the alpha

Part 7

22nd November 2014
13:09 pm
Central Park,
Linden Ave NE
Atlanta, Georgia

A cool breeze blew by as the three men sat at one of the many picnic tables within the park that Stanton had brought them to. Kids were playing in the distance, their sounds of mirth and enjoyment sounding almost alien at the moment.

It had been a while since Randall had found any joy in anything that-

"Hey," Stanton tapped him on the right shoulder as he spoke, "You feel like listening?"

Blinking a few times, he regarded the man across the table from the two of them, one of the last individuals he would have thought they would have been meeting. In his mind he had seen someone that might have been scraggly, unkempt, perhaps missing a few teeth, and even have a snorting or needle problem they didn't need to know about.

He had not expected a guy with a clean, neat haircut that was nicely slicked back, wearing a button-up shirt and khakis and loafers of all things. His facial hair was nicely groomed, as he sported a mustache and goatee that were the same blazing red as his hair.

Stanton turned his attention back to the other individual, "You were saying?"

"I was saying I don't have much to give you," he replied, shaking his head as he did, "All I can say is what you probably already know. There are rumors that you might have heard or
might not have."

"And that's why we're here, to listen to what we might not know."

"It is all rumor Stanton, not much reality. Plus, some of the kooks are already talking nuts, claiming that there is something supernatural going on."

"How's that?"

The man, his name was Rakes, which was the only name that Randall had been given, shrugged as he replied, "Someone is saying that it looks like the bodies were ravaged by an animal. A few people, drunks mostly that are out on the street at all hours, claim to have seen things that could not be real."

"Like what, Rakes? Goddammit man, we are on our lunch break, so don't make us wait any longer for our meal."

"Calm down detective. I did not agree to come out here just to be yelled at. But the crazies, they are saying werewolf, vampire, goddamn Chupacabra for fuck's sake. Everything that goes bump in the night, people are starting to talk about. Worse than that though, some of them are getting scared, and you know what happens when people get scared."

"Yeah," Stanton replied with a sigh, "They get stupid, and even more dangerous." "Do we really need to worry about that at the moment though? I mean shit, people get scared of damn near everything these days."

Rakes gave Randall a mere glance before speaking again, "If I had anything else to tell you detective, I would. But seriously, that is all I've got right now."

"You mean nothing," Stanton said with shake of his head. "Keep your eyes open," he said, grunting slightly as he rose to his feet, motioning for Randall to follow him.

"Yeah, I always do," Rakes said, remaining seated.