The Broken Arrow Premonition

It's 7:30 A.M. on March 10th in Broken Arrow, Oklahoma. Special Agent Detective Margaret sat in a small almost vacant diner waiting for her new partner to arrive. Sheriff Black Crow walked out of his patrol vehicle in a very composed manner with his heavy brown leather boots. He entered and tilted his hat to the waitress across the room, then joined the young blonde woman sitting at the booth by the window seat.

"Hey there, I figured you'd be wanting to meet in T-Town instead", he sat down opposite Margaret and placed his wide brimmed white hat besides him. Margaret smiled and noticed he had a long braided ponytail hidden under his hat which he pulled and rested to the front of his shoulders. 

"Hey there, Mr. Black Crow, it's good to see you again".

"Likewise, little lady."

"What can I get you, Sheriff, the usual?" said the waitress, an older woman with a kind disposition. She smiled and jotted down their order.

"Yes ma'am, please fix me up a coffee won't you, cream and sugar please" he added. Black Crow was an old-fashion man with a tragic history in the community. One of his sons had been kidnapped over thirteen years ago but they never caught the culprits. It however made him a more tenacious investigator who had dedicated his years learning everything he could about the mysterious Wolf Nation.

Margaret stared outside of her window observing the small town indigenous community. She could hardly focus after the strange dream from last night. A young toddler cried out to her laying on an open field, the red rocky mountains in the distance. She ran towards it panting like a dog, but when she held the baby to her face, she saw a ferocious beast. In her dream she could see herself in a rugged form, her hair was unkempt and her clothing tattered.

After her last mission in Sunnyside, New York she felt she could cave in any second. She watched her partners succumb to a bloody carnage while she sat by helplessly. Those memories forced her to relive that trauma like an incurable infection in the mind.

"I'm confused, Ms. Margaret". Black Crow said. "Its an unusual request to have me track down some members of the small local hoodlum gang here" he said. "It just seems odd some small town vagrants would be associated with the massacre back in New York involving the Mafia in Romania ". he continued "Listen, Ms. Margaret, I ain't some halfwit small town Sheriff whose going to shoot first and ask questions later. This is my community and I've built trust in these people, I can get them to speak".

"Sheriff, there is an urban legend around town. One they speak of regarding a group of elusive people who are said to be shapeshifters, they supposedly hide out in the mountains here". 

Black Crow pinched his forehead and stared outside the window. He sighed and fell silent.

"These are only children's story, the Wolf Nation is just a gang of ruthless criminals, he said.

"Sure thing" said Margaret.

Two strange men with long black hair and clean shaven faces walk in through the doorway, they appeared solemn and irate muttering to one another. They have on an inconspicuous baseball cap and sunglasses, one of them orders something with the waitress. The other one sits besides Sheriff Black Crow. Margaret could feel them staring as she observed their nervous body language.

Suddenly Black Crow's cup spilled on his lap, he jumped back up from the burning sensation "Sonuva" he shouted.

One of the men apologized excessively and handed the Sheriff napkins.

"I'm so sorry, officer".

"Don't worry son, just be careful next time". Black Crow walked back to the bathroom. One of the men got up abruptly and sat at the other end of the booth where Margaret was sitting. She stared suspiciously at him.

"Can I help you" said the Detective.

"Yeah you can as a matter of fact", the long haired man removed his sunglasses and hat. "You can stay out of Oklahoma unless you're aching for a death wish.". He slammed his fist onto the table spilling her coffee mug. "You're not wanted here" he said. " We don't need no trigger-happy city cop poking around our business". 

The two men standing before her fit the description of the suspects seen escaping from the Sunnyside incident. They even drove the same style white pickup truck.

"Do you know who we are?" he said.

"I have a suspicion".

"That's right, Detective. We're the men responsible for ridding this world of those leeches. You're in the middle of a war you don't want to be in. We won't hesitate to kill you if we have to. These raids stop in our town stop today", he demanded. "You can go back to eating your greasy pizza in that piss-smelling cesspool of yours".

Margaret pleaded. "The Broken Arrows signify a sign of peace, the blood shed will never end with these attacks, they will only fight back twice as hard".

"I don't give two rats asses" the man snapped pushing the booth table towards her abdomen.

Margaret's glimmering blue eyes slowly changed to a pale yellow as she held the table from the other end. The long haired man noticed her eyes and stood up.

"You two aren't going anywhere" the detective said reaching out to her holster.

The two men quickly draw their weapons in return. Detective Margaret noticed his tattoo, five wolf paw prints and spirals designs on his wrist. Black Crow walked back into the dining area and noticed an infuriated Margaret giving death stares at the two men while the waitress and the patrons cowered below their tables.

"This didn't have to escalate" one of the strange man said.

