John Wolfstone-The Book

The army is gathered

A little while later, John was walking around, if a little bit stiffly.

“Well, it’s better than nothing,” he said.

“Well, it would be even better if I was completely covering you,” Clara said, her voice coming from his leg.

“I know that,” John said. “But there are parts of me I want only Janelle to see, and enjoy.”

“Oh come on," Clara said, with a chuckle. "Have you even imagined what it would even be like?”

“Sorry," John said. "But besides the fact that I was in mourning for my girlfriend, back when you and me were in collage, I had a bad experience with a shape-shifter in high school.”

“What do you mean?” Clara asked.

“Let’s just say that, during my Sexual Education course one year, I was approached by what I thought was a young female naga, or some such thing," John said, with a sigh, as he sat down. "Well, I told ‘her’ that I wasn’t interested in having sex with her. Unfortunately, that person didn’t take ‘no’ for an answer and tried to rape me. Well, I landed a blow on ‘her’ and realized that ‘she’ was a shape-shifter. What’s more, that shape-shifter was really a male one. Now, if he had been in a male form, I might have understood, but, as it was, I almost killed him, not because he was a shape-shifter, though I had a slight fear of shape-shifters for a while afterwards, but because he had tried to rape me. If he hadn’t done that, I may have taken you up on your offer back then.”

“Well, you probably should have told me about it years ago," Clara said. "I mean, I may enjoy sex as much as the next shape-shifter, but I would never try to deceive someone about my gender, nor would I force myself on someone who didn’t want to have sex, as that would reduce my personal pleasure.”

“Yah well, I’m still not in the mood for having someone encase my entire body,” John said.

“Well, how about your entire leg?" Clara asked. "That way you could focus more on running and fighting, instead of where to put your leg.”

“Yah that idea might just be able to work," John said. "Just do me a favor, if it becomes necessary for you to encase my body with yourself; just don’t mess around with my reproductive organs. Besides, I don’t think James would like it if you were cheating on him with me.”

At this, Clara chuckled, as she covered John’s entire leg and foot.

Once John got used to moving with Clara covering his leg, he walked back to the houses.

Standing in front of the ruins of his was a large group of people, ranging from renters, those who lived with them, construction workers, friends, family members, and those who owed him favors.

“Damn John,” said James. “Is there anyone that you didn’t want me to contact?”

“Yah, my blood relatives and the Redbloods,” John said, with a bit of sarcasm in his voice.

He looked at the group, which was easily several thousand people strong, and of many races.

He then looked at James and asked, “Did you tell them why I wanted them here.”

“Yah, I told them that Joseph Redblood kidnapped the love of your life and your unborn child,” James said. “Of your family, almost everyone came, except the elder and younger ones. All your friends from school came, because you saved their lives plenty of times. Our collage classmates are here. These guys that rent homes, or live in them, are here. The construction workers say that you gave them a chance when no one else would. Also, you had me call up all those who owed you favors, including a demon of all things, to see if they wanted to return them, and help you out. Are you sure you wanted all of them?”

“Yes," John said, as he looked at his friend. "The more advantages I have compared to my blood relatives and the Redbloods, the better. They are not above using dirty tactics and would try to ambush me the first chance they got. Even if I am able to survive one, it could weaken, and delay, me. I don’t want to be surprised, but I do want to surprise them. So I want you and anyone else who knows magic to get to work on disguising the others. Oh, and I need you to loan me something.”

“What would that be?" James asked. "I know that you know some magic, but I know very well you can’t, or won’t, use some of the spells that I know.”

“Who said it was magic that I wanted," John said, with a chuckle. "It’s what you are wearing that I what to borrow. If Janelle’s unborn baby can keep her safe from the Redbloods, wearing Samual should do the same for me, right, Samual.”

At this, the shirt and pants seemed to shake, as if nervous.

