Date: Mon, 26 Apr 2021 21:14:56 -0400 From: Just Forfun Subject: New Reality 11 This is my first story, so your input is extremely welcome. Email me at jst4fun2nyt@gmail.com and tell me what you like, what you don't like, and even where I mess up continuity or details. My focus is the story, not the sex. There will be sex, m/m and m/f, and some m/m/m/f but it will be tame compared to some stories. The story is fiction, and any similarities to people, living or dead, is purely coincidence. STDs and Corona don't exist in my fantasy world, so they don't use protection. You should use protection, always!!! Many of my characters are underage, and they will be having consensual sex, both with other youth, and what some consider adults. If that offends you, find another story. If reading this is illegal where you live, don't break the law! I'd like to find an editor, or a Beta reader at least. If you're up for that, contact me. I'm also open to suggestions on where you'd like to see things go, although I'm already 30 chapters ahead of where you are now. Don't forget to DONATE to NIFTY so you can continue to hate me for any cliffhangers. https://donate.nifty.org/ ****************************************************************************** There were dozens of couples and a few kids ranging in apparent ages from 2 to 15. Everyone was asking for details and I kept saying we were here to figure out the need before we try to solve a problem we don't understand. With all the questions, no one was leaving and by the time 7 rolled around both rooms were full plus people standing in the hall. I made a command decision and asked everyone to pick up a chair and follow me. I went past the construction tape to a wide-open space that was waiting to be rented, asked everyone to place their chair and be seated. Scott stood with me holding Brandon's hand. I looked around and decided I needed to play all cards so I used my beast to enhance my voice and spoke up. "I am Alpha Greg Warnick, this is my mate Scott and our oldest son Brandon. We'd like to welcome you all here tonight and want to clear up some misunderstandings that we've already heard. We do not have a school set up and ready, that's what we're here to discuss. Everything I'm about to say comes from questions I've been asked already tonight. I will not require anyone to join my pack to send their child to a school we set up. We will not be permitting humans to attend. Our initial plan is for a school for children ages 2 to 9, or when ever the child is ready to move on to life or college. There will be no child left to fail or be ignored. Everyone here will learn to the best of their ability. In order to keep the true nature from the humans, all parents will be given employee ID badges for one of the companies in Warnick Industries, and as such, their child is entitled to 'child care' at company expense." "You expect us to believe you're not gonna force us to join your pack so you can take our savings?" "I will swear before the Council that I will never insist on anyone joining my pack, let alone for a child to be educated. No one that is in my pack has been required to surrender their assets. Some have, but it's not required." That got some gasps and silence. I went on "The school will be open to all vampires who live within the boundaries of our pack. Odds are if you're here, you qualify. The reason we're restricting it is simply logistics. A child that lives outside our pack territory wouldn't get any sleep driving back and forth to school. Please spread the word around your circle of friends and contact William White if you have questions we don't cover here tonight. Now that I've said all that, please ask your questions." "What's in it for you?" "Improving the lives of the vampires around me gives me better people to choose from when I need lawyers, accountants, carpenters, and business managers. That's the selfish answer, the truth is I've been blessed and it's up to me to help those who haven't been, or those who have been mistreated in the past." "Who's gonna teach?" "So far we only have one man, Dr Richard Phillips. He basically wrote the books the colleges use to teach teachers, he's also a child development expert. We're hoping to find some of you with teaching experience. We don't care about licenses we care about results. And yes, we'll pay you what you're worth." "What about the street vamps?" I froze. There were street vamps? I stood frozen long enough that Billy noticed and stepped up "Underage street vamps should contact me. If they don't have a way to do it, the office we started in is Mike's, they can walk in and