by Tia Wilson
“You could call it that. He was grooming me for something bigger, you know how your father works. I mean worked,” Slattery said pouring another drink.
“He was preparing you to be his butler,” Tulimak said looking at Slattery for a reaction. He knew better than to let Tulimak's jabs effect him.
Tulimak cracked his knuckles, each bony pop sounding like a firecracker going off, it was a sign that it was time to get down to business. “What do you think Graces chances of surviving tomorrow are?” he asked Slattery.
Slattery took a sip of his drink watching Tulimak the whole time as the warming liquid burnt a path into his stomach. “I don’t think she can take another hit, especially not something stronger. You heard what the doctor said, she was dead for nearly a minute. She wont survive another dose,” he said.
Tulimak leaned against the glass of the window and looked out at the darkening sky. “Do you think I am a fool for believing in our ancient stories?” he asked.
Slattery gulped back another mouthful of bourbon and watched Tulimak with a sideways glance. Their reflections stared back at them as the sky began to darken. Spotlights around the perimeter of the ranch flickered on and shone wide beams of white light into the fields past the barbed wire topped perimeter fences.
“I think it would be wrong not to test her. If she dies its one less human. If she is the one from the stories, we now have her in our possession and we will soon find out how many of those dusty old tales are nothing but make believe. You know how our people are about stories and self mythologizing our grand and ancient struggle. This could be another case of a tall tale becoming the stuff of legend,” Slattery said.
“My father believed it all,” Tulimak said with a sneer.
“You’re a better man than him. He was becoming weak as he got older. Can you imagine us living in harmony with the black bear scum?” he asked.
The noise of the slap sounded like a gun going off. Slattery stumbled back and held his face, a thin trickle of blood running from the corner of his mouth. “I didn’t mean anything by it,” Slattery said stuttering as he backed away.
Tulimak turned to him and took a step forward. His lips drew back in a snarl and his canine tooth began to elongate.
“I’m drunk. Too much bourbon too fast,” Slattery said as he stepped backwards and bumped the drinks trolley with the back of his leg. The bottles clinked together and a stack of glasses tumbled off and spun out across the floor. “I didn’t mean to talk out of turn about your father,” he said as beads of cold sweat ran down his forehead. Slattery took another step backward and stepped onto one of the tumblers on the ground. His foot shot out from under him and he fell backwards onto a glass that broke with a dull crunch under him. Slattery screamed in pain and began to sit up.
Tulimak stepped forward and looked down at his friend. “Stay,” he ordered Slattery.
Slattery looked up at him with watering eyes. He gritted his teeth and lay back down as the glass crunched beneath him. Blood began to pool around his shoulder and all the colour was gone from his face. “Please Tulimak, forgive me for what I said. It was foolish to ever say anything about your father. He is a great man. Please let me up”, he said and winced through gritted teeth, “the pain is unbearable.”
Tulimak kicked a curving chunk of glass away with his foot and squatted down beside his friend. He pointed his index finger at Slattery's face. The tip of his finger split and blood dripped to the floor. A long claw began to force its way through the broken flesh as Tulimak spoke, “You know what they would have done to you in the old days?” he said, rubbing his finger down Slattery's cheek leaving a thick red line of blood. “They would have had both your eyes out and for good measure cut your tongue clean off. Then dump you in the woods to die slowly.” Tulimak pressed the claw into the skin under Slattery's left eye watching it dimple under the pressure. “You are lucky we are not in the old days anymore,” he said drawing the claw across his cheek and splitting the flesh open in a ragged slash.
Tulimak stood up and returned to the window and looked out across the ranch. Slattery continued to moan behind him as the glass dug into his lacerated shoulder. I was a different man fifty years ago Tulimak thought as he stared at the old barn where he had slaughtered two human ranch hands. He’d lost control of himself and before he knew what was going on he had ripped one mans throat open and then as the second man stood locked to the spot in fear he had transformed and disemboweled the man and consumed most of him before he was found by his father and his men. Fifty years ago I would have killed Slattery where he stood for disrespecting my father, now I see no reason to.
“Get up and get cleaned up,” Tulimak snarled at Slattery, “we have a big day ahead of us. Be at my office at noon.”
Slattery moaned as he sat up. Blood ran down his back and shards of glass were embedded in his flesh. He stood up on shaky legs and leaned against the desk as he stood up straight. Slattery picked up the half full glass of bourbon and downed it in one go. He looked at the heavy glass tumbler in his hand and then at Tulimak with his back to the room. Slattery put the glass down on the table with a thud and hobbled out of the room.
15
Tom
New York 1979
Elder Silas sat across from Nathaniel and Tom and watched them both intently. Tom flicked through the pile of black and white photos again and then passed them to Nathaniel who tapped them along their edge until they were neatly lined up and then sat them face down on the table.
The only other patron in the bar was an old man with tobacco stained fingers and a face that looked like it had been pickled in alcohol for decades. The bar man stood with his arms crossed as he stared at the TV in a metal cage above the bar. A news report showing grainy footage of body bags being loaded onto a helicopter played soundlessly.
