Wolf's Bane

"Surrender now, Right Hand! We'll make it short and sweet if you do that!"

"Holy crap, Ogre, you really going to do this now? Yap yap yap instead of just shooting at me? Are we in a fucking B action movie or what?"

"We mean it, A-Bomb, stop joking around! Better that you just give up the fight and spare yourself the torture once we gun you down!"

"Bro! That's a classic bad guy move, ok? Once you start monologuing, it's over! You're gonna lose for sure!"

"Damn it, A! It's fight or flight! What do you really want to do? But whatever you choose, be prepared for the consequences!"

"Whatever I choose, I'm never going back! NEVER, you hear me Hiro!"

"So be it..."

The muscular man in the leather jacket, black jeans, and ankle-high leather boots kept his Ruger American pistols near his chest as a continuous barrage of gunfire razed the wall where he was hiding. He knew that the cemented outdoor partition of the mall parking space where his former colleagues and underlings had forced him to hide was quite adequate to keep him safe for a while.

A while meant fifteen minutes of continuous fire from semi-automatic handguns and artillery rounds from heavy assault rifles. He's lucky they didn't bring a bazooka.

"Or did they?" he mumbled to himself. "If I knew my boss, he'd probably insist on The Left Hand to bring one."

A split-second silence gave him the boost to sprint from his hiding place, shooting as he ran to another wall to hide behind again. He counted at least three people that he was sure he hit fatally and around five that he had managed to injure with his continuous gunshots.

"Hooray for enhanced hearing! The sound of my bullets hitting body parts and those cries of pain and surprise are enough for me to know where I got them and who I just hit. Sorry, guys, but it's my life on the line here and I always put myself first in these situations. Now, where the heck is that car..." he whispered to himself as the poor wall he was hiding started to look like a sponge due to the new hail of bullets hitting it non-stop.

From his vantage point, he was finally able to spot the black and elegant Mercedes Benz, which was the car his boss had gifted him two months before. Of course, at that time he was still the beloved Right-Hand man of their district's governor.

He's the only one the governor could trust to kill targets and make it look like an accident, while still managing to lead his boss' private army with The Left Hand.

Now that he's planning to "resign" he knew it wasn't going to be easy. Tonight's little "incident" as he was going home after a short visit to the grocery store showed him how his boss would rather have him "retired" than quit his position.

The only solution to this "problem" was for him to fight his way out. Hence, this evening gun fight...

He overheard The Left-Hand giving orders to the other fighters with him: "Our inside guy just gave the warning. The cops will be here in five minutes. We need to end this now!"

"Yep, we definitely should," said The Right Hand to himself. "Do it, Hero! Just fucking do it!"

As if on cue, a hand grenade suddenly flew in from the other side of the wall. Swiftly, he spun with one leg extended while aiming a roundhouse kick at the flying object. It bounced off his boot perfectly and shot back into the darkness, where he hoped most of his attackers were.

Bingo, the loud explosion proved his hopes to be true!

The feared expert assassin took this chance to run towards his car at almost superhuman speed. He quickly got in the driver's seat, tossed his guns on the passenger's side, and slammed the door. Just in time too, hiding behind the car's bulletproof body as relentless and powerful rifle shots peppered the different parts of his vehicle.

"It's now or never!" The Right Hand yelled as he pulled down his car brakes, pressed on the clutch button and placed his thumb on the fingerprint panel to start his car.

It took only three seconds to complete that.

While it took less than two seconds for the car to start.

And it took only one for the trigger to sound under the vehicle... Then a large explosion blew up The Right Hand's ride!

KABOOM!

The mobsters who were after the A-bomb had no time to celebrate though...

"Boss, the cops!" screamed one of the minions, pointing at the approaching vehicles.

"Get to the cars! Go go go!"

After less than ten minutes, and an extreme, intense car chase and fierce gunfight later, the three bulletproof Ford Explorer vans were all intact, and were on their way back to the secret hideaway for them to get cleaned, repaired, and given new license plates. Within twenty-four hours they would be ready to be driven by the governor's henchmen once again.

