by D N Simmons
Matthew listened as Warren, his partner of nearly two years confessed that he was a werewolf. Warren had decided to use the mortal terminology for his species. Shape-shifters, like himself, never used terms like 'werewolf or 'werecheetah'. He didn't like having his secret out knowing full well that the laws were extremely biased when it came to his kind. Even if he was a cop. Even if his intentions were good, he would be fired and probably prosecuted for lying and providing false information during exams and testing. The human race did not trust those of the supernatural race. “Birds of a feather,” he supposed. He trusted his partner enough to give Matthew the choice of keeping his secret or revealing it. In the beginning, Matthew had felt leery about such a revelation. He wasn't sure how he felt about having a flesh-eating beast as his partner.
In the end, Matthew believed he knew his partner well enough to know that he would never eat him...he hoped. He decided to keep the secret and their bond became stronger. It wasn't until after Matthew knew the truth about Warren that he started to understand his strange behavior of the past. Such as the constant eating of high-fat, high-protein foods. He had never seen anyone who could put away two 20 ounce porterhouse steaks the way Warren could and this was with side dishes! He also began to recognize the look of bloodlust in Warren's grey eyes whenever they went to a bloody crime scene. He wondered how the hell it slipped his radar in the first damn place. He was amazed at how well Warren could endure the strong scent and sight of blood and flesh at these crime scenes. He had chalked it up to Warren's own personal high level of discipline, determination and dedication to the job.
Matthew remembered the times when Warren had broken the handle of his car door not once, but twice trying to hop out of the car in a rush. He also remembered the time they had to chase down a suspect. He had decided to cut the suspect off in the car while Warren took to chasing the perpetrator on foot. He found it amazing when Warren had beaten him to the punch and had the suspect apprehended. Now that he knew the truth, everything that hadn't made sense in the past all fell into place.
Now, as Matthew looked at Warren, he could tell by the way his breathing was returning to normal he had gotten control over his bloodlust and hunger, ready to get his mind on the job at hand.
Matthew pulled the white sheet back, revealing the entire corpse. He reached into his right breast pocket, producing a retractable metal rod he used to further examine the corpse without actually touching the body. A uniformed officer walked over to them, giving them each a pair of latex gloves. Matthew put on his gloves without hesitation. Warren always hated wearing these gloves. The scent from the latex and the powder substance inside the gloves always agitated the sensory glands of his nose and mouth. Nevertheless, he slowly slid his hands into the gloves.
“Hey, look at this! Here, come closer!” Matthew said curiously as he gestured for his partner to take a closer look. As both men peered into the gaping hole where the victim's head used to be, Warren's breathing had begun to increase but he kept his mind focused. He looked at the broken spinal cord, the torn muscles and sinew left behind. The remaining flesh looked jagged as though the head had been ripped away from the body.
They gave each other a guarded look. The conclusion was not one they wanted to embrace, but the evidence left them with no other choice. Whatever it was they were dealing with was strong... and vicious. Never a good combination. So far, they had been lucky. The last case they were on had been the most grueling case since they joined the new division or rather, were “appointed” to the new division. They'd had to track down a werewolf in Joliet, Illinois. The werewolf had run amok in the suburban neighborhoods, killing and mutilating four people. They had cornered the werewolf on a farm right outside Joliet, after it had slaughtered two cows. The family had heard the ruckus and alerted the local police, who notified the S.U.I.T. authorities. The suspect was not willing to negotiate, so they had to take him down. At that point, Matthew was more than happy that his partner was a supernatural. They would not have survived otherwise.
“It looks as though the fucking head was snatched off!” Matthew said as he inspected more of the corpse, noting that the body was fully clothed. Relief spread through his mind that if there was anything else to find, it would be Marshall Galen's job as medical examiner to find it. Then as soon as that thought came into this head, so did the dread that whatever Marshall found would just add more drama to an already-becoming-dramatic case.
“Yeah, that's what it looks like. The spinal cord was just snapped like a twig. The flesh of the neck is all torn at the edges. See look here,” Warren pointed and made a circular motion around the neck area. “Looks a little stretched, doesn't it. Like someone or something pulled and pulled until the skin and everything in between gave way. They could have done it in a fast motion but I think...at least I feel in my gut that this killer wanted to feel and savor the sensation of slowly ripping off someone's head.” Warren rose quickly, shaking his head from side to side as he walked a few paces away from the corpse.
He had to regain his composure. The thought of someone so sick and twisted that they would derive pleasure out of such a macabre act of violence disgusted him. What unnerved him even more was that the remains of that violent act made him want to get down on all fours, crawl over to the headless corpse and pig out like ninety-going-north. Matthew looked at him. He knew how hard it was for Warren; he knew his secret.
“Hey, Detective Davis, you ain't gonna puke, are you?!” A uniformed officer called out as he noticed Warren with his back turned toward the corpse.
