Savage Moon 06 - The New Breed - 2. Chapter 2

The rain had never felt so heavy on my backside. So cold. So unkind. Every drop seemed to be as big as a full water balloon, weighing me down with every merciless splash. The sky above me was so dark that it looked as though it could swallow me whole at any moment. My only relief from its menacing shadow were the sudden strikes of untamed lightning that soared overhead...followed by an equally unsettling boom of spontaneous thunder. But all I could do was run. And run. And RUN!!!!

I had no idea where I was going, or how far away it was. I just knew that I HAD to keep running!

The rain soaked my shirtless body from head to toe, my jeans becoming more of a restriction than a cover. My limbs were still sore and exhausted from the intensity of my transformation...and it was raining so hard that I could barely SEE! Not that the blackness of night allowed me to see too far ahead of me anyway. My chest was pounding. Heaving with every strained breath. And while I tried to keep running despite my fatigue..my arms and legs began to give out on me. A level of 'numbness' set in at first, my body just running forward on autopilot...and then my legs lost their balance, and I tripped over my own feet.

I collapsed forward, thrusting my hands out to try to break some of the fall. My chin hit the pavement, my body rolling over into a giant puddle that felt almost 30 degrees colder than any of the others I had been splashing through. I sputtered and spit the dirty water out of my mouth, and while my weakened body was thankful for the rest, my brain was SCREAMING at me to keep running! I got up on my hands and knees, trying to catch my breath..literally GASPING for air...and tried to FORCE myself to get up.

My body wouldn't listen. It was waaaay beyond the point of me pushing it any further. I couldn't even FEEL my arms and legs anymore, and my lungs were burning with the stress I had been putting on them.

I looked back, and couldn't even see the house behind me. I didn't know how long I had been running, or how fast, but the darkness had seemingly devoured the house whole, and not even the light of the front porch could be seen from where I was.

Get up, Wesley! GET UP!!! He's COMING!!! JESUS.....he's COMING!!!

It took every last bit of strength I had to get back up on my feet...the rain bearing down on me like the world on the back of Atlas himself...but I had to keep moving. I limped a bit for the first few steps, but quickly picked up speed as the fear outweighed my exhaustion. My thoughts were a blur, racing with too many ideas to even begin to calculate in my panicked state of mind. My body felt almost sore from the cold as the storm winds blew freezing rain against my shirtless chest. And despite the downpour, many of the bloodstains remained stubbornly visible. What was the count? Where did Cyrus leave off when I left? What would it be now? Is it....is it...40-something??? No...no...he'd be much further than that. Maybe it's LOT less! Maybe he's finished! Maybe he's already gaining on me!

I ran until I couldn't breathe at ALL...and then for a minute more. I thought that I was going to be sick, and my legs, once again, turned to wet clay beneath me. I had been pushing myself too hard, my limbs couldn't take it. And I fell again...too week to get back up right away. I was crying, coughing, trying to keep my lunch down while my stomach trembled mercilessly in terror. And it was then...that I saw a faint light not far ahead of me. Two of them in fact...and they seemed to be 'moving' towards me.

Headlights! HEADLIGHTS!!! My body was soooooo tired...soooooo cold. But I had to get up! I...I HAD to get UP! My arms were almost useless, but I tried to crawl my way out into the middle of the road anyway. The mud caked up around my fingers, the wind blowing rainwater directly into my eyes...but I fought to stand. Come on...do it, Wesley. Get up. Get up! I was shaking, gasping so desperately for air that I couldn't speak, but as the car's headlights got closer, I managed to wave my limp arms back and forth over the top of my head. "Hey...." I said breathlessly, coughing as the words barely came out of my mouth. The car kept coming, splashing up water as it was, no doubt, in a hurry to get out of this storm. "Hey...HEY!!!" I said, trying to step out in front of the car so the headlights would see me before the rain hitting the windshield blurred me out of their view. "STOP!!!" I shrieked, my voice crying out in despair.

