Bogeyman

The pack always met in an abandoned warehouse on the outskirts of town. It was the perfect meeting place. It was dark, the roof leaked whenever it rained, the windows were broken, fragments of broken glass crunched under foot when anyone stepped inside the derelict building. The building was alone, isolated from the rest of society, away from the inhabitants of the town. And that was what made it so perfect, how it reflected upon the lives of each member of the pack. They only had each other for company, and if they didn't like that, they were pretty much on their own.

Meetings were never compulsory. It was too difficult to contain a bunch of their kind for long periods of time. It was in their nature to be restless and have the constant need to be on the move, running away from normality, and any possible threat to them. It was the fear of staying still and being caught, so they chose to move and escape.

Sean was the only one who didn't live by this rule. He didn't fear humans, he didn't want to run away from them and he didn't see them as a threat. He knew that this courage was something to do with his father. Having being around a human for most of his life had taught him not to be afraid, and it had also taught him that he couldn't force himself to feed. Of course, feeding was natural instinct to his feral half, but every time he thought of chewing human skin, muscle, licking bones clean and drinking foul tasting crimson blood, his father's kind face would burst into his mind, giving him the strength to fight off those thoughts.

Truth be told, Sean Smith's only battle was with himself. One side fought to feed, to feel blood slither down his throat, to satisfy his needs. The other fought against that, and that was the side that always won.

A meeting had been called the morning after Sean had saved the drunken teenager from being mauled to death. This one had been deemed 'compulsory' by the head of the pack. No one questioned the leader's decisions, ever, so of course every one was in attendance, all waiting to see what groundbreaking news was going to be broken to them. It had to be something important, or it wouldn't have been made compulsory.

Sean edged his way through the crowd, trying not to come into much physical contact with anyone. Everyone still smelt of human death from the previous night, and the stench was making him gag. He managed to locate Ian quicker than he had expected and came to stand beside his one and only friend. Ian's hair still hung limply in front of his dark eyes, but he looked a lot more alive than he had a day ago. His feed had done him the world of good.

"What do you suppose all this is about then?" He asked, looking around as everyone came to order, all quietening down as the leader took his position at the front of the crowd, raising his hands in the air to cast an eerie silence across his people.

John Butler was a tall, lean man. His dark hair had specks of grey in it, showing wisdom, not age. His face was still youthful, his eyes still held a premature glimmer in them. His skin adorned no lines or wrinkles, and he was the picture of health. It was one of the perks of being their kind, an advantage you could say, the ultimate weapon to catch their prey. Stunning aesthetics were always a plus in any species.

"Order," his smooth voice commanded to the crowd, and every pale face turned to look at him, placing all attention on him. John lapped it up. He smiled, showing his white, razor sharp teeth off as he did so. "We're gathered here today for what we hope will be a momentous occasion. It's the first time we have had to make a decision like this, so this is one for the history books."

Gasps emitted around the room, hushed voices speculating at what it could or couldn't mean. John clapped again to regain attention. He looked around at the sea of faces below him, before inhaling deeply. "It has come to my attention that we have someone who doesn't wish to live like us. Someone who thinks they're better than us, above us, too good to hunt and feed. He's a liar, a fake and a cheat. When you all go out to feed, he copies you, he follows his 'prey' to their front door, yet he doesn't pounce, he doesn't slay, he makes sure they get home safely. He's stopping you from feeding, claiming one of those sickening humans as his own, before letting them escape, and for that, he must be punished."

By the end of John's speech, Sean's already pale face had become almost translucent. His bloodshot eyes were wide, his throat dry and scratchy. He could think of a million smart comebacks, a few clever things to say to turn John's words around. Of course anything he said would be a lie. John had everything dead on correct.

"Sean Smith," John announced his name, and Sean's heart began pounding in the confines of his rib cage. It was pumping so fast, he was sure it would punch it's way out of his chest. He tried to control his breathing as he looked up to make eye contact with John, the older man's blue eyes were piercing. "Your punishment will be as follows - "

"Stop."

Sean tore his desperate gaze away from John and looked around. He knew that voice. It belonged to someone who he was familiar with, but he wasn't friends with. He despised that voice, the person it belonged to. That voice was one of a weakling. Someone that had endured punishment from John Butler before, and caved in, allowing himself to become more feral than anyone else within the pack.

Aled Phillips was the monster to John Butler's Frankenstein.

He was pushing his way through the crowd, his eyes firmly fixed on John. He licked his sore, chapped lips, bleeding from his make out sessions with his equally as feral mate. It was no secret that Aled had intended to feed from the girl then turn her into one of them, he had followed her for a long time before that fateful night. The next day, everyone had treated him as some sort of hero for obeying orders and stepping up to the mark to become a proper member of the pack. Everyone except Sean, who was disgusted by Aled's actions.

"What are you planning for his punishment?" Aled was now standing beside John on their makeshift platform. Their height gave them power over everyone else.

"He feeds by the next full moon and he stays. He fails to obey my command, he dies."

The room burst into cheers, claps and everyone looked at Sean, each set of eyes held nothing but pure evil, hands grabbed out at him, ready to pull him apart before given the chance to rise to his challenge. The pack were raging. It had been a long time since anyone of them had been killed, and since every single one of them, besides Ian, hated Sean and looked down on him for being weak, they were relishing in the fact that he would most likely be killed very soon.

"So, Smith? What'll it be? Feed and live, don't feed and die?" Aled asked, and the room fell silent again.

Sean's eyes narrowed, he glowered at John and Aled. Man and monster, united, together, against him. Gavin joined his father, choosing to stand by his other side, he smirked and shook his head at Sean. "He'll die, we'll have to kill him, father, he's too weak to feed."

Sean spat on the hard, stone floor beneath them, shaking his head as he pushed his way out of the crowd of beasts.

For the first time, Sean Smith was beginning to question his beliefs.