see him. If there are adults who didn't get a basic education we'd like to help you as well. There is no shame in having grown up 400 years ago and only learned how to write your name and how to count to ten. We'll teach you, not shame you." Everything he just said was new, but he was right on so I ran with it "I need you to understand, I'm not an Alpha from the 1500's. I was born human, 17 years ago, and in my eyes, everyone that lives in my territories are in my pack in a sense. I'm not asking for anything from you, but I'm saying if you live in my territories, I owe you protection and improvements to your standard of living. I wasn't aware there were 'street vamps' but now that I am, I'll say simply any vampire that's on the streets I will provide shelter. It might not be a fancy house, but it will keep you warm, and fed. I swear this to you." There were questions about transportation and other details that really didn't matter until we were up and running and had a head count. Some asked about the hours due to their work schedules. Someone asked about uniforms which triggered me to ask what, in a human crowd, would have caused a riot. "Like I said, I grew up human and I'm learning, I'd like to ask a personal question, so forgive me but, in how many of your homes is nudity the standard?" That got a few giggles but every hand went up. I'm thinking the giggles were at my not knowing this, but I had a reason for asking. "So your children would feel fine nude around each other?" this got general agreement "And you're asking about uniforms?" This got a huge laugh. "Considering how fast our children grow, I would think we either let them be nude, or make a uniform of sweatpants and tee shirts. Get them baggy and they might fit a whole year. And like almost everything said here tonight, these are just my thoughts, we're in this together. I can't do it without you." Dr Phillips said "While I have no issue with nudity with the youngest pups, the hormones in those 5 to 9 would make things awkward." and this got the most solid agreement "I do like the sweatpants idea, they're inexpensive, we can provide them, no one argues about their family being rich or poor and they cover pup puberty." everyone laughed. "Am I correct in assuming you all would send your children to a school if we set one up?" I heard what I thought was everyone so I changed it "How about it this way, if you would NOT send your child, speak up." it was silent. "Billy, how many kids here, of our school age." "87." Lucas piped up, "Considering the gossip algorithm, a rumor can saturate the earth in 45 days, if you got a response of almost 90 in less than one day, in a week you'll have 11,000 theoretically speaking. Realistically vampires are .004% of the population so there are roughly 10,000 in the area, I would bet my first hunt on 350 to 400 students September first." Billy looked stunned but nodded "Uh, yeah, what he said. I mean he's right he just caught me off guard." "I like math." Lucas whispered to him. "OK, well we've covered a lot and there's a lot to do still. If anyone can help in any way, get with Billy. And if you're unemployed or underemployed, contact Billy. And if you've been screwed over in the past by an Alpha, while I can't directly do anything about it, I'll at least listen. Be aware my wedding is Sunday and then we're away for six weeks. Does anyone have anything else?" It seemed I had answered most of their questions so we ended the meeting and some broke into small groups to have their own conversations while most headed home. Lucas, Billy, Andrew, Amie, and Scott were talking then Andrew and Amie came to me. Andrew said "Greg, I'd like to apologize for my attitude about joining your pack. I see now that you're not like my old Alpha and judging you wasn't fair." "Not a problem at all. You reacted based on your experience and I would have felt the same way if I had gone through what you did. It looks like our boys are friends and Amie will be working with the pups, I hope. We like you, so whether you join my pack or not, I'm here if you need anything." "I appreciate that. And yeah, I'm sure we'll be seeing more of each other. Amie and I will discuss joining, we're not quite there yet though." "Babe? Sorry for interrupting Andrew, but I think Greg needs to see this." "What's up?" "On the ride here Lucas was showing me his stock market fantasy investments and he's got amazing insight. With what he showed me I stuck my neck out and gave him some real money to invest, for you. I thought you should see what he's done, just in after hours trading, over the last 3 hours." "OK Billy, but how much