All three men were unshaven as they huddled in the corner talking. Their skin looked pale and sickly and a day didn't pass that one of them wished they weren’t embedded in the city for the last year.
Tom took a sip from his flat beer and said, “How sure of this are you Silas? This is a big ask.”
Silas took the pile of photos and slipped them inside his jacket. “If you want me to tell you that I’m one hundred percent sure I can’t. What I can tell you is this is the best lead we have gotten on the boys whereabouts in decades. My sources believe this is him.”
“And who are your sources again?” Nathaniel said with a sneer.
Ease back buddy Tom thought as he shot Nathaniel a look. He always had a short fuse but ever since they had to hole up in New York he was losing it quicker than usual. Two months ago Tom had to drag Nathaniel away from a fight he started and ended when he had beaten up five guys without breaking a sweat. This was the kind of attention they didn’t need to be bringing to themselves. Ever since that night Tom had been observing his long time friend and he was starting to notice that his aggression was increasing from a low simmer and it was coming up to a full on rolling boil. Tom had seen this happen to other shifters when it was called for them to live along side humans for extended periods of time. City life for a certain kind of shifter would slowly drive them crazy until they could take it no more and then they would return to the wilderness. Tom knew of other shifters that had no problems with living amongst the humans. The ones who choose this lifestyle were a rare breed and it was usually out of love that they made such a decision.
Up until recently Tom had nothing but respect for Nathaniel. They had worked side by side for close to two decades and he was the kind of tracker that Tom wished he could be in some future time. Tom wasn't expecting the cracks to show so quickly during their time in the city.
“You know how this works Nathaniel,” Silas replied in a calm measured tone, “I cant reveal anyone along the chain of command. You and Tom have to work in the dark for now. After our past history with the white bear clan this is how we will have to proceed for the time being.”
“You’re asking a whole lot of us for us t
o go on trust. I need more than that if I’m going to snatch a kid,” Nathaniel said through clenched teeth.
“Keep it down,” Tom said in hushed tones.
Tom glanced around the dingy bar. The place was drenched in a pale yellow light from the windows covered in sun damaged sheets of newspaper. The bar man or the drunk at the far end didn't seem to be paying them any attention.
“What can you tell us?” Tom asked. He glanced sideways at Nathaniel and he sat with his arms crossed as he glared at Silas.
Silas folded his hands in front of him on the cheap lacquered table. “As you know the boy is one of ours. What I can tell you is that he has been in hibernation for over one hundred years and since he has awoken he has been living among a human family.”
“Are you telling me the boy doesn't know what he is?” Tom asked.
“Precisely. What we don't know is if the human parents know what they have on their hands. There is a paper trail that leads to an orphanage and it looks legit on their side. It could be that they thought they were adopting a three year old boy legitimately and are not in on the plot,” Silas replied.
“And what exactly is the plot?” Nathaniel asked. He wasn't getting any calmer.
“Somehow this boy ended up in an orphanage outside the city. All we know is he was left on the doorstep of a convent with no note or information about him. At the moment we don't know if the whole orphanage and adoption is a complicated rouse from his new parents, or and this is more worrying, someone had a hand in getting him adopted by those particular people for a reason that we are not aware of yet,” Silas said. He drained the rest of his beer and pushed the glass away from him.
Nathaniel still looks like he wants to throw a punch at Silas, Tom thought as he gathered up their empty glasses. If he could get a few more beers in Nathaniel it might take the edge off him.
“Another?” he asked the two shifters.
The two men nodded and Tom got up and went to the bar.
“Same again,” Tom said to the bar man.
He took out three glasses from underneath the bar and gave them a cursory wipe with a cloth he had hanging on his shoulder. He was a man going through the motions of something that he had done a thousand times before. He had barely even registered Toms presence when he walked up and ordered. The bar man was in the middle of pouring the last beer when Tom saw the change come over him. A stiffening of the shoulders and a sideways darting of the eyes in Toms direction. The man even took and unconscious step backwards. Tom had seen this behaviour before, sometimes a human would pick up that there was something not right about the person standing before them. It was like they could hear a far off alarm in the distance warning them they were in danger. Most of the time the other person didn't even register that they were suddenly afraid. On very rare occasions a shifters presence would cause someone to act irrationally and violence could follow.
The barman glanced at the front door as he poured the last beer, his gaze never going towards Tom.
He’s all of a sudden afraid and he doesn't know why Tom thought as he watched every movement the man made.
“How much?” Tom asked in a low voice.
The man took another step back and his legs hit the shelves lining the back wall. Glasses rattled and the drunk at the other end of the bar looked up.
Is he going for a gun? Tom wondered as he stayed still while looking at the mans eyes for the first sign of panic. A man will do crazy things when he is panicked Tom knew from experience.
“Your money is no good here. You and your friends finish your beers and then hit the bricks,” the bar man said. The muscles on his neck were so taut that Tom could see the cords flex like high tension wire.
He can sense I’m dangerous and just doesn't know why Tom thought as he picked up the three beers and turned away. Staying so close to the bar for any longer could spell trouble.
