The Society Pt. 06

The fourth day since Jason's arrival began, and Alex had a hefty morning to early afternoon shift to endure, and Josh was to be on patrol for most of the day. Deciding that I should probably get my ass out of bed, since it was nearing 12pm, with the sun burning bright and steadily from my bedroom window, I dress and decidedly walk down to the cafe through the crisp early Summer air for a coffee, and to scavenge something to do with my day.

Morning traffic has well since been subsided and was at a lulling pace, as I strolled through crosswalks, taking in the warm sun and a light breeze that brushed through the streets. Within a few minutes I arrived at the familiar heavy glass door. I open it, hearing the chime of the bells softly. I'm suddenly stolen by a memory of the violent clatter of those same bells, as Jason barged into the cafe, beginning the strange days that were to come.

As I sit towards the middle of the counter, I still hear the bells screaming in my head.

John: the aged owner smiled when he looked up from his show, which was playing quietly on a mounted t.v. behind him, and spotted me.

"Ah, Mr. Andrew Martin, what can I get for ya' kid?"

He hollered cheerfully.

I chuckle, glancing slightly at the show he had been watching. A werewolf currently is evading an angry mob of villagers, as they brandish their torches and spears maniacally.

"A coffee, just dark, please."

I ask, returning my gaze to John.

He nods, and clasps the coffee pitcher on his side of the counter, and grabs a tall coffee mug.

"The usual."

He said, pouring my drink..

He slides it over, and resumes his gaze to the t.v.

Absentmindedly, I watch as the werewolf is finally caught. He is speared, aged special effects visualizing the werewolf's thick flesh as it is punctured, blood spurting outwards like a geyser.

I sip my coffee, its hot smooth texture warming my throat and lips.

John goes to the beginning of the counter, to help a man puzzling over a crossword, who had gestured him over, when the chiming of the bells call.

I look over to find three men dressed in pristine black dress suits. They were muttering among themselves, keenly surveying the cafe before them. One of them meets my gaze and I self-consciously tear my eyes away, momentarily.

It is when John addresses the guests, that I look back.

"Hello gentlemen, how may I be of business to you today?"

The store owner asked politely.

One of the men, his dark skin reflective of the pale light cast into the store, steps towards the counter.

"Have you seen a six foot man recently in your establishment sir? Brown hair, brown eyes, and beard."

I take in a shuddering breath.

They can't be describing...

But then the man continues.

"Goes by the name of Jason."

My blood felt as if to freeze. I put down my coffee cup, glaring at the suited men, who must work for the government or an agency.

John pocketed his slightly wrinkled hands, and gives them a slow nod, his eyes dark and unfocused, as to be calling forth a memory.

"A big guy had come in four days ago,"

John stated softly.

"He was covered in blood, wearing this strange black and silver suit. Said he needed a phone."

The men looked among themselves, anticipation clear in their stature.

Another man spoke, his thin wiry black hair pasted flat on his head with hair gel.

"Are you aware of his movements after his visit here?"

He spoke in a high, sharp voice, eager.

John pursed his thin lips.

"I believe a young lad helped him out of the store. His name is Alex, he's been a regular in my cafe for nearly fifteen years. A good kid, just wanted to help the poor fella' out."

Jason is a wanted man. Alex has been harboring a wanted man.

An intense panic coaxed through my body, searing at me like an icy blade.

The third and final man, who had his thumbs buried on his smartphone, in the task of taking notes on the situation, spoke.

"Anything you can tell us about this 'Alex' individual?"

Decidedly, I reply, looking over to the men, my hands shaking.

"Alex is my foster brother."

The man with the dark skin's eyes widened.

John looked over to me curiously, not having known this information, since John and I rarely spared each other conversations beyond the confines of friendly small-talk.

I proceed to tell them everything I knew from the past four days.

Alex's address, Jason's living arrangements. Everything.

Once I was finished, one of the men thanked me courteously for my service, which I hardly heard, and the men hurriedly exited the store, fading into the light of the afternoon.

John looks to me, and I see fear in his eyes, the same fear that wracked my body.

"Is our Alex okay?"

I look at him, dazed, and don't respond.

Alex would be at work for at least until 3pm. I felt an overwhelming urge to call him as soon as he would pick up, but I attempt to push away that compelling thought.

If I call him, and Jason is near Alex, Jason would clearly become suspicious.

He could hurt, or even kill Alex.

I grip the counter tightly, my knuckles beading a pale white, attempting to alleviate the pressure of anxiety and fear in my head.

On the television, the beast was slain. Its hulking corpse bleeding on the rugged earth. A young and beautiful woman, cleary the beast's human form's love interest, is draped in mourning over the body of the beast, tears shiny over her features in the moonlight.

I suddenly see Alex as that woman.

Sacrifice,

I think, attempting to recollect my faltering mentality with common sense, and facts.

