Good Guys Clan

Dragon · Posted: Fri Jun 27, 2008 10:46 pm Post subject: Every Night the Flower Blooms

A new story I'm in the process of writing. I got the first chapter here for all how's interested.

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Opening the front door I took a quick look around the entry of the two bedroom apartment. Really it was the living room, but thinking of it as the entry made it seem bigger. I kicked my shoes off and noticed that Sam’s were still there. I chuckled to myself looking at my watch. 8:30 PM. Once again Sam decided that starting times for work don’t matter.

“Sam!” I called out setting my keys on the end table, “Where you at?” I sat down on the couch and turned on the TV. Flipping through the channels I rested on one of the ones that only played music. I closed my eyes and tilted my head back listening to a recording of a rainstorm that was playing through the speakers. The natural rhythm was abruptly interrupted by a swift smack to my right temple. “What was that for?” I asked turning to Sam.

“You left the door unlocked again,” Sam said strolling over to the shoes, “Someone could have come in here and did bad things to me while you were in your little trance.”

“I think they’d have more trouble with you then they would with me,” I said massaging my temple, “I’m just a street guy for the city. I repair roads. You kick the shit out of criminals and arrest convicts.”

“You’re just saying that to try and get my pants later,”

“Only you would turn genuine praise into something perverted Miss Samantha Steinbeck,” I said, though I couldn’t help looking a bit. Sam was 5’7” with shoulder length straight auburn hair. She had a toned body, it was required for her job. She worked for the local police department during the evening to early morning hours. She couldn’t tell me much about what she did, but she said she is like a bounty hunter. She tracks down criminals in the city and brings them in. She’s considered the best available, which is why she works the midnight shift. She says that’s when all the freaks come out to play. And apparently they play hard. There have been many occasions she’s come home bruised, cut, and several nights I had to pick her up at the hospital. I tried to convince her to pick something else to do for a living, that it was too dangerous and I didn’t like seeing my best friend constantly hurt in some way or another. She always tells me that there isn’t anyone else who can do her job on a daily basis, and it’s too important to have anyone that inconsistent.

Truth was that we’d been friends since middle school. We’d tried dating before, but it just didn’t work out. Neither of us could figure out why, but we thought it best to not force the issue. But we’ve always enjoyed each others company, and since neither of us could really afford all our extra stuff while living on our own, we agreed to share an apartment.

“Alright, I’ll let you slide this time,” she said with a smile putting her shoes on and grabbing her keys, “Why don’t you,” her phone started to ring. Not the red razor with the shamrock on the back, but the black brick of a phone that the department gave her. “I guess I’ll have to catch you later,” she said walking out the door. I could hear her telling the chief that traffic was really bad and she was on her way.

I chuckled as I turned the TV off and went to the window. I unlocked it and opened it half way, letting the evening air chill the apartment. I walked back to the thermostat and made sure the air conditioner was off. It was. Looking around I decided to get a drink from the fridge. As I passed the open window a wolf howled off in the distance. That was one of the stranger things that had been going on recently. Wolf sightings in the middle of the city, with attacks to match. Several homeless people had been found over the past couple of weeks mauled and eaten. Hardly anyone went out alone at night anymore.

The events have caused a split in the city too. Most of the big-wig executives want to enact a policy that would enable anyone to hunt the wolves. Most of the populous however is demanding that the city stop expanding northward into the forest. They claim that the only reason the wolves have come into the town was because we had destroyed their hunting ground. Neither side was willing to budge, but unfortunately the executives were in a position to “persuade” the authorities. This meant continued expansion and the legislation required to authorities a hunt was well on it’s way to passing.

I opened the fridge and looked through. Half a gallon of milk was left, some sweet tea, and a bottle of some fruit/vegetable juice that I didn’t recognize half the ingredients was all there was to drink. I decided it was safer to go with tap water. Filling a glass I drank half of it before taking a breath. Apparently the day took more out of me then I thought it did. If that was the case I should probably get to bed. Tomorrow we started repaving the main road, and you really needed to be on your toes then. More then once guys have been hit by careless passer-bys not realizing their cars were going in the direction they were looking.

