by Alex Dire
A moment later, he and his group was surrounded by the sounds of soft footfalls and breathing. Everyone looked around in all directions. They moved to the center of the clearing and stood, backs facing the old fire ring, staring into the midnight forest. Elijah gave Norman a nudge on the arm.
Norman couldn’t see them, but he could feel a pair of eyes staring right into his. He knew this feeling. He’d felt those eyes before…and that smell. He wasn’t sure if he should be scared. Too late for that. “I know you’re there, Judah. We came to talk with you.”
A silence hung in the air as the words left his mouth. Norman held his breath waiting for a response. They all did.
Then a single wolf stepped from the forest into the edge of the clearing. The grey beast padded toward Norman. Its form seemed a blur in the darkness. The only parts Norman could make out clearly, were the ocean blue eyes, bobbing toward him along with the sound of slow panting. Then as the wolf approached, the eyes leapt up into the air and stopped bobbing. The panting changed to breathing and the eyes continued toward him atop a human gate.
“Why did you come, Mr. Bernard? You don’t belong here,” said Juda as he stood close enough for Norman to make out his features.
Norman hadn’t seen this student in a while. He was sure he’d find him and his brothers in the apartment they had on file with the school. However, when he and the Nymphs went there, they discovered only a young mom and her small son. She said they’d just moved in. Elijah had warned him that this would be the case, that the pack would need to relocate now that their identity had been blown. Norman had insisted on trying anyway.
“How long do you and your brothers plan on hiding out here?” asked Norman.
“Long enough to be forgotten,” replied the former student.
“I don’t think that’s going to happen, now,” said Norman. “Some really bad folks know you're out here, somewhere.”
“We’ll hide. It’s what we always do. We can survive out here a long time. Don’t think we haven’t done it before.” Judah crossed his arms.
“This is different.” Norman paused to figure out where to start. “There’s a war. A different kind of vampire…”
“We don’t get involved in your wars anymore,” replied Judah. “Our war is done.”
Norman wondered what he meant by ‘our war.’ “But you helped us before. We need you again. And not just your pack. All the packs.”
Seven human forms then stepped from the woods into the edge of the clearing and stood behind Judah. A man slightly taller and older than Judah rested his hand on his shoulder. Norman recognized this young man. His mind flashed back to the lone man standing in the alley that night he’d chased Judah through the city streets. That first encounter had not been a pleasant one for him. He hoped this one would go better.
“I’m Adrian,” said the older man. “You may not have realized how much you hurt my little brother. So, let me explain it to you.”
Norman detected a hint of anger but also wisdom in the man’s voice.
“We tried to raise Judah in the human world since he was a pup. We sent him to regular schools. He kept getting kicked out. He couldn’t control his changes so we had to keep him home a lot. Sometimes for long stretches around the time of the Bright Nights. His last stop was your school. He was getting old enough to control his shifts.” Frustration crept into Adrian’s tone. “We wanted to pull him out of school and leave. He begged us. He’d grown…attached. It seemed only natural, I guess. He was raised with humans.” The man looked off for a moment in reflection. “We watched you close. He’d had his troubles with teachers before, but a vampire? It was almost too much.”
“I didn’t know what he was,” said Norman. If he had would it have made a difference? Should it have? At the end of the day, Juda was just a kid in need. They all were.
“And that’s how we like it. That’s the way it’s been for thousands of years. We’ve worked very hard to retreat into fairytales and bedtime stories.” Adrian took his hand off Judah’s shoulder. “When we’re discovered, we kill. Adrian let a gap of silence emphasize the statement. “But Judah begged us. He begged us again. He through a few good punches, too. So, we let you live. You should have died in that alley, Mr. Bernard.”
Norman had thought he would die that night. He'd trailed Juda to that alley only to be beaten senseless by a group of inhumanly strong young men. Judah had intervened.
Norman looked at his former student who’d saved his life that night.
