Under A Latent Moon (A Werewolf Tale)

Chapter 7

Three states away, south of Kensington, a camp stood near a forest line. Among the tents and bonfires people milled about with a hush.

The darkness of night that befell over the camp meant much more to them. It brought with it a tension, baited breath, and unease.

Two gentlemen, rough from traveling and the weather, sat near each other next to a bonfire on two logs drawn from that same deadly forest behind their backs.

"Do you think she's going to let him run tonight?" One with a receding hairline and a grey beard asked the other.

The other man, younger and blinded by ignorance, leaned his elbows on his knees. "Does she have a choice?"

The answer came in the form of silence.

After a while, the grey-bearded man hit his fist into the log he sat on. "It's not fair. This...this disease damn well takes away their free will."

"I heard Tom's niece is showing the same signs Dominic did at the beginning."

The old man cursed. "I've seen what this does to people. It rips them from their right mind. These beasts need to be taken out."

"Shh." The younger man glanced over his shoulder. "You want Selene to hear? She'll rip you a new asshole. And then you can forget all about your crappy reward."

Further into the heart of the camp, a woman with long blonde hair paced in front of a card table serving as a desk. She tapped a calloused and work-worn finger to her bottom lip. "I don't get it." She whispered to herself.

Highlighted Articles, notes, and journal entries all sat on the card table. Spread out among the numerous papers rested a crudely drawn plan for a microchip.

Frustration boiled in her veins. She'd been on this ridiculous hunt for years now without any luck. It should have never taken this long. It should have never been this damn difficult!

"Ma'am?" A teenager stuck his head through the flap that served as a door. A cool breeze followed him in.

Temperatures were dropping and it made for a cold night. Her troop would have to buckle down hard tonight.

She should've just rented out a block of hotel rooms. Except, making up reasons for the huge travel group was beginning to get harder and harder with people asking questions and wanting to know more and more. It was much easier to rent out a campground and call it a day.

"Get in here, Brad. You're letting the heat out."

Brad, most likely the youngest of her troop, quickly stepped in. "Sorry ma'am. I just wanted to let you know...the group you sent to Harper corporations has returned."

The lack of even a spark of hope in her chest was a testament to how long she'd been doing this. Hope became harder to come by the more time that passed. Reality was beginning to set in.

"Well? Send them in here."

"O-of course ma'am."

Not two minutes later, Blackthorne stepped in followed closely by the two of his crew he handpicked to join him on the infiltration project. "Selene."

"Blackthorne." Selene half-sat on the card table, her arms crossed. "What have you got?"

Blackthorne sat in the single fold-out chair in the tent. He crossed his legs. "A whole lot of crap. Our favorite doctor worked with Harper in the eighties. He barely even conceived the idea for his research at that point."