My name is Jacob Cassidy, but most call me Jake or just Cas’; short for Cassidy, of course. My family well that’s all part of the story, your family always tends to be… Makes up part of who and what we are. Another always ends up being our job and hobbies in life… And boy oh boy can I tell you that all mine seem to be mixed in together. Yeah it’s a long story, but what ain’t these days? Things get complicated and yeah stuff happens to throw ya off track but sometimes ya just gotta keep on truckin’, believe me I’m tired, oh lord am I tired of things. But we are what we are and even if I do miss my brother, I can’t bring him back. Nothing and no-one can, even if I have seen some things to make me wonder. And trust me working for the NSA you see lot of things, but not near as much as my family does. But perhaps this story might help…
Things had been going pretty well that day, Me and my brother Bran (Brandon) were out at the mall. We were both pretty young I admit, and had been out as usual just trying to hit on ladies. Bran and I always were after the ladies back then, what can I say, hell we’re Irish! Anyway we had just finished picking me up a pack of smokes and as usual bran was lecturing me. He was pretty big on the environment and health, but hey the whole family was in a way. It’s in our blood I guess, well along with all the rest…
Anyway where was I, oh yeah he had been lecturing me on the Poison of cigarettes and such and I was not really arguing just admitting to myself; yeah, I should quit someday. But hey, it’s a habit. And we all know how habits go.. Well as I was saying he kept on lecturing and out of nowhere he turns and sniffs the air. About that time I began scanning the crowd myself, my senses ain’t near as sharp I guess and I must of missed whatever it was he’d keened in on. So Bran just takes off down the escalator mumbling something about " Not here.. not like this.. too many people…" I as quickly as I might tried to follow suit, he is my brother after all and well if he was about to get into something I figured I at least owed him enough to back ’em up. We’re family after all, even if he had developed a lil’ more than myself. Ya see thing is my brother was a full-blooded garou, or rather what most call werewolf. Myself on the other hand I was just a kinfolk as they say, and I don’t just mean blood-relative. Well thing of it is, it meant he could shapeshift ya know do the whole half-man half wolf deal. He had it all and I admit, I envied ’em. But then again most of my family was pretty much like that. He wasn’t the first of us Cassidy’s to be born with it. I am just lucky I was born with part. He did teach me a few tricks he’d been learning and over time I perfected ’em a bit, but at the time neither me nor him knew a whole lot about it all.
Well I am getting off track again… Well bran he’s finally bolted off the escalator and things are already kind of hairy. So I jump on to the side railing and pull a slick move. I wound up down to the end as fast as I could and rolled up and onto the floor by bran. By then he handed me something as I could see he wasn’t too pleased. It was this strange dagger-like object and he looked me dead in the eye and I knew it was something of importance, something from our family. He then spoke to me some of the last words I ever heard from ’em. Bran locked me dead in a stare half snarling and spoke:
"Jake, dear brother, something bad is gonna happen here, and I may not make it out of this. Just take this, and keep it with you always; mom will instruct about it later, but you have to promise me something; Our family is just one of many. And there are more of us out there and we don’t get along so great. You gotta try brother, try for me and for us all, there is gonna be a big fight and gaia, our mother earth, she can’t defend herself. We’re getting sick but we have to step up and defend her. You gotta lead the way, I’ve seen it, and I’ve seen your heart dear brother. We can’t let ’em win.. we have to fight. Now you gotta promise me, you gotta take my place and fight this fight, that is if I fall here. Take this, keep it with you brother and may luna protect you."
After that some guys tore into a local girl, I didn’t much know her but the look on her face, when it went ghostly pale, and they poured the blood from her body to the floor lapping at it like wild animals. It was then I knew the first feeling of a frenzy wave over me, if there was evil, wyrm as my mother once called it, then this was definitely it and well, I couldn’t just live and let be- Neither could bran.
Next thing I know bran was in a pile of these thugs in full blown crinos. All I can recall of him at that moment was a bit of glory as he charged in fur flying and teeth and claws glittering in the neon lights. He took a good handful down with him and roared, a almost feral primal sound I’ll never forget. It seemed to weaken all these thugs somewhat. I soon after learned just what it was he’d done but still at the time it was amazing.
Well like I said it was after seeing that girl get butchered right there in broad daylight, well it was that evening but still, bear with me, that I just let go of something deep inside me. I soon found myself atop one of the slower of their group and threw a knee into his gut. He reeled from it momentarily but this guy was some kind of monster even by vampire standards. Oh did I forget that small detail, sorry.. Back to what I was saying; He reeled from the blow for a moment and then came up slashing at me with a switch-blade. Typical punk-style I thought then and still say today. Well I side-stepped right as he thrusted and then felt it at my wrist, tied there; the ritual knife bran had given me. Now I had no idea what it did then but all I knew is he had a knife and I wasn’t sure how long I could go toe to toe with this guy. So I gripped it in my hand and knocked him off his balance with a well placed blow to his lower back. This guy he fell off to the side and twisted around to try and catch me in the gut and just by natural reflex I twisted a lil and caught him in the side with the blade I had.
This punk whaled at the top of his un-dead lungs and seemed to really be in major pain. So I pulled the blade free and stumbled back. The guy was concentrating or something, he was just standing there concentrating for a moment and then he charged me again. He swung at me as well as he could from about as far as he could safely try to reach and I just dropped. Dunno how or why I thought of it but I ain’t complaining. I rushed upwards with the blade in hand and caught the guy right in his right side of the abdomen. Oh man he started to shriek again as if it hurt as bad as a fraggin’ red hot poker. So I look ’em dead in the eye as terror sweeps over the guy and I says to ’em "Say hello to hell for me," and pulled the blade clean across his midsection. He pretty much dropped after that. So I went ahead and finished it; to make sure I cleaved his head right off his shoulders. Figured hey, even if yer dead ya need a head right?
By this time most of the people in the mall were off in shock somewhere and my brother was taken a major beating of his own. I tried to get to him and help but it was too late. There wasn’t much of anything left I could do and by then what was left of the thugs ran off. Seems bran had taken about 3 or 4 down by himself and wounded the rest. Guess they must of been pretty young themselves… But my brother still died right then and there. Plus it took some explaining to the cops too, oh man back then the local police wouldn’t of believed any of it. So they just chalked it up to 2 nice kids trying to step in on a gang’s lil’ mood swing. Things worked out alright I guess, I lost bran that day though. But the way mom explained it he would always be with us helping to guide us and watching with all he might that I’ll succeed as he wanted. That and a lil’ piece of him is always with me. Besides, gave me something to do. I hunt the kind of things that attacked my brother and me, I lost him to them but I figure a good way to relieve stress is just take me out about half a dozen of ’em at a time or better. Makes me feel better every time…