Tom slid into the booth beside Nathaniel and said, “We have got to get out of here. The bar man caught our scent. They got up from the booth and walked past in single file not looking towards the bar. Tom glanced in his direction as he walked by and he saw a man with eyes bulging and a quivering lip, with sweat running down his temples. The bar mans hands were hidden from view.
He’s running on pure instinct Tom thought. If we don't get out of here I suspect he is going to pull a gun on us and not fully know the reason he is doing it.
When the bar door closed behind him Tom felt the tension leave his shoulders. Silas and Nathaniel were further down the street leaning against a mailbox and he joined them.
“Do you want to hit central park?” Silas asked.
“I don't think I want to spend any more time indoors today,” Nathaniel replied.
“The park it is,” said Tom and the three of them headed in that direction.
“He was close to losing it back there,” Tom said.
“Humans can be unpredictable, especially when cornered like that,” Silas replied.
They walked in silence the four blocks to the park and found a bench near a deserted band stand. Tom could see that some of the tension and anger had faded from Nathaniel during the walk. Central park was as close as any of them could get to being back in the wilderness and it calmed them all.
“Back to the matter at hand,” Silas said breaking the relaxed silence.
“Why is this boy important to our cause?” Nathaniel asked.
He seems calmer Tom thought as he watched his friend.
“You know I can’t reveal much about why the boy is important. What I can tell you is, he lost his family in a fire and after the blaze he was taken in to hiding so that he couldn't be found again. Soon after the fire and his escape we lost track of him. Until one year ago we get some information that he is alive and adopted by a family in New York city,” Silas said.
“Thats not enough, if you want us to risk our lives you have to give us more,” Nathaniel said raising his voice and leaning in to Silas.
Tom put his hand on Nathaniel's arm and said, “Enough. You are out of line.”
Nathaniel spun around and said, “You have always been more like an overgrown wolf than a bear, you follow Silas around with unwavering loyalty, never questioning what he asks us to do. You belong in a pack.” He pushed Toms hand off his arm and stood up and looked down at the two shifters. Red streaks rose up his neck in angry welts and his eyes were wide with anger. “I’ve had enough of being used as a dumb instrument.” He turned and walked away.
Tom got up to follow him and Silas reached out and touched his elbow. “Leave him for now. He needs time to calm down. You know what he is like more than anyone. He has always had an emotional streak”
He sat back down on the bench and ran his hands down his face. “He believes in the cause. I think being away from his family these last few months has really got to him. Is it not possible for him to spend some time with them?”
Silas kicked a paper coffee cup that was under the bench. It rolled down the slight incline the bench was on and then lodged in between two rocks at the edge of the path. “How do the humans live like this? They allow the garbage to pile high on street corners. They’d rather sit indoors then be outside and closer to nature. They build these cities that at every turn they try to banish from sight their origin. The humans here would rather see a sky skimming concrete tower than a tree with its leaves in full bloom. They ignore their heritage so that they can live crammed on top of each other. There is no future in living like this, I feel pity for the humans that live in these man made concrete and steel cages. I have sympathy for Nathaniel, he has always had a short fuse. He needs to learn to control it for a little while longer.”
“Are we leaving the city?” Tom asked and tried his best to not get too hopeful.
“Once we get the boy we leave the city. Plans are being put in place and within a month both of you will be able to leave.”
“Whats the next step with the kid?” Tom asked
A woman holding the hand of a small b
oy walked past and Tom recognised the tensing of the small boys shoulders as he passed Silas and Tom. It was like the little boy knew he was walking right past an animal that could snap its jaws at him in any second. The mother felt her son tense up and looked at him and then glanced in the shifters direction as she passed. She picked the little boy into her arms and increased her speed, only glancing back once when she was a fair distance away from them. I wont miss that Tom thought. Twice in one day thats a new record. You’re scaring grown men and the little ones, a full spectrum service. He had noticed lately that when he was stressed out more people got the creeping feeling that they were in the presence of someone dangerous. It was as if the stress somehow let his humanity slip and more of his animal side leak out and effect those around him. I’ll have to work on that he thought.
“Observation. We have a very capable team of shifters in place. They will lay the groundwork before you and Nathaniel do what you do best,” Silas said and then tutted as a man in a leather trench coat walked by and dropped a greasy burger wrapper a few feet away.
“There are other shifters in the city?” Tom said before he could stop himself.
Silas folded his arms and slid his hands into his armpits. “You didn’t think you are the only ones here? There are multiple cells operating out of the city. Probably some I don't even know about. Unfortunately it is the way we have to operate for the time being. A change is coming for our kind. We wont always be so fractured and we don't intend to repeat the mistakes of the great schism.”
Just hearing mention of that dark period in his clans history made Toms skin crawl. They had come to the brink of self destruction as petty infighting and power grabs for control of the clan blinded them to a much bigger problem. The clan was pulled apart by opposing forces with one side of the most hardened and bitter warriors wanting to wage all out war on every faction that had ever slighted them and the other side wanting peace. One chilly spring morning close to a thousand of the black bear clans warriors left the people they loved and disappeared without a trace. Ever since the remaining shifters had been trying to forge a new more peaceful path for the remaining members of the clan.