The car came closer, and closer...and when the lights washed over me, it quickly took a screeching detour around me and lodged itself in a shallow ditch, the wheels spinning in a puddle of mud! I limped over to the car as fast as my legs could carry me, and pounded on the window of the car. "PLEASE!!!! PLEASE HELP ME!!!" But seeing me, a teenage boy with no shirt on and bloodstains on my chest...was probably extremely unsettling for a small town like this. They stepped on the gas, sputtering out mud behind them as they tried their best to get away from me. The car was almost fishtailing, and it knocked me back down into the mud again. But I was determined to get back up and I BEGGED for them to let me in! "WHAT ARE YOU DOING??? PLEASE!!! I NEED YOUR HELP!!! SOMEBODY IS AFTER ME!!!" The car was working itself out of the ditch, and I banged on the windows even harder with my palms! "NO NO NO....DON'T LEAVE ME HERE!!! YOU'VE *GOTTA* HELP ME!!! YOU'VE GOTTA GET ME OUT OF HERE!!! PLEASE???" But the car spun itself back onto the road, and before I knew it, I was looking at a pair of dull red lights disappearing into the darkness ahead of me! "FUCK YOU!!!!!!!!!" I screamed, the realization that I was all alone setting in, tears running out of my eyes. "Oh God...oh God...." I didn't have the energy to run for much longer. And hiding wouldn't do me any good. He'll find me. He always finds me.

What if I just..'gave up'? What if I let him take me? Maybe try to find another way home another night. What if I...what if I just beg him to let me live. What choice do I have? Where could I possibly go?

It was then that I turned around...defeated, helpless, alone...waiting for the 'monster' to jump out of the darkness any second and rip me to pieces...when another pair of lights rounded the trees and was heading in my direction. But this time...it had police lights blaring. If EVER there was proof that God sends miracles when you need them most...this would be it!

This time, I made sure to stand RIGHT in front of the oncoming car! It was either going to have to stop or run me down! An even if it swerved out of the way in time, I was ready to jump on the hood and ride it wherever it was willing to take me! I found a bit more energy than I had before, and frantically began jumping and jerking in order to get the police car's attention. I heard the siren beep a few times, as it began to slow down. And I felt a GREAT deal of relief as it came to a complete stop in front of me. If nothing else, I was sure that he was going to be curious enough to find out whether or not to 'arrest' me for looking this way.

I started to walk towards the car, when the door opened, and a really bright flashlight was directed into my eyes. I squinted and looked away, putting my hands up, just in case. And then I heard the man say, "What the hell are you doing out here? Can't you see there's a STORM going on?" Gee..really? Hadn't noticed.

"I need your help, sir! I need to find a way home!" I said, trying my best to calm down my voice so as not to startle him or make him think that I was crazy. I needed his assistance. I HAD to get home! "Please, officer...I'm...I'm LOST out here!"

There was just a moment of hesitation while he tried to analyze my intentions. Then, he walked back to his trunk and pulled out a thick yellow blanket, and rushed over to me to drape it comfortingly around my shoulders. "C'mon, boy. You're gonna catch your death of cold out here in this rain." He guided me back to the car, and opened the back door for me to sit inside. Just getting out of that steady downpour was almost enough to put me to sleep right there on the spot. My body was worn out, my fingers were so ice cold that I couldn't even touch my own arms without cringing and shivering...and the sudden warmth and relief of that blanket and shelter was almost overwhelming to the point that I nearly passed out when he shut the door behind me.

But...

Just as the officer began walking back to the front of the vehicle...I....'felt' something.

It was subtle at first...but getting stronger, and fast! I couldn't really explain it, but it was almost like feeling a piece of myself...suddenly rushing towards me to be recognized. Like knowing that you're sick, or that feeling you get when you're being watched...but amplified. Just from the sensation I got...I knew that it was Cyrus. He was close. So very close. And we didn't have much time. "Sir???" I called out as he opened the door. "Sir...can we go now? We...we really need to go!"

