Beast Out Of Hell

by Camilla Ochlan

  Reaper jumped up. "Jamie?"

  "Jamie will be fine," Granny said and hobbled through the kitchen toward the front door at an astonishing clip. "Those three only bite people they don't know."

  Xochi barked out a laugh. "Better not bite Lucy. She’ll bite back."

  Granny threw open the front door.

  Reaper stood in the living room, halfway between the door and the kitchen, clearly unsure of what to do.

  Not a boy, but not a man either. Like Miguel.

  Xochitl watched, unworried, as Lucy disappeared into the van.

  "I have to warn her," Granny said and teetered out to the porch.

  "Don't bother," Xochi called after her and licked a speck of peanut butter from her knuckle.

  Waving her off, Granny huffed down the steps to the driveway.

  Xochi looked out the window with mild interest. Lucy didn't disappoint. While Jamie clamped a thick collar on one of the shepherds and steered the large dog with strained strength at her side, Lucy let the other two dogs trot beside her off leash. Both shepherds sauntered with wagging tails, looking up at Lucy with curiosity and complete attention.

  "Well, I'll be damned," Granny said, returning to the living room as Jamie and Lucy put the dogs away in the kennel. "Took me months to get the Begu's guard dogs to behave off leash."

  "Your girlfriend is good," Reaper said to Xochi.

  "Watch it, pendejo," Xochi said and pointed the peanut butter-covered kitchen knife at him.

  Granny hobbled by and swatted Reaper in the back of the head with a magazine. "Rude boy!"

  "That stings!" Reaper rubbed the spot with his fingertips. "What did I say?"

  Several stacks of peanut butter and bacon sandwiches later, Lucy, Xochi, Reaper, Jamie and Granny sat in the living room around the stone fireplace with its cold iron stove insert.

  "These are great," Lucy said and stuffed the last of the sandwiches in her mouth.

  "Pig," Xochi scolded.

  Damn, I wanted that.

  "Oink," Lucy replied, undeterred, through a mouthful of PB&B.

  Xochi had a thought, "When the pie's ready, is there any ice cream?"

  "There is—" Granny started.

  "There was," Jamie said, looking a little sheepish.

  "There was?" Granny and Reaper both called.

  Jamie giggled. "I got hungry."

  "Can't believe you didn't share," Reaper said and nibbled on her ear. "Guess I'll have to find something else to—"

  "Get a room!" Xochi spat out before Granny could make her disapproval known.

  "You have zero filters, Werebrat," Lucy threw in. She sat down at a square wooden table and started disassembling her gun. "What's your story anyway?"

  Reaper sat back on the fawn Naugahyde couch, his arm draped over the back. Jamie snuggled against him.

  Xochi brushed sandwich crumbs from her lap. "Cool. Story time."

  "I'm from Sacramento," Reaper started lamely. "I joined the Hell Hounds on my way out of town...Right after I figured out what had happened to me."

  "Being afflicted with KV?" Xochi asked. "How did that come on for you?"

  Reaper looked annoyed, but answered complacently. "In fifth period English. Instead of failing a test, I turned furry and howled." Reaper tried to make it sound funny, but Xochi heard the underlying pain in his voice. "Poor old Mr. Waugh nearly had a heart attack."

  Jamie poked him in the ribs. He tightened his arm around her slender waist.

  "What happened after that?" Lucy asked, not looking at them.

  "I ran out into the hall." Reaper shrugged. "There were some others like me. Guess my continuation school had quite a few Werebeasts. I think the math teacher turned too."

  "And after that?" Lucy asked and slapped the Beretta's magazine back in place. "What happened with the Hell Hounds?"

  "After I turned," Reaper huffed through gritted teeth. "Psycho gunmen chased me down the freeway. Hell Hounds found me around Vacaville. Zeke saved my life. I thought, why not join up?"

  "Is that when you got that?" Xochi pointed to his leather vest draped over the arm of the couch.

  "Yeah," Reaper said, his voice laced with regret. "That's my cut."

  "Hell Hounds rolled into Broglie a little after K-Day," Jamie broke in anxiously. "Seemed like just another badass motorcycle club. Zeke, that's the club president, did time in San Quentin. I hear he beasted out and escaped or some shit."

  "Yeah, and turns out, he's a real asshole." Reaper let out a huff through both nostrils.

  Lucy gave them a wary look.

