Filed to story: Sorry Alpha I Am Wolfless Novel
“They can join us. Fight with us. Take these monsters out before they can kill us. If you can’t fight though, if you are not in military shape, or capable of being whipped into shape, then send us donations through this site. We will use those donations to fortify our army.”
“You have an army?” The host asked excitedly.
“Yes. We are gathering others like us, those with similar ideals, and bringing them on board. I believe that soon enough our numbers will be enough to take them on.”
“Yes, I do believe that you will achieve that goal of yours.”
The man watched as a smile spread across the host’s face. He was almost as lunatic as the Colonel was. His eyes were filled with a light that didn’t seem to be reflecting anything in the room, and that felt like it was cold and evil.
“Now, Colonel, I know that you and your people have been sending messages of various types to the monsters in our country. You have bombed several places, but they haven’t been anything huge or destructive. How come you are being so calm and relaxed with those displays?”
“As you said before, Jeffrey, those are messages to the monsters and their supporters. It is just telling them that we have power, and we will use it if we have to. It is to make them scared. And I am sure that every single monster in this country has already fled their homes in the outlying states. They have returned to the home of their leaders.”
“You are referring to Riviana and Joaquin Gray, correct? They are the ones that led that illegal news broadcast.”
“Yes, the Grays are their leaders, and I am sure that they were the first of the monsters in our world. Once we are sure that every last monster, or almost all of them, have returned to their homebase, we will attack them directly.” The Colonel was explaining things to the host with an excitement that all but shined off of him.
“Wow, a direct assault. Do you think that you can get them all in one go? Will it be that easy?” It was evident that Jeffrey Packard was loving every second of this conversation.
“I don’t know if it will be that easy or not, but we will find out. There is only one way to find out though. And regardless, even if they aren’t all there, most of them will be. And after we destroy their home base, we will just need to kill off the last few stragglers.”
“Oh my, that sounds so exciting. I cannot wait to see that come to fruition. Do you have a set date for when this assault on the home base is going to take place? I want to make sure that I tune in that day. Perhaps we can even be there to film it and broadcast it for the world to see your magnanimous act for all of society.”
“We do not have a date yet, Jeffrey, but when we do, I will make sure that you are one of the first to find out.” The man watching the broadcast saw the glee spread in the host’s eyes. He knew that he was almost as crazy as the Colonel was. And he knew that he needed to do something to stop them both. This was going on for far too long. He had stayed placid for too long, following the Colonel’s lead because he simply didn’t know what else to do.
The DOE member felt cold on the inside as he thought about what he needed to do. He also feared what would happen to him if anyone found out about the things that he was thinking. If anyone found out that he wasn’t fully on board with the ideals that the Colonel had, he would be reported immediately. And then the Colonel would likely execute him for being a traitor.
The Colonel used to be such a straightforward and respectable man, but now he was an eccentric that was highly unstable. The DOE member didn’t know what he was going to do next, or who it was that he was going to target. He never wanted to hurt anyone, never wanted to bomb any buildings, or send any messages, but he couldn’t refuse the Colonel. Refusal meant death, plain and simple.
The DOE man had seen it before. The Colonel, who used to hunt criminals and murderers so that they could be punished to the fullest extent of the law, was now no better than they were. He was a monster. He was a killer. He was a terrorist. And the DOE member knew that he had to do something, even if he was scared completely shitless.
****
Riviana
****
“Recently an interview was conducted with a man that called himself 鈥榯he Colonel’ and claimed that he was the leader of the DOE, the extremist group that is responsible for several bombings nationwide. During the interview reporter Vanessa Davies, of The Gazette, spoke with the man about a recent incident that took place last night, Friday February the first, two thousand and forty-one.”
I was reading the story from the newspaper that had been delivered to the castle that morning. The kids were all in their rooms, and the rest of us had returned to my office to continue the work that we spoke about last night. Reagan and Rika, as well as the other legacies, were with us right now because they technically aren’t kids anymore. And they had proven the day before that they were able to handle themselves in an intense situation.
