Second Genesis

by Eric Williams

  The man chuckled. “Purebreds are born, mutts are bitten.”

  Xairin looked at the ground. “I guess I have a lot to learn then.”

  The man smiled. Xairin could see the man’s neatly trimmed black goatee in the rearview mirror. “Don’t sweat it man. With all this comet stuff, it's a new world for all of us.”

  “I guess. I just can’t get over being... A vampire.” Xairin mentioned.

  The man smiled again. “At least you’re not a gorgon, those immortals are unpredictable as they come.”

  “Why so?”

  The driver set it to auto pilot and turned around. He took off his cap. Xairin could see the man’s blue eyes. He frowned. “Well for starters, reptiles lack a limbic system. Basic science. The limbic system helps with things like emotion and such. These guys are really cold hearted when it comes right down to it. Most have little to no remorse for any of their actions. Also, they’re hard to kill.”

  Xairin scoffed. “Apparently. Anyhow, I’m Xairin.”

  “Nice to meet you Xairin, my name is Alex. Alex Fifer. Nice to meet you, and by the way, good job on saving that kid. Already heard it's been spun into a PR campaign.”

  Xairin was a little coy. “PR campaign?”

  “Yeah buddy. Saving that kid was PR gold man. They kept your name out of the news, for your protection I’m sure. Gorgons tend to be a little vengeful when one of their own bites the dust, and the one with him wasn’t the same breed, so it's likely a Beta could have been nearby and felt his Alpha’s death... Anyhow, Lillian ordered a protective detail for the time being until we can be certain he didn’t have any nest mates in telepathic range.”

  “Telepathic range?”

  Alex smiled. “Yeah. You have to be within so many miles of your Alpha to hear their thoughts or be influenced by them for that matter. A pack of werewolves, a pride of werecats, a nest of vampires, can all telepathically link to one another through their Betas and Alphas.”

  Xairin was instantly disturbed at the thought that some other gorgon could have been listening in to what happened. This was a little much, so his next reply came out a little sarcastic out of frustration. “Good to know, what about the one I didn’t kill?”

  Alex nodded. “I figure he’s headless by now. Lillian’s not much for taking prisoners. I’m sure she got the information she wanted, after that, well, we can’t have immortals like that running around giving the rest of us a hard time fitting in. Besides, if he did have any nestmates nearby, we will know soon enough. I’m sure she can get that type of information from him. Grand Alpha’s like her have abilities the rest of us can only dream about.”

  Xairin nodded his head. “Ok.”

  Alex landed the black dronemobile outside a tall black apartment building. He swiped his I.D. in the parking meter, and assisted Xairin inside. The down stairs were old fashioned. You could tell at one point the place was a hotel at some point, refitted with solatex, and a few other upgrades, but that god awful ugly carpet reminded Xairin of a horror movie, the shining. He kept hoping one day his landlord would do away with it, but the woman, nicknamed Old Plastic, never did.

  They made it to Xairin’s floor, while Alex carried the lightweight duffle bag for Xairin. “I can carry that.”

  Alex smiled. “Lillian's orders pal. Make sure you get home, you’re comfortable, and then head back to base after I know your safe. Unless of course you feel like you need a protective detail. You know that’s pretty impressive taking out two like you did, and one being an Alpha. You’re just a Delta, right?”

  Xairin yawned. “That’s what Miss Rutherford said. I still don’t get that whole bit. I mean, I know what an Alpha and Beta are, but the others, I don’t know, I guess I just need to read more.”

  “It will come in time, half the time what we are, our blood kind of tells us. Can’t explain that part. Supposedly it's like inherited knowledge, even memories sometimes.”

  “Miss Rutherford mentioned that.”

  “Yes sir. I get flashes all the time of some of the crazy stuff my mother did back when the united states were a thing. I’m from the Sasquatch werewolf pack. We used to love fooling hunters into thinking we were bigfoot. Quite a rise back then.”

  Xairin stopped. “How old are you?”

  Alex stopped walking right as the two made it to Xairin’s apartment. Alex saw the green painted door and the spy hole above the door knob. He then looked at Xairin. “I’m 213 Mr. Thunder. We thropes are immortal too.”

  Xairin pressed his hand against the hand print module. It had two false readings, until he just swiped his I.D. instead like a credit card underneath it. “Yeah, sometimes those older model hand print scanners won’t work. You have to actually will your fingerprints to pop up, otherwise our biological default setting allows us to never leave fingerprints behind. It's helped us stay hidden, among a few other traits we all have.”

  Xairin quickly looked at his hand as the door opened. He hadn’t given that part much thought. His skin was smooth, no lines, nothing defining them. He could feel something beneath the skin. With a little thinking, he saw his prints return, but vanished as soon as his train of thought was derailed by looking into his empty apartment. Usually K2 would have already greeted him. It was a somber reminder.

  Xairin walked in, as Alex followed behind him. He sat the bag on the leather couch and looked around the place. He sniffed like a dog trying to pick up a scent while his ears wiggled. Quickly his senses revealed Xairin’s apartment held no surprises. “Kind of small.”

