Chapter 12: Epilogue

Ben Aster walked into a bar in a town called Peace Quarry, a few kilometers south of the rubble of Amber. His uniform was replaced with a blue and black plaid coat, a cowboy hat, cowboy boots and jeans. He hadn't been the sheriff of Amber for five months. "Rum and coke please." He said sitting down. As the bartender mixed his drink. He still couldn't forget the horrible things he saw in that god forsaken town. Almost every night so far was plagued with nightmares of those monsters tearing him limb from limb and the Nocturnis Infernis chanting while they watched. The burning orange eyes of their god blazing like meteors above him before waking in cold sweats. The bartender passed the insomniac Ben his drink. He grabbed it and slammed it back before ordering another. Behind him he heard the bell above the door ding as somebody stepped inside. The steps approached Ben from behind and he figured this might be the time. Those cultists tracked him down finally and were about to put a knife through his neck. "Hello Ben. It's been a while." Ben lifted his head to Abe, smiling as the elderly man sat down on the barstool beside him. "Been looking for you all over the province, guess the last place the Nocturnis Infernis would look is the closest town to Amber." "that was the idea. What do you want?" "Ben, I want to help you, you're not at peace with yourself." "Yeah and how would you know that?" "Because you had to kill your friend, because you made it your responsibility to destroy Amber so what happened doesn't repeat itself." "yeah, I guess you're right about that Abe. So I'll ask again, what do you want." "To warn you, and to ask for your help. It isn't over Ben.

The howls of coyotes along the highway raised the hairs on his body as he closed his eyes waiting for his next drink. He grabbed it and drank it fast. "What do you need my help for? I haven't been a cop in months, I'm just some guy and That's the way I want to keep things." "It's not safe in Peace Quarry, Ben." "It's Alberta, every town has it's rough spots." "That's not what I mean. It's my father, Daniel." He put the glass down along with some cash and stumbled to his feet. "It's got to do with Delton too." "Delton's dead. And so is your father, he was shot dead, they both were." Ben turned away from Abe and walked towards the door through the dimly lit bar filled with round wooden tables and wooden chairs. "I also thought Gerald was dead. Was he dead?" Ben stopped and turned to look into Abe's face. "Gerald is dead." Ben said looking at Abe's face. "Either he's still alive, or he taught somebody else to change the way he did. Those werewolf abominations are still out there, I've seen them. Claude and Sarah have seen them." "Well I haven't. Good night Abe." "Take my card if you see anything strange." Abe said, holding out a small business card with Abe's cellphone and the address for a private detective agency located at the far edge of Peace Quarry. Ben stopped and took the card as Abe and Ben crossed the seven other bar patrons and stepped into the cool March air. Ben zipped up his jacket and started walking. Abe got into a small black car with tinted windows and drove off in the opposite direction Ben was walking without saying another word. Ben didn't want to believe it was still going on. Ben kicked a rock which bounced off the brick building to his right. "Somebody help!" a woman screamed from the alley up ahead. Ben reached for his revolver which he had kept inside his jacket. The same gun he survived Amber with. The barrel of his forty four cut short into a snub nose to easier conceal. The scream came from across the street. Down an alley.

The shrill high cry for help sobered him up. Ben was unsettled by how much Peace Quarry reminded him of Amber. He ran down the alley and saw a blonde woman leaning over a man's body which had fallen face first in a deep puddle. Only the back of his head and green plaid coat could be seen. "What's going on? Are you okay lady?" Ben asked as he watched the body twitch and the deep puddle bubbled around him. "I don't know. He just collapsed!" Ben could hear a faint sound from beneath the water. "Get back…" Ben said, grabbing the woman's arm. The sound coming from the water started to get louder. A low gurgling. Growing into a growl. "Get back!" Ben yelled, pulling her behind him as he raised the revolver. The only drunkenness in him now was his aim. A split second later the water thrashed as a tall dark shadow draped in the tattered jacket and ripped jeans sprung from the dirty water with claws like knives. Ben's eyes widened as he felt his body go cold. The creature's long dark arm was drenched in blood with Ben Asters slowly beating heart being crushed in the beast's hand. Ben was drained of energy as he raised his revolver staring into the yellow eyes of the snarling wolf monster. The yellow eyed monster snarled as it bit into Ben's neck. Ben fired the gun several times. The massive creature splashed backwards into the water. Smoke rose from the bullet wounds as Ben looked at the crushed remains of his heart across from him. "Holy shit mister are you okay?" the woman didn't leave. He tried to speak but couldn't." the woman took off her jacket and wrapped it around the bite. She didn't know what to do about the hole in his chest and did what she could. She pulled her gloves out of her purse for when it got cold and pressed them over the open chest cavity. She called him an ambulance as she looked back at the black wolf like creature which had transformed back into the body of the man she was walking home with who was certainly dead.

