“…we all know the government is lying about this, and I believe some may be right here at the University,” a deep male voice said.
“I just don’t know how they can get away with this. I mean, where is their common sense—letting werewolves into society—geez!” a shrill voice chimed in.
“Hey, no one knows for sure that they are werewolves, or that they are even here.”
“I told you before. I have heard it first hand from a friend that works in the part of the government that processed the Camp Vickers people. Those Camp Vickers counselors have been turned into wolves and they are very capable of turning us into wolves too!” the shrill voice said firmly.
“Come on Karen, wouldn’t that information be top secret and classified?”
“Yeah, Mark,” the girl replied, “but she’s a good friend. She knows I can be trusted with the information. And my friend said that at least two of them are students here.
“So, what the hell are we going to do?” another voice piped in. “Trevor, you organized us, what are the next steps?”
“Well, I didn’t have a chance to tell you all earlier, but I have good news. Calvin Peet has agreed to finance our WHO group.”
“Whoa … no kidding Trevor. That’s great news. That guy has money out the wazoo. I think he owns part of this town.”
“Cal not only owns a lot of real estate in this town, he has properties and land in many states nearby. The guy’s a multi-millionaire.”
“Yeah, we’re talking money to buy mace, finance trips to the capitol to stage protests, weapons … whatever we need to fight these monsters. He’s paying!”
I gasped as I listened to the man they called Trevor talk. Oh my God—mace … weapons … this was awful.
“Now, we can’t kill them or we’ll wind up in jail, but maybe we can rough them up a little. Plus, Cal has some thoughts in mind for them.”
“What’s he got planned for these monsters, Trevor?”
“Too early to say, but we’ve been talking and it sounds like he has some promising ideas and…”
“Beverly C.?” I almost jumped out of my skin when I heard my name called. Did someone recognize me? Then, I realized the guy behind the counter was calling my name as he pointed to my mug. I breathed a sigh of relief. I just prayed the group hadn’t heard him. Who knew what they would do if they figured out I was right there in the coffee shop with them? I grabbed the coffee and headed for the door.
I pulled my head a little deeper into the hoodie and peered out from the edge of the fabric as I walked past the students. There was a tall, skinny blonde with a beaky nose, a dark haired guy with a buzz cut, a red haired woman with tats poking out from the top of her tee, a dorky looking guy who would probably look cute if not for his oversized eye glasses, and a few others.
Happily, they were so engrossed in conversation they didn’t notice me. The rest of the way home I freaked out a little bit. The more I thought about it, the more I hoped it was just a bunch of kids who were all worked up about something. Hopefully it would blow over.
When I got back to the apartment complex Mrs. Oakley was standing in the lobby. “You got that rent money?”
She looked especially rough today. Her face powder was packed on her skin and she wore red lipstick, but her efforts to pretty herself up were not working. The powder was flaking off her dry skin and the bright lipstick just made her lips look thin and cracked. I answered her, trying to sound friendly. All I needed was for her to throw Dave and I out and leave us on the street. “I’m waiting on a check. I am sure it will be here soon.”
Narrowing her eyes she shook her head, “It had better be. I got a line-up of students who want that apartment and they have the money. You are out the door if you continue to pay late and I will be keeping the security deposit.”
“It will be here soon,” I repeated as I walked to the elevator. I would say anything to appease her and get her off my back. I hoped the check would get here fast. The government sent each of us werewolves a small payment that covered just enough for rent and a few essentials. It wasn’t supposed to be a bribe, but it was hush money. If we told anyone about our existence, we would no longer get the checks and we would probably find our asses in the slammer somewhere out in the middle of nowhere.
People like Mrs. Oakley pissed me off though. I hated giving her the rent check every month. The apartment we rented from her was in desperate need of repairs, and when we moved in, it had needed a deep cleaning. But she just didn’t care. It was a captive market. If we didn’t rent it, another student would. It was close to campus and all that was available at the time, so we didn’t have much of a choice.