Lost Wolf
Chapter 10
That morning was an interesting one for both Werewolves.
David, Michael and Dwayne had left for their real lair, wherever that was, leaving Paul and Marko with Alex and Sean, once Alex woke up, anyway. Sean didn't know if it was a sign of trust or a show of power, indicating that a Werewolf wouldn't dare attack two Vampires, even in daylight. Not that he planned to, and not that Alex would allow him. He was also glad to see Michael go, he disturbed him, somehow. The Neonate was open and friendly, at times, but only with his Packmates, excluding Alex, but he was mostly cold and indifferent towards everyone else. It didn't seem right for a Vampire, especially such a young Vampire from such a anarchic Pack, to behave so unemotionally.
While Alex was thin and bony, Sean was built much like Marko, small but well-muscled, if a little chubby. He was attractive, very pale and heavily freckled, with deep black eyes and curly black hair indicating his Scottish/Latino ancestry. His full lips seemed almost permanently pulled into a small smile. He was dressed in leather, though less garish than the boys, with a black t-shirt. He, like Alex, had left his boots at the door.
The two Wolves made small talk as the Vampires slept.
"What happened to the couch?" Sean asked, "Everything else in the room fits perfectly, except that couch."
"Marko hated the old couch. He said it was 'mocking him with it's purity' or something like that." Alex replied, "He actually burned it! I've never seen anyone actually hate a piece of furniture like that. The boys found this on a curbside somewhere and he loves it."
The brown, tattered couch sat amongst several pure white pieces of furniture, and a once spotless rug, now covered in dirt and mud from the boys being too lazy or indifferent to take off their boots. Or, maybe it was spite toward their old Master?
"It's comfortable, though." Sean conceded, "How did the Master Vampire die?"
"An old Vampire hunter found out Max was trying to seduce his daughter and turn his grandchildren into Vampires. He literally drove a truck into his own house, a truck with wooden stakes attached to the front, and impaled him."
The other Werewolf whistled, "What in the world would possess a Vampire to try to marry the daughter of a Vampire Hunter and turn her and her children into undead?"
"Insanity. Loneliness is an awful thing, even for a Vampire. Between his sons being 'rebellious', him not spending enough time with his Pack, and having no mate to share eternity with, it messed him up in the head. They tell me he used to be a great guy, for a Vampire. He turned each of them as they lay dying for one reason or another. Dwayne had been shot multiple times, Marko was dying of Spanish Influenza, Paul, Paul had nothing to lose... But Marko brought Paul in, he didn't turn him, of course, Max wouldn't allow that, but he chose Paul. Not Max. This was around the time they say he started to slip. No, actually they said it started in the fifties, not the sixties."
"Why did he hate Werewolves? I've heard that he hated us, anyway."
"He did, but I don't know why. I probably never will. My survival was part keeping the boys from turning on him and part enjoying the power he held over a Werewolf, no matter how insignificant that Werewolf was."
"You're not insignificant, Alex. From what the others have told me, you're very important to them. I... I honestly don't have much firsthand knowledge of Vampires, but I've been told they tend to be cold and indifferent towards other races, including Werewolves. But they practically tore down a warehouse last night in a rage at the idea of you being... Abandoned. Which you weren't, not intentionally, anyway. Marko was pacing the a hole in the floor when we arrived, and Paul spoke to me about you while we rode here. They care about you."
Alex blushed, "Either way, if Max were still alive you would have received a far different welcome coming into Santa Carla. Max would have at least considered attacking you, and David would have tried to manipulate you into helping him kill Max, probably using me somehow."
"Do Vampires so easily turn on their own?"
"No!" Alex closed his eyes briefly, "I mean, no, not usually. David and Max were together for centuries. I have no idea how old either of them are, but David is old enough to remember the Civil War, and has hinted about the Revolutionary War. Dwayne was turned sometime during the whole 'Manifest Destiny' bull crap the Government used to justify killing off his people, and he actually fought in some major battles against the whites. He'll talk about his past, unlike David or Marko, but it made him very bitter. He's seen humanity at its worst, and he's grateful he's no longer human. Marko's second youngest, wait, third youngest, with Michael being Pack now. He was turned in 1918, and he has a lot of reasons not to talk about his life as a human. Never bring it up to him, and never, ever mention his father. Unless, of course, you want a feral Vampire that attacks anything that moves coming after you. Paul was turned in the late '60's, he's more laid back about it, but he won't talk about his past, either. Right now, I don't want to be around Michael... But, that's not what you asked." He shook his head, "I don't know much about Vampires either outside of The Lost Boys. I know of other Packs in the area but we rarely interact, especially as I'm usually asleep at night, but the boys no longer considered Max Pack, his mental state had made him very dangerous to his own Childer. I don't know if that happens a lot, but Widow Johnson has been around for centuries and her Childer are loyal... Anyway, he was a threat to the Pack and he had to be removed."
