"This business isn't going to be getting easier any time soon," a Moon Lake officer, Jensen Lukasky, and brother of Miles Lukasky, commented as the looked into the back window of his car and noted the werefox and weredog handcuffed in the backseat and both looking a bit beat up.
"You can say that again," Officer Samson Carter sighed as he looked up Wood Street in the general direction of where his sister lived.
He'd largely recovered from the wounds he'd taken in the brawl with Dymixious Drake the morning after Halloween and was quick to return to the job he loved, keeping people safe and keeping Moon Lake safe. And with some of the things that were going on in relation to the proposed reveal on the existence of weres having already pushed tensions high, the Moon Lake Police Department was pulling in reserve officers and extending overtime, which had brought in Jensen Lukasky for the moment. Jensen Lukasky was older than his brother, Miles, and was at an age where the Moon Lake PD shuffled patrol officers into a sort of "reserve," which would restrict them to certain duties or change the nature of their availability for some time. It was something that assured that when Jensen Lukasky returned to full duty, those outside Moon Lake would write him off as a different man rather than the same man... a circumstance that largely related to how long a were's lifespan could be.
The only time when reserve officers would be called into more active role would be to cover for an active officer who had some other commitments, which Jensen had had to do for his brother for a time earlier in the year, or in situations like the present where tensions were high enough that there was the need for officers in the field. And the present reveal issue was one of those potential situations. There had already been a reported call of a massed demonstration outside the homes of one of the City Council members on the issue which only tied in to some of the violence that had occurred earlier in the day. Initially, Samson might have thought that to be just young people letting their tempers get the better of them, but then came the call that he and Jensen had responded to.
A pair of werewolves had been enjoying themselves in the woods near where Wood Street met the connecting road to the college when a fight broke out nearby on someone's lawn and spilled over into the woods near where the two werewolves had been having a good time. Samson and Jensen had both arrived to find the two they had in Jensen's car on the ground in front of one of the houses. They weren't unconscious, but they were clearly beaten up. They found at least two more which they had in Samson's car, but they were of a larger were-species and only turned themselves in when looking down the barrels of Samson and Jensen's guns.
"I can understand people not liking change," Samson commented, "I've seen people with that mentality. They have set ideas and they don't want to give them up. And when they are right, it's understandable..."
"But that doesn't give them the right to riot or take the law into their own hands," Jensen nodded, "this isn't the English language where two negatives equal a positive."
"And will only tear Moon Lake apart," Samson gave a sigh and nodded in agreement, "come on... let's get this group back to the station. We have them on disrupting the peace and we can at least hold them overnight on that."
"Hopefully these four are the only ones for tonight," Jensen nodded and then moved to return to the driver's doors of their cars, "the riot at the college... that's got things pretty full for the moment."
+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
At the Jenkins home, Jenny lay quietly in the bed she shared with her husband, Harry Jenkins, and looked out to the wall that separated Harry's bedroom from the hallway between them and the guestroom where Janice and John were presently sleeping. It wasn't necessarily super late, yet, but various aspects of the day had been taxing. They hadn't been there for the riot at the college, but they did know of it and they knew that at least one person went to the hospital as a result. That was enough to raise worries over the reveal, but more that Moon Lake might tear itself apart before the rest of humanity could even respond to the reveal.
However, much of this was more with regard to the worry for John and Janice. That had been something that really haunted Jenny. When she'd originally left Alabama to attend college on a major academic scholarship, she'd had the intent on never going back in order to get away from Dieter Wilhelm and her father's abuses. Originally this would have left John and Janice in a bad situation, but when Jenny made that original decision she didn't know about John's wrestling with his own sexuality and at the same time there wasn't much that she could have done to change that situation in Alabama. However, after becoming a werefox and bonding to Harry, Jenny somehow got some warning of John's issues and had the knowledge that she would be safe. That made rescuing John and Janice a new goal, which her father's heart attack at her wedding provided an opening for.
But now, Jenny knew she had to protect John and Janice, give them the chance for happiness that she knew her father couldn't give and that her mother couldn't fully give because of her love for their father. If Moon Lake tore itself apart through internal violence, John and Janice would not be safe. If the reveal happened and the response was negative, it would leave Moon Lake even more isolated which would essentially mean that John and Janice wouldn't be safe. So far, things with the reveal had not gotten far enough to be presented to the world and thus how humanity would respond would be an uncertain thing and that would only complicate things for John and Janice, and particularly John who was wrestling with other issues as well.
"Things will be fine, dear," Harry promised as he gently rubbed Jenny's back.
The touch was firm but gentle, and it actually felt good. It wasn't sexual, but it did seem to relieve some of the stress and tension that Jenny had felt regarding all that had gone on. Things like the riot and John's nervousness and depression at not being able to talk with Ginger after school. All that worry had put her back muscles in knots and Harry's massage was actually working some of those things out.
"We can't know that for sure," Jenny said softly, "what if... what if all I've done for them is save them from an abusive father and put them in a place where they're ultimately caught in some fight... I mean... you've heard the sirens, right?"
Harry pivoted one ear for a moment, and he'd heard a few sirens blare earlier in the evening, but they'd also seemed to be in different parts of Moon Lake. They weren't close to where they lived, and with some confidence in that, Harry continued to massage Jenny's back and shoulders.
"I've heard the sirens, yes," Harry admitted, "and I am worried as well. The fact that people would get into fights over this is not Moon Lake at its finest... but in general, I know the town is better than this. For the moment, it's probably just an overly emotional reaction to a challenge to something that many in Moon Lake have taken for granted. In this, as things move forward... things will get better because more information the plan and how it will work will come out and the people responding on emotion right now will begin to think more rationally once they've calmed down."
"That may not help John and Janice now..." Jenny answered as she rolled over in the bed to face her husband. It was only a twin bed, and the two of them only fit on it when cuddled up together. "We both know John had been having nightmares... likely caused by things my dad did combined to some of the stuff from the reveal. If things go south..."
"We won't let that happen," Harry assured her, "we were able to get them here... and we'll keep them safe too. And you know that my mom and dad will help... Huck and Betty will help. Even Professor Anderson might help. Things may not look easy now... but we'll get through this. We won't let any harm come to John or Janice."