FUNERAL FOR A WEREWOLF, a short story by actung. Date added: 2011-09-14. Times viewed: 916.
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- Intro: Fifth in a series following VAMPIRE WEEKEND, SON OF A VAMPIRE, WHATEVER HAPPENED TO GABRIEL GRIMMEL and DARK SHADOW
Officer Nolan arrived at the station as usual on time for his regular shift. One of his co-workers called out ‘Hey frogman, boss wants you as soon as possible’. Nolan was well used to the frog remarks, with having Kermit as a first name it is something he expects and doesn’t take personally.
Kermit’s boss informed him that he had the rest of the morning and afternoon off due to the fact he had a job for him that night. Mills laboratories on the outskirts of town required an armed guard to stay overnight with a lone scientist who was on observation duties. For what exactly she was observing had not been discussed.
Having left the station and having taking a squad car with him, Kermit was held up at traffic lights at a cross roads. A funeral procession was passing. One individual walking not far behind the hearse caught Kermit’s attention.
Seth noticed the police car stopped at the traffic lights to his left. He and the officer locked eyes. There was something, some kind of force which compelled the locking of the eyes. It was as if something was coming, something which would involve them both, what that something would be was unknown but had a very serious feel to it.
The gathered crowd quickly settled in the church. Seth and his other group members sat together about ten rows back from the front of the church. Professor Edwards sat in the row behind them. Jason’s family sat obviously enough at the front of the church, not many of those in attendance knew what they actually were.
For the second time that day someone grabbed Seth’s attention. First it was the police officer at the traffic lights, and then the arrival of a man wearing sunglasses, a man who sat near the back of the church. To Seth the wearing of sunglasses inside a church meant one thing. This man also wore a dark suit, a red wine shirt and had dark shoulder length hair slicked back. The man also glanced over at Seth and grinned. Professor Edwards notice the looks the two gave each other and felt a darkness of his own.
That man who had only just arrived was of course the man whom Seth had yet to meet, his very own father Gabriel, for Gabriel was aware of the current danger to which his son was in, the danger to which lead to the funeral that they were both attending.
There would not have been many in attendance who would have been aware that there were werewolves in the church, let alone vampires or that the departed student himself was also a werewolf. Just after the priest began the service, professor Edwards moved next to Gabriel and asked him what he was doing there. Gabriel asked the man who sat next to him if he knew with whom he was addressing. The professor asked Gabriel not to insult his intelligence, the professor was aware of a lot of things including who and what Gabriel is.
‘I am here to protect my son professor’, Gabriel quietly spoke.
‘Ah I see you know who I am too, so nice of you to finally take interest in your son’.
‘I have always kept more than just an interest in my son and if you do actually know of me you would know of that interest too’.
‘Well I have been active in protecting your son and I will continue to be so active’.
Gabriel grabbed the professors arm as he got up to move away. ‘I appreciate what you have done more than you know’. Professor Edwards looked into Gabriel’s eyes when he removed his sunglasses then moved back to where had previously been sitting.
The priest spoke about Jason as if he knew him personally, all the while being unaware of Jason’s true nature, however his description was accurate. With Jason being someone who would stick out his neck to help a friend, and the priest also spoke on behalf of Jason’s family to thank Seth for being the friend that he was to Jason. The service lasted thirty five minutes. Jason’s family were glad that it wasn’t a long dragged out service and with Seth wanting to attend the burial the short service also suited him. He didn’t want to spend too much time out in the day light.
Seth along with Thomas and Peter and also members of Jason’s family carried the coffin out from the church to the hearse waiting outside. Seth had a feeling that something wasn’t quite right. He was sure the coffin was too light to be holding his friend inside.
The burial also passed quickly. Gabriel stood in the distance. Seth asked Professor Edwards as to if that man was his father. The Professor reluctantly told him that it was indeed. As the coffin was lowered into the ground, Seth would notice a familiar dark shadow pass over the land, Gabriel and the Professor also noticed tis dark shadow and they knew what it meant.
As the night sky began to fall Kermit made his way up to Mills Laboratories. He was greeted upon arrival by Sally Harris. She was slim and tall, almost as tall as Kermit. Her dark hair was at shoulder length. Her beauty was such that Kermit thought to himself that there was no way that she could be a scientist. Sally didn’t dress like a scientist, her clothes were casual. Kermit had at least expected to see at least glasses and a white coat neither of which were anywhere to be seen.
Kermit was obviously enough intrigued as to why Sally was alone, and as to what needed her observation, but she was not going to answer any of his questions. As their conversation continued with a walk down a corridor, lights began to flicker before going out completely. Emergency lighting along the walls came on at a very low level and when they did Kermit could not see Sally anywhere. He called for her without receiving any reply.
Having pulled out a torch from the side of his belt something caught Kermit’s eye at the end of the hallway from which he had only just come. Once again he called for Sally without receiving a reply. What it was that had caught his eye had been moving and even though he called Sally’s name, something told him that it had not been her.
A sound ripped through the building and Kermit thought it sounded like a wolf howling, he passed this sond off to his own feeling of tiredness. Pulling out his gun he headed in the direction from which both the sound he had heard and movement he had seen had come from.
The double doors at the end of the corridor were open and as Kermit moved closer one of the doors swung and closed over. Kermit’s movement reacted to the door closing and he couldn’t see anything nearby which could have caused the door to move. It was when he passed those doors that he saw it. What looks like an animal standing on four rise up as if this animal was somehow human to stand only on its hind legs. This whatever it was would turn quickly and move. Kermit let out a scream while raising his arms in an attempt to protect himself, for this creature came right at him.
Standing alone by his departed friends grave Seth begins to speak. ‘I am sorry my friend, if it wasn’t for me you wouldn’t be where you are right now. You stood by me and you paid a price, a price I can never repay. I feel the worst is yet to come. I don’t know what to do. If only you were still with me’. Seth lay flowers on the grave and touched the headstone before slowly moving away.
Laying in a hospital bed an unconscious Kermit rested. Jimmy Salto stood next to the bed Kermit lay in. The monitors Kermit was hooked up to showed Kermit’s stats improve slowly and when they stabilised Kermit’s eyes opened wide ….
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