"Sometimes, that happens to our people as well, an Alpha loses their mind and refuses to hand over power to someone else. We usually try to help them the best we can, and we have places they can go to get help, but sometimes they die fighting or kill themselves rather than surrender power. With a Vampire, who can't just die of old age or whatever, I suppose you would have to destroy him. To imprison him would be cruel, how would he feed if imprisoned? What would you imprison him in? Something that powerful, able to literally control the minds of his Childer... I guess they wouldn't have a choice."
The idea was foreign and repulsive to Sean, but he could understand it, intellectually. Sometimes, especially in the past when Packs could be more open and wield more power, a Wolf could challenge their Alpha to a battle for dominance. Sometimes it would end in death. So the concept was there, suppressed by centuries of civilization and necessity, but there all the same.
"I guess not." Alex agreed, "I came too late to know him before, but it must have hurt them as he began to slip away... He was, at one time, a real father figure to them. As he was when I met him, well, the night he died he didn't even acknowledge the fact that Marko had almost been murdered a few hours before. I guess there wasn't much of the old Max left."
XXXX
It had been a rough night for the Emersons.
The dinner had been an utter disaster, with Michael stating outright that he was no longer Michael Emerson, and that he no longer felt any love for his family. Of course, Charlie Emerson hadn't helped. It was cruel, he knew, and Lucy and Sam might never forgive him, but he knew what Michael was doing. The boy was strong, even now. He'd fooled them all, even Alex hadn't seen what he was doing. He was pushing his family away to make sure they never came back for him. Whatever was left of Michael Emerson was still protecting his family, as much as he could. Sam had twice snuck into their lair trying to save him, hell, he had taken Lucy and Sam to see Michael one last time.
That couldn't happen again.
The only possible outcome of Lucy or Sam continuing to reach out to Michael was their being killed or turned into Vampires themselves. And, he was beginning to fear that Lucy might just be willing to do that to be reunited with Michael. If not for Sam, she would already be begging to be turned, even though The Lost Boys had made it clear they didn't need or want a mother in their lives. Sam was still in danger, though. In a few years any qualms they might have about turning him too young would be moot, and they'd welcome him with open arms.
He sighed and set his root beer down on the table.
It wasn't right, outliving your grandchildren. It wasn't natural. Not that anything about Vampires was natural.
The Lost Boys were evil, by human standards, there was no denying that. Sometimes they would surprise him, though. Marko saving that Hargrove kid and watching over him at the hospital, he'd never imagined that happening. Especially when the entire gang joined in to protect him and pay for his medical bills. Of course, the boy's father disappearing the same night Marko brought him to the hospital beaten and half-dead could not have been a coincidence. People who encountered The Lost Boys often thought that Paul was the crazy one, but from what he'd seen and heard over the years Marko was the most erratic and emotional of the group. He was cruel, sadistic and merciless, but he could be genuinely kind, when he felt like it. They all could, but rarely chose to be. It didn't make him a good person by any means, but it made things pretty damn confusing. Nothing was ever simple. He'd still stake him given the chance, but he'd rather stake David. He'd likely feel some measure of guilt killing the others, he didn't hate them, except for David, and that was purely because of Michael.
Still, he should have killed them all years ago when he had the chance, consequences be damned. If he had destroyed them when he first learned of them, both Michael and Paul would had been spared the curse of Vampirism. All, or at least most, of the innocents killed by Paul as a Vampire would still be alive. And everyone killed by the other four... That was yet another mark against him. With his' boys dead, Max would have come after him, and he could have sent himself and that bastard to hell by blowing the whole house sky high...
But it was too late. He'd been a fool, but there was no changing the past. When he'd been young and strong... But he was the only hunter in Santa Carla, he didn't know any others at the time. He could have taken at least one of them down with him in a Kamikaze attack, and, unlike the Frog boys, he knew who to go after. Or he'd thought he did, Max was a wily bastard, Charlie had never caught on to him... But then he'd married, had kids and the idea of taking down the Lost Boys was too dangerous. He couldn't risk his family to go after Vampires who would ignore them as long as they 'behaved'.
