Rise Of The New Alpha: Moonfall

--Fremont High School, Fremont, Nebraska-- Caitlyn Wynter closed her physics textbook and put it into her backpack as her concentration was drowned by the ringing of the school bell, announcing that lessons were over for the day. She sauntered out of the classroom, as her fellow students brushed past her in their haste. She's almost 17, tall, athletically built with long auburn hair and green eyes that seem capable of hypnosis. She doesn't just have the gorgeous looks going for her because she's also well acknowledged as possessing a genius level intellect and easily the smartest person in her school. Caitlyn is a member of the MENSA organization that connects highly intelligent individuals globally. At the age of 16, she scored an outstanding 298 on the mensa test, categorizing her amongst the top highest percentiles. The complex world of science has always fascinated her, ranging from the cosmos down to subatomic particles, everything held secrets that her curiosity always piques her to uncover. She walked to her locker, opened it up to lock-in a few of her items before she noticed the brown piece of paper that was tucked underneath her locker. She grabbed it and opened it up, her brows creased in confusion and curiosity. She sighed in irritation after reading its contents. It was her secret admirer again. She didn't know who he was yet, but he'd clearly been stalking her, and she wondered if it would be advisable to report to the school authorities. What if whoever it was that was making secret passes at her had an unholy or malevolent motive towards her? Reading it again, she thought better of it. Whoever it was seemed harmless to her. Would it be better off if he came out in the open and talked to her directly? She closed her locker and was about to turn away before she was called by two of her closest school friends, Olivia and Jenny. "Kate, hol'up!" While Olivia is a beautiful blond with long auburn hair and piercing green-grey eyes, Jenny on the other hand is a stunning brunette with thick, dark, curly hair that she always ties up in a ponytail, electrifying light blue eyes and a light spray of freckles on her cheeks. They weren't just her closest friends, but they were like sisters to her. Jenny peered at her suspiciously. "And what's that flushed look on your face all about?" She asked Cate, folding her arms. "Nothing" Cate muttered, then sighed. It was no use hiding it from them anyway. She showed them the secret letter written on a piece of paper, their eyes widening in thrill. "Oh my gosh! Cate has a boyfriend!" Olivia almost screamed, making Cate try covering the blond girl's mouth with her hands. "Shush it, Olivia! I don't even know who he is yet. And I don't like stalkers. They give me the creeps. Do you think he might have a sinister motive? " "The write-up seems genuine and harmless. He's just a secret admirer, that's all. Don't get yourself worked up, alright?" "C'mon, we will miss the school bus" Olivia tugged both her friends along. The three teenage girls climbed up the waiting school bus that was already swarming with loud school kids that were either screaming, throwing light jabs or hurling rumpled piles of paper at each other. The bus driver held his head and grimaced as though he was having a migraine. He then turned to part away the fabric partition wall over his shoulder and bellowed at the horde of high school teenagers. "For chrissake..pipe down, all of you!" They quietened momentarily, but Cate knew their voices would still rise again into a crescendo soon. She, Olivia and Jenny flopped onto the seats at the rear end of the bus, as the bus's door groaned shut. Then the engine roared to life, completely drowning off the noise of the students within the bus as it lumbered away from the kerb. Cate watched an overexcited Olivia trying to engage Jenny in a discussion about the science excursion class that was scheduled tomorrow, an entire day devoted to visiting the Feynman particle-collider at Lincoln but the teenage brunette didn't seem all that enthusiastic. While Olivia and Cate were avid science geeks, Jenny, on the other hand, seemed to lean more towards music and stage performance, practicing her guitar and singing with a local band. She also has a flair for the arts, often spending her free time painting and writing poetry. Jenny listened with barely concealed disinterest, while Cate looked distracted. Cate couldn't help it as her mind drifted towards the events of the previous day. Something about it continued to nag at her memory, making her feel uneasy. Just the night before, a middle-aged man had been attacked and killed deep in the woodland of Valparaiso park where he wandered through in the middle of the night after getting lost. Forensic analysis had failed to recognize the creature that attacked the man. The creature's footprint was categorized under canis lupus, which is the genus of wolves. But the footprint was larger. The area had been sealed off as a "crime scene", but the three adventurous girls had sneaked out of the school premises, hitched a ride to the woodlands where the incident had occured, after wandering around the area for a while, and clearing pine needles and twigs from an area of particular interest in the soil, they were able to make out a rough shape