The Lycan Chronicles

by Schroeder, Brent

  As Brad was crawling back up the embankment, Nate and JD pushed Tom’s truck over the edge and a moment later, the front-end was smashing into what was left of the school bus of dead kids. Hurrying and crawling down the rocks, carrying a couple of gallons of gasoline, Nate quickly dumped the gas over the two vehicles and JD threw a half stick of dynamite into the wreckage. They took cover and waited for the enormous blast of TNT, producing a fury of flames that reached high into the sky.

  By the time the two Lycans finished their climb up the rocky cliff, back to the roadway, Jerry Davich had arrived. As JD was brushing off his hands, the reporter was leaning on his arm, with his head poked out the window of his car, when there was a sudden, second blast that lit the entire sky.

  “JD, what the hell?” Jerry asked, his mouth hanging open, as he looked on in amazement. “Tell me, that isn’t a school bus full of dead kids. Seriously?”

  The sheriff just shrugged.

  “I didn’t sign on for this, no fucking way!”

  “Hey, Jerry,” JD quickly replied, speaking nice and easy, “let me tell you a little story about a horrible accident… I will tell it and you can just write it. And after that, you can keep your pie-hole closed, about the whole thing.”

  As JD smiled at him, Jerry replied with a heavy sigh, “Jesus, I need a new fucking job… this is just too much. Well hell… if I can write a bullshit story like this, then I should have no problem getting hired on with Fox.”

  JD arrived at entrance to the Vampire club, hidden at the top of the massive tree stump, out in the middle of Boone County Woods. He opened the secret hatch and climbed down the ladder, where Leon greeted him… pleasant, as usual.

  “My main man, you’re getting to be a regular around here,” Leon stated with a smile. “What can I do for you tonight, JD?”

  “Leon,” he said, keeping it serious, “follow me into the club. I have an announcement that might upset a few Vampires. I might need you.”

  The club was in full swing, as Leon moved along, clearing a path up to the main stage, where JD stopped the band and snatched the microphone out from the singer’s hands.

  “Give me that and step back!” the sheriff warned him. “I’m not asking, I’m telling you… step back, now!”

  The front man was not very happy about this, but Leon’s muscular frame was suddenly stopping him from doing anything about it.

  Turning his attention to the club’s patrons, JD began shouting into the mic, “Listen up and listen good! I’m only going to say this once! Donovan’s dead and the truce is back in place… unless, someone has a problem with that! If you do, I suggest you come forward and tell me now!”

  The entire club had become completely silent and no one moved an inch.

  “From now on, Leon is in charge, until I can speak with the Baron! Does anyone have a problem with that?”

  Not a sound.

  “Good, that’s what I thought,” JD said, much calmer now. “Go back to whatever you were doing.”

  “You heard the sheriff!” Leon’s voice boomed, no sound system necessary. “If I see anyone getting out of line, I will kill you myself! Understood?”

  The Vampires were still one-hundred-percent hushed.

  “Good then, continue on!” JD shouted, handing the microphone back to the singer.

  The band blasted back into their music, as Leon and JD headed back towards the entrance, passing the tables full of the living dead, who kept to themselves, trying not to make eye contact. The Vampires couldn’t care any less about the death of Donovan; there was no love lost between them and they never wanted to fight with the Lycans, to begin with. All they really cared about was drinking blood and having sex, so as long as there was still plenty of that…

  “I need one more favor of you, Leon,” JD said, knowing he could rely on his friend.

  “Anything, JD, just ask.”

  “Can you do that Vampire thing? You know, where you glamour someone… hypnotize them, so they forget things?”

  “Yeah, I can do that. Who did you have in mind?”

  “Excellent, follow me back to the police station. Let’s hurry though… we only have about an hour and a half, before the sun comes up.”

  “I was worried sick about you,” Wendy said, latching on and hugging JD, as he came through the front doors of the police station. “Is it over?”

  “It’s over, baby,” JD said, hugging her back. “Donovan’s dead and he’s not coming back. I’m sure of it.”

