Before Dawn: The Lobo Cliff Incident Read online

  “What?”

  “Look, see for yourself!”

  FabianRoss pulled out his iPad and showed them the satellite app that showed the construction crew in a live feed with trucks and bulldozers at the head of the woods.

  “We can’t let them do this, Alex!” FabianRoss screamed.

  “I know, but, but I don’t know what to do!”

  “I have an idea,” Dorian smiled, “…Wolf you should go and scare them and then they’ll leave!”

  “That won’t work Dorian, they’ll try and kill him.”

  “Wait… I think I have it!”

  “What Alex, what?”

  “Like Miss Lewter and Mr. James always said, ‘think before you do it.’”

  The Wolf smiled.

  At the head of the woods, Alex’s Dad was on his cell phone trying to call his son. He wanted to make sure he wasn’t in the woods with his friends before the heavy machinery started in deeper.

  “Davidson, we don’t have all day! What are we waiting for!?” his boss screamed from high atop one of the bulldozers.

  He put down his phone, Alex never answered, and with regret on his face, he slipped it in his pocket and said

  “Ok guys, go for it.”

  The heavy trucks started and one by one, trees, shrubs, and bushes were uprooted as they made their way into the deep brush.

  His phone went off, and then died.

  “Wait! I think my son might be in there!”

  They ignored him and kept on uprooting, knocking down and crushing everything in their path. Down a ways, the four friends were on their bikes and rushing into the craziness. The wolf was close behind, racing on all fours and howling in anger. Together they figured the five of them would stop them, they’d have to. The bulldozers got to the ‘Y’ tree and stopped when the lead man looked out and saw the kids on their bikes approaching.

  “Stop! Stop! Don’t knock down anymore!” Marcie screamed.

  “Hey it’s a bunch of kids!” screamed one of the men.

  Alex’s Dad looked out, following the man’s finger.

  “It’s my son... and… look a wolf is chasing them!”

  His boss, who was on the highest machine, pulled out his rifle.

  “No, you’ll hit the kids!”

  “STOP!” Alex screamed.

  He took aim, he was sure of his skill. Alex’s dad started climbing the machine to get to him.

  “Mr. King! Stop. That’s my son!”

  He was looking through the cross hairs on the site of his rifle. He saw his shot. The wolf was getting closer to the kids. He was so determined to get this shot and that secure of himself that didn’t hear the constant screams of “no!” just below him.

  “Dad, you have to stop! This is his home, he has a family! Do you hear me? He has a…”

  BANG!

  The shot rang out loud for all to hear and the grown-ups saw what the kids didn’t. The wolf jumped from the shot and lost its footing and fell face first behind the racing bikes. Dorian was first to notice as he turned around.

  “Noooooo!”

  The kids all skidded their bikes and hopped off, causing them to crash into the bulldozers. They all ran back to their fallen furry friend.

  “Wolf! NO! Please!”

  Alex fell on his knees by his side, held up his head.

  “Wolf, please! I’m sorry… please... get up! This isn’t the way it was supposed to happen! Please!”

  “The task,” he breathed in pain, “… is now yours... the four of you… my... family… remember he of the humans who lives among the woods, will save us.”

  He looked weakly up into Alex’s eyes… then his body went limp. Alex held on to him, pleading… and then the tears started.

  “Wolf?”

  “Nooo!”

  FabianRoss screamed with such anger that his shirt ripped, his skin started to grow hair and he slowly transformed into… a wolf.

  “What the devil?” one of the men said.

  Dorian felt incredible pain in his arm, right where the bite mark was and let out an ear piercing scream. He was next to change, first his back arched up as if in pain, then his legs buckled, then his arms muscles started to bulge and a low horrifying growl started from deep within him. Then Marcie felt the surge in her body. Her ears pulled out then pointed straight up and hair grew all over her. Her fangs were sharp and salivating. Alex stood up…stared at his friends and his dying new friend… then pulled off his shirt, showing off the bite marks on his arm. He shone an angry smile and his teeth started to grow into fangs. The boss pulled out his rifle again, slowly took aim at Alex who was walking up to the men as his body changed. His pale skin soon became covered in dark brown hair and his howl sent shivers through the rest of the men who quickly hopped off their machines and ran. They were falling over themselves and scattered down the road screaming at the top of their lungs. The rifle was aimed and cocked at Alex, then

  BAM!

  A swift punch to his face caused him to drop the gun and fall off the machine to the ground below. Alex’s dad hopped to the ground, after connecting that blow, and was unsure of whether or not he could approach his son.

  “Son?”

  The other three were bent over the wolf, who after emitting his last breath, started to morph back into human form. They stood close as his face became all too familiar to all of them, he had turned back into...

