Of Alpha and Omega: Chapter 1

Original story by ALPHAwolfOMEGA

Editing and continuity by Manawolf

A’Blam, Loupians, Chattans, and related elements copyright Sarah Wheeler, used with permission

I have lived on this Earth for a good thirty years. I have to say I lived up to my mother’s expectations – I was more of a gentleman than a warrior. While he was rarely unloving, my father never quite accepted me, never understood why I would rather take a beating than fight back. As time went on, this showed more and more in his temper. Aye, I would guess this is where it began, twelve years ago…

As I bottled all anger and pain, I began to distrust everything and everyone. You never knew when they’d turn and laugh at you, kick you in the gut for a cheap thrill. Aye, I had learned that life was harsh, and far too soon. Friends were rare and precious. Most precious was Shieta, a female Lupine. Many said she was pretty, but I never noticed, and it wouldn’t have mattered. All I knew was that she accepted who I was. I was a loner in the crowd, but with her, I was never alone. We had stayed friends until my 18^th birthday. Up until the Incident.

“What in the hell were you doing there?! You have any idea what the fuck you’ve done?!” my father raged.

“I didn’t do it -” I tried to object, but he cut me short.

“Oh, so you just happened to be there when they found that kid’s body, and it just happened that you were covered in his blood? Don’t give me that crap!”

“I didn’t do it on purpose! He pulled a knife on me and threatened Shieta. I saved her life damnit!”

“Just shut your muzzle. This conversation is over.”

I couldn’t take it. I ran. I ran out of that damned house and kept running till I got to Shietas’.

“Shieta? Are you there? Shieta, please speak to me!”

The door opened slowly, paused, and.there was a slight scuffle as she unhooked the doorlatch.

“Shaul, what are you doing here?” she asked in surprise.

“I ran. The cops are lookin’ for me now. So is my dad.”

Her eyes widened in horror. “You did what?!”

“I didn’t think…”

“For sure you didn’t think! I thought you were going to stay back and try to explain to the cops what happened.”

“I did! They tried to beat me up, so, I - I ran from them and went home.” I was in tears. I never dreamed I could kill. “My dad yelled – he just wouldn’t listen, he thought I’d done it on purpose…”

“You’re still bleeding. Oh God, the cut is deep.”

I hadn’t noticed. I still had adrenaline in my blood. It was slowly draining away, but panic followed in it’s wake.

“How deep is deep?”

“Deep enough. I think it’s gonna leave a scar.”

“Oh.”

The next twenty minutes were spent on cleaning and bandaging my cuts and scrapes. I had never been in a real fight before. I have no idea how I beat a guy with a knife, especially a Chattan that big. They’re supposed to be stronger than most Lupines, heavier-built. Now, my main worry was what I should do. I knew there was no real way out of this situation. I guess I would just turn myself in and serve out whatever I was given.

“Shieta, you know I’m going to end up in prison for a while.”

“Shhh… let’s not worry about that just now,” she whispered, and kissed me.

I was taken by surprise. The idea that anyone might take an interest in me was a foreign concept. When she finally pulled away, I gazed at her in awe. I’d never truly looked at her before, and her beauty was stunning.

“Wow… never had that…”

“What, you mean you’ve never been kissed?”

“Not really. Never noticed how gorgeous you were either.”

She kissed me again and then I just let her take control. I don’t know what she did, but I was relaxed, and the fear and shock had finally left me. When I came back to reality, I found our bodies entwined.

“You finally woke up.” She said, softly.

“Aye, what happened?”

She just smiled and kissed me again. Damn, who’d have thought I’d be this lucky in one night? I wanted to stay in that moment for eternity. But, I couldn’t. I had to face reality. I had killed a man, and there was almost no evidence that it was truly self-defense.

Oh, damn it all to hell! Why is it I had to take Shieta out to dinner and go that route? There were twenty other routes, why that one way, why that night?

“You know what I have to do, right?”

“Yes.” She sounded sad.

“You’re a witness. You’ll have to testify.”

“I know.”

