Alpha Male (8 page)

“Baby, are you sure you’re ok?” Jim asked in the dark.

“Yes, I’m fine,” she said. “You don’t have to worry about me so much.”

His hand came under the covers and rubbed against her stomach. She ignored his advances, but when he scooted closer and his hand started down towards her panties, she stopped him.

“Please, not tonight,” she said, moving his hand back onto the sheet.

“Oh, I’m sorry,” he said. “I just thought since it’s our anniversary...”

“I’m sorry,” she said. “Something is wrong, but I just don’t want to talk about. I don’t want to think about it, or hear about it. I just want it to go away.”

“I understand,” he said, pulling his hand away, but she couldn’t let go of it.

She held it for a while, and stared up at the dark ceiling, crying as he slept.

*****

Alpha Male sat on the banks of the Nicholson River, watching the current go by. The large moon cast its reflection off the water, lighting up the entire area, but the hero was shrouded by the shadows of a large concrete pillar. With his knees up by his chest, he looked down at the monstrous thing beside him. With a large sigh, he got up and pulled it along to the edge of the river.  

He examined the body, almost admiring it as his eyes ran over its contours. The thing was pure muscle. An eight foot monster with elongated arms like a gorilla and tree trunks for legs. Its misshapen head still wore a disgusting scowl and a mouth full of razor sharp teeth.  

Alpha glanced around for scrutinizing eyes. When he found none, he took a rope and tied it around the creature’s legs. Pulling the rope up, he tied a knot through a line of cinder blocks and then around its wrists. With a heavy sigh, he picked it up, and dropped it into the river.

The thing plopped down with a slash, and began to sink as the current took it away. Within seconds it was out of sight, lost beneath the water. Alpha took a step back and sat on the ground.

Resting his head in his hands, he sighed and said, “What have I done?”

*****.

Al awoke to his friend Larry shaking him. The toothless mouth covered in a stringy beard was the first thing he saw as he eyes opened up. The breath in his face was enough to gag him.

“Come on,” he said, pulling on Al’s shirt. “The cops are scouting the area looking for us. There’s a place down a few blocks where we can hide out. They don’t ask any questions there.”

Al stood up, groggy and tired. He fell against the wall as the pounding in his head took him off balance. Larry hobbled over and helped the weak man stand up.

“You need some food,” he said to Al as he took the man by the arm for support. “This life isn’t for everyone. Come on, let’s go.”

Together, they walked down the empty midnight street beneath the neon signs. A few blocks later, they came to a small brick building with a dull red door. On the stoop was a passed out black man with white hair and a brown paper bag in his hand. Larry bent down and peeked in the bag, but the bottle was empty.

“Oh well,” he said with a sneer, while pulling out the bottle he kept in his jacket. With his arm wrapped around Al’s, he twisted the cap and took a giant swig emptying half the bottle. He then passed it to Al who took a final gulp and finished it. “Sally’s a real bitch about us bringing in booze.”

“I need to lie down,” Al said, clasping his head with one hand.

“Let me see if I can’t get us a bed,” Larry said, placing his friend down by the drunken man on the stairs. Larry plodded up the stairs and in through the front door. Al could hear him talking through the open door.

“Sally,” Larry said, slurring his words. “Honey, it’s good to see you.”

“Don’t call me that, Larry,” a female voice said. “I’ll let you stay here, just don’t call me that. Your pervy ass is just about on my last nerve.”

“Can I bring my friend?” Larry asked. Al turned to look and saw a woman with black rimmed glasses, and dark hair pulled up in a bun. She had a single mole on her face just below her nose.

“Yeah, but then I’m full,” she said, leaning back.

“Is there grub?” Larry asked, stepping outside.

“Yeah, yeah,” she said. “I’ll heat you up some soup, but next time, you come at dinner, or you don’t eat.”

Larry helped Al up, and dusted him off a bit before leaning right in his face. “Sarah’s a fine piece of ass, don’tcha think?”

“I thought her name was Sally?” Al asked.

“You know what I mean,” Larry said. They stomped up the stairs, one at a time, until they were through the door. Larry marched Al down the hall and helped him sit at a table.