He sat down in the driver's seat and closed the door. "Just hold your horses, kid. I've gotta call this in. What's your name?"

"No...you...you don't understand! We have to GO! NOW! Please?" I pleaded, and he turned to give me a strange look. "Look...someone is AFTER me, ok? I'll explain it all on the way, but we need to get out of here, and we need to get someplace safe!"

"Someone's after you? Who?"

"Does it really matter???" I shrieked.

He raised an eyebrow, and said, "Maybe you should start from the beginning..."

ARRRGH!!! "We don't have TIME for this!!! PLEASE, just GO!!!" The feeling was getting stronger by the second. He must have been moving awfully fast! And just when the officer was about to put the car in 'drive' and at least start MOVING while he talked to me about it....somethng caught his attention from outside of the car.

"Shhhh..." He said, and tried to look through the temporary visibility caused from his rapidly flailing windshield wipers. I sat quietly, but as Cyrus' presence got stronger and stronger in the very center of me, I began to panic. My chest began to heave as my breath got short, and my lungs fought to keep up with the massive adrenaline rush being introduced into my system. The officer couldn't see anything, and then said, "You wait here. I'm gonna check this out."

"NOOOO!!!" I shouted! "Just put the car in 'drive' and GO! Please don't go out there!!! PLEASE???"

But he paid me no attention. He opened his car door, and the pouring rain rushed in as he stepped outside with his little flashlight.

I was practically wheezing at this point, just trying to keep from getting dizzy. And as the officer walked further out into the darkness...I started to panic so much that the fever returned, and I had to force myself to relax before I began to change again. I took deep breaths, putting my arms down at my seats and tightly gripping the seat beneath me. Don't do it, Wes! Don't transform now! DON'T! Breathe....just...just breathe! In....out....in.....out....

The officer was taking too long to come back to the car, and that only succeeded in worrying me even more. The windows inside were fogged up, and I couldn't see a thing. I was paralyzed with fear for a few moments, but finally got the courage to move over to the car window on my left side, and used the blanket on my shoulders to try to wipe away some of the built up condensation. I couldn't see anything in the darkness. Where was the officer? Where was his flashlight? I didn't DARE open the door! I didn't DARE roll down the window! And when I didn't catch sight or sound of him...I felt a frightening trail of tears begin to run down the sides of my face. Where is he? Where IS he???

Suddenly, the door opened up, and my breath got caught in my throat as I prepared to scream out loud! But it was the officer, and he seemed to be ok. He got back in the driver's seat, and shut the door, putting his seatbelt on. "It's nothing. Don't worry about it." He told me. "Look, I'm gonna take you back to the station and let you warm up and dry out for a little bit, alright? Once this storm eases up a bit...we can work on getting you home to your folks."

I nodded frantically...wrapping the soothing warm blanket around my shoulders tightly as my trembling body attempted to loosen up a bit. "Th-Th-Thank you, sir." I said, tears still dripping freely from my bloodshot eyes.

He looked back at me, almost with a feeling of total sympathy, and said, "Don't worry. Everything is going to be ok."

There was never a more comforting sound than the shifting of that car engine that night. He started driving, turning the heat on low to help me with my shivers...and the radio was turned on at a low volume, playing some kind of Top 40 station that I could barely hear. The only other sound in that car was the 'flik-flak' of the windshield wipers as we sped down the old dark road, getting further and further away from Cyrus' shared connection with my senses. I leaned my head back against the seat, feeling truly 'safe' for the first time in over a week. And the overpowering need to just...sleep for a few minutes, nearly caused me to faint right there in the back seat. Only the officer's voice saved me from losing consciousness.

"So where you from, kid?" He asked me.

"Umm...the Bible camp. I think it's...like..South of here. Maybe. I don't know. I'm kinda turned around out here."

He wrinkled his forehead a bit. "Bible camp?"

"Yeah."

He seemed to recognize me as he connected eyes with in me in the rearview mirror. "What was your name, again?"

