Maxwell

by D. L. Russell

  * * * *

  With snarls and squeals, the rats near the entrance had treated him like a trespasser but, in the end, he was taken to see Chaw, the most powerful rat known to exist in America. He was a Vampire Rat. He could only guess how Kane came to know of this. He was roughly shoved down into more than two miles of winding, black tunnels, the smell of ammonia and droppings attacking his heightened senses. He was twisted, turned, and taken in circles so many times that he had no idea where he was and hoped he wouldn't need to escape in order to save his life. Being attacked by a legion of rats had to be the most painful way to die—even worse then being burned in the sun because pain could last for hours before death came.

  Finally he was led into a chamber and simply told to speak. His eyes adjusted well to the lack of light by then and he could see the hairless mass resting on a pile of freshly shredded news clipping. This had to be Chaw. Bigger than most cats, the bald rat lay there with a semi-erection the size of a beagle's. Chaw's eyes glowed red because of the Vampire life-force coursing through his bulging, moist body, Maxwell had to admit that he felt a kind of kinship with him. On either side of him lay what could only be called a harem of hairy females, rolling and stretching, stroking his back, and licking his flesh. Maxwell could tell from the scent that they were all in heat and waiting for Chaw to satisfy them.

  "Speak.” He said. “I told you to speak."

  "Kane sent me to warn you."

  The mention of her name caused his dick to grow to the bursting point and he sat up, gaining leverage by shoving a lusting female off the pile of shredded newspaper. She quickly scurried from the den after giving Maxwell what looked like the evil eye because she had lost her chance to mate with Chaw.

  "Where is she? I thought she died?"

  "We all assumed so, but no. She is still with us."

  "What is this warning?” Chaw demanded.

  Maxwell told him the whole story from the earthquake to Kane attempting to reach a truce with Gann. He could feel that the sun was at its highest point in the sky by now and even this far underground he was being weakened. He had to get some rest.

  "You are not very old. The sun still has a strong effect on you.” Chaw noticed.

  "It doesn't affect you anymore?"

  "Only slightly. I don't sleep like I used to. We can find a safe place for you to rest. We will talk of our duty after you are rested and fed."

  "Thank you, Chaw!

  "In the mean time, I'll have those who followed you here, taken care of."

  "Followed? I wasn't followed,” Maxwell replied.

  "You were. Two wolves. Can't you smell them? The air is thick with their scent because the wind is at their back."

  Maxwell concentrated and he could ever so slightly smell them. Werewolves, unlike dogs could sweat when they exerted themselves, and these two were dripping with it, running like the wind, apparently to get to him. The sun pulled at him and he became dizzy; then as if by some unheard order, two male rats entered the chamber, grabbed him and helped him back into the tunnels and then into another chamber where he was allowed to rest.

  * * * *

  Butler and William had followed Maxwell's scent to a hill overlooking the landfill. They knew that during the heat of the day, the Vampire would be far underground, resting out of the heat. They would wait until the sun was low on the horizon then dig him out, besides, there were too many humans around the landfill.

  "Do you really think Vampires are smarter then us?” William asked as they rested in a small patch of woodland. They both had returned to their human form, and sat with their backs along the trunk of a thick tree. They were both naked and tired from the long run all the way from Indiana.

  "I don't know if they are or not, but as a species I don't think there's been another with as much bad luck as they've had lately,” Butler commented with a tired voice. “In a way I feel sorry for them."

  "I don't. The Vampires are getting what they deserve. They had their chance to join us, and blew it. They didn't trust us. When Albert talks about the world being only for the Werewolf and all that crap, I agree with him. This is our time."

  "I can't say I've been around long enough to have an opinion on all that to be honest, but it was Albert who saved my life by making me what I am. I'd have been in a gutter somewhere with a knife in my back or a syringe in my arm by now if it wasn't for him. I'm never going to forget all Albert did for me. And if that means helping him take on the world, then I help him take on the world."

