John Wolfstone-The Book

A Chalange is issued

The next day, John was walking towards the abandoned stockyard, using a pair of crutches to help him to walk.

“I don’t get it,” said a young male voice, which was coming from one of the crutches. “Why do you need me and Tawna to be crutches?”

“Who said that you and Tawna were to remain crutches, Justian?” John asked, looking at the crutch that had spoken. “Joseph knows that he injured me, somewhat. A set of crutches will help back that theory up. If he thinks that I am weak physically, he will underestimate my strength. Besides, it’s not as crutches that I need you two for.”

“Then what is the reason?” Tawna asked.

“Well, someone has to get Janelle away from Joseph, and it can’t be me. Even with Clara’s help, I can’t run very fast with my leg the way it is,” John said. “That means that, at least, one of you must do it. Besides, I want to make Joseph wonder what tricks I’ve got up my sleeves. I want him to see how outclassed he really is.”

A little while later, John was at the spot, for the meeting.

He looked around, searching for signs of an ambush.

Suddenly, he sensed something behind him and quickly turned around, bearing his fangs and the claws on his right hand, dropping the crutch that Justian had been turned into.

However, what he saw caused him to retract his fangs and claws. Behind him had been a bunch of young men and women, mostly between the ages of thirteen and eighteen.

“What are you guys doing here?” he asked, kneeling down to look them in the eyes.

Then he saw the truth, they were the ghosts of those who had been sent there, and never left.

“Are you here to help us?” a young ghost boy asked, walking up to him.

With tears in his eyes, John placed a hand near the boy’s cheek and said, “Yes son. I am here to help you out. Can you tell me why you and the others are still trapped in this horrible place?”

“Because your father promised that he’d get all of us out,” the boy said, with tears in his eyes. “But I got sold and eaten before he could. The others had similar fates, whether it was before your father first came here, or afterwards. We are all waiting for him to free us.”

“I’m sorry,” John said, a tear falling down his cheek. “But my mother and father died a little over five years ago. As a result, they couldn’t help you. However, I’m here now, and I will help free you. But first, I need some help myself. I am looking for at least two people, a pregnant human woman, who has two lives growing inside of her, a human/werewolf/giant hybrid like me, and a human/vampire, who is of the blood of the other that I am searching for, a male vampire that is slightly older than I am, and is of the blood of the vampire I’m currently wearing. Have you seen them?”

“Yes,” the boy said, pointing a finger over John’s shoulder. “They are that way.”

“Good,” John said. “Were they alone, or were there others with them?”

“There are others with them,” the boy said. “There are at least a hundred of them, vampires of the blood of those who ran this place, and werewolves and giants that share your blood.”

“Thank you for your help,” John said, making a motion, as if he was patting the boy on the head.

The boy seemed to smile at this.

“Thank you sir,” he said. “Is there something else you want us to help you with?”

“Yes,” John said. “There are several hundred others following me, some distance back. I would appreciate it if you, and the others, could lead them to where I will be.”

“We will do that,” the boy said grinning.

With that, John picked up the crutch that was Justian, and started walking.

The boy then looked at the others, and said, “Finally, after all these years, we shall be free of our suffering. Let’s do what we can to help him out.”

The other ghosts nodded, and vanished, to help the son of their hero out.

A little while later, John found himself near a dilapidated building.

“Hey Clara,” he said. “You’ve been to stockyards before, right.”

“Yes, I have, while James and I searched for Julia, though she wasn’t called Julia then,” Clara said. “But anyways, I think that this would be the processing office.”

“Let me guess,” John said. “Here is where the children would be sold, their pictures taken for records, and rated as if they were livestock instead of people.”

“Yah, that’s right,” Clara said, with a low sigh. “James destroyed many of these places as we searched for his niece. As a result, I have a good idea on what these places look like.”

“Well, if the right people were in office, things like this would never be built again. The remains would stand as reminders of the dark side of people’s natures, and as a warning so such things will never happen again,” John said, with a hint of anger in his voice.

Then he sniffed the air and shouted out, “Joseph Redblood! Come out here and bring Janelle with you!”

“Or what, you’ll huff and puff and blow the place down?” Joseph said, standing at a window, holding onto Janelle.

John looked at her and saw that, while her clothes were mostly torn and she was disheveled in appearance, Janelle was okay, if a little scared.

John then looked back at Joseph and said, “If you don’t come out here with her, you will see what this hot bag of air can really do to you. You got lucky the last two times, this time, only one of us will walk away.”

“Ha! I can do that anyways,” Joseph said. “All that I have to do is take those crutches away, and you will fall over, unable to move.”

“Joseph, even with only one leg, I can still take you on,” John said. “In fact, I challenge you to a duel to the death, winner take all! I win, I do whatever I want to you, your family, and your allies, and I take your collective fortunes. You win, you can take everything that is mine, including those who are my family, and do whatever you want to them.”

“Interesting conditions,” Joseph said. “You’d risk everything all for a piece of human filth, which is nothing more than prey.”

“Oh, you got that wrong. I’m going to marry her someday, and I’ll raise our children, whether they are of my blood or not, to be vegetarians, who will never hunger for the flesh of their human kin,” John said, with a solemn look on his face. “That goes for the one she now bears because of you, as well as that of my own blood.”

Then he smiled, seeing the look of shock on Joseph’s face, though he was a little concerned about the look on Janelle’s face.

“Don’t worry about it,” John said, looking at her. “Because you carry the child of a Redblood, none of the Redbloods can harm you, so you can walk out of there, in relative safety.”

With that, Janelle started running as fast as she could towards him.

When she got to John, Janelle wrapped her arms around him and said, “You’ve got to help them.”

“Don’t worry Janelle. When I’m done with him, I’ll give a ‘helping’ to the others,” John said.

“No, it’s not that,” Janelle said. “They’re holding a relative of each of the city’s politicians’ families’ hostage, including the mayor’s daughter. They’ve also got the politicians themselves in there.”

“My god,” John thought. “It was bad enough when I thought that they were just bribing the politicians, but this, this is worse than just kidnapping and holding someone for ransom.”

Then John said, “How about we also duel for control of the city as well? I win, you let the politicians and theirs go free and never interfere with the city, ever. You win; you get total control of it.”

“You got it John,” Joseph shouted. “What are the rules for the duel?”

“We fight naked of everything except what we were born with," John said, looking the vampire dead in the eyes. "No clothes, no weapons, and absolutely no assistance from anyone. The first person to disregard them not only forfeits the fight, they will lose their life. The fight goes until one of us gives up, is unable to get up, or is killed, with the one left standing being the winner, even if he is also on Death’s bed.”

At this, Joseph smiled and said, “So, even if you killed me, if I fall second, I still win.”

“You have my word,” John said, solemnly.

“I accept the terms, and the conditions of the challenge,” Joseph shouted.