  Xairin looked at Alex and frowned. “All I can afford. Living in the city has its own perils I suppose.”

  Alex smirked. “I could never live in the city. Too many smells and noises. I have a cabin off the Georgia highway. Love living out in the middle of nowhere man. Off grid, no solar tax, no water tax, just me, my cabin, and my dog.”

  “You have a dog? Aren’t you afraid of... Eating it or something?”

  Alex laughed. “Dogs are canines man, they usually get along great with werewolves. My retriever goes running with me all the time when I hit the woods for a hunt or just a jog.”

  “So, you've been a werewolf since birth, and you’re really over two hundred years old?”

  Alex nodded. “Sure man. It took some getting used too of course. Natural born immortals tend to age like humans do until they hit somewhere between eighteen and thirty, then our immortality gene kicks in, along with transformations and such. Just be glad you're a vampire now, now that the world knows. Back when I first emerged, we still had hunters to worry about.”

  “Hunters? As in people hunting for sport?” Xairin seemed confused.

  “No Mr. Thunder. I’m talking about monster hunters. Humans man. Dedicated bastards that went out of their way to put us on the extinction list. We could never be too careful. Now things seem to be easy, but I’m sure the hunters are just waiting for their chance to come out of the shadows just like we did.”

  Xairin’s eyes grew wide. He hadn’t thought about that. “That’s kind of a scary thought.”

  Alex nodded as he leaned up against the white paneled walls. “And you should be scared. They were some pretty tough assholes to deal with. Not to mention, they keep to themselves, keeping their own lifestyles secret. So, you never knew when they were around. They always lurked about, and tried recruiting when they could, and hunting us down when they had a lead. Part of a dozen reasons we kept ourselves hidden back in those days. Part of the biggest reasons I’m in a pack. Safety in numbers.”

  Xairin raised an eyebrow. “So, this whole Society of Night thing? Safety in numbers?”

  “Darn right. Vampires, thropes, mer, Aeonians, and a few gorgons that are not as bad as some of the others, working together. In the old days, we just staked out our territories, now, immortal unity, and trying to fit in alongside mortals. Times change, and hopefully this works out. If not, it's back to hiding.”

  Alex looked around, he checked the apartment, it only had one bedroom, a couch, o
ne bathroom, to which he made sure everything was safe before asking. “So, did you want me to stick around? Or do you think’ you’re pretty safe here?”

  Xairin didn’t know what to say. The guy was pretty attractive, a little younger in the face than what Xairin went for, but knowing he was over two hundred did make Xairin feel a little awkward there also. In the end, Xairin just smiled. “I think I will be ok.”

  “Suit yourself. Here’s my calling card.” he handed him what looked like a credit card with a chip in the end. Something he could just insert into an optical reader and contact him if need be. “Give me a call sometime. I'll be in the city for a few weeks doing protective details for a few of Lillian’s picks. You don’t seem like a snobbish aristocrat, so it would be nice to make a friend or two while I’m here.”

  “So, you have others to protect?”

  “Just a few rich types that got bit. Lillian figures they could prove influential so me and a few others are pulling shifts until they can protect themselves.”

  “And she wanted you to protect me? Is that why she sent you? I mean, you did just scope out my apartment.”

  Alex nodded. “Yes, she seems to think there’s something special about you. After all, you’re just a Delta and you laid that Alpha gorgon to waste man. And like I said, if he had nest mates nearby, they do tend to retaliate. Bright side, if he did have any close by, they would be well into a comatose state by now, for at least 8 to 12 hours. It’s quite common when one of the Alphas bite the dust, setting off the Betas developing Alpha cells. One of our drawbacks. An Alpha coming out like that was risky. Anyhow, she wants me to check on you here and there. And like I said, you don't seem stuck up, so I’m always down for a detail to get along with.”

  The man almost seemed like he was flirting. Which normally Xairin might have reciprocated. But he was still learning what it was to even be an Immortal, and a vampire for that matter. He figured, it was probably best to try and not to read into things at the moment. He also considered the fact that if the Alpha wasn't alone, he wasn’t sure what he had gotten himself into, and having a werewolf bodyguard was something to think about. “Tell you what, if you're dead set on it, as long as the couch is ok? I keep a few spare blankets and pillows in the hall closet. I will warn you though, I used to have horrible night terrors, so if you hear me having a bad dream. It's likely just a dream.”

  Alex grinned. “The couch would be great. Besides I’m used to sleeping on the ground, it's a wolf thing. As for the dreams, no worries. Besides my senses are pretty heightened, I can tell the diff between someone trying to break in, and someone just having a thrash about in the bedroom.”

  Xairin walked off and opened the closet door beside the bathroom and got a white pillow and a brown blanket for Alex. Alex was gracious in his mannerisms, and politely took them. He fixed a suitable set up and passed out way before Xairin had a chance to acclimate to his own room.

