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Story #16
The Bunker
A History Best Forgotten~
Dean liked to push the envelope, and more often than not he was dragging his best friend right into whatever trouble he was partaking in, which was why they had run off to explore outside of what was considered pack territory. They’d done it before, always running home before they got caught, and there was a certain sort of thrill to be found in knowing just how much trouble they’d get in if they were caught. It didn’t stop them though.
One of the things Dean loved to do was play chase. His father said it was instinct, for a budding Alpha to want to chase down their future mate and catch them. There was a thrill in the chase, and Dean loved chasing after Cas. They were young, Cas having just reached his 11th summer while Dean had reached his 10th, and as soon as they’d been born, it had been arranged by their fathers that when they reached maturity, they would mate. Dean wasn’t exactly sure what that entailed, and he wasn’t so sure the stories Cas told him about mating were real, but he liked the idea that he’d get to spend the rest of his life playing with his best friend in the whole wide world.
“My brother Gabe says that when we mate, you have to give me all of your vegetables. We won’t be real mates unless you do.” Cas said as he ran ahead. Dean’s legs were getting longer with each passing year, and he was finding it easier all the time to keep up.
“I’m ok with that. You can eat them all.”
“Nuh, uh, I don’t want them all! You gotta eat some too, my mama says you won’t be a big, strong Alpha unless you do,” Cas argued.
“Then how we gonna be mates? If I hafta eat the stupid vegetables, I won’t be a good mate.” Dean rolled his eyes. Gabe was a big dummy.
“Maybe he lied. He doesn’t give Jonah all his vegetables.” Cas finally was seeing some of the gaps in his brother’s logic. “But Mike says we’re gonna have to kiss.”
Dean stopped running for a second, cocking his head as he thought about that. Realizing he wasn’t being chased anymore, Cas stopped too. He walked back to where Dean was standing.
“What’s wrong?”
“I used to think kissing was gross. I sorta don’t think it anymore. That’s ok, right?”
Cas shrugged. “I guess. My mom and dad kiss all the time. It’s what mates do.”
“What else do they do? I mean, like, what have you seen them do? My dad makes tea for my mom when she doesn’t feel good, and he holds her hand lots. Do I hafta make you tea too?” Dean asked.
“Maybe when I get sick. I like tea,” Cas said. Dean looked into his friend’s eyes.
“I like your eyes. They’re pretty.”
Cas smiled. “Thank you, Dean. I like your eyes too.”
“Can I try holding your hand? I want to see if it’s gross.”
Cas’ smile fell away, and his lower lip jutted out in a pout. “Why would it be gross?”
“Cause I know you picked your nose earlier,” Dean replied.
“I got a bug up there!” Cas exclaimed. Dean giggled and held his hand out. Cas dropped his own in it.
“So, my dad says when we’re ready to mate, I gotta build you a den. Cause we’re gonna have to sleep together. You snore though,” Dean said as they started walking.
“I do not! That’s my sister Anna that snores. We share a nest cause she’s littler than me.”
“Oh, I’m glad. Sometimes it’s hard to tell when we all get told to stay in the big den. I don’t snore but Sammy does.” Dean swung their hands as they walked. “I don’t mind this. It’s nice.”
“Mmmhmm. Told you I’m not gross.”
In the distance they heard voices and Dean quickly pulled Cas down to the forest floor when he dropped to his belly.
“Shh!”
Cas nodded, his blue eyes going wide. Dean was looking out towards the road just beyond the tree line. Someone was moving out there. He squeezed Cas’ hand and pulled his friend closer until he could drape his arm over the other boy’s shoulders. His instinct to protect his mate was already kicking in, even if he didn’t realize it yet.
“I think…that’s your dad,” Dean whispered. Cas lifted his head just a bit to see.
“It is!”
“Shh! We’re not supposed to be here!” Dean reminded him. Cas clamped a hand over his mouth and curled into Dean’s side. Dean remained vigilant, watching Cas’ dad on the other side of the road. His own green eyes widened when he saw his father walking up to Chuck.
“We should burn this place,” Chuck said.
“You know we can’t do that. Let’s just put these books in there and get on back. I promised to teach Dean how to fish in the river. He’s finally catching small critters when he shifts, but it’s time he learned how to stand up in the river and catch fish too,” John told him.
“You’re right. I still worry they might come back. If they come back, we’ll have to move the pack again. They almost killed us all last time.” Chuck was clearly worried.