Those damn Vampires ran Santa Carla, and the Frogs were the only people brave enough to stand against them. Unfortunately, they were idiots who didn't know a damn thing about Vampires outside of what they read in that ridiculous comic book. Kids were lucky to be alive after that fool stunt they pulled Sam into. Sam was even luckier. He still found it hard to believe that the Vampires hadn't harmed him at all, whatever Alex's opinion on the matter. And he knew that Alex would most likely not try to stop them besides trying to appeal to their non-existent consciences.
He'd known that Alex was with the boys for some time now, thanks to Hattie Johnson and good, old fashioned surveillance. He was slick, he could disappear into a crowd or into the shadows when he wanted, but at the same time he'd see him at the grocery store, the library, fast food places, etc... Aside from how darn skinny he was and that old bike of his, nothing about him attracted attention. In a town full of punks and crazies he tended to go unnoticed. Except for the earring, of course. That was the link to The Lost Boys. No long-time resident of Santa Carla would dare wear a dangling earring unless they were with the gang. The Surf Nazis noticed, too. He'd seen the kid fight; 5'7", about a hundred pounds soaking wet, but he could kick the asses of guys twice his size. Part of it was skill, he knew how to fight, it had kept him alive all these years. But he had an edge the Nazis couldn't seem to get through their thick skulls. He was stronger, faster and had better reflexes than any boy his size, or any human, period. How the Frogs hadn't figured out something was up was beyond him.
Alex was a Werewolf, though not like the ones in the movies that tore people apart on the night of the full moon. But he wasn't a Vampire, and he wasn't vicious, he was a square peg forced into a round hole among the Vampires. Charlie supposed the kid had been a kind of pet at first, one they'd grown attached to. Probably thanks to Marko and his habit of keeping pets. If Alex knew that, he either couldn't or wouldn't admit it to himself. He'd lived among Vampires for so long, but didn't really understand them much more than anyone else. Sure, they liked him, and he was damn lucky for that. Maybe they even cared about him, to the extent that they could. But in the end he was alive, and they were walking corpses. He could never truly understand them any more than any other mortal. One day he would grow old, (if he was lucky), and die, (again, if he was lucky), and they'd go on.
When 'The Lonely Wolf' had started howling last night, they'd all been awake. They'd heard his lonesome call into the night, and they'd heard the answers. It sounded like a whole Pack of Werewolves had suddenly appeared in Santa Carla, and they were finally tryin' to bring Alex home.
He'd never go.
He was like Renfield from Dracula, or Nock from Nosferatu or any of countless other poor souls enthralled by the Vampires. He wasn't mentally controlled, but he was certainly brainwashed... In Dracula, Renfield rebelled against Dracula to save one of his innocent victims and was killed for it... Would Alex have done so for Sam? He was so fatalistic it seemed unlikely, he'd fear it would only bring Sam more pain and suffering to interfere. It was as if he couldn't conceive of the boys being defeated, even after Max was killed.
Still, the sound of his voice as he joined in the howls was so filled with gratitude and joy that even Lucy came out of her shell for a few moments to listen to them. It was something wonderful in an otherwise horrible situation.
The whole town was doubtless talking about last night, the radio station had even called it 'The Night of the Wolves.' As fitting a name as any, he supposed. The Lonely Wolf was apparently not so lonely anymore, and the whole town knew it. He had no experience with Werewolves beyond a bit of lore and his interactions with Alex, who was barely a Werewolf anymore, having lost his cultural identity long ago. He knew that in all the time Alex/The Lonely Wolf had been in Santa Carla, no people, pets or even wild animals had turned up dead, at least not bearing the claw marks of a wolf. People died here in far greater numbers than anywhere else, but no one in Santa Carla had ever been harmed by a Werewolf, or even a shark, for that matter. Vampires, and more mundane, but no less evil, human monsters caused the most suffering.
He hoped that with these new Werewolves that peaceful relationship wouldn't change. Just because the one Werewolf he knew was nice didn't mean they all were, he knew that better than anyone. Hattie Johnson and David were both Vampires, but nothing alike, after all.
Once he got the chance, he'd go to see Hattie and ask her about Werewolves. If there was a new danger to his family, he wanted to be sure he knew about it.
He didn't plan on waiting around this time, being cryptic and confusing. Not after what happened to Michael.
At least if Sam got turned into a Werewolf, he'd still be alive. He'd still have human emotions...
Sam walked in just as he finished that thought, "Grampa, there's some people here."