"Wesley, sir. Wesley Parker." The name sounded almost alien to me. Something tells me that I haven't been 'Wesley Parker' for at least a couple of days now.

"SAY...your father isn't a preacher man over at the camp is he?"

"Yes! Yes, that's him!" I said, leaning forward in my seat.

"Whoo boy! We have been scouring the whole damn FORREST looking for you! He says you've been missing for some days now! Damn near had us call out the National Guard to find you." The cop grinned to himself "Are you hurt?"

"No. I'm...I'm ok." I said.

"Hot damn. The last place we expected to find you was running around, half naked, in the rain. But I sure am glad to have come across you. Your pops has been pitching a fit ever since you stepped out on him." Even after all of the stress and the terror I had been through, I couldn't help but be somewhat flattered by my father's concern for my well-being. I wasn't quite sure if I should have expected that reaction or not...but at that moment, it really didn't seem to matter. He actually cared about me. He really gave a damn after all.

The car traveled swiftly down the road until it got to the highway, and then it was smooth sailing from there. The lack of scenery, the warm blanket, the soft indistinguishable music on the radio, the pelting of raindrops on the roof of the vehicle, and the steady rhythmic motion of the wipers, lulled my exhaustion into a deep deep sleep. I couldn't keep my eyes open any longer. And much like the feeling of that dark instinct crawling over me...I gave in to the fatigue. I allowed myself to 'fall'...and appreciated the opportunity for my mind to black out for a little while.

I didn't even know that the car had stopped moving until the officer opened the door next to me and the ice cold air and rain rushed into the car. He shook me gently, offering his hand to help me up. "C'mon, boy. Let's get you inside." I was weak, groggy, almost dizzy...but I got up and went into the small police station with him. Which was really no bigger than the cabin my parents and I were staying in back at camp. Thoughts of the old 'Andy Griffith' show flooded my mind as I saw the two or three little 'holding cells' in the corner, with a few wooden desks, and a couple of doors leading to offices of policemen that I assumed were of a higher rank than the man who came to rescue me tonight.

"Alright, now you sit yourself down right over here, and I'll fix you a cup of hot chocolate or something to keep you warm." He said, taking off his hat and carefully putting his wet jacket and poncho off to the side. I heard a rather loud crash of thunder, and gasped as I saw the lights flicker a bit overhead. The officer mumbled a few curse words to himself, and then said, "Damn storm. It's messing with the lights, but don't worry. They hardly ever go out." He made sure that I was ok, and then went into another room to grab me that hot chocolate. I sat in silence...wondering if what Cyrus said was true. Am I...am I dead inside? Did he really turn me into something...'else'?

I felt another few warm tears slide down my cheeks, and was quick to wipe them away. I didn't want the officer to ask me any more questions about what had happened. I didn't want to have to explain. I just...I just wanted to go home again.

Finally, he came back in the room with a warm cup, wrapped in paper towel. "Now be careful. This is just out of the microwave. It's instant, but it's good. I made you the kind with the marshmallows in it. I figured you'd like marshmallows. I did when I was a kid." He sat down behind his desk, his swivel chair squeaking from his weight. He interlocked his fingers on the desktop, and looked directly in my eye as I took my first sip of the hot liquid. "So...why don't you and I talk a bit about this 'chase' business? You said somebody was after you? Who would that be?"

What do I say? What do I NOT say? I've gotta say something. "There were....these...'kids'...you know, like me..." I started.

"Go on." He said.

"They were driving a truck, and they came to see me at camp one day. I didn't really want to go with them, but...they 'convinced' me."

He stopped me. "Ok, now when you say that they 'convinced' you...what exactly do you mean by that?"

I didn't answer at first, letting my head drop a bit. Then replied, "They just...they asked me to get in. And...and I did."

"Ah ha..." He said quietly with a nod. "Ok. And then what happened?"

