Homecoming

by Heath Stallcup

  Homecoming

  A Monster Squad Novel

  Book 5

  Heath Stallcup

  Edited by TW Brown

  Cover by Jeffrey Kosh

  Homecoming: A Monster Squad Novel

  ©2014 May December Publications LLC

  The split-tree logo is a registered trademark of May December Publications LLC.

  This book is a work of fiction. Names, characters, businesses, organizations, places, events, and incidents either are the product of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously. Any resemblance to actual persons living, dead, or otherwise, events, or locales is entirely coincidental.

  This book is protected under the copyright laws of the United States of America. Any reproduction or unauthorized use of the material or artwork contained herein is prohibited without the express written permission of the author or May December Publications LLC.

  Printed in the U.S.A.

  DEDICATION

  For the fans who have kept the dream alive. Thank you.

  From the bottom of my heart, thank you.

  ACKNOWLEDGMENTS

  Yes, I always thank my beautiful wife, Jessie. She’s the one who challenged me to write this and she’s the one who has given up so much so that I can.

  I always have to give a shout out to the Tufo’s. They’ve done more to help me than anybody and have never asked for anything in return except friendship. They just don’t make folks like that anymore.

  Todd and Denise—who extended a hand when I needed it. And still do. The late night talks to keep me motivated and on the right track, the tips and pointers to keep my compass always pointed North, the advice I need even when I don’t want to hear it…always honest to a fault. Who could ask for anything more?

  Linda Coffman and my sister Sheila who is always willing to step up and try to make my stuff better.

  John, Shawn, Armand, James and Joe who allowed the ‘new kid on the block’ to join the cool kids club and ride their coattails. All of them, princes among men.

  Last, but certainly not least, the fans who read these stories and keep the characters alive. You are truly the ones that spur me the hardest. Thank you.

  -Heath

  Homecoming

  A Monster Squad Novel

  by

  Heath Stallcup

  1

  While the squads and crews packed to return to Tinker from their temporary home at Groom Lake, Mitchell and Tufo traveled ahead to prepare for their return. Their injured troops and the bodies of their dead were brought with them on the plane and were being offloaded. They made the short flight back to Oklahoma City and pulled up to the old hangar to find Laura standing outside, hands on hips and tapping her foot. “What the hell is she doing here?” Matt asked.

  “Beats me.” Mark shrugged as he pulled into the hangar.

  “You decide to come back and they turn the damned lights back on? Is that how this works?” she asked sardonically.

  Matt shot her a curious look. “What are you talking about?”

  “They cut the power here days ago, Matt. I came by to get my stuff, found out Mueller’s family is here, and they cut the damned power on us…then a friggin werewolf just appears out of nowhere below decks, then just before you come back, 'poof' the lights are back on!”

  Matt’s eyes grew wide, and he shot Tufo a surprised look. “The power was off? How long?”

  Laura shook her head. “I don’t know. A few days. Why?”

  “And there’s a wolf down below? You’re sure she didn’t get out?” He began running for the stairwell door.

  “Yes, I’m sure. And yes, I locked down the elevators.” She followed quickly, her worry growing with each step. “Whatever it is, it isn’t going anywhere.”

  “What the hell’s going on, Matt?” Mark asked, checking his sidearm.

  “Alpha One, Mark. From back in the day.” He stopped just short of the doors.

  “I thought you killed her!”

  “Apparently not,” Matt grumbled as he unlocked a weapons locker. “Dammit!” All of the weapons had been taken to Nevada. He checked his sidearm; he had one magazine. “What do you have?” he asked Tufo.

  “One and a spare.”

  “Cover the door. I’m going down.”

  “Not without backup you aren’t.” Laura tried to move to a position to stop him.

  Matt turned to her and stared her in the eye. “This is my screw-up. I need to fix this.” He walked to the stairwell then turned again. “Besides…I should have freed her a long time ago.” Then he was inside, leaving Laura and Mark topside questioning everything.

  Matt worked his way down the stairs, listening intently for any sounds. He checked all of the first level then went to the second. Going room to room he found where someone had been sleeping in different rooms and sifting through the different personal items in the rooms that were usable.

  He reached the third level and saw where someone had been digging around and scavenging for food. He came out of the cafeteria and silently entered the kitchen. That was when he saw her. She had found a man’s shirt and had it draped over her, but left it open and unbuttoned. When Matt first laid eyes on her, his heart skipped a beat. Tasha’s words came back to haunt him, and he felt his inner wolf pull at him to be near her. All of those years of hatred washed away with a single glance of her form in the darkness and he had to fight an overwhelming desire to scoop her into his arms.

  She was digging around in an overhead cupboard, looking for something. Nude, other than the oversized shirt, her muscular legs were made shapelier as she tip-toed to snoop around the upper shelf.