He looked up at Sam. They really didn't need company right now.
"What do they want?"
"They want to know about Alex."
He stood quickly. He should have seen this coming after all of the howling last night. If a Pack had come to Santa Carla after Alex, then they'd want to know about how he was faring here. They'd probably know about Michael, and their connection to The Lost Boys and Alex through him. It wasn't how he'd wanted to spend his morning, but he could hopefully get the feel of the situation.
"I'll be right there."
XXXX
"These Frogs, they know you're a Werewolf?"
"Yes. I had to turn back to talk, and they were still there."
"How many people in this town know about The Lost Boys?"
"Everyone, though some don't believe it. They practically run the town. It's scary, in a way. They just do what they want and the cops don't even try to stop them. The only people who stand up to them are the Surf Nazis, who are exactly what they sound like. Them, and the Frogs. Alan and Edgar Frog. Alan's older at 17, Edgar is 16. Their parents are hippy stoners who haven't taken care of them for years, too wrapped up in 'Peace and Love' to love their own children." He shook his head, "I don't know how they found out about the boys, but every night for years they've been out on the Boardwalk, trying to warn tourists about the danger. When Michael was changing, he rebelled against David and led the Frogs and his 13 year old brother Sam to our place to 'free' Star and Laddie. I was talking to Star and Michael, trying to convince them not to go, because I honestly thought they couldn't be changed back. Then I heard the Frogs and Sam talking about which Vampire to stake and picking Marko, because he's 'The Little One' and they figured he'd go down quickly. They don't know Marko very well. I got there just in time and knocked Edgar down before he could stake Marko. The boys woke up, and Al threw holy water at Paul, who panicked, and the Frogs got away. But Sam didn't."
"What happened to Sam?" He already knew, of course, he just wanted to hear Alex's own version of events.
"David grabbed him while I was chasing the Frogs, I tried to grab Al, but I ended up scratching him...When I got back, the boys were preparing to move to a safer area to sleep, and I told David about Michael, Star and Laddie. He told me to watch Sam until nightfall. He tried to escape a couple of times, but eventually gave up."
"You held a child prisoner for angry Vampires?" Sean was horrified. It was one thing to hear it from Paul, but from Alex himself... Alex had been willing to let his friends kill a child?
"I wanted to let him go, but if I had, they would have tracked him down and done worse than whatever they were planning. There was no way to escape, but I could make it less... Painful. We got along well, he's a good kid, really. He didn't want to stake Marko, he just wanted the Master, who he thought was David. When David and the others woke up, they had already decided not to kill him, but Max stopped by and ordered me to take Sam home. He was going to tell Lucy what he was, and turn her and Sam, or start it, anyway. But the boys decided it had gone too far and were going to kill Max for the good of the Pack, he was too dangerous, he was going to turn a 10 year old for God's sake. But Old Man Emerson beat them to it. I dropped off Sam with his family and left."
"What would you have done if they had decided to kill the kid?" He knew as soon as he said it that was a stupid thing to ask someone mentally distraught about whether or not he'd kill a child...
Alex looked everywhere but at his fellow Werewolf, "I... I don't really know... I was asking them not to hurt him when Max interrupted, and I'm not above begging... I'm pretty good at it, actually."
"I'm sorry, I had no right to ask that." Sean looked at his fellow Werewolf, who was clearly shamed by his actions, or inaction. Siobhan had been right when she called this a tragedy, Alex had almost no will left, at least when it came to standing up to his Vampiric Pack. How far had he fallen? But now was not the time to question him, he was still in a vulnerable state.
If he was ever in a better state.
He understood what Alex was saying, either way the boy would have died had the Vampires wanted to kill him. But it still looked bad for him. At the same time, he wondered what he would have done had one of his Packmates, his best friend, been nearly murdered in his sleep by child hunters. The more he looked at the situation, the more insane it became.
"What about the boy you scratched?"
Alex ran his hand through his hair, "I was afraid at first... Well, maybe, hopeful as well, that he might change... I was so alone..."
Sean felt his heart break for his fellow Wolf, "You can't change from a scratch, only a bite."
"I didn't know. But it's healing well, and it's not too deep. I was actually trying to grab his shirt... I used to be friends with the Frog brothers, you know. I'd visit their comic shop and talk about comics, Vampires, movies..."
"They didn't know you were working with, living with, the Vampires?"