  It was too quiet at first. Then Xairin could hear more than he wanted. He could hear roaches moving in the walls, not in his apartment, but two floors down. His biosonar picked up the bugs outlines as they moved through old spaces in the walls. This kept Xairin up a little bit. Out of habit, he reached for his meds in the drawer, but had to stop himself. He didn’t need those pills any longer. His vampiric condition made sure of that. In the end, he did get a glass of water, sipped it, and managed to calm down. He took off his shirt, and shorts, wearing nothing but tighty whities which he hated, but that was all they offered him at the hospital. He quickly tossed them in the trash and stood their naked for a moment as he sorted out clothes on his massage table until he found a pair of white and red striped boxers, put them on, and laid down on his single sized bed. He looked at the ceiling for more than an hour, before finally drifting off to sleep. Thankfully, he didn’t dream, he simply drifted off into a restful slumber.

  _____

  Lunar Station Io.

  The Jupiter moon Io has a space station that had been established four years ago. The station was like others, resembling a snowflake, made up of interconnecting biodomes. The center dome was larger than the rest, it was circular, black as onyx made of solatex. What made this station different was the center was built over one of the moon’s volcanos. The Sulphur was being converted with a fusion technology, releasing a synthetic gas to enhance the moon’s atmosphere. The synthetic particles it was releasing could trap sunlight and reflect light much like a magnifying glass. Fifty miles away from the station, a triangle shaped craft, orbited the atmosphere. Black in color, the glowing craft was using a laser-based technology. Streams of blue and yellow light were aimed at Jupiter itself, acting like a tractor beam, pulling gasses from the gas giant and using the same fusion technology to manufacture water and other gases while using the energy created from the fusion to power the craft. Below the space station it looked like clouds being shot out of its center, they were expecting rain any day now.

  As for the station, Ethan had arrived there this morning on one of the laser propulsion crafts. While his home was bastion City, He was also a scientist working for Galactic-corps’ project genesis, a terraforming endeavor taking place on most of the moons surrounding the two gas giants in the solar system.

  Ethan was sitting behind his desk, reviewing the latest progress reports. Suddenly his computer began to flash. Across the screen, he saw the crescent moon shaped emblem belonging to The Society of Night and clicked on it. He noticed Lillian sitting from one of her desks. He wasn’t used to her contacting him directly and widened his eyes. “Miss Rutherford, it is an honor.”

  Lillian smiled. “You can go over the pleasantries later. I need to ask you something.”

  “Sure, anything?” He sat there wearing a grey kevlar uniform, tightly fitting to his swimmers build. He was curious. That expression was evident.

  “You departed early this morning for your project on Io, before you left, did you take the time to sense your new nest mates?”

  He nodded. “I did, all seemed in order. At least those that were in the city. My range of sensing is limited to about three hundred miles or so.”

  She tilted her head. “You have a Mr. Thunder in your nest, did you sense him?”

  Ethan was now more curious. He was scared that one of his new nest mates was out of line, to which he would have been held accountable for. “Yes, I sensed him, the link was weak, but I didn’t sense anything out of place. Please tell me he hasn’t broken a law?”

  Lillian shook her head. “No, on the contrary, he saved a human life. We had a gorgon assault. It hasn’t been established which faction is responsible, but he thwarted the attack.”

  Ethan quickly swelled with pride. He knew right then that his nest would gain credit for such an act, not to mention the PR that likely would stem from it. “This is good news.”

  She smiled. “Yes, indeed. We need all the positive publicity we can muster. But that isn’t the reason for my contacting you. He seems rather robust for a Delta, is there anything that stood out about him in your mind? Anything pertinent, after all if I make a PR campaign, i want to make sure there are no skeletons lurking that could be used to derail it.”

  Ethan shook his head. “No. I mean he wasn’t happy about a blood pact, but all and all he seemed complaint and eager to learn. I can’t say anything specifically stood out at all. Do you want me to have one of my Betas check on him?”

  “No, that won’t be necessary, I have a werewolf checking in on him to help him acclimate if that is ok with you? I don’t want to step on another Alpha’s toes.”

  Ethan knew better than to refuse Lillian. He knew who she was, and just how powerful she was. No one refused the queen. “NO, by all means, do as you please.”

  “Thank you, Mr. Holiday, I look forward to inspecting your nest when you return from Io next week.”

  Chapter 10

  Ezra.

  Ezra was ecstatic to see Marine walk into the station dressed for work. He thought she would take a few days off after gettin
g out of quarantine, but the hard-headed woman wasn’t about to let something like that keep her from working. He pulled out her chair, being a gentleman, and she sat down. She seemed tired but was quick to start booting up her computer.

  “How you been?” He asked.

  Marine shook her poofy head. “I’ve been better Ezra. So, business as usual? Or are you going to ask me about a hundred questions I’m not in the mood for?”

  Ezra was a little surprised by her reply. “Look, I get it you’re a werewolf. I just can’t thank you enough for what you did in the alley. Blowing your cover, I guess, to save me.”

  Marine looked up at her partner dressed in in his black and white suit. “Look, my kind’s cover was blown anyhow. Besides, you are my partner, and if anyone’s getting to bite you… It's me the next time you piss me off.” She said laughingly.

  She looked up. “So, any leads on the case we were working on before I ended up at the dog pound?”