  "What was that?” William asked, jumping to his feet. He was in a squat, defensive position, his body suddenly tense. “I saw something move."

  "I didn't see anything,” Butler whispered as he stood up also. “Where are you looking?"

  "Ten O'clock. Over there ... by that fallen log. Something ran behind it. I know I saw something."

  "We are in the woods, you know. It could be anything, maybe just a coon.” They stood back to back, slowly rotating. Only a moment earlier the woods had been full of the sounds of birds chirping, insects buzzing and clicking; alive with nature's music. Now, there was total silence.

  "Butler, when I tell you to run, you get right on my heels. You change on the fly, but you don't stop running until you see me stop, you got me?"

  "I got you, but I still don't see anything."

  "Take my word for it, we're surrounded. You ready?"

  "Ready."

  "Run!” William shouted as he took off. Within ten steps both were running on all fours, completely transformed. Not until they began to jump from the trees did they realize that the rats were everywhere. Two of them landed on Butler's back and began to gnaw at his rear haunches. Kicking his hind legs high the rats went flying, rolling across the ground like furry bowling balls. Just as quickly as the first two were dispatched from him, two more were on his ears, they dug in their teeth and ripped away flesh in small meaty patches that made the Werewolf yelp loudly from the pain.

  Butler made the mistake of stopping and used his front paws to get the rodents off him. This allowed dozens of others to pile on and start ripping at his fur and flesh. His yelps of pain turned to growls as he furiously fought back, biting rats large and small in half and spitting them out to grab another. He tried to gain his momentum again, but they were at his feet, chewing the soft tissue, making it impossible to take a step. Staggering, under the pain and the weight they piled upon him, Butler collapsed. The anguish of having his manhood bitten and ripped from his body was too much to bear. Now only whimpering, he turned back into a man and was consumed by the swarm of sharp teeth.

  William heard Butler go down, but he didn't stop. Running at a full sprint, William reached the clearing between the next patch of trees. Just as he bounded into the clearing a huge, rat jumped from the wild grass and came right at his face with its claws bared. This was no ordinary rat—weighing more then five pounds, with spiky, nappy fur—the beast had a mouth full of spike like teeth, similar to his own. William had heard of other Were-Creatures, but had never seen one. The rat flung itself onto his neck and rotated under until it was hanging below his throat. With one painful bite it clamped down on his windpipe and began to slowly crush it. William veered to the left and quickly slowed to a trot. The rat could not be shaken off. Other rats attacked now, biting at his legs, trying to take him down. He told himself that as long as he could stand, he would be alive; but the blow of another large rat was more then he could withstand. The beast slammed into his ribcage, bones snapping, and knocking the last ounce of wind from his lungs. As they tore away flesh and ate human form, the last thought to go through William's mind was, “Who has ever heard of a fucking Were-rat?"

  * * * *

  Albert owned eleven hundred acres not far from Maxwell's own farmhouse, but unlike Maxwell, who simply rented most of his property to real farmers living nearby and hardly even looked at the land, Albert took care of the property himself, herding goats, cattle, and feeding his chickens all during the day, with the help of a few
hired hands. In all honesty, Albert played the role of a respectable human all too well. He spent his days on the farm and most of his nights out with women from all over the area. He had lovers in Fort Wayne, Angola, Columbia City, and even up into Michigan that he visited on a regular basis. To the outsider, he was simply a rich playboy with a love of the ladies, as well as, flying.

  Maxwell flew west into the black night. The thin slice of a new moon allowed every star in the darkened sky to reflect brightly. Chaw assured him the rats would do their part to stop the Werewolves when the time came. Chaw also promised Maxwell safe passage throughout the night, and assured every rat would sacrifice it's life to save Maxwell if necessary.

  Kane had instructed him to go to Albert's ranch and wait. She promised that she would be there shortly if she didn't arrive before he did. She had told him to get into the lake and stay hidden. The Werewolves wouldn't be able to smell his scent as long as he stayed in the water.

