by Terry Yates
Kyler felt like he was being talked to as if he were a five-year-old, and by Humpty Dumpty, no less.
“Here are four clips, Doctor. Put these in your pocket. Now, here’s the special feature you’ll appreciate not being an experienced shooter. You push this button and voila’.”
Kyler had seen guns with lasers attached to them on TV and the movies, but he had never seen one up close.
“Aim the laser at your target and pull the trigger,” Potts told him. “It’s an automatic, so just hold the trigger down. Coppice?”
“Clips, laser, trigger down…got it,” Kyler replied, happy that the gun wasn’t as heavy as it looked.
“You better go,” Potts said, looking over his shoulder at the parking lot. “That lady sheriff’s only got about eight cars to go, and she’s under the belief that they’re going to surround us, so get everyone ready and let’s go!”
Kyler nodded and began to run to one of the ambulances. Before he got more than twenty feet, howls were heard from all directions, but these howls were different. They were in unison and they were actually baying, not howling…and they were all around them. Stereo werewolves, Kyler thought to himself, feeling extremely nervous with a bit of anxiousness thrown in for good measure. They seemed to be echoing, one after another, speaking a language millions of years old for the first time. Kyler officially moved from nervous and anxious, to scared and scared shitless. He looked over at the lady sheriff who had six or seven cars to go, and was furtively waiving her hand clockwise, telling the traffic where to go, while simultaneously barking orders at other drivers. Potts was standing with the group of soldiers that were covering the front of the hospital, the area where most of the bite victims disappeared into and where most of the howls were coming from. FranAnne, Jefferson, Peter Valkenberg, and several soldiers stood next to the highway, looking at the wooded area that sat catty-corner from them across the highway. They’d heard several of them howling from that area as well as from the farm across the road.
The baying went on for roughly half a minute, causing most people to cover their ears because of the loudness. Then, all at once, it stopped, leaving the hospital in silence. Except for the sound of motor’s revving, they couldn’t hear a thing. Even Mary Sue had stopped directing the traffic, of which there wasn’t much left, just three cars, two ambulances, two police cars, and Potts’ ten trucks…and about eight minutes before complete sundown.
Potts turned around and faced the highway. Suddenly, they heard a cry in the distance. It sounded like it came from the farm across the road from the hospital. He sure hoped no one was at home over there, because he doubted if they had silver bullets or a samurai sword. It almost sounded as if someone was being tortured…like they were being boiled in oil. It was turning. Potts began to calculate in his mind if he could get across the road, find the thing, and kill it before it turned, but it was getting dark and he only had one eye. He could send a couple of men over there, but something the lady sheriff said stuck in his mind. She said that wolves also like to lure their prey out. Well, no thank you, Sir. He’d screwed the pooch good on this mission. Always expect the unexpected and he hadn’t. He hadn’t been prepared and here they were.
More cries came from all around them, the back woods, the farm, the subdivision, and the woods across the highway. The agony those things were going through…and the agony that they were going to be going through if they didn’t get the hell out of there.
Potts was about to tell Mary Sue to get a move on, when the baying stopped, once again. As before, the only sounds that could be heard were the vehicle’s engines…until he heard twigs snapping in the woods across the road.
“Sheriff, get ‘em out of here…now!” Potts barked waiving his pistol over his head.
“Come on!” Mary Sue yelled, “let’s get these cars out of here! Move!”
“Civilians, get to the vehicles!” Potts screamed, jumping back on top of the SUV. “Drivers, get to the trucks! The rest of you soldiers, hold the line!”
Kyler was at the ambulances with the back doors of both open wide. Along with Proudfoot, Lt. Wilson, Pritchard, two nurses, and a large orderly, Kyler was helping put patients into the ambulances. He was glad to see that Pritchard had come to his senses. His face was drained white, and he was having to use one hand. He was holding his bandaged hand in the air, while trying to assist. Wilson must’ve bandaged him up. Good job, he thought to himself. The army sure knows how to pick their doctors. Now, who gets to be the harbinger of doom and explain to him what’s to become of him?
