Beast of Olburg
The residents of the small town of Olburg, Germany have never had cause to suspicious of travellers from beyond the township, or to fear leaving their homes at night, they are, after all, a tight-knit and wholesome community. But that all changed last night, when a series of brutal and savage animal attacks were revealed to be the work of one of their own; the newly arrived 26 year-old, Bernard Silberschmeid.
The nephew of a local jewellery store owner, Otto Silberschmeid, Bernard was recently made redundant and travelled four months previous, to Olburg for the promise of employment. En route to the town from the nearest train station, Bernard made his way through the dense woodland surrounding the town, on the advice of his cousin, 22 year-old Rebecca Silberschmeid. Here, it is assumed, is the time and location that Bernard was attacked by a large animal, from which the local physician, 46 year-old Dr Stefan Schamane, believes Bernard was exposed to an as-yet unidentified virus and/or bacteria. Bernard successfully reached Olburg and immediately attended Dr Schamane’s practice, where his wound was cleaned, treated and he received a tetanus shot. Schamane tested blood taken from Bernard but failed to notice the anomaly until it was too late.
Bernard began work at his uncle’s store the next day and seemed completely oblivious to any negative effects of the animal attack. However, several of the townsfolk, including Otto and Rebecca, had begun to notice that Bernard was suffering from a severe metal allergy, dropping silverware and claiming that it was hot. Bernard attended Dr Schamane’s practice several times over the next month, concerned about aching joints, blood in his saliva, temporary loss of colour-vision and hypersensitivity to sound, as well as violent mood swings. Dr Schamane recounts that Bernard claimed that these symptoms had not been present before the animal attack, and, in hindsight, he believes he should have taken greater precautions to ensure his safety and the safety of others.
Exactly one month from Bernard’s arrival, the body of Dolph Shafenhirte, 38, a local wool farmer was discovered by his farm-hand, Mark Helfer, 19, in his field. Schafenhirte was last seen by his wife, Hilde, 34, sheering sheep at the barn near his house the night before. Shafenhirte was found among the mutilated bodies of seven of his sheep, with severe wounds to the neck, face and stomach. Helfer described the seen as “Sickening.” Local police firmly believed that Shafenhirte was attacked by a large animal, but could neither identify the species nor determine where it might have gone after the attack, as such an animal should have left some physical evidence of its identity and would not likely have travelled to, or left, the areas surrounding the scene unnoticed.
A month later, two more victims were discovered in Olburg. The bodies of 24 year-old Stefan Klein and 26 year-old Fred Schwarz were found behind the local public house, Olhaus, by a bartender, Freida Braunkopf, 23. Klein and Schwarz were visitors to the town from Camino and were last seen drinking with Bernard on the night of their murders. When questioned about his whereabouts during the fatal attack, Bernard claimed he was too drunk to stand and that the victims carried him home; Braunkopf confirmed his claim, but could not account for the three hours estimated to have passed between their departure and the times of death. Officers also asked Bernard where he was during the Shafenhirte murder, to which he replied that he was visiting the fair, verified by Rebecca and several of her friends.
With an almost-solid alibi, the police had lost their only suspect and returned to the animal-attack theory. It was soon discovered during autopsy that both Klein and Schwarz had, what analysts assumed to be, strands of wolf fur within their wounds, just as had been discovered to be the case of a few of the massacred sheep from the previous month, but with some as-yet unidentified anamolies.
At the beginning of the third month of Bernard’s time in Olburg, another bizarre animal was reported at 00:05 by a farmer, Max Linheim, 46, who had narroely survived an animal attack that resulted in the death of 42 year-old Klaus Eisenstein. Linheim claimed that he had used a knife of unkown make to sever one of the front legs of a possible wolf after it murdered Eisenstein. The leg that was severed was never recovered and there was no evidence that Linheim was neither giving a truthful account nor responsible for Eisenstein’s death. The police ran bloodtest but have refused to disclose the results.
In the month following the attack, Bernard had seemingly disappeared. He had not been to his place of work, attended his doctor’s appointments or been seen leaving or entering his home since the night of the latest attack. There were reports of excessive noise from the neighbors of Rebecca Silberschmeid, but investigating officers found no cause for suspicion. Some even began to believe that Bernard was an undiscovered victim of the animal that was stalking Olburg’s outskirts.
Last night, at approximately 22:00, Bernard was spotted running through the streets of Olburg. Supposedly using a bladed weapon,residents of the small town were horrified to witness the young man attacking people at random, killing some. Bernard was last seen sprinting towards the woods, pursued by a game hunter and guide, Marie Jaeger, 32, and was presumed to be wounded by Jaeger during an altercation.
The events of the previous months has resulted in many changes in the town of Olburg; Doctor Schamane resigned as practicing physician, many of the townsfolk, including Rebecca and Otto Silberschmeid, left the town, resulting the closing of many local buisnesses, and a significant rise in supersticion has been marked by the growing number of people who have drawn a connection between the actions of Bernard Silberschmeid and the full moon that was present during each attack, stating in greater certainty that Bernard was, in fact, a werewolf; a mythological shapeshifter, or lycanthrope, who is forced to take the form of a wolf during a full moon. All that is known for certain is that Bernard Silberschmeid is still at large and that there has been no trace of him or his pursuer, Marie Jaeger, since last night’s tragedy.
Damon Mealor 