It's what it takes to restore order to the nature of things. The infection has to be located and cut out, for the good of everyone.

Alex... What have you gotten yourself into?

. . .

Alex's shift ended much later than he had expected, and he came drudging into the apartment at a late 6:00pm. I look up from the paperback novel I had found stuffed in his linen closet, and offer a smile to my host, who nodded in greeting, throwing his keys towards the kitchen counter, and plopping wearily down on the couch next to me.

"You look like you just got hit by a bus, bud."

I say, closing my novel, and leaning back.

Alex chuckles, resting his fingers in the tangle of his matted brown hair.

"You would too if you were at an assembly line most the day."

He says, jokingly. For a moment we meet eyes, his green irises vibrant against the dark shadows under his tired eyes. Suddenly, he looks away nervously.

This makes me smile. Humans had very different ways of dealing with their infatuation towards people, compared to my kind, where men and women alike showed no fear in telling what they felt to their loved ones.

Where Therians were out in the open and shameless, humans were confined and nervous.

I thought back avidly to Alex's facial expression when I had finished my shower, and walked into the living room in the buff.

I remember feeling his quickening heart beat when I was inches away, the growing strength of the stark scent of his human horniness as he looked at my body.

Admittedly, I was disappointed when he rejected my proposal to have a bit of fun.

I would have liked to see what he had under those pants, and how a human felt in bed.

Ever since, there were many occasions similar to this, where he would nervously slip from my gaze.

Finally, I pull myself from my thoughts, and break the lingering silence.

"You look starved. What about dinner?"

Alex looked up from his gaze at his wooden floor, and nodded.

"I feel like I could eat a horse. But I'll have to run to the store real quick."

He moves to stand, but I stop him, grabbing him by the shoulder.

"You've been working all day, I can walk to the store and get something for us. It's only a couple of blocks."

Alex's expression was reluctant, but somewhere in those astonishingly hot eyes of his, I sensed he was grateful.

He rummages his work pant's pocket, and pulls out his wallet, and tosses it to me.

"Get us something hot to eat, thanks man."

I smile, feeling slightly warm in the chest. He was trusting me with his wallet, when he met me but four days ago.

I nod to him, and exit his apartment, down the stairwell I was growing to know, that was becoming a normality, and into the steady warmth of the evening.

The sun was low in the sky, barely cresting the tall buildings around me, offering a sharp sparkle to the glass windows, that danced in the air like flashlights.

My body could feel the nearing of the full moon, that would rise tonight, which would force me into a transformation. My heart rate slightly unsteady, my body sweaty, an unnatural energy surging through my veins like a morbid caffeine.

It was my final day in Starkfield. Tomorrow, I will be meeting a team that has been sent to retrieve me at the cafe.

The path ahead of me was clear: to save my sister.

But there was a part of me that was reluctant to leave this town.

A part of me that wanted to forget the war that has been placed on the Therians for centuries. To remain here, with Alex.

For the first time in my life, I have gotten a taste, though dreadingly small, of something I had never had: normality.

Serving and commanding the Therian army alongside my father was all I have known, but now I finally know of the peace that human beings live in. Now I want more.

I finally reach the grocery store, its bright illuminated letters hung above the sliding doors glowing a ghostly white in the fading of the light outside.

I grab a hot, ready to go turkey, some sides to go with it, and head to the register with a brisk pace.

A young and pretty redhead girl was at the counter, and quickly scanned my items with the fluency of someone who had done this task hundreds of times.

She eyed me skeptically as she worked, bagging my groceries.

"Now that's definitely a new face. Not from here are ya'?"

I shake my head with a smile, as I pay for the groceries, running it as credit, not knowing Alex's pin.

"I'm not, but,"

I pick my groceries as the receipt is printed noisily.

"I like it here."

She gives me a polite parting nod as I exit the the building, once again swallowed by my thoughts:

pondering a dream life, as the light in the Summer air dimmed further, draping the cement buildings with dark cloaks of shadow.

A life where I was a human, like Alex. Where I went to work, making money to pay for tuition, building the foundation of a long life of peace to come.

As I turn a corner, clasping the groceries with my hands, Alex's apartment complex now stands before me, across the street.

There was a sleek black Chevy parked in front of the building, a tall dark skinned man leaning against the passenger door, covered with fine-looking black dress clothes, speaking quietly into his ear piece, gazing up towards the building.

I thought nothing of it as I near the man on my way to the apartment door, but as I step onto the cement of the sidewalk, my keen sense of hearing picks up his voice:

"This is the place that Andrew kid said his foster brother lived. He is inside now- his car is parked in the parking lot."

A coldness spears my body.

The man continues, his breath heavy in the words he muttered.

"We may proceed whenever your team is ready. If that Therian is in there, he won't come without a fight."

