Hunters moon

2: Hunter Project

"Now the reason I helped you thus far was because I'm a Tuyuk, it's native American for chief, but in my case it's meaning is not referred to the tribe, but more in police terms, I'm responsible for killing rogue werewolves, but those who came after you gave me the slip every time" Cleopatra said.

"Ok, so, should there be a plausible reason why they manage to evade you every time?"

She nodded "To understand that better, you must know of our ranking system; the lowest rank is Omega, second in line is Beta, after that it's Alpha, and finally the highest rank is Dire. To be a Tuyuk, you must at least be Alpha ranked, but the problem is, gaining rank can be done legally, and illegally. The third law states you may not feed off a human, and law four, you may not feed off another wolf"

"Holy s**t, like cannibalism?" Quintin gasped.

"Yes, the quickest way to gain rank is feeding off humans and other wolves, but it's illegal, yet there are wolves doing it, and it not only threatens the secrecy, but also threats the peace we have between humans"

"But if it's a peace treaty between you and humans? Why make a law to keep yourself secret from us?"

"Humans are unpredictable, imagine the wrong person found out we exist? It would start world war three"

Quintin nodded "You have a point, some people are down right dumb, it would be a complete misunderstanding"

"Exactly, but, it goes both ways, if the wrong werewolf gains the ultimate rank, there are few forces in the world that can stop it, now when I say 'ultimate' rank, I mean Amarok, it's even higher than Dire, and seldomely reached by ranking up, Amaroks are usually born into that rank"

"Amarok... What makes it so special?"

"The wolf gains the ability to manipulate elements, and an Amarok never ages, it's like a fountain of youth to werewolves"

"f**k! So it becomes invincible!?"

"Sssh!"

"Sorry"

Cleopatra scanned the restaurant, they were the only ones at the tables, those working at the cash registers were busy talking to each other.

"I said it never ages, so yes they can't die of old age, so basically you can live forever as an Amarok, but, an Amarok can be killed, only it will be very difficult, it's a very powerful werewolf"

Quintin felt a cold sweat, he learned now of werewolves, and now he learned there's a thing such as an Amarok, a beast so powerful nothing can stop it!?

"Wha... What about the military?" He pleaded.

"As in... human military?" She lifted an eyebrow

"Yes, I mean, if you shoot that wolf with a tank, it will die right?"

"No doubt, but do you think it will remain still long enough for a tank to land a direct hit?"

"Well, no"

"Exactly, we must stop these rogue wolves before they reach Amarok, or it will be devastating"

"And how do we do that?"

Cleopatra smiled taking a sip of her soda "That's were you come in Quintin"

"Me!? how!?"

"Firstly, you need to become a werewolf..."

"Wait wait! You're joking right!?"

"Ssh, not so loud"

He settled his voice "Seriously now!? I don't want to be a werewolf!"

"It's not that bad Quintin, think about it, you're only a werewolf under a full moon, the rest of the time you're a normal human, like me now, accept for being stronger and faster than a normal human, but that's the only difference"

What a difficult decision, become a monster, or remain a hobo, many would opt instantly for becoming a werewolf, but he has seen first hand at what these creatures can do, what if he ends up doing it to some other kid's parents!? Or worse! What if he kills the child!?

"I, uh... I..." He couldn't answer.

"Quintin, just hear me out quickly, before deciding"

"Ok?"

"We call it the hunter project, you won't be bitten by a wolf, you will be made into one. The beauty of doing it this way is we can make you as strong as you need to be, legally, it's a kind of contingency plan for in case we need you, that means you won't go out to hunt every single werewolf out there, only those the Tuyuk is struggling to deal with"

"Yeah, by struggling to deal with, you mean too strong for the Tuyuk, meaning I'll be hunting the strongest of werewolves"

"Yes, but as I said, you'll be made strong enough to deal with them"

He groaned, it wasn't his cup of tea, he didn't like it at all.

"Make no mistake Quintin, it's a career, you'll be given accommodation for free, free food, and a rather hefty salary" Cleopatra tried another approach. This rang some bells in Quintin's head, 'a salary? Free food?'

"Think about it Quintin..." She seductively said "A warm bed, no more sleeping in the cold, a full belly every day..."