  Matt moved slightly to the side to better see her, and she caught the movement with her peripheral vision. She spun around and stared at him staring at her. His lopsided grin disarmed her momentarily until a flood of memories came back to her. Her heart raced as she remembered running for her life through streets and alleys, black sedans and men with uniforms chasing her. She remembered men in tactical gear firing at her and her ducking and weaving trying to dodge them. She didn’t know what she could have done to bring this kind of attention from the military…she had always been so careful in the past…going deep into the woods when the full moon was near and she couldn’t control the wolf that she would become, but they were on to her now. The dirty streets, her burning lungs, her legs hurting so badly…the dark alleyway that lead to…nothing! She had been trapped!

  Her heart raced once more as the flood of memories came back to her, and she began to hyperventilate. Her eyes widened as she looked at him.

  “Don’t be scared.” Matt extended his hand. “I’m not going to hurt you.”

  It was HIM! It was that same voice…the same voice that echoed in her mind every time her eyes were shut and she tried to sleep. The same face! The same eyes!

  Matt stepped closer and saw the absolute terror on her face and gently shook his head. “No…no, I won’t hurt you.” He softened his voice as if speaking to a child. “Tasha said—”

  “No,” she whimpered, “not again.”

  Flashbacks appeared in her mind, scene after scene, over and over, the same man, the alley, the same eyes, a gun, the flash of light, darkness…her knees became weak, and her hands trembled as she began to back away from him.

  “Please, stop. I promise I won’t hurt you,” Matt did his best to reassure her.

  Suddenly she stopped backing away and lowered her head, her eyes growing amber in the dimming light of the kitchen. “No,” she growled. “You won’t.”

  *****

  The sun set upon the now quiet desert, the humans having long since abandoned their outpost of solitude. The residual radiation that their battles had brought to the surface, driving them away, now began settling again to de
cay through time and weathering, an unseen danger to the local wildlife.

  As the desert sands began their nightly cooling, a lone coyote, scavenging through the debris left behind, hoping to find some scrap to make a meal, spots movement in the distance. He rolls his ears forward and listens intently. Hearing the scampering beat of rabbit’s feet against the hardpan, he bolts. Fresh meat!

  His heart raced as he approached the small tufts of dust rising into the twilight. He cut as the animal zigged, then zagged. As the coyote closed on the rabbit, something from the earth itself wrapped around his leg and stopped him in his tracks, flipping him in midair and knocking him to his back.

  With a startled yelp, the coyote flipped to bite at whatever it was that attacked the attacker. His sharp canines lashed out at the soft flesh that locked onto his leg and was now dragging him back toward the hole in the sand. With yipping cries for help, the wild dog scraped with its front legs for purchase as his teeth slashed at the hand clamped to it.

  The creature in the dirt reached with another hand and grasped a handful of fur from the coyote’s back and pulled it further into the sand before the dog felt teeth sink into its neck. Its head thrashed back and forth in struggle, growling, as this dark creature drained its life blood. The wild dog continued to struggle, fighting for every breath until its heart stopped beating and it fell limp in the creature’s arms.

  The coyote fell to the earth, completely drained, its eyes dull and lifeless. The dark creature rose from the dusty sand and stepped into the moonlight.

  The dark vampire stared at the moon and laughed a deep, dark, hearty laugh before turning to the west. “Food awaits.”

  He looked down at his tattered clothing and sighed with disapproval. “No, this won’t work at all. Perhaps something more appropriate was left behind by the hunters.”

  “Don’t take too long, lover,” a silky and sensual voice whispered. “We have a lot of work to do.”

  Damien smiled inwardly as he headed toward the remains of the Groom Lake base to make himself more passable in the human world.

  *****

  SIX MONTHS LATER—The heavy metal door bounced off the office wall with a loud clang as Laura Youngblood stepped into the office. “Major, I swear to God, if you don’t do something with that hairy little monster I’m gonna—”

  Major Tufo looked up from the paperwork he was going through and shot Laura an innocent stare. The hairy little monster she referred to jumped from the floor near his feet knocked over the waste basket as he heroically shot between Mark’s legs and growled low in his chest at the tall, dark haired woman seething in the doorway. “Whatever do you mean, Ms. Youngblood?”

  “I mean that hairy little bastard cowering under your desk!” She pointed a slender finger at the growling monster. “He tore up the cushions on my couch, raided the trash, and hiked on my desk!”

  Mark feigned incredulity. “I don’t see how. He’s been with me all day.” He reached a hand down and patted the bulldog’s head, scratching lightly behind his ear to stop the growling. “There’s no way he could have torn up your office.”

  Laura planted her hands firmly on her hips and shot him a narrow eyed stare. “That dog is UA. Unauthorized!” Her voice dripped with venom. “He’s a health hazard, he’s a menace, and he’s—”

  “He’s the official mascot of the United States Marine Corps, I’ll have you know.” Mark placed his pen down gently and returned her glare. “Not only that, he’s like one of my kids. I won’t have you come barging into my office and making accusations that you can’t back up when he can’t defend himself.”

  Laura was nearly aghast. “Can’t defend himself? Are you kidding me? Yesterday he took a dump on the floor of my office. Then he hiked on the door. Today he shreds everything that isn’t nailed down and peed on my desk.” She marched closer and jabbed her finger on top of his desk. “On my desk.”

  “I’m sorry, Ms. Youngblood, but without proof that it was Hank, I simply can’t make assumptions.”

