Of Packs and Gangs

Spring time and things are becoming a little more active everywhere in Santa Carla. I already miss being able to walk around in the spring time sun.

" So what do you think?" Sam starts poking me, my mind had drifted off thinking of other things.

" Hu?" I really was out of it.

" Mom and Howard getting married? they gonna do it spring break you know." Sam slurps on his Icee.

" I'm not baby sitting puppies?" I rolled my eyes.

" It's only like 50/50 you know. Mom's old, she probably can't have kids." Sam didn't look like he wanted to think about mom with kids.

" You mean our replacements." I chuckled, but then that was a bit of a small fear. Mom could kinda forget us, well me at least. Mom will have a new family to raise...

" Mom's not gonna replace us..." Sam didn't seem so sure.

" She wouldn't do that, but you get kicked out, you can stay with us." I laughed at the look Sam gave me. " Relax, not like anything like that is gonna happen you dweeb."

" I'm not a dweeb, suck face." Sam sat on the bench and then glanced nervously behind me.

I turned around to see what caught Sams' attention. Some group had gathered out on some benches, tattoos up the arms of those that had no sleeves. Likely gang members, not the typical type you see which usually are a group that are friends. The Surf Nazis were all ass holes and hated us, but they were the typical gang types, probably started as friends. This group was more like those types that are out to make a name for them selves on the street; the kind of gang that you hear about in the news having shoot outs in a neighborhood.

" Great Santa Carla just got safer." Sam snarked, but almost silently.

" Don't worry about them, they wont mess with us as long as we stay away." That is up until they clash with David, then Sam would be a target again because he's my family. The Surf Nazis are still around, but not as many as before and prob take them some time to regroup.

" Until they decide to go after you and The blood suckers... what happens if they ever figure out what you are?" Sam gave me a worried look, it wasn't a question I even thought of. What if one of these gangs eventually found out about what we are?

" Hopefully none of them live long enough to find out and pass it on." I stood up. " Come on Sam, we can walk around a bit."

Sam and I walked down to the beach concert area, on the way David, Dwayne, Marko and Paul joined us. Sam thankfully got used to the group always being around me most times. Sam was ignored mostly by them and looked pretty much like a wannabe tag along, even though he was only trying to hang out with me, which he hardly got to do since my turning.

Sam had started picking up on some things, like his own were nature... And oh god, his werewolf hormones finally kicked in and he started looking at girls. Looks like he is growing out of his gay nerdy faze.

" Sam, stop that." I tried whispering.

:: dude, I like your little brother! That's so awesome!:: Paul was cackling, both mentally and vocally, but he wasn't the only one.

:: Hum, interesting way to say hi.:: David smirked.

:: Not interesting! Or funny:: I managed to jerk my little brother up in time before the girl he was sniffing turned and saw where Sam had his face. " Sorry." She just gives me this confused look .

:: You're brother can't help it if he smells a bitch in heat.:: Dwayne laughed.

" Sam, don't do that." I whispered.

" What?" Sam hadn't even realized what he just did.

" What your brother's trying to say Samuel, is you just started sniffing a girls ass like dog." David snickered and puffed his cigarette. " Come on, you going to hang with us, you will hang with us." David made gesture to Sam for him to follow since he wasn't quite on of us and would sense when to move or hear mental instruction.

Sam looked embarrassed and red for a moment " Does he just do that? Expect everyone to follow him around?"

" He moves, we move, no questions ask, we just follow." I shrugged. " He's the leader."

" Oh yea, follow the leader, hope he doesn't jump off any bridges." Sam rolled his eyes and followed me, following David.

" Actually he does..." I stop sensing Sam stop, Sam was giving me this stare like I had to be kidding. " Not kidding, but he's not gonna make you jump, come on Sam." I start waving him to follow, getting annoyed that he was holding us up.

" How is it you even got involved with them to get vampirised, they're psychos. Star couldn't have been that hot. " Sam huffed out.

" Star was hot. Just didn't seem like a bad idea at the time." I didn't actually expect to be turned into a vampire, that isn't something they teach you in school. They scared me, but I thought I could handle ti, how the fuck i was supposed to know they was testing em to become a vampire, not just a member of their group.

**** The Pack****

" Sam just climb up, I'm not gonna let you fall, I'l be right behind you." I whispered.

" We'll get caught.. Then we'll go to jail, you'll become a puddle of goo at sun rise and I'll be some big 8 foot tall black guy named Bubbas' girlfriend!" Sam whispered loudly.

