by T S Paul
I choked and started to hyperventilate.
Anastasia allowed me to calm down before she continued. “If it’s in the commission of your job, you are immune to prosecution. If you take over a case, it’s yours. You are the lead agent regardless of rank and file. All law enforcement agencies including local sheriffs and chiefs of police are required to assist you. Be aware that the memos just went out on the national and state level. It will be some time before it trickles down to the local level. I suggest you acquire one of the National FBI directories and start memorizing.”
“How? How can I do this alone? It’s impossible!” I almost yelled at her.
“You’re a resourceful man, Jack. I happen to know at least one instance where you took it upon yourself to do the impossible. This should be easy for you. I know you like challenges,” Anastasia remarked.
I froze. How she found out secret what I thought she was alluding to was surprising. No one outside of the pack knew about that. No one.
“There is a file.” That was all she said to me.
Shaking my head, I denied it. “Can’t be.”
“If you share your story, I’ll share mine. Trust me. There was a record of it. The packs talk to each other, and we and our counterparts in the OSS listen. It was unusual enough that a Texas boy was accepted by an Illinois pack. A human boy. While it has happened in the past, it’s rare. If you see your mother and stepfather tell them they did a good job with you. Now spill.” Anastasia ordered.
I took a deep breath. This was not a story I had told anywhere. Not even a whisper. While it wasn’t exactly illegal, the local and tribal police might have looked for a reason to lock me up if they knew. I still had a friend on the reservation.
“I was fifteen. Mom married Chuck Rogers when I was twelve. As you know, he is in the Air Force. Mom likes the structure of the military, and when the Colonel was reassigned, we packed up and went with him.” I flashed back to those days in Texas.
“Honey, we have to go. It was the reason Chuck and I got married after all,” She told me.
“It’s not fair is all. Me and the guys were going to go camping this summer up at Eagle Point.” It was going to be pretty cool too. The Were reservation butted up against one of the local Native reservations. Some things were shared.
“You can camp in Illinois, buddy. From what I hear the area around Pacific is filled with trees and stuff.” Chuck stepped into the room with a stack of boxes.
“Fine,” I stepped around them and went back to my room. The house was very small but suited me fine as I spent any time not in school running wild outside. My parents continued to talk, and I swear I tried to not listen.
“Chuck, are you sure this is the right move?” my mom asked.
“You know it is, Elizabeth. It’s too late, anyway. Orders are orders. From what command says, this post is temporary anyway. Roger over in logistics swore to me the defense stations were going to be phased out anyway,” Chuck replied to my mother.
“If you say so. At least there’s a local pack he can connect with,” Mom replied.
“You know my opinion of that, but they might be able to help him socialize. I’ll get some more boxes and help you pack the kitchen. The truck is coming in the morning,” Chuck stated as I heard his voice fade.
While Chuck was good for mom, he had a different opinion of paranormals than we did. The Army and Marines were the service of choice for most Weres. They like to keep their feet firmly on the ground. Only a very few enlisted in the Air Force. Government service was the only way off the reservation. By joining, you were declared neutral in all things pack and couldn’t be challenged for ranking. It was one advantage to joining. My Alpha had promised to put me in touch with a local group that would allow me to stay ‘inside’ their world.
The truck Chuck mentioned showed up in the morning, and I got to watch several of the largest men I’d ever seen outside of a Wolfpack move our entire house in a matter of hours and load the truck. They would meet us at our new house which amazed me at the time.
Three days of hard driving with very few stops was the plan. It didn’t work out that way, but who was I to complain.
“Honey, can you explain this base you’re going to again? I don’t understand why there are so few other families.” Mom asked as we waited for the gas station attendant to fill the car tires, check the engine fluids, and add gasoline.
“It’s called the Belleville Air Station. The base hasn’t been there all that long. For the Air Force, it’s practically new. We are defending the St. Louis area from any sort of aerial threat.” Chuck replied.
“Like dragons?” I asked.