“If they come back, and they won’t, but if they do, we’ll handle them exactly like we did last time.” John patted the other man on the shoulder. “We protect the pack at all costs.”
Dean looked down at Cas who was staring up at him, his eyes wide and frightened. If they got caught out here by their fathers, their punishment would be much harsher. John was an Alpha, the leader of their pack, and a stern rule enforcer. He’s said he had reasons for not letting pups come play this far, but Dean hadn’t thought it was because there were dangerous things out here. Frightened, he pulled his friend closer, wrapping his arms around Cas and holding him tight. His friend let out a choked sob against his shoulder.
“Shh!” Dean whispered. There were tears in his own eyes though. They never should have come this far out!
“Do you hear something?” John asked. Chuck cocked his head, listening.
“Crying.”
John crossed the road, sniffing the air and catching a very familiar scent. He burst past the tree line, his anger flaring over his disobeyed rules, until he saw the boys curled up together, crying. Like a switch had been flipped, his anger was gone, replaced by alarm and worry. He crouched down beside them and pulled them both into his arms.
“Hey, hey, it’s ok, what scared you so bad?” He spoke softly as both boys clung to him.
“You said there were bad people! Are they gonna come and kill us?” Dean asked. “I’m scared, Daddy!”
A lump formed in John’s throat at hearing his son revert back to calling him “daddy.” Dean had stopped calling him that more than two years ago.
“Shh, no one is going to hurt you. You’re safe.”
“What’s going on-” Chuck stepped into the forest, the question dying on his lips when he saw the boys in John’s arms, terrified and crying hard.
“They overheard us. They’re terrified,” John explained. Chuck took a deep breath and let it out slowly. He reached out to his own son, and Cas practically leapt into his arms.
“Dad, who’s gonna hurt us? You won’t let them, right? You’ll keep our pack safe?”
“Shh, sweetheart. You’re safe.” Chuck ran his fingers through his son’s hair and tried his best to soothe his youngest pup. Finally the tears began to subside and Cas looked up at him.
“Who were the bad people, Dad? Why did they want to hurt our kind?”
Chuck sighed and looked over at John for guidance. As pack leader, John knew it was his call.
“They’re going to be pack leaders one day. I think they need to know.”
Chuck was surprised by his answer, but he knew the Alpha was right.
“Alright, then let’s tell them the truth.”
“Truth? About what?” Both boys asked.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Cas and Dean held hands tightly as they followed their fathers back across the road. From the safety of the forest they hadn’t noticed the metal doors in the ground on the other side. Chuck picked up the stack of books he’d left just outside the doors while John pulled out a keyring and got them unlocked.
“What is this place?” Dean asked.
“We’ll tell you, but first we have to get safely inside,” his father replied. “Go on in, but stop at the top of the stairs.”
Dean grabbed onto Cas even tighter as they stepped into the pitch blackness. Even their superb were eyesight didn’t help when there was absolutely no source of light at all. Something clanged loudly behind them, startling them, and then a bright light filled the space around them. When they realized they were standing on a platform at the top of a long flight of stairs, they hugged each other tightly.
“Dad, I don’t like this place.” Cas looked up at his Beta father, his eyes wide with fright again.
“No one does, son. But it’s an important part of were history, and you need to learn it. As the future leaders of this pack, you need to know about the past, the present, and the future.” Chuck motioned towards the stairs. “It’s time for a history lesson.”
John led the way down, and the boys, still holding one another’s hand tightly, followed behind him and Chuck pulled up the rear. As they descended, the Alpha started explaining things.
“You boys know that us shifters, we are called different things by the humans.”
“Uh huh,” both boys answered.
“One of those things is werewolves. Another is shapeshifters.”
Dean looked at Cas for a second before answering for them both.
“Missouri taught us that in our history lessons just last week.”
“Good, it’s good for you boys to know this stuff. It’s important.” They had reached the bottom of the stairs and John flipped another light switch, this time filling a large room full of books with light. “The Navajo called us the Yeendalooshi. There are legends about our kind all over the country, and even in other places in the world, but since we started actively hiding from the humans, we generally just refer to ourselves as shifters, or skinwalkers.”
Chuck headed for the shelves of books and began slipping the ones he’d brought down onto the shelves as John educated their pups. John leveled both boys with a serious expression.
“What has Missouri told you about the humans?”
“Not a whole lot. She says we can’t let them see us, but they look just like us, unless we’re wolves. She told us they can’t shift,” Cas replied. John nodded.