“I’m so thirsty,” Al said, resting his head on the table.

“Yeah, you’re always thirsty,” Larry said. Sally placed a pitcher of cold water in front of them both and some sliced bread with a tub of unlabeled butter. “Oh, my favorite.”

Al snatched up a cup and poured some water into it. He drank it down and refilled it again. Larry slopped some butter onto two pieces of bread and made a meager sandwich by mashing them together. He passed it to Al, who then picked it up and devoured a third in one bite. Larry made another sandwich for himself and bit into it as Sally approached with two steaming bowls of soup.

“Hey Sally,” Larry said with his mouth full. “Can you switch on the box?”

“You’d ask the world of me,” she said, placing the soup down. She pulled a chair out and climbed up, reaching for the button on the elevated television. Larry gave her exposed legs a lascivious glare as her skirt raised above her thighs. Her finger hit the switch and the television buzzed on. She got down and left the room as a black news anchor appeared on the screen.

Larry watched the screen with wide eyes, and said, “Holy shit, are you seeing this Al.”

“Today, Alpha Male fought and killed an unidentified creature. We have a few seconds of raw footage. Please be advised, this is not for the faint of heart,” the anchor said. The screen switched to the battle between Alpha and the beast.

“Turn it off,” Al said, his voice strained.

“As you can see here, the creature was a fair match, but thankfully, Alpha was able to take it down,” the female anchor replied.

“What, it’s just getting good,” Larry said, still looking at the footage.

“We don’t have any information on the creature, or its origins. All we know is that Alpha Male has saved us once again,” the female reporter said.

“Please, turn it off,” Al replied, his voice even more strained than before.

“That’s something we should all be thankful for. We will have more on this story as it develops,” the male anchor reported.

It wasn’t until the television set began to shake and the dishes started to rattle that Larry looked at his friend. Al was shaking, and sweating. His teeth were clenched as he spoke without moving his jaw. “Please, the TV.”

“Yeah, yeah, no problem,” Larry said, jumping up to switch it off. A crack had formed in the glass screen of the television set. Larry pulled the cord from the wall and the screen went dark.

“You Ok buddy?” he asked, stepping closer to the shaking Al.

“I don’t know, that man’s voice…It was driving me insane. I could feel the anger building up inside of me. I’m scared Larry, I’m so scared,” Al said, curling up in a ball.

“What was that?” Sally asked from the next room. “It felt like an earthquake.”

Chapter Eight.

The podium outside City Hall stood empty as the press crowded around. They all pushed forward to get closer to the partition. The giant clock above them read 11:12, the second hand rapidly approaching 11:13. The reporters were growing impatient, checking their watches, as they waited. No one saw the shadow glide across them.

Alpha Male touched down behind the podium and waved as the crowd behind the press went crazy at his appearance.

“Thank you,” he said into the microphone. His words sent them into further frenzy, hooting and hollering. They waved and cheered for him as he gave a graceful wave back. A smile crept across his face until he was grinning wide. Alpha put both hands up and gestured for the people to lower their voices. They responded by getting quiet as he said, “Thank you, thank you!”  

“As you all know, there have been some issues of late. Reports of monsters and mutants terrorizing the city. You’ve been disappointed in my efforts lately, and I understand this, but please know, I’ve been doing what I can to stop this. You’ve seen the video for yourselves, and you can clearly see that I am not taking this situation lightly. I had to put that…creature down because there was no other option.”

“Excuse me, Alpha,” said a red capped reporter with a tape recorder in his hand. Alpha looked down at him and gestured for him to speak. “Yes, thank you. What exactly did you do with its body after the battle was done?”

“I disposed of it,” Alpha replied. The people gasped all at once.  “The thing was dangerous, and I didn’t feel its remains could be trusted in the hands of anyone but myself.”

“I don’t know what to say…” the reporter said. “Um, what makes you—”

“How can you do such a thing?” another reporter asked. “You aren’t above the law!”

“I understand this, but you don’t understand the threat I was facing,” Alpha said, his face stern, unaffected. “This thing was the greatest challenge I’ve ever faced. I don’t know what caused its strange…mutation, but I couldn’t risk it falling into the wrong hands. Do you want more of these things running around?”

