by Remy Marie
Jason got one last glimpse of Harry moving towards him before everything went completely dark.
Chapter 11
Jason awoke in bed with the sunlight beaming on his face. Jason felt disorientated as he slowly sat up. The room smelled as if it was an ashtray.
Is this the hospital, Jason thought as he attempted to look around the room. The more he looked around, the more Jason began to panic when he realized that his vision was blurred. His vision had always been a perfect 20/20, but now he could barely see his hand.
As he stared at his hands in disbelief, his ears started to ring like never before. Jason growled in pain as he cupped his ears to stop all of the white noise from coming in. The ambient noise was too much to handle, as it flooded his ears. Thousands of sounds invaded Jason’s ears as he tried using a pillow to dull the noise.
Not only was the noise a problem, but the smell of the room was also annoying Jason. There was a deep smell of smoke that saturated everything in his room.
Just make this stop.
As if someone has been reading Jason’s thoughts, he heard a female speak up.
“Your vision will return soon, and the noise will settle down eventually. I can’t do anything about the smell though. You can blame Greg for that,” The voice snickered. Jason jumped at the sound of the random voice.
“Who is there?” Jason asked as he looked around the room frightened.
“Also with training, you would be able to hear and see over great distances,” The female voice added. Jason noticed the voice sounded as if it was getting closer and sound of footsteps got closer. A door finally opened, and a female figure walked in.
“Who are you?” Jason asked, confused and worried. “What’s going on with me?” Jason asked.
“You don’t recognize my voice?” the female figured laughed.
“I can’t see you. You’re blurred.”
“That’s because you are not focusing. Listen to the sound of my voice and focus on the shape of my body. Treat your eyes as if you are using a camera and tell them to zoom outward.”
Jason tried what the figure told him, and the room began to focus out. He realized that the bedroom he was in was a log cabin, not a hospital, as he stared at the honey maple logs stacked on top of each other. Besides, the red and blue Oriental rug underneath bed, his entire bedroom was a natural colored wooded floor. In the corner of his room was a sand colored brick fireplace. Two logs cracked from the intense heat of the fire. Upon full glance of his room, Jason realized there was no medical equipment around Jason at all.
Where am I? Jason looked around the room he was currently in. Jason’s attention snapped back to the woman in front of him, as Jason realized the woman standing in front of him was Deputy Green, and she was wearing street clothes. She was wearing a red and black plaid shirt and a pair of ripped jeans. Her brown hair was no longer in a tight bun, as it was draped on top of her shoulders. Her green eyes stared at Jason as he recognized her. She smiled when she realized that Jason’s vision was set correctly.
“Deputy Green. What’s going on here? Where am I? Why are you not in uniform?” Jason asked confused.
“Call me Allison, pup. Get dressed,” Allison pointed to some clothes on a four drawer mahogany dresser. “Once you’re dressed, come downstairs. Greg will explain everything.” Allison added as she left the room.
Who the hell is Greg? Jason swung the blanket over his body and out of bed. As he got up, his body felt lighter than usual. As he walked to the dresser, his body felt as if it was gliding across the floor.
This is so weird, what’s happening to me? Jason thought as he walked to the dresser. On the dresser, there was a nicely folded blue flannel shirt and jeans, along with brown work boots. As Jason was getting his jeans on, he noticed the large scar on his arm.
The werewolf scratch! Jason remembered as he reviewed the scar. Could it be? The changes in his body and his senses all point to the same answer. Jason inspected the scar in more detail. The marks looked deep but completely healed. That’s interesting, but how long have I’ve been out? Jason thought as he dressed. As Jason put on his boots, he heard four more voices. He recognized two of them immediately. Trini and Mohinder!
Jason got up from tying his shoes and realized that his body moved faster than he has ever moved before. In two quick strides, Jason made it ten feet across the room to the door.
“What the-?” Jason exclaimed, confused. Jason grabbed the door and pulled the door open. The metal of the door handle felt soft in Jason’s palm as he squeezed the metal tight. His eyes opened wide when the imprint of his hand was left on the brass handle. I’m faster and stronger than I ever been, what in the hell is happening?