It was hard to figure out which details to give him and which ones not to. If I tell him about the sex, I'll 'out' myself to him, AND to my family as soon as he talks to them. If I tell him about the acts in town or the diner or the megamart parking lot, he could hold me responsible and make me out to be some kind of criminal. And if I tell him about the whole 'werewolf' idea, I'm SURE he'll lock me up in one of these holding cells and declare me plum crazy. I couldn't even mention 'Rainbow's End'. So instead, I just tried to give him what I could.

"They're just really bad kids, sir. They took me away from camp, and refused to take me back home. I was trying to get out of there but they wouldn't let me leave!" My voice started getting louder, and the fear began to vibrate throughout my chest again. "I just wanna get OUT of here! You understand? I wanna go HOME! I want to be with my family!"

"Alright, alright...settle down, kid." He said. "Don't you worry. I'm gonna get on the phone and tell your daddy that I'm bringing you back to camp. We can straighten out this business with these 'kids' of yours after I've contacted your parents. In the meantime...drink your hot chocolate and try to relax. There's a couch in the Sheriff's office if you wanna lie down for a bit."

"Thank you, sir." I said gratefully.

"Right." He replied. "You know...your mom and dad...they seem to love you an awful lot. They've been going through hell trying to find you. I hope you learned your lesson from all this." But then...just as he said the words...the 'feeling' came back. It was quick and it was strong, and by the time I knew what it was, it was already right on top of me.

It was as if I could feel Cyrus' stare burning a hole through the center of my eyes. As though I could feel his breath on the back of my neck. And as it got more and more overpowering, I began to breathe hard again, my heart thumping in my chest so hard that you could visibly see it pulsating through the skin. "He's...he's here..." I said between breaths.

"What's that you say, boy?" The cop said, the phone receiver up to his ear.

"We...we have to go! We have to get out of here! IT'S NOT SAFE!!!" I started to shout, but he raised a hand to settle me down.

"Hey, hey, hey, now...what's the mater with you?"

"You don't understand! It's Cyrus...he's here! He's close by! We have to get back in the car and go!"

"What are you talking that nonsense for? Now you listen to me, we're gonna sit right here until I let your father know that you're safe. And then we're gonna wait for this storm to break so I can take you home..."

"HE'S NOT GONNA LET YOU TAKE ME HOME!!!! YOU *HAVE* TO BELIEVE ME!!!!" I squealed, but his only concern was to shut me up.

"HEY!!! Knock it off, ok? I'm not up for playing any 'games' tonight, alright? Now you just sit tight, and we'll straighten all of this out as soon as possible." I saw the look on his face change for a second, and then he tapped on the phone a few times to see what was wrong.

"What? What is it?"

"The damn phone's dead. Storm must have knocked over a telephone pole or something."

"NO!!! It's HIM!!! He's HERE! He's fucking HERE!!! Right now!!!"

"QUIET!!!" He shouted back, and I began to panic again as I felt Cyrus re-connecting with me all over again. His essence rolling through my body, his control washing over my senses like a thick marmalade. The cop reached into his inside pocket to pull out a cell phone, and said, "You see? My cell works just fine. I'll make a few calls, and we'll be out of here in no time."

"Evening, officer...." Came a voice from behind him, and when he turned around, Cyrus was standing INSIDE the office..with a demonic smirk crossing his lips.

"Jesus, kid! How the hell did YOU get in here?"

I slowly got up out of my chair, and set my hot chocolate down as my eyes widened and I backed away from the both of them. Cyrus told him, "I just came back to claim what belongs to me."

"Now you hold on just a darn minute..." The officer said, and I tried to warn him. I TRIED!

"No...noooo....don't listen to him. He's the one. He's the one chasing me. It's too late. It's...too late..." I sobbed.