  “Thank God!” she exclaimed, suddenly noticing Leon. She glanced suspiciously in his direction, sizing him up. “What about him?”

  “He had nothing to do with it,” her husband assured her, waving Leon into the building; the second Vampire ever allowed into JD’s station, but the first one who was actually welcome there. “Leon, you are invited in, my friend.”

  “Where are the kids, JD?” Leon asked as soon as he stepped in, while checking out the inside of JD’s place of work. “I have to hurry.”

  “They’re sleeping,” replied Wendy, motioning to the back of the station. “We lost one of them, the girl with the long, dark hair,” she began slowly, “well, their friend… the one who got lost out in the woods… he was turned and he lured Mary using mind control. The girl opened the door and…”

  “Aw shit, just what I need,” JD cut her off, letting his frustration show, “another problem!”

  He quickly apologized for shouting and gave Wendy a quick kiss, before showing Leon to back of the jail, where they found Mary, fast asleep; JD nudged her awake. She saw JD first, but her eyes were immediately drawn to the monstrous black man who was standing over her.

  “Hi, Mary,” Leon said, as gently as his deep voice would allow. “My name is Leon. I want you to do something for me, Mary… can you look deep into my eyes? Just look into my eyes and think of nothing else,” he said, in his smoothest voice.

  Mary did exactly as she was told and her eyes started to become slightly glazed over, as Leon’s pupils dilated.

  “I want you to forget about everything you saw this weekend, Mary. Your friends were on their way to grab some beer and they were killed in a terrible car accident. Do you understand?”

  “Yes,” Mary blankly answered. “A car accident. How horrible. They’re all dead.”

  Leon quietly went to Joy’s and Matt’s cells, doing the same thing with each of them, until he was certain that they had no memory of what had happened to them in Wolf Creek. The only other thing they’d remember when they became coherent, besides their friends fabricated accident, was that their truck had broken down.

  After his work was complete, Leon left the jail cells and shook hands with JD. “It’s done, my man… I’ve got to take off. The sun waits for no Vampire.”

  “Yeah, I can believe you there… thanks a lot, Leon. I owe you one.”

  “Yeah, well, you can buy me a shot sometime,” he said, before glancing up towards Wendy. “Hey… see ya, pretty lady. Ya’ll have a good morning, now.”

  When the sun finally came up the following day, JD gave Joy, Matt and Mary something to munch on and fresh cups of coffee, before walking them out to Reggy’s van… and no one made mention of any Vampires from the previous night, because they didn’t remember a thing about it.

  “I’m sorry about your friends,” JD sincerely said. “It was a tragic event. I’ll be sure to notify your friend’s folks, ahead of time for you.”

  “Thanks for your help, Sherriff,” Matt said, wincing from the brightness of the sun. “Man, I sure got one hell of a knot on the back of my head… I have no idea how that got there. Did I get drunk?”

  Sarah threw Wendy a look and a half-smile.

  Matt crawled into the driver’s seat of the van, as Mary climbed into the passenger’s and Joy slipped into the back.

  JD slid the side door shut and gave the van a pat, as it rolled off towards the freeway. “Take care, now! Just follow the road on up to the main highway!” he called out, as Nanook ran alongside the
van, barking until they disappeared around a bend in the road.

  There were probably a dozen microphones shoved in JD’s face, when he stepped up to the podium at the town hall meeting. He hated answering anyone’s questions, especially outside reporters; it would take everything he had, to keep his temper under control. No one outside of Wolf Creek would’ve even known about the staged bus accident, if the Wolves would’ve lost the game, but since it was the state championship and were supposed to be making guest appearances on the radio, the team was already front-page news.

  The first pain-in-the-ass reporter stepped up to the mic. “Are you sure, it was the named suspect who killed Jacob Richards?” “Yes, of course,” JD’s serious tone answered. “We found evidence at his home linking him to the crime.”

  “So, he was a referee for the Wolf Creek High School football games?”