"Well, well, well" said Black Crow pointing the end of his barrel to one of the men, taking part in the tense standoff. 

"If it ain't the Cleghorn brothers". he said. The two men looked towards each other. "I thought you looked familiar, been looking for you two for quite some time". Sheriff Black Crow said with a strong disdain in his voice. He had been looking for a probably cause, seeing them pointing a weapon at a bureau agent seemed like a serendipitous opportunity. The Cleghorn brothers were career criminals heavily suspected of being involved in the disappearance of Black Crow's son over a decade ago.

"Ain't I a lucky man?" said Black Crow gritting his teeth.

"Stay back, old man", one of the man warned. "We don't want to harm a fellow tribesman, even if you are on the wrong side of the law".

"No you two don't understand how delighted I am right now" said Black Crow.

"We're not letting them leave" said the Detective.

Both of the men start pacing their weapons to the Sheriff and Detective more aggressively and shouting for them to give them space. The other customers gasped and stumbled around under their tables.

Black Crow paused for a moment and noticed the restaurant had several bystanders around, he looked at a young boy that would have been his son's age and felt a sudden need to calm the situation down. "Look, it's OK" he said. "I know you two want to get out of here, why don't we spare these innocent people here in this diner". He lowered his weapon and urged the Detective to oblige with him.

"Now stir some dust under you". Black Crow said. The Cleghorn brothers walked slowly backwards towards the door and made their escape in their pickup truck.

"We had them!" said Margaret.

"No, Detective I know exactly where they're going, We're gonna get these degenerates and we'll need some back up, I'll round up the entourage".

"Not yet" yelled the Detective. Black Crow appeared perplexed at her reaction.

"I can't spare any more officers. Your only job here is to take me to those two men, and once we're there and I get what I'm looking for, you're more than welcome to call for backup". she said firmly. "I know you have a history with those men, but it's an order".

Sheriff Black Crow sped over a hundred mph through the small dirt roads deeper into the rural county. Detective Margaret clutched onto the grab handles on the ceiling and turned to Sheriff Black Crow who had an unbroken focus on the road. She is surprised his large cowboy hat hadn't flown out through the windows yet.

"You know Sheriff". Margaret said trying to break the tension in the car. "My grandfather is from Oklahoma. You probably won't believe me, I am one-fourth from the local tribe here. My dad use to tell me the stories about the spirits in these mountains. Some people were born with two inner wolves inside them. They were fighting a never ending battle". Sheriff Black Crow held his unflinching stare on the road. "He use to say one of the inner wolves represented the evil in your soul which was anger, envy and fear. The other represented goodness in your heart, humility, kindness and compassion".

"You know what, Ms. Margaret", The Sheriff broke his silence "I would agree with that sentiment. I've been working tirelessly to protect the innocent people in this town within the rights of the law". he gritted his teeth again. "Today I'll get my justice served on a golden platter, even if it leaves me rotting in those mountains".

The two officers arrived in front of a small community of houses, there was a congregation of men and women lounging around wearing beautiful hand-woven colorful garments. They looked honest and not privy to any of the suspected illicit behavior the officers were looking for. They finally spot the white pick in front of a small farm house several blocks away. Behind the two of them there were miles of a mesmerizing backdrop of red mountains. They shadowed the horizon with miraculous red colors. Detective Margaret watched the breeze pushing heavily through the open fields of thistles and tall grass in the distance. There she felt a certain profound peace looking at the natural environment, but then unexpectedly felt a strong sensation in her body of anxiety, like an intuition of danger closing in. She spotted a large flame brewing near by. The hairs behind her neck stood out as she walked closer, feeling the urge getting stronger in her stomach. Sheriff followed close behind.

"I said wait back here Sheriff."

"I sure as hell aren't letting you stop me from catching those boys out there Ms. Margaret, you're going to need my help. The less stubborn you are, the better this situation will unwind".

"You stay still Sheriff or I'll arrest you myself". Detective Margaret affirmed him in an attempt to protect him from the suspected dangers of the Wolf Nation gang.

Suddenly the detective heard a loud howling sound in the distance.

She removed her firearm from her holster and walked faster towards the flame. There is a group of shirtless tattooed men staring at her. They sat in circular formation around the fire. Some of them standing smoking cigars and drinking beers. She quickly recognized one of the Cleghorn brothers towards the end.

"You, take me to your leader". she demanded and pointed her gun towards him. "Don't make me ask again".

The Cleghorn brother stared at her without saying a word. The Detective grabbed him and pushed him away from the group against the wall to pat him down and handcuff him. She then looked through the rest of the group for a familiar face from a suspected photograph she studied. "I want whose in charge of the murders at Sunnyside". she demanded.

She walked over to a large intimidating older man sitting at the center with long white hair and beard who fit the description. He continued smoking his cigar and blew his smoke towards the Detective's face. Detective Margaret picked him up from his shirt and twisted his arm behind his back.