I knew that I wouldn’t get off easy, even if it was self-defense. The minimum sentence was two years; I supposed I’d be lucky to get five. The Court had gotten extremely strict over the past 50 years. When the Lupines and Chattans made contact with the humans and populations merged, laws had to be made much more… harsh. At least, that’s how it was on planets as densely populated as Earth. The planet had gone to hell, and people who could afford it left. The strain was eased somewhat by the exodus, but still, Earth was a cesspool for whoever stayed behind.

“I should go.”

“Aye, but remember this, Shaul. I love you.”

We gazed at each other for a while before I kissed her. Then we embraced one last time and I left to go to the police station. I knew the court would probably have me incarcerated for at least five years since I ran from the cops. My family would disown me. Maybe Shieta would be there when I got out. Maybe…

I made my way to the police station and they asked me what I was reporting. I started to explain when they took out the handcuffs. I was taken to a room in the back. It was fairly small, with a mirror in front of me, two chairs on one side of a small table and one chair on the other side. Who’d have thought it was actually like in the movies? Two Human officers walked in.

“So you’re the one who took down a cougar?” Said one of the officers.

“Aye.” I replied.

“Can you explain what happened?”

“Aye. I was coming home with my friend. I took her out to dinner. The guy jumped us. He wanted my wallet and he had a knife. Then he lunged at me and I wrestled him for a while. I don’t know what happened but then he was on the ground bleeding. I waited for the cops to show, but when they did, they tried to beat me down so I ran.”

“You’re sayin’ it was all an act of self-defense?”

“Yes, sir.”

“You stabbed the guy twice and ran from our officers…”

“They tried to beat me down!”

“That’s a bunch of shit!”

“It’s the truth! You wanna give me a lie test? Go on!”

Things got quiet for a little after that. They walked out for a few minutes and two other officers came in. They took me to a phone and told me I was to have one phone call. I was trying to think of who I should call and thought about Shieta. Maybe I should call her. I didn’t want to speak to my parents, it would just be a rehash of my father’s earlier rant. I guess I would call Shieta.

When I got through, I told her what happened. I asked her to tell my parents I was in prison for the night and that they ought to get me a lawyer.

When I was finished I was taken to a cell. It wasn’t as bad as you might think. I had enough room to do some exercise, enough lighting to see what I was doing, and a decent bed. I wondered why the bottom bunk was empty, and figured that I was alone.

Five minutes later the biggest, meanest looking jaguar I’d ever seen stalked in. Jaguar, I suppose, would be a misnomer – all werecats are Chattans, the same species. Patchy black fur sheathed a typically stocky Chattan frame; his movements were sinuous and confidently predatory. A thigh-length tail balanced his digitigrade stance, and his blocky head framed by round cheektufts tilted as he tested my scent.

“I have a new room mate?” He said to the guard.

“Looks it. Try to go easy on this one.” The guard replied.

I was starting to feel the adrenaline in my blood. I was getting the shakes and, I could tell he noticed. He just smiled as he walked toward me. I was up against the cell wall by the time he was in the middle of the room.

“I’m A’Kron. The name means ‘Silent Death’.”

“How’d you get that name?” I managed to say.

“Sniped ten guys in war,” he said, bearing his canines in a grin both arrogant and threatening.

“So - what got you in here?”

“Slit a guys throat when he punched me.”

He walked toward me and I instinctively began to growl. I wished I hadn’t, but it was instinct. He stopped short and smiled. He began to walk toward me again.

“Now, what was that me for?”

“Look, I really don’t want any more trouble.”

“And what’d you do, kid?”

“It was self-defense.”

“Sure…”

He put his hand on my arm and I panicked. I grabbed his hand and pulled. Then I bit into his arm, hard. I think I surprised him more than actually hurt him when he yelled. I ran across the cell, but I knew there was no way out.

“You mangy son of a bitch!” He roared.

“GUARD!” I screamed.

“I’m gonna fuckin’ kill you!”

“GUARD!”

I was lucky, A’Kron was about to rip me apart when two guards came to the cell.

“A’Kron! Back off!” One of them yelled.

“Don’t make us have to shoot you!” The other screamed.

A’Kron knew they would. He backed off, thigh-length tail lashing in anger.

“Now, we’re going to give you a nice little cell over in Block B.”