“The interview was conducted late in the evening, after 鈥榯he Colonel’ had learned of the events that took place earlier in the day. In the interview, the man that claims to be leading this massive extremist group, takes ownership of the attempted bombing of the University of Colorado, Colorado Springs campus.”
I paused for breath and looked briefly at the others as they watched me reading the article that was taking up a good chunk of the front page. After a brief pause, I continued to read aloud once more.
“The man is quoted as saying, 鈥榊es, we knew about the bombing attempt. This is something that we of the DOE take full responsibility for. And we demand the release of our valued member, Gerald Ramie. He has done nothing wrong’. When asked why he doesn’t think that attempted murder and destruction of property are not crimes, the Colonel replied with a chilling response.”
I could see the anticipation in the eyes of everyone that was present and listening to the story. We were all trying our best to hide the anger that we were feeling, because we all knew that the anger wouldn’t help with anything at all.
…..
“鈥業t is hard to think of killing a monster as a crime, it is no different than killing a mosquito that is trying to suck your blood’. As chilling as those words were, the Colonel wasn’t done there. 鈥楾he only difference between those monsters and a mosquito, is that one is bigger and harder to destroy. They are just as unpleasant and deserve to die. We humans cannot allow those things to walk among us. And as far as the university is concerned, it is infested with those things. Cleansing the university of all the monsters would be akin to performing a generous act of kindness for the world.'”
I shivered at that. Not because I was scared or anything, and not because I was feeling cold. No, I shivered because the rage inside of me almost made me shift into my wolf form, and I had needed to physically settle my hackles if I was going to stay in my human form.
“Yes, you read that right. The man calling himself the Colonel believes that bombing a public university is an act of kindness to be given to the world as if it were charity or something along those lines. As spine tingling as that thought is, I am sure that this monster of a man has other hideous acts up his sleeves. And I am sure that the man that the FBI has in custody at the moment, will be tried and brought to justice. I just hope that they can get 鈥榯he Colonel’ before he has the chance to cause some real damage to our people and our country. I hope that no harm comes to the super naturals of the world as well. They are people, just like the rest of us are.”
That was the end of the segment that dealt with the interview. The rest of the story, which continued on pages two through four, were all about the attempted bombing of the university, the suspect that had been arrested, and a list of other potential targets for the DOE. There was no reason to continue reading from the paper, so I set it aside.
“So, the Colonel is taking responsibility for the attempted bombing, even though we know for a fact that Ramie was working alone.” Vincent said with a scowl and narrowed eyes.
“One of his men was found out. He could have either abandoned him or stood behind him. I think he believes that taking credit for the actions would get him more followers and support.” Shawn said in a voice that was purposefully devoid of all emotion.
“I don’t think that it’s working though.” Reagan said as he scrolled through an online forum that he was monitoring.
“What have you found?” I asked him, leaning forward with my elbows on the desk, and Joaquin’s hands around my waist to keep me balanced.
“Well, it looks like there is a lot on here from people that were on the fence about where they stood in this debate. You know, the one about whether or not we are monsters. Anyway, a good number of these posts and comments are condemning the Colonel and the DOE. There are even people on here that openly claim to have hated us, and still don’t particularly understand us, but they want nothing to do with the DOE anymore.”
“What do you mean?” David asked him.
“Well, this one here is a good example.” Reagan paused as he scrolled to the top of the comment. “It says here that the man had initially hated all the monsters because he didn’t understand us. He wanted to be a member of the DOE and was looking at how to track them down. However, after the attempted bombing, and the fact that it was the 鈥榤onsters’ that stopped the incident from happening, he can’t stick with that way of thinking anymore. He says that he still doesn’t understand what is happening in the world, but that he would rather meet one of us rather than a DOE member any day.”
“At least the Colonel’s actions, and of course Ramie’s, is having a slightly positive effect in the world. Those that find their actions reprehensible, are more willing to side with the nonhumans that stopped them from committing such a heinous crime. I know that this isn’t a popularity contest or anything, but having more humans accepting of us, even if we’re just the better alternative, is a positive in my eyes.” Joaquin said as he hugged me a little tighter.