Jason exited his room, and before he blinked, he was downstairs in the dining room, staring at Mohinder, Trini, Allison, Sheriff Millhouse and a smaller plump woman he didn’t recognize. The dining room looked like it belonged on the cover of Better Homes and Gardens. The dining room had large wooden cathedral ceilings. Dangling from the ceiling was two countryside three tier chandeliers made of iron. The corner of the dining room, matched Jason’s room with a sand brick fireplace. Jason turned his focus back on the group at the dining table. They all sat with coffee cups in front of them on a large oak wooden table. The table was designed for a group of twenty, and the group of five looked out of place while they waited for Jason to arrive.
“Good morning sleeping beauty,” Millhouse said as he puffed a cigar.
“Sheriff?” Jason exclaimed confused.
“That’s what they call me in town, but you can call me Greg though. Now that Jason is awake, I can finally talk about what’s going on. Jason, if you want coffee, it’s in the silver pot,” Greg said, pointing to the silver jug of coffee at the center of the wooden table. Beside the coffee was a silver platter of raspberry pastries.
Jason poured himself a mug of coffee and noticed the touch of the warmer mug felt usual. However, the taste of coffee warmed his blood, and he felt more energized than ever. Jason then walked over and sat next to Mohinder and Trini. Sitting beside Trini was another woman. She was a larger woman for her short stature and had tan skin. Her natural dark hair rivaled Trini’s and was tangled with curls. She had a small black birthmark on her upper left lip. Jason didn’t recognize her, but all three of them looked about as confused as he did. Jason couldn’t help but stare at Mohinder’s left eye which was as white as a pearl.
“Jason, Trini, and Mohinder had already met her when you were waking up, but this is Isabella. She was at the party as well.” Jason nodded and then smiled at Isabella. She looked nervous, but she returned with a small smile of her own.
Greg smiled, took a puff of his cigar, and then said “Good, now that everyone is settled. Let’s go ahead and get the elephant out of the room. I’m sure you may have guessed it, but you four are all werewolves. When you were attacked six months ago-“
“Wait six months! We were in a coma for six months. It’s bloody December!” Mohinder yelled confused.
“Settle down, Mohinder. Yes, you were in a coma or as we call it lupus metamorphosis. Just let me finish what I was saying. If you have any other questions, I will answer them after I finish my thoughts,” Greg told the group, annoyed at Mohinder’s sudden outburst. “When you were attacked six months ago, all four of you were bitten. Any human can turn into a werewolf if they survive the attack. If the human survives, they gain extraordinary abilities and will be able to shapeshift into a werewolf. As a human, your senses will be increased as well. Not to mention, your lifespan is now sevenfold of a normal human,” Greg said as he took a sip of the coffee.
“Like dog years in reverse?” Jason asked.
“Exactly,” Greg replied.
“Why did those werewolves attack us?” Isabella asked. Jason noted Isabella’s strong Spanish accent and realized that she must be of Hispanic origin.
“Well-“Greg paused and looked at Allison as if the secret was too large to handle. He shook his head, and th
en he took a sip of coffee from his green mug. Greg exhaled, then got up and walked over to a nearby desk that was outside the dining area. He placed his cigar in an ashtray located on the desk and rummaged through the drawers. Greg mumbled to himself until his self-conversation stopped and he pulled out an old yellow parchment from the desk. Greg slowly walked back over to the group with the large map in his hand.
“You mind moving your coffee, Jason?” Greg asked as he unrolled the parchment.
Once Jason’s coffee was removed from the table, Greg spread out the parchment and revealed a map of the outlined continental United States. However, each state and country wasn’t placed in its usual location. Instead, the map was divided into seven separate areas. At the top of the map was the header of “Lycan States of America.” Once the map was fully stretched out on the table, Greg looked back up to the group.