"Now, Wesley...I just TOLD you that..." But before he could get the words out of his mouth...Cyrus spun his chair around to face him, and with just ONE forceful slash wit his clawed hand, the officer's throat was savagely TORN open! Blood raced across his desk in a giant red splash, and spatters of crimson flew far enough to land on my face and chest! The gash was deep...sooo deep...he never had a chance. His eyes opened wide, a sickening melody of gasps and gurgles coming out of the gaping hole in his throat. And just as I backed away from the grizzly scene in terror, Cyrus turned to me with a smile...and with his index finger pointed at the man's forehead, he gave it a gentle push...and the man's head fell backwards...nearly severed completely, but not quite! A fountain of blood spurted upward out of the hole, his head now resting on the back of his shoulders as it hung on to his body with just a few tendons and thin shreds of tattered flesh.

I covered my mouth in horror, trying not to be sick! And with only my hysteria to guide me, I RAN for the nearest door I could find and hurried inside to a nearby office! I slammed the door HARD behind me, and locked it, moving a chair to put it up under the doorknob and pressing all of my weight against it to keep him out. I started gasping uncontrollably, the vision of that poor man's head being nearly severed from his shoulders still burning in my eyes...and I sniffled helplessly as I prayed that this thin blockade would hold until help arrived.

There was an uncomfortable silence...and then I heard slow and steady footprints approaching the door. I looked down at the light creeping underneath, and saw the shadow of Cyrus' feet standing just on the other side. I could almost feel him smiling...even though I couldn't see it. And I just tried to close my eyes and keep them free of tears long enough to see straight.

I then heard a light and playful scratching at the door. Followed by a soft knock. "Little pig...little pig...let me in." He taunted through a sinister grin. I held on tight to the doorknob, still bracing my shoulder tightly against the door. "Hehehe, I KNOW you're in there, Wes. I can feel you. The same way you can feel me." I shut my eyes tight, trying to block him out, trying to hold my breath, and I refused to answer. "Sighhh...ok. Alright...MAYBE I 'overreacted' a little bit with the 'rent-a-cop' out here. But you really shouldn't have brought him into family business, Wes. I mean, in case you haven't noticed, me and the others have done some pretty unruly shit in our day. We're not real big on leaving behind witness, you get me?"

"Please...." I sniffled timidly. "...Please just go away..."

"Ohhh...I'm afraid I can't do that, sweetheart." He said. "Besides, where would you go? You can't go back home. Somehow, I think that explaining a sudden transformation into a wolf on occasion would be slightly more difficult than telling your parents about your sexuality." He waited for a moment, and I just tried to hold on to that door, praying that he wouldn't be able to get through. After a while, he scratched at the wood surface again. "Come on, kiddo...why don't we stop this game? You know you can't win. So why don't you just open this door and let me in. We have a lot to talk about."

"Please, Cyrus...please don't hurt me..." My voice was cracking, my tears never-ending. I couldn't even stop shaking long enough to speak, thoughts of that officer's head rolling backwards off of a bloody stump still flashing before my eyes.

"HURT you? Oh, Wesley...I don't want to HURT you. I chose you. I chose you to sit beside me at the head of my table, and create a stronger union than what we had before. That's what this whole week was about. I want you with us."

"I told you..I don't want anything to DO with you! GO AWAY!!!"

"Sorry, pup. You gave yourself to me. Mind, body, and soul And I'm afraid that I'm just not willing to give you back yet."

"My FATHER is looking for me! The POLICE are looking for me!" shouted.

"Hahaha...so what? You think the police never came looking for Sebastian when HE disappeared? Or Kristin? Or Scout? You think Shank and Razor didn't have a set of worried parents at home, wondering where their little boys had gone?" He chuckled to himself. "People disappear every day, Wesley. And they're never heard from again. Despite what you see on the prime time cop shows...kids can simply 'vanish' without a trace...murders go unsolved..diners mysteriously burn down to the ground with nothing more than a brief memorial service given to mourn those who perished inside. Do you really think that we've survived this long on chance alone? That I haven't broken this recruiting process down to a science?" He leaned closer to the door and whispered, "Do you think you were the first...to ever tell me 'no'?" My arms began to shake...and holding onto that doorknob seemed to be so pointless. "Wesley...you know that I can easily shatter this door to splinters and drag you out of here by your pretty blond mop...don't you? But I would much rather you opened it willingly instead. I'd much rather you talked to me." I whispered another short prayer to myself, as Cyrus' soft soothing voice glided into my ears with an almost hypnotic tone. "Come on, baby. Open up. You have nowhere else to go. Nobody is coming to save you. And even if, by some miracle, the Armed Forces were to kick in the door and saturate me with bullets in an attempt to save the day...the fact is...you're still a walking corpse. The life that you had...is over. And now it's time for your new life to begin."