" No you're not, we're not getting caught, trust me, we done this, just get up there." I nudge him, finally he gives in and starts climbing.

:: Big black man named Bubba hu? :: David found my brother amusing, probably the only reason Sam wasn't ran off, besides being my little brother.

It was weird how they decided to tolerate Sam, they didn't really care much for him. It was rare that they just simply talked to him, mostly keeping silent on the out side and speaking through the strange mental connection we have.

" You never know, there's always a first time.." Sam was nervous, very nervous but did at least climb to the top of the stage.

" It's dark and sides David does stuff to make sure we can't be seen up here just in case." I had no idea how David was able to, but he can some how make it were someone could look directly at us and not see us, so could the others.

:: Hey!:: Dwayne suddenly pushed Paul away and threw something at him, Paul ducked laughing, Marko got hit by whatever it was and next thing i know I had to duck getting hit by it.

" Eeeewww!" Sam cried out and on looking I could see a big slimy streak down his cheek and a big yellow banana slug laying under him.

David reaches over and grabs the slug and chunks it hitting Dwayne in the face again. I duck, Paul gets hit, Marko almost falls off laughing at Paul spitting out slug guts. Sam actually laughs a little at the sight of Paul who had this disgusted look on his face. Paul then grabs Davids coat and starts wiping his tongue off on it, David taps his cigarette ashes off in Pauls' hair. Dwayne, well Dwayne had decided to wipe his face off on my jacket, Marko was wiping his on Pauls'. David then started wiping his hands off on Markos hair.

**** The Gangs ****

We have ventured out away from the Boardwalk, away from the nosy mortal eyes and decided to let loose. Sam was still with us, watching us wrestle each other, some how there was some strange meaning to this wrestling and I think I'm seen as pretty much a pup finding it's position within the pack.

I've Learned David isn't the strongest, Dwayne is, but when the two of them do wrestle, Dwayne always ends up rolling over, allowing David to pin him. David is dominant and our leader not because he had physical strength, but because he had cunning, intelligence, and his very strong mind to back up his strength. He knew what to do and if he didn't, he'd figure it out and make sure we all was taken care of.

Despite this, i found it hard to bow to my leader in wrestling him, I think it frustrates him to no end that he can't get me to topple for him and that he has to pin me under him. David liked a challenge and now was trying to pin me, Fangs pinching my throat and growling trying to hold me down tooth and claw. He was able to, being stronger than me since I'm just a fledgling, but it wasn't easy for him.

I kick at him, trying to throw him off but he wont let go and just stays clamped to me, pushing me down into the sand, no good, so I just drop my legs down, spread and bend my head back exposing my throat in a sign of submission. Satisfied David bites and licks my throat then lets go of me so I could roll back over and shake sand off. A quick looked told me Sam was confused, I'm sure his being a werewolf doesn't help him much in understanding us, especially since wolves don't hiss.

" You're weird." Sam states as I walk over to him.

" Says the boy who sniffs girls buts when they're on their period." I smirk when Sam goes beet red.

" Looks like we're missing on some fun." David and the others walk up next to us.

Down the beach I could see several men fighting, some looked like the group from on the Boardwalk.

" Surf Nazis and looks like a new group's hoping to take their place." Dwayne just folds his arms looking a little bored.

" Gang fight?" Sam looked towards the group down the beach and then jump and hid behind me shaking as a gun started going off.

I turned, letting out a low growl, directed at the gangs. Sam gets freaked out any time he hears a loud bang like a gun shot, every since that night under the pier. " Sam you'll be fine, they're not down here." I rub at his shoulder, but he wont turn loose of my jacket and keeps his face buried in it.

:: We're going to have to take him with us from the looks of it, he's in no condition to move on his own.:: David was still staring out towards the gang fight going on down the beach.

:: Damn he's just shaking real bad, he going to die?:: Paul sounded surprised and was just staring at Sam clinging to me.

:: He's not going to die, he's just probably having some very bad flash backs. :: Marko poked at Sam, but Sam doesn't respond.

:: I need to get him somewhere to calm him down and not home, mom will just freak out and that would make Sam feel bad.:: I had an arm behind me holding Sam, but that didn't do much good with the yelling and screaming going on farther down the beach.

:: The gorge under the rail road bridge.:: David then takes off into the air.