  Circling high above the water, he waited for a sign from Kane. The lake was well illuminated from artificial lighting connected to Albert's home, and eventually, he caught the repeated flicker of a tail. She waved to him. Diving, he aimed for a spot near her and transformed into something which looked like a cross between a barracuda and a lizard, hitting the water in a clean crisp break. He dove to the bottom and there she was, a big large mouth bass, floating in place.

  "Albert and the others aren't here so we have some time to wait,” she said to him. “The next meeting of the Werewolf council isn't until tomorrow night. I wanted to tell you to meet me somewhere else, but you don't seem to be picking up my telepathy."

  "My senses are not what they used to be.” He told her he hadn't realized Daniela had been killed or that the Ghouls lied to him, along with other strange things he had experienced recently. He thought it was just old age.

  "Vampires will go through a period where the senses may slow down for short period of time, but nothing like what you've been describing. You sound like you've been drugged. Over a long period of time I might add. Have you come in contact with any Stinkhorn?"

  "From the name of it, I think I'd know if I had."

  "Not necessarily. Although it is true that the Phallus Impudicus smells like rotting flesh, once it's been dried and crushed it is odorless, tasteless, and colorless and can be easily mixed with alcohol. Ghouls love the stuff. They eat it like a human would eat an apple."

  As soon as she said it, he knew. Each time he'd drank with Albert he'd been poisoned. It felt good to know he wasn't losing his mind, but he hated being tricked that way. It also meant Daisy and Greta were involved in the plot a lot sooner than he realized.

  This is what happened when a Vampire isolated himself from others, he let his guard down. Maxwell promised himself he would never let that happen again. No matter how this ended, he would stay close to Kane. He'd take care of her and she would care for him.

  A small bluegill swam by in the dark and he ate it. Suddenly, he wanted to eat everything within the lake. As Kane watched, Maxwell devoured fourteen fish and a small snapping turtle. He wanted to jump out of the lake and destroy every animal Albert owned.

  "Max.” Kane called him. “Are you ok?"

  "I'll be fine,” he told her, calming down with the help of her voice in his head. “I just feel that some of this is my fault."

  "Turn into a man and follow me to the surface.” She told him. “I want to talk—see your eyes.” He did as she asked and together they meandered their way to the surface, both their heads bobbing up together. She put her arms around him and pulled him close. “Max, I want you to know that this is my fault, not yours. I am the eldest, I am the one who ran off and didn't contact anyone."

  "The children did invite me to join them in San Francisco, and I threw the invitation in the garbage. There were coffin bags in the hotel room; if I been there I would have insisted they sleep in them. They could have survived."

  "The earthquake was very powerful, you don't know that Max. If you had been there, you could be gone too. You wouldn't be here to save the world right now, would you?” She kissed his wet eyes and held him tight. “I'm the eldest Max. I had a responsibility to all Vampires and I failed.

  "Do you know where I've been the last five years, Max? I've been down in South America sleeping in an underground cave filled with water. I swam in, found a large air pocket, crawled out of the water, and took a long nap. I was trying to get away from the world, Max. I hoped when I woke up things would be different. That things would be better for us."

  "But you didn't know what was about to happen either. No more then I did."

  "No, but just the fact that you were being poisoned and I could have seen it years ago makes me more guilty. Family sticks with family, Max. Now it's up to you and me to save the Vampires. Extinction is not an option and I need you to stay strong for me, for our family."

  He knew she was right. Enough of this feeling sorry for himself. If they failed, it would affect the entire world, human and all the other creatures of the night not just Vampires.

  He kissed Kane deeply and told her, “I'm ready."

  * * * *

  There were Werewolves everywhere; some walking across the property, others arriving in limousines and private helicopters. Maxwell and Kane watched the rear of the property from the water as men of all ages, races, and sizes milled round the back deck and along the beach, drinking, and conversing before the start of the council meeting. Maxwell counted at least fifty of them.

