Five minutes later, they arrived in town, heading straight to the town square where a bronze monument of Alfred Davenport stood. A crowd had gathered around, illuminated by flickering lights from lamps and torches. The Fur Hunters stood there, holding the WolfStopper, looking tough and deadly. Hatton, Hanks, Lionel, and Father Rupert were among them, eagerly awaiting Caesar's arrival. Hatton rushed to him, his face dripping with sweat.
“What’s all this madness, Caesar?” He panted. “Who told you those animals are coming?”
Caesar did not even answer him. He brushed past the sheriff and went to where the crowd were waiting. Weston gave him a P.A system. He began to address the crows;
“The werewolves are coming,” he said solemnly. “As I speak, they are on their way here. We’ve got to move fast. I want three Fur Hunter on that rooftop.” he pointed to a house. Three men separated from the group and headed towards the house he pointed to. “I want two men behind those two cars. One man for each,” two men left the group and headed toward the cars. “Two men should go to the town entrance and assist the Fur Hunters who are already there. Any Fur Hunters assigned to any Fur Elders should watch and guard them. Nothing must happen to any Fur Elders! Nothing! The rest of y’all hunters should spread out. Find a good position and stay there. Remember, these werewolves are psychos. Folks! Please go back to your homes. Lock your door and protect your children. Go! Now!.”
The men all screamed “aye sir” and began to rush in various directions. The rest of the town folks all scampered away. Caesar faced the Fur Elders who were looking at him expectantly.
“I know all these sounds rushed but the info got to me very late. You guys better go now.”
“But who gave you this information, Caesar?” Hank asked tersely.
Caesar shrugged.
“Honestly, I don’t know him.”
Father Rupert's face went up into a deep frown.
“This could be a hoax, Caesar. These people could be playing a game with us. You can’t just throw us into a pandemonium because of some unverified information,” he spat out.
A rage filled howls cut through the hot air of the night.
“Braced up, Hunters! They are here!” Caesar yells into the address system. He swung around wildly to where the Fur Elders stood, petrified. “Go home! All of y’all! That includes you, Hanks.” The Fur Elders took to their heels except Hanks.
“Goddamned it! I’m staying here to fight,” Hanks fired back. “I’m a bloody hunter!”
“Go home, or I will wring your fucking fat neck,” Caesar roared. “This town needs you alive.”
Hanks, terrified despite himself, eyed the young man irritated, and ran off, his Fur Hunter tailing behind him.
Caesar tossed the P. A system to Weston who caught it in his hands. Then Caesar unstrapped the Wolf Stopper and cradled it in his hands. He looked at the neon lead on it. It was full green. The werewolves were already in the town.
A roar rises up from one of the corners of the street.
Then multiple chilling roars of howls followed. Caesar could hear the sound of rushing, pounding footsteps.
“Brace yourselves, Hunters,” Caesar bawled. “Here they come,” he turned to Weston and Dutch. “Stick with me, boys.” he turned on his night thermal goggles on his face. The goggle was a special thing. Through the lenses, Caesar could see the werewolves now in the dark just the way he would see them in daylight. The werewolves were tumbling towards him now. The lead on the Wolf Stopper in his hands turned a bloody red. The gun started whirring and vibrating. Caesar gripped it and smiled wickedly. Just a few meters away, as three werewolves bounded towards him, the Wolf Stopper in Caesar, Weston and Dutch hand went off automatically with a nerve-shattering bang that rolled around the night.
The Wolf Stopper had fired simultaneously. The bullet caught the three werewolves. They dropped to the ground screaming and howling in pain. Caesar darted to the werewolves. He pointed the Wolfstopper at the beasts. It fired powerfully, releasing red ray flashes one after another. The werewolves exploded into pieces of bones, spleens and intestines. Caesar faced Weston and Dutch.
“Weston, I want an update from the town’s gate. I want to know what’s going on there! Dutch, you take the right flank of the streets, I’ll take the left. Move! now!”
