Marcus
I wasn't longing for a good fight, and running to higher ground or not didn't really matter to me. Beast was beast, and I had other plans. I climbed the first highest maple tree I could find. We had been getting the logs ourselves for Charlene's house, and knowing my vegetation came in handy. I sat high up in the tree, waiting. I heard the "Thud… Thud… Thud… Thud" coming closer, louder until it stopped. Looking down, I saw the alien eyeing its surroundings. Slowly, I took the vile out of my inside jacket pocket and made the same bird-like sound I heard it make while running. Hearing the "whirring," it tilted its head. I clicked my tongue in a bat-like sound. The long neck twisted, turning up towards me… I had dropped the vial… it was already falling onto its face. The glass smashed on its beak, breaking, "Poof!" the powder was released into the air. "Thud!" I smirked. "My work here is done…."
The smell those things gave off in the cages at the house earlier was one thing I wanted Juliet to experience. Even if I needed to cheat. I was going to give her… chicken… I chuckled. I jumped down and approached the bird. A spear came into view. I paused. The smell was also different than earlier. My eye caught the swordlike fingers on the one hand. A communication device in its ear. "What the…" Lowering down on my haunches, I turned it around. The beady grey eyes tilted back in its head. Armor ran up almost to its chin. A device on its wrist made a constant beeping noise; it didn't look like a watch.
Pressing on the screen yielded no result. I waved my hand over it. A menu with an unknown language came up, projected into the sky as a hologram. "Not beasts to eat…." Other species of Aliens. I rolled my eyes… Did the watchers think it was funny? I took the device from its ear and pushed it into my jacket pocket. Dropping its head produced a "Thunk." Mmmm, no brains… I shot up onto my feet. Louis! They must be there for him. I swore and ran. Once the cages came into view, I slowed down and heard a weird sound: "Buzzing?"
Above me, in the air, a cluster was forming. A few small silver round balls were hovering. I leaped up onto the cages and into the swarm, grabbing one. It tried to evade me; I was too quick. A drone? I pressed it hard in the palm of my hand, thinking it would shatter. It didn't even budge. A burning smell made me relax my hold. My skin was searing in some places. Impenetrable armor and self-defense on even their tech. I pushed the thing into my jacket pocket, zipping it in. It was moving around a bit. Relented after a few moments.
"Thud… Thud"
"Not again!" I quickly stepped into one of the cages, watching one of the others running past. I reached for another vial.
"WHIRRRR!!!"
It skidded to a stop. Those guys were not very clever. "Can't they even distinguish between the voices of their own people?"
"Not that you can call this thing a "people," Louis said from on top of the cage.
Relieved, my heart skipped a beat, hearing his voice, although I had to worry, "Where is Chris?"
"Behind it flanking."
"What do you mean?"
"Chris has been holding out on us. He is very much in control of himself."
I smirked, "That's my boy."
The last bird came running up towards us, bypassing me inside the cage and jumping up towards Louis. "Oh, did I say… They are here… to… I quote," he tried to speak as he dodged the attacks. "Hired to kill me. And then… this guy wished me good luck…Your father seems to think me a danger."
"If he saw you now, he'd be laughing. Look at you trying to fight that guy. You really need to start training with me."
"Hey! How do you know this isn't a girl?"
I thought for a second what would be the worst insult… "So, what you're saying is a girl is getting the upper hand over you." Louis laughed. "Deep breath! And don't inhale… You might die." I took a baseball pitch stance and aimed. I hit the bird in the face, and the same thing happened. Louis stood watching the thing drop dead at his feet.
***
Louis
"What is it with you and drugging things?"
"I don't like fighting… I'm not a fighter," stunned, I stared at Marcus.
"What's with the training? Being a general and the… Reading? The cages…"
He gestured with his head to the top of the cage. I held out my hand. He jumped, grabbing on, and I pulled him the last bit. We both stood staring at the alien. "My father is the reason."
"Why did you let him touch her…?"
He sighed, "Because if I cross that line, I will kill him. I… won't stop… I—." Marcus didn't finish his sentence because he didn't have to say anything. Since we got back from the embassy, Marcus and I spent most of our time together; I knew what he was feeling and thinking. Most of the time, he was frustrated. I felt for him. We needed to get to know each other if we would be together forever. "They do die easily, don't they? Probably why they haven't invaded Earth yet," Marcus said and bent down, inspecting every detail.
