The Beast of Bray Road

By Cathryn Free

“Get him! Behind you!” Jax jabbed at the controls with his thumbs. “Die, wolf beast!”

“I got him!” I punched my controls as we hunched in front of the TV screen, fighting werewolves on Wolfsbane Vengeance 4 in Jax’s dark basement.

The screen flashed red. Jax dropped his controls, groaning. “We’re never going to beat the Werewolf Chieftain.”

I blew out a breath. “We’ll get him. We just have to figure out where his hideout is.”

“That’s easy,” said a new voice.

I jumped and turned. Jax’s brother Jason stood at the bottom of the stairs, silhouetted against the light from the upstairs door.

“Where?” Jax asked.

“Bray Road.”

“Shut up.” Jax rolled his eyes. “Not that again.”

“Bray Road?” I asked.

“It’s this stupid legend he tries to scare me with. Don’t listen to him, Duke.”

“It’s true.” Jason stepped into the ghostly light of the video game. “Alex saw him.”

“Saw what, exactly?” I glanced at Jax.

“A giant wolf, nearly seven feet tall. Some say he’s Bigfoot, but I don’t think so.” Jason flopped into the armchair across from me, staring at the bleeding screen.

“Then what is it?” I set the controller down.

“A werewolf.”

“Shut up,” Jax said again, chucking a pillow at his brother. “You’re so full of it.”

“A werewolf?” My voice broke, and I cleared my throat.

Jason leaned forward, elbows on his knees. Lowering his voice, he said. “It walks like a man, but it’s covered in hair. It has long claws and fangs sharp enough to rip the limbs off a person. Alex’s dad lost three cows to it.”

“Because it couldn’t just be a regular wolf,” Jax said.

Jason continued, “Last full moon, Alex heard something that sounded like screaming coming from the barn. When he went to check, he saw a giant hairy thing with red eyes running from the property. One of their cows was slashed to death.” Jason’s eyes widened.

“That didn’t happen.” Jax’s voice sounded strangled.

I swallowed. Werewolves didn’t exist, and they didn’t hunt cows. “It was probably just a coyote. Wild animals hunt livestock when they’re really hungry.” I shrugged, but my hands shook.

“Don’t you live off of Bray Road, Duke?” Jason asked.

My stomach squeezed, and a chill crept over me. “Yeah.”

“Leave him alone.” Jax nudged me. “He’s just trying to scare you.”

Jason shook his head. “No, I’m trying to warn you. That thing is out there, and it’s hungry. You didn’t bike here, did you?” Concern flooded his eyes.

“No. My mom dropped me off.”

“And his brother’s picking him up at ten.” Jax waved his controller at me. “C’mon, let’s play.”

I tried to focus on the game, but the flashes of fangs and bloody claws on the screen made my palms sweat.

By the time Micah picked me up, I had forgotten about the beast, until Jason called out after me, “Don’t take Bray Road! There’s a full moon tonight.”

“Knock it off, Jason!” Jax shoved his brother. “See you tomorrow.”

“Bye.”

Outside, the back of my neck prickled, and I hurried to the car.

“Have fun?” Micah asked. The windows were rolled down, letting the cool June breeze blow through. His classic rock playlist blared from the speakers.

“Yeah. It was good.”

As we drove, I watched the shadowed trees blur by. The headlights beamed like two beacons on the snaking highway lines, disappearing into the dark. Moonlight cast a silver glow, and mist hovered in low spots.

The air chilled as we turned onto Bray Road.

My stomach twisted, and I took a deep breath. “Have you ever heard of the beast of Bray Road?”

Micah turned down the music. “Sure. Just some scary story. Why?”

“Jason was saying that Alex Schmidt’s dad found three cows killed.” I tried to sound casual, but my heart raced. “Some beast or something.”

“Weird.”

“Yeah.” I glanced out the window. A flash of movement flickered in the rearview mirror. I sat up, pressing my hands against the armrest, staring at the mirror. My throat squeezed. I had to be seeing things. Glancing behind, I asked, “Did you see that?”

“See what?” said Micah, glancing at the rearview mirror.

Something howled, low and blood-chilling, raising the hairs on my arms.

“What the heck?” Micah’s gaze darted wildly between his mirrors. “Did you hear that?”

I nodded, voice frozen.

A dark shape sprinted past my window.

Whipping my head around, I scanned the woods and road for any sign of movement. “Micah?” I whispered, voice quaking.

Micah sped up, the car eating pavement, as the moon disappeared behind a cloud.

He paused at a stop sign. My ears strained, listening for the slightest sound.

Something slammed into the door behind me.

“Go!” Icy fear slid down my back.

Micah hit the gas. I gripped the door, spinning around and scanning the road, eyes wildly searching.

A massive form appeared in the red glow of the taillights. Coming closer.

Closer.

“Faster!” Fear punched through my chest and burst through my lungs.

We tore through the night, careening over hills and around curves. The sound of howling faded away.

“I think we lost it,” I said, my voice tight, my legs shaking.

The lights of the house welcomed us as we screeched into the driveway and sprinted inside, bolting the door behind us.

“What was that?” I whispered, shivering.

Micah stared out the window. “Just a wolf,” he said, shaking his head. “It had to be.”

“It was huge.”

“It was just a wolf, Duke.”

“But—

“Let’s go to bed.” Micah’s voice was calm, but his knuckles were white as he gripped the banister on the way up the stairs.

The next morning, the bright sunlight made all thoughts of a werewolf vanish as I headed out for chores.

Then I saw it.

Three long scratch marks were carved into the door like slashes of lightning ripping across the sky.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Cathryn Free is a middle school teacher and writer. Her works have appeared in numerous publications such as Highlights, Cricket, Muse, and even internationally. She lives in Wisconsin with her family. When not writing, she can be found drinking coffee and running country roads.

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