"No....." I whispered meekly, crying into my sleeve.

"Nobody else is going to be able to help you understand what you are...what you've become. Nobody but me. And the others. Your family. Your home." He said, and I felt my knees get weak as I slowly sank to the floor of the office. "Ask yourself, what are you really leaving behind? A life that you didn't want? A life that didn't want you? A world that outcasted you, made you feel ashamed, and unwanted? People who told you sex was bad, gay sex was worse, and that the only way you were ever going to get the love and affection you deserve is to sell them your soul and become their mindless puppet for the rest of your days? What kind of life is that, huh?" He said, and I heard him slide down to the floor as well, his back and mine leaning against both sides of the door as we sat on the floor. "Tell me something, Wes? What was your big plan, huh? I mean, when were you going to magically come out of the closet and find that special someone to settle down with, without ever telling a soul who you really were? Or...had you planned to fake it for the rest of your life? Live as a permanent bachelor...alone. Or maybe...you could find a girl 'just' pretty enough to temporarily capture your eye? Get to 'doing the Lord's work'...have a nice little litter of kids and try to convince yourself that you don't like sliding a nice hard cock in your mouth anymore. How would that feel, Wes? Sneaking glances at bagboys and skateboarders for the next 60 or 70 years without the relief of every being able to touch them. Or even stare at them for that matter. What limited road had you chosen for yourself, Wes? I'm always curious." I didn't answer, but he knew I was listening. "Maybe you're one of those people that just thinks it'll all work itself out in time, huh? That you'll just keep on gliding through life, and that God will eventually provide you with a 'happy ending'...as long as your heart is pure." He shuffled a bit to sit up straight. "What about 'Officer Headless' over there? Hmm? Is this the ending he deserved? Gushing blood on the floor, slumped over his desk in his uniform, still twitching and spasming as his muscles react to the last remaining brain impulses running through him? What do you suppose...was God's purpose in that, huh?" I could hear him smiling, I could hear it in his voice. And more tears flooded my cheeks as I thought about that poor man. "Do you think he had a family? Kids? Do you think his kids hated him as much as you hated your father? What will they think tomorrow morning...when their mom receives that terrible phone call? Or gets that unfamiliar knock at the front door? Is this all a part of their particular destiny too?"

"You heartless son of a bitch!!!" I screamed.

"Oh my...you know, if you keep that up...you're going to hurt my feelings." He snickered.

"You're SICK! You're fucking DISGUSTING!!!"

"Be that as it may, my son...I am the father of your rebirth. I am the way, and the light, and the only truth that will ever help you adjust to what you're about to go through. And deep down, you know that." He said. "You see, that little 'primal instinct' you feel tickling your senses...that's the 'calling'. It's a bigger part of you now than it ever has been before And despite your attempts to shut it out...it WILL win eventually. And..rather quickly, I might add. It sinks in deeper with your every breath. It creeps closer to your very core when you sleep. Every time you're afraid, every time you get angry, every time you find yourself attracted to a cute boy on the side of the road...it gets just a little bit stronger. And once it takes over...you're gonna see how truly beautiful this life can be."

I swallowed hard, trying not to be sick...and I mumbled softly, "I won't do it. I won't let it take me."

"I'm afraid you don't have a choice, baby boy. But you're more than welcome to try." He said, and then leaned his head back against the door. "Bottom line...no matter what your strategy, I'm guaranteed to win in the end. So you keep looking for loopholes on the other side of that door. Because I assure you...I can wait just as long as you can."