Great creepy ass fog bridge, I manage to twist enough to get hold on Sam, which only worried me when Sam didn't react to being flown into the air.

**** Rail Road Creek****

Sam snaps out of it as a train rumbles above, rocking the rails. The noise was near deafening and hard to believe the train just doesn't fall threw, but guess just my sensitive hearing making it sound worse than it is.

" Damn that's loud." Sam stuffs his fingers in his ears, then pulls them out once the train passes.

" Feeling better?" I looked Sam over, he looked tired, but ok.

" Yea, just I got a little..." Sam goes silent and continues when i poke him. " It made me just a little scared."

:: Seen people get like that after a war. This could be bad, if he doesn't have someone he feels safe with to shield him, he could turn violent to defend himself out of fear and a werewolf to do that is a very bad thing.:: David lights up a cig and offers it to me.

:: Can't you make him not remember?:: I didn't care what Davids' asking price for such help would be, it was to help Sam, I'll do it.

:: I can't, he's already repressed the memory, I'd have to tear through his mind to find where it's buried to even lock it away completely and even then it's possible it could come back years latter and worse than it is now because of how many things that can trigger it, there's also the chance trying to remove it I could damage other memories because it is buried so deep. :: David couldn't help him, Sam could be a ticking time bomb.

:: He might not ever attack anyone, he's not a very dominate werewolf right now, he may grow out of it or have a better handle on it before he does get older and starts trying to assert his dominance. If he's hanging with us when he's out, it'll drop the chances of him getting hurt as well as he'd feel secure around you which will make him unlikely to hurt anyone.:: David looks down at Sam who had fallen asleep below me, on the dry creak bank.

:: Why are you willing to help him, he's not pack though?:: It wasn't that I didn't appreciate David and the boys treating my brother almost like one of us, but there's always a catch and it's more than that Sam's a relation to me.

:: Harold Jr. isn't going to live forever, he's already old, he wont be able to hold a pack together very long. Werewolves don't choose thier leaders like we do, their leaders are born with the quality. Harold isn't weak, but he isn't dominant, Sam challenges you all the time, Sam treats you like a wolf and is trying to assert dominance even if you're more dominant physically. Your little brother will not stay cute and funny about his need to be the leader for to long.:: David smirks as he takes the cigarette from me.

:: My brother a pack leader?:: I shook my head, that was insane, looney, Sam was this little comic loving geek, not some big male that takes charge.

:: He's smart and quick, he can lead once he matures enough and he will try. He might look up to you, but you can't deny that he's very difficult to have do what you want and he does take charge when he can get away with it.:: David was right, Sam at times would challenge me in some ways.

I sighed thinking back to when we first moved to Santa Carla. He took the room I wanted and he even challenged me over it, even though I out match him physically, he still got the room. I just gave in and let him have it, even though we been playing around and had fun, Sam still got choice pick. Thinking of it, Sam often would often push to get the better deal in some form; I always laughed it off and never thought of Sam as being my dominant or potential leader. What did that make me then?

:: His brother and to him you will be like you are to me, when he comes into age, well you wont be his mate.:: David laughs, I glower.

I didn't much like the idea of Sam being like some leader over me.

:: He wont, you're no longer his kin, you're mine and my mate now. There is one very notable difference between wolves and us. Wolves will push someone into being a low rank, at least one male and one female. It's like lady luck took a dump on the head of ones that get stuck with that role. Star would have been considered low rank, but that was because she made herself that way by acting weak, not because we pushed her into it. So Sam when Sam takes control, don't be surprise how nasty he may get towards others in his pack as roles get established.:: David still hadn't gotten around to his interest in Sam, mostly that Sam was potentially going to take control of any pack Howard sets up.

:: It's easy Micheal, Sam is your little brother, I may not need a horror if we have a fully allied werewolf pack on our side helping us keep Santa Carla for ourselves. Werewolves aren't competition for food as long as they stay sane. Coarse I'm not going to mention my change of plans to Howard as long as you don't, A deal's a deal I wont go back on it, but Howard can't uphold a deal if he gets replaced. Just give little Samuel a couple more years and he'll no longer be a little pup, then we will see.:: David again laughs.

All part of his plans, plans can change due to situation and Davids' deal with Howard is only good as long as Howard can keep it. There's no way Howard can build a pack in two years and maintain control, how Sam would, I don't know, but Sam does as David thinks he will, David will no longer have to honor his deal with Howard.