Supernatural Earth Pt. 08

Each and every one of them were already planning to make this a monthly event.

***

EPILOGUE: The New World Order

The Ancient One and Skulker linked their minds together for their private meeting with the Ancient One studying its younger protégé intently. 'This is what was intended by the end result?'

'Not entirely...' Skulker admitted. 'We would have liked to have saved the eight humans from the encampment by our lake... but our caretaker's fallback plan is in effect and we have their location for later retrieval. In the meantime, they will be our eyes and ears on the inside as this group of Hunters have a tendency to talk in their presence by way of gloating. We shall know their plans in time. No, the ultimate endgame was to show the rebellious group of humans that we are not to be trifled with...' it explained. 'They now know proper fear, shock, and awe of us once again and will not invade our lairs again without proper caution... We have shown that we can and will fight back...'

'Indeed...' the Ancient One conceded. 'We are now known to the world as it should have been all along...' a twinge of sadness echoed in the Ancient One's tone. 'We have not been as good of a leader as we could have been over time...'

'To be fair... One has done as well as One can do... given the circumstances...' Skulker pointed out... 'The Ancient One was not the original mission commander from what we know of our history...'

The Ancient One considered the point and replied with a wave of gratitude. 'We give thanks for that...' It then considered the situation as a whole. 'Our Caretaker wishes for more exposure. We shall give our male the visibility that he desires to the others of his kind.'

There was a wave of amusement from Skulker. 'As my caretaker is fond of saying; on with the show...'

*

Raymond Tillis adopted a serious look at the camera while gesturing to the line of Lurker bodies that his men had lined up. It took them a ton of time and energy but the shots were worth it and irrefutable. "These creatures," he was saying to the camera as he continued his dialogue to instruct the viewers, "have been on our planet for who knows how long as we do not know when they arrived. They call themselves 'Lurkers' for a good reason; they lurk and they hide within the shadows, deep below in bodies of water, waiting for humans to come by to catch for their own nefarious purposes. We, The Hunters, are the true protectors of humanity. We are the ones out there on the front lines keeping you and your loved ones safe. Our organization have been at war with these creatures for centuries now. But now is the time to shine the light upon them. We cannot do this alone. If we are to keep Earth for Humans, then everyone needs to know about these... things."

He paused in his walking to clasp his hands behind his back and look at the camera as if he could see the others who would be watching this. "We mourn the losses of our brave patriots tonight but celebrate in the deaths of those terrorists who aided these monsters that led to these atrocities. We will continue to operate in this manner and criminals who are helping non-humans will be brought to justice. We have been successful with our methods on other continents. Lurkers have been killed and those who served them captured and rehabilitated. North and South America are the only true final strongholds for these beings. They must be flushed out and exterminated at once. I call upon those who call themselves Human to aid us in our greatest hour of need. This is our planet and we will fight for it."

Tillis waited for the cameraman to signal that they were clear before letting out a breath. "If that doesn't get people to our side, I don't know what will." He muttered, loosening his tie. "Make sure a good, censored shot of our latest batch of breeders in the prison tubes goes out with that," he ordered. "That'll get people scared enough to join our cause. Make sure the tape goes out to every major news outlet along with an invitation for them to come and examine the bodies themselves," he told the crew. "And be quick about it. I want to see this footage on FOX, CNN, and MSNBC first thing in the morning. Then, tomorrow night, we'll try and contact our benefactor through the ritual that the Magi are setting up." Everything was proceeding to plan for the most part.

"SIR!" someone called out from the mansion. "You need to see this!" Tillis frowned but went up to the mansion to see what his man was yapping about. The guard took led straight into his main study where there was a breaking news update on the TVs on every major station...

... with Aden Parker of Newhaven giving a live press conference.