in the dry soil. The small depressions resolved into a pattern, something more than an accident. After pulling a tape measure to scale the length and width of the footprint, Cate had pulled a small battered notebook from her pocket, removing the rubber band binding it, and scribbled with the pencil stub that rolled free of its pages. It hadn't taken long before they were done and ran off the scene before they'd get spotted or caught. Now Cate took out her small sized PC from her backpack and placed it on her lap. "Here goes" she said under her breath as her friends drew closer to her. The bus slowed to pick up more students, adding to the chatterings within the bus. Cate keyed in some commands on the PC's keyboard and, after a while, a virtual simulated rendering suggested a creature that was almost seven feet tall and upright like a man. Definitely not a wolf, but related. It looked more like a cross between a wolf and a man and could have easily weighed 700 pounds or even more. Olivia gasped beside her. "Oh my goodness, Cate. This is getting weirder than I thought. Do you think it's a wrong rendering or something?" "No, I don't think so. This is just as real as you see it," Cate said. Jenny shook her head and said; "I should have brought a camera. Sorry to doubt You guys earlier, but I thought this was going to be hoax number one million, and so I didn’t bother. I’ll come back later and take some casts." "If this is what I really think it is, it could be the greatest discovery of the 21st century. In fact, this could make the Coelacanth and wollemi pine look like sardines and dried flowers", Cate said. Olivia rolled her eyes at Cate. "Just say it, Cate. Even if it sounds crazy and illogical" Cate looked at the faces of her two beloved friends. "Do you guys believe in the supernatural or the paranormal?" "If it inclines on magic, then I don't. Science and magic can never go together. But this could probably be something in between. I think we have a new and undiscovered specie of wolf-like creature wandering in our backyard" Cate had a quizzical look on her face, and her friends noticed it. "Say it, Cate" they said almost simultaneously at her. "Here goes. In 1973, there was a reported sighting of a large, hairy wolf-like being that witnesses described was six to seven feet tall and covered in dark brown or black fur, with glowing eyes. The creature was reported as being highly aggressive and has conducted attacks on humans and livestock in what is present-day Chicago. They call it the Chicago wolfman. The Chicago Police Department and local animal control investigated the sightings, but no concrete evidence was found, so the paranormal case was closed and dubbed a hoax, but there's another interesting one". She looked at the faces of her friends. Jenny looked pale and ashen faced, while Olivia's large eyes seemed even larger in genuine interest as she listened to Cate. Cate took a glance through the bus's window, they were now at South Broad street, soon the bus would arrive at South Main Street where she lived. While Olivia and Jenny both live at S. Hwy 77 street. "They call it the Beast of Gévaudan. It was a legendary creature that was reputed to have terrorized the countryside of south-central France, particularly in the province of Gévaudan from 1764 to 1767. The creature was described as a large and wolf-like with sharp teeth and claws, a strong, unpleasant rank odor, glowing eyes and a very distinctive howl. It was also said to be around 6 feet long and weighed around 200 pounds. The creature was alleged to have attacked and killed numerous people, mostly women and children, often targeting their head and neck." Jenny looked stricken, Olivia still stared wide-eyed. The look on her face almost made Cate laugh. "What happened to it? Did they kill it?" "The French government and local authorities launched several hunts for the creature, involving professional hunters, soldiers, and even a special task force. However, despite numerous reported sightings and attacks, the creature was never captured or killed...and yet again it was dubbed as a legendary hoax. Some argue that it was just a large wolf or a wolf hybrid or a misidentified known animal like a bear or a hyena. While others argue that a serial killer clowning under the legend of the creature as a cover-up or just a mythical creature that was exaggerated over time. So yeah. that's it, guys" Cate said finally. "There have been similar reported sightings, but again, no concrete evidence" Cate said and shrugged. "Now that is one hell of a tale. But like Friedrich Nietzsche once said," Falsehood is a coin which, once stamped, retains its value even if the metal is base. Something's definitely in it. I feel this is like an undercover ripple effect that will soon bloom open", Olivia said philosophically. "Ohh damn" jenny cooed, still visibly shaken by the abnormal story Cate had just told them both. The bus screeched to a halt on an embarkment and some students started pouring out of the bus. Cate turned to her two friends. "There's my stop, babes. See you two tomorrow. And never forget the science excursion trip" "Not for anything", Olivia replied. She lightly hugged her two friends, slung her backpack on her shoulder and jumped out of the bus, as it continued on its journey south of Fremont.