“That’s true. There’s something important you need to know about the humans, and why we hide from them. It’s why I told you boys to stay within the safety of our pack territory. I didn’t tell you that to be mean or to stop you boys from having fun.” John motioned to Chuck. “Grab the book on were lore.” Turning back to the boys, he pointed at one of the long tables in the center of the room. “Have a seat.”
The boys sat down side by side while John sat down across from them. Chuck, however remained standing.
“What do we need to know about the humans, Dad?” Dean asked, prompting his father to pick up where he’d left off. John placed a very old, dusty book on the table between them and opened it up.
“I’ll get to that in a minute. First, I’m going to teach you our origins.”
Dean and Cas sat back to listen. This was something they’d both always wanted to know.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
“Long ago, we walked as wolves. We were not able to shift. Now, our legend varies, depending on what area you are in, what pack or Native American tribe you ask. The legend that our people believe is that long ago, before the white man came to these lands, we walked as wolves. All the forests were ours, and we lived in peace. Then the Native Americans came. They were the first humans to enter our territory, but they respected us, and for a while, we avoided them. But they started stealing our pups, training them to do things for them, to pull their carts, to protect their villages, things of that nature. Those wolves did something that the humans call ‘evolving.’ The dogs that the humans keep as pets today are the descendants of our ancestors, but they are so far removed from what we have become that it is like comparing the humans to the apes they descended from. Has Missouri talked to you about evolution?”
Cas shrugged. “A little.”
John nodded. “Well, dogs cannot shift. We can speak to them and they understand us, but…they do not think like a wolf, and it is quite disappointing to try and converse with them. The humans managed to take away their instincts and intelligence, and there are very few dogs that speak clearly anymore. Those that do usually have at least one wolf for a parent. On occasion, those dogs have shifted. It’s...” John grimaced. “They are not like us. We were not meant to take dogs for mates.”
“I wouldn’t want to. Cas is my mate,” Dean stated very plainly. A smile ghosted over his father’s face before his expression turned serious again.
“Dogs are unimportant in this lesson though. We’re talking about the wolves. So the wolves that remained in the forests, we lived in a sort of peaceful harmony with the native people, but then the humans from Europe arrived.”
“Oh! One of the seven continents, right? Missouri showed us a map!” Dean exclaimed. John pushed the book closer, showing a map that had been drawn on one of the pages. It looked very old, and there were three ships drawn on the ocean.
“Yes, Europe is one of the continents, and humans came over from there and they settled…” John’s finger slid across the page until he was pointing at the easternmost part of the country. “But the European humans were greedy and selfish. They brought pain, disease, and torment to the native people, and whatever their eyes landed on, they claimed for themselves. The natives were scared, and they had every right to be. They were not the only ones that were scared though, for you see, the humans hunted and killed anything they came across, including the wolves.”
Both boys gasped in horror. John flipped the page in the book and showed them artistic renderings of the natives and various wild creatures being slaughtered. Cas burst into tears after looking at a painting of a man decked out in wolf skins, the head of the wolf sitting atop his own. Dean wrapped his arms around his best friend and held him as he cried. John kept going though.
“The natives tried to fight them off, but the humans from Europe kept coming, and they spread their diseases, things the natives could not heal from, like smallpox, tuberculosis, and measles. The natives couldn’t fight to protect their villages when they were dying so quickly. We tried to protect them, but they killed us with guns. More humans kept coming, and there was nowhere for the natives or the wolves to hide. Our pack came here, to the land now known as Kansas, and we moved deep into the forests. The natives were desperate to be rid of the Europeans, and they prayed to the gods for guidance, and for the help they needed to conquer the invaders. You see, the humans came here claiming to be friendly, but they lied. That is what the humans do, they lie, even to one another, and they cannot be trusted.
“The gods finally had mercy and answered their prayers. They sent down Moqwaio, the Wolf God, who had died many years before, in his spirit form. He entered the body of a Native human, bringing the human and the wolf spirit together in one form. Moqwaio in his original form could not shift, but placed inside a human, he became the first that was able to. He took the warrior’s betrothed as his own bride, mating with her, and they created the first pups. Those pups spread out across the world, but most importantly, they spread across this country, breeding with the wolves and creating the shifters that we know today. Eventually they arrived here, and our pack bred with them.