  "Do you think the meeting has started?” He asked Kane.

  "According to Gann, only the ten elders will actually participate in the meeting. Everyone else is here for their final decision."

  "And he wants peace?"

  "Yes, Gann wants no part of Albert's plan, but he told me that if he could not convince the other members of the council he would be the only dissenting vote."

  "So we can't really count on him?"

  "No, but I told you, he's a good man."

  They crawled up the small stretch of beach as two hermit crabs, going under the deck and up along the house. They inched their way to one of the small basement windows and could just hear the conversation inside. The meeting had to be down there.

  "We can't get in from here.” He told her. “We have to go through the guards."

  "You've been here before, right?"

  "Several times, he has a den down there and then the conference room. The only other rooms are the laundry room and the bathroom."

  "Show me where the laundry room is."

  "I think it's straight ahead."

  Kane thought they were far enough away from the other Werewolves to change from crab to mice. They ran along the house, until they reached the dryer vent.

  "We got lucky."

  They went into the vent and slid down into the last elbow before the dryer with a thump.

  "I hope nobody heard that,” he told her.

  "These guys have great hearing, let's wait a minute.” Kane told him, but the dryer was already being pulled away from the wall. The dryer clamp was ripped away from its connection and a hand reached into the duct before either of them could get back on their feet inside it. The vise grip of the muscular hand held them both at eye level and squeezed.

  "What do we have here?” The huge man asked. He stood well over 6’ 6” and his breath smelled of raw meat.

  "Enough!” Kane shouted just before biting down on his hand, her teeth dug in and began to grow as the rest of her did until she stood over him, his hand bleeding like a stuck pig. Following her lead, Maxwell transformed himself and thrust the heel of his hand into the throat of the Werewolf. The blow crushed his windpipe and halted his transformation, the black hair just beginning to grow around his bleeding hand, suddenly withdrew back into his skin.

  "Where do we go?” she asked him, letting the man fall to the floor. “Any element of surprise we had is gone now, let's get in there."

  Maxwell stepped into the hall. A large brown wo
lf blocking the narrow passage confronted him. He changed into the creature he used to feed on the mugger in Amsterdam and wrapped the beast in his wings. Pulling the creature in, he bit down on his throat and his mouth filled with warm wolf's blood. The Werewolf's body went limp and became a naked man as it collapsed to the floor.

  Maxwell and Kane ran to the end of the long hallway to reach the conference room door. All was quiet on the other side. The Council knew they were there.

  The door opened slowly. Albert stood there, gesturing for them to come in.

  As two Vampires stepped into the room, they instantly transformed back into their human form. The expression on the faces of many of the Council members gave away how impressed they were by the maneuver.

  "We were just talking about you, Maxwell. Is this the legendary Kane standing before us? I'd heard you were dead."

  "Not hardly,” Kane said.

  "Glad to hear it, although that does throw gum into my original plan. Care for a drink?” Albert asked them as he walked to the small bar in the corner to top off his own glass."

  "No Albert. I've had my fill of Phallus Impudicus, thanks to you."

  "Oh ... I see you've done your homework. Better late then never I guess."

  "Too bad you didn't do yours."

  "Albert! All of you, I ask you what will it take to stop this plan of yours? This plan to herd up all of the humans?"

  "It will take nothing, Kane. This is our destiny. We are in the era of the Werewolf. Your only concern should be whether you want to live in it with us ... or die.” He stood right in front of her and growled. “I don't care which fate you choose.

  "Is this how all of you feel?” Maxwell asked the other nine members of the council. “Does Albert speak for all of you? Is he the voice of the entire era of the Werewolf as he calls it? Or do some of you want to continue to live in peace with all the other creatures of the night?” They were all silent, looking at their hands, and playing with their drinks.

  "The answer to all your questions is: yes, Max. I am the voice of the council. This plan will go forward. I will say this just one more time. You can join us or die!"