The Lycan Chronicles

by Schroeder, Brent

  JD and Nate knew what they had to do and they both instantly transformed, leaping out from behind the cover of the police car and attacking. Several of the officers were able to pop off a couple rounds of shotgun blasts, but their weapons were useless against the two Lycans. JD grabbed up the first officer he crossed, palming his head and smashing his skull into a tree, with a deafening crunch, before anyone could attempt to stop him. He ran towards one of the retreating officers, who were trying to get back in his squad car, but it was pointless. JD leaped through the air, tackling the officer, ripping his heart from his chest, as the blood sprayed like a geyser, covering the interior of the police car.

  While JD took care of his end, Nate was chasing down the other two officers, who were now running out towards the woods bordering the road. Nate was much faster than the two morbidly obese law officers, who could only run as fast as their fat asses would carry them. He effortlessly caught up, reaching out, grabbing them by their heads, smashing them together with such force, that they exploded on contact. The dead officers both fired off a couple wild shots, as their bodies convulsed to the ground.

  JD and Nate transformed back into human form, as they wiped the blood from their hands and faces, taking no pleasure in what they’d just done. JD was about to speak, when another single gunshot rang out, forcing them both to hit the dirt. They looked up to see Sebastian standing over the cuffed officer, holding a smoking gun in his hand.

  “He got out of his cuffs and I saw him reach for his leg holster,” Sebastian said, kicking the dead cop’s gun away from the body. “He was pointing a gun at you guys.”

  “That was quick thinking, son,” JD said to him. “They gave us no other option.”

  “I guess you’re really stepping up and filling in the gaps of the Pack… thanks,” Nate said graciously.

  “I just did what I had to do,” Sebastian answered remorsefully. “I’m sorry I had to kill him, dad.”

  “What are we going to do with the cars and the mess from the bodies?” Nate asked JD. “We can’t just leave ‘em here.”

  JD looked up to the road ahead and he noticed a long bridge stretching out over a wide river. “Put all the bodies in two of the cars and we’ll keep the third car, as our own personal escort,” he instructed. “And, then we can hear what’s being said over their police radios.”

  JD, Nate, Sebastian and Chumlee picked up the dead officers and dragged them to their police cars, before JD and Nate got into their driver’s seats and got ready to head for the bridge, over the deep, rushing waters.

  “Sebastian,” JD called out. “You drive my truck and have Moonflower drive Nate’s jeep, until we get to the bridge. Chumlee, you grab the other cop car and follow us.”

  The group of vehicles took off and when JD and Nate got to the bridge, they floored the gas and both went flying over the edge, into the river below. They landed with a splash and since the windows were all rolled down, the cars sank quickly, while JD and Nate unbuckled their seatbelts, quickly swimming back up to the water’s surface.

  Once out of the water, JD instructed, “I’ll drive the police car and everyone follow me.”

  After putting on a Louisiana State Police uniform, he’d taken from the back seat of one of the cars, the group was once again back on the road, getting very close to the swamplands. After another halfhour of driving, JD saw the overgrown path that led into the woods and he turned off the highway, following the road until they reached the trees that were bent over, closing off the only path into Amelia’s domain. The vehicles all came to a stop and everyone got out, wondering why, as they looked around, seeing nothing but trees and swamp water.

  “Now, what?” Wendy asked. “I don’t see anything but swamps.”

  “Just wait,” replied JD, before addressing the group. “I need everyone to gather a bunch of small twigs and branches and bring them to me.”

  Everyone obeyed his orders and gathered up a bunch of broken branches and sticks, putting them into a pile where JD had pointed. He lit the fire and waited for it to grow into a nice, tall blaze, before throwing some wet leaves on top, causing a thick cloud of smoke to roll from the flames. He used the old Indian blanket and began to sending smoke signals, letting Amelia know that he was back.

