!” He held up the board and thrust the bag of nails into my hand.

    I dared not to argue, so I took a nail out, and placed its point on the board.  Wanting to get this over quickly, I began hitting it with my fist, over and over.  Through my moments of panic, I didn’t notice the pain. When realization struck, I looked down and found my hand torn apart.

    “Are you quitting?  How dare you! I’ll teach you to quit on my orders.”  He raised the board to hit me, but I was too fast for him.  I grabbed the nail I was holding, and stabbed it into his hand on the board.  He screamed and I ran for my life. I turned back once only to see a black wolf chasing after me.

    I ran with all my might, trying unsuccessfully to put the pain of my foot from my mind.  Soon, I was on the jogging trail leading to my house. I breathed a sigh of relief. When I burst through the door to my house, my family looked up startled.

    “Help, The coach is a madman!  You need to call the police, hurry!”

    “Jueletta, calm down.  Take a seat and we’ll have the coach over in a few minutes to sort things out.”  My mom reached for me, and locked my arm in her grasp. In a desperate attempt to flee, I punched her in the nose.  She fell down startled, and I realized that was from my vision. The blood on her face was not hers though, it was mine.

    I ran away as fast as I could, only the pain from my broken foot soon overcame me.  I layed down by the highway, helpless. After a few minutes, I was picked up by a stranger.  My senses were dull from the pain, so I didn’t think to look at their face. I limply sat in the shotgun seat and looked out the window.

    “Don’t worry Jueletta, you’ll be better soon.”  My stomach dropped as I recognized the voice. I looked over and saw the coach grinning at me.  I tried the door handle, but it must have been on child safety lock. In a dull voice he explained that he was my uncle.

    “Do you remember the story about the wolf and settlers your mother told to you?   Well, we’re related to those settlers. Their very blood courses through our veins.  I am their direct descendent, while you have half of their blood. That means we are able to have great strength and fast healing.  Look at your hand for instance, it is almost completely healed.” 

 “While the pain in your foot, is it not subsiding?  Yes, Juletta we are werewolves. I was merely testing you to see if you were like me.  I am going to take you to the house of your great, great, great grandparents.”