“I will kill you for what you’ve done to me. Because of you, not only did I fail school, I’m stuck living with this jumped-up piece of prey for the rest of my life,” said an angry voice from the shirt’s collar.

“No, it wasn’t me that failed you,” John said, calmly.

“Yes it was!” Samual shouted. “You put the ‘F’ in the computer that caused me to fail.”

“Wrong,” John said, grabbing onto the collar, as if he was grabbing Samual’s ear. “You were the one who continued to make trouble for everyone in the school. That and the fact that you gave yourself bad grades was the reason that you failed, not me Samual. Also, it was your fault that you insulted James, his wife, and his niece, not me. The only one at fault for all the faults that a person has is themselves. My father always said, ‘Son, in life you have to make choices. These choices affect who you are.’ Now, as you know, I could have chosen to be the most vicious monster out there. No one, not even an army of giants, could ever hope to stop me. However, I chose not to go down that path. I chose to protect people instead of eating them. I chose to fight for people, so that they can enjoy their god-given rights, to live, to be free from persecution, to be happy, to not end up as someone’s meal, slave, pet, or some sort of toy. My father, may his soul rest in peace, told me, before I left for Harmony University, ‘Son, it isn’t your age or species that makes you a man. It is who you are and what you do that makes you a man, or a true monster, and you, my boy, you are no monster. You are a true man where it counts.’ Then he said that he was proud to be my father, and that was followed by a few other things like, get good grades, mind the teachers, make some friends, and then, make a girlfriend or two that I would marry and have kids with. You see, my mother and father raised me to look at people for who they were and not what they were. To them, a werewolf was the same as a human, which was the same as a giant, which was the same as a demon, which was the same as a harpy, and so on. They told me not to judge a person by their race, but by their deeds and intentions. They taught me that there was no difference between humans and non-humans where it truly counted, in their hearts and souls. They told me that everyone has the same hopes, the same fears, the same everything, once you stripped away the physical differences, like race, magical abilities, diets, and so forth. They told me that everyone is equal, with a few exceptions, like parents and their children, bosses and their employees, and those sorts of things. However, all people in general are equal, right from the very moment you see through their eyes, you will see the truth, which has been hidden from sight for centuries. It has been hidden from us since our creation, because we were too blind to even see a glimmer of it. However, there are those who see the truth, that all are equal in the eyes of the creator. Us weak vegetarians, as you call us, have seen the light, in one way or another, for one reason or another. We know the truth, the truth no one wants to see or face. We have seen the truth that we are murderers, rapists, and thieves of life and innocence. That is what our whole society has been built on, murder and rape. We have been taught for generations that the strong are above the weak, and that they are to be our slaves and meals. However, those who have take the path of Realization, as I call it, know the truth. That is why I live with the pain that I suffer, for I feel the guilt of my sins, for the lives I taken, even if I didn’t eat them. This pain is what drives me to complete my tasks in this life, to make sure others in the future never have a reason to feel even a smidgen of it.”

With that, John let go of the shirt collar.

“I am going to give you a choice Samual,” he said. “You can help me, become free and go back to school. Or, you can stay as James’s assistant, for the rest of your natural life, never getting the chance to go out into this world, find a girl, marry her and settle down, and have children, and so many other things.”

“You’re trying to set me up again, like you did when you had that human sit in my chair,” Samual said, angrily.

“Maybe I am,” John said, with a smirk. “And maybe I’m not. I am giving you a chance to earn your freedom. If you don’t want it, don’t take it.”

With that, John turned around, and started to walk towards the city.

“Wait,” said Samual, nervously. “I’ll take it. I’ll help you.”

At this, John smiled.