“Our history spans longer than most ancient civilizations. Werewolves were around when pyramids and democracies where just ideals. Our ancestors believed that while normal humans evolved from primates, we evolved from wolves. Our kind once roamed Central Europe until we were hunted. That is how your world knows of our race. We were nearly made extinct until we migrated to America. I was one of the first born werewolves in this country, as were a few others. When I was born, werewolves were under one banner and one king. We defended our kingdom from any threat as one race. However, as America changed, so did our race. Over time, we decided that having one alpha wasn’t right to govern such a large body of werewolves. Therefore, we split the land into seven states as you see here. The plan to separate had repercussions as our clans became more divided. So much so, wolves engaged in countless wars and skirmishes that our race had become very territorial and attacked any who got inside our state lines.”
“What state are we currently in?” Trini asked as she leaned forward.
“Well, we’re here in eastern North Carolina. The map says it’s called East Alocenia. It looks a lot like the country of Chile; and right there is the town of Meekins, that’s where we are now,” Jason said pointing to the small town on the map.
“But according to this map, the town is actually a border town between two states, right Greg?”
“Correct,” Greg replied. “Huh, I never thought about our narrow state looking like Chile. I guess that’s one reason to bring in new blood in a clan every once and a while. The majority of our state is on the East Coast,” Greg said as he pointed to the state line. “East Alocenia is a smaller state compared to the rest. Our border starts here,” Greg said, pointing to the state of Florida. “From there, it goes all the way to Maine. The best way to describe where the majorly of state line ends is where Interstate 95 is located. West Alocenia’s state is on the other side of the highway,” The sheriff said as he ran his finger down the outline of the interstate until he stopped at the town of Meekins, where a line crossed between the town of Meekins and New Tyler. “New Tyler is on the other side of the highway, and that is where the werewolves that attacked your group are.”
“Where does the king of East Alocenia live? Is it New York City?” Isabella asked, excited. “I’ve always wanted to go to New York,” she told the group smiling.
“You think that a werewolf would live in a city of over nine million people?” Greg asked with a smile on his face. “A werewolf needs a place to run, a place to hunt and not be bothered. That’s why the majority of our statesmen live in the forests and swamps. To answer your question, our king lives here.” Greg said as he pointed to the small town of Korywen next to the city of Norfolk, Virginia. He comes to our town from time to time. It’s been a while since I’ve seen him. Allison, it’s been since 1989, right?” the sheriff asked looking towards his deputy.
“Yeah, he was a real good looker too,” She said as she took a sip of coffee.
“Right-” Millhouse replied as he stared at his love stuck deputy. “Does anyone have any more questions?”
“I do,” Trini whispered as if she was afraid to ask a question. “We’ve been asleep for six months. Have my parents or my friends seen me since I’ve been in the lupus metamorphosis?
Greg looked at Trini. His dark eyes met hers and only showed a face of seriousness as he stared at her. Millhouse sighed and stroked his beard and finally gave Trini her answer. “All four of you are officially dead. We lied to the media saying that it was a wild wolf attack. Mohinder and Isabella you two died in the woods. Jason and Trini, you both died on the way to the hospital. From what I’ve seen, Mohinder and Jason, your college held a silent vigil for you. Trini, your parents took the news hard as well. Your mother wept the entire time. We used random corpses and made them unrecognizable. It was the only way to convince everyone that y’all were dead.”
Jason looked at Trini, and her eyes were filled with tears as she began to cry after hearing the news. Slowly, Jason reached and squeezed her hand tightly. She noticed his gesture and gave a big smile towards him. Millhouse smiled at the couple then turned his attention to Isabella.
“Isabella, I’m so sorry, but when your family heard the news, your brother took his own life a couple weeks after the event,” Isabella gasped as if she realized her family’s fate.
“Mi hermano, why would he do that? I have to go back home now,” Isabella reacted as she stood up. “Mi familia needs me; I need to go check on them.” As she walked to the door, in a blur, Jason watched Allison beat her towards the front door.