They had taken the gurneys out of the ambulances so more patients could fit in them. They would have to sit for the time being. It looked as if there would be just enough room. There was another seven of eight patients in two of the trucks.
He looked up to see Sam Fong and Zack herding the children toward one of the trucks. Joe walked with Lauren, every once in a while looking up at her as if he needed to make sure that he wasn’t dreaming, and that she really had forgiven him.
Potts slowly turned around, looking and listening for any signs of the creatures. He noticed Cpl. Williams, squatting over one of Baine’s soldiers, and putting something into a backpack before running to another of Baine’s fallen men. Again, he watched as the fat corporal took something from the corpse, slipped into the backpack, then stood up and looked around.
“Corporal!” he screamed, breaking the silence. “Get over here!” If this fat piece of shit was looting dead soldiers, he might just court marshal/execute the little bastard on the spot.
Williams huffed and puffed as he ran toward Potts, carrying the backpack at his side.
“Corporal, what in Tiny Tim’s testicles are you taking off of those dead men?” Potts asked gruffly, his hand out for the backpack.
Still breathing heavily, Williams dropped the backpack from off of his shoulder, and took his cap off. Jesus, the kid was sweating like Charlie Sheen taking a blood test.
“Clips…magazines…” Williams gasped, opening the backpack and pulling out several different types of ammunition. “I only took the ones with the silver in them…and…”
“What else ya’ got in your magic bag, Corporal?” Potts had wanted to compliment the young man, but he considered it a soldier’s job to think of these things.
“I only found five of these,” Williams replied, pulling a radio from the bag.
“Radios?” Potts had not noticed radios attached to any of Baine’s men.
“Yessir, Colonel,” Williams told him, his voice even higher if that was possible.
“Well, Corporal…” Potts started.
“Yes, Sir?”
“Give one to me, one to Dr. Kyler, and pass out three among the drivers. Now go!”
“Yessir, Col. Potts, Sir!” the young man squeaked, handing a radio to Potts, and then running off looking almost disappointed that he didn’t get a compliment.
“Colonel?” came a quiet voice. “Colonel?”
Potts turned to the line of men, and one woman, all on one knee, rifles aimed, except one, a young man named Hogan, who was looking back at him, a nervous expression on his face.
“What is it, Corporal Hogan?” Potts asked the young man.
“Look, Sir,” Hogan answered looking back toward the woods behind the hospital.
As Potts reached the line, Hogan pointed toward the woods. Potts trained his eye as best he could. It was getting dark, but he could clearly see large trees rustling, and hear limbs snapping. There had to be several of them, even though one could do a lot of damage.
“What do we do, Sir?” Hogan asked, looking back and up at Potts.
“First of all, Soldier…” Potts said quietly, his eye trained on the woods, where the creatures were obviously getting closer by the loudness of the rustling. “You’re going to return your eyes to those woods before I shoot you in the head…is that understood?”
“Sir,” the embarrassed soldier answered, turning back to his rifle.”
“Good,”
Potts continued, still softly. “Now, you soldiers are going to hold this line. Is that understood?”
“Sir,” the whole group replied.
“Sir?” came voice from behind him.
Annoyed, Potts turned to see Mary Sue looking at him, her hand unconsciously on the butt of her revolver.
“We’ve got enough cars out of the way now,” Mary Sue informed him.
Potts turned silently back to the woods, where he could see more trees being knocked down. They couldn’t be more than twenty or thirty yards from the clearing.
“Then I suggest you and your deputy get to your vehicles, so we can get the ambulances and then the trucks out.”
“Where do we go?” she asked, annoyed that Potts kept his back to her.
“Go anywhere, Sheriff. I don’t have time for this right now,” Potts replied, his back still turned to her. “As you can see…” he said, pointing toward the woods.
Mary Sue peered toward the darkening forest.
“They might be baitin’ us,” she said aloud, not taking her eyes off the falling trees.
“What did you say, Sheriff, and please make it quick. They ARE getting closer.”
“I said, they might be baitin’ us.”
“Why do you say that?” Potts asked, turning to her.
