Wolves among men

by penelope sweet

  Grant smiled brightly at my enthusiasm, the way he reacted I would have guessed that what I had just said was the best news he had heard all year not that I could understand why in any sense of the word. I was a Cashier from Barstow. I had never served in the army even after years of serious consideration for the idea, hell I was the kid who ran away from his bullies in fear of getting punched in the face so as I stood there, watching him smile, it was hard for me to understand what it was that made him so damn happy about the idea.

  “The thing is though I don’t know how to fight or anything like that.” I smiled nervously. “What happened back in Barstow that was just instinct, I was trying to protect my sister.” I looked down at the floor and chuckled lightly. “I don’t know what the hell I’m supposed to be doing.” Grant laughed lightly and shook his head.

  “Do you think any of us do?” He chuckled. “I know maybe a little bit about warfare, Matt and some of the boys have done this kind of thing before but we all have a long way to go before any of us are ready,” a light laugh escaped him as he spoke. “We all have a lot of learning to do but it means a lot to me that you’re willing to fight with us.” I nodded my head and placed the binder down on the table next to us.

  “Of course I am. He has my sister. I can’t just sit here and do nothing.” Grant nodded lightly, the sound of cheering poured in from outside. We looked behind us toward the large doors and smiled, I could only imagine what was going on out there while we exchanged words.

  “Well don’t worry,” he assured me as he placed his hand on my shoulder. “We’ll find her and bring her home. I can promise you that.” He smiled at me and I tried my best to believe him.

  “Can you really?” I asked skeptically. He lowered his eyes and offered me a slight smile.

  “No I guess I can’t but I can promise that I will die trying if I have to.” I chuckled softly. At least we were on the same page about it and that’s all that really mattered.

  “Can I ask why?”

  “Why what?” He asked quickly.

  “Why are you so willing to help me? You don’t even know me.” He sighed heavily and nodded.

  “I suppose you’re right but you’re family to Samantha and she is like a daughter to me.”

  “So by process of elimination I’m family as well?” He chuckled lightly and nodded.

  “If she is willing to go to such great lengths to help you then so am I.” The sense of appreciation I felt in that moment was immense. I never expected to find others like myself let alone a family I would be so openly welcomed into.

  “Alright well,” Grant smiled as he broke the silence between us. “how about we go and join the party.” I nodded at him happily before grabbing the binder off of the table and following him out into the crisp night air. A crowd of smiling faces and cheering voices greeted us and we stopped just outside the doorway and watched as their excitement quickly grew. Matt wrestled with a man I didn’t recognize in the middle of the courtyard, their faces red and dripping with sweat as they entangled themselves in a fierce battle for dominance.

  “That’s Colt,” Grant whispered to me as I watched him untangle himself from Matt’s grip and get to his feet. The younger man stood a head shorter than Matt and twice as wide, his shaggy brown hair hung down over his eyes as he glared at Matt’s ready frame. They stood facing each other, ready to pounce as they watched and carefully gauged the others next move. It was tense and exciting all the same as we held our breath and waited for the next strike.

  Matt swung but missed by nearly a hair as Colt ducked down and sidestepped around him, a wicked laugh filled the air as the crowd cheered for him. Impatiently Matt swung again only to be stopped by Colt’s hand as he grabbed his arm midair and twisted it behind his back. The smile on his face screamed of victory and power as Matt struggled against his grip.

  “Let me go!” Matt roared into the night. Colt kicked his legs out from under him knocking him to his knees and holding him tight as they dropped down together. In one swift motion Colt wrapped his thick arm around Matt’s neck and pushed him onto his stomach, holding him down for the final pin. I watched as a sinister smile crossed over Matt’s face and in a flash, barely an instant, his body began to change. It was faster than my transformation, in a matter of seconds I no longer saw Matt but a hulking gray furred beast as it shot to its feet throwing Colt off of its back and howled into the night air.

  An eruption of cheers and whistles came from the crowd as Colt got to his feet and faced the beast, a grin and a wink was all he shared before he hunched over and allowed his body to change. No longer was it two men in a sparring match but two hulking beasts staring each other down and for a moment I caught myself wondering how it was even possible that they had managed to fit themselves into a space so small.

  The air grew tense, electric as Colt readied himself for the attack. Hunched down and balancing on his knuckles a deep guttural growl escaped him as he locked eyes with Matt and his glaring form. I smiled as my eyes darted between the two of them, I had never seen another pair of wolves fight and I was excited to get a glimpse of what these creatures, what we, were capable of. I could feel the crowd tense as they circled each other, letting out small growls and warning snarls, neither wanting to make the first strike and neither wanting to let the other out of their sight. And just like that in a flash of fur and claw’s Matt went in for blow.