  Everyone watched him, wondering what the hell he was doing, all of them thinking that he’d finally lost it, when suddenly, the Ash Trees of Life started to creak and bend upwards, revealing the hidden path of dirt leading into the swamps. They all got back into their vehicles, slowly following JD and staying tight, as the black alligator eyes watched them from the dark waters that surrounded them on both sides of the twisting path.

  After a few minutes of driving, they arrived in front of the house and everyone got out of their vehicles and followed JD to meet Amelia, who was standing on her porch, chaining up her two pit bulls, so they wouldn’t fight with Nanook.

  “Glad you all made it safely,” Amelia said, greeting them. “But, you’ll have to get rid of that police car… it can’t be here.”

  “I can assure you that it’s safe, nobody followed us,” JD explained to her. “It has a police scanner that we can use.”

  “You don’t understand,” she replied. “It holds bad karma and the negative energy won’t allow me to work my magic. You see, that police car represents oppression and death to the innocent,” she said further. “Drive it to the end of the path and push it out into the swamp… the farther away from this house, the better. You may keep the police scanner, if it is a necessity.”

  “Nate and I will take care of it,” JD let her know. “But first, let me introduce you to my family and the family of my fallen brothers. Everyone, this is Amelia Black. She’ll be the one helping us through this ordeal. It is imperative that you listen closely to what this woman has to say. It’s because of her great-grandmother that we are alive today.”

  “Welcome to my home,” Amelia said with a smile. “You may all sleep over there, in the guest houses… there are plenty of beds,” she generously offered. “Also, I hope everyone is hungry, because I have cooked enough food for a small army. Put your things away and then, please, come join me.”

  “Thank you, so much,” Wendy replied, approaching Amelia, giving her a hug and a kiss on her cheek. “I’m JD’s wife, Wendy. And, I must ask… it’s not alligator soup, is it?”

  “You’re welcome, dear,” Amelia said to her. “And, no, it’s not alligator soup. The alligators are actually my friends and guardians. And, it’s nice to meet you, also… I don’t get many visitors, out here.” She carried on, “You’re quite the headstrong woman, I can see. I bet you keep JD in line. He’s the kind of man who needs a strong woman like you, to help him through his special needs,” she said, gleaming at Wendy. “I admire that.”

  “I try my best… although, he can be quite the handful. And, even more so, when the moon is full.”

  The ice between the two women had been broken and Wendy was a bit relieved, knowing that she could trust this strange and beautiful woman who lived in the middle of a swamp.

  “I’ve been told, since I was a child, that someday I would have to save a group of Lycans. I didn’t know they’d be the same ones that my grandmother saved, almost two hundred years ago.”

  “We’re the last of them, as far as I know,” Wendy said to her. “In fact, I never planned on becoming a Lycan, in the first place. JD and I agreed on that, when we met at the Blood Bank. I wanted a normal life and JD promised me anything in the world, if he could have me,” she recalled. “A few of our children left town and went to Hollywood… I don’t think they’ll have much of a hard time blending in with the strange crowds out there.

  “Just like me,” Amelia replied. “I’m the last of my kind. And, all of my many years of memories have proven, that everyone else like me has been tracked down and killed,” she confided. “My mother and grandmothers have already met their fates… that is how I ended up with their powers.”

  Amelia was silent for a moment an
d then she spoke again. “What makes me sad, is that when I die… they’ll die with me, since I have no daughter to pass them on to,” she explained to Wendy. “I have seen my own death… arriving in the near future and there’s no changing that.”

  “What a shame,” Wendy sincerely expressed. “I hope we’re not the cause.”

  “This day was written a thousand years ago,” Amelia explained. “I’ve been waiting in this swamp for this very day and I’m ready to go,” she said. “You can’t change the past… and, in this case, the future.”

  Both women hugged and then made their way to one of the guesthouses to drop off Wendy’s belongings, before walking to the main house to enjoy the feast that Amelia had prepared for them.

  JD and Nate were busy taking care of the police car, driving as far as the trees would let them go, before they ran out of pathway. Making sure that all the windows were down, they pushed the car out into the swamp. The alligators swam out of the way as the it plunged into the water, already sinking below the brown, muddy waterline… never to be seen again.