I took a few more swallows from the glass before dumping the rest and headed for the bathroom. I brushed my teeth and looked at myself in the mirror. Staring back at me was a 24 year old high school dropout. Not really a dropout, but in my senior year I was expelled. I curse myself thinking back on it. I had a future all lined up. I was the running back for the team, leading the division in touchdowns. I was dating one of the better looking girls in the school. Had a full scholarship to the University of Sacramento. And was selling dope.

My parents both worked at a rental movie place in Downtown, so money wasn’t exactly flowing out the faucets. They couldn’t afford to buy me new close every year and I had to ride my bike to school every day. I had to do something to help out. So I started selling drugs when I was 17. I mainly sold to the guys on the team, and other people I knew wouldn’t rat me out. I know Sam tried to talk me out of it plenty of times, but once the money started rolling in I just couldn’t stop. Soon I was selling to people after the football games, behind convenience stores, and anywhere I could make a quick buck. Then while doing a deal behind a gas station a cop pulled up looking to buy some coffee. He took one look at us and called for backup since we all bolted. But I wasn’t too familiar with that part of town and somehow managed to double back through the alleys. I ran right into the side of a cruiser.

The judge was sympathetic to me though. I only had a few ounces on me and I told the cops who my supplier was and where we made all our exchanges. Plus when I got caught I was still 17. So with everything tallied up I was sent to a correctional facility and released on good behavior seven months later.

But that was who I was. Ever since I was released I made an honest living. But not many people will hire even a small time drug dealer. So I found myself doing hard manual labor for the city. I was assigned to one of the street teams that repaired the roads, and I never looked back. Sam wouldn’t talk to me for a while, but once she seen that I was trying to make something of myself again, she came back around. By then she had just started her police training and was looking for a roommate. And that’s how we ended up here. And still here six years latter.

Working on the roads kept me in shape. A little more so then when I was playing football. My face sported it’s usual shadow by this hour and my hair was a mess from wearing a hard hat most of the day. I thought it may be best to get a shower before heading to bed for the night.

Twenty minutes latter I stepped out into the bedroom and noticed my phone was blinking red. The screen said I’d missed a call from Dominic. He was one of the guys from my street crew. I looked at the clock, it read 9:36 pm. The message was recorded only four minutes ago. I opened the phone and played the message.

‘Hey Cameron, it’s Dom. Me and some of the guys were gonna head down to Slinkies and see what we can turn up. You should come man. God knows you need to get out and relax. Gimme a call. Peace.’

Slinkies was one of the nightclubs in town. It had the reputation of being one of the rowdier clubs, but it was definitely one of the most notable. The DJ there was the best around here, there was a huge dance floor, private rooms in the back, cheap drinks and free entry. Well, it couldn’t hurt. We weren’t going to start the repairs until 10am, and I’ll be fine so long as my alarm is set at 9am. Oh fine, Dom was right anyway. It’s been too long since I last went out.

I dialed Dom’s number and waited. He picked up on the third ring.

“Yo Cameron! Get down here man, it’s crazy!” In the background I could hear the DJ playing some insanely fast dance beat. People were yelling, laughing, and making all kinds of indescribable noises over the garble of the phone.

“Alright!” I yelled back, “I’ll be there in15 minutes!”

“Better make it 10 man! You don’t want to miss this!” And he hung up.
I threw on some clothes, not really caring what. I ended up with a plain blue T-shirt and some blue jeans. Nothing fancy, but it was comfortable. Slinkies was only a few blocks away from my apartment, so I decided to walk. I made sure to lock the door behind me. I started to walk down the dreary hallway. The wallpaper had some kind of floral design on it, but it was ripped or pealing in many places. There were only two lights in the 80 foot stretch of hallway, one on the far end right by the staircase and the other three quarters of the way down. It was just enough to barely light the seven feet or so just at the edge of each light. The ceiling was covered in cracking plaster, and the floor was covered in a dark blue carpet.

I made it to the steps and started heading down. Our apartment was on the third floor of four. Once I hit the landing the door was just off to the right. I opened it and took a deep breath of the cool night air. The streetlights were on, and I could see all the way down to Slinkies. Once I hit the block Slinkies was on, I heard another howl come from behind me. I turned and started walking backwards, not wanting to stop. But nothing was there. I turned back around and opened the door into Slinkies.