Speaking of henchmen, The Left Hand took out his mobile as he walked out of the hideaway and left behind his team who were still being fixed by their private medics. He looked at the screen and scowled, then huffed disappointingly.

"Really, he can't even wait for me to get back to his house to make a face-to-face report," grunted the private army's official second-in-command since their "employer" obviously wanted to remain the leader but anonymously. "Might as well, then..."

The broad-shouldered and muscled man, who slightly resembled a more Asian version Henry Cavill during his Superman days, pushed the green icon at the bottom of his mobile's screen, along with the speakerphone button, before speaking. "Yes, boss?"

"I was waiting for your report. What's taking you so long?"

"We had to leave the 'venue', Sir. The cops arrived a little too early."

"What? What happened to our snitch? He was supposed to make sure that they didn't arrive too soon."

"I don't know. But I'll be dealing with him tomorrow."

"And did you deal with Aaron?"

Again, the squad leader huffed derisively. It's as if the question was an insult to him. "Of course, Sir. I would not dare go back home to you if I didn't finish my task tonight."

"I want to see his body..."

A slight pause... then a sigh...

"Sir, his car exploded while he was inside. I rigged that bomb myself so I'm sure he's dead."

"Not even a video? Or maybe even a photograph? You seem to be lapsing, my dear Left Hand. This is not like you... at all."

"The cops arrived too early, like I said. You'll see it in the news for sure. I'm sure the media can give you photos and videos, Sir."

"Hero, please... you know who we are dealing with, right? This is the man who can easily make his targets look like they died due to an accident or by natural means. On that note, I believe he is quite capable of faking his own death. So... until I am sure that whatever body the media releases is truly Aaron's then I will insist that you don't assure me that he is indeed dead. Am. I. Clear?"

The Left Hand inhaled deeply just to keep himself calm before speaking, "Yes, Sir. I'll get on it as soon as I can."

"Good. Now you can go back to my mansion and rest. You have a lot to do in the morning."

Hero's jaw tightened as he tried to control his thoughts and his tone. "Yes, Sir."

Where would you say is the best place to hide when you're starting a new life? Some people say it's in plain sight, right in front of the people who might look for you. Some others dream of a peaceful, quiet hideaway, that's located a good distance from everything familiar.

Like a remote lumberjack camp up in the mountains, so far, far away.

"I can hardly believe that you were just a security guard back in your city, or how they let go of a guy that looks so menacing as you. Are you sure you were just that?" a smiling man with brown hair and blue eyes said.

He was walking and talking with another man, with a similar description as his, having the same height of six feet, broader shoulders though, and a slightly more muscular body. Also, the second one happened to have brown-reddish hair, hazel eyes closer to green than brown, and a more obvious tan.

It had been less than an hour since the job interview, and the employer decided to make sure his newly hired employee would be ok with his first day at work, especially since this newcomer said he had never worked as a logger before "but he could manage".

It was necessary to make sure that this newbie could really get by with his new job, right?

"Well yeah, I'm sure. I don't know about the 'menacing' part though," the second man said, while memories were suddenly triggered inside his head due to that particular adjective.

These same realizations also reflected in his light-coloured hazel eyes, but he kept mum about it...

His thoughts: "That's a topic that should never be touched. Not ever again, if I could help it. So yeah, stop thinking about that, Eron. And you have to be a little more laid back... let The Charmer out instead of the dark one."

"Why the question, Mr. Schneider?"

"Told you already, Eron, just call me Jack. Mr. Schneider is still my father. I asked because I got curious, simple as that. You don't look like the usual guy who would work out here in the boondocks."

And it was true.

Jack had developed muscles by working hard up the mountain, but the new guy in the logging company just come from the city and was born in another city in a different country supposedly.

And those two facts were making Jack even more curious and made it hard for him to believe.

Mr. Schneider's thoughts: Sorry bro, but you don't look like a regular security guard... maybe a gym buff... a bouncer in a nightclub... even a stripper... but a security guard? The ones I know have a belly, not an eight-pack... damn, I think I'm looking too much into it... I guess I'm used to different things. Those guys from the city care too much for the looks.