"We all die easily," I retorted, "Rather susceptible to drugs. There is still one left… Where is Chris?" Marcus pointed to the right, high up into a tree. Chris was standing on a branch that could actually carry his weight, swaying in the wind. Marcus didn't even have to lift his head. I was astounded by his depth of awareness of what was going on around him. Marcus took out a small silver ball from his jacket and fiddled with it. Others came flying into the area and created a swarm of drones hovering above us. They twirled into a funnel, becoming smaller and smaller until they dropped one by one into the ball he held in his hand. "How clever are you anyway?"
"Let's see how they get around now."
Chris teleported out of the tree, "I'm going hunting. Are you guys going to stand around… chatting the night away?" His voice had changed. It was deep and gruff. Marcus followed him; they split up into two directions and disappeared over the hill. I didn't feel like joining and wanted to return to the house to tell Juliet what had happened. I was just about to leave when I heard noises behind me. As quietly as possible, I went into one of the cages and waited. The noise grew louder. I listened to the familiar 'whirring.' It was the last 'thing' alive…. "Thud… Thud… Clang" overhead. The cage rattled. The thing was impatiently waiting, walking back and forth. I froze when I saw the familiar white clothes of a watcher coming down from the sky, landing across from him. They shook hands.
"We would have had him if Marcus and the riphath weren't here… You have to separate them, or else we can't do anything."
"I understand." The voice blindsided me. Wide-eyed, I stared up at the figure. If we couldn't trust the watchers, we were more than useless. In the end, Qadir was pulling their strings as well. The two men disappeared, teleporting out together.
"He played with us! We went full circle." Marcus bellowed as he and Chris came running up to the cages again. I walked out, still stunned at what I had heard. As soon as Chris saw me, he asked, "What's wrong?"
"A watcher and the last alien shook hands, and they disappeared."
"Which one?"
I wanted to answer but didn't know if I should say, "Michael… It was Michael."
I couldn't read Chris's thoughts on a full moon. He rubbed his hands over his face and hair as he changed back to human. Marcus and I did as well. "I'm going home… Who killed them?" Chris asked. I pointed at Marcus. He had sat down on the cage's edge, feet dangling down.
"What did you use?"
"Vials… Michael gave me…." Dumbfounded. It was quiet all around for a moment. "Same stuff he used at the embassy to kill that other slimy thing we ate."
"What?" Chris asked and turned to me, "Are you a hundred percent sure you saw Michael?"
"It's kinda hard missing the six foot three guy covered in tats and the voice… I don't know what the hell is going on, but are we going to have to carry these things back? Where is our escort now," I complained
"Oh yeah, one of these birds sliced open Warden's neck. I don't know if he made it."
"Sheesh, Chris, what is going on with you? First, you don't tell us you're in control on full moons. Now it seems like you don't even care about Warden?"
"They just tried to kill you, Louis!" he yelled, "Not me… Not Marcus… Don't tell me I don't care!" His answer made me feel loved. I walked over and hugged him… picking him up… We were becoming a family even without Juliet there. We were getting in deep. This was real. "What else did they say?"
"That they will have to separate us."
Chris swore, sitting down on his haunches.
"We can't trust anyone," Marcus said, at last, jumping down. "But I do trust the two of you. The problem is, we're being monitored… and we can only stop being watched if we sign those stupid papers… Have no more watchers to interfere."
I scoffed, "No! Marcus, you can't be so naive. With you here, we will never be free. We should go back to the compound and be close to the enemy. We will always have this riphath's watcher around, and as long as Juliet is pregnant, Michael will be around."
"What is a riphath?" Chris asked.
"Oh, that's you. That was what they called you."
"So, not hybrid? Not a mix between werewolf and vampire, but—"
"Riphath… Yeah."
***
Charlene
While the guys were on their hunt, the three of us watched a movie and spent some time with little Miné. The house building had halted for the time being. I was still living with Juliet and had to believe the guys would finish it. The fact it had gone so quickly was already beyond any expectations I ever had. Before we came to France, I was ready to live under Louis's proverbial roof for a long time.
"So, tell us what's going on? How are things with Benjamin?" Cindy asked me.
"Yeah… I don't really know… We don't spend enough time together to really get to know each other."
"But how do you feel? Will you invite him to move in?" I shook my head. Juliet and I shared a look. "What is going on?" Cindy's eyes darted from me to her.
"I… asked her if there isn't any way I could change into something else?"
"What do you mean?" Cindy asked in a kind voice.
"It feels like… You're all going to disappear on me… What if everyone goes back to their home planets?"
"Oh, Charlene… The only way is to become an infected creature… And that isn't something I would wish on anyone."