It took a second to adjust to the interior, and the noise. I checked in with the guy in the Security shirt and showed him my ID. He nodded his head and I started looking around for Dominic or some of the other guys. I couldn’t see any from the door so I started making my way in towards the bar. Once there I ordered a beer and started looking around.

The dance floor was crowded as usual, and most of the booths were full. But the ones around the back rooms were all empty save one. Towards the middle of the empty cluster was one full table, populated by people I hadn‘t seen before. Six people sat in the semi-circle padding around the table, all male. Two women sat on the table. Standing a little off to the side from them stood another women leaning against the wall. She was slowly looking across the crowd, like she was looking for someone. I just couldn’t take my eyes off her.

Long, curly raven black hair with silver highlights that reflected the lights. Black leather top and pants left nothing to the imagination. I guessed her to be around 6’2”, but she was wearing gothic platform boots. Her face though was something else. Sharp features yet soft contours. High cheekbones gave her an elegant look, but the most captivating feature were her eyes. Even from across the bar I could see them clearly. The best way to describe them was large golden orbs, taking in everything they could and scrutinizing it down to the last detail. Then those eyes turned on me.

I just couldn’t look away as I felt her boring into me. It seemed like ages, but it only lasted 24 seconds. Then she smiled and beckoned me over with one finger. All thoughts of meeting up with Dominic were gone. All I wanted to do was go over to her. I cut right across the dance floor, ignoring the angry glares and threats when I bumped into someone.

Once I made it passed the dance floor I wove through the tables and booths. I looked away long enough to see that I’d caught the attention of the people sitting on the table. One of the guys stood up and got in my way.

He was an intimidating figure, standing 6’4” and looking like he had shoulder pads under his red and black striped T-shirt. He started cracking his knuckles when the woman put her hand on his shoulders.

“Don’t worry about this one Brock. I’ve made my choice.” She said to him in a voice that sounded like a stream flowing.

“This chump?” he said eyeing me up, “I’ve seen more worthy candidates on the dance floor.” What was he talking about?

“You do not have the eyes I do, he fits perfectly.” she said giving his shoulder a slight pat.

“As you wish,” he said and sat back down.

“Now,” she said turning her attention to me, “What is your name?”

“Cameron,” I said

“Such a wonderful name,” she said taking my free hand in both of hers, “Why don’t we go somewhere a bit more private? How does my place sound?” I heard Brock start to growl, actually growl. It sounded so feral.

“Sounds good to me” I said finishing my beer.

“Excellent, I’ll drive,” she said turning me around and heading for the door. This was insane, I didn’t even know her name and she was leading me off to her place.

“See ya later rookie!” one of the other guys at the table yelled as we walked away. Rookie? What did that mean?

“What’s your name?” I asked as we left the club.

“Alivia,” she said, “Here, hop in.”

I couldn’t believe what was in front of me. A classic 1965 Mustang convertible painted midnight blue. “Wow, how did you get this?”

“Passed down through the family,” she said as she hopped over the door into the driver seat, “I’ve made some modifications over the years though.” I looked at the dash panel and noticed an extra gauge for nitro. A bit of an odd upgrade for a civilian vehicle, but I wasn’t going to ruin the moment.

“So where do you live?” I asked as she pulled onto the road from the back parking lot.

“On the edge of town, but you’ll know soon enough now wont you?”

It only took ten minutes to reach her place, a small two story building on the north side of town. You could even see the forest from her porch.

“Aren’t you a little worried being this close to the woods?” I asked. There were only eight more buildings in sight and most of them were office buildings. But she just laughed

“They aren’t gonna bother me,” She said unlocking the front door and held it open for me, “Guests first.”