did you give him?" "Um... $100,000." "Lucas!? You played with that much of Greg's money? You should have asked. Please tell me we don't owe him that much now?" "Uncle Andrew I didn't lose it, relax. And Billy said it was his risk by giving it to me." "Everyone relax, Lucas is right, Billy took a risk with my money and if it failed, he would answer for it, not Lucas, and certainly not you Andrew. Now, Lucas, you say you didn't lose it so tell us what you did do with it." "Well, I watch message boards and there are activists that focus on a stock that the hedge funds are shorting, then buy insane numbers to drive the price up and make the hedge funds lose on their shorts. Anyway, they've been talking about starting an attack using three stocks, so I took a chance and picked one. I bought 100k shares at just under $1.00 when we were parking, if you want me to I can sell now but I think it will go higher." "So you can give me back the $100,000 right now if I want you to, right?" "Greg, that's not what you should be asking him." "Hon, this is why I hate stocks. This is your game, what should I be asking?" "Lucas, what's it at right now? What would we have if you sold, and how far do you think it will go before we should sell?" "Well Scott, it's at $95.00, so if I sold right now and give you your $100k I'll keep $9.4m. I'm happy to do that." he said with an evil grin. "Wait, what? How?" "I day trade Greg. You said you don't like the market so I'll make it simple. Basically, I buy and sell fast, buy for $2.00 and sell for $2.10 and I don't care about long term trends or dividends. My fantasy portfolio I used what I figured I would have in hand when I moved out on my own so I started last month with $10,000, it's now worth just over $900m. It would be more but I misjudged and lost $300m on Monday" "Now you see why I risked some of your money Greg? I figured you'd be mad if it went bad but I wanted to see if he was confident enough to do it with real money. Lots of fantasy traders lose their nerve when it's real. He didn't." "OK Lucas, you say it's not done, what's your bet?" "I'm thinking I sell at $140.00. The point of these runs is to screw over the hedge funds and they have to hit that to push it over the limits. It might hit $150 but I'll cash out before it starts to slide. There's another one that's got attention and I'll put half the money in that. I always take 25% of profits into less risky money then take risks with the rest." "Keep doing your thing with this money Lucas, with my blessing. Act like it's yours and meet with me on Friday afternoon with an update. Andrew I think I might want to hire your nephew, I'll see on Friday." "As long as he's not too busy with our money. Lucas, I'm giving you our savings, do your magic. We'll split profits 50/50." Andrew said with a smile. "No uncle Andrew, keep half back please? One mistake could wipe it out. Let's start slow." "I don't need to wait until Friday. Andrew, unless you object, I want Lucas to work for us. I'll set him up with two funds, one in your name matching your savings, that way he can invest your entire savings at no risk to you while he makes money for both of us. Track his profits and put 25% in his name Billy." "Greg that's.. that's insane. You have no reason to be so generous with us or with him." "You're right Andrew, I could pay him less, I could let him gamble your savings, I could do a lot of things. But I choose to help my friends and reward him for his special gift." Andrew looked to Amie and she nodded "Alpha Warnick, I would like to ask that my family and I be permitted to join your pack. What's ours is yours Sir." "I'm not doing this to get you to join me Andrew, you don't have to do that. I want to hire him, a job." "Yes Alpha, and I'm not doing this because of a job. I'm doing it because I've seen that yours is a pack I'll be proud to call my own because I'll know that my Alpha cares about his pack more than himself. That said, I stand by my request Sir." "Andrew, my hesitation is due to the fact that, other than Mike and David, the pack lives at my home and I don't want you to feel pressured to do that. Lucas joining is a totally separate issue." I looked to Billy and when he nodded, I heard Scott thinking 'do it'. "With respect to Uncle Andrew, I was going to ask permission to ask to join your pack Sir, so either way, can I?" "It seems I'm trapped. Andrew and Amie, I accept you into my pack." I turned to Lucas "I can't accept pack members until their first hunt, you said you haven't had your first hunt?" "No Sir. Uncle Andrew said we'd go next weekend if he wasn't working, but now he's gotta