FUNERAL FOR A WEREWOLF

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. It is usually something thrown about in good keeping so it's all good.

Kermit's boss informed him that he had the rest of the morning and afternoon off due to the fact he had an official unofficial 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 to be observing was something not up for discussion.

Having left the station and having taken a squad car with him, Kermit was held up at traffic lights at a crossroads. A funeral procession was passing. One individual in particular 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 is, would be unknown for at least one of them though it had a very serious feel to it.

***

A gathering 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 in Seth's direction and grinned. Professor Edwards notice the looks the two gave one another and felt a darkness of his own.

That man who had only just arrived was of course a man with whom Seth had yet to meet, it's his very own father Gabriel, for Gabriel was aware of the current danger to which his son was in, the danger to which led to the funeral they were both attending.

Not many of those in attendance would have been aware that there were Werewolves in the church, let alone Vampires or that the departed student was a Werewolf himself. Just as well a family were too distracted to take in their senses, otherwise things could easily have gone south fast.

Not long after the priest began the service, Professor Edwards moved to sit 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 he was too.

'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 take interest in your son.'

'I have always kept more than just an interest in my son and if you actually knew of me you would know of that interest too.'

'Well, I have been active in protecting your son and I will continue to do so. You, well, you easily could have been a tad too late to protect anything.'

Gabriel grabbed the Professor's arm as the Professor 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 before moving back to where had previously been sitting.

If it were not for where they were, then all hell could and most likely would have broken out. For not only were there Day Walkers and Werewolves sitting under one roof but there were hunters there too, more importantly Lucius was one of those hunters under his command in attendance.

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 in more ways than one. With Jason being someone who would stick out his neck to aid a friend, the priest had a special message to deliver. He spoke on behalf of Jason's family to thank Seth for being the friend 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. Obliviously enough he didn't want to spend too much time out in the day light.

Seth along with Thomas and Peter and 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. Seth would also notice Lucius as he made his way out of the church though for right now Seth was and is unaware as to whom exactly Lucius is.

The burial service also passed by 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, once more Seth had himself a dark moment, for he could clearly see a dark shadow pass over the land, Gabriel and the Professor also noticed it too though at this point, Seth had to make sure with himself that he was not dreaming.

Thoughts had been running through Seth's head for the few days leading up to the funeral. Why did Jimmy Salto turn up at his school that evening only to kill Jason then vanish? Surely Jimmy had come for Seth? If he had then where did he go? Why did he not hang around to at least confront Seth?

***

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. There may be a typical scientific look, a white coat, glasses, a clipboard but there was something else too, a non-scientific look. There was a beauty, the likes of which officer Nolan had never before seen up close.

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 either, her clothes other than the white coat, were casual. After the introduction, a basic tour would begin to be shown to officer Nolan for orientation's sake, though the tour would not get to go very far, and it would not last all so long either.

Kermit was, obviously enough, intrigued as to way Sally was alone, and as to what needed her observation, as well as to why he needed to be there, but she was not going to answer any of his questions except for smartly pointing out she was not alone, officer Nolan is here too. Perhaps in actuality she referred to something else without actually saying it. As their conversation continued with a walk down a corridor, lights began to flicker before going out completely.

'What is going on?' asked Kermit.

'I do not know. This should not be happening. Back-up power should come on soon, it actually should be immediate.'

Emergency lighting along the walls soon did come on at a very low level but when they did Kermit could not see Sally anywhere. Where'd she go? She had been standing right beside him and now she wasn't. 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 and Sally had come from. Once again, he called for Sally without receiving a reply. What it was that had caught his eye had been something or someone moving and even though he called Sally's name, something told him that it had not been movement from her that had caught his attention.

A sound ripped through the building and Kermit thought it sounded like ... no he was sure it sounded like a wolf howling, though he quickly passed that thought off to his own tiredness. All the same he pulled out his gun he headed in the direction from which both the sound he thought he had heard and the movement he had seen had come from.

The double doors at the end of the corridor were open, where they had been closed when he previously had passed through them and as Kermit moved closer, one of the doors swung swiftly and closed over. Kermit's movement reacted to the door closing and he couldn't see anything close enough to have caused the door to move. It was when he passed fifty meters or so beyond those doors that he saw it. The it being something he most definitely did not expect to see.

What looks like an animal, a canine standing on all fours begins to rise up and onto its hind legs as if it were ... almost Human. It turns and moves towards Officer Nolan. Kermit let out a scream while raising his arms in an attempt to protect himself.

***

Standing alone by his departed friend's 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 without question, 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 temporary headstone before slowly moving away.

Lying in a hospital bed and unconscious, Kermit rested. Jimmy Salto stood next to the bed Kermit lay in. The monitor's Kermit was hooked up to showed Kermit's stats improve slowly and when they reached a certain peek, Kermit's eyes open wide at the same moment he takes in a deep breath ...