“What? I didn’t do nothing!”

“Yeah, and if my aunt had balls, she’d be my uncle.”

I really hope my court hearing would be soon. I spent the rest of the night awake. I couldn’t sleep. I was hoping to hell I wouldn’t have to put up with any more shit like that. Why the hell did I bite him? Now he’d be pissed off at me for the rest of however long I was here.

The next day I was told I had a visitor. I went over to see who it was. It was my dad. I gathered up some courage and went over. I picked up the headset and put it on.

“I hope you’re happy with yourself.” He said.

“Dad, shut up. Did you get a lawyer?”

“Yeah, and a damned expensive one too.”

“How’s mom?”

“She’s shocked. How could you kill anyone like that?”

“I don’t want to hear about it anymore.”

“Fine, but remember when you get out, you are no longer in this family.”

“I never was part of the family.”

I took off the headset and walked toward the guard. He shook his head and I just gave him a look. He took me to the mess hall for breakfast.

“You really should try to keep some peace when you talk to people.” He said to me.

“What’s it to you?”

“Trust me, it makes things easier.”

I got my food and took a seat. I decided to sit alone for today. A group of Lupines came toward me.

“I hear you bit A’Kron. You’re either tough as fucking hell or just dumb.” The leader said.

“And you are?” I replied.

“Jake. Who the hell are you?”

“Shaul. What do you want.” After that chat with my father, I was in no mood for nonsense.

“Ha! We got ourselves a tough guy here!”

“No, I just don’t trust anyone here. If you don’t mind, I’d like to eat my food now.”

I could feel the pack’s tension rising, ruffs and tails bristling. I either screwed up or gained respect, because suddenly, Jake smiled at me.

“He’s cool.” Jake said.

I thought I heard a sigh from the members of his group when he said that. When I finished, he showed me around and started telling me the basics. I showed that I had some guts when I bit A’Kron, and when I talked back to him, so I wouldn’t have too many people bothering me. I had also inadvertently joined their pack. It was the Alpha Pack gang, one of the tougher and more powerful ones in the prison. As usual, they had some problems with the Chattan Shang’an gang. As it turns out, A’Kron was in the Shang’an gang.

About two days later a guard came by my cell with an envelope. I opened it and read what it said. I was to appear in court in three days. The charge was second-degree murder.

Three days went by fast. It was time to go to court, and I was ready. I hoped Shieta knew, or at least expected what questions were going to be asked. Damned lawyers, they always word things so that it could mean something completely different from what it sounds. I guess that’s why they cost so damned much, because they have the power to fuck with what happens to you.

When the hearing began, it looked pretty bad for me. The prosecutor looked pretty pissed off. Maybe it was having to lug around that oversized briefcase full of legal papers, probably the case against me. The judge looked like he had already decided to lock me up for good.

The hearing began as most hearings have. Everything was going well for the prosecutor until he got to Shieta, the key witness. She helped my case out a hell of a lot. Most people would think she’s stupid because she’s pretty, but she’s smarter than most of her teachers. She answered all the questions firmly and actually managed to stump the prosecutor. The hearing was stopped for an hour for lunch, and Shieta joined me for a sandwich at a deli down the street.

“Baby, I love you!” I said as soon as we got out of the court building.

“I love you too,” she said, and crushed me in a hug.

“I think the judge might actually let me off easy.”

“I hope so.” Her eyes glowed.

I just smiled and we went and got a sandwich. We ate quick and spent the rest of the hour walking. I got some looks from other Chattans. I knew that it was in the news that I had killed someone. Hell, if all the prisoners knew, then so did the rest of the city. I just hoped that didn’t make me a target.

When I got back and court had resumed the hearing, I was ready to hear ‘Guilty on all charges’. Instead, when the judge looked at me with steady eyes, the words out of his mouth were “Not guilty.” I was dumbfounded. The prosecutor jumped up and yelled something. I didn’t care. The judge demanded order in the courtroom and threatened to charge the prosecutor with contempt. Even though I had done an act of self-defense, the New Law demanded that I serve some time for killing a fellow Citizen of the United. I was sentenced to two years of prison.