  “Jesus, Mark, who else would piss on my desk? Who else would take a dump on my floor?” She shot him a serious look, but the edges of his mouth curved upward, and his inability to curtail it was contagious. “Seriously!” she laughed. “Ever since you brought your damned dog to work, it’s like he’s targeting me. What did I do to him?”

  “Do you scratch his belly?”

  “That’s not funny.” She turned to leave and reached for the door. “And I’m serious, if you don’t keep that fat little fuzzy poop factory out of my office, I swear to God, I’ll—”

  “You’ll what?” Mark was failing miserably at masking the humor.

  She thought for a moment then shot him an evil and triumphant grin. “I’ll have one of the techs shoot him up with the werewolf virus. Then, every full moon he can turn into a squat, ugly, little human. We’ll see how you like it when little Danny DeVito is running around your office and hiking on all of your stuff.” She made sure to slam the door on her way out.

  Mark sat back a moment and considered her threat. He looked down at Hank and wondered at the possibilities. “She wouldn’t do that, would she?” Hank didn’t answer. “You would make an ugly human.” Hank didn’t seem to mind. “Maybe you better stop terrorizing her, huh, buddy?” Hank wasn’t listening. Mark scratched at his head again and watched as the dog slowly settled back to the floor, his eyes getting droopy.

  Mark sighed and rubbed at his eyes. This whole ‘command’ gig was not what he thought it was going to be.

  *****

  Jack Thompson knocked lightly on the study door and opened it. “The latest reports are in from Geneva. The intel gathered there pretty much verifies your suspicions.” He placed the papers on Rufus’ desk and stepped back.

  Rufus picked them up and glanced over them. “Oui, this is what I feared. The council has relocated to a more secure location.”

  “Nothing we can’t handle.” Jack watched Rufus carefully as he spoke. “Their overconfidence is their biggest weakness.”

  “Non, Jack, they won’t be left unprotected. We cannot simply stroll in and demand an audience.”

  “That all depends on how we ask.” Jack patted his breast pocket, and Rufus knew exactly what he had in mind. Ever since bringing Jack on as his new Second and releasing Viktor to take over his duties as pack master, Rufus quickly discovered that Jack’s idea of security and his own were two very different things. While Rufus preferred diplomacy, Jack preferred to shove a gun into someone’s mouth and apply pressure to the trigger until the other person changed their mind. It had been a bit of a challenge these past few months as both men learned to adjust to the other’s way of thinking, but a happy medium was slowly being discovered.

  “I appreciate your fervor, Jack, but I fear that even if you managed to remove all of the sitting members of the council, the edict to have me meet the true death would still stand.” Rufus waved off his idea with his hand. “Non, the more diplomatic way to handle this would be to convince the council to remove the edict entirely.”

  “And how do you propose we do that?”

  Rufus poured a glass of cognac and sat on the edge of his desk. “That, mon ami, is the question.”

  Jack paced the study as he thought through the circumstances. “You told me that once an edict was handed down, it stood for all time. Even if new evidence is brought forth, the verdict could not be changed.”

  “Oui, this is true.”

  “So, even if we dragged Foster there kicking and screaming, and forced him to tell the truth—”

  “It would have no bearing.”

  Jack stopped pacing. “Then what other option is there? We have to remove the council. We have to destroy any evidence of the edict.”

  “Non.” Rufus exhaled hard and shook his head. “There has been enough bloodshed. I won’t have more for my sake.”

  “Rufus, I’ve known a lot of people in my life. I’ve only known a handful of vampires. You, sir, have more honor than any human I’ve
ever met.”

  “From you, Jack, I shall take that as a compliment.” Rufus held the cognac up in toast and took a sip.

  “I’m still not seeing any other options.”

  “Oui, there is one. I am just very hesitant to use it.”

  Jack spread his hands wide, “Please, enlighten me. Even if you refuse to use it, maybe it will kick another idea into gear for me.”

  Rufus smiled softly and nodded. “You are familiar with the American ‘double jeopardy’ rule?”

  “Of course, but you said that—”

  “I said that they will not change the edict. However, if we took my brother to the council and I made him tell the truth, then the edict would be shifted to him. It is very much like double jeopardy. If a murder has been committed, you cannot hold both accusers responsible unless you can prove that they were working in tandem, and if he tells the truth that will prove that we were not responsible."

  “Wait a minute, you just said earlier that wouldn’t work.”

  “I said that it wasn’t an option.” Rufus rubbed at the base of his neck and stretched. “I am trying to prevent a true death edict on either of our heads.”

  “But if Paul killed your…errr, his father and pinned it on you, then doesn’t he deserve the true death?” Jack was truly confused now.

  “Perhaps at one time, but time has a way of changing people. Since Paul has become Lamia Beastia, he has changed. He has become the person his father always wanted him to be.”

  “You do realize that you’re only talking about a few months, don’t you?” Jack feared that Rufus was taking a trip down a memory lane that didn’t really exist.

  “Oui, of course I do. But had you known Paul when he was a young man…and then now, you’d see the difference.”