All the Devils are Here

Dead and Gone

Dead and Gone

We didn’t say it but, it was implied that we may not have the opportunity to rendezvous today. The things we have set out to do are not necessarily things that you can do in broad daylight.

As I arrive at where the bodies were buried, I see that’s it’s just a dump yard most probably because the bodies didn’t have to be given to their families. I’m sure if they even had the common decency to give whatever was left of the bodies to their families, then I should have been contacted by now.

I park about a block away from the place so I can scope the scene. The place is surrounded by an iron netted fence all through that I’m hoping is not electrocuted or something. Asides from the iron fence, I can spot a security guard that seems to be a simpleton leisuring away at this place that doesn’t seem to get any action. I conclude that getting into this place and doing a little search is going to be as easy as taking candy from a baby.

All I have to do is come back when it’s getting a little dark. It’s only around 2 PM so I know I have a lot of time to burn. I drive away and don’t stop driving till I’m back at the part with the open fields. On my way here, I make a stop at a drive-through where I buy some burgers. It’s not what I’d be rather eating but, I’d make do.

Once I’ve secured a nice car camping spot for myself, I adjust my car seat so I can relax in my chair and snack on my burgers. A thought crosses my mind to give Hera a call but, it’s only been a few hours since I left her so I decided against it. Instead, I focus my thoughts on the task ahead of us.

If this goes right and Lex and Dothan get the blood then we’d have the leverage we need to threaten the council. Also, with the Nineteen-year-old whose name I never seemed to have learned; we might get in the nerves of at least one hunter which can be a good thing but, also a very bad thing.

Asher is back in the center working with Lucien and the rest of the elders to rally up other packs and even rogues for a potential partnership. I wonder if I should be there instead of here chasing this. I know Asher has always envied the position of an Alpha. I understand why. You see, although I met the rest of the pack when I returned to Uptown in my teenage years, I had already met Asher before then.

I was around 7 years old when my father took me to Uptown and while I was still in the center as a little boy, there was another wolf who I’d see occasionally with my Father. He turned out to be Asher’s father. So sometimes when my father would be away for weeks on end, he’d drop me off with them, and Asher and I would basically babysit each other. Asher is only a year older than me so it always felt like we were the same age.

By the time I was back to the center as a teenager, Asher’s father was no longer in the picture. To this day, I’m not sure what exactly went down but, rumor has it that he wanted the Alpha position and that was the origin of the fallout between him and the pack. So it doesn’t come as a surprise to me at all that Asher also has his eyes out for the position. In all honesty, I know he probably deserves it. More than I do at least.

Lucien is right. We do need to sort out the s**t amongst us as werewolves before trying ti even get Hunters under control. Just in our pack alone, everyone has a potential reason to be plotting and scheming. We are mostly bound together by one thing which is family. The Banes pack has constituted of the same set of families for decades since the war and sometimes a new person comes into the pack without any nepotism involved but, it is very rare. Other than our ancestors, what else do we have keeping us together? I hate to be doubting the loyalty of people who basically are like my family but, the tension is high and I bet everything I am thinking, they are thinking it too.

By the time I’m done eating and soliloquizing, barely any time has gone by. I cave in and call Hera’s phone but she doesn’t answer it. I try it again and it’s the same thing, it rings on but no response. I’m not sure why but, that makes me very uneasy and in my head, I am imagining the very worse things. What if someone saw us together? What if I’ve already pissed someone off and now they’ve done something bad to her for revenge? What if the friends of the fake hunters came for her as payback for killing one of their own. I mean they did literally admit to me that they are all about vengeance and avenging their lost ones.

Damn, I hate all of the turmoil that comes with caring about someone. Especially someone that is oblivious to the kind of crowd she’s getting herself mixed up with. Is it fair? What I’m doing to her. I got her a job at a place I know has an underground reputation for being a werewolf hot spot, I’ve spent some reasonable amount of time with her in public, and even though to the untrained eye we’re just two people hanging out, what about those that know? I am basically endangering her life. Especially now that things are about to get really heated. The thought of my parents comes to my mind and I wonder what it was like for my father to be with a human woman.

I remember Lucien mentioned that he had known her but, did she know what they were? Because just like Dothan has been with Trinity for years and we all know and love her, doesn’t mean we’ve brought her into the inner fold. That doesn’t mean she knows anything for sure. We don’t exactly have a culture of doing that. Most werewolves marry other werewolves. The interspecies relationships only became more popular recently because the city has become a melting pot and many new generation inhabitants don’t know its true history.

What is safer? To let her know what she’s dealing with or to leave her be. I make a mental note that I’m going to ask Dothan what works with him and Trinity just to know. Not like I want us to be like Dothan and Trinity, I just want her to be safe. I don’t want to put her in any danger.

At some point, I fall asleep and to my pleasure, it appears time has run a marathon because, by the time I wake up, it’s past 6 already. Thanks to years and years of air pollution and treating the environment like s**t, climate change has become unpredictable and 6 PM now looks like 8 PM. I don’t like treating the environment like s**t but, in this case, it benefits me.

I adjust my chair so that I’m seated back up straight and I start up my engine as I head back to the Junkyard.

As I did before, I park my car about a block away from the entrance and I make my way to the building on foot. Earlier I had spotted that the main gate was locked from the inside and it’d raise too much attention if I try to get in from there so I know the best bet is to go over the iron netted fence.

I go around the fence and towards the back where I know the security guard can’t see me. He’s taking a nap anyway so honestly, this guy is making my job really easy for me. I cautiously placed my hands on the net and I’m very thankful when I don’t feel any wave of electricity surging through me. Phew. Even if it was electrocuted, I had a plan. But the problem is that plan potentially involved killing the security guard and I woke up on the benevolent side of my bed this morning. Because Hera was there.

Since the net is safe for me to scale through, I do just that. I try to be as quiet as possible and even though I can jump over it mid-way, I don’t because my landing might make a loud sound and that will be bad for the security guy.

I’m in the junkyard now and I take it all in at once. The smell is incredibly pungent and I regret eating before coming here. It smells like decaying bodies. It’s wider than my eyes can see from this spot and I know it’ll take a while for me to find what I’m looking for - that’s if I even find it at all.

I’m 5 minutes into my search when I hear it. Footsteps behind me. I must have missed the heartbeat. I turn around slowly fully expecting to be yelled at and preparing myself mentally for what I’m about to do to the poor soul. To my surprise, when I turn around the pair of eyes staring at me do not belong to a human. It’s a dog.

I can tell that the little fucker is about to start barking so I impulsively change the color of my eyes to the gold and I growl a very low growl at him. We’re both of similar species anyway so he must know that I am an ally not, an enemy and he should be very afraid. I fully expect her to back off and flee but, instead, she wags her tail at me and remains put but, she doesn’t make a sound.

I crouch down cautiously and as I pat her on the head, her tail wiggles further and she sticks her tongue out excitedly.

“Good girl”, she’s completely won me over. I continue my search and my new friend doesn't leave my side.

Remember how I came in here anticipating that I’d never find the remains of my father or Slade? I was wrong. About 20 minutes more in, thanks to the help of my partner - the dog, I find it. I don’t have either of their blood or scent to go by so I was looking for literally anything at all that could count that they were here. What I find is a necklace that my father never ever took off. It’s right there entangled with other things I don’t want to be touching. This is the proof I’ve been looking for. This necklace. They’re dead and gone. This is supposed to be the confirmation. But I don’t feel closure or rest assured or any of the things I thought I’d feel. I feel like ruining someone’s f*****g day.