Chuck laughed. “Only if we see one. No one has yet just so you know. Command told me they worry about Thunderbirds and Bat Demons. During the war, that type of Demon could knock a fighter plane right out of the sky. The only way to be sure you killed it was heavy, concentrated fire.”
I nodded. I knew more about the Demon War than most of my human classmates because of the pack. The classroom history books barely mentioned the war anymore.
“My base is only one of four that will protect the city in case of attack. St. Louis is a vital port and rail station.” Chuck told me.
“What about the other Demons?” I asked.
“That’s what the Army is for. I’m supposed to have a bunch of those ground pounders under my command. Inter-service cooperation the General called it. We’ll see how that works out.” Chuck pulled out his wallet and paid the man presenting him with a bill. “Anyone have to pee?”
“I barely remember that road trip. All I could think about was losing friends and changing schools,” I looked at Anastasia.
“I bet. I’ve moved a few times in my life. Skip ahead some please and get to the good parts.” Anastasia ordered me.
I smiled and continued. So much for dragging it out.
“We moved in, and I went to the new school. Unlike Texas, my classes were unsegregated. For me it was refreshing. In my young opinion, people were people. It didn’t matter race, color, or species.
“The local pack wasn’t a Wolfpack. They were leopards, which is a heck of a shock when you’re used to dealing with Wolves. My nickname with them was Dog Boy.”
“Hey Dog Boy, wanna go camping?”
I nodded. My integration with this group wasn’t as firm as it was back in Texas. The kids were similar to me in what they thought, and that was enough. Plus, I loved camping.
Out of all the friends I’d made, I had two that I hung out with the most, Kevin and Charles. My stepdad liked to call Charles by the nickname of “Chuck” just like he was called, but my dark-haired friend resisted. My stepdad’s job was a bit more intensive than he’d led us to believe. What the base was for wasn’t a secret even though it was supposed to be. The code name was SL-47DC. What that meant was, they had a large number of ninety-millimeter, anti-aircraft guns and a brand new battery of Nike missiles. Rumor had it among us kids that they were tipped with atomic bombs. Even I thought that was crazy since they would kill us along with the Demons.
So, we went camping. A lot. Pacific, Missouri was next to the Meramec River, and the even bigger Missouri River was near. All sorts of people came through the area. Highway Sixty-six was just spitting distance from where we lived.
The reservation was between the two rivers, but they liked to camp on the bluffs near the Missouri side. We would stay up all night telling each other tales and spooky stories. Charles and Kevin tried to scare me the first time we went out.
According to Kevin, there was a monster that frequented this part of the country. The native Indians had told tales of it for a couple of hundred years. Legend had it that French trappers had even seen it. Over in Illinois, there was supposed to be a big painting of it, but my parents refused to drive all the way over there to see it. It was called the Piasa Bird. Kevin swore it was like a flying bear with teeth and claws that would swoop down and snatch up deer and eat them. The first night we went there they sho
ok me out of bed in the middle of the night to scare me.
Needless to say, I didn’t really believe in monsters then. Especially flying bears. Not until I saw one. For real.
It was just supposed to be another one of our camping trips. We were going up river just a bit this time. The area was supposed to be devoid of humans, and Charles wanted to try doing a vision quest along with some hunting. None of us were natives. Kevin claimed to have gotten instructions from a guy he knew, but it was all just made up stuff we got from books. But we were young and dumb.
This time was unusual because we took Charles’s dogs with us. Hunting was legal if you were on private land or had a license. We had neither, but where we were going didn’t have roads. Kevin said the dogs would alert us and could help chase down the deer if needed.
“Did you get your dad’s gun?” I asked Kevin when he came knocking.
“Shhh. Are you crazy?” Kevin looked around for my parents.
I smiled at him. “Mom’s at a PTA meeting and Chuck’s on duty. Did you get it or not?”
“No, Dad said no way. I did bring my new crossbow. Take a look.” Kevin handed me a bundle wrapped in a sheet.