work Sunday." "Is this true? My wedding has cost the boy his first hunt?" "We'll have it Sir, it's just a delay." "Now that we're talking about it, I'm in the mood to go hunting tonight. Andrew, do you know anyone that might like to come?" "I think I know a boy who would love to go Sir." Lucas looked to his uncle then back to me "REALLY? You would let me come?" "Well, I'm sure you always looked forward to your first being with your uncle so I could stay home and just let the two of you go?" "No, no, I mean, Uncle Andrew I love you like a dad but my first hunt with my first Alpha? How can I pass that up?" "You can't Lucas, and I wouldn't ask you to. Am I to assume he'll stay the night Greg?" "With the way the house is, if we're home before dawn he'll end up on a couch, but yeah, how about you come to dinner and get him then? If you all will excuse us, I'd like to speak to Andrew a moment?" Everyone else headed to the refreshment table and I turned to him "At the risk of looking weak, I need to ask your advice Andrew, to my knowledge you're the oldest vampire here that's in my pack." "Greg, asking advice from friends isn't a weakness, it's a strength, and reinforces my belief that I did the right thing joining you. What can I help you with?" "I understand that, as Alpha, it's my right to take any boy on his first hunt. I got that from a book, along with a lot of what I'm doing. My beast is guiding me a lot too, but... well my personal experience with first hunts is limited to mine, and Billy's, and I don't know what to expect from him, or how to guide him. I offered to do this to reassure him about his future with the pack but, well, I'm afraid I'll let him down." "First hunts are individual and there is no right or wrong. It's like, well, forgive me for being crude, but it's like losing your virginity, it's not always perfect but it's a life event you'll remember and it usually gets the desired results." "Not the best analogy considering that I haven't..." I said without thinking "Oh shoot, sorry Andrew, I shouldn't have said..." "It's fine Greg, the point is, if I was to take Lucas on his first hunt, it would be my first time taking a boy too, you took Billy so you have more experience than me. Billy's seems to have gone fine. This one will too, and remember, having his first hunt with his Alpha is a huge honor, as long as he knows that the experience is more important than the results, he'll remember it fondly for centuries." "Well, you've made me feel a lot better, thanks. The only ways I know to trigger a change are pain and fear, are there others?" "The Romans would use sex, though some of society frowns on that these days, especially between a father and son, but with you being his Alpha it's not considered wrong." "I don't know about that Andrew, I can't imagine using that." "I'm not saying either way Greg, I know he's played around a bit like most boys, so if you do go that route, know that you won't be judged. You can also try other strong emotions, get him angry, or sad. Every boy will be different." "While I'm asking, what about girls? Are they done differently?" "Mothers take young girls, and I'm told they respond best to simply being encouraged to face their beast. You could ask Amie but we're a patriarchal society so I doubt you'll have to take a girl out." "Something to consider Andrew, I seem to be making my own rules. I see woman as equals and in my pack they are. Maybe when we have a young girl in the pack, I could take her on her first hunt to show that. Sorry, just thinking aloud." "It would be a welcome change. As for Lucas, relax and you'll see, it will be fine." We went back to the group and heard Brandon talking to Scott. "Pop? If Lucas is staying the night, can I stay at Andy's? They're coming to the house tomorrow. PLEASE?" "I think you should ask his parents if it's OK buddy." "I did Pop, they said to ask you." "Well, I have no problem with it. Greg's going hunting and I'll have the pups, babe?" "I think it's fine. You have your phone, what about clothes?" "Yes I've got my phone dad, and I won't need clothes. I'll take these off when I get there and wear them tomorrow." I nodded and Andy and Brandon were jumping around celebrating. "Alright, let's head home." While Lucas and Billy were climbing in the 'way back' seat I caught a scent and slammed the door shut. All my senses surfacing as I scanned the area and saw nothing but humans. I heard nothing out of the ordinary either, but I knew what that smell was. Tommy and Leonard were also scanning the streets with their eyes. I noticed Andrew also standing alert by his car, protecting both his son