his ass to get in here,” he demanded. “Enough, with the stupid
games.”
“All of you, shut the hell up!” Matt barked. “We’re not tripping,
okay? There’s something out there and I’m not about to find out
what it is! One of you with a gun, go check it out,” he challenged
them.
Joy was becoming frantic. “Stew is out there, you guys… with
that thing! Please, do something!”
She burst into another round of tears and Mary tried to comfort
her, reaching out and caressing Joy’s hands. Tom grabbed his
shotgun and Reggy pulled back the slide on his 9mm pistol and
together, they crept up to the front door, cautiously opening it… and
they saw nothing.
“There’s not a damn thing out here,” Tom relayed to the others.
“It’s quiet… nothing but darkness, as far as I can see. And, it’s
cold,” he said, slamming the door, rushing across the room and
taking a seat by the fire. “I’m not going out there to chase his ass
down.”
“Yeah,” Reggy said, calling their bluff. “You guys are just tripping
out. Come on, we should get our things ready to leave in the morning. That guy is supposed to be bringing Tom’s truck. Stew
will be back, when he’s down screwing around.”
Everyone began moving to gather up their belongings…
everyone, except for Matt and Joy. They sat together on the couch,
as Matt was trying his best to comfort her. They were both worried
sick, because they knew what they’d seen out there and they knew it
was real… and they also knew that it wasn’t Stew.
“I’m not leaving without him,” Joy said between sobs; everyone
agreed, some halfheartedly.
Deep in the woods, overlooking the cabin, the Lycans kept watch from the slopes above, guarding the kids from any more Vampires who might try to raid the building. JD was soon to arrive at the cabin, but running way behind schedule. Thankfully, Nanook had to relieve himself and he nudged JD back into consciousness, demanding to be let out of the truck. He didn’t mean to fall asleep in his truck for so long and he wanted to be at the cabin hours earlier. Looking down at his cell phone, JD noticed six missed calls, immediately calling the police station.
“Hey, I’ve been trying to reach you for a while,” Sarah said, after quickly answering the phone. “Is everything alright?”
“Everything’s just fine,” JD ensured. “I’m on my way up to the cabin now. I had some tire issues and I didn’t have my cellphone on me,” he lied. “What’s up?”
“Nate’s been trying to get a hold of you,” Sarah said, relieved that he was okay. “Another Vampire tried to make a move on the kids, down at the cabin.”
“Are they alright? I’ll be out there in a few.”
“Nate and Wilson already took care of it,” Sarah let him know. “But, that’s two attacks within two days, JD. What the hell is going on? What do they want with these kids?”
“I don’t know, but I’m about to find out. Put out a call to the rest of the Pack and let them know we’re going to need every member.”
“I’m on it,” Sarah said, before hanging up.
JD flipped his phone shut and turned his truck off of the main roadway, onto the beaten path that led to the cabin. The snow was really starting to come down and the sun had already been set for over an hour; he had to move fast.
Chapter Nineteen
JD’s wife, Wendy, stood at the doorstep of the Richard’s home and she stuck out her finger to ring the doorbell. A distraught Susannah came to the door, with a half-empty bottle of Jack in her hand. Her eyes were bloodshot red, as she had been bawling her eyes out, for hours on end. The loss of her son was just too much to handle and she’d been popping Xanax like they were Pez candy; her whole world was crumbling to pieces in front of her.
“Oh, Suz, honey,” Wendy said soothingly, “I’m so sorry.” She put her arms around Susanna hand the embrace was returned.
The mourning lady put her head down on Wendy’s shoulder, with tears streaming down her face. “I’m not sure if I’m going to make it through this one, Wendy. I loved Jacob, so much,” she cried out in hurt. “How could someone just murder my son?”
“I don’t know, dear,” Wendy comforted. “That’s beyond my thought of reasoning. But, you can be sure that JD will catch whoever did this,” she swore. “There will be no arrest, Suzie, I can assure you of that… justice will be served out, right there on the spot.”