"A stripper, huh? Ok, Jack, then. I'm really thankful for the chance to work with you guys, especially since I have no experience in this," Eron said, a small relieved smile marking his face. "But I really was a private security guard and no way am I any of those."

Now, got to get into the groove... heh, tree grooves... pun intended...

Half an hour into working, his perfect tan shone with the small drops of sweat that ran wild over his skin as he regularly and strongly raised his axe. His naked torso showed how his toned muscles flexed and then contracted when he powerfully let the axe fall on the fallen massive tree trunk that Jack had directed him to chop.

This was the easiest job they could give him while he got used to the machinery. Although Jack was still unsure of his new worker's inexperience since, after about an hour, the newcomer had already demolished a few logs.

The foreman/owner looked from his new hire to the bunch of fast-increasing, well-cut pieces of wood that Eron had stacked up already, and felt his jaw suddenly dropping.

"Looks like you came here at the right time, too. We're starting a new season of harvests, and the more help we can get, the better," said Jack, after he had closed his mouth and had recovered from the shock." There's more to this lumberyard than just cutting down trees, you know."

"Heh, as long as I can earn from it, I'm all good, Jack."

"Damn, I wish I looked like that... the boss sadly thought as he continued to watch his new employee cut through more wood. "Maybe that way I'd easily get a girlfriend and not be friend-zoned all the time..."

Even if he was well built, he didn't have the confidence that the guy in front of him, who simply exuded charm. And somehow, he knew that well, just by looking at Eron. Besides, the city mouse just looked too good-looking to just be cutting up wood.

"Anyway, I just came to check how it was going for you. Call me if you need anything," Jack finally said and was almost leaving when he heard a question from the sweaty, tanned newbie.

"Well, there is something I wanna ask, but it isn't an urgent matter really... I'm looking for a room to rent. Do you know about any? I got here literally a couple of days ago, and I don't mind camping. I actually like it, but if it rains, I'll be in trouble. Well, at least my bike will be for sure."

"You're just CAMPING?! ALL ALONE?! Where?"

"Not far from here. I have all I need, but, yeah, as I told you, rain would be a big problem."

"Well, there's someone I know that maybe... but I'll ask first. I'll let you know what the answer is."

"Okay, thank you," Eron said, now more relaxed and softly smiling as he got back to work.

Jack looked once more at him, suspicion in his eyes. It was not usual to receive tourists in that part of the mountains, not locals, and it was even rarer to see foreigners. It wasn't about distrust, after all, but that feeling of the unusual which was poking at the lumberjack's brain...

A foreigner that had just arrived in their country, and was camping in the forest, and cutting wood as if it was his second nature. And insisting that he just got tired of the city, which is why he's doing all this?

"I swear, bro, not a bodyguard, not a bouncer, not a stripper. I had a simple job because I always liked to live a simple life. But I just got tired of it all. The job, the city, the people over there, all stressed and rushing all the time. I just needed a break, and this place seemed to be exactly what I needed," Eron said with a chuckle, surprising Jack, as he noticed the disbelief in the way his boss looked at him.

Jack, too, was lost in his thoughts, not noticing that he was still staring: "How does a guy like him get tired of the city? I could bet a month of salary on him being followed tirelessly by a group of ladies, and I dare say, a few guys like Uncle Louie..."

"Yeah, I think I still have 'The Charm' as they used to say. Sorry boss, it's not you. I was trained to cause that kind of attraction on people," thought Eron to himself as he chuckled. "Well, to make us security guards more approachable, I mean..."

Good save, Eron...

Jake snapped back to reality and explained hurriedly, "I'm sorry, but I was seriously wondering, if I was to leave my country, I couldn't stop thinking about my mother and father, and if any of my brothers are helping them. I don't like to ask questions, you know? I do try to mind my own business, but you happen to be the first foreigner I've seen in a while. Do you not miss your family, man?"

These words triggered another trip through Eron's memories, which he quickly put aside. This was another conversation that he wasn't willing to have. At least his plan wasn't to go any deeper than what was necessary.

