wolves.
Moonflower turned back and her eyes meet Sebastian’s; they
looked at each other, like they knew something everyone else didn’t.
They did and neither of them said anything, but only smiled. The final bell of the school day rang, sounding the end of class
and the kids began migrating out to the school parking lot, to discuss
where everyone would meet up later and hang out. They goofed
around, having fun, completely oblivious to the two hooded figures
standing off in the distance, watching their every move.
Waiting from afar, plotting the perfect time to get their revenge,
Skinny and Jason watched… and Jason had his eyes locked on the
lovely Miss Moonflower, who was waiting in the passenger’s side of
Sebastian’s ride. He had a sick crush on Moonflower and he
fantasied about her regularly. But, not even he was crazy enough to
believe that any being, as beautiful as Moonflower, would find his
crispy-burnt body attractive. Aside from his lust for Moonflower, all
of Jason’s thoughts and concentration were directed on nothing, but
revenge for the ones responsible for the constant agony that he was
continually going through. The idea of inflicting as much pain as he
possibly could, continued to flood Jason’s mind and speech; so
much, that even Skinny was afraid of him. Sometimes, he seemed to
be as evil as Donovan and Rockwell, put together. The hooded men
faded away into the thick woods across the street, as all the kids piled
into their cars and filed in a line, leaving the school parking lot.
A couple days had passed and it was finally Friday afternoon; tonight was the last game of the finals, before the state championship game. Moonflower and her group of cheerleader friends gathered at her locker to gossip and to discuss the after-party that would follow, after they won the game; they were that confident.
“Hey, girls,” Moonflower said, as she fixed her hair, using the mirror hanging on her locker door. “What’s up? Are you ready for the game and celebration, after we slaughter the other team tonight?”
“My crystal ball shows that tonight will be a slam dunk,” Whisper conveyed. “But, I’m also picking up something a bit misty in the near future.”
“What the hell does that mean?” asked Tanya. “It doesn’t take a crystal ball to tell me that we’re going to win tonight.” “I don’t know why you always argue with her,” Moonflower defended. “You know she’s always right. She might not ride a broom, but in the past, her predictions of the future have always been right on the mark,” she said. “If Whisper says, something’s not right in the air, then we’d better be careful.”
Tanya didn’t say anything.
“Sebastian said something wasn’t right, too,” Moonflower added. “But, he couldn’t put his finger on it… so, in my opinion, if both of them feel something bad is about to happen, then we need to stay on our toes and keep our eyes out for anything strange.”
“Or, on our knees,” Tanya joked.
“You’re such a slut,” Moonflower shot back. “You have one warped mind, sister.”
“Like, you should talk! I saw you coming out of the janitor’s closet, the other day… your boyfriend was zipping up his pants! It looked to me like you had a bit of trouble walking to class. Checking out the cleaning supplies, were you? Did he get you good and clean, in the all right spots?”
“I thought no one saw us!” Moonflower gasped. “Well, I’ve only been with one man and ever will be. I got the best guy in the whole world,” she boldly stated, as she turned to walk the other way, nose in the air. “So, eat you hearts out, ladies. And yes, by the way… I’m clean, as a whistle.”
Chapter Forty-Eight
Sarah was working the front desk at the police station, answering phone calls and receiving the steady flow of faxes that JD had requested. Over the past few hours, the fax machine spit out the pictures of all the missing basketball players who had disappeared the year before. Sarah, not understanding the importance of these photos, tossed them on his desk and as more messages came throughout the day, the pictures became buried at the bottom of the rising pile. By the time JD and Nate got back from patrol, Sarah had forgotten about the pictures, figuring JD would eventually look through everything.
Both men finally entered the station, heading for JD’s back office and Nanook took his spot by the front door. Both said ‘hi’ to Sarah and she nodded back as they passed.
“How about a quick drink?” JD offered, after they shut the door to his office. “I could use one to warm up, myself.”
“Sure, why not,” Nate accepted. “After that, I’m heading home for a hot shower, to get ready for tonight’s game. I’m sure they’ll win this one.”
By halftime, Sebastian had already scored forty points, but he was really holding back. He could’ve scored many more, but he felt it would be wise to miss a few on purpose. The Wolf Creek Wolves already had a twenty two-point lead and the game was all, but won. The word had just come in and the coach let the team know that the Black Wings were also stomping their opposition, at the game they were playing in another city about sixty miles away. It appeared, that the Wolf Creek Wolves would be playing against the Black Wings in the state championship, in two weeks.
“Alright, boys,” the coach said, as the team was huddled together in the locker room. “We got this one in the bag, so I think it would be best that we don’t embarrass the other guys too bad. There’s no need to rub it in and make everyone hate us, so let’s keep the lead around twenty points, no more.”
The players all laughed and clapped, sounding their agreements. “Sebastian, for the love of Christ, do not shatter that backboard tonight, or it’s coming out of your parent’s pocket!” the coach hollered. “You listening to me, boy?”