“We decided to pack up and leave. We’d live in the forest until any hint of our existence became whisper and rumor. Then we could relocate.” Adrian looked down at his younger brother. “But Judah refused. He refused to leave. He said you…that you all needed him.” The tall werewolf looked across the faces of Norman’s Nymphs. “He said he’d leave us.” He looked back at Norman. “We wolves are a loyal lot. We dragged him off, but he kept sneaking away, every chance he got, checking up on you and his friends. We’d find him again and bring him back out here. He told us there was a new kind of vampire. One that couldn’t be staked. This intrigued us, but ultimately seemed like even more of a reason to stay away. And more of a reason to keep Judah out of the city.”
The other brothers chuckled at this. Norman didn’t know much about werewolves, but he was beginning to get the idea that they weren’t exactly friendly to his kind.
Adrian continued, “Judah said he would sneak away again. That he had to help you. We knew he’d get away eventually, so we struck a deal. The whole pack would help you if he agreed to leave the city forever.”
Now Norman understood why Judah had not returned to school after the ordeal with Skeete and his Beta Corps. V’s. Until now, he had not, however, understood just how attached Judah had become. “Judah, why did you do that? Why did you risk your life…your pack?”
Judah’s defiant face softened as his will to maintain the facade gave way, “I’ve had a lot of teachers, Mr. Bernard. They all try to shuffle me out of their classes. They blame me for every problem that goes on. Every fight I’m in is my fault. Everything that goes missing…” He looked away. “Racists,” he growled. “They tell me missing school is my fault. I need to try harder. I need to get to school more. I wanted to get to school. I went every damn day I could. I tried to be respectful, to be nice. They were always afraid of me.” Judah looked at his bare feet. “You’re the only teacher that didn’t seem annoyed that I was even there. You went to bat for me. For the first time, I got the feeling I’d get through the year in the same classroom. Maybe graduate.” Judah’s voice trailed off.
Adrian picked up, “We project an aggressive demeanor no matter our mood. It’s in our nature…a survival mechanism. We’d hoped that raising him with humans would blunt the effect. It only made it worse. He felt threatened by his peers and his teachers his whole life. He was in fight or flight mode all the time.” Adrian embraced his younger brother. He lifted Judah’s chin up with his finger and looked into his eyes. He then guided the youth back amongst his brothers. “So, you see, Mr. Bernard, Judah is with us for good now. I’m not sure why you came for us. We made pretty short work of your ‘different kind of vampire.’ You know their weakness. What you need is a little strategy, not a pack of werewolves.” Without turning away from Norman, he addressed his brothers. “Time to go boys.”
The pack began to shift back to wolves and walk out of the clearing.
Why were these wolves so stubborn? Don't they know what this means for them? “It’s worse than that,” said Norman. “Those vampires you killed. They were a surprise, but they were child’s play compared to the one we’ve come up against.”
“Good evening, Mr. Bernard,” said Adrian. He began to turn to leave but stopped momentarily. “Nice to see you as always, Elijah.” He then turned completely around and walked toward the edge of the woods.
Norman shouted. “This new vampire is immune to wood and to sunlight. Inside and out. We saw him gash his own chest open with a wo
oden knife in full sun. He healed like it was nothing.”
“Good luck with that one,” said Adrian as he retreated.
Norman saw his chance. “One?” said Norman. “No, Adrian, not one.”
Adrian stopped.
“Thousands.”
Adrian craned his neck and looked at Norman with one eye.
Norman asked, “Think you can hide from thousands of vampires who can stalk you day and night and can’t be staked?”
Adrian turned full around. He opened his mouth to speak, but no words came. He tightened his lips into a scowl, wrinkling his forehead, staring at Norman.
“Good luck with that one,” said Norman, turning Adrian’ phrase back at him.
Adrian placed his thumb and fore finger into his mouth and breathed a quick breath sending a whistle echoing through the woods. In an instant, his brothers howled and came back to his side. “It seems Mr. Bernard and I have more to speak about after all.”
Norman peered into the dark crack in the rock. Weeds and vines grew over the cave entrance. Twelve wolves shuffled about, pacing around among Norman and his Nymphs.