Then he turned around, saying, “Are you sure you can face your uncle, by your own free will? The man is very powerful, and has plenty of tricks up his sleeve. I was lucky when I faced him both times, the kick, back when I was in the seventh grade, was a once in a lifetime fluke, and today, he was only here to deliver a message. When I face him tomorrow, there is a very good chance we could kill each other. However, our reasons for killing the other will determine where he and I will go in the next world, whether it is on the other side of the pearly gates, or burn in the eternal flames of Hell. My reason for killing your uncle is this, to protect others from monsters, like he and I, because there are indeed times that I do consider myself to be a monster indeed. Your uncle’s reasons are, for revenge for what I did to him, and because of the feud that has been going on between your family and mine for the last seventy or so years. Know this Samual, what I just told you is the truth, by this time tomorrow, me and him could both lie dead on the ground. After that, we will be judged, and sent to face either our punishment, or our reward. Personally, I don’t know if I will cross the pearly gates, or burn in the eternal flames of Hell because of all of the things that I have done, but I get the feeling that your uncle will burn.”

“You’d be correct on that one,” said the demon. “The fallen one tells all in his family who will burn, and since I am of his line, I know what he knows. The one, known as Joseph Redblood, WILL BURN!”

At this, the demon began to chuckle evilly, with a wicked smile on his face, causing everyone to move away from him in fear.

“However,” he said, looking at John. “I am not sure about you. The future about where you will go is shrouded in both the flames of Hell, and the light of Heaven. For all I know, you could both burn in the flames and bathe in the light. Needless to say, your fate is yet to be decided. Then again, as your father said, the future is ones own choice to make, which will determine if they burn in the flames, or bathe in the light.”

“Well, those things are nice to know Steve,” John said.

“Hey I owe you for your help tutoring me in those math courses, and when I was accused of cheating in that English class,” the demon, Steve, said, with a friendly smile.

“Well, like I told you then, I judge by deed and intention, not race or stereotype,” John said, grabbing onto his shoulder. “However, I have two things I’d like you to do.”

“Name them, and they are yours, for free,” Steve said, as red smoke started to curl around his black horns.

“Well first,” John said. “I want you to take good care of my cousin Paul, don’t be too gentle, but, at the same time, don’t be too mean. After he has learned his lesson, I want you to let him come here.”

“And, what is the second favor?” Steve asked, with a bit of a wicked smile.

“Let’s just say that I want you to deal with Joseph," John said. "If I’m dead and he is not, finish him for me, especially if he is dying anyways. If he’s dead, and I’m alive, or dying, if his soul comes for me and/or my family and friends, at the very least, make sure my family and friends are safe at any rate.”

“Well, what if he comes for you instead?” the demon asked.

“Well, if I’m going to survive, deal with him in whatever manner you see fit," John said. "If I’m dying, and I won’t survive, well, he won’t have long to wait to try and fight me again. However, if our fight is too dangerous for the world of the living, do whatever is necessary to protect the living, including exorcising both of our souls.”

“You do realize that the only way a demon can exorcise a soul is to devour it,” the demon said, as his firey eyes looked in to the brown ones of the mortal before him.

“Yah," John said, calmly. "But I’d sooner suffer for an eternity as opposed to letting him having his way with the living.”

“You would risk your soul for the sake of your loved ones?” Steve asked, with a knowing smile, as John had made a contract with him, back in collage, that he would send the souls of real monsters to him, and deliver the soul of the one who had murdered his girlfriend himself, providing that he kept him alive until then.

“Wouldn’t you?” John asked, with a knowing smile. “You fell for my sister and married her, and had a son with her, remember?”

“Yah, I’d trade my horns, tail, and pitchfork for a pair of wings, a halo, and a harp, if that gave me the power to protect them,” Steve said, with a light chuckle.

“Well, at least you know how far I’d go to keep those that I care about safe.” John said, as he started to walk back to the woods.

Then he said, “Hey James. I expect Samual to fit me, and to conform to whatever shape that I am, like a set of shape-shifter clothes. I may have to use everything I’ve got against Joseph.”

“Gotcha John. I won’t let you down,” James said, with a shout. “None of us will.”

“I know you guys won’t,” John said quietly, with a smile.