“Can you stay with me for a while?” Susannah asked, with all the hope in the world. “I need someone to talk to and Jeff won’t come out of the garage. He’s shut out the entire world and me… I think he’s trying to drink himself to death,” she said, looking down at the bottle in her own hand. “We both blame ourselves for what happened, you know.”
“Don’t do that. You guys can’t blame yourselves… it’s not your fault.
Tom had gone outside, calling out for Stew several times, but there was no response. He figured Matt and Joy were either seeing things, or they were in on some kind of prank together; he went out to have a look anyways. Not seeing anything out of the ordinary, he gave up after a few minutes of the frigid temperatures and the frozen snow that was now coming down in clumps, returning back to the warm confines of the cabin.
“We’ll go out and find Stew, as soon as it gets light, okay?” Tom said to everyone. “We’re not familiar with this area and we don’t have any flashlights. We wouldn’t be able to see shit out in those woods,” he explained to Joy. “Just… don’t worry. We’re not going to leave without him.”
Joy looked up with tear-filled eyes. “What if that thing got him?”
Tom was now looking at Matt, who wasn’t making any eye contact with anyone; Tom wasn’t quite sure what to think of him.
“It’s going to be okay, Joy,” Tom promised. “I don’t know what was in that joint, but you’re going to be just fine. Remember the time he got high and walked ten miles in the wrong direction, before he realized it? The same thing probably happened tonight and when the sun comes up, he’ll find his way back,” he said, in a failed attempt to cheer her up. “He can’t just disappear.”
Tom glanced over at Reggy, squinting his eyes. “That fucking Stew, I’m going to murder his ass, when we find him… seriously. This is a bullshit stunt, if I’ve ever seen one.”
Just up the path, JD was trying to see through the thick snow that was pummeling the landscape, as he and Nanook neared closer to the lake. He slowly pulled up, parking his sheriff’s truck next to the cabin, shutting off the engine. Nanook jumped out to follow JD, before he slammed the door shut and moved towards the cabin’s front porch.
Hearing this, Matt sat up and grabbed Tom’s shotgun, taking aim at the front door and Reggy grabbed his gun and pointed it at the door, getting into a firing position, as well. JD heard the sounds of people moving around inside the cabin, so he opened the door up, just a crack and pushed his head through, as he softly knocked. The first thing JD saw was the barrel of a shotgun and a 9mm pistol staring back, pointed directly at his face.
“Don’t move, or I’ll blow your fucking head off!” Matt screamed at the top of his lungs. “Who are you?”
JD composedly raised his hands and pointed to the sheriff’s badge pinned to his jacket, as the door swung open a few more inches, revealing a growling Nanook.
“Damn it, Tom!” Matt shouted. “You didn’t lock the door?”
“Relax, boys, you can put the guns down,” JD coolly said. “I’m Sheriff John Davidson and that’s Nanook. You can call me JD.”
Reggy lowered his pistol, but Matt stood frozen, not sure what to do; Nanook growled again.
“I think he’s about to rip an arm off, son. I suggest you lower that shotgun.”
Af
ter another tense moment, Matt decided to put his gun down, still keeping a worried eye on Nanook.
“What are you doing here? We didn’t call the police,” Tom said, beginning to wonder if they were in some kind of trouble. “We were told, it was okay to stay here… Zeke gave us the keys.”
“We’re in for some pretty nasty weather, guys. I heard you were staying up here and I didn’t want you kids getting snowed-in,” JD answered. “Zeke gave you the keys? That figures.”
Everyone looked puzzled by the sheriff’s comment, but no one said anything.
“Nanook, it’s okay… go say hi.”
JD’s dog finally let his defenses down and he ran through the living room, giving everyone friendly licks. His only violent actions were coming from his hammering, wagging tail that was smacking everyone’s legs.
“My boyfriend’s lost out in the woods and I saw a monster,” Joy muttered.
“Joy,” Lia whispered to her friend, “it’s going to be alright.”
“What?” JD asked, with a quizzical look. “What are you talking about? And, why is your boyfriend out in the woods, alone at night. Is he nuts? We have all sorts of wild animals roaming around out here.”
