From the Tucson Post Morgue...

'We're real and we walk among you'
Country reacts with horror, amazement after nightmares become real

By Matt Hampstead
Tucson Post, 2/28/06

What started out as a press conference by the Pima County District Attorney's office quickly became chaos as vampires and lycanthropes revealed their existence to a room packed with journalists, police and sheriff's officials and spectators.

Originally called by County DA Patty Babcock to discuss the allegations of a cover-up following the destruction of the downtown police station earlier this week, the real reason behind the press conference quickly became apparent as Assistant DA Riley O'Rourke shifted into a black jaguar. Also revealing their existence as vampires were local business owner Jared Smith and another man identified only as “Onyx”.

O'Rourke, 27, graduate of Boston College's law school, has been with the DA's office for three years. She has worked on such cases as the Seamus Henson murder and the Ellis Davids kidnapping. O'Rourke is originally from the Boston area and came to Tucson shortly after the suicide of her fiancé, Andrew Gavin, a 1999 first round draft pick for the Pittsburgh Penguins hockey team.

Ms. O'Rourke could not be reached for comment but sources close to her say she's been a lycanthrope since a November 1998 attack on Cape Cod. Speculation exists as to the nature of Gavin who also survived the attack. Two other Boston University students, Phillipa Westmoreland, 19, and Peter Colbjornssen, also 19, were killed in the attack.

The attack was first attributed to a botched robbery attempt. Police officials in Hyannis, MA, are deciding whether to reopen the case in light of last night's revelations.

As news of the revelations spread throughout the country and the world, other people came forward to reveal their dual nature. United States Senator Geraldo Raul (D, AZ) was one of the first people in power to admit to being a lycanthrope. Raul stated that he is a werewolf and has been for more than 25 years.

Other members of the US Senate, House of Representatives and the President's cabinet later came out to the nation in a midnight press conference, televised live from the White House. The President has been unavailable for comment, though a press release states that he is supportive of his dual-natured colleagues.

The reaction of the American public has been polarized. After a period of initial panic and worry, some seem to have become more philosophical about the new state of the world. “I always kind of suspected that humans weren't really the top of the food chain,” said Michael Jones, 35, a graduate student at the University of Arizona. “There were too many weird and unexplained murders and sightings of monsters. I'm actually kind of relieved to know that werewolves and vampires are real.”

Another man, who refused to be identified, was less accepting. “All these freaks are going to die,” he said. “If you're a vamp or a shifter, your days are numbered.”