"You're coming with me". she said wiping the sweat from her brow and struggling to breath from the thick smoke building up. The hot winds repeatedly blew her blonde hair from her forehead and blurred her vision. She hustled to move them over towards her vehicle and get away from a dangerous situation escalating.

"Leave him!" said a soft voice coming from the shadows. The emotionless group suddenly in synchronization lowered their heads in a submissive manner. A young boy who barely looked like a teenager came out of the darkness and revealed himself. He had long hair and a very young face, but showed an unexpected quality of assertiveness.

"Detective, you've got the Wolf's blood in your body". he said. "We are not enemies".

"You haven't even hit puberty yet" Detective Margaret scoffed nervously, she was shocked that he knew of her ancestry.

"There is no way you're leading this group" she continued.

"Deceptions of mother nature" said the boy standing barefoot on the hot charred sands below. "I was chosen by the higher spirits to operate this monster inside". he smiled. "My people answer to my will, ever since I became a man, this hunger grew stronger, this power flowed through my veins, I only want to protect this family".

"You're a child, you weren't involved in the killings in Sunnyside" Detective Margaret said. "You're a victim".

"Detective, Do you see what they're trying to do? Destroy our lineage, we can't roll over and allow our people to die in vain". the young boy pleaded. "Several of us were murdered just a few weeks ago, they're picking us out one by one".

The detective pulled the two men against the wall. She then reached for the boys arms. Then she felt a sudden force pushed her back, she loses her balance and trips on a wood blocks from the campfire. The deep uncomfortable feeling in her body grows stronger. She tried to look back towards where the young boy was last but the smoke irritated her pupils. There is a deep roaring growl emanating from behind the flames. Followed by an uneasy sound of muscles tightening, bones cracking and painful moaning sounds.

Through the smoke, several beasts reveal themselves from the group of men from before. They are menacing with their large jaws and teeth poking outwards from their gums. The larger more terrifying of them in the center, she could see the familiar eyes of the biggest wolf glaring at her. It was the young boy, he was the alpha male in the group. She is shocked to find the fiercest of the monsters was only an innocent kid.

Detective Margaret's eyes grew to a pale yellow, she closed her eyes and forced herself to transform into her alternate form, she screamed as her clothing ripped from her body. She contorts into a blonde beast with large fangs and claws. One of the Wolf Nation beasts jumped onto her clinging their claws into her fur. Margaret lunges her jaw onto his back and tosses him onto the side of a building. She bites another and tosses him into the flames burning a foul charcoal-like sulfurous odor. The alpha tackled and tossed Margaret across the field effortlessly as he was almost four times her size. She cried and struggled to stand up, but falls again. Several others growl and show their fangs. Suddenly loud gun shots are shot into the sky. Sheriff Black Crow is standing around watching wolves tearing each other apart, he noticed the pools of blood in every direction.

One of the Cleghorn Brothers is standing across him handcuffed against the wall. The Cleghorn turns to the Sheriff and dislocates his wrist from the handcuffs. Then runs swinging his large claws towards Black Crow. The Sheriff reciprocates and emptied the rest of his clip into the Cleghorn brother's chest. He falls spitting blood from his mouth.

"That's what you deserve for taking my son from me all of those years ago" he screamed, he spat at the beasts body laying on the ground twitching.

"Now I know there's another of you Cleghorns out there" he demanded. "You better reveal yourself".

The other beasts are growling towards the Sheriff more aggressively. Detective Margaret is still breathing heavily in her wolf form nearby trying to regain her balance. Suddenly the young boy transforms back to his human form and walked towards the Sheriff. He had a shirt tied around his waist. He looked up and extended his arm to him.

"Dad?" he said.

Black Crow stared at the boy and brushed his hair from his forehead examining his facial features. He dropped his gun on the bloodied dirt floor.

"Son, is that really you?". Black Crow's eyes filled with tears.

"I don't believe it, you're alive?"

The young boy smiled and turned back into his beastly form and towered over Black Crow.

"You've abandoned me, and you'll pay for it".

He lunges at him and swung his claws towards his face. The campfire's flames grew out of control and are now burning the houses around the surrounding area. The young boy runs off behind the buildings, along the other wolves. Black Crow lays on the ground holding onto his neck, while blood streams between his fingers. He turns to the yellow eyed blonde beast breathing heavily nearby and they lock eyes for a moment.

"Ms. Margaret" he smiled before taking his final breath.

The detective transforms back to her bipedal form and runs towards the Sheriff to check his pulse. She looks around the area and there are charred animal bodies and corpses left on the ground. The last of the Wolf Nation members were now long gone, except the old man with long white hair handcuffed lying on his stomach cursing under his breath.