Mary Sue watched as Potts took a stogie out of his breast pocket and placed it in his mouth.
“When wolves chase…I don’t know…elk, caribou, whatever…they always start chasing the herd from the back, because they’ve got one wolf about fifty yards ahead on the right side, and another one about a hundred yards ahead on the left side, and the rest are waiting up ahead.”
“Why do they do they set up that way?” Potts asked, impressing Mary Sue by lighting the match with his thumb.
“The ones in the back get the herd running, then the one up on the right takes off running at an angle toward the left side. This splits the herd in two. The one on the right will then do the same thing to the back half of the herd, splitting IT in two. Usually, what’s left is what they’re after.”
“And that…” Potts started, but then stopped to light his cigar, “is what you think they’re doing right now?”
“Why are they letting us see ‘em? Why are they knocking down trees? From what I understand, those things move stealthily, not too mention they have great agility. They could be quietly dodging them, but here they are, saying “lookee here!”.
“Let’s get out of here,” Potts said. “Line stay formed. If they come out of the woods, fire at will, and don’t wait for ‘em to get up close. Those cocksuckers can jump! I’m going over to the unit at the road. Hold as long as you can…understand?”
“Sir!” they replied in unison once again.
“Sheriff, get in your car and get the hell out of here.”
With this, Potts began to run toward the front of the hospital parking lot. Kyler met him halfway.
“What is it, Kyler? The moon’s getting high and they’re on their way. Now what is it?”
“I’m just not sure…” Kyler started.
“Here they come, Colonel!”
Potts and Kyler both turned to see four shapes running out of the woods. The sun was almost down, but their fiery yellow eyes glowed in the sunset.
“Let ‘em have it!” Potts screamed. “Everyone else, get in a truck! Hurry!”
Before Kyler, or even Potts for that matter, had a chance to take a step, the ground shook for a beat, and then they heard a loud crash from just behind them. It came from the front of the hospital. They both spun around to see a huge werewolf crashing into one of the ambulances, the force of the impact causing one ambulance to smash into the other one. The creature was huge.
“It’s not even sunset yet!” Kyler screamed at Potts. “How did it turn so early?”
“I don’t know, Kyler!” Potts yelled back. “Why don’t you go and ask it!”
The werewolf was at least seven-and-a-half-feet tall. It’s yellow eyes burned. Screams were heard from inside both ambulances. The creature immediately grabbed a male orderly and tore his throat out. The young man still had a look of complete surprise on his face as he hit the ground. Potts raised his pistol to shoot, but there were now people running back and forth, screaming. The werewolf then grabbed Lt. Wilson, who had attempted to run away, but had been grabbed by the beast, slammed to the ground, and clawed almost completely in two.
Potts and Kyler heard a noise behind them and saw that the line was now shooting at the four werewolves from the woods. The werewolves were smoking from the bullet holes, but they were still coming. Potts ran toward the back line, while Kyler turned again to the ambulance just in time to see it bite one of the patients. Bleeding from the head, Leo Proudfoot stepped out of the first ambulance, the one that the werewolf hit first, with a revolver in his hand. Kyler could see several patients in the ambulance screaming.
Kyler reached into the back of his pants and pulled out the pistol that Potts had given him. He looked down at the gun, trying to remember what Williams had told him.
“This is the safety button,” he said pushing a small lever, whereby the clip fell out of the gun, and landed at his feet. “Shit!”
Kyler dropped to his feet to retrieve the clip. People were now running everywhere, getting to the trucks, and three of those people stepped on his hand, before he was able to pick up the clip, which amazingly enough, to himself anyway, he slipped right back into the butt of the revolver. He stood up to see a madhouse. He turned back to the ambulance to see Proudfoot unloading his pistol into the werewolf, while crawling backwards into the ambulance. The werewolf snarled once and jumped into the van with him and the other patients. Kyler began to sprint toward the ambulance, remembering to take the safety off. He was no more than thirty feet from the ambulances, when he heard the sound of a gunshot from inside the ambulance.
“No!” he screamed.
