Episode 20

Silverbullet was glad to see that Father Mario Garibaldi's Saint Michael's was still standing. Another werewolf could've just as soon been dispatched (to replace the one she killed) to finish the horrific job of church bombing she interrupted earlier. Like a modern Moses, Silverbullet had delivered (at least a few of) her people to (relative) safety and freedom, but she wasn't about to go inside the church herself just yet. The people inside would no doubt react to her in much the same way as those who she liberated earlier, and that kind of distracting reaction was the last thing she needed. A frail, aged blond man kept insisting the entire time Silverbullet and her band of recent refugees were busily trying to evade rooftops with snipers and roving armed patrols that they must talk in private immediately. So Silverbullet told Rose to go in, ask for Garibaldi, and take everyone else with her except the man who demanded an audience.

While Rose and the others went inside and were greeted by whoever was guarding the door at the time (not to mention the strong funk of garlic), Silverbullet briskly led the man around the side of Saint Michael's so they could talk in the alley alone. No one else was in sight, so no one besides Silverbullet was as stark-raving shocked by what she saw as she was. No one heard her scream either.

About 10 minutes later, Rose stepped outside the church with Father Garibaldi in tow. They had quickly introduced themselves to each other (after someone had woken the good father up) and Garibaldi's attention perked once she and the others had said they were brought by a silver-coated woman. Standing in the doorway, looking in all directions, they finally caught a glimpse of the man and-Lily Sloan, wearing the same things she had on when her powers were first gained the previous night. They were rounding the corner of Saint Michael's and when Lily saw Rose and Garibaldi staring at them, she said before either could say a word, "We need to talk. Padre? If that basement's still empty, we'll need to hole up there."

The very basement where Lily Sloan became Silverbullet still had only a cot and the two empty tubs that were once filled with holy water and molten silver. Father Garibaldi locked the door behind him after Lily and Rose while the mysterious stranger who walked in first waited, standing in the center of the room as if he needed the space.

"What I'm about to show you will be very startling. Lily here thought it wouldn't be, but even someone of her fortitude found herself unsettled."

"Lily," Rose slipped an arm around her woman in apprehension as Lily returned the embrace, "what's he talking about?"

"Before you show them anything," Lily Sloan spoke up, "tell them what you told me."

The stranger seemed relieved upon hearing her request and complied with a giddiness inappropriate for what he had to explain. "As you know, Base 11 is a top-secret military installation a hundred miles northwest of Sin City that the government forbids the public from coming anywhere near-"

"Except's the government's fallen because of Y2K," Father Garibaldi pointed out.

"Yes, and now Colonel Kruger of the Vampire Empire and his Wolf Pack have commandeered it. But that's not all. Kruger plans on using the cannibalized extraterrestrial technology there to open a dimensional portal-a window into another world occupying the same space as Earth-"

"Wait," Garibaldi interrupted, "I thought two objects couldn't occupy the same space at the same time."

"Usually not." Rose turned to Garibaldi, which drew the good father's gaze to her embrace of Lily-which in turn brought an unconscious wince to his face that she ignored. "Try to imagine the blades of an egg beater, whirling around the same, basic area but never actually touching, you know?"

This still-unknown individual who was the center of attention pointed to Rose in agreement. "That's exactly how the infinite planes of existence are interdimensionally linked. Unfortunately, Kruger is trying to discover how to open holes in space-time so that he can have the light of a full moon-the full moon from a parallel universe, but a full moon nonetheless-perpetually shine each night on this world."

No one said anything for a very long time. Finally, Rose broke the silence. "On nights when the moon is just a crescent, werewolves are normal and powerless-more or less. On nights when the moon is half or two-thirds out, werewolves are just wolfy men-hairy and fanged, but not that strong..."

Then Lily completed Rose's sentence as those that close will do. "Yeah... The leader of the vampires will have 7-foot, 500-pound supermonsters running around every night of the damned month. Now y'all see why I brought this guy here."

TO BE CONTINUED