The Protectors

Troy pulled up near the door of a large log-and-stone cabin. Three other cars were parked in the same area. When he got out of the car and walked to the door, it opened and he was greeted by Julia Mitchell, a comely redhead.

“Welcome, Kevin. I’m Julia.”

She hugged him, then gestured them forward. “Please come in. Everyone is eager to meet you Kevin.”

She led them into a spacious living room where two men and another woman stood to welcome them.

“John should be here any minute,” Julia told Troy. “Miriam and Hannah are coming together. They won’t be long.”

She stood aside and Troy introduced Kevin to Diana Lake, a beautiful brunette. She held out her hand to Kevin, then leaned over and kissed him on the cheek.

“Welcome Kevin. I’m so pleased to meet you.” A tall, thin man extended his hand. “I’m Tom Blake. It’s good to have you here.”

Kevin shook Tom’s hand. “It’s good to be here.”

A man behind Tom stepped forward. “My name is Barry Goldman.” He threw his arm around Kevin and hugged him. “Welcome to the pack.”

“Thank you,” Kevin said.

They heard car doors slam shut.

“That must be the others,” Julia said. She walked to the door and opened it to two lovely women and a stately gentleman in a business suit. One of the women smiled in anticipation. “Is he here yet?”

Julia nodded. “He sure is. Just got here.”

They walked into the living room. Hannah Dale, a slender but shapely woman with long blonde hair, approached Kevin first and shook his hand. “I’m very happy to meet you.”

She gave him a hug.

Kevin smiled. “It’s my pleasure.”

The man, in his early thirties, grabbed Kevin’s hand and squeezed it tightly. “I’m John Sacks. It’s a pleasure to have you here. You’re among your own kind. And I’ll bet you’re thrilled.”

“I am. I certainly am.”

“How long were you out there not knowing what you were.”

“About five months.”

The last woman, a striking strawberry-blonde with her hair in a ponytail approached Kevin with a broad smile and a hug. “Welcome, Kevin. I’m Miriam Hill. Welcome aboard.”

Troy smiled at Kevin. “Bet you feel better already.”

Kevin grinned. “I do. I feel like I’m with family.”

“You are,” Julia said.

Troy sat and the others did the same.

“Well,” Troy said. “let’s get Kevin up to speed on who and what we are. Where do we start? Carlo?”

“Yeah. Right from the beginning,” Tom said.

Troy pursed his lips. “Carlo Maggio was a doctor and a brilliant biologist. One of his discoveries made him wealthy, and he opened his own laboratory to work independently. He died not long ago. But about four years earlier, he was attacked by two muggers.”

“They stole his wallet and wristwatch,” Tom said. “They knocked him to the ground and started kicking him. They might have killed him, but a wolf arrived and killed one the muggers. The other one pulled a gun and shot the wolf, who still managed to kill the gunman. Then, the wolf went unconscious and changed into human form. That happens when we lose consciousness. We automatically revert to our human form. Same when we die.”

“That wolf,” Miriam said, “was Troy.”

Kevin whipped his head toward Troy. “Wow! Then what happened?”

“When I regained consciousness, Carlo was kneeling over me checking my wound. He asked if I could walk, so I struggled to my feet. He held on to me and we staggered to his car, which was close by. When I got inside, I passed out again and don’t remember anything until I woke up in bed the next morning. My wound was bandaged and Carlos was sitting next to me.

“He said that the bullet hadn’t severed any major arteries and that he’d fixed it fairly quickly and easily. But he wasn’t through with me. He drew a number of blood samples and questioned me about myself, you know, my age, background, health history, when did I first transform in a wolf. I was free to come and go as I pleased, but for the next five days, I was there every day for him to check my wound.

“About three weeks after I was shot, Carlo and I had dinner at his place and he explained what was going on. I had a rare and unique gene that compelled me to use my powers to protect ordinary humans. He didn’t know why, and we still don’t know why that is.”

“A gene?” Kevin asked.

“Right. I don’t know how he figured it out. He explained it once, but it was way over our heads.”

Kevin looked bewildered. “So, this is inherited.”

“Exactly.”

Kevin thought for a moment. “Well, how did you find each other?”

“Troy figured there might be more like him,” John said. “So, when he patrolled, he left his scent and markings and tried to pick up a trace of another one. He finally found Barry.”

“What a wonderful experience.” Barry said. “A revelation. I was at my wits end, on the verge of suicide.”

Yeah,” Kevin said. “I thought of that too.”

“I think we all did at one time or another,” Diana said.

The others nod in agreement.

“Anyway,” Barry continued, “Troy and I looked for others. I found John and he found Tom and Diane, and so forth. “

“I see,” Kevin said. “But how do you get by? I couldn’t.”

“Neither could we,” Troy said, “until we formed the pack. Tom and I are both writers and Diana is a commercial artist. We pooled our money and started a trade magazine, which was very successful. We trained Barry and Miriam and we all work at the magazine. John has his own law practice, and Julia runs a mail order business. Hannah is a private duty nurse and an emergency medical technician. That makes us available whenever we’re needed. We don’t answer to anyone who’s not one of us.”

“Yeah, well, I’ve got to do something,” Kevin said. “My savings are almost gone.”

“You were a salesman?” Troy asked.

“Yes. I sold computer software.”

“We’re starting a new magazine next month. We’ll need another advertising salesman. We’ll train you. You can make a good buck.”

“Thank you. That sounds fine.”

“Any questions?” Troy asked Kevin.

“Yes. Besides Troy, have any others been wounded or killed?”

“Four have been killed,” Julia said. “Two by the criminals they attacked and two by the evil ones.”

Kevin’s eyes narrowed. “Evil ones?”

“Right,” Troy said. “They’re the werewolves of lore, who feast on human flesh and blood. They don’t have the gene we do.”

Kevin raised his hands. “Wait. Wait. Werewolves don’t die. They’re eternal unless they’re shot with a silver bullet by someone who loves them.”

Troy snickered and shook his head. “Mythology. Our senses in human form are almost as keen as when we’re in wolf form. We can endure more pain than ordinary humans, we heal faster, and we’re stronger and faster. But we can be hurt. We can be killed.”

“How do you know about the evil ones?” Kevin asked.

“We run into each other from time to time,” Troy explained, “and it gets savage. We don’t care for their habits, and they don’t care for ours.”

“How many are there?” Kevin asked.

“Don’t know for sure,” Troy answered, “but from the size of their territory we figure about twenty-five or thirty.”

“Wow,” Kevin said. “Then we’re badly outnumbered.”

“Yes. But they’re only in wolf form during a full moon, and it takes them a minute or so to transform. They have no control over it. We can change into wolves and back to humans whenever we like in a moment. Anything else?”

He glanced at each of them. “Just one more. I don’t want to offend anyone but … well, isn’t what we do illegal, maybe immoral? I mean, we’re judge, jury, and executioner.”

“We’ve discussed that,” John answered. “But the people we kill are in the act of their crime when we strike. And we only kill when a life may be in danger.”

Silence for a few moments. Then Troy asked, “Are you with us?”

Kevin hesitated for a moment, then. “Yes. Gladly.”