  "I hear Zeke used to talk all sorts of scary shit at the Hair of the Dog. A friend of mine waitresses there," Jamie said. "Granny made me quit when the Hell Hounds started coming in regular."

  "People 'round here are very open-minded," Granny said. "Another big mouth anarchist didn't bother me much...at first. But there's something wrong with that Zeke."

  "He's an asshat," Jamie said firmly.

  Reaper shifted uncomfortably. "She's right, you know. I was just too stupid to see it." He looked down at the floor.

  "¡Híjole! A whole pack of biker Weres? No bueno." Xochi looked at Lucy.

  "Not all." Reaper leaned forward, clenching his fists. "Just Zeke, Slicer and me. The rest are human," he said, acid in his tone.

  "Human?" Xochi and Lucy yelped in unison.

  "Yeah, total wannabe douchebag posers." He stood up. "The MC holes up in Muir Woods between runs." He started pacing. "Guns before, some drugs. But now...There's a group down south."

  "Also Hell Hounds?" Xochi asked.

  "No...Something foreign...Russian maybe," Reaper answered haltingly. "Don't know the name. But I think it's like a Werebeast church kinda thing. With lots of end-of-the-world talk. Freaky bullshit."

  "So, you want out?" Lucy asked, unblinking. "And you want us to help you get out."

  "Not just out of the club," Reaper said. He seemed determined. "I want out of California. I want to go up to Canada. Uncharted wilderness." He looked at Jamie.

  "We want to be together," Jamie said. "And we don't want to hurt anyone."

  Granny blew her nose quietly. Her wrinkled cheeks were shiny with tears. "They are good kids," she said. "They've just had a hell of a time." She cleared her throat. "They need your help, girls."

  "You're asking us to break the law," Lucy said, voice flat. She gave Xochi a pained look.

  Damn it. She wants to help. We talked about that. We can't risk it.

  "Were smuggling is illegal in every state of the Union," Xochi said quickly. "And the Canadian regulations are even stricter, by the way. We've looked into it before. What you're asking is huge."

  "I can't go back to prison," Lucy said, not looking at Xochi.

  Xochi felt trapped.

  ¡Híjole! Fucking people ask everything of her.

  "I thought The Werewolf Whisperer is supposed to help people." Jamie stood abruptly.

  Here we go. Guilt trip time.

  Xochi jumped up, instinctively wanting to shield Lucy from Jamie's accusation. "Back off, chica."

  "Or aren't we people to you?" Jamie's eyes flashed bright amber.

  "You know what?" Reaper jumped up as well. "Maybe you're right. Maybe we aren't real people anymore. Maybe we are just fucked-up, dangerous things." His voice cracked. "But I'm telling you, Jamie and me don't want to be dangerous. We just want to be left alone."

  "We have free will," Jamie added vigorously. "Doesn't that count for something?"

  "If I go back to the club," Reaper said harshly, "they'll turn me into something. Something I don't want. If they find out about Jamie, Zeke will make her his bitch."

  Granny gasped.

  "Look, I know what you're going through. My brother—" Xochi cut herself off.

  They don't need to know about Miguel.

  Jamie and Reaper looked at her expectantly.

  "I get it. It's just...You're asking a lot," Xochi said
, torn as she thought of her brother.

  Without help, I never would have been able to free Miguel. He would never have had a chance.

  She looked at Lucy.

  Lucy pressed her lips together.

  Without a single word passing between them, Lucy and Xochi were in agreement.

  "We'll help get you where you want to go," Lucy said firmly.

  No turning back now.

  As if on cue, the ear-shattering blare of motorcycles approaching ripped through the quiet afternoon.

  Chapter 4

  REAPER

  Muir Woods

  Hell Hound Camp

  8 hours ago

  Reaper veered onto the dirt road leading deeper into Muir Woods, away from Broglie. He rode a few more miles through the dense, musky forest, lost in thought.

  Jamie's scared. She doesn't want to leave Granny…How can I take her away from her home? From the only person who took care of her. Helped her. Loved her…Maybe we can stay. Morey thinks we can…

  It wasn't long before the dirt road turned into damp dark earth.

  End of the line.

  Like soldiers standing at attention, the Hell Hound Harleys were uniformly parked in a neat row. Reaper slowed; his chopper idled with a low rumble as he edged the bike into the slot between Zeke's custom Glider and Slicer's Fat Boy.

