The Rally

"Hi everyone. I think everybody knows me by now, but in case there are some new members I'm Hank and I'm a werewolf."

[Group: "Hi Hank!"]

"I don't know what's happening lately, but it seems like my life has gotten a lot more exciting. Other than meeting Michelle, the lollipop love of my life, it's mostly been the bad kind of exciting. Last Saturday was supposed to be different but it wasn't.

"Michelle and I didn't have anything planned for Saturday. We were just going go to a movie or maybe even just stay home, cuddle on the couch and watch a few DVDs. You know, just hang out and enjoy being together.

"Luke had other ideas. You remember him? He's Michelle's brother and the scriptwriter who's working on a werewolf-vampire movie for grown ups. Based at least a little bit on what he observes from Michelle and me. Anyway, Michelle and I were trying to decide between a movie theater or DVDs when Luke suggested a walk in the park. That sounded like a fun idea, too, even if it wasn't just going to be Michelle and me. So we headed out toward the park.

"Luke grabbed his writer's notebook but that didn't seem strange to me. He never goes anywhere without that thing. He says you never know when an idea will hit you or when you'll see something that just has to be included in a story. This time, Luke knew he was going to see something worth writing down, he just didn't tell us about it.

"It was kind of nippy outside, which gave made it even more natural for me to walk with my arm around Michelle. Sharing bodily warmth and all that. We just wandered, enjoyed watching the families playing in the park and followed along behind Luke. Off in the distance we began to hear some voices coming over a loud speaker or something and some cheering. There are rallies in the park all the time, though, and Michelle and I were too busy paying attention to each other to pay attention to anything else. But Luke was leading us right to the rally.

"He tried to act all surprised when we reached it, like he didn't know what it was about, but Luke can't act worth a damn. He said something like, 'Oh my!' then dug out his notebook and started scribbling. Michelle and I just stared in disbelief.

"There were probably a thousand people or more standing before a small stage. Erected behind the stage was a big sign that read 'Alpo must go!' and another that read 'Internment or death!' People in the audience held signs like 'The only good were is a dead were!' and even 'God hates alpos!' I was stunned. I mean, I remember that stupid editorial after the big Thanksgiving Day turkey drop but I thought it had blown over. Wrong!

"The man on stage was really whipping the crowd into a frenzy. 'Why does the government let these sickos walk among us regular people? That's what I want to know!' Some in crowd called out 'Yeah!' or 'You tell them, Riley!'

"Riley was just getting started, 'President Obama promised us change we could believe in. Well, rounding up those animals is the kind of change this country needs! If the government is going to spend billions and billions of dollars, why not spend it to make our children safe from the scourge of ALPS?'

"I was still just staring at this, my good mood shot all the Hell. But Michelle got really pissed off at Luke. 'You knew this was going to be going on, Luke! Don't you dare try to deny it,' she said. 'Why did you have to drag us along and ruin our day?'

"Luke at least looked a little sheepish, 'I need to see how this kind of thing affects someone with ALPS. I needed an honest response so my script will be authentic. I really am sorry, but I've got show how much this kind of thing hurts people like Hank so the audience will sympathize with the ALPS character.'

"I think Michelle had a whole lot more she wanted to say, but things took an...exciting turn right about then. You won't be surprised to learn I wasn't the only person with ALPS watching the rally. A group of six guys in gang colors were pushing their way through the audience. They didn't look like they wanted to debate anything with Riley, either. Man, the one thing the ALPS community didn't need right then was more bad publicity. And if those guys transformed and ripped into Riley I figured we'd be one step closer to being rounded up.

"I turned to Luke and said, 'You and Michelle get out of here now. This is about to get really ugly!' Then I started running toward the stage, hoping I could get there before the gang bangers. I got lucky. The gang stopped at the front of the crowd to shout insults at Riley and try to get him mad. But Riley had loudspeakers. He just talked right over them, using them as extra fodder to build up more hatred. Finally the gang bangers got tired of shouting and transformed.

"There was plenty of screaming as the crowd scrambled to get away from them. One second there were six guys in colors, next second there were six rottweilers snarling up at Riley. I'll give Riley one thing, he went white but he held his ground and continued with his rant. I don't know if he was being brave or stupid, but he stuck to his guns.

"The were-rottweilers were taking their time, now, growling and barking and foaming at the mouth a bit. You know, putting on the whole 'we are so bad and so mean' show for the crowd. It gave me the time I needed to transform and leap up onto the stage. Let me tell you, that really got everyone's attention! If the crowd had scrambled and screamed a bit at the rottweilers, they got nearly hysterical when I showed up. The idiots didn't even realize I had put myself between the were-rottweilers and that bastard Riley. The were-doggies noticed, though, and they weren't real happy about it.

"Next thing, the leader of the pack leaped at me and the fight was on. Normally, a wolf against a rottweiler is going to go the wolf's way. But there were six of them and just one of me. I kept moving and snapping and clawing and doing my best to keep them back and away from the speaker. They seemed happy to fight it out with me before taking on Riley.

"They never did get any good bites or scratches on me, but they got lots and lots of little ones. I managed to put three of them down and out of the fight, but by then I was really tired and hurt and losing blood. I knew I wasn't going to win this one, that they were going to rip Riley to shreds and I'd probably get lumped in with them in the news stories. The leader of the pack knew I was pretty much out of it, too. He glared at me, got his other two dogs to attack me then went for Riley's throat.

"He didn't get there, though. I don't know how long Michelle had been there but she caught the pack leader by the tail and just slammed him down onto the stage. The leader was stunned a bit but rolled up and was about to try again when Michelle leaned over and flashed her fangs at him! That dog took to whining and whimpering and he and his gang ran off with their tales between their legs.

"And you know what? That Riley guy was loving every minute of it! I finally tuned in to what he was saying. 'See? Do you see, good people?' he preached into the microphone. 'Do you see what these animals are capable of? I dared to speak the truth and my very life was threatened because of it!'

"That was just too much for me. Here the very people he was railing against had just saved his life and he was claiming we were all a bunch of savage animals! Still in wolf form, I limped over to him and his eyes got wide as I came closer. He never did shut up, though. Behind me, Michelle said, 'Don't do it, Hank! He's not worth it!'

"I really, really wanted to bite that bastard on the ass and let him see what ALPS was like from our side. But I knew Michelle was right. I transformed back to human form, standing right in front of Riley. I spoke loud enough that the microphone picked up what I had to say, 'Screw you, asshole!' And then I kicked him in the balls.

"The rally sort of fell apart after that. The police showed up and so did the news crews. But Michelle and I were able to slip away in all the confusion. We spent the rest of the afternoon and evening on the couch and we even cuddled some for comfort. Mostly, we just got drunk.

"I hate to say it, people, but that whole internment idea isn't just a one shot, stupid news editorial. It's a movement now. It might be small, but we can't just sit around and hope it just goes away. We've got to figure out how to combat it and I don't think a movie that puts us in a good light is going to be enough."