Abe drove back to his building. His apartment on the second floor of the same building he ran the private detective agency from. It took a lot of paperwork to transfer all his business files from Calgary. He sold the old building and took out a loan. They're after Ben still, that much was certain, but no reason why. They should all be targets for surviving Amber but Ben was the only one they've been closing in on. Abe's car screeched to a halt as he stepped out of his car and locked the door. When he reached the door he stopped and turned he could hear the creatures. They had reached Peace Quarry. That much was certain. A few people walking heard the noise and sped up while looking around for whatever it was. Abe stepped inside and locked the door behind him and made his way for the stairwell and put his hands in his pockets as he ascended the steps and made his way towards his bed. He could feel winds of change coming for Peace Quarry. There was no telling how any of this will end. Abe brushed his teeth and went to bed next to the large glass window overlooking the small town below. He could hear a coyote howl abruptly cut off as he rolled over in bed and pushed the worst of his thoughts to the back of his head for the night.

Ben woke up, screaming in bed the next morning. "What the fuck?" He looked down the collar of the hospital gown and saw a circular healed scar where the creature's arm shot through his heart like a lance. As well as thick bandages around his neck. Next to him he noticed his left hand was handcuffed to the bed, with his free hand he grabbed the small button to call a nurse or doctor and pressed it repeatedly. When no immediate response walked through the door he let out a confused and terrified cry. "What the fuck is going on?! Why am I here?!" At that moment a doctor opened the door with his hands up. A pale thin man with grey hair. "Easy there. Pal, you're lucky to be alive." "I shouldn't be alive!" Ben felt his heart ripped from his chest, even watched its final beat as it twitched a few feet from his cold body. "Well stranger things have happened Ben. I know you're in shock but it was just an animal bite, you're gonna be fine, we stitched the bite on your neck, it was a big bite." "An animal bite?" "Yes you're just in shock would you like to look in a mirror? To prove you're not dead?" The doctor said, handing Ben a small mirror sitting on the table on the other side of his room. "What happened? Who found me?" "A woman brought you in. she had this crazy story about her boyfriend turning into a monster that tried to kill you before you shot it causing it to transform back into her boyfriend, she's in psych right now." Ben held up the mirror to his face, his beard and dark facial features were normal aside from a few cuts from the encounter but the thing that stood out were his eyes. They were a dull yellow like he's never seen before. "The only part of her story that we were able to confirm was the part about you having a gun, a few people heard the shots but no one saw what happened." "Look, I used to be a police officer, Back in Amber. That's why I had the gun, for protection, the woman was screaming for help." "Amber? The town that had that freak October lightning storm that burned the whole town to the ground? Right and you came here, and did what exactly? Hear a couple being attacked by an animal, and somehow every shot goes into her boyfriend and then the animal jumped on you? Maybe you killed her boyfriend and were somehow bit in the struggle? It says here you were drunk as a skunk last night mister Aster, this doesn't look good for you. Why don't you elaborate on this with these officers while you get your thoughts together?" The doctor dropped his smile and left the room without buying a single thing Ben said.

One man and one woman, not dressed at all like police officers, entered the room wearing suits. The man wore a dark maroon suit. His blue eyes squinting at Ben behind thick glasses, balding white hair and a white moustache. He almost looked as old as Abe if not older. The woman was young probably early mid thirties with dark brown hair tied into a ponytail. wearing a black suit with a long skirt. "Benjamin Aster. It's nice to finally speak to you." the woman said as they both sat in chairs placed next to Ben's bed. "We would like to ask you a few questions." the woman said, sitting down "Alright. But who are you? Police? Cause you don't look it to me." "Not exactly mister Aster." The man spoke in a soft voice very much unlike Abe's raspy smoker's tone. "Ahh so you're feds?" the two looked at each other and back at Ben. "Technically yes but technically no." "I see. You're American feds." they ignored his guesses. "Mister Aster this is about more than just last night to be honest." "it is?" "Yes we have questions for you about Amber as well as a group I'm sure you are familiar with called the Nocturnis Infernis. As well as the events last night but we'll get to that." any sense of ease Ben felt just went out the window. "What is this? Who the hell are you and why am I handcuffed?!" "Vivian undo mister Aster's restraints please." The woman pulled out a key and unlocked the handcuff. "You are in safe hands right now Ben. things could have gone a lot worse for you and that woman last night. "Tell that to her boyfriend who hit the pavement after being pumped with silver bullets." "Ben let me get right to the point. My name is Otto Leland and this is Vivian Jankowski. We are working for an organization contracted by the government to track down a man named Daniel Wilhem."

