Truths and the Past

1986 

September 1 

I started this journal to understand what was happening to me. I have friends who are odd characters, but I don’t pay their odd quirks any attention. After all, each of us, has our own troubles. But what I found out about them I am not ready for. 

My friends, or should I say my family more than friends, are different. They were once the protectors of all of humanity, they were the greatest beings this planet could offer, but as men go, we often hunt for what we do not understand. We did not understand them. They have always been among us, the wolfin; they will always be among us, watching from the twilight. 

I'm not sure if this log will help any of us, but I must tell someone, even if it is just this page. The city is changing and so are we. We are being hunted, again. But this time it is different, this time it is one of us, who is doing the hunting. About three weeks ago, the slayings started. It was simple at first; there was no real pattern to the killings. The first three were random men and women. Or that is what everyone thought. But it was Quinn who figured out the others were like us wolfin and kinfolk. 

Quinn thinks the killer is tracking one of us. I have to say I am worried it’s me. Quinn is right though; he believes the killer is a lyceum. I can't explain why I think he is right, but I just do. Some may call it a sixth sense, some may say I am gifted and can sense the future, and still, there are those who will just say I have an overactive imagination. 

But I can tell you I have seen far too many strange things to just say it is my imagination. I'm scared. I am scared the killer will come, and I will be alone when he does. I am not like the others here. I cannot shift my form, and I am no warrior. Heck, I can't weave magic or anything. I have my potions and spells, but as I am finding out, they do not work on wolfin as well as I would like. It is now just a matter of time as we watch the twilight for clues, and we watch and wait for the inevitable. 

 ~~~ 

 Jimmy reached back feeling for the bottom step and slowly sat down, although it felt like he was falling backward. He held onto the book as though he had just discovered a great treasure. "Damn," he mumbled as he stared at the words. He blew out a breath he had been holding and still couldn't move from the steps, but the words on the pages began to open doors in his mind. 

The light slowly faded from the window leaving him in darkness. He patted his shirt pocket searching for a lighter. With a quick flick, he squinted through the darkness to find a candle on the tabletop. His long legs seemed like rubber, and he had trouble walking the short distance to the table where he gently set the worn journal to rest on the cluttered mess. Jimmy knew of the wolfin. He was one of the few who knew the truth. He had to know the story of this pack; he had to know the truth of what happened here and why his former partner had never spoken to him of them. 

He searched the dim room for anything he could use as a stool. Through the broken boxes and decanters, he finally found a crate large enough he could use as a chair. A pack of Marlboro Mediums lay on the table next to the book and he just stared hoping the book would somehow flip its page. Finally, he found the courage to light a cigarette and turn the yellowing page, two things he knew, one, what was in these pages would clear up a mystery for him, and two, it was going to be a long night. 

 Slipping the small phone free from his belt and without thought, he dialed his wife only to get a recording. "Hey, I think, I think I am going to be later than I thought. I found something, and I want to investigate more. I will be home soon. I promise." He left the message on her voice mail, "Ok, let's see what we have here," he mumbled, sliding his index finger along the center of the curling page. 

~~~

 September 2 

 Let me back up a little to a month ago I discovered for the first time about the wolfin and lyceums or as I thought at the time beasts who walked the sands who were not quite human, and I don't mean as in evil, but just not human. I had been down near the docks when I heard raised voices coming from an alleyway. Like a moth to a flame, I had to go see. I have a sick fascination with seeing a fight, any fight. 

But what I saw I was not prepared for. In fact, I had thought someone slipped me LSD at first. Two men were shoving each other back and forth. Then unexpectedly I watched the taller of the two grow in height and fur. I stood there watching the men shift, for a lack of a better word, into a wolf-man combination. 

In the movies, it is done so eloquently it's almost romantic; you never truly see the horror of it. I couldn't turn away. I couldn't move. I couldn't speak. I couldn't do anything. I think I passed out because when I awoke, I found the mutilated body. I did the only thing I could think to do, I ran as fast and as hard as I could. 