“Joy and I saw something out there… some sort of fanged creature,” Matt said to JD. “But, no one believes us and now my friend’s missing. He went to take a piss and never came back.”
“He’s been gone for hours,” Joy added, starting to cry again. “Can you please find him for me?
“Let’s get you kids loaded up and we’ll head to the police station,” JD said, motioning to their bags. “You’ll all be safe there, until this weather improves. And, it was probably just a black bear that you guys saw. There’s been a couple reported around these parts, going through garbage cans, n such,” he said, lying through his teeth. “They get pretty hungry this time of the year, you know.”
JD smiled, attempting to give them some kind of assurance. He knew exactly what happened and what was going on, but he had to play it dumb. He’d do anything to keep the secrets of Wolf Creek a secret.
“But, what about Stew?” Joy wanted to know. “I keep telling, you he’s missing!”
“Bears don’t normally attack humans,” the sheriff explained to the distraught girl. “I’ve got another deputy up here with me, checking on the other residents around the lake. I’ll get him over this way and he’ll find your boyfriend… he has the nose of a bloodhound.”
“That was no bear,” Matt said, knowing what his eyes had seen. “Not unless, you have flying ones around these parts. That thing had wings and it most definitely didn’t look like Yogi Bear to me.”
“It wasn’t a bear, officer,” Joy pleaded. “It looked sort of… human!”
JD’s eyes searched the room, seeing all of the empty beer bottles and the bag of weed Stew had left sitting out on the counter.
“It’s a crime to smoke marijuana in this state,” JD firmly stated. “This isn’t Colorado or Washington.” He just shook his head, leaving the bag where it was. “I think you kids got a little too wasted tonight. And, be that as it may, the snow is really coming down and things could get a little dangerous out here. Is there at least one of you that’s sober enough to drive?”
“Yes, sir,” Reggy volunteered, immediately grabbing a few things.
Everyone filed out into the snowy winter night with their arms full of their belongings, as JD put the logs out in the fireplace. Matt took a quick peek over his shoulder and then shoved the bag of herb in his pocket, before heading out to the van.
“Just follow me,” JD instructed, helping the kids load up their things into the van. “I know these roads… so stay close, but not too close.”
Everyone slammed their doors and both vehicles began to roll, heading for the police station about fifteen miles away. With the heavy downfall, it was hard for anyone to see more than a few feet ahead. As they traveled down the snow-covered path, JD decided to lower the plow of his truck, clearing a path for the van that was creeping behind him. Without any warning, a Vampire fell out of the sky, landing in the middle of the road, separating the two moving vehicles, blocking the path of the van; the creature spread its wings and bared its fangs that were gleaming off the headlights. Reggy instinctively slammed on the brakes, but the van slid forward and both sets of tires bounced over the Vampire, hitting it with full impact. Realizing that whatever he just ran over wasn’t human, Reggy hit the gas and kept driving on, as everyone else screamed and looked back at the motionless thing that was laying in the path behind them.
“Did you see that?” Reggy blared out, gripping the steering wheel, with white knuckles. “What the fuck was that?”
“Holy shit! Is that what you guys were tripping about?” Sam screamed.
“Keep going!” Mary shrieked. “Don’t stop, I think it’s getting back up!”
“That’s what we saw at the door!” Joy cried out, punching the back of the driver’s seat. “I fucking told you so!”
“Go, dude! Faster!” yelled Sam.
Reggy sped up as fast as he could without hitting the back of JD’s truck, riding his tail like a bad rash, where he stayed until they finally reached the Wolf Creek Police Station. Arriving in one piece, the kids spilled out of the van, as Sarah was opening the front door of the station, calling for them to hurry in.
“Come on… get in here and out of the snow!” Sarah beckoned. “It’s warm in here!”