I took a couple steps in and she followed, turning on the light and closing the door. “This is a real nice place you got,” I said looking around. Old artwork hung from every wall and the furnishings were all leather, “So where do we go from here?” I asked

“Don’t you worry dear,” she said placing her hands on my shoulders from behind, “You’re gonna feel this one in the morning. Then everything went black.
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if only change is constant then make the most out of good situations

Furious · Posted: Fri Jun 27, 2008 11:27 pm Post subject:

Thanks dude. I am pasting and copying this, emailing it to myself at work and will read it tomorrow.
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Furious · Posted: Sun Jun 29, 2008 12:39 am Post subject:

Man I was screaming, "ARGH u idiot!!" at the Cameron character.
Keep it up. I see better writing here. Good potential.
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Dragon · Posted: Sun Jun 29, 2008 11:00 am Post subject:

yeah, he ain't too bright, but it had more to do with Alivia's charm then his lack of intelligencs. the second part is already under way
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if only change is constant then make the most out of good situations

Dragon · Posted: Tue Jul 01, 2008 4:13 pm Post subject:

Chapter 2
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BEEP BEEP BEEP BEEP BEEP

I rolled over and swatted at the alarm clock. I connected with the side of it and heard it hit the wall. I opened one eye to look for the clock…..not on the nightstand next to the bed. Hmm, there was a scratch on the nightstand I never seen before. I’ll have to get that fixed. I opened the other eye and looked towards the wall. There was a nice new dent in the wall where the clock hit it. The clock was in worse shape though. Ripped from the wall the prongs on the plug were bent. The back compartment had come undone and the reserve batteries had been ejected from the back and lay on the floor. It did look like it would work again, but I made a mental note to look for one a little sturdier.

I got up out of bed and stretched, it felt like all my muscles were knotted up, like I’d done a full body workout before going to sleep. And a headache, it felt like someone had my head in a vice. The light from the open window seemed blinding, and I had to squint as I made my way over to close the drapes. The light breeze felt good on my……wait a sec…..where’s my pants?! I looked around on the floor and they weren’t there, nothing on the dresser or the nightstand. Then I heard something that made the situation even worse. Sam was coming down the hall, probably to ask what I wanted for breakfast like she usually does before going to sleep. Wait, I could hear her? But that’s….no time to think, almost at the door.

I ran over to the dresser and pulled the pants drawer out, it fell to the floor. I jumped back just enough to avoid it hitting my toes. Did I really pull that hard?

“You okay in there?” Sam asked not more then 10 feet from the door.

“Yep, everything’s fine!” I said in a bit of panic. Come on, one leg in, second leg, pull ‘em up.

“Fine what you’re looking for?” Sam asked leaning in the doorway.

“Yeah,” I said throwing the pants back in the draw and putting it back in it’s place, “they were in the back on bottom.”

“Uh huh, well, you want me to make something before you go to work?”

“Um, sure. If you’re not too tired.”

“It’s no biggie. What do you want?”

“We got any bacon and eggs?” I asked walking to my closet to get a work shirt. All the clothes that I wore for work were old or a bit tattered, but when you work construction there’s really no point in wearing anything new. I pulled the shirt on, but it was really tight.

“You been working out while I wasn’t looking?” Sam inquired scratching her chin. I looked down to see the shirt was clinging to my skin, showing off the well toned muscles underneath.

“I was about to ask if you’d over-dried my shirts as a joke,” I took that one off and tried another. It did the same thing.

“No, no pranks from me. Not with your shirts anyway,” she said eyeing me up. But the look in her eye made me worried.

“Something wrong?” I asked as I got a pair of sock and put them on.

“Oh, nothing,” she said and shook her head, “You look good. But you might want to go buy some new work shirts. You’re gonna cause a wreck when you distract the female drivers if you keep wearing shirts like that.” She turned and started to make her way to the kitchen, “How many eggs you want?”

“Four will be good.” There was a silence from her direction. Four? Why was I so hungry? “Or, ya know, however many you wanna make.” she didn’t respond, but I heard the bacon start frying. I sat down on the edge of my bed and put my hands on my head and rubbed my eyes. What did I do last night? I got up and went to my dresser. I grabbed my keys, front right pocket. Wallet, back right pocket. Phone, front le….one new message. I lowered the volume. The recording played in my ear.

“You have, one, new message from phone number, private,” figures, “Yo rookie,” a male voice said into my ear, “I’m sure your head’s spinning right about now. Look, don’t worry. Everything will be fine in a little while. Just don’t bring attention to yourself and make it through the day. Meet us tonight at Slinkies and everything will be cool. Latter rookie.”