He heard a second shot, then was immediately hurled backwards from the force of the explosion. He landed flat on his back in the hospital grass. Something, oxygen was his guess, had caused the explosion when Proudfoot shot the second time.
The explosion deafened Kyler some. He lifted his head to see both ambulances on fire, and although he was slightly deaf, he could hear screams coming from inside both of them. He rolled onto his stomach and looked up. Lauren and Joe were getting into the back of one truck, while Anthony and Meredith were being helped into another. Shit, they were getting split up. Several of the trucks were rolling onto the highway. Good.
Kyler had just made it to his knees, when he was grabbed roughly by his arm. Okay, this is it, he thought. They finally get me. He was pulled to his feet, not by a werewolf, but by Potts, who said something that Kyler couldn’t hear, but he was pretty sure that the word ‘numbnuts’ was in there somewhere. Just as Potts was pushing him toward the trucks, a werewolf jumped in front of them. Potts pushed Kyler aside, dropped to one knee, raised the gun to his eye, and fired at the beast. The impact of the bullet knocked the thing backwards a few steps, but it quickly righted itself. It was holding its chest. Potts had hit it square. The thing took its arms/forelegs away from its chest to reveal a bullet hole, with a wisp of smoke coming out from it. It began to move toward Potts again, its mouth set in a snarl. Still on one knee, Potts fire two more shots. The first hit the werewolf in the throat, and the second, in the right eye, exiting out the back of the thing’s head. It hit the ground and writhed, until Potts stood up, walked up to it and shot it in the head twice more till it quit twitching.
“Get on a truck!” Potts screamed, waiving toward the trucks.
Kyler looked to see the last truck getting onto the highway, and began to sprint for it. Potts turned around to where the line had once been. Three of the soldiers were dead and three were being ripped apart by two of the werewolves, including the woman soldier and Corporal Hogan. The werewolves looked up and saw Potts aiming his gun at them. The two went into a crouch, snarled, and bore their fangs at him.
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“Come on, you cubs or pups, or whatever the hell you’re called,” Potts spoke softly, trying to concentrate on both of them at once. It was about to be dark and he needed to be going. “Come on!” he screamed.
With their ears pinned back, the two creatures lunged at him. Potts took a quick half step to the left, aimed at the one on the left as it was flying by him, and fired. The bullet caught the beast in the temple, causing it to slam into the other one, and causing both of them to hit the ground. Then, just a like a dog, it rolled several times, and got to its feet, and roared at Potts. As he raised his revolver again, he heard two quick shots, both hitting the werewolf in the head. It was dead before it hit the ground. Potts turned to see Mary Sue and Rex Murphy, Mary Sue holding her glock, and Rex, an army rifle.
“Get to your vehicle…both of you!”
Mary Sue wanted to yell back “your welcome”, but thought better of it. Potts wouldn’t have heard. He had already started sprinting toward the trucks.
“Where’s Denny and Mrs. Weaver?” Mary Sue asked, as the two ran toward her squad car. She hadn’t been able to keep an eye on them since she’d begun clearing the traffic.
“They’re in the car,” Rex answered. “How many do you think are left?”
“No idea. We got five or six of them here. Col. Potts thought he heard seven. There might be some more who haven’t turned yet.”
“Well, let’s get out of here, Mary Sue,” Rex said, placing his hand on her shoulder. “I don’t wanna know who it was back there that we killed.”
Mary Sue nodded and patted his shoulder as the two ran for the squad car.
As the last truck pulled out onto the highway, Kyler rounded the corner after it. He tried to yell as he ran behind it, but nothing came out but “Shhaupp!”
FranAnne heard screaming from the back of the truck. She wasn’t sure if it was “Stop” or “Pullover”, so she looked through the long, side window. The darkness was coming on, and she wasn’t sure, but she thought she saw either Kyler or a frightened scarecrow chasing them. The truck whined as she slammed on the brakes. As the truck came to a stop, FranAnne heard ‘Clop! Clop! Clop!’ followed by something hitting the back of the truck, followed by a muffled “Oof!”.