and mine. After a few minutes of seeing nothing the scent faded and Tommy suggested we get home. I agreed but told him we would come back tomorrow to figure this out. We got home and checked on the pups. Mary had them in the family room playing with wooden blocks reading the letters and colors to them as they reached for them. Billy and Scott joined her while Leonard and Tommy said they were heading to bed. I led Lucas to our bedroom and asked if he was ready. "I want to sell the stock first Greg, if the crash starts before we're back, I might lose more than I will selling short." he said as he opened his phone app. "It's yours to handle bud, I'll wait." A minute later he said "OK, I'm ready. Now what?" "Now we hunt, get undressed and we'll go. Tell me what you know about your first hunt." As he removed his clothes he said "Only what my neighbor said about his. He says he killed two big deer but I think he was lying. I asked Uncle Andrew about it and he said it's not good to kill when it's not necessary. And he said most first hunts he knew about were rabbits or squirrels." We were heading out the front door by this time "Your uncle is a wise man. From what I know, some first hunts don't even end in prey being caught, remember, it's hunting, not catching. The point of tonight is helping you to learn more about yourself and your beast, everything else is extra." "I understand Alpha, kinda like for me with stocks, the thrill isn't the earnings, it's the risk." We were walking the same path Scott had taken me and as we approached the rock I stopped "Let's sit here and talk more. Tell me, what do you know of your beast, have you felt him trying to rise? Has he ever gotten control?" "I've started hearing him when I get angry since I started puberty but I really hear him when I, well, you know." as he moved his arm and hand in a motion known to all teen boys. "Hunting brings out the hormones related to that, there's no shame in doing that, or in wanting to when you hunt. Scott tells me he masturbated before and after hunts for months. Have you felt him any other times?" "I could feel him trying to get out when I met you. He was saying I needed to impress you. It kinda scared me." "You already impress me Lucas, but tonight we want him to come out, all the way if he can. Don't be scared, I won't hurt him, or you." "I know that Alpha, I'm safe with you. He told me that and he's trying to come out but I've been fighting it." "Let it go bud, you can't learn to use him until you know him. Let him out then I'll teach you how to work with him." I saw his eyes focus over my shoulder and his scent changed. "That's it, take a deep slow breath and hold it in, and relax." His eyes changed to the standard blood red and I saw his fangs drop just a bit "Don't fight it Lucas, let him all the way out." With that his fangs dropped, he grew taller by about 3" and I saw his nails come in sharpening and growing to about an inch. I could tell his eyesight had sharpened by the way he was looking around, focusing on things 100's of yards away. He was scenting the air and listening to the fields around us. "Good, you're doing great. How do you feel?" He looked at me, surprised that I expected him to talk but he tried and the fangs messed with his speech but he finally said "You'll laugh." "I won't laugh at you buddy, everyone's different. What are you feeling?" "I feel like I'm going to, um..." and he looked down at his erection "I almost feel like I need to but with these" as he held up his long nails. "Well there are three choices. You can ignore it, or get under control and retract them and do it yourself, or I can do it for you." "You'd... really?" I reached out and touched the side of his head "You're in my pack now pup, do you want me to?" He nodded so I slid my fingers down his body and as soon as I touched him he exploded all over my leg. As he came down from his orgasm he pulled his beast back down. "Sorry, that was intense." "It happens, now, can you get him back out? Try just bringing your sense of smell out." He did and started to sniff the air. "That's a deer, over there is a rabbit den, and that behind you is a beaver." I told him. We sat there and I taught him how to tell the different scents. He struggled at controlling the other aspects and when he tried to get just his fingernails, he always ended up full beast. I figured it was close to midnight so I let him try to hunt but he struggled with stalking because he was too wound up. Finally, when I noticed him yawning I said "OK buddy, you have lots of time to learn. Let's go home? You ready to go get some sleep?" He looked disappointed