“Can you still feel Mommy?”
“No.” The boy started crying. “My wolf says she is gone. I can’t feel anyone except Tina now.”
I pulled the two into my lap as we drove away. “We have you now. What is your name, little man?”
“Tony. Tony Keller. This is my twin sister, Tina.”
“Well, Tony and Tina, my name is Ella. I’m an Alpha in North Dakota. You know Olivia?”
“Yes, she was in our Pack, I remember,” Tina said.
Olivia turned around, she had cried it out for now. “Hi guys. This is my mate, Mark.”
The two looked at her, then at me and Mark. “They’re human.”
I chuckled. “Yes, I am now, but I wasn’t always. I was a wolf until late last year. A bad man gave me a shot and took my wolf away. I’m still Alpha, though, and my mate is a wolf. Mark has always been human.”
The two naked kids fell asleep on me as we drove; Olivia reached back and covered us with a jacket. “We need to get them clothes soon.”
“I know. Mark, can you find us a Wal-Mart or something? We need to get supplies.”
We found one on the south side of Brainerd. I had Mark park in a darker section of the lot, away from other vehicles, and had Olivia switch places with me as the kids kept sleeping. We didn’t want her out of the car, she had taken a big enough risk just coming along. I made sure Mark had my burner cell number and went into the store.
I grabbed a cart and went to the kid’s section. The kids had nothing, and could never go back home. Their home was with me now, Matthew had entrusted me with those who survived and I would honor his sacrifice. I quickly loaded the cart with the basics,
figuring we could get more back home. I also grabbed some kid-friendly snacks for the drive home. Everyone likes cheddar cheese goldfish, right?
By the time I got back to the car, the sun was rising. We stopped at a gas station with restrooms accessible from the outside so everyone could safely go to the bathroom, then drove through a McDonalds for coffee and breakfast. We had a bit of a drive ahead of us, so I took the wheel for a bit and let Mark rest.
We were approaching Detroit Lakes when I heard the news on the radio. There was a lot of talk about the raid on the pack in the Brainerd area; the press conference said that all werewolves had been killed, either in the fire or trying to escape. The talking heads were beside themselves, Minnesota wasn’t exactly the Rocky Mountains and this Pack was located near cities and vacation spots. Where was it going to end?
I should have been paying more attention. I passed the police and HUMVEES parked on the exit ramps, but it wasn’t until I saw the road ahead filled with stopped vehicles that I realized how much trouble we were in. The stopped traffic along the road ended about a mile ahead where a number of police and military vehicles were stationed. They were using the rest stop area to allow searches on a half-dozen lanes at a time. I poked Mark to wake him up.
“Police checkpoint.” We were at a stop now, and traffic was backing up behind us. Looking in the mirror, I could see the vehicles moving to ensure nobody tried to turn around or escape. I also noted soldiers stationed along both sides of the road, rifles at ready, about fifty yards apart.
“We should be all right, they won’t be able to tell who are wolves and who aren’t.” He got out the binoculars and started looking ahead. He watched for a few minutes before we noticed the activity in the rest area.
Police were surrounding a man who had just been pulled out of a car, weapons drawn. It looked like he was going to his knees, but he suddenly shifted into his wolf and bolted for the trees. All the officers opened fire, one hitting a fellow officer by accident, as they fired at the fleeing werewolf. It didn’t make it off the grass before it was cut to shreds by small arms fire. “Holy shit,” I said.
We moved slowly up towards the checkpoint, becoming more nervous with each motion. I watched as a policeman walked between the cars stopped in the two lanes, headed towards us. I rolled down the window as he approached. “Officer? What’s going on?”
“Viper checkpoint, we’re doing random searches for werewolves. Nothing to worry about, Ma’am.”
I smiled at him, like I was trying to flirt. “I’m too young for Ma’am, you know.” He came over and looked at me a little closer, my huge ta-tas were straining at the shirt I was wearing and I know he was interested. “How do you find the werewolves? Don’t they look human?”
He nodded. “Yes Ma’am, they do. We have a way, though. We found out that black light causes their eyes to glow. Pretty simple, so we’re doing what we can to keep you safe.”
“Well, I appreciate it sir.” I waited until he rolled up the window and moved on before I talked. “Shit. They found out.” Mark looked confused. “Wolves are taught to avoid black lights as children. Our eyes glow in it, like a cat’s eyes in dim light. It can’t be helped.”
Olivia’s voice was shaky. “We have to get out of here, they’ll figure us out.”
I looked back at her. “How? We’re surrounded. If you run, they’ll chase. They’ve even got a helicopter, if you shift they will shoot you dead and then come back for us.” I looked at the twins. “And those boys won’t be able to run fast enough to get clear.”
Mark looked in the mirror. “If we try to turn around, they’re on us.”
“We keep going, they’re on us.” I looked ahead, the checkpoint was a worse option than turning around. “Only a human can be safe.”