"What about the process that suspends the watchers?" Cindy sighed because she didn't know.
"What does it entail to become an infected vampire mom?"
"Well, we would need to be on the compound." Thinking about the compound made me uncomfortable. I could see Juliet didn't like the idea either. "And then you would live forever, and we will die. And who would be your alien compliant? It's all too situational."
"Can I ask another question, Mrs. Farrow…" She nodded, eating a cherry tomato off the plate on the coffee table.
"What happens when a werewolf infects a human?"
Her eyes fell to the floor. She was thinking about something, "That is something you don't want to see… Ever… It's completely banned."
"Have you seen it, Mom? Have you seen a person infected by a werewolf?"
Cindy nodded, biting nervously on her bottom lip, "When you saved that baby werewolf… There was a reason those glass jars were filled with only werewolf parts… The rabid creature that emerges after that… can never return to a human face… or walk on two legs. Their eyes turn bright red and never change… They eat and eat and don't stop. Babies, animals, and anything that crosses their path. Juliet picked up Miné and held her close to her breast.
"Charlene, I don't think you should move out until we have found the baby killer." I bobbed my head vigorously, suddenly scared to death of having a baby who was alive for the taking.
"How do we know he won't come for Miné?"
Cindy sat back in her chair. "I think he will… He needs the werewolf toxin to make whatever Juliet is turning into." We both gasped softly. I went to sit next to Juliet, holding her and my baby tightly. "Louis's father was attacked by the last one." Our heads jerked up.
"What?" Juliet exclaimed. "Eaten?"
"No… his father had to fight it—protecting him." Cindy's expression was somber, staring up at the roof.
"We chose him for you… We called your uncle… Asked if he knew anyone who could take Marcus's place… Who wasn't at the compound… We didn't know you would ask him to cover you. We only wanted you to have someone who would never leave your side."
A tear ran down Juliet's cheek, "Louis went through that. How old was he?"
"He was around twenty… In the seventeen hundreds, the legends of werewolves originated among humans. The werewolves let their people live anywhere they wanted on earth. His father was here in France when the first ones were spotted in the Alps."
"His mother?"
"She took him to Uncle Samuel… died a few days later because she was branded."
Juliet wiped away her tears in that jerky movement of hers, "Louis wasn't there to track Chris… was he?" Cindy chuckled lightly, shaking her head.
"Oh, he was there to track… But not Chris… He told us he followed you for a month before coming to the house so we could introduce you to him… Of course, we met with him secretly to get to know him ourselves."
"He was already in love with me the night on our first hunt?"
Cindy sat up laughing, "He was head over heels. Almost frantic when we couldn't find you."
"I'm jealous, Juliet… The love you share with these three men is different yet true in every way… Ben and I are not connecting like that."
"The way Ben looks at you, though." Cindy agreed, her head bobbing. She pursed her lips slightly with a smirk at the corner of her mouth.
I didn't expect them to pick up on something, "You guys think he has genuine feelings for me? Not just werewolf harem feelings?"
"I think Ben is chomping at the bit," Juliet continued.
Cindy put her hand on Juliet's forearm, "That was what I thought, right. He wants this year to end. I think he will completely change; he's frustrated and jealous, and it's getting to him. It's not in a werewolf's nature to not be all about family."
Juliet agreed, "Maybe you should talk to him about the possibility of you going with him to their planet… I don't think he will leave you here if Qadir takes over. The werewolves won't stay."
"Isn't getting infected and being able to protect myself a better idea than… hoping for the politics of the planets to save me just because I had a baby?"
"Yeah… I suppose."
"If you and I train really hard. Every day. Learn all there is about war and combat. We might even stand a chance." My suggestion piqued Juliet's interest. She got up, little Miné going along, being soothed in jerky motions, nevertheless loving it… Then she changed into a little furry creature baby, and my breath caught. When Miné was manifested, she was human in every way, besides the little scrunched-up snout and furrowed upper nose part. Her body was covered in hair as soft as down, and her coat grew longer toward the crown of her head. I could still not get over the fact that my child was a… werewolf.
"It really isn't like in the movies, is it…? You can't bite me, and I'll be happy. The legends must have some origin story… Can you tell us the story of you and Liam… What he did and how you guys got together… You're older than him… How is it that you lived so long without being sold off?"
"You haven't even told me, Mom. If you tell us some of the history, maybe it will help us in the future. With Sita threatening to expose everything. Qadir and his army… What should we be focusing on?"