"I kinda miss my older brother. But with the rest of the family, I really wasn't that close. I talked a lot with his... uh... wife... and I do miss her, too. But really, not much with my parents, or the... town we lived in."

The small pauses and second thoughts had caught Jake's attention. He had noticed that these clues were heavily hinting at a deeper and hidden part in Eron's story.

That part that the foreigner refused to let anybody know...

"So, you left without thinking of going back? That's really something... And chose here to stay?! You're either crazy or are a loose killer that's been wanted by the police in different countries and thinks that he won't be found here. Sorry bro, but your story is that... uh... unique."

"Heh... if you only knew," the newbie whispered.

Eron let out a hearty laugh, more out of irony than sincerity, and started editing the words in his head before it spilled out of his mouth...

"To be honest, Jack, I wasn't really living or spending time with my family anymore. It had been like that for quite a long while now. My father wasn't really happy with me and always favored my older brother, because I wasn't up to his standards.

Meanwhile, my brother ended up being an obnoxious overachiever, but I guess that comes with the role he's supposed to have in the family. Although, I'm still thankful that he made me feel like his brother from time to time. I just had to find my own life away from them, that's all."

And so that was it. If there was something truly real from what Eron said to Jack during his job interview or any time after, it was that.

"So, I got myself into different countries, mostly using working visas, and got busy. And here I am today at your lumber company, and I think I'm gonna like it here. Compared to my former work, this is all pretty amazing for me."

He paused a moment, still seeing in the back of his mind the countless memories that the conversation was triggering. So many things he never talked about, or would even dare to tell just anyone.

"Aaaand... if you ever, for any reason, wanted to go back home, Eron, will you give me notice or just disappear?" asked the boss with concern.

"Oh, I don't think I'll leave. My father would never take me back. As a matter of fact, he would probably kill me the moment he sees me walking towards the family house," Eron said with a sad smile.

"That's a shame... Families are meant to be close; you know. Especially during the hard times..."

Now it was Jack's turn to stare out into the distance, his memories now running scenes from his past. He couldn't help it, since every time he thought of his family, he would think of all of them.

Including the ones who he was not even certain if they were still alive...

More than a decade ago...

"Sorah, what are you doing out of the house at this time? You know we shouldn't be outside at this hour!" A teenager Jack hissed/yelled to his sister, who was just a year older than him.

"What? Nothing's gonna happen! Besides, I'm technically not even outside the house, I'm just sitting on the roof, Jack, what could go wrong?"

"I don't know, but you know they tell us those stories for a reason, Sorah..."

"The legends? Just fairy tales to keep us kids inside the house at night. Do you really believe that it is possible that something like a werewolf exists? I'm no longer a child and I can't really believe those tales, brother, sorry."

"Just because you're eighteen now, doesn't mean that you just can do whatever, sis... Please, come back in or I'll tell Mom and Dad."

"Ugh, fine, fine... you're a traitor, Jack, you know that? And you talk like an old grandma."

"No, I'm your brother and I'm supposed to watch over you."

The young lady tried to go back inside the house, carefully walking on the roof shingles and down to the ledge. It took all of her self-control and balance just so she wouldn't fall while trying to get back to her room via the upstairs window.

Her brother moved away and allowed her to jump in, still serious while she giggled and fixed her skirt.

"Grumpy kid, aren't you too young to be so serious?"

"I'm not a kid! I'm just a year younger than you. And I'm not grumpy, just not as crazy as you are..."

She still giggled and danced around the room, opened the door, then started to walk away. "Remember what I said, though. You need to learn how to have some fun!"

As soon as the words left the girl's mouth, a loud thud was heard downstairs. Their parents ran out of their room that was right next door. From the looks of them, they were just about to get ready to go to bed.

"You stay here. Jack, protect your mother and sister."

"Yes, Father."

Followed by their mother, the young man pulled his sister into their parent's bedroom. The door closed behind them, and Jack stood with his back glued to it. In front of him, her sister sat in bed beside their mom, concern written all over their faces.