I attempt to pass the man as nonchalantly as possible, keeping my head meticulously turned in order to hide my facial features.

My heart pounds in my throat.

I have to get Alex the hell out of here.

Once I enter the complex and the door shuts firmly behind me, I bound up the stairs, taking three at a time.

I don't know how much time we have, they could be surrounding this building at this very moment.

I think, in the blinding haze of my panic.

I stumble into Alex's apartment, slam the door behind me, and lock it.

Not even realizing it, the groceries I had gotten slipped from my grasp, the turkey and sides clattering to the floor noisily.

Alex, who had been seated comfortably on the couch, sits up abruptly.

When he sees my fearful expression, he looks worrisome.

"What's going on Jason?"

He asks, getting to his feet.

My body had already been sweaty from the anticipation of the full moon, but now droplets of beady sweat drip from my hair line and over my brow. My back and chest was becoming increasingly damp.

"We have to get out of here. Now."

I say, breathlessly. I scoop up the Walmart bag of clothes Alex had gotten me.

Alex's worried face was now growing into a visage of fear.

"Is this a fucking joke?"

He exclaims, watching me as I bound over to one of the windows, and peer outside.

In the shadows of the street, a large black van is pulling in front of the complex.

"No, we have to go, and now- is there a back exit?"

I say, glaring around the apartement in increasing panic, attempting to ignore the pounding of my heart.

No weapons. Nothing.

Alex snaps back.

"No-no-no,"

He snarls, anger beaming in his face.

"What the hell is going on Jason!"

He grabs me by the shoulder before I could run down the hall to check the other windows for an escape route.

I turn back to him. Fear, anger, confusion fill those green eyes.

"This is my fault,"

I say, shakily.

"Because you took me in, they think that you're associated with me."

He rebounds, his voice uneven.

"'They'? What the fuck are you talking about?"

Suddenly, my hearing picks up footsteps, and voices from the other side of the apartment door.

A violent pounding on the flimsy wooden door shakes the apartment, and a loud, male voice calls viciously from the other side.

"OPEN THIS DOOR!"

That same coldness snakes down my spine, and Alex glares at the door, terror forming over his features.

"We're out of time."

I mutter.

A loud bang sheared through the apartment, screaming in my ears.

They're breaking down the door.

I manage to grab Alex by the waist and throw him into the hallway. He lands on the hollow sounding wood paneling, hard, shaking the kitchen.

"STAY DOWN-"

I attempt to scream, but the door, with a violent crash slams open, unhinging from wall, and tumbling onto the floor of the apartment.

Men dressed in the Night Blade uniform immediately charge in, all armed with weapons.

I don't allow them time to react.

I charge at them, with the speed and aggressive motion of an animal.

Before they can take fire, I grab one of the men by the throat and arm, my fingers sinking viciously into his windpipe, and hurl him with ease towards his comrades. The abrupt impact of the body caused them to miss-fire, their bullets plunging into the planks and walls of the apartment.

In the back of my mind, somewhere in the hallway, I hear Alex scream.

I feel my muscles contract beneath my clothes, my body instinctively wanting to transform at the presence of danger.

I suppress it.

No. Not here. Not in front of Alex.

I quickly dive for a fallen rifle, but one of the soldiers quickly recovered from the impact of their comrade's body, and made a grab at me. He put his arm forcefully around my throat, pressing my adam's apple painfully into my windpipe as he attempts to choke me out.

I slam my elbow into the man's stomach, causing him to retch painfully, as the force of its impact most likely ruptured his stomach or kidneys. He is sent backwards, onto his ass.

I finally pick up one of the fallen rifles.

Suddenly, as one of the soldiers manage to their feet, they exclaim into their earpiece receiver:

"Back up- Requesting back up-"

Before he could finish, I send a bullet into his skull, his forehead morbidly rupturing inwards in a spurt of blood. The man's body lifeless falls to the floor.

The other soldier had been knocked unconscious from her head being forced into the floor by the impact of the man I threw.

The room was clear, other than the man groaning in pain on his back behind me, gripping his stomach as he wretched blood over the wood paneling.

I turn back to Alex. His face is white, glaring at the scene at my feet, and then finally up to me. He was looking at me as if I was a stranger to him.

I suddenly notice the groaning of the man behind me had stopped.

Alex grabs a coffee cup from the counter.

"Jason- he pulled out a gun-"

Before I could react, Alex released the cup at the end of the arcing motion of his arm.

It shatters vehemently into the skull of the man, who had pulled out a pistol to fire at me.

His head firmly meets the floor as he loses consciousness, spewing glass shards into the air like sparks.

I look back to a flustered and breathless Alex, who looked to still be registering what he had done.

He... He saved me life.

I can only glare speechless at him, as he straightens.

"A fire escape is at my bedroom window-"

He exclaims, attempting to suck in weak breaths.

"We need to get the hell out of here."