***
Cindy
Juliet has asked me a thousand times to tell her my story; for so many reasons, I couldn't tell her where we came from. I would've had to lie to her on the compound and after we left. She wasn't ready to know… yet at that moment, being pregnant and with all that might happen made it seem like a good time. I also didn't want her to be influenced by my past while we lived on Earth or by the ways of our home world and the many cultural influences. Raising her on Earth had been more complicated than it would've been back home. I sighed after thinking for too long, "Our world is called En-gannim," sitting back, I closed my eyes, allowing myself to remember.
"If China is where the king lives on our planet… I lived in Rio La Quiaca, Argentina… The further one got from the Capital, the easier it was to breathe."
I missed my family; I missed my mother most of all, and another reason I never wanted to talk about it. I didn't even want to think about going back because I believed we never would. "It was not a continent. It was an Island off the coast. Our seas aren't blue and deep and full of life. The liquid in our oceans is a pinkish hue and deadly to vampires. There was no point in crossing oceans. There is still no point in conquering the waters like here on Earth… So, I grew up so sheltered. My father—" Tears pooled in my eyes, and my chin quivered. "Was a wonderful man… And rich… Or his parents were. They bought him a wife, and he was so happy when she arrived. He let her be for the longest time. He never expected anything from her. My mother is so caring… she couldn't have asked for a better husband… The women didn't wear full veils on the island like on the compound… My father wanted to let my mother's affection grow for him."
"And that's where feminism comes from… One man who treated a woman like a person," Juliet said, "No wonder I am the way I am."
"Oh no, Julie… You're exactly like your daddy. Passionate. Full of drive and zeal for life, love, and… lust." Juliet had no idea what was coming, and if she only knew, she would run for the hills. Her personality would see her through in the end.
"Go on, mom."
"Oh yes, they obviously fell in love, and they had me… The one thing he did force my mother to do was read and read and read. When I was born, he did the same with me… I grew up in a bubble…. You and I grew up the same, but we're completely different. I didn't want to grow up and wanted to stay with my parents forever. Being sold was never even discussed until… I was a hundred and something. I was hidden… I never had to go to a conditioning camp." I smiled at the memory of seeing Liam for the first time. He was so young and eager, and he could never stand still. "Your father came to deliver something through the teleporter we had. I was working the station that day, and when he saw me, well…."
Juliet and Charlene giggled at the idea of Liam and me falling in love. "I didn't like him at first," their smiles fell, "He was so… so young and fresh out of a camp at a hundred."
"It doesn't sound like it curbed him at all."
I laughed lightly and shook my head, "No… I think it did the opposite… Liam was head over heels and pursued me for a long time." Half smiles returned. "Unfortunately, we didn't know who he was until he was a part of the family. My father was never a radical who wanted to change society. Liam, on the other hand, was ardent about the cause… The turning point on the island was the first time Samuel came to discuss our marriage. My grandfather quickly got swept up in the politics of the situation."
"They wanted to break down the Monarchy."
I nodded, "Samuel was part of the court, and being a part of the court exempts you from execution, but not—"
"Exile to a prison planet," Juliet added.
"The king loved his firstborn, and when he died, something snapped in him. The world quickly became worse. The radicles were hunted down until the last one."
"Our king's name is Ahasuerus… Will you believe me when I say no one is branded on En-gannim? I didn't even know about it until your father told me… Well, anyway, when Ahasuerus heard rumors of what was going on, he quickly came to put an end to it. There was a fight, and we lost."
"What happened to all the women of the island. How did you end up here, Mom?"
That was the sad part of the story. My mother was still alive… Somewhere. My father and grandfather were in some prison. Our island was now deserted, barren, and everything destroyed. I didn't think they should know more than what I had already shared. Luckily, there was a distraction… The door leading to the garage opened, and Liam and Carl came through, laughing and talking. They came over and joined us. Liam took little Miné from his daughter. They fought a lot between them about who would hold her. I smiled. None of us could wait to have another little baby in the house.
"How did Benjamin and Mateo do?" I asked.
"Both won... They ate and are sleeping it off."
"Was Qadir there?" Juliet asked.
"He's always there… He wouldn't miss a fight."
"I would think he'd know when to steer clear. What if he comes here to see Marcus?" Juliet randomly remarked. The two girls glanced at each other. There was a knock at the front door. Juliet giggled nervously, "He's here," she whispered menacingly.
Charlene took Miné and let Liam get the door. We all stood waiting in the Lounge, wondering who it could be...
"Carl!" Liam called. "Come see this."