  ___________________________________________________

  Chapter Sixty-Eight

  The Vampire truck drivers awoke to the sounds of an APB warning that was blaring from the police radio it was for JD and the rest of his group. The report said that blood and skull fragments were found on the highway and it appeared that five officers had been killed, along with three missing police vehicles. The mile marker they announced gave the Baron and Max a place to check out. They started the trucks and moved on down the highway, eventually passing the motel where JD and his group had stayed; Max and the Baron could both smell the Lycans in the air.

  When they finally reached the place where the group had been pulled over, Maximilian and the Baron got out of the truck to see if they could pick up on any clues. They could both easily see the blood on the highway, with their heightened eye sight and they could see the marks of where the human’s had earlier died.

  Max got down and sniffed the ground… sure enough, there was a strong scent of Lycan; he stood up and pointed south.

  “If they’re heading south, then I think I know where they’re going,” the Baron said. “I should’ve thought of this, before. Let’s go back to that motel we passed awhile back and then we’re off to the swamps.”

  They loaded up and headed back the way they came, until they reached the motel. The Baron and Max entered the motel lobby, but no one was there to serve them. Max smacked the bell and kept ringing it, until the old man, who was in the back drinking a beer and watching TV, came storming out.

  “What the hell do you want?” the old man shouted. “Get your hands off of that bell, right now! I swear, I’ll wrap it around your neck, if you ring it again!”

  “I need to know if there were several vehicles with Indiana plates that stayed here and how many of them there were,” Max requested of him.

  “What do I look like to you, Google?” the old man snarled. “Besides, I don’t give out that kind of information!”

  “Stop asking and get the information,” demanded the Baron. “You’re wasting our time! Enough with the chit-chat!”

  Max reached over the counter and grabbed the old man by his collar, yanking him over his desk and clamping his teeth down on his neck, quickly sucking the blood out of him. He was able to see the old man’s memories, as the old man kicked and fought, for a brief moment. The man soon became still and Maximilian finished feeding, draining him, dry and tossing his body back over the counter… dead as a doornail.

  “There are eight vehicles in total,” Max relayed to the Baron. “They stayed here for two days, while one left. When he came back, they all left, heading south.”

  “Torch the place… and don’t let that old man turn,” the Baron ordered.

  “Yes, my lord. I will take care of it.”

  The Baron left the motel lobby and climbed into the back of one of the trailers, while Max jumped the front counter. He grabbed a fire axe from the back room and chopped off the old man’s head, kicking it away from the body. Then he went into the man’s living quarters’ kitchen area, ripping the stove away from the wall and yanking the hose to the gas line, causing the room to quickly fill with natural gas. Max propped the old man in his easy chair, in front his television set, placing a beer in one of his hands and a cigarette in the other. He picked up the severed head and carefully tried balancing it back on the dead man’s body, just for his own personal kicks. Max then turned and headed towards the lobby, grabbing a pack of free hotel matches that were sitting in a large ashtray and lighting a candle that was sitting on the counter. He left through the front lobby doors and only made it five steps across the lot, before the place went up in a great ball of fire and smoke that tore into the sky.

  Amelia fulfilled her promise to take very good care of her guests, treating them like kings and queens. A wild boar was roasting over an open pit and there was plenty of crawfish and gumbo to go for many rounds. Everyone ate their fill and some were enjoying homemade brew that Amelia had bottled herself. The entire family was finally beginning to feel safe and a bit relaxed. It had been a hell of a week, considering that Wendy and Sarah were both murdered and then revived… it doesn’t get much worse than that. Plus, the loss of Tony, Brad and Wayne still had everyone grieving.

  “Has she said anything about helping us, JD?” Nate asked him, taking a drink of Amelia’s delicious homebrew.

  “She said to eat, drink and be merry tonight,” JD said back. “The Vampires won’t be here, until tomorrow night. But, they are coming and apparently, they’re leaving a path of destruction along the way.”