“Your mom know you took her sheet?” I asked as I unwrapped the weapon.
“It’s not hers. Found it on the line out there.” He pointed across the street.
I shook my head. “Oh, boy. Let’s get moving. Those folks over there are mean to kids.”
Kevin shrugged and wrapped up his prize. Grabbing my kit and locking the door I followed him through the neighborhood. Charles was waiting for us by the river with the dogs.
“Just where is this place?” I asked.
“That way. We have to paddle. It’s not all that far.” Charles pointed to a flat-bottomed aluminum boat sitting in the river.
Eyeing the boat I asked, “will we all fit?”
“Sure, come on let’s go.” Kevin climbed in and told me to toss him the packs and supplies.
With the dogs and us, we just fit.
There was just a bit more rowing and paddling involved than I was told about. After about an hour, Charles announced we were there.
“Where?” I looked up at the river bank. Nothing but trees and rocks as far as I could see.
“Over there, Dog Boy.” Kevin pointed to a small island in the middle of the river.
I peered at the tree-lined shore. “Isn’t that just a channel island?”
The island was just a chunk of a sandbar that was cut in the channel by the dredging machines. Lots of barges used the river around here.
“It’s safe. Unless the river is flooding, it’s dry. Trust us, Dog Boy,” Kevin really liked calling me that.
I was surprised to find a campsite on the island. They actually told me the truth this time.
Kevin’s idea of doing a vision quest was getting rip-roaring drunk and passing out next to the fire. Charles went right along with him like always. I thought that the beer they gave me tasted what I imagined horse piss tasted like. It gave me the shivers thinking about it.
I ended up on the river bank looking up at the moon at three in the morning or so when I first saw it. It was not a flying bear. To my young eyes, it looked like a cross between a deer, a bear, and a dragon. Horns were coming out of its head and sharp claws on its feet. It screeched, and I just about peed myself. Jumping up I ran to wake up Kevin.
Both my friends were dead to the world. I shook both of them and even splashed the remainder of a beer on them. Nothing. The screeching got louder. Looking up I didn’t see anything, but the dogs were going crazy! They were barking and whining. We’d brought three of them with us, but only one was a real hunting dog. Charles called him Spot, but he was some sort of mutt without spots.
Spot ran past me growling while the other two dogs tried to hide under me while I was still standing.
“Spot! Spot come back here!” I yelled at the black and gray dog.
From the direction the dog ran, there was a screech and what sounded like metal tearing. I hear a dog yip and then nothing. The moon was behind clouds, and I was too afraid to look. I sat out the rest of the night shivering in the cold clutching the biggest stick I could find.
“Where’s my dog?” Charles pushed me over off the log I was sitting on.
I lay on the ground and didn’t speak. The other two dogs lay at my feet still shaking with fear.
“What the hell’s the matter with you Dog Boy?” Kevin asked me.
“The monster took your dog,” I replied.
“What’ve you been smoking? There aren’t any monsters. Where’s the dog?” Charles tried to get his other dogs to heel.
“You guys were passed out last night. I saw it, and it attacked us. Go look at the boat if you don’t believe me.” I pointed toward the river.
Kevin looked at me like I was crazy and Charles just shook his head.
“That was just a story we told to scare you. No such thing as monsters.” Charles repeated.
When I didn’t move or deny it, Kevin cursed at me and stomped off toward the boat.
“Did he run off? Is that it? He’s been known to chase deer or rabbits sometimes? Spot!” Charles called for his dog.
“What the freaking hell did you do to my dad’s boat, Dog Boy?” Kevin yelled.
Charles stood up and ran toward the river. His voice joined Kevin’s in yelling.
I rolled over and carefully stood up. Picking up my stick I kept it in my hand watching the sky as I walked. Both my friends were exclaiming over the boat and the splashes of blood on the ground.
“I told you. The monster attacked,” I told them.
