Either way, according to Simon, this was our Hail Mary. Our very last resort. We were running out of options. When I pulled into the parking lot of the conference center later that afternoon, I wanted to feel relief that this nightmare would all be over soon enough. But all I felt was extreme dread.
There were too many variables. Too many things that could go disastrously, horribly wrong. Numerous questions plagued my mind, starting with wondering how we would accomplish killing a werewolf. My ending thoughts led me back to Matt, feeling confusion regarding him. Part of me felt I hated him for dating Miranda to give her to his alpha. Another part of me inwardly knew he didn’t have a choice but to follow what his alpha said. But thinking about Matt altogether was pointless. After this was all over, the wise thing would be to walk away from him for good. No contact, I should never see him again. At the same time, the part of me that knew he didn’t have a choice in any of this dreaded the very idea of doing just that. I wouldn’t be able to not know him.
I tried to drown out my thoughts of Matt as I walked into the conference center. I took a few deep breaths, somehow finding relief in the strange scent of the carpet as well as the smell of fresh paint that always seemed to haunt the hallways. I slowly walked forward; my now too baggy pants had to be held on me by a very thick belt. Otherwise, I would have a severe wardrobe malfunction.
I gave a small wave to the girl at the guest services desk as I entered the doorway to the servers’ hallway.
“Ms. Davis,” said the familiar voice of Perry. He stood in a large doorway. Perry looked me over with a rather neutral expression. It was the look he almost always wore; you couldn’t quite ever tell what he was thinking.
“If you’re here to see Mr. Hart, then I’ll be the bearer of bad news. He’s off today.”
I knew from my times of reading the employee schedule that Hart was Matt’s last name. But that wasn’t normal. Not only was Matt almost always at the conference center, he was never off on Tuesdays. Even though I knew it was wrong to show any interest in his whereabouts, curiosity got the better of me.
“Where is he?”
Perry’s eyes didn’t look at me as he scanned the contents of the folder in his hands. “Not here.” He continued to read through a folder he was holding, walking away without giving me a second glance.
I couldn’t help but feel nervous around my former boss. He looked to be the same age as my own parents. Perry knew what the boys were, he was one of them, but he didn’t give off any indication that he knew what the boys were. “I heard y-you the first time,” I said nervously. “But what does that mean?”
Now Perry turned to assess me. “It means you aren’t doing him any favors by trying to find him. If anything, you’re making things harder.”
He then began to walk away, inspiring me to find the courage I didn’t have to speak. “I’m here f-for a job.” My stutter seemed to come out specifically when I was nervous.
Perry turned to me with a raised eyebrow. “Looking to transfer back to shipping?”
“No, I’m looking to join your pack,” I said quietly. Nothing was said for a few long moments.
Perry removed his wire-framed glasses to watch me soundlessly. “Is that so?”
I didn’t say anything as I returned his blank stare. There was something off about Perry, something that seemed as though he didn’t believe me. “I’ll pass on the message,” he said mildly, returning to the papers in his hands. He began whistling a random tune, continuing on his merry way as if we weren’t talking about something serious.
“That’s it?” I questioned in disbelief. I had to follow after him, avoiding knocking into a random server that came walking out of the kitchen with a cart. I waited for the young woman made her way down the long service hallway and out the doors before speaking again. “I’m giving you a way for all of these lies, secrets, and murders to end and you act as though I’m just putting in a s-simple request!”
My voice going slightly higher than a whisper was what inspired Perry to turn to face me. “Let’s get something straight, Ms. Davis,” he said coolly. “If it had been up to me, you never would have joined us here in the convention center.” I didn’t blink as I watched him with wide eyes. The phrasing of the “convention center” was merely a cloaking word for pack. That didn’t offend me because it wasn’t surprising. No one had ever really drawn out the welcome wagon for me. The entire duration of my employment had been spent either trying to prove myself capable of the job or hiding from my weird coworkers.
Perry took a step forward, his teeth almost gritting together. “Mr. Hart isn’t wrong; you never should have been a part of our group.” Perry clearly wanted to hammer in the point of just how unwanted I was.
“Then we agree on something,” I said coldly.
Perry gave a straight nod. He took a deep breath through his nose as he looked to be contemplating something. “Go home. I’ll pass on this information to the others.”
“And then what? I’ll get a phone call?” My sarcasm was poorly hidden.
“Or a visit tonight,” said Perry, almost thoughtfully.
From the way he phrased it, I couldn’t tell if that was a random declaration or a promise.
Later on that evening, twilight was settling in. The sky was dimming; stars were becoming visible. There were no cars in the conference center except the few that I knew belonged to the boy band. The Prius, Ford, the dilapidated Honda Civic, and the other shabby vehicle that was so outdated I couldn’t tell what brand it was. The overhead lights of the parking lot were the only lights except the faint glow of the guest services desk from the windows of the conference center. Next to the center was one of the outdoor water parks. After Labor Day, all of the outdoor pools in all of Wisconsin Dells were closed for winter. All of the summer tourists went home come early September. There would no longer be a need to stay open. At The Forest Resort, at least four acres of area was dedicated to the outdoor slides and lazy river. Named Lost Destination, the park was smack behind the hotel beside the conference center. The only way to get to the hotel from the convention area was walking at least two miles from entrance to entrance or walking across the skywalk connecting the conference center to the hotel.
I sat in my car for most of the day. I kept in contact with Simon via phone, but I didn’t go home, contrary to what my brother was encouraging me to do. I just couldn’t go through with his plan. I wanted the alpha dead probably more than anyone, but Simon and Erik’s plan was too dangerous; it would be two teenage boys against a fully grown werewolf capable of massacring half a dozen people alone. As soon as the alpha caught wind of my little brother’s plan to kill him, I couldn’t guarantee Simon and his friend would come out of tonight alive. We would all be dead. Then what of Miranda? I couldn’t guarantee even she would be left alive after the wolf discovered we’ve been plotting to kill him.
As I sat in my truck gently drumming my fingers against my steering wheel, I realized Miranda’s earlier assessment hadn’t been wrong. I was different. That’s why I was here tonight, all alone.
I really didn’t hold too much fear as I sat in the driver’s seat of the truck. I didn’t come unprepared on my probable suicide mission. A shiny, brand new revolver sat nicely placed in my oversized jacket pocket, loaded and ready to go.