Page 9 of The Hunt

CHAPTER 5

“Fuck you, Hendrickson! Your boy was just as responsible for last night as my brothers were.” It took every ounce of willpower in Colt’s body not to pounce on this pompous asshole.

After surveying the results of the bar brawl last night, Colt was certain he’d get a visit from Rolf Hendrickson, one of the town’s council members who was in charge of enforcing the laws of Serenity Falls. Rolf was not a fan of the Black family and Colt suspected it stemmed from a grudge carried over from when his parents were still alive.

There were rumors that Rolf had something to do with his parents dying but Colt could never prove it. Besides, his priority became his two younger brothers.

Rolf Hendrickson’s eyes flashed bright red and he bared his lengthened canines. “Yet, my boy is the one who’s dead.”

“You’re the one who pushed to make these challenges legal. You said that it would keep the peace if things are settled the way nature intended them to be. You did it because those boys of yours were gutting residents with impunity.”

“Now just wait a minute. My boys?—”

“Are dangerous. In fact word around town is that Darren had planned on challenging Leland to a fight. You know my brothers rarely go to that bar anymore yet from what I heard, they received an invitation from one of Darren’s cronies about some information he heard about our parents.”

A rush of red covered Rolf’s entire face going to top of his gray roots. “Now don’t go lying on my boys or their friends. Everyone in town knows it’s your brothers with the reputation for destroying things. They have a higher body count than anyone in Serenity Falls.”

“Every single one of those deaths were a result of a challenge. You know, the challenges you and your buddies on the council made legal. You know the town rules as well as I do. You may be on the council but that doesn’t mean you and your family gets special privileges.”

Rolf advanced on him and stabbed his forefinger into Colt’s chest. “My boy didn’t deserve to be put down without just cause.”

Colt who had the older man by nearly a foot stared pointedly at the boney finger pressed into his chest. He released a low growl that made his entire body rumble. “Do I by chance take this as a challenge?” The heat in his eyes and the thick coarse hair that popped up through his pores signaled that he was very close to unleashing a side of him he’d fought hard to suppress.

He wasn’t as eager to fight as Leland and Zeke but he never backed down from a fight if it meant protecting his own.

Rolf may have been a calculating weasel, but he wasn’t stupid. He immediately backed away with his hands up. “No challenge has been issued. But hear me out, Black, there will be retribution for what your family has done to Serenity Falls, you mark my words.”

Colt raised a brow. “Is that a threat?”

The other man took several steps backward. “Just pointing out that karma comes in many forms. Besides, it’s come to my attention that your brothers are on the cusp of turning if they don’t find an acceptable piece of meat—I mean mate, this year. Would be a shame if all the prey gets eaten before they can claim one.”

Rolf grinned smugly and stuffed his hands in his pockets as he continued to back away. “All my boys are participating in the hunt as well. Good luck this year.”

Colt’s claws extended as the blood rushed to his ears. His gums itched as his incisors lengthened. The beast within threatened to burst free but he fought to keep it at bay. This was exactly what that asshole wanted. For him to lose control.

It was only when Rolf had driven away, was Colt able to regain his calm with slow deep breaths. It was now clearer than ever.

The injections were no longer working.

It was a miracle they’d worked this long. If he were to lose himself to his animal instincts it wouldn’t be long before his brothers followed suit and the council could claim their land.

Colt suspected that some of the mindless ‘zombeasts’ in the tank were victims of the council’s machinations but he couldn’t prove it. With Rolf and his buddies in charge they would destroy Serenity Falls by allowing the residents to run wild just for them to remain in power.

But as one of the handful of residents who was permitted to leave town to make a living in the outside world, besides the caretakers, Colt understood that if the wrong people became aware of Serenity Falls’ existence, then it would be the end of everyone who lived here.

His parents had drilled the town’s history into his head from the moment he could form words. Harlen Black wanted hiseldest in particular to take pride in this heritage and be ready to lead the family in case anything happened to him.

Serenity Falls was founded by accident shortly before World War I when the government was looking to create the perfect super soldier. All kinds of experiments were done on the volunteers who the government considered perfect physical specimens. The experiments took place on a secret military base that was even more top secret than Area 51.

Their genes were spliced with animals and they were injected with a special serum that would make them stronger and faster but the result was something none of the scientists could predict.

They created real life monsters. Monsters too powerful to control. Thousands of these test subjects roamed the base, wild and unfettered. Wanting to keep these experiments under wraps, those in charge of that projects planned to destroy the base by bombing it. But that planned was 86’d when the country went to war and they couldn’t afford to give up precious resources on a failed experiment.

Were it not for the a group of scientists, doctors, nurses and their families who decided to remain on base and become caretakers for what they called at the time beast people, these experiments would be unleashed on an unsuspecting world that couldn’t handle them.

Serenity Falls eventually evolved into a self-sustainable town with its own businesses, restaurants and schools. And it was completely off the grid from the rest of the world. The only people who knew about it were people with high level clearances in the government. Not even the President of the United States was allowed to know about it.

The residents were allowed to govern themselves as long as the non-authorized didn’t step foot outside of town. In exchange for providing the residents with the supplies they needed such as fuel and its own electrical grid and cellular tower, some residentswere offered up for the occasional experiment. It was usually from the pool of residents sent to the tank, Serenity Falls’ form of jail.

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