Uneasily he shifted his gaze away from her to the street outside, people going about their business, couples holding hands, driving cars, happy people, the same people he sometimes begged for cash... How he wanted something like that so badly. For better or worse, Quintin decided to give it a try.

"Ok, I'll come with you, but, if I don't like what happens, I'm allowed to back out right?"

She happily clapped her hands "Yes, you still have free will dummy"

"Very well, I'll do it"

She smiled nodding "I just need to run to the bathroom then we can be on our way"

***

The phone rang twice when it got picked it up quickly.

"Ezbar speaking"

"Doctor, he's in"

"That hobo you spoke of?"

"Yes"

"Good, that's very good news, how's his physique? Since he was homeless, I gather he's melfed?"

"Yes he is"

"This might pose a slight problem, he needs to be physically healthy, otherwise the procedure might kill him"

Cleopatra was quiet for a few seconds, thinking.

"Cleopatra?"

"I'm here, maybe we can make him exercise to build himself up a little, he's skinny but I doubt he's unhealthy"

"That's the only thing I can think of as well, we can't lose him, it's not everyone you can speak to about this"

"I know"

"Well then, bring him to the labs as soon as you can, we must not lose another moment with this opportunity"

"Will do doctor, I'll see you soon"

Quintin quietly followed Cleopatra to her car, now that his belly was quiet for the first time in a long while, he felt more at ease. She suddenly stopped and turned to him.

"I have a request" She shyly smiled.

"Yes?" He answered.

"Can you please wrap yourself in this blanket? No offence but you kind of stink, and I don't want your smell stuck to the leathers of my car seats"

Quintin chuckled "I was wondering why you didn't say anything"

"I didn't want to be rude, I know it was rough out there for you"

He nodded with a smile, then took the blanket. After wrapping himself he saw her approach a very low, posh, sports car he has never seen before, Quintin tried reading the words on its rear, but failed miserably.

"Cou... count... ash?"

Cleopatra laughed "It's Countach silly"

"Never heard of it" He shrugged.

"It's an Italian supercar, there's only a few here in South Africa so far, I was lucky to get my hands on one" She said and opened it's door, which winged up, not forward like normal car doors, Quintin was fascinated by this, he opened his side and stood back as the door rose up by itself.

"Get in, well be spending the night at my house, tomorrow well hit the road"

Quintin got in and they drove off.

It was quiet between them, here he couldn't believe he was in a car, for the first time in his life, his parents didn't own a car, he walked to school, his mother was a house wife, and his father took the train to work.

But most fascinating of all, as much as he was still coming to terms with it, was he really sitting next to a werewolf? He peeked in her direction, a smile on her face as she casually navigated the streets of Johannesburg, no one would ever say she was by just looking at her.

"So, uh um" He cleared his throat "How will this process work?"

She gave him a glance "Well, it's sort of a serum, they will inject you with it, and this will change you, I'm not entirely sure how it works"

"But... isn't that called human experiments? Isn't that illegal?"

"Yes, but that's why you must agree to it, were not forcing you"

Quintin swallowed hard, he should have asked that sooner.

"Judging by this car, does that mean you're the one pushing the money in, am I right?"

"Not just me, two other companies called Dassault and Denel"

Quintin heard those names before "Aren't those weapons manufacturers?"

"Yup"

"But? That's risky not true? Having two large companies sponsor something like this?"

"Yes, you're right, but they don't know what their money is doing at this stage, all they know is weapons are being made, and that's all they need to know" Cleopatra flicked the indicator and quickly veered right before a light could switch red.

"And what if they discover the truth?" Quintin asked clinging.

"They won't, because Doctor Ezbar is in fact manufacturing weapons, not only for the military, but for the police as well, everything from a military Caspir, to a police Nyala, his work"

"So is he some sort of genius?"

"He is, apart from you Quintin, he's also receiving protection from me"

Cleopatra brought the car to a halt in front of two large gates, which got opened by two women neatly dressed, she drove in, the long driveway bended through a lush garden and opened up to a very large house.

"Ho, Holy s**t is this your house!?"

"Home sweet home" She smiled.