Not long after, the noises of a fight, things falling down, a scream, and another thud resounded downstairs.

Then it was silent.

The quiet that hung in the air was more unnerving than the earlier racket.

A few more minutes and then there were sounds of growling, soft sniffing, and muted shuffling...

Were those the products of an imagination fed by the old stories told all over town? Those that his friends repeated to scare one another? Or like the ones, some worried mothers would tell their children?

Jack pushed his back even harder against the door. His knuckles got white as he grabbed the doorknob with all his strength, and he couldn't explain why he started to feel that fear...

Increasing from the pit of his stomach, making his cold sweat roll down his face.

But why was he so afraid?

The three of them stayed in the room, waiting for the head of the family to go back to them, and tell them that it was a raccoon that got into the house...

A very large, angry, and violent raccoon.

The first flight of stairs creaked down on the first floor, pressed by the weight of something that was way larger than the one they called father.

"Get under the bed, and don't make a sound!" Jack whispered, rushing to the ladies, who followed his instructions immediately.

After they were secured, he went back to the door and positioned himself against it again. The second step creaked, and then the third, and slowly, whatever it was, moved up to the top of the flight of stairs.

The three within the bedroom wished with all their might that it was their beloved parent and husband... Hoped with all their beings, almost with blind, irrational faith, that it was he that was just outside the door... Unfortunately, these beliefs were only fueled by the denial of what could be now lurking inside their house...

Something - or someone - who they had no idea on how to fight, let alone win against.

BAM!

A gunshot was heard from downstairs, aimed at whatever was now right at the other side of the door that Jack naively held with all his strength.

And after that, a bloodcurdling, angry, and deafening snarl!

The rest happened in just a blink of an eye...

The door flew off of its hinges, throwing the young man into the room. A monster with huge claws and fangs stood tall, about seven feet high, right in front of the shocked and hurt Jack!

Mother and daughter covered their mouths and noses to avoid even breathing so that things would not find them. However, the monster sniffed the air and with one paw grabbed one corner of the bed, then shoved it high in the air as if it was a weightless sheet of paper. It then pulled the younger woman, Sorah, towards him, hugging her from behind, his arm around her waist.

Her clothes immediately soaked in the blood that was on the creature's paws, claws, and furry torso.

It didn't seem to matter to the monster that he had a bullet hole through his shoulder. After all, the legend said that no regular bullet could kill them. It didn't matter too that the teenager he held in his arms was screaming her lungs out while trying with all her might to get free.

Rushed steps were now thumping up the stairs!

The monster looked at Sorah, then behind her, and finally at the window. As if barely caring about her, he curled over the girl's thrashing form, right before jumping through the window!

All of that happened during the few seconds that it took Jack to get back on his feet due to all the pain and bruises on his body. He stumbled to the window and tried to see if he could still find her, but it was too dark. Also, the two were now out of sight.

He couldn't even hear his sister now, nor the monster's growls. Just the cries of his mother as she ran to her husband, checking if he was alright and, at the same time, telling him about their daughter.

Jack cursed under his breath and was soon planning to go after the beast's trail of blood. But even as he shuffled out, his father entered the room and grabbed him with a firm hold, stopping him in his tracks.

"Father, we can still find them, please! We have to get her back!" Tears started to fall down the younger man's face. Tears of frustration, impotence, sadness, and disbelief...

The father didn't say a word. He just put his rifle away and hugged his son tightly against him. They both cried grieving tears, sure that he wouldn't let his son follow his daughter's fate.

"Father... Please!" Jack tried once more, but knowing that his father would not let him... would never let him go...

The mother joined the hug and continued crying, saddened that their girl was now lost, but happy that there were survivors in her family. As it was, they were lucky that they were still alive at all.

Of course, back then, going to the town, and asking for help to go after a werewolf, would have stigmatized their family forever. Most likely, they would get no help at all, just laughs.

The parents chose not to do that for the sake of their son and carried on with their lives.

It took a long time for Jack to understand that, but they did not hold that against him and unconditionally loved him, no matter what he thought about them.

Family should stay together...

Always.