“My great, great, great grandfather was Native American and wolf, but he took one of the European women for his mate. She knew what he was, but she loved him anyway. They had nineteen pups together. Those pups grew up and made our pack what it is today. Time and again, as the Native Americans began to disappear but the Europeans kept coming, bringing their African slaves, we bred with them, bringing in new blood to keep the pack going, and breeding with other packs when we can. Chuck here came from a pack up north, but they were killed or chased out in order to make room for more of the humans, and when they came to me seeking sanctuary and a safe place to live, our pack took them in and made them a part of us. You boys mating will truly unite both packs and make them one.”
Dean and Cas listened to his story with equal parts fascination and horror. But of course they had questions. They wouldn’t have been pups if they didn’t.
“Moqwaio, what did he come down to do to the humans? Why did the gods send him down?” Cas asked.
“He was tasked with creating the shifter race, and with guiding us into battle to defeat the humans. Unfortunately, we are not invincible, especially against bullets. The Europeans kept coming, and our kind continued to be slaughtered.”
“So we have to keep away from the humans, right? Are they all bad?” Dean asked. “You said our great, great…whatever he was, he mated with a human. Was she bad?”
“In the end, she was. She didn’t want to live in the forests, so she forced him into the city where he took a human job so he could take care of her and their pups. But see, when wolves live in a city and we don’t shift, we become miserable and we long for our real home. He missed his pack so much that eventually he abandoned his mate, and all of their pups. His eldest ones, they longed to run free and shift, something their mother never permitted, and one by one, each and every one of her pups left her, until she was alone. She didn’t like that, so she called up a hunting society, and told them about our kind, and where to find us,” John explained.
“Oh, she sent them here.” Cas realized. Dean gasped.
“That’s what you were talking about? They came and…and they killed us with guns?”
John’s expression was grim. “They did. Only two of his pups survived, out of 19. She basically gave her own children a death sentence because she couldn’t accept that her mate needed to shift and run free. Wolves never last long in the cities, it’s not meant for our kind. But, because of Moqwaio’s spirit that lives on in all of us, we live much, much longer than humans do, two, sometimes three lifetimes to one of theirs, and while Chuck and I were not here the first time the hunters came, we were the second time.”
“They came more than once?” Dean trembled, and Cas was the one to wrap his arms around him this time.
“They did. The second time, they killed most of our pack. My father was among them. I took over what still remained of our pack and we did something the hunters didn’t expect: we hunted them. We tracked them here, and we learned that they were studying us, learning all of our habits, from how we select our mates to what we eat, what we hunted for food, and where we lived. They made these books so that more hunters could come and kill us. So we killed them. We broke in here while they were sleeping and we ended their lives before they could kill any more of our kind. The next ones that came, they came in to find our kind waiting, and they too were killed. That was more than 90 years ago. No more hunters have returned, but we are also very careful to stay inside the pack territory, and avoid humans at all costs. No one knows this place exists anymore, only us, and only the pack elders, but humans are constantly encroaching on what forest we have left, and they come through hunting our food, wiping some species out completely for their own greed.
“What you have to know about humans is that even now, hundreds of years later, is that they are still the greediest species on the planet. Anything they cannot explain with their science, they are scared of, and anything they are scared of, they want to kill. Some humans though, they are especially cruel, and they trap our kind to put them in cages. These shifters never see their mates again, or others of our kind. They die terrified and alone, never seeing a forest again, all so the humans can stare at them and say they have collected a fascinating new pet. Humans do not see us as intelligent or worthy of respect, so we must hide from them, and from their guns. They have much worse things now than just guns.”
“We’re sorry we didn’t listen. We’ll stay inside of pack territory from now on. I just…I like chasing after Cas, and sometimes the younger pups want to join in the chase and I trip on them, and then Omegas get mad and say we did it on purpose, and I really didn’t wanna hurt them, I just wanted to chase after Cas. But the mamas don’t understand that,” Dean explained quickly. “Please don’t be mad at us, Daddy, we didn’t understand why you wanted us to stay close to the den. We know how though, don’t we, Cas?”
The other boy lifted his head from his friend’s shoulder and quickly nodded.
“We’re never coming here again!”
“One day you will have to. John will not always lead this pack. One day he will pass into the sky to be with our ancestors, and Dean will take over as pack Alpha. It will be his job to keep the pack safe, to keep our territory safe. You, as his mate, will have to help him with that, son. It will be your job to protect your Alpha and our lands,” Chuck explained.
“I can do that. I promise I will keep Dean safe.”