The people who had come to cheer him on were becoming riled up. Their restless behavior was enough for the police to line up between the two groups.

“I have a separate question,” a female said, yelling over the growing sounds of the upset groups. She wore a nice black skirt and jacket combination with a white blouse beneath. Around her neck hung a press pass, and in her hand she held a smart phone. “Yes, you claim to be a hero. A super hero even, but what are you doing to help the less fortunate? I mean, you save people every day, but you never do anything to help the hungry and homeless. I’ve never once heard of you helping a battered woman, or the drug addicted. Sure, you stop crimes, but what do you do to prevent them?”

The place stood silent as he absorbed her question. It took a few moments for the words to come off his lips, but he finally said, “I don’t know.”

“Leave him alone, you bastards!” Someone from the crowd screamed.

“No, no, it’s OK,” Alpha said, putting his hand up. “This is a valid question. One I’ve been asked before, but the answer never comes easily. Ma’am, I guess you’ve got me there. Beyond being a deterrent myself, I haven’t done much to prevent crime. I’ve only stopped it. You can see that things have gotten better since I came around, so I’m doing something right…” Alpha opened his mouth to finish, but paused. His eyes diverted for a moment while he thought. “How about I agree to volunteer at a different shelter each week? I know it’s not much, but I don’t know what else I could do. Does that sound OK?”

“It sounds like a start,” she replied, with a light smile.

"There you have it," he said, smiling back.

"Uh, Alpha, what are you doing about this 'supervillain' we've been hearing about?" another reporter spoke up.

"Ma'am, I'm not at liberty to discuss ongoing police investigations.  As a matter of fact, I must be off," he said, taking off, straight into the sky. The crowd of onlookers cheered as the press complained.

*****

Rose stood in front of a long oak desk, looking down at her boss, Commissioner Coolidge.  He was leaning back in his leather chair with his hands clasped together.

"Look Rose, I know you like him, but something's got to be done. He's a hero, I get it, but he's on thin fucking ice. This whole running off with the corpse of that thing was just too much," he said.

"I agree," she said.

"You agree with what?" he asked.

She sighed. "I agree that it was too much, sir. He's not above the law."

"Exactly. This is why we've been developing this," Coolidge said, placing a small plastic box on the desk.

Her eyes darted down to take a quick look at it before returning to his eyes. "What is it?"

He flashed an amused smile, and said, “It's our plan against Alpha Male; incase he gets unruly. It's based on something that idiot 'The Mech' created a while back. I think it’s the only thing he’s done right. It’s an ultra-high frequency emitter designed to weaken Alpha’s power so that we can stop him."

Her eyes went wide as the words left his lips.   "You want me to take Alpha Male down?"

"No, no, this is just a contingency plan in case he gets out of hand.  If we need to take him down, we can. You know how it is," Coolidge said. “This business with the creature, and his disposal of the body has shown us that he isn’t the heeled dog we thought he was.”

"Why are you showing me this then?" She asked.

"Because it’s time to start reining him in," he said. "Just like we did when he couldn't keep the collateral damage down. Look how well that worked out. We trust you to handle it. He likes you."

*****

Ivy shot down the narrow alley, looking over her shoulder every few seconds to make sure no one followed her. The outfit she had worn to the press conference was too tight, clinging to her curves. This affected her ability to walk, but she managed to make do until she was standing over the manhole.  She huffed and slipped the black heels off her feet. She admired them for a moment, rubbing the fabric beneath her fingers. She looked down at her outfit and frowned. With a huff, she tossed her shoes down the hole and crawled in after them.

The bottom of the ladder was covered in an inch of murky water. It flowed at a slow pace, sloshing through the grates a few feet away.

“Home sweet home,” she muttered. She stepped off the ladder and into the cool stream below her. The heels lay a few inches from where she stepped. Picking them up, she watched as the gross water poured from them. Tossing them away, she walked down the tunnel.

Rounding the corner, she stopped and froze as she came face to face with two men. The one closest had a tall mohawk that almost touched the pipes above his head. He sneered when he saw her. He stepping in closer, reaching out to grab her by the arm.