 I couldn't go home. I mean if that thing saw me couldn't it track me? So, I stayed in a hotel the first night. The second night I slept at Maggie's house. Finally, after the third day of no sleep, I just settled on the idea someone slipped me drugs and I really didn't see anything at all. 

A few days later I ended up at a club named Temptations, located downtown just north of the Hotel district. The club was for tourists mostly. They offered loud bands and over-watered drinks for a reasonable price. But the second floor of the club was for the locals. Up there I knew the bouncer, so I had little trouble getting in. 

It was on the second floor where I meet Quinn. Quinn was tall, handsome, well-tanned, and had the most intense blue eyes I had ever seen. He turned out very cool, and as the night wore on, we talked. I guess I had one too many Crown and Sprite’s because I ended up telling him about wolf-men. 

I said something like 'I know they are real, hell I saw one not long ago,' or something like that. I had expected him to laugh and walk away, but instead, he gave me a card with a number and told me to call him if I ever needed anything. When I woke up, I had the most intense hangover and in the dawning of reality, I thought about Quinn. So, I called him and while I was sober, we talked again. 

He offered me a place to stay, so, I figured why not. My parents were in England on business, and after seeing the thing in the alley, I guess I figured the more company the better. It was the day I moved in that Quinn told me about the Wolfin. 

Quinn said there're a lot of packs out there, some good, some bad, and some just unsure about what they should be. I am guessing the one I saw in the alley was a bad one. 

I'm still not sure where I fit into this world, but I am learning about the twilight realm. I'm learning about the history of Wolfin and the society they have. Most of all I feel safe from the monster I saw kill that man. 

 ~~~ 

 Jimmy started to remember things about a body in an alleyway from several years before. He had been assigned to the case with his new partner Natalia. It was the first case they had ever worked together. 

~~~

Jimmy recalled the day vividly. He had been sitting at his desk behind a mountain of paperwork. The room smelt of old coffee and smoke. The building was smoke-free, but Jimmy often neglected that fact and smoked anyway. On the right corner of his desk sat an ashtray overflowing with butts. On the filing cabinet behind him was a stack of half-full coffee cups and several flies seemed to buzz the cups with great interest. He'd had very little sleep for the past week. When he did sleep, he dreamed of mountains and running free along the trails. He dreamed of wolves and peace. He dreamed of a simpler time, and when he woke, he was sweat covered. 

Jimmy had hidden the sleep deprivation as best as he could. Most cops of the Leesburg force carried bags under their eyes, so it had been easy to sneak it past the Chief. Jimmy worked the midnight shift by choice. He liked the night, and it gave him a chance to face the shadows he had once run from. He had just started pouring a fresh cup of coffee into a semi-clean cup when the squad room door opened. He glanced out through a slit in his office blind to see a stunning woman being escorted around. For a moment he had thought it was a new witness, but then he noticed the badge on her hip. He went back to his coffee. 

His door opened with a heavy thud, and he nearly spit his coffee all over his desk. Jimmy looked up to see the woman again thinking she was even prettier in person. 

 "Detective Jimmy Verspea, this is Detective Natalia Slovak, she is being assigned as your partner, for now," the gruff police officer said in a strained voice. He already knew the fight that was about to be launched from Jimmy and he was prepared. 

 "Captain, I do not need a partner. What is this, a joke?" Jimmy protested as he watched the woman take the desk across from him. "I work alone you know this." Jimmy almost sounded panicked at the idea of having a partner. 

 "Orders are orders Verspea,” he said locking eyes with the younger man. “You know that. The mayor opened the exchange program and Ms. Slovak is part of that deal. You two have fun." The chief turned and walked away not giving Jimmy a chance to rebut. As he passed Joshua’s desk he smirked, "I give it five minutes. Then throw water on them to stop the fight." He popped the Rolaids he had been juggling in his right hand into his mouth.