  “Principal James?” Mr. Davidson said.

  “James,” Dorian said under his breath… Santiago is Spanish for St. James. His wife called him Santiago.”

  The principal’s body finally morphed back fully into Mr. James… then it started to age rapidly. The three friends howled and ran back into the woods. Alex, now fully wolf, stood in front of his father.

  “Son?”

  “Sorry Dad it was the only way I thought you’d listen. I asked him to bite us so we’d be a part of his family.”

  He reached out to hold his son, but Alex instead backed off… and ran off into the woods with his friends. Tony Davidson fell to his knees in front of the fallen principal.

  CHAPTER 8:

  The crowd was hushed in the school auditorium on Monday morning. Teachers and faculty filled the room and every student was present.

  “We all wish to remember Principal James for the man he was, honorable, reliable and a great leader of this school,” Ms. Lewter the counselor said on the microphone, “…his family will suffer his loss due to his tragic accidental hunting death in the woods this past weekend. But all of you – The Lobo Cliff Elementary School student body, Home of the Wolves, will remember him and give tribute to him.”

  She walked off the stage and over to the side door, hugged a nearby teacher as a tear slowly dripped from her eye. The assistant principal walked up.

  “Ok students, you may quietly go back to class, and we all want to welcome Dorian Garcia back to school. Mr. James wanted to commemorate this day as Dorian Day and we will keep with his wishes. After a long bout with a bad sickness, Dorian is back in the fold. Welcome back, son.”

  The kids all filed out of the auditorium. The four friends walked up to the shaken counselor.

  “Ms. Lewter? We uh… we need to talk to you. Can we go to your office?”

  “The four of you? Sure.”

  They walked down the hallway and into her office. She walked in last, closed her door behind her.

  “Alex, why did they say he died in a hunting accident?”

  “Duh Marcie, you want them to tell the truth? Dad was the one who turned his body in to the police, how else would they explain it?”

  “Well, I guess that makes sense.”

  FabianRoss walked over to her desk and bumped into the globe, it started to fall and Dorian reached out in quick reflexes and snatched it before it hit the ground, but pushed Ms. Lewter into the door in the process and she bumped her arm against the knob.

  “Oh…”

  She grabbed her arm like it was in pain.

  “You ok, M
s. Lewter?”

  “Yes, yes Marcie... seems I have a pain on the back part of my arm, just beneath the bicep.”

  She pulled up her sleeve and looked in the mirror… and saw the bite mark.

  “Oh my!” she screamed.

  The kids all turned looking at each other… FabianRoss was smiling, showing off his… fangs.

  “FabianRoss…!” Marcie mumbled under her breath.

  THE END

  Follow the adventures of Alex, Marcie, Dorian and Fabian-Ross in

  Before Dawn - Book 2: Bad Blood in Lobo Cliff

  There’s a secret in Lobo Cliff, Florida, a small town miles from Tampa Bay. A quartet of fourth graders, all close friends, had discovered something in the woods that would haunt them for the rest of their lives - a secret only they knew about, until Mr. King shot him. Not only was the werewolf a friend, but before he was killed, each kid had inherited its curse. And now a newcomer to town, the new principal, suspects. Something ain’t right in this town and he’s out to find out - and that discovery could cause serious repercussions to all who dwell in Lobo Cliff. It’s up to the kids to stop him and they will give it all they have, even if it means losing it all, to keep the curse at home… in Lobo Cliff. It’s a battle to the finish as they are introduced to a new enemy, who rivals powers of their own, plus a nosey, pestering outsider determined to crush this town.

  If you liked this story, then you might want to get a copy of Rod Martinez’s paperback/eBook, “The Juniors”.

  The Juniors is a group of four tweens who fight crime and solve mysteries in and around Tampa Bay, they don’t mean to jump into these capers, they just seem to fall into them, but each kid’s talent brings the team as a whole into a powerful unit, solving crimes and solving issues that keep the local police baffled. What happens when four tween BFFs get together? Anything! Really! Somehow, trouble always seems to find them, and NOT the other way around. Their talents and character get them through most of it, but it’s usually teamwork that saves the day.

  You can order the book from online retailers

  ISBN# 978-1-937047-05-4

  Author: Rod Martinez  Price: $ 8.95pb/$4.99eBook

  Published by Soto Publishing

  Author Website: https://rodmartinez.us

  Juniors website: https://juniorsmysteries.info

   

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  © 2012 Rod Martinez

  Juniors cover by Angelita Ramos for Soto Publishing

  Cover for “Bad Blood: Book 2” by Robert Gustilo