  “Yes, I’m afraid,” JD answered professionally. “He was driving the bus back from the game and the vehicle had crossed the center line. They collided, head-on, with a truck carrying three young individuals. Both, the bus and truck, then, proceeded over the edge of the cliff, causing both vehicles to ignite and burn. There were no survivors in either of the vehicles.”

  “Was he licensed to drive a school bus?” asked a female reporter, with an extremely unattractive voice, that sounded like jagged shards of broken glass.

  The sheriff was beginning to appear irritated, as he answered the question. “Yes, he has driven before, on many separate occasions. Actually, he’s been working for the school system for several decades now, without incident.”

  “Who were the kids in the truck and what were they doing in Wolf Creek?”

  “We’re still in the process of contacting families, so we are withholding their names at this time. It’s been a very long, difficult night and there is still plenty of investigating to be done… so I’m not going to be answering any more questions. Thank you.”

  “One more question!” a man’s voice was heard above the bubbling crowd. “What about the mayor? Where is he?”

  “Mayor Donovan was on the bus and is listed among the casualties,” JD reported, before shutting of his microphone. “That’s it, folks… no more questions.”

  Many families were standing around, crying and weeping for their loved ones, when JD pulled up to the police station. He maneuvered his way through the dense crowd, giving comfort to some as he passed by. When he finally stepped up to the front doors of the building, he turned address the sea of sad faces.

  “This community has sustained a terrible loss, because of this tragic accident. We will never forget this day or the lives that have been lost,” Sheriff JD said, truly wanting to ease their aching hearts. “You should all go home now and be with your families and friends. I’ll see everyone this Thursday at the memorial service.”

  JD, Nate, Wayne, Tony and Brad have wrapped Jax Wilson’s body in a thick, Indian blanket and it was placed upon a platform made of tree branches; the body burned brightly, at the Lycan funeral, deep in the Boone County Woods, that night.

  “We’ll miss you, Jax,” said JD, “our brother and fellow Pack member. Let your spirit soar, now. You’re free of the Lycanthrope bounds.” Lifting his head to the sky, he went on saying, “Be well, in the afterlife… you were a good soul and you will always be remembered.”

  The men’s minds conjoined, as they all flashed-backed to 1830; John, Wayne, Bradley, Nate and Tony are all dressed in trapper clothes. The wounds they’d sustained, in the wolf attack the night before, have been dressed and already healed and they vividly remember giving their savior, the Mohawk Indian guide and the same send-off.

  After a tiring, drawn-out day, JD and Nanook finally stepped through the front door of his log cabin home. As he was hanging his hat, Wendy looked up from the couch, where she had been waiting and rehearsing a few lines, as she had some important news to tell.

  “Hey, honey, glad you’re home,” she said sweetly. “Can we talk about something?”

  “I’m exhausted, babe, can we do it tomorrow?”

  “Well,” she said carefully. “I went to the doctor on Friday and I got a call from him today.”

  “What? Are you okay? Is there anything wrong?” JD panicked, rushing to her side.

  “Yes, I’m very okay,” Wendy said, cracking a smile. “And, you are going to be a father, again.”

  JD instantly grabbed her, giving Wendy a long, passionate kiss and whispered in her ear, full of excitement. “I love you so much, Wendy. Things around here are going to change… you just watch and see.”

  The next morning, JD went into the bathroom and locked the door. He looked at himself in the mirror for a good moment and then looked back around at all of the empty bottles of booze and the sink-full of half-prescriptions. Methodically, JD began dumping out the last of the booze out in the sink and then whatever pills he had laying around, he flushed down the toilet. Lastly, he unscrewed the flask of yohimbe, watching, as the liquid and various-colored drugs circled down to the septic tank, where it belonged. JD, then, took one longer gaze, at his reflection in the mirror and smiled… for once… happy.