  Guess I got the prime spot today. Bet Slicer's pissed.

  Ever since Reaper joined the club, Zeke had pitted him and Slicer against each other, forcing them to jockey for position.

  Two Werebeasts. One Beta...Fucking power trip. Zeke gets off on it.

  Slicer outweighed Reaper by a good fifty pounds. But Reaper was smarter, handy and far faster, making him more valuable to Zeke and the MC.

  I hope.

  Reaper cut the engine.

  A subtle tingle — primal, instinctual — pricked at the back of his mind. He tilted his head.

  No birds. Too quiet.

  He sniffed the air.

  Something's off.

  Reaper picked up his pace, acutely aware of his surroundings — the air ripe with fear, tension. Excitement.

  This can't be good.

  He clawed hastily through a dense thicket of coyote brush and stepped into the Hell Hound campsite. Redwoods encircled the camp clearing, makeshift tents tethered between their gargantuan trunks. Cases of empty beer bottles, burger wrappers and pieces of half-eaten deer carcass littered the grounds.

  Reaper's stomach tightened with the rank smell of piss and rotting meat. He gagged and covered his mouth and nose.

  A massive hand clamped down on Reaper's shoulder from behind.

  "Where the fuck you been?" Slicer whispered, his voice sounding like a duck being strangled. "Zeke called for you an hour ago."

  Asslicker.

  "At Morey's." Reaper shrugged Slicer off. "Working on my bike."

  "Well hurry up, shithead." Slicer slapped Reaper on the back of the head. "Zeke's got something good planned."

  "Asshole," Reaper hissed and rubbed the welt already forming.

  Slicer smirked. He kicked an empty beer bottle soccer-style at Reaper and trotted over to the other Hell Hounds grouped around Zeke.

  Zeke's hulking mass stood on a tree stump near the smoldering fire pit in the center of camp, his back to Reaper. The blazing wolf skull patch on the Alpha's cut heaved up and down with each measured breath.

  Charred bits of timber crackled and snapped — the only sound heard throughout the otherwise silent campsite. All eyes focused on Zeke.

  What's going—

  "My brothers!" Zeke bellowed like a preacher at a tent revival. "You all know my story. You all know how I suffered at the hands of the man. Kept me in chains. Experimented on me!"

  Slicer nodded and growled bitterly.

  "As a human or Werebeast," Zeke continued. "It didn't matter—"

  "Yeah!" Dicer shouted.

  "I was caged!"

  "Yeah!" Maggot and Grub chimed in.

  "An animal at the mercy of a system whose only purpose was to keep me down."

  "Fuck the system! Fuck the man!" the Hell Hounds chanted.

  What's Zeke doing? These guys are losing their shit.

  "But…" Zeke yelled over the frenzied mantra, raising his arms to silence his brothers. "I got away!"

  "¡Órale!" Poncho thrust his fist in the air.

  "I killed my captors! Ripped them to shreds!"

  The MC erupted into thunderous roars. Alpha power rolled in waves over the campsite. Zeke's furious energy slammed into Reaper. Instinct screamed at him to run. But his fear, his fascination planted him in place.

  "I found you all!" Zeke looked into the rabid faces of each Hell Hound. He turned around and stared directly at Reaper. "I saved you."

  Reaper's knees wobbled; Zeke grinned menacingly.

  "And now," he looked skyward, "we're gonna save all Weres!"

  Reaper scanned the campsite. Fear rolled off the human Hell Hounds even as they cheered through nervous smiles.

  So fuck humans?

  "Don't worry, my Hell Hound brothers." Zeke smiled down on the human bikers as if he were their messiah. "Your day will come too. You'll be just like us." He pointed at Slicer and Reaper. "If you're worthy…If you're chosen by the one that will bridge us to the Mother of All!"

  What the fuck? What happened to him in L.A.?

  As if answering Reaper's thoughts Zeke said, "I have seen the way. And it starts with this." He held up a small blue plastic container. "The powder inside this inhaler will set you…set us all free! My plan will help our brothers see the way…and make us all rich!"

  Again the camp burst out with fevered cheers, chanting "Zeke! Zeke! Zeke!"

  "With the Russian's guidance, we will rule the world!"

  He's fucking lost it!