  “I just hope we aren’t sitting ducks in this swamp,” Wendy said, taking a sip of beer. “This is the last place I want to die.”

  “We’re all going to have to fight… all of us,” JD explained to them. “But, with her on our side, we stand a damn good chance. Everyone’s going to have to spill blood… everyone. I’m going to need all of you.”

  “Did everyone get enough to eat?” Amelia interrupted, joining the group around the fire.

  “Yes, Amelia and thanks again for your help,” JD said to her, then changing the subject. “Hey, we’ve hardly slept in a week. Is there anything you can tell us that will help us all sleep tonight?”

  “You do realize that an entire covenant of Vampires is after us?” Nate asked, wondering if she knew.

  “Yes,” Amelia replied. “Of course, I’m aware Nate. I’ve seen the vision with my own eyes… you should just relax, for the time being,” she said, attempting to sooth their worries.

  Amelia stood up and made her way to where Whisper was sitting, sitting next to her and picking up one of her hands. “You are just how I pictured you in my vision, Whisper Winds.”

  Whisper was impressed with Amelia’s powers, knowing that her name had never been mentioned before.

  “I’m Amelia Black. And, I think you and I have a lot to talk about,” she said to her. “I know about your powers and I need you to help me. You carry unique abilities, that you’ve never used before… but I can teach you.”

  Amelia put her arm around Whisper and they left the group, moving inside to the innermost part of her home. Candles burned, giving warmth and light in the séance room that was used for casting spells and communicating with spirits. Amelia invited Whisper to enter and then shut the curtains behind her. She instructed for Whisper to stand in a protection circle that was drawn on the bloodstained floor, underneath a demon trap that was drawn in human blood on the ceiling. They were now protected from evil spirits and demons by an outer ring of salt that could not be crossed once they began. Whisper was somewhat familiar with some of these things, but she was far below Amelia’s level; she looked around the room in pure amazement.

  “Do not step on the salt,” Amelia warned her. “It will break the circle.”

  She moved into the circle with Whisper and she spoke, “Sit... I can tell that you have the gift of sight, but you don’t kn
ow how to fully use it, yet. I’m going to need your extra energy… to help save everyone. Can you do that for me?”

  “I will do whatever you need,” Whisper answered back. “I’ve always known I had the gift of sight, but everyone always made fun of me when I talked about it.”

  “People laugh at what they do not understand, young one,” Amelia told her, as she grabbed both of her hands. “I’m going to open your mind further and increase your powers, beyond your wildest imagination. Are you ready?”

  Whisper looked at her intently and nodded her head. They both took a seat at the table in the center of the circle, sitting across from each other.

  “Give me your wrist… this is going to hurt,” Amelia let her know ahead of time. “Don’t move.”

  Whisper cried out in pain, when Amelia cut her wrist, letting her blood drip into a copper bowl, in the center of the carved-out Ouija board table. Amelia repeated the ritual on her own wrist, adding her blood to the bowl and rubbing their wrists together, becoming sisters-in-blood.

  “Here,” Amelia said. “Wrap this around your wrist… it’s clean. This will be worth it, Whisper. You’ll see.”

  “What was that for?”

  “I needed the blood of an innocent,” Amelia answered, wrapping her own wound. “You’re a virgin, right?”

  “Yes!” Whisper gasped, slightly embarrassed. “How did you know… oh, never mind. It seems that you already know everything.”

  “And, in time… so will you, Whisper. And, sadly, I’m afraid that my time has almost come to an end,” the voodoo woman sadly reported. ”And, now… my blood of knowledge flows through your veins. It will take much time, before you fully understand it.”

  Amelia continued her ritual, pouring crushed human bones into the bowl of blood. She opened up a box containing a live chicken and she took a swig of rum from a bottle, spitting the liquid over the flapping bird. She slit the chicken’s throat and drained its blood into the mix on the table. After she was finished, she added a few herbs, a dead frog and also, the tail of a red-devil newt.