The Gamma's Apocalypse

5. Red Moon Pack

Zeke and Chase were walking through the woods. They got to the peak of a hill and tried to get there bearings. Zeke heled the map and scanned the land. "You know what they should have taught us in school, Land navigation."

Chase laughed. "Not a whole lot of what we learned is helping us in our current situation is it?"

"Maybe Mr. Robinson's shop class. Remember when he had that extra credit project helping him build that cabin?"

"Now that is a skill that may very well become very useful."

"It's this way." Zeke pointed to the left.

"We did have some good times though didn’t we?"

Zeke nodded. "That we did. Remember the dance were the punch got spiked?"

"Oh yeah. I took Sarah and Malorie as my dates." Chase laughed. "I still can’t believe they agreed to it."

Zeke shook his head. "You were a player."

Chase shrugged. "It's not my fault the ladies love me."

Zeke laughed.

"You really only ever dated one girl, what was her name…."

"Val."

"Yes Val! I don’t know if you could even call it dating, did you guys ever even kiss?"

"No, I was trying to wait for my mate. We got close once though."

"I don’t know she left in the middle on Senior year. She texted me and said she had family stuff come up, but then I never heard from her again."

"Well that’s too bad. She was hot."

"We should be getting close." Zeke noted looking at his map again. "I sure hope our entrance goes smoother this time." They had reached a road and were walking down it. Abandoned vehicle lined the streets. The few houses were burnt.

"Yeah I feel like if we keep tempting fate someone's going to shoot first and ask questions later."

"Sylas did say it was a gated community and they had made a make shift gate around part of the subdivision. So if we got to the entrance, it shouldn't be too bad."

"Look, do you think that’s it?" Chase pointed down the road.

Zeke nodded. "Yeah. I’d say that’s probably it."

They cautiously made their way down the street towards the gate. It was a big iron gate. Running off of the iron gate in both directions was a makeshift fence made of plywood, metal sheet, cattle fencing and from the looks of it anything they could find. As they approached the gate a man appeared at the top. "What can we do for you?" He asked.

"We are looking for Laydon Hada." Zeke replied.

"Do you know Layton?"

Zeke shook his head. "No but Sylas Miller sent us."

The man shook his head. "Hold tight." He disappeared back below the fence.

"Is this where we die?" Chase whispered. "Are they going to come out guns blazing?"

"I doubt it. They have the high ground, two shots from atop the fence, and we'd be gonners."

They had been waiting about fifteen minutes. "Now I am getting worried. Maybe we should leave."

"Gentleman. I hear you are looking for me?" A man said from the top of the fence. "What can  I do for you?"

"Silas Miller sent us to talk to you."

"About what may I ask?"

"Proceeding with the Decade Ball."

Layton stared down at the two men he nodded. The gates started to open. "Come in let's talk."

They walked into the gate. Houses lined the street on both sides only a few feet apart, ten on each side. The street ended in a cul-de-sac, with a huge house at the end. They watched as Layton walked down some stairs that lead up to a deck about six feet by twelve feet long. It was the perfect vintage point to see incoming intruders. "I am Layton nice to meet you." HE said as he walked up offering his hand.

They both shook and told him their names. ""Why don’t we head to my home at the end of the street, then you can fill me in on everything."

"So does the fence go all the way around?" Chase asked.

Layton nodded. "Took us nearly four weeks to build it, finding enough material was the hard part."

They got to the house and sat at in the living room. Zeke filled him in on their journey there, plans for the decade ball and plans to continue to search for their mates a little longer.

Layton sat quietly and listened. "I think the decade ball is a good idea. But there are some things happening that could potentially make it difficult."

"What things?" Zeke asked.

"There is a group of humans claiming they are putting the government back together. Some guy is claiming he is the rightful successor because everyone before him is presumed dead." Layton shook his head. "At first I just thought it was some group trying to seem big, but their numbers are growing, They are blaming the EMP attack on werewolves and saying that we need to be eradicated."

"What? So their goal is to take us all out?"

Layton nodded. "They say the first step is to take out all werewolves, then they can start building back the world more civilized. Get power back on, water runnign etc."

"Why would taking us out first be top priority? What's stopping them from getting things running again now?" Chase asked.

"My thoughts exactly." Layton agreed. "I think they're lying and scared of something they know nothing about. I don’t think they have a plan to get the grid back up at all. Still it does pose a rick to our kind."

"How do you know all this?" Zeke asked.

"I first heard it from some travelers that didn’t know we were wolves at first. I mean we do have both humans and wolves here. So I sent some spies in who have been getting information back to me."

"Wow." Zeke sighed. "That does change things." He looked at Chase. "We need to get back, warn them of what's potentially coming."

"We are setting up communication chains with other packs. We have been collecting long range walkie talkies. We got lucky a pack member had a buddy who was one of those Prepper guys. He had a bunch of batteries and some other things in an under ground bunker. The stuff inside was protected from the EMP. They never made it there from the looks of it when we found it. I will send you with a few walkie talkies. Keep one and then pass on the other two along if you happen upon some other settled packs along the way. If they're trustworthy of course."

Zeke nodded "We can do that."

Layton nodded. "Might as well get a good nights rest before you head out. We've got a extra room with two twin beds you’re welcome to use."

"Thank you." Chase replied.

"No problem." Layton stood up. "I'll show you where you can put your stuff, then show you guys around. They should have dinner ready in about an hour, then you can meet Rebecca, my Luna. The hunting party was lucky and actually got a deer this morning."

Layton took them up the bedroom that had obviously been the bedroom of brothers judging by the décor. They sat their stuff down and then followed Layton around. They met the other pack members. Visited the house they had setup as a doctors office and hospital if needed. They had turned one house into a school, using the different rooms for different age groups. One of the homes was made into kind of a store pickup. Once a week pack members would come and grab their weeks food for their family.

"Seems like things are running pretty good here." Zeke acknowledged.

Layton nodded. "It wasn't always. We got attacked a few months ago and our entire pack burnt to the ground. We lost a lot of members that day too. We wandered for weeks before running into Sylas and finding this place. It was one of the few neighborhoods where the houses hadn't been completely trashed."

They headed back to Layton's home where they ate dinner and met Rebecca, before retreating to bed for the night.

"Do you think this so called government is going to really go after all werewolves?" Chase asked Zeke.

Zeke sighed. "I don’t know, but I do know people will follow blindly over fear. Instill fear and hatred of something in people, and they will follow you even if what they're asking you to do doesn’t make any sense."

Chase shook his head. "This one is going to be really bad isn’t it?"

Zeke rolled over. "Let's sleep. We need to be well rested to get back home as quickly as possible." He tried to sleep, but couldn't. Would he ever find her now? Was it selfish of him to leave and not just stay with his pack, his family, and trust in the Moon Goddesses plan for him? Even if that meant spending this life alone? He tossed and turned all night fighting his inner demon's.