  Colt bit down on his arm sending a howl of pain through the air. Thankfully he didn’t bite hard enough to draw blood. This was a sparring match, not a fight to the death after all. Matt swiped hard with his free hand knocking Colt to the ground but not for long as he got to his feet and lunged at his opponent with a roar. He knocked Matt onto his back and shoved his large menacing paw into his throat, holding him to the spot as Matt bit and snarled at the air. The crowd cheered them on as Matt thrashed at his opponent in an attempt to get the upper hand but no such luck was to be had as Colt held steady and kept him in place. The crowd began to count down as Matt thrashed violently to free himself.

  “Five, four, three, two,” in one singular voice we all chanted and just as we were about to declare the winner Matt lurched up knocking Colt onto his back. He stood quickly and once again lunged, arms outstretched. Matt stepped to the side dodging his attempts and whipped around quick as lightning. He grabbed Colt from behind, wrapping his massive arm around his neck and taking him down to his knees. Matt stood behind him, holding him in a death grip as Colt struggled against his grip. He clawed at his arm, kicked with his legs but it was no use as Matt held firm.

  “Five, four, three, two,” we began chanting again. Matt looked up at the crowd and a smile crossed his face as we reached our final verdict.

  “One!” We all shouted, all of us erupting in applause as Matt released him and Colt fell to his hands and knees gasping for breath. I watched curiously as Matt regained his human form as easily as he had shifted before and began to run through the crowd with a victorious grin, his arms stretched up to the sky.

  Colt slowly regained shape and Grant nudged me to the side as he ran to his friend and patted him on the back. Despite losing this fight, his face was beaming and the crowd began to cheer for him as loudly as they cheered for their victor.

  “Impressive wasn’t it?” Sam stood next to me and smiled as she applauded her champion.

  “That was probably the coolest thing I have ever seen in my life.” I smiled happily as I turned to her. “Why were they fighting?” She shrugged and shoved her hands into her pockets as the crowd began to calm and return to life as it was before the show.

  “They weren’t fighting, just sparring.”

  “There’s a difference?” I asked.

  “Well yeah, if they were fighting one of them would be dead.” She smiled as Matt came around, gasping for breath.

  “Hey man.” He smiled at me. “Did you catch the show?”

  “Yeah,” I nodded. “That was awesome.”

  “Colt’s a good fighter,” he s
poke as he turned to get a look at his opponent. “I like that guy.” Sam laughed loudly, bringing Matt’s attention back to us.

  “Well at least you’re making friends this time.”

  “The hell do you mean by that?” Matt grinned. Sam’s eyebrow rose as she shifted her weight and crossed her arms in front of her.

  “Seriously, Matt, every time we run into another pack you find one reason or another to make an enemy.” Matt nodded proudly.

  “Well yeah, that’s because there’s always one to be had. I’m sure I’ll find someone to hate here soon enough.” He chuckled. Sam rolled her eyes and turned her attention back to me.

  “So what have you got planned for tonight?” I shrugged and held up the binders I had been gripping at my side.

  “Grant gave me these, thought I might look them over.”

  “What is it?” She asked as she pulled one from my hands and flipped it open curiously.

  “Just some stuff on Malik.” I shrugged. “Grant said it was basically everything they know.” She nodded as she turned the pages slowly.

  “Do you mind if maybe we go over it together? I wouldn’t mind learning a bit more about him myself,” she asked quietly.

  “Sure.” I shrugged. “If you’re up to it.” She snapped the binder closed and tucked it under her arm with a smile.

  “Alright then, let’s get to it.” She beamed as she hooked her arm around mine and led me through the courtyard.

  “It’s gonna be a long night.” I chuckled as I held the door open for her. She stepped inside and turned to face me as I let the door close loudly behind us.

  “Well here’s hoping we learn a thing or two.” She smiled, taking my arm in hers once again and leading me down the hall.

  Chapter Nineteen

  “Find anything interesting?” I asked curiously as I lay on my stomach and flipped through a stack of loose papers quietly. We’d been at it for nearly an hour and I hadn’t stumbled across anything earth shattering yet. No pearls of wisdom no secret piece of information that would lead me to victory in a battle against something I didn’t truly understand. Just a lot of loose facts and information scattered around me as I looked up at Sam.

