Werewolves

I had a very interesting, very intense dream last night that had me waking up and writing down a bunch of the ideas I had in my head.

The general idea of the dream was about werewolves.

I'm pretty sure I was a werewolf but never actually changed into one. I have dreams like this often. Where I know I am something but never show that I can do it. I've had dreams where I know I can turn into the Hulk but never do, or where I should be able to fly but can never get my feet off the ground. You out there who specialize in dream interpretation can figure that one out for me.

So, I was a werewolf, who wasn't happy with the idea, and was hunting down other werewolves that I had created. It was a long dream and featured actors like Adrian Grenier (Vincent Chase from Entourage) and Mila Kunis (Jackie from The 70's Show).

But, that wasn't the spark for the idea that came to me when I woke up this morning. One of the little trivial bits in the dream was the idea of taking a road map and spinning an empty soda bottle of top of it. Whichever way the bottle pointed was the destination.

The story would begin with a man, looking very much the victim, stumbling from the woods and back to his car. He is dirty, beaten, and nude. He looks like he has just escaped from some backwoods torture chamber that all the big horror movies seem to feature these days. He jumps back into his car and takes off. A group of rednecks emerge from the woods chasing him but they are too late as he gets away.

Later, the victim is cleaned up, looking better, and does the soda bottle on the road map trick. The bottle points to a small town.

Fade to a sign for that small town, population 67. It's one of those towns that you see when you're driving on the interstate and wonder who the hell could live in such a small place like that? Who runs the general store where you stop and get gas when you're on your way to somewhere better. Someone has to work there and live somewhere nearby. This town is one of those places.

The story takes some time to get to know the people in the town, showing their lives and their small town gossip. Even in such a small community everyone has a story and everyone has secrets.

And then our hero comes into town. He is small, meek, and looks like a stiff breeze could knock him over. Of course he is hassled by the local rednecks. There is always someone in a town who is a little too drunk and bored who feels the need to pick on the new guy. Maybe our hero is saved by the kind of woman we all wish we could find in a small town. You know, the beautiful yet somehow available woman that you've been looking for all your life who just somehow "gets you."

And, with time to kill, out hero and the woman start a friendship, maybe the beginning of a romance. After all, we have a few days left until the moon is full again.

Because, you see, our "hero" is a werewolf.

He chooses small towns with small populations. He's been doing this long enough that he knows what the wolf is capable of. Keeping to small communities he ensures that he doesn't kill too many people, doesn't leave too may alive who can hunt him once he changes back to human, and can sate the wolf blood lust he has in him.

He sees himself as a force of nature. A tornado that just, by chance of a soda bottle spin, chose this town to destroy. It's all fate. And you wouldn't blame a tornado for leveling your town. Like I said, a force of nature.

So, this sets up the final acts of the story. Where the full moon rises and our hero becomes the villain. The townspeople try their best to survive, huddled together in a small bar trying to keep the creature at bay until sunrise. Of course, the local redneck bullies get theirs in the end and the crowd loves it. But, what about the innocents? What about the woman our hero has come to adore.

Tornadoes may be a force of nature but they don't have a conscience.

I see it as a cross between Alien, Demon Knight, Feast, and and a slew of other movies where the big bad monster is outside the door and you're just praying for sunrise to come so it will all be over. Add a touch of the brilliant novel "The Hyde Effect" in there and I think it makes for a fun story. I especially like the twist of making the monster the victim in the first half of the story.

So, yeah, all that pulled out of a dream I had last night.

But, for now, it's time for me to get back to work on some comic book pages. Have a great weekend!