That was it…..but what was it? It was, I looked at the clock on my phone, 9:26AM. Had to leave in 20 minutes tops. Don’t attract attention? Was I in some witness protection thing now? I closed the door to my room and flipped the phone open again, dialing my work number.

“City Hall, how may I be of service?”

“Yes, this is Cameron Graff, I’m a member of street team 3. I won’t be coming in to work today. I’m feeling under the weather and am gonna take today off to take some meds and beat this before it gets too bad.”

“I’ll notify the office,” the receptionist replied

“Thank you,” I said and hung up the phone. There was no way I was going to work without finding some answers first. I opened the door and walked down the hall to the kitchen.

“Aren’t you gonna be late?” Sam asked as she slid a plate my way with 4 fried eggs, 3 strips of bacon and a couple pieces of toast.

“Nah,” I said putting one of the eggs on a piece of toast, folding it in half and then taking a bite, “ so long as the traffic isn’t bad I’ll have no trouble.”

“Hungry?” she asked as I wiped egg off my face and dressed another piece of toast.

“Starving,” I said finishing the toast and eating all the bacon.

“How were the nightmares?” she asked taking the now empty plate.

“Nightmares?” I asked as I got a glass from one of the cupboards and filling it with water.

“Yeah, when I came home you were moaning and making all kinds of noises. I peaked in to make sure you were okay.”

“You did what?” I said choking a little.

“I just looked in to make sure you weren’t dieing. Don’t worry, even though you were thrashing around the covers were still up.” she said with a sly grin, “I was getting worried, especially after seeing that nasty wound on your hand. I wondered what you got yourself into.”

“Yeah, I….wait, wound?! What wound?”

“The one on your hand silly,” She grabbed my left hand and lifted it. On the palm and the top were two lines of faint dots that met in a half circle on the edge of my hand, “Hmm, it looked worse last night. Looks like you got bit or something,” She turned it over again, “Go home with someone last night and get bit by the dog?”

“Gosh, not that I can remember,” I said pulling my hand away from her.

“I still want you to get it checked out. I’ll call the doctor and.”

“NO!” I cried before I could stop myself.

“Excuse me?” she said looking offended

“I mean, there’s no need. It’s not even bothering me,” to try and convince her I flexed my hand a bit, “It doesn’t sting and it’s not tight.”

“Still,” she said picking up the phone, “I’d rather be safe then sorry. When can you make it over?”

“I uh,” I looked around trying to find a reason to leave, “Wow, look at the time. Gotta go or I’ll be late.” I threw my shoes on and unlocked the door, “I’ll see you later tonight.” I closed the door behind me and ran down the hall. I took the stairs two at a time, all the while cursing myself for not being smoother with what just happened.

--

“That was odd,” I said out loud to myself, “I’ve never seen him act that way.” I dumped the glass he left in the sink and ran some water to wash the dishes. Before I got my hands wet I pulled out the black phone for headquarters and hit speed-dial #2.

“This better be important Sam.”

“Nice to hear your voice too Sergeant. Look, I want you to put a tail on someone. Cameron Graff.”

“Your roommate?”

“Yeah, that’s the one,” there was a clatter that came from the bedrooms. I drew my gun with my spare hand.

“You know we’re not a babysitting service here Sam. We cant follow him to see if he‘s cheating on you.”

“This is serious, sir,” said trying to hear anything else. So far nothing.

“You don’t think he’s involved in….”

“I hope not,” I said cutting him off., “But I’d rather right it off then wonder.”

“Alright, we need you in peak condition, now more then ever. We’ll settle this for you.”

“Thanks, sir.” a shuffle of movement came from down the hall, “Gotta go.” and flipped the phone shut. I put it on the counter and slowly moved toward the hall, gun at the ready. I popped around the corner to the hall gun drawn to face, nothing. But Cameron’s door was nearly closed, he always kept it open when he wasn’t in there. I took one step down the hall and heard it. And it chilled me to the bone.