“Got it, Coach! My father said the same thing, with the added touch of kicking my ass. And, I’m pretty sure he wasn’t joking.”
The coach ended the talk with, “Alright boys, let’s have a great second half! Our sights are set on the state game, in two weeks… let’s hit the court!”
The crowd went wild, as both of the teams poured from the locker rooms and onto the court. The Wolves took their positions, while their fans cheered them on. The other side of the court sent down a barrage of boos and hisses, but the team didn’t mind; it only added more fuel to their fire.
Only a short, thirty minutes later, the game was over; the Wolves have won the right to play in the state championship and the crowd, once again, went wild. The guys threw Sebastian up on their shoulders and paraded him around the school gymnasium, while JD, Wendy, Sarah and Nate clapped and cheered from the sidelines.
JD was so proud of his son and he was up on his feet with everyone else, clapping and shouting his support for the winning team. He suddenly stopped, when he caught a whiff of explosives in the air. It wasn’t strong enough to be a bomb, but more like the smell of someone who’d been in contact with a detonated bomb, which made no sense to JD. There were quite a few vets, who’d returned back from Iraq, at the game, but none of them should still smell like explosives, or even gun power.
JD put a hand on Nate’s shoulder, as he looked through the crowd of people leaving the gym, when he noticed two hooded men making their way towards the exit. He grabbed Nate’s arm and the two of them rushed down the bleachers, to follow. Nate, too, could smell the burnt flesh and explosives and the closer they got to the men, the stronger the smell became.
The exiting crowd began to bottleneck, as they came closer to the double-doors, making it difficult for JD or Nate to reach the two men in the hooded sweatshirts. JD pushed a little and he managed to slip through a couple people, bringing him within a few feet of the men he was following. The gunpowder smell became stronger and he suddenly realized, there wasn’t any warmth or a he
artbeat coming from either of the subjects. He knew right away that these two people concealing their identities were Vampires and that the smell was most definitely radiating from one of them.
The men finally took their turns stepping out of the building and JD followed closely behind, reaching out and grabbing the back of the hood that was closest. The Vampire underneath, quickly slipped out of his shirt and lunged forward, popping out his wings and taking off into the sky, before JD had a chance to stop him. The other hooded Vampire followed suit and he disappeared into the clouds, leaving JD standing there, with a blue sweatshirt dangling from his hand.
“You almost had him!” Nate shouted. “Son of a bitch got away!”
“Damn it, I couldn’t tell who it was!”
“I think that second guy looked a little too much like Skinny, but I can’t be for sure,” Nate said. “You really think that scumbag would have the audacity to show his face around here?”
“That Vampire was burnt to a crisp,” JD said, looking at the sweatshirt in his hands. “I thought all Vampires healed, even if they got burned.”
Then JD answered Nate’s question. “Skinny’s stupid, but I don’t think he’d ever chance being seen around Wolf Creek. Whoever it was, they were up to no good. That’s for damn sure.”
“I’m sure of that, but what are they up to?”
“I can sense there’s trouble brewing. What, I don’t know, but something is definitely going on in Wolf Creek,” JD said, as he went back into the school to find Wendy. “Damn it, Nate, I hate it when I get these feelings.”
______________________________________________________
Chapter Forty-Nine
Skinny and Jason flew through the air, until they reached their hideout, far out of reach of the humans and Lycans; they both landed and retracted their wings, in transformation. Jason returned back to the burnt crisp of a being that he was and they both hurried into the old barn, slamming the wooden doors behind them.
Chained to the walls, were two kidnapped prostitutes, who were taken from the streets of Indianapolis the night before. Both of the women were in a state of hypnosis that had been administered by the two Vampires and they just stared forward into nothing. The captive girls had already been bitten and there were two visible bite marks on both of their necks. There was still color in their faces, indicating they were only a snack and not a full meal, with plenty of blood left circulating inside.
“I’m hungry. I need more blood… the pain is overwhelming,” Jason complained. “Flying here took the last of my strength.” “Then let’s eat, I’m starving!” Skinny agreed, as his fangs suddenly
protruded from his mouth.
The chained girls were oblivious to what was about to happen, as
both of their captors approached to feed. The Vampires ripped and
sucked at their necks, in a frenzy, consuming the women’s blood, as
fast as their mouths would allow. The feeding was over in minutes
and both of the women were now hanging limply on the wall,
completely drained of their life-supporting blood.
“I don’t want them turning,” Jason said. “Take care of ‘em.” “No problem,” Skinny replied back. “I’ll go get the fire axe.” Skinny went for a walk and returned, carrying a large axe, moving
back over to where the dead girls were. He took a swing and the first
girl’s head popped right off, rolling to the floor at Skinny’s feet. He
kicked the head and it rolled away, as he stepped back to swing once more; the last thing they needed was a couple Vampire hookers
running loose in Wolf Creek.