“Aww, don't tell me a little blood gets you two boys all green.”
“Fuck you, rookie!” Matthew shot back. “Don't you have some tickets to write?” he said as he took the gloves off, tossing them in the portable disposal unit the officer was holding. He walked to his partner, patting him on the shoulder.
“Are you okay?”
Warren nodded.
“Good. Are you ready to talk to the one lead we have?” Matthew asked. Warren took a deep breath. He looked at Matthew and nodded.
In retrospect, Warren was relieved he had confided in his partner when he did. He trusted in their relationship enough now to let it all hang out. Matthew knew his friend's “condition” even though it still shook him up, especially if Warren became glassy-eyed over spilt blood. Warren wished he had the control of the older ones. The pride of the Pack, those who can walk into a slaughterhouse and never even blink once. He marveled at the amount of self-control one must have to resist such a temptation. He admired his Pack leader Xander for his superior self-control. However, Xander treated his Pack with that same amount of control which sometimes got on Warren's nerves. By the same token, Xander was equally protective of the Pack; Warren respected and loved him for that.
Xander never really approved of Warren joining the Police Force. He was true to the traditional ways; old traditions had wisdom. In Xander's opinion, it just wasn't wise to take up a profession that might expose your secret. Being a police officer was high on his 'hell no' list. Although, Xander did acknowledged the benefits one could gain from working within and beside the law. He wasn't blind to that fact, but he feared Warren would be exposed, then hunted down because of what he was. Xander would not stand for that. Warren remembered the heated argument he'd had with Xander when he informed him that his secret had been exposed to his partner. Xander had threatened to kill Matthew, said he knew too much, but Warren had convinced him that this exposure was a move in the right direction.
Xander had scoffed at that statement. It didn't ease his suspicions nor his hidden thoughts of killing all who knew about them. It was one thing for the whole supernatural race's existence to be exposed. It was another to paste a sign on your head that said, 'here I am, come and get me.' Because of that, Xander kept a close eye on Warren who had been the orphaned son of his Pack mates. Warren's mother and father had been murdered by a renegade group of deranged mortals. They shot both of his parents, piercing their brains with silv
er bullets while they were tending to their farm. Warren barely escaped with his life. He had run into the woods, staying hidden until nightfall. He then went to the one place his parents told him would be safe if anything ever went wrong. He ended up on Xander's doorstep in the middle of the night, a scared six-year-old boy. Xander had taken Warren under his wing and raised him as his own. Warren was raised in the traditional ways of the Pack. In spite of all Xander's teachings, Warren had embraced the “mortal” lifestyle, even his career choice. Ever since his parents were murdered in front of him when he was a child, he wanted to be a cop so that he could catch the bad guys.
Warren thought Xander should loosen up a bit. He knew because of Xander's old age, change was always difficult, especially after being alive for over two centuries. His Pack Alpha was pretty much hell-bent on keeping with tradition and was most reluctant to change the old ways.
While walking toward their one lead, Warren reminisced on the day when he was at home watching TV, his favorite family cartoon show interrupted for a special news bulletin. He remembered thinking it better be pretty fucking important to interrupt my favorite cartoon family, “The Sampsons”. He'd sat there and watched history in the making as the report commenced to prove supernatural existence beyond what the human mind could comprehend. It was all over the radio and even worked its way into the cable network channels. So even if you were watching QueerPeople, you were going to catch this news bulletin!
Warren watched, along with billions of people worldwide, as the supernatural world was exposed for all to see, for all to know. An over-ambitious reporter had scooped the story, revealing a corrupt politician who had been bitten and turned by a tiger. This politician, along with several others, were secretly keeping an abandoned military base in Death Valley. A facility specially designed to perform experiments on vampires and shape-shifters and study the results. His mouth had dropped open as he'd watched that report. He'd felt grateful that he had been skilled enough at deceiving the mortals about his true identity thus far. He had learned how to control his hungers and lust, well enough to remain unnoticed, and unchallenged (outside of Matthew).
Xander had resented everything about the outing. It angered him that shape-shifters were tortured and killed at the military base. He had known that mortals would react badly after finding out.
“Mortals always hunt down and destroy what they can't control, or understand, or fear,” Xander had said as he made numerous phone calls to other Pack leaders arranging an emergency meeting. Xander had been right. In the months that followed, after the humans got over the shock of supernatural beings existing in their world, mass paranoia began. People had begun to panic and there had been pure chaos. Humans started looking over their shoulders; people started killing each other over the slightest suspicion.
Warren remembered getting a call from an hysterical woman who said her husband had just shot and killed their neighbor with a sniper rifle. Her husband was convinced their neighbor was a vampire because he only saw him up and about at night. Turns out the now dead neighbor liked to take nightly walks because he suffered from insomnia. The madness didn't stop there. The crime rate increased; it was the highest in years. The ironic part of it was it wasn't the supernatural creatures that were committing all the crimes, but the human race itself killing other humans as well as supernaturals!