They jerked their heads at him and went on. Caesar began to run towards the werewolves. Through his goggles, he saw them. He could see men screaming, some in triumph, others in pain as the werewolves stampede on them, knocking them to the ground, ripping off their heads and crushing it in their paws just the way you crush an egg. Some werewolves were also yelling and squealing in agonizing pain, as the ray flashes hit them, their pain filled screams filled the night. But in all of this, where was their pack Alpha?, he wondered, where was the sonofabitch who had spoken to him in the woods a year ago, warning him he was coming for the town?
The Alpha was always the biggest and the most fearsome among the werewolves. Caesar knows he would easily spot the Alpha if he sees him, even in the dark, so where the hell was he? Just then, a werewolf bounded towards Caesar, his paws outstretched. He didn’t even see it coming. The Wolf Stopper automatically went off. The werewolf dropped to the ground, screeching with agonized pain. Caesar looked on, enthralled, a wisp of smoke drifting from the snub nose of the WolfStopper. It went off again. The screaming stopped. In the stiffening darkness, Caesar grinned wickedly. The gun was a beauty.
From all corners of the streets, the Fur Hunters cheered as werewolves fell. Suddenly, a lurking werewolf emerged from the darkness, unnoticed by Caesar. With a fierce howl, it hurled a car towards him. The car rolled killingly at Caesar. He heard rushing sounds and instinctively turned around. He saw the car looming towards him with great alacrity. He jumped sideways, crashing into a pole. The car rolled past him and smashed into a house, igniting a massive blaze. Weak from the impact, Caesar felt the searing heat. Meanwhile, the werewolf, roaring triumphantly, charged at Caesar in a terrifying rage. The WolfStopper, sensing the threat, signaled turned on and began to vibrate. Despite the pain, Caesar got up and ambled to where the Wolf Stopper was. He grabbed it and it began to pull him towards the approaching danger.
The beast was close now…………..so freaking close Caesar could smell blood and decay. Because the werewolf was already at a point blank range, the Wolf Stopper went off with a powerful, smashing crescendo. The force lifted Caesar off his feet, throwing him backwards and knocking him to the ground. The werewolf dropped to the floor like a sack of beans. Caesar picked himself up and dashed to where the werewolf was. It was moaning in pain, half of his face was gone. Caesar pointed the Wolf Stopper at its face. The big gun went off once. The face of the beast disappeared. Caesar moved away from its remains. He began to scream wildly.
“Kill them! Kill them all! This war is ours! Kill them all,”
Overhead, the full moon rode the dark, cloudy skies. The foul smell of burnt fur filled the air. The Wolf Stoppers in the Fur Hunters hands just kept on firing. The ray flashes from it, lit the hard-set faces of the men who held it. From a corner of the streets, Caesar heard one of the men shouting.
“They are running! They are fucking running away! We’ve won! We’ve won!”
A cry of victory rose up in the darkness of the night; Men screaming out in triumph. Caesar ran through the streets, his face under the Balaclava was wet with sweats and filled with happiness. Yet he was worried. Where was the pack Alpha? Where was he in all this goddamned madness? The talkie strapped to his arm came alive. He heard crackling sounds, then Weston’s thick voice.
“Boss, you alright?”
“Never being better!” Caesar heaved. “Are we winning this?”
“Absolutely! They are all retreating. But there’s a problem, boss. A bigger one!”
“What is it?”
“We saw a werewolf headed towards the cliff side.“
Caesar’s face screwed up inside the mask.
“What?” He growled.
“Yes sir! We fired at it but we couldn’t get it. It’s the biggest wolf I’ve ever seen, boss. I’ve never seen anything that big moves so damned fast.”
The whole situation dawned on Caesar instantly. No wonder he hadn’t seen the alpha pack around. While his werewolves had taken over the streets, Jack had turned around and headed to his house straight up. The Alpha wasn’t fighting with him on the streets. He was bringing their fight to his house “Marianna!” He said breathlessly. “She’s in danger,”
“But Jess is with her boss,” Weston pointed out.
“Don’t you understand? The werewolf you saw was the Alpha. He’s gonna kill Anna.'' and half listening to what Weston was saying, Caesar ran frantically towards where he had parked his bike. He mounted it, fired it wildly and like a mad man raced to his mansion.