  Zeke jumped off the tree stump and gathered his Pack into an embrace. The Hell Hounds rushed to Zeke, pulling and grabbing at him like obsessed groupies.

  Dicer caught Reaper watching with dread, leaned closer to Zeke and snickered. Zeke craned his neck back toward Reaper — his eyes cold as ice.

  This is bad. I need to get back to Jamie. Away from the Hell Hounds. Away from Zeke.

  Reaper inched backward, ready to run.

  "Reaper!" Zeke howled over his clamoring fans. "Join us, my boy!"

  Less an invitation and more a command, the Alpha's power tugged at Reaper. Pulled at him. Made him want to submit.

  I hate you!

  Just like his Hell Hound brothers, Reaper had once worshiped Zeke. This was the man who had saved him. Gave him a home. A family. Zeke was strong, in control. Unstoppable. A monster among monsters. And Reaper had wanted to be just like him. Wanted to be powerful. Wanted to be Alpha.

  Reaper staggered forward, unable to deny Zeke's will.

  "What's up?" Reaper asked, his voice wavering.

  "You'll see," Zeke replied through gritted teeth and nodded to Dicer. Like an obedient pet, the human Hell Hound loped off toward Zeke's tent.

  Slicer watched the exchange intently. His eyes burned like hot flames. "So, what's the plan, Zeke? How we gonna save the Weres? How we gonna get rich?" he blurted out bitingly.

  Whatever's happening, Slicer's not in on it.

  "I'll get to that," Zeke growled at Slicer and threw his arm around Reaper. "I've got something to do first." He gripped Reaper tighter.

  Reaper's stomach dropped.

  He knows. He knows I'm gonna leave him.

  "For some time now..." Zeke weaved Reaper between the Hell Hounds, displaying him like a prize horse at auction. "I've watched young Reaper here grow from a scared little Were rat into a strong Beast. He's a good fighter…Right, Two Toes?"

  "Saved my ass a couple of times!" the lanky biker replied. "Wouldn't have no toes if it weren't for the kid. Fuck! Wouldn't have a head!"

  The MC whooped and laughed. Reaper cringed.

  The memory of savi
ng Two Toes from the highway patrolmen still haunted him. Reaper still heard the cops' screams. Still felt the warmth of gushing blood on his claws from their slashed throats.

  I was saving my Hell Hound brother. It was them or me.

  Zeke chuckled. "That's right. And who here hasn't needed these hands?" He yanked Reaper's arm high. "Kid can fix any bike on the planet! Am I right?"

  "¡Órale!" Poncho shouted.

  "Damn straight!" Maggot and Grub yelled at the same time.

  Reaper's head buzzed with anxiety. His palms felt sweaty, and his heart raced.

  Zeke turned Reaper to face him. "Good in a fight. A good mechanic…and…" He sniffed at Reaper. "Good with the pussy…"

  Shit! Jamie!

  Several Hell Hounds let out catcalls while Grub dry humped a tree.

  Reaper tried to look away from Zeke, but the Alpha's steely gaze had him pinned.

  "But lately," Zeke glanced over Reaper's shoulder. "I've felt our boy pulling away from his family. Away from me…"

  "Zeke, man. It ain't like—" Reaper started.

  Zeke held up his hand, cutting Reaper off. "It's okay, kid. I know you don't agree with me. With our new alliance. But it's not your fault. I wasn’t a good Alpha. I understand that now. I saw you as a son. Wanted you to grow. Sow your oats. I gave you too long a leash."

  Tension thick as tar oozed from the Hell Hound Alpha.

  "But all that ends now!" Zeke boomed.

  Slicer whimpered. Even the humans cowered.

  "Kneel, boy!" Zeke commanded.

  Reaper dropped like a rock, the weight of his Alpha's power cementing him to the muddy ground.

  He's gonna kill me…Wait…

  Reaper felt the sudden shift of energy through the camp. He smelled the wild excitement before he heard the enthusiastic murmurs humming from the group as Dicer walked up and stood behind him. The biker's bulging tatted arm reached over Reaper's head and handed something small to Zeke.

  That's not…

  Reaper scanned the MC in disbelief.

  This can't be…

  He was met with ecstatic smiles. Even psychotic killer Poncho gave him a thumbs up. But the pure rage radiating off Slicer confirmed Reaper's worst fear.

  Oh, shit!

  "I make Reaper my second!" Zeke roared. "My Beta!"