Where Oh Where Has My Little Were Gone?
#25 of The Moonrise Chronicles
Maggie
was pacing the floor in her feral form. Her fur was standing on end and she
wouldn't eat a bite. Verona was a mess, dealing with her emotions now that she
couldn't hold them back. The elder Hardwicks were trying to hold the group
together while they waited for Edward to return. "Maggie
dear, did you remember to tell him that you took the antidote before coating
your claws in poison?" "Dammit!
I don't know! Everything happened so fast." "What
would he do if he thought you were dead?" "Godammit!
I don't know," she bellowed out as she started crying. "Calm
down. I think we need to start at the wolf sanctuary. It sounds rather suspiciously
like the work of a well-meaning soul. Your father is definitely that." "He's a
hell of a lot more than you'll ever know!" "Yes
dear. What I mean is, he probably feels a kinship to those animals. All anyone
wants to be is free. We'll just have to wait and see if he returns to us. We
can't go about the state of New York looking for him. Yes, we could probably
find him if we did, but it isn't our responsibility right now." "Oh no?
Who was it who said that we may have to kill him? If you're willing to try and
do that, then why not help me look for him?" Silence
fell over the room. "You're right dear. I suppose we can go look for him. But
let's wait a little while longer. Reynaud
flipped the television on and the news was still covering the aftermath of the
battle. ...as
city crews continue to clean up after what has been called the most bizarre
incident in the city's history. Engineers are assessing the damage to Central
Park's historic Belvedere Castle. One man we talked to said it looked like a
wrecking ball had hit it. Since there wasn't any heavy machinery in the area,
the cause of the damage is as mysterious as the rest of this incident. Several people remain
hospitalized today in serious but stable condition. Some of them are still suffering from shock
and have been unable to give police any details of what they saw. Examination
of the city's cameras continues to support the evidence of two large animals,
but the quality of the images coupled with the speed the creatures were moving
has made identifying what they are impossible. We spoke with crypto-biologist
Joe Manganiello and he said that if it weren't for the damage, he would have
dismissed the whole thing as a prank. His review of some of the footage has
left him speechless, and he has gathered his gear to investigate further. We'll
follow him as he searches for clues. On a brighter note, the wolf sanctuary
at South Salem has all their inmates back today. According to police officials,
the animals returned in single file, lead by a wolf that one officer described
as being "a little slice of hell." All the animals were unharmed, and all were
accounted for except for the leader, which seemed to vanish into thin air. Speculation
has it that the searchers were suffering from some sort of mass hysteria. A
search is still out for anyone who may have taken a photograph of this animal
to ascertain whether or not it has any connection with the creatures seen
downtown. We'll keep you updates as this story continues to break." Maggie
jumped up. "Father! It just had to be father!" Verona
jumped up too. "It has to be!" Let's go find him!" Reynaud
held up his hand. "Fine. We'll go up there and see what we can do. One can only
hope that he has had the sense to stick around. But with him assuming his feral
form, I feel that he may be getting mixed up inside. We all know the strength
of the feral side. If he sticks with it too much he'll likely get pulled in to
the pleasures of being a hunter." "Then
shut up old man. We have to go now!" "How?" Maggie
stopped. "What?" "Do you
intend to take the bus? Or a taxi?" This chase may last a while." "You
mean none of you own a car?" "We do
dear,' said Lupenia quietly. "Back home. And Verona uses the city transit
system. It's rather hard to find good parking here." Maggie
grabbed her laptop. She clicked away furiously for a few minutes. She grabbed
Verona's arm. "Sit down!" "Here;
I want to go here." "Maggie,
we can't possibly go..." "Shut
up. We go, we get one and we come back here and stock it up. Then we go looking
for my father. I'd do it myself, but stupid human rules get in the way." "But!" "But
nothing sister. I've got the cash. We buy it and we go." An hour
later they were getting into a cab. "Whereto ladies?" "Seven
eighty seven Eleventh Avenue please." The cab
sped off. When the girls return, Verona was driving a brand new Range Rover.
They had gotten quite the deal on it, for they paid for it in cash. And in New
York City, no one asked too many questions. If someone came in to buy something
and they had the money, you sold it to them. They packed some "snacks" and some clothing,
but little else. Things like compasses and GPS were stupid toys to a werewolf.
They followed their noses and their instincts. Verona locked up the apartment
and they headed off. Getting to the wolf sanctuary would
have been faster in werewolf form, since things like traffic meant very little
to them. But since they were keeping a low profile, they remained as humans.