Skinny collected the heads and bodies and he threw them into a
plastic tub. He then began pouring liquid acid over them, in order to
dissolve the remnants, before they had the chance to stink up the
place.
“JD almost got me tonight,” Jason brought up. “That was too
close. I would prefer for him to think that I’m still dead.” “I saw that,” Skinny replied. “You’re right… we can’t get that
close again. And, we can’t get caught inside of a building, where we
can’t fly away.”
“We’re so close to our final plan, I would hate to see it spoiled,”
Jason went on. “I’ve waited five years for my revenge and I’m going
to get it. JD and the Pack will all suffer for what they did to me.” “I really don’t think they knew who we were,” Skinny said with
confidence. “JD had no idea who you were. I could tell by the look
in his eyes.”
“I hope you’re right. If I don’t get JD and Nate, this time, I won’t
get another chance. I’ll be more than just undead… I’ll be a pile of
ashes!”
“I’m right there with you,” Limpkins told him. “If JD catches me,
I’m as good as dead… just like you are, Jason. You know what I
mean?”
“Yeah, I know what you mean,” Jason answered him, as he was
pouring some more acid over the bodies.
The hours passed and Jason and Skinny finished the process of
disintegrating the bodies, with just enough time left to get into their
coffins. They walked out of the barn, went around back to the fruit
cellar, where Skinny lifted a secret hatch, opening two double
wooden doors, which revealed a short set of stairs. The two
Vampires stepped down, below ground level and pulled the doors
shut behind them, hidden away from the world, until the day was
over and the darkness ruled again.
All of the members of the Vampire council at Alnwick Castle were
present at the Baron’s special meeting and they waited patiently to
hear about what was going to happen over in the United States.
After waiting for close to an hour, the council let out a sigh of relief,
when the Baron finally entered the room with a guest at his side;
none of the council knew who the beastly man was.
“Everyone, take a seat,” said the Baron, as he moved towards his
platform, high above everyone else. “I want to introduce you to the
leader of the assassins, one of my crew who will be leaving for Wolf
Creek tomorrow after sun fall.”
The Baron spoke further, “This is Ouija. He is an oracle and has
been a master of the dark arts, since the beginning of time.” Ouija stepped forward with long, flowing black hair that
descended over his massive shoulders. A pentagram was tattooed on
his forehead, near a patch that covered his left eye. Ouija, a Vampire,
had been captured during the Spanish Inquisition and before he
could escape, he was blinded, when holy water was poured into his
eyes. He had gone into a deep sleep, afterward and didn’t wake up
for over a hundred years. It took months of special training to teach
Ouija the new age of weaponry, but he’d mastered it and loved it…
especially the laser-sighted weapons.
Everyone at the round table quietly observed the dangerouslooking specimen of a Vampire, who stood towering before them.
Ouija was the monster of everyone’s dreams and even the members
of the council could feel the evil that was emitting from his twisted
soul.
“I will find out what’s going on in Wolf Creek and whoever’s
behind it,” Ouija stated in a booming voice. “I will not fail this
council… consider it handled.”
The members of the Baron’s council began to talk amongst
themselves and the Baron quickly hushed them. “Quiet, everyone!
The team leaves, tomorrow night! All arrangements have been made
and they are s
et in stone!”
One of the council members stood, “What if he doesn’t come
back?”
“If that happens, the entire covenant will be going to settle
things,” the Baron answered him.
“I have lived through centuries of fighting and this will be no
different,” Ouija said, stepping forward. “It’s only a pack of
Lycans… I think I can outdo a litter of puppies.”
“As you can see,” said the Baron. “My commander in charge is
fully-capable of handling anything supernatural, or otherwise. If it is
the Lycans causing problems, then he will handle them. And, the
Vampire Hunters, who are only humans, will hardly be a match for
Ouija.”
The council finally came to agree and they wished Ouija the best
of luck on his journey and mission.
“It is settled,” Ouija stated to the council. “We will take a private
jet and when we pass over Wolf Creek, we will do a HALO drop
from the sky… no one will ever see us coming.”
______________________________________________________
Chapter Fifty
Yet again, a tall fire was roaring high, flames licking the sky, as the celebration of another after-party bustled along, well into the night. Like typical teenagers, everyone was drinking and the beer was flowing steadily. The third keg was tapped and a fourth one was already being mobbed on; the teens looked more like a thirsty pack of zombies, rather than Vampires, Lycans and humans.
Sebastian was having a great time, hanging out with his friends, Jasper, Chumlee and his best friend, Mitch. Moonflower was sitting by herself on a bale of hay, just a few feet away, munching away on a bag of chips, eyes as red as the sun. Whisper suddenly came into view and she came and took a seat next to her friend.
“Moonflower,” Whisper said, with worry in her voice. “Listen, I just had a vision of another oracle. He’s on his way here, for something that has to do with your family. It appears to be an evil soul. Actually, worse than that… it seems that he’s completely soulless! I’m seeing nothing, but darkness.”
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