It was not until some bills were passed a year later that the madness subsided. Angry and fed up family members were tired of fighting for their lives and the lives of their loved ones who had been turned. Those people made their voices heard loud and clear and the government had to acknowledge that the worldwide, fear-induced bloodshed had to be dealt with and fast! Martial law was enforced, giving the government time to think of a plan.
Some supernaturals, fearing they would be hunted down and slain, decided to form a council in an attempt to gain positive exposure and establish themselves. They joined with the American government to share information and develop laws equal to humans. The human race was trying to restore order from the madness they had caused. They were trying to get control over what they could not comprehend. Many supernaturals believed that the human race was foolish and vain to think that they could be the overlords of all the supernaturals' power and wisdom. The human race had been underestimated. America was the first country to form the “Laws of Co-existence” with the supernaturals successfully. Most of Europe followed, then Canada and Asia, making the “Laws of Co-existence” partially international.
The first bill that was passed into law clearly stated supernatural creatures were now required to obey the same law as every mortal was. If they committed a murder, they were arrested and were to have their day in court. If a supernatural was suspected of a crime, if they turned themselves in willingly, they would await their trial date up to a period of seven days. They would then be tried by a mixed jury of humans and supernaturals. If found innocent, they were set free but monitored. If found guilty, they were to be executed immediately. However, if a supernatural refused to be taken into custody, they were executed on the spot. Due to their supernatural abilities, their right to “Due Process” was not equal to humans.
Law number two, was more for vampires than shape-shifters. No drinking from mortals who were not willing. It was understood that a bite from a vampire was equivalent to sex for a human. You could not arrest and charge two adults for having consensual sex, therefore, you could not charge a vampire for getting “bloody” with someone who consented to the bloodletting. However, the union could not be fatal; it also had to be with an adult. Anyone under the tender age of eighteen was jailbait and anyone who did not consent was considered raped. In addition to this law, the willing conversion of a mortal was prohibited. It was considered suicide if a mortal consented to conversion. Of course, vampires didn't really adhere to this portion of the law.
The vampires had taken to that law rather harshly. Some of the young ones retaliated. They had no idea what humans had in store for them. If found in the act of “raping,” “murdering” or “child molesting,” if that supernatural couldn't be apprehended in a “peaceful” manner, they were to be shot and killed on the spot. This was stated in the news bulletin when they announced the new laws. What they didn't say was that they had gathered a great deal of information on the supernaturals. Due, in part, to all the materials and documentation gathered from the secret facility in Death Valley. For instance, a trained mortal knew what to look for in appearance, physical attributes, etc. The government was better prepared and were well equipped to deal with the supernaturals. The S.U.I.T. Organization was armed with ultraviolet gel ammunition for the bloodsucking undead and liquid silver-nitrate bullets for shape-shifters. These specially designed bullets would explode upon impact and work its way through the blood stream, making it virtually impossible for any to survive. Regular silver bullets hurt and took longer to heal, but didn't kill the shifter unless it struck in a vital area. Any liquid silver entering the blood stream meant an inevitable death.
Warren wondered if Xander would be able to survive a vital hit from a regular silver bullet. He suspected that because of his age he may be able to heal, if he drank the blood of the Pack healer. However, he doubted Xander would be able to survive being shot by a liquid silver-nitrate bullet. The humans had been prepared. After a few vampires who were in violation of law number two were made examples of, the vampires were “less inclined to exhibit any rash behavior.” Or so that's what the Secretary of State said during his speech when he announced the decrease in supernatural crime. Warren had to admit the thought of a combustible silver-nitrate bullet going through his chest would make him feel a little more law abiding. His other Pack mates had been outraged, feeling helpless against the change. Warren wondered in amazement if this was the first time the supernatural race felt truly vulnerable. He suspected Xander wasn't worried, but cautious...always cautious.
Law number three, was pretty much directed at shape-shifters. Shape-shifters were to go to a go
vernment protected and sanctioned hunting ground on the nights when there would be a full moon. Some of the Pack leaders had disputed this bill. Many said they had their own private property, and would not take too kindly to being monitored while they changed, mated and hunted. After three months of deliberation, the government relented, only to revise the bill. The revised bill now stated if one did not have a “designated” hunting ground, you were required to go to a government sanctioned one provided in each state. Once finalized, there were no exceptions to this law. If found off hunting grounds, the shape-shifter would be contained, charged, most likely deemed dangerous, then executed.
In the beginning, there were a lot of unexplained “accidents” when a supernatural was taken into custody for suspicion of committing a crime. They were often tortured or murdered by spiteful officers wanting revenge. It was during this time the supernaturals protested while their council spoke out against the cruel and illegal tactics of the government supernatural police force. The entire S.U.I.T. organization went under investigation. The offending officers were arrested and sentenced.