ManBeast - Book 1: A Kingdom of Predators

Chapter 5

CHAPTER 5

Dawn. The door to a sparse, dark apartment opens as a large hulking figure lumbered in. Badly wounded and bleeding from several places on his huge frame, he was exhausted, but moved as if driven to purpose. Picking up a nearby rotary telephone, he dialed a set of numbers slowly but methodically; a practice done many times before. After a momentary ring, a voice answered: "Report." The hulk responded listlessly: "He got away. Francis Mack did show up, just as you said. He gave us trouble one on one, but all of us jumping him worked his ass out. Some crazy shit happened afterwards though!"

"Oh?" the voice responded, with an air of interest. "Yea, I can't even begin to describe it, but we weren't successful. I need to come in to tell you more; I can't make sense of that shit," the hulk responded. No answer from the voice over the phone this time, only the light sound of a clock chime in the background. After a moment, the hulk began talking again: "So what do you want me to do? All things considered, I held up my end of the bargain. If the Committee patriots find out, let alone the Brothers, there'll be a war. You can't handle that." The hulk heard the voice's tone change, as if the voice was smiling: "That changes nothing. Good work." With that, and a *click*, the call ended.

The hulk sat back on a lone chair, letting out an exasperated sigh. Without warning, a shadowy figure appeared behind him and placed him in a full rear-naked choke hold. The hulk attempted to stand up and thrash off his attacker, but to no avail. With a sickening *SNAP*, the hulk went limp as his head spun around; his body slumped to the floor lifeless. The shadow checked his body over for a moment, then pulled out several vials and needles, crushed but ascertainable at closer inspection. He scattered the shards around the body of the hulk, before inserting a full unbroken needle, filled with a light lilac liquid, into the neck of the hulk. As quietly as the shadow appeared, it then vanished. No sooner than a few moments later, the sun arose, illuminating through the broken slats of the windows, allowing the snaking light to reveal the hulk in full; he was a Beast-Man, left slain as evidence of a fictious event, meant to conceal something far more sinister.

"Are you awake, Julius?" Frankie asked. His gravelly voice caused Jules to stir; he had been unconscious and unresponsive for several hours. Jules awoke slowly, the world in which he found himself was unfamiliar at first glance. The room was well decorated and was adorned with tasteful pieces of impressionist style artwork, allowed to flaunt their tropes and colors against pale backdrops. The retro Baroque-style velvet chaise lounge couch he was resting on was impossibly comfortable without being unnecessarily soft. Jules saw that behind him, there was a solid wooden desk, outfitted with typical office accoutrements that were in silhouette from a large bay window flooded with sunlight. The room smelled of books, wood, whiskey and musky cologne. An artificial fireplace stood to his left, with trophies and awards atop its mantle.

"A study" was Jules first thought since awakening; "OH SHIT!" however, would probably be a fair and warranted response to any and all of what had just transpired the night before. Coupled with the splendor of the room he was now in, Jules was at a lost for additional words; Frankie figured this out. "This is my study; felt like the safest place to bring you on short notice. Are you hungry?" asked Frankie. Jules then noticed that he had not eaten since lunch of the previous day, when he admonished Frankie for his shortcomings in the meeting. Instantaneously, the hunger pangs kicked in; Frankie heard his stomach rumble and forced a cough to keep from laughing. Jules looked up at him and began to speak; Frankie cut him off: "My wife made breakfast, and I have already called both you and I out of the office for the next two days. The cover up story for what happened last night seems to be sticking for now, so there's no worry of exceptional foul play amongst the staff; you're safe here." Confused, but even more so hungry, Jules got up and followed Frankie out of the study.