so I said "What's wrong? I think you did great." "I thought I'd get to see you hunt too." "Well, I'm not gonna hunt but I bet this is what you really wanted to see." and I shifted instantly into my Alpha form. I was shocked to find I was even taller, my fangs felt thicker, and rather than just my hands, my entire forearms had grown thick and muscular. He was startled and fell back onto his butt. I shifted back "Sorry, didn't mean to scare you. Are you OK?" "Am I OK? That was freakin' awesome! Will I look like that?" "Haven't you ever seen another vampire in form?" "Mom and Dad died when I was a baby. Uncle Andrew and Aunt Amie live in the city so they can't risk being seen." "Alphas are bigger and our eyes and fangs are different, but your beast would scare the pants off any human. You have nothing to be ashamed of." We headed for the house and when we got to the door he froze and turned to me. "Back there, when you...um, when you touched me, you said I was in your pack. Did you mean it?" "That's something I'd never joke about bud. I told you I wouldn't let you in until you'd had your first hunt. I think making an exception and accepting you during your first hunt is within my power. You DO want that, right?" "Oh yes yes!" as he wrapped his arms around me "Thank you Alpha Greg, I won't let you down!" "You couldn't if you tried pup, come on, let's shower and get to bed." I led him to our room and into our shower. He loved the attention when I washed him and when I handed the cloth and soap to him he froze. "We're just washing, you don't have to wash me, I can do it." "Oh, no, I want to, please?" His hands were shaking as he washed my back and legs. He barely touched my cheeks, and when I turned around, he washed my chest and stomach, then skipped from my navel to my thighs and washed on down. He handed me the cloth back and I got the missed spots and rinsed off. We dried and when I led him to our bed. He was surprised to see Billy and Scott asleep in an embrace. I climbed in behind Scott and he laid down on the other side. When Billy rolled over and pulled him into a cuddle, he finally relaxed and it took him about 4 seconds to fall asleep, it took me 5. Thursday morning Charlie woke me at dawn so I got up and changed him then put my wrist to his mouth and let him feed. When Davie started to fuss, Scott got up and took care of his needs. Billy was still wrapped around Lucas who was sound asleep. Once the pups were fed we went out to see if Mary was up and found her just starting coffee so we put the boys in the playpen and warmed up some white tail. When she had food ready I went to get the boys and found Billy slowly masturbating a sleeping Lucas. He stopped when I came in and I motioned for him to follow me. I closed the bathroom door and he was looking at the floor guiltily. "What do you think I'm going to say?" "I shouldn't be touching him?" "Only because he's still asleep and can't say it's OK. If he's awake and is fine with it I don't mind buddy, but he has to give consent and he can't do that when he's asleep." "But Scott wasn't awake the other morning?" "The rules change just a bit with your mate but if I had any doubt I'd wake him first. I'm not angry, I'm just asking you to think. What if he woke up and didn't like you touching him? Then you'd lose your new friend." "I'm sorry Greg, I didn't think about that." "It's fine, let's go get some breakfast OK? Maybe you can talk to him about it after we eat." When we opened the door Lucas was sitting there crying. I ran over and pulled him into a hug "What's wrong buddy?" "I'm sorry I didn't mean to get Billy in trouble. I wasn't sleeping Greg, it just felt good and I didn't want him to stop." "You didn't do anything wrong buddy, it's OK, but you were asleep when he started, right?" "Well, yeah but I liked it." "I'm not upset with either of you, and it turned out all good, but you both should understand consent, OK? Now, do you guys want to eat and come back to finish this? Or should I tell everyone you want more sleep and leave you two alone for a bit?" They were both a little upset thinking they had done something wrong so they came to eat. Billy sat picking at his breakfast and Lucas just sat there looking down. Mary was looking at them both with concern but she figured it was best to wait. Finally, Billy stood up with tears running down his cheeks "I'm sorry Alpha, I've dishonored you. I put my life in your hands." I just sat there. I knew where this was coming from, we had both read that book and knew that a Beta that brought shame or dishonor to the pack was to be punished and if he brought dishonor or shamed