The boat was a wreck. We wouldn’t be rowing up-river or even down the river. Somehow the monster had ripped giant holes in the bottom of it. Claw marks scored the sides, and there was also a big, bite-sized chunk gone from the side.
“Why’d you wreck the boat, Dog Boy?” Kevin yelled.
I looked at him in shock. “Me? If it was me, how did I do it? Do you see giant ass claws on me?”
Charles just stared at all the blood. “I raised him from a pup. Old man Webster gave me that dog. He deserved more than this.”
Kevin shook his hands and screamed up at the sky.
“What if it comes back?” I asked my friends.
“Monsters don’t exist. Those are just stories the tribes tell each other. My dad says so,” Kevin yelled at me.
“Even myths have some form of truth to them,” Charles muttered as he stood on the river bank.
I looked at my friend. A tear was working its way down his cheek, but he was looking less lost.
“Can we defend against it? Will a crossbow kill it?” I asked.
“Monsters don’t exist! Someone came and did this to us. Boles Valley is just over that away. We can swim for it and come back for the dogs later.” Kevin pointed toward the opposite shore.
I looked down at the swiftly moving muddy river. People drowned every month in that river. We’d been warned more than once at school about swimming in it. No way I was swimming for it. “Did you guys tell anyone where we were going?”
Charles nodded. “My pop knows.”
“Then they’ll come looking for us?” I asked.
“Maybe. Pop doesn’t listen all that well sometimes.” Charles started to pet his other dogs.
“I’m not staying here with you two. I swim really good.” Kevin yelled at us.
“What if that’s what the monster wants you to do?” I asked.
Kevin looked at me incredulously and started digging in what was left of the boat. He pulled out a Type II life jacket and slipped it over his head. “Just stay here and don’t touch my stuff.”
The river didn’t look all that safe, but Kevin was a shifter. I didn’t think that cats swam all that well, but he looked like he was OK. turning to Charles, I asked, “Now what?”
“Build a big fire and hope the monster doesn’t come back?” Charles replied.
“You believe me?” I asked.
> “No. Kevin is right. Monsters are make-believe.” Charles replied to me.
“Explain the boat, then.” I pointed to the chunks missing.
“I can’t.” Charles walked back to our camp and sat clutching his remaining dogs.
“I’m not just sitting here.” I grabbed Kevin’s pack and bag and pulled out the crossbow he’d brought.
Charles just shook his head. “He loves that thing. If you break it, he’ll kill you!”
“He can get in line if that thing comes back.” I pulled out two bundles of quarrels and started trying to figure the bow out.
Charles knew a little about it from listening to Kevin talk. He explained how the stock was once part of a .30-.30 rifle Kevin’s father once owned. For some reason, the barrel blew up. Charles said it may have been a faulty reload. Kevin’s uncle was a gunsmith, and he took the stock and had it made into a bow.
“I can see why he treasures it.” I would too if my family made it for me.
“Don’t break it,” Charles told me as he showed me how to cock it and fire.
Carefully I fired a couple of the short arrows at one of the trees.
“You suck at that,” Charles commented as he watched.
“There aren’t any monsters in Texas to practice on.” I lined up another tree in the sights and fired.
A loud screech sounded just as my arrow hit the tree with a thunk!
Charles looked up, “The hell?”
“Monster. I told you.” I scanned the trees above us.
“Has to be a plane or something.” Charles stepped out by the river bank.
“Don’t go out there!” I yelled at him.
There was another screech, and we both looked up at the same spot. The same monster I’d seen was swooping down at the center of the river. Its sharp claws extended the frighteningly ugly creature skimmed the water for a moment. Suddenly its claws grabbed something.
The biggest fish I’ve ever seen was in those talons as the monster my friends swore didn’t exist flapped into the sky.
“River sturgeon. A big one. There really is a monster, you were right.” Charles was totally calm as he watched the Piasa Bird swoop down.
“Should we hide?” I asked him.