“Your pups too,” Chuck added. “You both have to keep them safe.”
Dean wrinkled his nose. “I gotta have pups?” He whined. John and Chuck both chuckled.
“Pups are the future of a pack. Without them, the pack and our kind will all die. It is expected that you will have at least a few.” Chuck took the seat beside John and folded his hands on the table as he looked at the pups. They were growing up. Another couple of years and they’d be ready to mate.
“How do we have them though? I don’t get that part,” Dean asked. John’s laughter this time echoed loudly in the room.
“Oh, I’m not sure I should explain that part, your mama might get angry with me.”
“But Dad, she never wants to tell us nothin’!” Dean whined. John looked upon his son and Cas with fond exasperation.
“You need to mate. When you mate, if you do it during Cas’ heat, you’ll more often than not put a pup in his belly. Just like I put you and Sammy in your mama’s belly.”
Dean mulled over his father’s words for a minute. It was the mating part he didn’t really get.
“Don’t think too hard about it. You’ll know soon enough what it means to mate. Don’t rush things,” Chuck told them.
“I have a question. Not about mating. It’s about the shifter lore,” Cas piped up.
“What is it?” John asked him.
“Are there just us and the humans? Or are there other stuff out there? Cause you got a book up there that says it’s about faeries, and another one there says vampires, whatever those are.” Cas pointed at the shelves behind his father. John and Chuck both turned serious again.
“This is another reason we need to be careful and protect the pack. We are not the only things out there besides the humans, and many creatures are not our friends. You know the little people with wings? Some flit around the trees, others over the water, and even more around the flowers or the small animals of the forests.” Chuck asked. Both boys nodded.
“They’re naked,” Dean said. John snorted but nodded.
“Uh, they are. But that’s irrelevant. Those are the fae, or faeries. We don’t have many in these parts. Your ma told you not to mess with them for a reason. Respect the fae, and they’ll leave you alone. Get them mad and, well, they can be vicious. I don’t like having to make peace with them once they’re mad at one of us,” he said.
“Oh.” Cas frowned. “I stay away cause my mama said they’d bite me.”
“They will too,” John agreed. “Your mama’s right.”
“What’s a vampire?” Dean asked.
“It’s an awful creature, with rows of sharp teeth. They used to be human, but they got a terrible infection that makes them want to drink the blood of humans. We ain’t got none here, and the few times we’ve seen them, we’ve made it abundantly clear that they are not welcome to stay. They mostly keep moving along. For the most part they stay out of were territory. We make them nervous,” John replied.
“They sound like the monsters Mama used to tell us about at night before bed,” Dean said. “Is that what they are?”
“Yes, and there are other kinds of monsters out there too, most of which like going into the cities. You don’t want to come across most of them, they’d scare you something bad.”
“I don’t think I want to know the other kinds. I’m scared.” Cas snuggled into Dean’s side again in fear.
“It’s ok, Cas. I keep Sammy safe from the monster, and I’ll keep you safe too. You’re my mate.” Dean kissed the top of his friend’s head, missing the smile their fathers both shared.
“Later, when you’re older, you boys can come down here and read the books. Each book talks about different creatures, and where they can be found. For now though, we’re going back.” Chuck stood up when John closed the book, and took it to put it back on the shelf. John stood up and motioned for the boys to stand up too.
“So, you’re chasing Cas here, eh? You catch him yet?” John’s tone was playful and both boys relaxed, smiling up at him before looking at each other.
“Not yet, but one day soon I’m gonna,” Dean replied.
“I’m faster than you. You’re gonna have to run really fast if you wanna catch me.” Cas puffed his chest out proudly. Dean’s smile widened even more.
“I’ll catch you, Cas, and when I do I’m gonna…I’m gonna…” Dean watched as his friend backed up towards the stairs.
“What are ya gonna do to me, Dean?” the other boy teased. John and Chuck watched with amusement, happy to see their pups back to their usual, playful selves. Dean started moving towards the stairs, ready to give chase if Cas bolted up them.
“I’ll…kiss you!” he exclaimed.
“Nuh uh, you gotta catch me first!”
Cas bolted up the stairs and Dean took off after him.
“Stay out of the road and wait for us!” John yelled after them.
“I think they’re going to be just fine,” Chuck said. “They’ll learn how to keep the pack safe.” He started up up the stairs, hurrying after their pups. John followed right behind him.
“I agree. Let’s just hope the humans never do come back.”