Laughter. Female by the sound of it, coming from Cameron’s room. I cleared the rest of the hall in three strides and kicked the door open. “FREEZE!” I cried and swept the room. Under the window, the screen lay on the floor, twisted out of shape. The window it belonged in was wide open. I poked my head out and scanned the alley around. Nothing was there. So how did they get in? looking straight down I found the answer. No more then a foot below the window ran a decorative ledge around the building. The ledge itself was only six inches wide, but that was plenty for someone with good balance to shimmy along.

“What have you gotten into Cam?” I said holstering my weapon. I closed and locked the window, and pulled the drapes shut. I walked back out into the living room and grabbed my coat. it didn’t look like I’d be sleeping anytime soon today. I picked up the phone for headquarters and went out the door, making sure to lock it. But given what may want to get in, it wouldn’t do much good.

--

“You brat, you almost got us caught!” Brock said to his companion on the roof of the apartment building.

“Not a chance dude!” she replied tossing back her hair, “and even if she did, would she be able to take us?”

“That’s beside the point. Our instructions were to watch. You just had to go and try and sneak a peak.”

“You’re no fun,” she said crossing her arms and pouting a little.

“You know that shit don’t work on me.” Brock said slamming her between the shoulder blades.

“Meany!” She cried and swung back at him, but he easily fended off her assault.

“We still have a job to do. We gotta make sure the rookie makes it to tonight. He’s on foot, so he’ll be easy to catch up with. We just gotta make sure he doesn’t get overwhelmed and walk in front of a car or something. Or that the Trust doesn’t get him.”

“Uh, why is it always the Trust?” she said rolling her eyes, “Don’t they have anything else to do?”

“Come on, I’m not even going to participate in that conversation.”

“Oh, that’s a big word for you isn’t it? Participate?”

“Get going before I hurt you.”

“Oh such a big scary man you are,” she said holding up her hands to mock warding him off.

“I swear Cindy, if Mother hadn’t turned you I would have killed you a long time ago.”

“But she did,” Cindy said stretching her arms behind her back, “now lets get going so the day will go by faster.”

“That’s the most intelligent thing you’ve said since we’ve been here.” Brock said as the both left to the next roof.
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if only change is constant then make the most out of good situations

Furious · Posted: Fri Jul 04, 2008 5:10 pm Post subject:

same thing. will read tomorrow at work and get back.
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Furious · Posted: Sat Jul 05, 2008 9:41 pm Post subject:

Okay a few minor things. There are some spelling errors that drive me nuts and will bypass spelling checks ie pair vs pare but who really cares?
Sam mentions that Cameron has a wound on his shoulder and then it goes to his hand.

Dragon · Posted: Sat Jul 05, 2008 10:06 pm Post subject:

yeah, I fixed the shoulder thing in an update. Originaly I planned to have the bite be on his shoulder, and stopped there at midnight. When I picked it back up at 1:30 am I forgot and thought it to be easier to have it on his hand. sry bout that. But when I was finished at 4:30am I through up my hands, saved it and went to sleep. I'll edit my poist to match the changes

I wrote this at 4:30 am so I know there are a lot of grammer/spelling errors.

I know the perspective switch (from 1st person Cam/ 1st person Sam/ 3rd person roof) Would be a little confusing, but it is really the only perspective switch I have planned. Most if not all of the remaining story will be told from Camerons perspective. I just wanted a switch to set up a few things.

Dont know what you meen by liberties, I'm a little hazzy right now. But congrats on actually being the first person to point out the werewolf stuff. Unless I told them everyone else who's reading this hasn't pinpointed it yet. Though by now I thought it obvious.

And lastly, I will not be posting anything else in the forums, my writing site, or anynwhere else for the public. I'm planning on trying to actually go somewhere with this, and dont want it out in the open to be stollen. Whenever I get another chapter done, if you want a copy, I can pm or e-mail it directly too you. That goes for anyone wanting to read it. If you do, give me a way to get it to you personaly. I know to be a legit story, one to be published, it needs to be flushed out a lot, but I'd like any of my friends to help with that, as your input is always welcom. And if it does go somewhere, I'll make sure you get some credit somewhere Cool

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if only change is constant then make the most out of good situations