The inside of the station was brightly lit and actually quite welcoming for a police station; it was very clean and the cells were all empty. They haven’t had a problem with criminals in Wolf Creek, so the cells have never been used. If anyone in town decided to get seriously out of line, there was a good chance that they would just disappear, so there really wasn’t much use for the jail’s cages to begin with. The Pack only served up one style of justice: life or death. They didn’t particularly believe in locking up the humans, or any creature of the night that lived in Wolf Creek… except, maybe Casbon.
“Welcome, kids,” Sarah said to the scurrying young people.
“Pick a bed and plan on staying here, until the weather breaks,” JD said, showing them to the cells. “You’ll be nice and safe here and there’s plenty of food and drinks.”
“Who wants some hot chocolate?” Sarah asked the roomful of young people. “It’ll warm you, right up.”
Lia and Mary nodded their heads.
“And, one for her, too, please,” Mary said, referring to Joy. “She’s a little upset… her boyfriend’s still up there. We don’t know what happened to him.”
“Got anything stronger?” Tom asked, giving JD a nudge. “Hot chocolate is nice, but seriously? Did you see what we just ran over on the way here?”
“Yeah, no shit,” Reggy said, raising his voice a little. “I need a drink after that. What the fuck was that thing?” He looked at Sarah, noticing her pregnant belly. “Excuse me, ma’am, I didn’t mean to be rude. It’s just been a rough couple of days.”
“Yeah, like I haven’t heard that word around here before,” Sarah said laughing. “It’s really no problem.”
“Did you hit something out there? I must not have noticed,” JD said, lying again. “I couldn’t see anything, but snow.”
“I kind of figured you’d say that,” Matt said, looking at JD with a suspicious eye. “I have a feeling, you know exactly what I’m talking about. With all respect, sheriff, you need to cut the shit.”
JD ignored the question, as he went on back into his office, returning with a bottle of scotch and several glasses. He slammed the shot glasses down on the table and proceeded to open up a fresh bottle of his favorite scotch. “Alright,” he said, pouring himself a drink. “Who wants one? This is the good stuff.”
The guys all reached for the shot glasses and JD poured some into each.
“Bottoms up,” JD said, raising his glass in the air.
“Fill me up again, please!” Tom requested after tipping his back.
“Me, t
oo,” Reggy said. “One’s hardly enough for me.”
“Alright, but this is it,” he agreed, pouring them all another. “You guys should get some sleep. And besides, this is a police station… not a frat house.”
Outside, flying above the Wolf Creek Police Station, was a group of four Vampires who’d followed the scent of Mary all the way from the cabin. But, they remained outside, because they couldn’t enter the police station, even if they tried; it was impossible for their kind to enter an establishment, without being invited in. And, JD has most certainly never allowed any Vampires into his station… not even once. These Vampires that had arrived were there to get Mary, at any cost. But, if they wanted her, she would have to come out of the station on her own free will… or by any means these undead beings could create. None of the four Vampires knew why—those were just Donovan’s orders.
Chapter Twenty
Jason Cross sat alone in his bedroom, playing a game of Halo. A computer geek and a bit of a nerd, Jason had a poster of Lara Croft, from the movie Tomb Raider, put up next to a shelf that held his collection of Star Trek DVDs (original, of course) along with some of his Star Wars memorabilia. His most-prized possession, though, was a first edition, signed copy of Spider Man, which he had wrapped in protective plastic and framed above his computer. Jason was so caught up in his game that he didn’t notice he had a visitor, until it said his name.
“Damn it!” Jason shouted, dropping his controller. “I told you to stop doing that, Donovan! Can’t you use the front door like a normal person? You’re gonna give me a heart attack one of these days!”
Donovan rushed in on Jason, putting their faces only an inch away from each other, baring his fangs. “Do I look like a normal person to you? I suggest you lose that attitude, real quick-like, sonny boy.”
Jason picked his joystick up off the floor, assuming a more respectful demeanor. “Excuse me, Mayor Donovan. What can I do for you… sir?”
“You know that bitch, Wendy? The Sheriff’s wife?”
“Of course I do, you know that. I’ve known her my entire life.” “Well, I need a little leverage, right now,” Donovan went on. “Go
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