Chapter Twenty Three: The Brotherhood

The strange group in Michael's room explain who they are

            Beth opened her eyes, blinking to adjust to the morning light.  There were people talking.  She only knew one of them: Michael, the man who would keep her safe. The others in the room were a mismatched group.  The man speaking to Michael wore only black, including the cowboy hat on his head.  He looked like he had just gotten off a horse; the black color covering him was turning gray with dust.  No two people in the group looked alike. 

            A second man, who was very short and seemed more of a mouse than a man, stood behind the cowboy and was listening intently to the conversation between the other two men.  This man wore a black and white suit with a gold chain running from one pocket and held his bowler hat in both hands. 

            Beth recognized the woman standing next to him.  She lived in Beth’s town.  She was Mrs. Beckett, the mayor’s wife.  Mrs. Beckett always wears the prettiest dresses!  Beth thought, I wonder where her nice dresses are now!  She’s wearing such a dirty thing now.  How sad!  She decided to ask.  “Mrs. Beckett, why aren’t you wearing your pretty dress?  I always love seeing your dresses!”

            Conversation stopped.  Everyone in the room looked at her.  The mayor’s wife smiled at the girl.  “Well, dear, I just thought I’d wear something different for this little meeting.  I want to keep it a secret that I’m here.  Can you keep a secret?” 

            Beth smiled back.  “Yes I can!”  She replied enthusiastically, “I’m real good at keepin’ secrets!”

            Mrs. Beckett beamed at Beth.  “I’m glad, dear.  You know, I have Madi here;” she pointed at a small dog at her feet.  Beth hadn’t even noticed the dog in the crowd.  “How would you like it if you, me, and my Madi went into the hall to play?”

            Beth jumped to her feet.  “Yes! Oh, yes, can we?”

            “Oh of course, child, come on.”  She ushered Beth out of the room.

*_*_*_*_*_*_*_*_*_*_*_*

            Back in the room, the group returned their focus to Michael.  “As I was saying,” the cowboy began, “my name is Joseph.  We know what you are.  We know who’s following you.  We want to help.”

            Suspiciously, Michael asked, “What’s in it for you?  I know you’re not doing this out of the blue.  You want something.  What is it?”

            Joseph smiled.  “You’re right.  We do want something, but it’s not what you think.  Our group doesn’t focus on material goods.”

            “Your group?  What kind of group are you?”

            The cowboy’s smiled widened.  “We’re The Brotherhood, Michael.  We band together in order to help those like us.”

            Michael didn’t understand.  “What do you mean ‘those like us’?”

            “Michael,” Joseph’s voice lowered, “I said we know what you are.  How could we understand what you are and still want to help you?  Why are we not running from you or trying to kill you?”

            The truth flooded over Michael.  “You’re…you’re werewolves too?”  He asked, unbelieving.

            “Yes, Michael.  Each and every one of us is a werewolf.  And there are more of us in The Brotherhood.  Many more.”

            Michael still was unsure what to think.  “Well what does your Brotherhood want from me?”    

            “It’s simple,” Joseph told him.  “We want you to become one of us.”

Reviews

[Ardeth Lane]

I love the Brotherhood, such a classic name!

[loowzerX]

I think Beth is a very smart girl. I like how you characterise her and she honestly reminds me of Katina from Roald Dahl's short story. She brings the light and sunshine in such a dark story! Keep writing!

[Darl1ng N1kk1]

Very nice! I just have two technical things: When Mrs. Beckett's talking to Beth, you have her saying "Oh course, child." It should be "of" course. ;) And you've finally stumbled on one of the difficult things about writing - point of view. I almost didn't notice the mistake at first, but you start with Beth's point of view and then switch to Johsn't perspective. You can't go from first person to omniscient in the same narrative without some sort of way to separate them. So when Beth leaves the room, just use a separator, like the ***** between paragraphs (like you did in the previous chapter).

On a less technical note, I LOVE that you used Beth's point of view! You did a good job of capturing a young girl's perspective. ;) She's so cute, you do a great job of writing her. She's a nice little break from all the darkness. :)

[Shin]

I knew there had to be more, I mean, someone must've bit William and there has to be a source to this werewolf thing, the origin of it all.