  ___________________________________________________

  Chapter Twenty-Seven

  According to the Farmer’s Almanac, this winter will equal to the one of thirteen years ago, when half of the high school football team was killed in a horrible bus crash. The winter winds howled into the town of Wolf Creek and the snow blustered through the trees of Boone County Woods, just outside of town. Wolf Creek had remained pleasant for the past decade, or so and the truce had stayed, well in place; only on occasion, would the Lycans have to enforce the Blood Law. Because from day one, the Pack had been instructed to never trust a Vampire… and that they did not.

  It was four in the morning, dark, misty and cold. A motorcycle had crashed along a deserted stretch of highway, on the outskirts of Wolf Creek. The rider must’ve been out of his mind to be out on a motorcycle at night, around this time of year. The roads were slick and the bike just couldn’t make the curve. Now, the man lies, completely still, in the middle of the highway, among the broken parts of his beloved bike.

  A lone vehicle came upon the site of the mishap, stopping and a woman getting off from the late-shift at the hospital, very cautiously approached the injured man. “Hey!” she nervously crept. “Are you alright?”

  The body didn’t move, as she inched closer.

  “Hey, can you hear me?” she shouted again, with a shaky voice. By the sight of things, she assumed that he must be dead. The

  woman flipped opens her cellphone to report the crash. She looked around to describe her location to the operator and in mid-sentence, a hand suddenly shot out and grabbed her leg. The frightened woman screamed out in pain, dropping her phone, as the man’s fingernails began to grow, digging deeply into her flesh. Before the phone touched the pavement, an enormous wolf-like beast appeared, from out of nowhere, charging out of the surrounding trees, hitting the Vampire like a semi-truck and ripping the Vampire from the pavement. The Vampire let go of the woman’s leg and tried to shield himself, as this strange and magnificent animal struck, dragging him off into the darkened woods, without breaking stride.

  Screams of terror could be heard, echoing throughout the woods, before a long howl erupted and then… silence.

  Not even a moment after the sounds died out in the forest, did a police truck arrive on-scene, with two deputies rushing out of the vehicle, hurrying over to the woman, who was now sitting by herself in the middle of the highway?

  “Ma’am, are you okay?” Tony asked the shaken woman. “Why are you sitting out here, in the middle of the road? Let me help you up.”

  After the woman was given some time to gather herself, she began telling the story to the two deputies, Tony and Wayne, explaining how she’s heard howling in the distance, after a beast had appeared and attacked a wrecked motorist. She was having difficulty speaking, obviously in a state of shock. “Before I could fight back,
it grabbed him and disappeared over there,” she said, pointing towards the thick brush. “It looked like Bigfoot!”

  Wayne laughed. “Bigfoot?”

  “Have you been drinking tonight?” asked Tony. “Let me smell your breath.”

  “No!” she screamed at him. “There’s the crashed motorcycle, right over there! Look for yourself!”

  Wayne went to check out the broken bike, dragging a huge chunk of it over to the police truck and throwing it into the back.

  “We’ll handle it from here, lady,” Tony told her. “Don’t worry about a thing and thank you for your concern. We’ll take care of it.”

  “Have I been drinking? I’m wearing a nurse’s uniform, for Christ’s sake. You idiots!”

  The outsider got back in her car, stuck her middle finger out the window and sped away, still completely freaked out after what she’d just witnessed. After her taillights disappeared into the misty night, a nude Brad stepped out into the road, wearing nothing but a big, fat smile; he was quite happy with himself.

  “Hey, you guys wanna give me my clothes, or do you guys want to just keep staring at my naked ass?” Brad jovially asked. “I’m freezing my ass off! Anyways, I took care of that rogue bastard, so we won’t be having any more trouble with him. He broke the Blood Law and his violation was enforced. Do we even need to write this up?”

  “Wayne,” said Tony, “throw this joker his clothes and let’s call it a night. And yes, we have to fill out the paperwork; otherwise the Vampires will start asking a bunch of questions. They always know when one of them is missing… you already know this.”

  “I say the hell with it… let’s just grab a couple beers. He’s dust in the wind.”

  “JD will wring our necks, if things aren’t done by the book,” Tony firmly replied. “End of discussion.”