  She shook her head tiredly from the edge of the bed as she poured over her own thick stack. “Nothing we don’t already know.” She sighed heavily. “This sucks.” She groaned as she dropped the papers onto her lap and rubbed her eyes gently.

  “What’s the matter?” she took a deep breath and lay down on her back, staring up at the ceiling as she spoke.

  “We have nothing,” the frustration in her voice was thick as she turned her head to face me. “The last few months have been nothing but dead ends and false leads.” She sat up and sighed. “I’ve, we’ve, spent so much time chasing him, chasing his kids and it’s like running after a shadow.”

  “What do you mean by that?” I smirked.

  “It’s like,” She sighed. “It’s like no matter how close you think you are to catching it, it’s just another trick of the light.” I nodded. “I guess I’ve just been hoping for this big flash of insight or something you know.”

  “Honestly,” I smirked. “I have no idea what that’s like.”

  “Really?” She sat up and turned herself to face me.

  “Maybe it’s just because I haven’t been at this as long.” She nodded understandingly as she stared off at the loose stack of papers next to us. “I did have a thought though.”

  “Okay what is it?” I reached over and pulled one of the binders toward us as I thought about what I wanted to say.

  “I was just thinking, maybe we’re going at this all wrong.” Her eyebrow rose and a skeptical smile crossed her face. “Don’t look at me like that.” I chuckled.

  “Fine.” She rolled her eyes with a smile. “What do you mean?”

  “Well,” I thought for a moment. “I’m not entirely sure but after reading through all this crap it seems that Malik is pretty good at staying hidden.” She nodded. “I mean other than the fact that he seems to get off on destroying entire towns and has been around since the dawn of time for all we know, there really isn’t anything new here.”

  “True.” She chuckled as she flipped open the binder between us and began thumbing through the pictures slowly. “But I thought you had fresh new perspective or something.” She smiled.

  “Yes and no.” I took the binder from her and flipped it open to a particular article detailing the slaughter of a small Mexican village in the early nineteen fifties.

  “What’s this?” She asked as she peered over it.

  “What happened isn’t important, see where Malik’s standing?” She nodded as she looked at the worn out photograph. “Do you see the man standing next to him?” She squinted, bringing the page closer to her face.

  “Isn’t that the guy that tried to kill you back on the reservation?” I nodded.

  “His name’s Jonathan, I’m surprised you remember him.” She looked up at me and rolled her eyes.

  “He nearly killed me and my pack, of course I remember him.”

  “Good point.” I smirked. “Anyway, so I had a thought,” She nodded. “Maybe trying to find Malik is a lost cause.”

  “I’m going to guess you have another idea.”

  “Maybe.”

  “And it involves this guy.” She pointed to the picture of Jonathan.

  “Maybe.”

  “Do you think he’s important?”

  “I don’t know.” I smirked. Sam rolled her eyes and shook her head. “Don’t give up on me yet.” I smiled as she opened her mouth to speak.

  “Okay.” She laughed lightly as she motioned for me to speak.

  “I just figured he was the one sent to find Cordillia after the treaty was broken.”

  “Wait, he wasn’t looking for you?” I shook my head.

  “No he didn’t even know my name, he just kept asking for Cordillia.”

  “How did he know hers?”

  “I killed one of theirs behind a diner just outside of Barstow,” I sighed.

  “I know, your sister-”

  “I know you know, Sam.” I smiled weakly. “But I kind of need to say it.” She nodded and waited for me to continue. “There was a waitress that worked there.” I sighed. “She remembered Cordillia’s name after Jonathan forced it out of her.” Sam gasped slightly and shook her head.

  “It wasn’t-”

  “My fault I know.” I smiled weakly as I finished her thought. “I know that none of this was my fault, it just kind of happened but it feels like that’s all I’ve been hearing lately.”

  “It’s true.” I nodded.

  “I just want to fix this.” I looked up at her. “Bring my sister home and go on with my life.”

  “I hope we’ll have a part in your life after all this is said and done.” She smiled over at me. I wanted to tell her there would be but how could I make a promise like that when I didn’t even know that I would be alive to see the end of it? I nodded while opening the binder, flipping through the pages quickly. I stopped at another article.

  “Anyway,” I pushed the article toward her. “He was sent to find Cordillia when the treaty was broken and he’s in almost every picture of Malik we have.”

  “Really?”

  “Yeah look here.” I pointed to the article in front of her. “There was a rash of murders in the northern L.A area in the mid-nineties.”