“Well,” said Adrian, approaching Norman in human form from behind.
“This is the den?” asked Norman.
“Yes,” replied Adrian. “What did you expect?”
Norman looked again at the entrance. It was so overgrown with brush and weeds, he couldn’t see how to weave his way through. “I’m not sure how to even get in.”
“Exactly,” replied Adrian. “In we go, boys.”
At this command, all the wolves broke for the cave. They ran effortlessly through spaces in the tangled plants that Norman hadn’t seen at first.
Adrian smiled. “After you, Professor.”
Norman found a small space and pushed apart the bramble with his hands. He climbed through, followed by his Nymphs. Adrian entered last.
Inside all the wolves paced around, their tongue’s dangling from their open mouths. They panted from the exertion of their sprint to the cave. They’d run most of the night.
“When we see them, let me do the talking, please. None of them will like you. Their instincts will be to tear all of you to pieces the instant they see you. It’s their right, after all. The session should be ending very soon. I’ll bring you in when they begin to attend to ‘other business.’”
“Sounds very bureaucratic,” said Norman.
“We all have our ways, Mr. Bernard,” snapped Adrian. “You may wish to be a bit nicer to me. I’m the only way you get out of here alive.”
Alive? Norman only came to ask for help. This wasn't supposed to be a deadly encounter.
Adrian led the group of Nymphs and wolves through a small labyrinth of rough-hewn tunnels to the back of the cave. Norman was surprised to find an iron door cleft into the rock. This was no cave. Two men stood post in front of the door barely lit by a flickering torch on the wall.
The sentry on the left wore a black business suit, his hair slicked back and face devoid of stubble. “Adrian. You’re not on tonight’s agenda, I thought…”
The two guards snapped into a rigid defensive posture as they saw the vampires enter behind Adrian and his pack. The sentry who’d been speaking growled as the other shifted into wolf form and started barking.
“Easy does it,” said Adrian. “They’re with us.”
“You can’t bring them in here!” spat the guard.
The other kept barking with more and more ferocity. The noises tore into Norman’s ears. He felt as if the wolves might rip them to pieces with these sounds alone.
Judah and his brothers began barking in reply.
“Pack, quiet,” ordered Adrian. The brothers fell silent. “I can, Marcus. It’s my right. Now please shut your friend up before I’ve got to do it myself.”
The slick faced guard tightened his eyebrows and pursed his lips. He looked over Adrian’s shoulder and pulled his nose into a snarl. Norman thought he looked as if his face was about to explode.
He stared into Norman’s vampire eyes. A growl escaped his teeth which began to expose beneath his snarling lips. “Back off,” he shouted, directing his words toward his comrade.
The wolf fell silent and let a whimper escape his mouth. He morphed back into human form. He picked up his underwear which had fallen off along with his other clothes when he shifted. He looked up at Adrian who stood naked before them. “Jacket required.”
Marcus handed him some clothes from a rack off to the side. “I’ve got enough for you, but your brothers will have to stay out here. So will they.” He shot a disgusted look at the vampires, then back at Adrian. “The Circle’s going to kill you for this. Your…friends, too.”
“I’ll make a note,” replied Adrian as he began to dress himself.
Marcus looked at his watch and nodded at Adrian. “It’s time.” He grasped the heavy metal ring on the iron door. “You might want to tell your friends to avoid the handle. I hear they’re not so crazy about silver.” He pulled at the knob. The hinges squealed in protest. Marcus stopped pulling when the door opened only enough to let himself through to the other side.
Norman couldn’t see past the door. Norman began to regret seeking this meeting. Being surrounded by insanely strong werewolves, with his only escape a slivered door, was not what he had anticipated. He listened intently to discern what he could. He heard several voices mumbling and sensed multiple people in the room. None were in wolf form based on their heart and breathing rates.
Marcus’ voice came through the partially opened door. “Excuse me Alpha. I have someone who’d like to be added to the agenda under ‘other business.’”