"No, I don't exactly advertise it, and I can go out during the day. Sure, sometimes I hang out with them, the boys, I mean, and the Surf Nazis know, I've had to fight them off several times. A few people have figured it out. Most just think the boys like me and won't hurt me, which is true, but not the whole story. But Ed and Al thought I was just 'gathering intelligence'. Not that they trusted me, they don't trust anyone, even each other. Everyone is a potential Vampire until proven otherwise. I can handle a cross, crucifix or whatever, thankfully they didn't think to test me with silver."
"And now?"
"I'm not welcome there anymore. I haven't even tried to go to them, they're so stubborn... They've made a pact that if one brother becomes a Vampire, the other will stake him. I always thought it was crazy, until I saw the change for myself, with Michael. Michael Emerson is dead, someone else is using his body now. That's the best way I can describe it. His memories remain, but his emotions, his feelings toward others, his own family, are gone..."
"You said Paul was splashed with holy water, how is he not hurt?"
"He was in his own home. Things like holy water don't work against a Vampire in their own home. Paul just panicked, a natural response. I'm glad he wasn't hurt."
"What do you usually do during the day?"
"Our... This isn't our only lair, and the one I usually stay at has a lot of room to explore, and a lot of antique artifacts scattered around." He pointed to the antique clock on the mantle of the fireplace, "That clock, I found it, and repaired it. I can't run it, not with Paul around, the noise drives him crazy, but it does work. I've fixed up a lot of things over the years, even a Phonograph! A wax cylinder phonograph! And I have found a few of the wax recordings... It's incredible... I've been thinking about donating it to a museum, but I'd have to find a good story for it. I can't show them where I really found it because we literally live there..."
Sean smiled, it was the first time since the unfortunate breakdown the night before that Alex had actually shown excitement, even happiness.
His Pack was probably going to call on the Emersons, whether or not that was wise was debatable. The Vampires might not appreciate such intrusions into their personal affairs. Liam was going to the Boardwalk to try to talk to the Frog brothers, which should prove an interesting affair, after everything he'd heard of them.
XXXX
Sean was both pleased and disturbed. Pleased that Alex was so close to his Pack, and that they cared for each other, despite being of different species. But he was also highly disturbed by the actions of these Lost Boys. They seemed completely insane. Reckless, careless, practically flaunting their true nature to their enemies. Both Marko and Paul had obvious mental issues, and Michael was newly turned, unpredictable and acting strangely even for a Vampire. Dwayne seemed to have a clear, (if somewhat understandable), disdain for humanity, and David was a mystery, beyond the fact that he was devious enough to subvert his Sire's will and begin a coup d'état that failed only because someone else killed his Sire first. None of them placed any value on mortal life. But still, at the same time, they had bonded with Alex, they had chosen to spare Sam Emerson's life and hadn't even gone after the Frog brothers, despite serious provocation. They had been willing to defy and even destroy their Master to protect Laddie...
"Alex," He asked casually, "When was the last time you spent a day not guarding the boys?"
"1982."
Sean looked at him with disbelieving eyes. "1982? That was five years ago!"
Alex shrugged, "I wanted to see Swamp Thing at the movies. He's my favorite comic book character, you know. I had a great time."
Sean was horrified. Alex hadn't taken a day off in five years, a day-long job that kept him in one location, alone except for a Pack of sleeping Vampires... "Do you... Did you... Are you even allowed to leave?"
"Of course I can leave, I just don't have anywhere to go, really. Somedays I walk to the Boardwalk for a while, or get lunch, or go shopping. I'm not there 24/7. And when I am there, I have things to do, I read, watch TV, fix things, go exploring..."
"You live in some kind of cave system, don't you? This area is filled with them."
"Yeah... A lot of stuff got pulled down by a huge earthquake in 1906, and it's just scattered around. It's amazing what you can find."
"Thank God!" Sean exhaled in relief, having pictured Alex sitting in front of some cave day in and day out, like a pathetic, mistreated dog tied up in a junkyard. Still it would be miserable for a species as social as a Werewolf to spend their days so utterly alone.
"What?..." Alex seemed genuinely confused for a moment, then realization flashed in his eyes, "Oh. Yeah, I get lonely. Really lonely. But even when the boys are asleep they're awake, in way. They're still aware of their surroundings, for the most part. It's a blessing and a curse. They can talk to me in my mind while asleep, but that also means they know when something bad is happening and they can't do a thing about it. When Ed was going to stake Marko, he knew. Marko heard them. He heard them joking about killing him, insulting him, he knew when the stake was right over his heart, but he couldn't break free to stop them. Can you imagine what that's like? If I hadn't been there... I know how bad it must sound, from the outside looking in, but I don't regret these last eight years if only for that one moment. Vampires don't die easily, or well. Max was pretty much obliterated, but he was hit by a giant stake propelled by a truck, a skinny kid plunging a stake into one of their hearts, or missing... I don't even want to think about that."
