The words of Dean may have sounded powerful and just, but when looking at Kevin and the others around, Kai began to notice something, a large pattern within the group. The truth was that a lot of the Howlers Gang and those loyal to the cause were young.
They were those who had just come out of school, not going to university. Some of them had even dropped out of high school to pursue joining a gang. This was the norm, but Kai didn’t want their gang to be like the norm.
Due to the size of the Howlers and how large it had gotten, he was unable to keep a close eye on everything that was going on.
‘All of them, even those like Kevin, are prepared to fight to their death. As those responsible at these times, we have to make a decision for them as well, when we can see they're being unreasonable.’
“You are too young to make your own choices,” Kai said directly to Kevin.
After saying those words, there was a huge look of disappointment on Kevin’s face, and Dean’s hand even slipped away, because he too had realized what Kai was getting at. The adults should have done more, so it didn’t get to this situation.
“That’s not something fair to say, yourself,” Tyler said, starting to speak up. “It’s not fair for you to say that to us.”
“You should know, when the Underdogs were in control of this city, even though we were too young, we had to listen and obey. To live what life we could just hoping that something would happen to them to change it.”
“And then it changed, everything changed, and we, everyone here I’m sure, wanted to help the people that changed our lives. We had nothing before this; Slough was nothing and was degrading close into a tier 4 city.”
“People were too worried to leave their houses; they were unable to open their businesses, and the only choice we had once we finished school was working at some convenience store or a life of crime.”
“The Howlers is what changed that; now we have something to protect. So don’t go forcing our choices on us now, just like they did back then, alright!” Tyler said with his chest uplifted.
It was the first time Kai had seen him so confident. It showed it was something that he deeply had strong feelings for. All those feelings, Kai knew them well, working directly under the Underdogs, under his father, so he couldn’t do the same to them.
“Very well,” Kai said walking to the front, with Marie, Olivia, and Dean standing by his side while he looked out to the others.
“All of you have been called here because of your loyalty to the Howlers. As you know, we are fighting against the Phoenix Gang, a tier 1 gang and one of the Kings, Sin,” Kai explained.
“A lot of people are getting hurt in this fight; even their cries and screams, their shivering will be heard now. Because of the Phoenix Gang, there will be plenty of those who are unable to get a good night's sleep.”
“We are doing everything we can to try and fight back the Phoenix Gang, but it appears that even more needs to be done.”
Kai took a big breath before going onto the next part of his speech. “We have managed to discover a way to give all of you here great strength, the same strength that an Altered has, and more specifically,” Kai raised his hand, and it slightly grew in size and was covered in fur. “The same strength that I have.”
“We standing here are a special type of Altered, one that can pass on and change other Altereds just like us. We can do this all through a bite.”
The Howler members looked at each other. It sounded unbelievable, and they had never heard of such a thing before. Many of them followed the news, and were sure this would be a breakout success if it was spread.
For Kai, he thought it was the best way to explain things for now, and then later they could go into detail. The fewer questions, the better.
“But here is the important part, I mentioned it in the text before. Getting our power, it comes at a risk,” Kai explained. “There is a chance that if our power doesn’t get shared to you, or your body rejects it, then you will die.”
The curious whispers and gossip among each of them had gone deadly silent for a moment. Even though the test had made things quite clear, they thought it was a figure of speech.
When people go into battle, happy to risk their life, they had that determination, but they felt more in control. Here based on what Kai was saying, it was almost just rolling the dice.
“For those of you that are successful, Dean here will teach you how to use your powers, and upon using your powers, we will bring the fight directly to the Phoenix Gang, and they won’t have a single idea what hit them.”
Kai’s speech had ended strong, but the shock from before was still there; it was still present with most of them.
“If you wish to leave now knowing everything, then I won’t stop you,” Kai stated.
Some of them looked at each other, and eventually, one person had left the tent, moving away. He found it hard to look at the others, but soon more started to follow.
Five in total had left, and from the look on their faces, there were still those that were on the fence.
“It’s not too bad, right? I mean, it’s risking it to become an Altered. I think most people would take those odds!”
“Yeah, think about how many people want to become an Altered, and now we’re getting the chance to as well.”
“Also, if we don’t do anything, then what’s going to happen? I saw the powers those guys had; if I fight the way I am now, then it will be for nothing.”
The group started to hype each other up as they started to talk, changing the glum prospect, into a positive.
“You have some good people here,” Dean said. “Now it’s time to do the dirty work.”