He was amazed at Allison’s speed. To travel that fast in the distance, she had to be moving at unnatural speeds. Allison stood in front of the door. Her face showed compassion as she started into Isabella’s eyes.
“I can’t let you leave, sorry.”
Isabella glared at Allison.
“Move or else,” Isabella growled.
“While I would love to tussle with you,” Allison said as she ogled Isabella’s body. “You need to hear us out before you leave.” Allison pointed towards the dining room where the group sat.
“Allison is right. We can’t force you to stay, but listen to this and consider it before you leave. You have been dead for six months. When you return home, people will wonder why the police in Meekins had lied about your death. Your parents could hold you responsible for your brother’s death. You will bring an unwanted investigation by the state and the federal government to our small town. If you leave now, there will only be two options: tell everyone about the truth about werewolves causing countless innocent lives to be lost, or not say anything and have the authorities come here and check on the faulty reporting we did. They find out, then more innocent werewolves die again. So just know whatever you do, you will kill werewolves and humans alike,” Greg said as he stared passionately at Isabella.
Isabella glared at Millhouse as if he slapped her across the face. She shook her head and wiped her tears as she sat down. “Now what? We just sit here like pinche iditoas and stare at each other for ten years,” Isabella asked sarcastically. The sheriff smiled and chuckled.
“That’s a new one, mi amiga.” He got up and walked back to the lit cigar in the ashtray. He inhaled a large portion of the smoke then exhaled. He smiled at the group and stared at each one of them in the eye. “Now you learn how to turn into your wolf.”
Chapter 12
Trini barely heard the last few words from the sheriff. Her heart felt broken as she watched Jason and Mohinder continue to ask Greg more questions.
My parents, dear God, I didn’t even get a chance to say goodbye. My last conversation with mom was cut off by a dead battery while my father’s last words were, get the hell out. We just had a big fight about Kyle when I last visited my parents. I should have been closer to them. I can’t imagine how they feel now. Have they moved on? God, I hope they did. I want to see them, but Greg is right. There’s no telling how my parents would react when I see them. This is my new life now.
Trini halted her thoughts and looked at the man she claimed she loved. She admired his square chin and determined look. His bro
w was furrowed as he continued to ask Greg questions. Greg looked annoyed as he answered each one. With each answer, Jason would pause and calculate it. Trini knew the face; it was a long stare as he considered his options.
That’s my man, always thinking. That’s why I’m in love with him. What he lacks in physical appearance, he makes up in intelligence. However, he is right to be skeptical. I’m still not buying what Greg is selling either. A lycan kingdom? He must be on the finest kush, or he just enjoys writing fanfic.
“Jason, that’s enough questions for right now. Allison, do you want to assist with training them up,” Greg inquired, annoyed.
“Yes, sir. Alright pups, follow me outside.” Allison led the group outside the cabin, after their conversation with Millhouse. The air felt cold but smelled fresh to Trini as she walked onto the wooden deck. Trini turned around to taken in the full size of Greg’s cabin. Calling the home a county cabin was an understatement. The large mansion stood alone in a large grassy plain. It was three stories tall, with a private wooden deck on each level. To the left of where Trini stood, she could see the large glass atrium, in which she saw each level of the mansion. Based on the design of the home, Trini knew Greg must have paid a hefty amount for the home. It was a different style of home she was used to.
She was glad that he could no longer smell the ash from Greg’s cigars. That man smokes more than a chimney. He could have put Kyle to shame in the smoking department. Kyle, you would have gotten a kick out of this shit.
In the distance, Trini could hear a stream in the distance and heard several birds as they called out formations as they headed south. The sun was brighter than usual and in front of the large cabin home was an open plain of grass that stretched beyond even her advanced sight. Allison turned and smiled at the group of four.
“Try to keep up pups,” she shouted at the group and then turned and dashed into a run. Trini’s eyes opened in surprise as she watched Allison run like a gazelle. As she moved, the grass split, showing the path she made. “Come on you pups! Move your asses!” she shouted in the distance.