Before Sean could reply the phone rang. Alex politely answered the phone, and held the phone out to him.
It was his Alpha.
XXXX
"What are they like?" The Vampires went unsaid.
"Pretty much as The Widow described them."
"Insane?"
"You know they can hear you, right? Their hearing is as good as ours, and they are at least partially aware in their sleep." Sean reminded his Alpha. There were two of those insane Vampires in the house right now, sleeping in one of the guest rooms.
"Figures."
"They aren't what I'd expect from what we've been told of typical Vampires. They're more of a biker gang than a Coven... I mean Pack. Very loud, very energetic, very playful... Very deadly. The only one that really scares me at the moment is Michael, I can't read him. He seems too calm, too... Dispassionate for a Neonate around three nights old."
"I know. Three nights or three thousand years, it makes no difference, he's beyond help now." Siobhan remarked grimly.
"We have a lot to talk about, so many things went wrong here." He was keenly aware that Alex could hear him, even if he had been human, he was standing about three feet away, "Max was horrible to Alex, but the boys protected him. He's been lonely, but busy. I don't even know where to start..."
"From what we've gotten so far, he's well-known around town as a nice, polite, helpful kid. A bit of a mechanic, but never went to school. There are these boys at the Boardwalk, though, the Frog brothers. They own a comic book shop that's open pretty late, and when Liam asked about Alex they knew both who and what he was, and they weren't happy. The older boy even had claw marks on his back, he said Alex attacked him."
"Only after they tried to murder his best friend and Packmate in his sleep."
"Marko, right?"
Sean frowned in disgust, "They figured he'd be an easier kill because he was, and I quote, 'The Little One'."
"Jesus, those boys are nuts! How are they even still alive?"
"I haven't met them, but Alex has already convinced me that they need mental help."
"That's the impression I got, too. That may be their only saving grace here, since the Frogs are shouting about Werewolves and Vampires everyone thinks they're just crazy kids, probably on drugs. If something were to happen to them, though, people would start looking. The local police may be corrupt, but I doubt the community would allow two well-known local kids to die without demanding some kind of justice. And they'd know exactly who to look at first."
"They know too much to die." Alex grinned, "I may not be friends with them anymore, but I don't want them to get hurt."
"That's good to know." Siobhan replied, "We also sent people to talk to the Emersons. The family is in mourning for Michael, of course, so they didn't stay long, just long enough to ask if they thought Alex was safe. They didn't trust them at first, thought they might be Feds, but when they shifted they actually seemed happy to see Werewolves in their living room."
"That's a first, most humans run screaming when we shift."
"After dealing with Vampires and losing their son, Werewolves don't frighten them. If nothing else, Alex is making us look good. You should work PR, kid! Miss. Emerson told me about how he helped them several times, and she was glad he finally found his people. We talked to her, her father, the retired hunter who killed their Sire, and her younger son, Sam. None of them thought he was in danger, even though they all resent The Lost Boys to one extent or the other. They all hate David, though. None of them blamed Alex for anything that happened."
"That's good to know."
"We also got a rather bizarre story from several locals, a few years a teenage boy named Billy Hargrove was in Santa Carla with his family. They were moving North and had stopped for a few days. The night they arrived Marko walked into the emergency room of the local hospital carrying Billy in his arms. Billy had been badly beaten, allegedly by Surf Nazis, and was severely injured. He was, apparently, rambling about Cherubs and Pink Floyd. I think we know who the Cherub was, at least. That night Billy's father, Neil Hargrove, disappeared. The Lost Boys, and Alex, were almost constantly at the hospital until Billy was released, almost like they were protecting him. Someone covered his medical bills, but no one knew who. After he recovered, they went back to LA. Neil Hargrove's truck was found at the bottom of a cliff, but his body was never found."