the Alpha, the traditional punishment was death. It never occurred to me that his mind would put this minor mistake on a scale like that. I quietly stood and headed for our bedroom "Follow me, both of you.". I sat on my bed and pulled Billy onto my lap. I held him and gently wiped his tears. I looked at Lucas who was also crying again. I lay back and put Billy on one side and motioned Lucas to my other, wrapping my free arm around him and caressed their heads. "Billy, you didn't dishonor me. You made a mistake that lots of boys make, and I know that you've learned from it, right?" he nodded. "Lucas, are you mad at Billy at all?" "No Alpha, please don't punish him." "I wasn't planning to buddy, I love him as much as I love my mate, he knows that. He loves me too, that's why he's upset. He thinks he made me look bad with you, isn't that right Billy?" He nodded so I went on "Lucas isn't mad at you and I'm not mad at you. There is nothing to forgive, but if you need me to say it, I forgive you buddy. Are you going to forgive yourself?" He was getting himself under control and wiped his eyes. "I just wanted..." "You wanted to make him feel good and that's fine. We've talked about it enough,you made a mistake and it's done and forgiven. Once it's forgiven you move on, you don't keep talking about it, OK?" "OK Greg, I love you too, you know that, don't you?" "Of course I do baby." and I kissed him on the forehead. "And I love you too Lucas. I love everyone in my family." and I kissed his forehead. "I think you boys should stay here a bit, talk, get cleaned up, or finish what started all of this if you both want. Don't be too long though, I need to go downtown. And unless you two tell anyone, this stays between us. I promise I won't tell anyone other than Scott, I don't keep secrets from my mate." I got up and leaned down to give them both another kiss and headed to the kitchen. Mary and Scott looked at me with questions in their eyes "Billy made a mistake in judgment but has learned. Everything's fine, they're taking some time to settle, I'm thinking they'll be out before long." and my prediction was right as the boys came out smiling and laughing, and sat to finish their food. Tommy and Leonard joined us then Jack came in and asked the boys if they wanted to go swimming before the day started. They were out the door before he finished asking so he ran after them laughing. I told Scott I had something to do downtown and asked his plans. He had a meeting with the caterers and Frederick was taking Mary and him to look at their cakes. Leonard wanted to go with me and offered to change his meeting with Allison but I felt we'd have more success with a small group. I was debating if I should take Billy when he came running back dripping water on the deck to tell me he was coming along. Jack tossed a towel on as he and Lucas came in. I got up and pointed at Billy and Tommy and headed for my office. When the door was closed, I went over my plans. I was half way through when there was a knock and I opened the door to find Andrew "I'd like to come along Greg." I thought for a second and agreed. He had brought Amie and the boys. She would take all the pups to the lake for the morning. Billy and I went and got dressed in our most worn jeans and old shoes and met Tommy and Andrew out front and we headed downtown. Tommy parked the GLS at Mike's building and we walked down the street in the direction the scent had come from last night. Billy and I were walking side by side with Tom and Andrew several yards behind us, trying not to look like we were a group. I started to cross an alley when Billy softly grunted and turned down the alley. I caught the scent as soon as we turned and we slowed, looking around for movement. The alley was full of garbage cans and small dumpsters for the businesses they served, and at the end I saw what looked like a tarp strung up under a fire escape. I stopped about 10 feet from it and searched for signs of life. I heard it too late as I was knocked to the ground by someone jumping from above. I heard Billy being tackled as well and heard snarls behind me as a group of three teens blocked the alley keeping Tommy and Andrew from us. *********************************************************************** This story started with me being bored and just writing, but it's grown to have its own life. I want to stay ahead of the story so I can keep writing, so I'll slow down the posting to twice a week. Otherwise, there might be weeks between chapters, once the posting catches up to my writing. Again, feedback, both good and bad, is very welcome! And DONATE to Nifty!!!