Norman heard a voice reply. “Marcus. We’re just about done here. It will have to wait until next cycle.” The voice was old with years and wisdom.
“Forgive my boldness, sir,” replied Marcus. “But you’ll want to see this.”
Silence came through the opening in the door. Then, “Very well. Please identify the petitioner.”
Adrian looked into Norman’s eyes. For the first time, he did not seem in complete control of the situation. Norman eyed the two sentries as worry filled his chest. He wondered if he should consider an escape plan. Adrian disappeared through the door.
“I present Adrian Martinez,” said Marcus’ disembodied voice.
“Your honorable Alpha. I thank you for making time in the agenda to hear my issue,” said Adrian.
“Yes,” said the old voice that Norman presumed belonged to the Alpha. “We haven’t had a Martinez address the Circle in a long time. I thought you might never come back to us. Have you concluded your experiments with integration? Have you made some breakthrough we need to hear about?”
“Not exactly, Alpha,” said Adrian.
“What is it then? What do you bring before the Circle?”
A brief silence ensued. Perhaps Adrian had a flare for drama. “Vampires,” he said at last.
Norman heard the voices on the other side of the door chuckle.
“Mr. Martinez,” said the Alpha, “if you want to participate in our deliberations, you’ll need to get on our regular agenda. We’ve been debating vampires all night, just like we do every cycle. I don’t appreciate this ruse to circumvent our rules.” Agitation infected his voice. “Marcus, show Mr. Martinez out.”
“No,” interrupted Adrian. “You’ve mistaken my intent.”
Norman heard movement and footsteps on the other side of the metal portal. Then the massive creak of the silver door hinges echoed through the cave. The door swung open to reveal a circular chamber within. Thirteen figures sat in business clothes around a series of polished, curved tables arranged in a semicircle matching the arc of the walls. Rows of pews holding an audience faced the figures at the tables.
The door thudded against the wall of the cave as it opened completely. The thirteen forms shot up in their chairs. They all barked except for the one in the center. He was older with wavy grey hair. He stood looking into Norman’s eyes with anger and in
dignation. He then let out a howl. The other twelve transformed their barks to howls as well.
Norman began to back up, pushing his Nymphs along. Those howls were like no other sound he'd heard. All he wanted to do was run. He whispered to Felicia over his shoulder. “This was a mistake.”
Suddenly the howling stopped.
The Alpha belted out, “Vampires! How dare you bring vampires into this Circle! Adrian Martinez, this is treason. Seize him at once! This meeting is over.”
Three guards stationed around the perimeter of the chamber moved toward Adrian. Marcus turned and smiled at Norman and the Nymphs. He reached out and grabbed Norman by the arm. “Why don’t we do this the easy way. What do you say?”
11
Filibuster
Before the guards could take three steps, Adrian’s brothers ran into the chamber and surrounded him. They began barking ferociously as more werewolves from the audience began shifting and moving in on them. A standoff ensued with Judah and his brothers snarling and growling tooth to tooth with the wolves that had sat in audience in the Circle.
Adrian certainly had a flair for the dramatic. Norman wondered if it would get them all killed. He continued to back away from the growling and barking, tugging against Marcus' grip.
“Honorable Alpha. I mean no disrespect. I do not come before you with topics for regular deliberations. I mean to speak of the very survival of our kind. These vampires have information we must deal with now. By the time the next cycle arrives, we’ll all be dead.” A hint of desperation wedged its way into Adrian’s deep authoritative tone.
The audience wolves fell silent, waiting for a command from their Alpha. The Circle remained standing, also waiting.
“Adrian Martinez. It is very likely that you will die tonight, along with your new…friends. If we spare your brothers, they will become slaves.” The Alpha then sat down in his chair. “You shall speak before we issue our judgment.”
The rest of the Circle sat back down in their tall-backed, dark-stained ornate wooden chairs. The audience shifted to human form and sat back in their pews. Marcus released Norman’s arm. A low growl seethed through he werewolf's snarl.