"He was shot in the head twenty years ago. It's in the police files. Sheriff Lisa Grisham killed him, and then replaced him as their leader, last time I saw her she was using one of my dead officers as a human shield." "And this Lisa Grisham is where exactly?" "she died in the fire, had to. There's no way she was going to leave that town knowing we were alive, either that or she got killed by… Gerald." Ben shuddered having not a single thought of that creature for months until now. "Gerald?" "Gerald Wilhem. Daniel's grandson. Daniels's son Abe helped us stop the Nocturnis Infernis as well as Gerald." "Daniel had a son? Interesting. He's very elusive." "Gerald was a monster. He could do impossible things." "Like what?" Vivian asked, taking notes. "Gerald could shapeshift." Her notes stopped for a moment as he said 'shapeshift.' "Abe thought that Gerald shapeshifted into a werewolf and bit somebody spreading a type of werewolf disease… or curse as Abe put it. Gerald couldn't properly become human again and slowly became more and more inhuman. The Nocturnis Infernis were afraid of Gerald. Gerald followed us to The Nocturnis Infernis hideout not for us but for them." "He was hunting them down?" Otto inquired. "That's what it looked like. But it doesn't make sense, why would Gerald be against the Nocturnis Infernis if it was run by his grandfather?" "Do you think there could have been a connection between Gerald and Daniel? Something yourself or this Abe somehow missed?" "We don't know, we thought this would be over, Gerald is dead now so there's no asking him." "You said we could get a hold of his father, this mysterious Abe by phone?"

"Yeah, blue jacket over there, there's a card in the pocket with his phone number. You really didn't know Daniel had a son In his mid fifties? Why come to me first?" Otto reached for the jacket and pulled out Abe's card. "Like we said mister Aster, he's a very elusive man." "Well try not to shoot him, he's the spitting image of his old man Daniel just a little younger, try not to be spooked by him." Otto and Vivian stood up looking at Ben. "What are you waiting for?" Ben asked as they simply looked at him smiling. "We're waiting for you of course." "I'm a murder suspect, I would be stupid to go anywhere. Now if I have nothing to worry about, you'll put that cuff back on and go find Abe." Ben stared at the two with yellow eyes. "We understand your reason for concern Ben, but believe us, not that doctor. You were out of the pot before it hit the stove. Now let's go pay Abe a visit." Otto laughed as Ben straightened up on the bed. He felt like he had been hit by a truck. Ben groaned getting to his feet. For a brief second it wasn't his own feet he saw, but the black legs of the creature that attacked him before he blinked and they were back to normal.

"And what about that woman who saved me? Still in a psych ward being accused of murder?" "That matter is more complicated Ben." "A man is dead and his girlfriend is the scapegoat. I don't care if I've never seen her before, It used to be my job to uphold the law. And she's gonna be in a lot more trouble if the guy who shot her boyfriend just up and vanished." Otto let out a sigh as Vivian gave him a look. "Alright Ben, have it your way." He nodded at Vivian and Ben raised his hand to the bedpost the cuff was hanging from as she latched it not too tight around his hand. "We'll pay Abe a visit. Later, we'll see if we can find anything, security cameras or cctv maybe able to corroborate your story. Maybe there was a witness." "You better hurry. This town won't be as lucky as Amber was." "Right." Otto said grimly with a nod as he and Vivian rose and walked to the doorway and closed it behind them as Ben's yellow eyes followed them out the door. Ben turned to watch the window with his arm resting against the cold bedpost. He saw Vivian and Otto get into a car and drive away. He closed his eyes to sleep. Ben could feel the presence of something in the room with him, though when he opened his eyes to observe the empty room, the presence would disperse. He quickly ignored the presence and closed his eyes.

Abe was smoking a cigarette outside his office when a vehicle pulled up to his office. "Good morning." Abe called to them with a wave. The man driving looked up at Abe like he was looking at a ghost. "Umm can I help you folks?" Abe asked as he took a drag of his smoke. The woman was the first to get out. "My name is Vivian Jankowski, We're looking for a man named Abe Wilhem." "That's me." Abe said with a nod. "We have some questions for you, about your father, Daniel." "I never met him But I've heard he was a bad egg." Abe said as Otto collected himself and got out of the car. "We spoke to your friend Ben. He mentioned your son, We believe your father Daniel had something to do with Amber. The wolves haven't stopped their hunt, it's only just beginning, Abe." Abe froze as he heard Otto's words and he lowered his smoke. "Geralds gone… So are his monsters." "I'm afraid not. Your friend Ben Aster was hospitalized by a rather unique reappearance of the creatures you and Ben claim your son was responsible for. We believe your father Daniel isn't only alive, but responsible for everything." "Who are you?" Abe's voice shook as he flicked the cigarette into a puddle "Investigators, much like yourself mister Wilhem." there was a brief pause between them. "Let's discuss this inside." Abe said as he turned to walk through his signless Private investigator's office. Otto and Vivian exchanged looks as they followed him, up the steps and inside.