"Neil Hargrove was a sick child abuser. He nearly killed Billy that night, and Billy had wanted to die to escape from the absolute hell he was living in." Alex's voice was steady, but there was an unfamiliar edge of anger to it, "Marko happened to be walking by and saved Billy's life. Marko, he... He saw a lot of himself in Billy. He made Neil suffer horribly... But we took care of Billy, made sure he was safe from Max, who would have turned him without his consent." Like what happened to Michael went unsaid, "The boys were willing to have him as a brother, but Marko didn't want him to be 'Damned' like he is, and Billy didn't have the heart of a killer. He knew, of course, what was going on, though not what Marko did to Neil. He only knew that he was dead. He was given the choice and chose to remain human. When he finally got out we had a little party for him and he went back to LA. Neil was the only one who had wanted to go to Indiana, anyway. We still keep in touch, and he's doing well. They convinced Max to pay for his hospital bills, too."
That certainly shed new light on The Lost Boys. They were, truly, capable of empathy under the right circumstances. It also seemed to confirm Siobhan's suspicions that Marko had a traumatic past. That kid got incredibly lucky that night, to be found by a Vampire who could empathize with what he was going through enough to actually save him. And the entire Pack came together to protect him and keep him company, even after he refused to become a Vampire himself. True, most of them were likely doing so for Marko's sake rather than Billy's, but it was still impressive.
"It goes without saying that it would be best if no one mentioned the fact that Billy was given a choice to Michael, or anyone outside of this house, for that matter." Alex once again ran his hand through his hair.
Sean chuckled softly, "You're going to go bald if you keep doing that."
Alex looked at his hand, terrified.
"I'm joking! I've never seen a bald Werewolf..."
Alex let out a deep sigh of relief.
XXXX
For the Winther Pack, it was a difficult time. First, they learned that one of their own cubs, long believed dead, had been found living in a Vampires' den in California, alive and apparently in good health. While this would bring great shame on the Pack, the life of a cub was well worth it. The blow that sent them reeling was the fact that Alex Winther had bonded with these Vampires. He had not become one, thank God, but he had accepted them as 'Pack', and been accepted in return. And not just any Coven, but the so-called Lost Boys, a group of vicious delinquents so infamous that they were well known even on the East Coast. The hardest blow had been that he was believed to be absolutely loyal to the creatures, and, not only would he likely not agree to return home, the mere mention of his Pack's continued survival had caused some sort of overwhelming emotional crisis within him. And the Vampires seemed extremely protective and defensive of their unusual Packmate.
To call this a tragedy would be an understatement. Alex Winther had been believed dead for twelve years. During three of these years he had been traveling across the United States, homeless, moving through numerous Pack territories without so much as a whisper. Who knew what horrors he had endured on the streets in that time? There had been a report from Louisiana of a mysterious mauling some years back, a known violent pedophile with the scent of an unknown cub on his mutilated body, but the cub had not been found. He had almost certainly been found now. How he had been missed even after that incident... This was not simply a disgrace upon the Winther Pack, but upon every Pack he'd passed during his journey. A cub wandering for three years, never found by another Werewolf, let alone another Pack, and eventually being taken in by a 'Pack' of at-best mentally unstable young Vampires noted for their extreme cruelty.
And, from reports, their Sire had a hatred for Werewolves.
That Sire was, thankfully, dead, and apparently left his Childer to their own devices while 'alive', but it was difficult for any Werewolf to imagine living under such circumstances for any length of time, much less eight years. Even Packs that had good relationships with the Vampires in their territory rarely interacted with them for long periods of time.
Matthias Winther sat alone in his home, wondering how this could have happened. The only possible theory he could come up with was negligence so extreme as to be considered criminal. When his kin had been murdered in Savannah, Matthias had been Second in the Winther Pack. He had personally been at the crime scene, looking for evidence. For the identities of the killers. For revenge.
And therein, perhaps, lay the problem.
They were looking for the killers, but not considering the possibility of survivors.
At the end of the day, this was his fault. He had been in charge of the investigation, and he had failed Alex so utterly that he had not even realized that the cub still lived. His position within the Pack was ruined, and for good reason. This entire nightmare could have been avoided had he simply thought to look beyond his own burning need for vengeance.
If his old Alpha were still alive he'd have been cast out for such a horrific oversight.
But he was Alpha, for now, anyway, and he had to try to fix things. Things that were so badly broken that they never could, truly, be made whole once again. Once this 'reunion' was done he would step down in disgrace, leaving someone hopefully better suited to the role of Alpha. He could imagine numerous individuals who would act more honorably than he had.