The new vehicle made its way for miles, taking back roads and cutting through
burgs and boroughs until they reached the sanctuary. The place was still
crawling with police and animal control officers. There was a road block
keeping traffic out of the area.Verona wound down the window as an
officer approached their car. "I'm sorry ma'am, but this area is sealed off
right now. I'll have to ask you to turn around and head back where you came
from.""Sure officer. Can I ask what the
problem is?""Didn't you hear on the news? We
had a pack of wolves escape from the sanctuary over there.""Wolves! Oh my. I hope you catch
them!" She put on a show of sounding suitably frightened. 'Well ma'am, we do seem to have
them all.""Then what seems to be the
problem?""Nothing ma'am. Just being
thorough."Outside of transforming, Verona had
nothing she could do without provoking an incident. She backed the vehicle up
and tuned around. "I'm sorry Maggie, but we'll have to find another way in."Lupenia tapped her on the shoulder.
"Verona dear, Maggie's not here. She got out the moment you stopped. I told her
we'd look for her to the north. I'd suggest we find a spot for some coffee and
food. I have the potion with me, so it should keep your stomach settled on eating
regular food. I think we may need to keep the other supplies until we find
Edward."They found a little place and sat
down. Before going in, Reynaud slipped into the tree line in the back and came
out a moment later."What were you doing?""Spraying the trees with urine.
That'll make it easier for her to find us. I don't feel like dallying all day
waiting on her to get back."It was several ours late that she
walked into the restaurant. Her clothing was in disarray and her face was
dirty. She sat down and leaned against the table."He was there. There is no doubt of
that. He led the wolves back to the enclosure and he transformed into a human.
He climbed the fence and escaped.""Who told you this?""I can follow my nose Reynaud! But
it's deeper than that.""Deeper? Don't talk in riddles my
dear," chided Lupenia."Talk?" Maggie sat upright. "Oh
yes, talk. Did you know we can talk to wolves?"Everyone went quiet."Yes, we can talk to wolves. Who
knew? I didn't. But then I never tried before. Why would I? Where would I? We
had no zoo around. But I talked with the wolves. "Reynaud cleared his throat.
"Maggie, this is very serious indeed. Do you know what this means?""Yeah. Either I'm stone cold
insane, or there is something really weird going on with me.""Not how I would have put it, but
yes. Not every werewolf can talk to animals. What did the wolves say?" Verona was
asking the question but wasn't sure she was believing her ears."They said that their chosen one
came to them last night. He led them out and then back again. But they hope to
be free soon.""Uh, ok. But what of Edward?""They say that he turned into a
human and climbed the fence. I followed his trail for a while until it came to
a house. I was carrying my clothes with me, obviously, so I dressed and knocked
on the door. I asked the nice lady if anything weird had happened. She looked
at me a bit oddly, but confided that someone had broken in and stolen some old
work clothes. Since they weren't worth anything, she hadn't called the police.
She did wonder why I was asking. I told her my half witted brother was running
around and I was trying to find him before he got hurt. I guess maybe she believed
me. Anyway, I followed his trail to the road, but then it vanished." "Hitchhiking. He's decided to
hitchhike. This makes this suddenly more difficult.""You're telling me old man. I should
have stayed with him the entire time. I should have gone after him the moment I
felt he wasn't coming back!""We'll find him dear," said Lupenia
soothingly. He is probably out there trying to work things out. Being a
werewolf is not all fun and games. Your bed may have to be cold for a while
before you can resume your fun."Maggie turned red. "You know?""It grows clearer by the day. I try
not to judge. There is too much of that in the world as it is. Mind you I don't
approve, but I understand. When you find someone you latch on to them. Humans
call it love. It's deeper than that for us. Your dedication to him is more than
you realize. At the same time, I think we need to look into your background. Speaking
with wolves is not a common trait.""You mean you can't?""No dear.""Why can I?""I can't say for certain. Did the
wolves say if Edward spoke to them?""Yes and yes. They said he seemed
surprised.""I can imagine. But not nearly as
surprised as I am." Then Lupenia turned gray. "Oh dear. Did they say anything
about...mating?""I didn't ask. What difference
would it make?""Nothing. Never mind.""What. Difference. Would. It. Make?"Reynaud spoke for her. "If he is of
the ancestry of the Beast, then his seed, as we mentioned before, might very
well be viable inside a regular wolf.""His seed? Oh, you mean his sperm.
So if he was out here all night shagging wolf bitches, then there might be a
big pack of cubs coming up that won't look anything like their mothers?""Worse than that dear. They'll be
bigger, stronger, smarter, and wilder than anything any human can handle.""What are we going to do?""About the wolves? Nothing. What is
done is done. We move on and hope to stop him before he does something even
more damaging.""Like what?" "You don't want to know. You really don' want to
know."