*

"Good evening, ladies and gentlemen," Aden Parker said as he stepped up to the podium underneath of the blinding lights of the press corps. "Please allow me to get though my announcement first and then I will take all questions you have. Remember, though, that we will not have that much time as the President of the United States and the Prime Minister of Canada will want to address their respective nations after this. There will be time in the coming days for more press conferences and Q and A sessions."

Aden cleared his throat, folded his hands, and looked directly into the news cameras. "For the past few years there have been increasing reports of supernatural activity in and around the Metro area. Reports have included Vampires... Werewolves... Vampires fighting Werewolves," he paused and smiled as the press corps let out a rolling chuckle, "and other things that go bump in the night. There had even been reports of fairies being sighted, sasquatch tribes moving across North America, and so on and so forth. Even as of earlier tonight there were extraordinary reports of a large monster resembling Cthulhu that was rampaging through the back woods on its way up here." Aden paused again as the reporters had a good chortle amongst themselves.

He then stopped smiling and adopted a somber tone. "These reports are all true."

One could've heard a pin drop as the press corps just gaped at him, unsure if he was telling the truth or if he'd just gone mad. Then a low murmur as they were now itching to ask their questions. Aden pressed on. "Vampires and Werewolves do exist and they just had a war within the last few years in which the Vampires were victorious. Fairies are real. They're called Fae and they help usher in the seasons. The Sasquatch and Yetis, those are nomadic tribes of Minotaurs. And there are many other different types of supernatural species out there that some have yet to hear about."

Aden gestured behind him. "You'll notice that I chose the outdoors by this lake as the locale for this conference. That is to show you this..." With that, the Ancient One slowly rose out of the lake to its full, towering height of a small skyscraper. Alongside of the Ancient One was a smaller, but more imposing one that reminded people of a bouncer; Skulker. "These creatures are known as Lurkers. In fact, this is THE Lurker and his bodyguard. Details on this race are in your packets that were distributed. This is the oldest, living being on the face of the planet, predating humanity and even dinosaurs. They hide out of necessity for survival. Hence their names."

As he explained, the press corps cameras were firing off like machine guns. Flashes flickered like strobe lights. Cameramen craned their necks and cameras back to get the perfect shots.

The Ancient One bowed at its waist, let out a long, low rumble, and then sank back into the water to be followed quickly by Skulker. Aden then gestured to his left. "And over here you'll see members of the resident tribe of Minotaurs who recently relocated here along with some of the Fae that have also taken up residence." He said, allowing the cameras a chance to catch Ajax and his people as they stood by with their wargear on in an impressive display of force. Off to their left were a group of Fae from each of the four seasons, all in their traditional, elven-like armor and glowing in the respective colors; Green for Spring, Yellow-Orange for Summer, Red for Fall, and Blue-White for Winter. While Aden had been talking, they'd moved out of hiding to be seen and photographed.

"Now," Aden said, catching the press corps' attention as the Fae and the Minotaurs turned to leave, "There will be time for further interviews and study. Believe me, I realize that this will all be taken in as an elaborate hoax at first. Which is why I invite all members of the scientific and journalistic community to come here to meet with all of the different creatures that call this place home to see for yourselves and to test and evaluate to draw your own conclusions. This announcement of the supernatural also comes with a proclamation for the City of Newhaven. With the blessing of the State of Maine, the Providences of Quebec and New Brunswick, and the authorization of both the United States and Canada; Newhaven, along with everything within a twenty-mile radius of this lake, hereby secedes from both countries to found the Independent City-State of Newhaven. On this day, we hereby make a safe zone for those who call themselves creatures of the supernatural community and to those who know and live with them. We welcome all races here. You may live here in peace; free from ridicule, free from persecution, free from harm. As you will see here in the coming days, we live here, side-by-side, in harmony. We open communication with one another to understand everyone's ideals and cultures. But more importantly; we live here in mutual friendship and protection of one another."

Aden took a deep breath, folded his hands, and braced himself for the coming onslaught. "I will now take your questions."

TO BE CONTINUED...