What could he possibly say to Alex to explain why he had to suffer so long, face such hardship and live among Vampires rather than his own kin for so long? It was hopeless, he had understood that when the McLaren Pack representative had told them 'Don't do anything stupid.', they had meant it. Alpha Siobhan McLaren was young, but she was smart and understood the way their world worked. This was an incredibly delicate situation They couldn't simply fly to California and take the boy home. That would be wrong, to take him from his second family and force him to live among strangers. The Vampires considered him Pack, a brother. Kin. They treated him as such, with all of the protectiveness of a Pack. At least one of them had been ready to fight the McLarens for Alex when The Pack first reached Santa Carla, before they had even spoken of the issue. The entire Coven had expressed violent outrage at the cub's abandonment.
The Vampires were judging them, and they were actually in the right.
He wondered how Vampire society would accept this news. Would it be a shock to learn that a group of young Vampires had raised a lost cub? Would they, too, see it as negligence on the part of the Packs? Or would it simply be just a curiosity to them? Perhaps it would even pass unnoticed. When a creature lived as long as they do, such things cease to truly matter.
Perhaps they were laughing at the chaos?
"Alpha, the car's ready. The flight is at nine."
He sighed heavily and stood up.
What could he do? The matter was, apparently, settled long ago, by Alex himself. He could not force him to leave his family. His Pack.
To be Continued...
XXXX
Notes -
Face-claim for Matthias Winther - A younger John Hurt, in his forties or so.
Thinking about it, I don't care enough to follow celebrities, so I often don't have a name to put to a face. Certain people strike me as memorable, most don't. So I'll only face-claim characters that I have a specific person in mind for or who seem to fit the image I picture of them.
I was going to have a scene talking about Marko's resemblance to Bill from Bill and Ted's Excellent Adventure, but the movie didn't come out until February of 1989. Of course, Alex Winter was both Marko in The Lost Boys and Bill S. Preston, Esquire, in Bill and Ted's Excellent Adventure and the following sequels. They both wore white crop-tops, but otherwise had little in common. There are a very few fanfictions where they meet. Bill, having met his past and future selves many times before, (as well as Evil Robot Bill), would probably not be that surprised to see someone he assumed to be himself walking around, but Marko would probably freak out. As he was 22 in 1989, I assume he was 19 or 20 when Lost Boys came out.
It was only around 10.00 PM or so when the Werewolves arrived, and the Boardwalk was still open when they went to ask around about Alex. The Frogs close up shop late, and are happy to talk about Vampires, (or Werewolves), to whoever will listen.
I can imagine/invent the reaction of the traditionalist Werewolf Packs to a cub being 'abandoned' and raised by Vampires in my TLB setting, it is My setting, after all, but I have no idea how Vampires would react in the TLB universe.
In the World of Darkness:
Most Garou would kill Alex as a traitor to Gaia, regardless of his circumstances or ignorance. He would reek of The Wyrm, whether tainted or not, from years of living with Vampires. Some would even make it a quest to kill the 'traitor' and the 'Leeches' he serves, especially the Red Talons or Get of Fenris. He would find little support among the Gaian Garou, (except, perhaps the most open-minded of Bone Gnawers or Children of Gaia), though many would pity him and almost all would seek someone to blame for allowing such a tragic crime against Gaia to occur in the first place. The Black Spiral Dancers would laugh their asses off and see him as a potential recruit, willing or not, as he already lives among agents of The Wyrm, even if he, and The Lost Boys themselves, know nothing of The Devourer. I also doubt that he could live that long among Vampires without becoming Wyrm-Tainted.
I doubt the Kindred would care. If they even noticed at all, they would see it as amusing, but not important enough to note. After all, some Vampires have pacts with certain groups of Garou, mainly Bone Gnawers and Glass Walkers. It's part of living in the city, you have to work with each other. Mainly Clan Nosferatu or Clan Gangrel, I can't see Clan Giovanni lowering themselves to work with Bone Gnawers. Most Kindred would likely only notice the matter because it would stir up the Garou more than usual.
Now Black Spiral Dancers are a different beast entirely, and they will work with anyone they think will further the work of The Wyrm. They will also turn on them if they feel offended or get bored.
A fun note, some Gangrel legends say that Garou are the descendants of their Sire. The First Gangrel, Ennoia was, according to some myths, raised by/lived among wolves and bore the Garou race by breeding with said wolves. The Garou would likely kill anyone who told them that story, especially if it turned out to be true, as unlikely as that is. She would have littered these cubs before being Embraced, I assume.
I think that if this was VTM, The Lost Boys would be a group of young Anarchs from different (dead or uncaring) Sires who came together and were taken over by Max. Marko is Clan Gangrel.