Dire Symbiosis

by William Seagroves

  Alex was separated from Quong and taken to a sub-level within the facility. There, he was thrown through an airtight door. It was circular shaped room with an opening in the top, most likely a vat used to mix chemicals. On the other side of the room was another door, it opened and a huge blonde man strode in. Alex recognized him. “Morgan,” he whispered.

  Morgan loomed at six foot five and weighed in at 300 pounds. His huge arms looked like tree trunks. The shoulder length hair resembled the mane of a lion, probably cultivated that way. Morgan scowled at Alex. “I’ve waited along time for this, Thorpe.”

  Above the pit, Serena and her creatures crowded around the edge of a platform, each attempting to get the best vantage point. The mood was jovial among them at the thought of the carnage. Serena put a hand up to quiet the crowd. “Alex, I’ll give you one chance, join us, and we can put an end to this right now.”

  “What about my friends?” Alex replied.

  “They will have to be killed, of course. But think of the power we will possess now that I have the text.” Serena motioned to a door on the other side of the platform. It opened and a creature sidled out carrying Silverman under its arm. “You see, nothing can stop us. Join us, Alex, we can always use another great mind.”

  Alex slowly shook his head. “No, I’ve done a lot of things I regret, but this is where they stop.”

  “I’m sorry you feel that way. Morgan!” Serena yelled.

  A few feet behind the pit, Marla and Quong were tied to a wall railing. From Quong’s sleeve, a small knife slid down and into his palm. He carefully started to cut the rope.

  Back in the pit, Alex and Morgan circled one another, carefully testing the other’s defenses. Morgan leapt at Alex, who stepped to the side, letting the other man’s momentum carry him into the steel wall. He bounced off with a loud metallic gong.

  Shaking his head to clear it, Morgan began to turn, but before he got halfway around, Alex jumped on his back and locked his arms around the giant’s throat. Morgan swung about, trying to dislodge the smaller man. The strain of holding onto the flailing ogre showed clearly on Alex’s face. Morgan finally managed to reach back and grab a handful of Alex’s shirt, throwing him the length of the chamber into the far wall. Alex hit the steel panel hard, putting a sizeable dent in the metal barrier. He fell to the floor and lay still.

  Above, Quong had finished cutting his bonds and passed the knife to Marla. He noticed the pile of weapons lying beside Serena’s chair, a few yards away. He directed Marla’s attention toward the weapons; she looked back at him hopefully. As Marla continued cutting her ropes, Quong maintained the illusion of being bound.

  Morgan towered over Alex, his features changing as he approached, becoming feline with each step. His hair became wiry and dark, turning into the lion mane it resembled. He threw his shoulders back and his chest jutted forward with a loud crack, his chest doubling in size. The huge clenched fists at his sides melted into three-toed paws, with razor sharp hooked talons protruding from them.

  Seeing Morgan advanced, Alex rolled over and got to his feet. He tried as best he could to prepare for the impending attack, taking a defensive posture.

  Morgan roared and charged, crossing the ten feet that separated them in the blink of an eye, hitting Alex in the chest and lifting him up and into the wall.

  Alex could no longer control the other, the beast pressing for control since the battle began. Alex had fought the urge to relinquish control and finally relented. His eyes burned a brilliant gold, his nose and chin elongated into a snout. Hair protruded from every opening in his bursting clothing as he tripled in size.

  Morgan now had trouble maintaining his grip on the shifting behemoth. He dropped the Alex-beast and stepped back. Then rushed at him again, this time latching onto his shoulder with a vicious bite. Alex bellowed from the pain and slashed with the ferocious talons that had extended from his fingers, tearing a huge chunk out of the Morgan-thing’s flank.

  Morgan hissed and tore his jaws from Alex’s shoulder and was immediately slammed back by a meaty paw, as Alex went on the offensive.

  Above, the creatures were in a frenzy, each wanting to participate in the blood letting. Some accidentally bit each another, in the tumult.

  Marla finally cut through the rope and nodded to Quong. They watched to make sure Serena was engrossed in the activities below. Marla lurched forward suddenly, but came up short. Serena caught the movement out the corner of her eye and began to reach for the weapons before Marla had a chance to. As her hand closed around the handle of the duffel bag, a knife sailed from nowhere and embedded itself in her flesh. Her hand began to sizzle and smoke from the silver missile. Serena held her smoking hand up and let out a bloodcurdling cry.

  The bedlam on the platform ceased. The beasts looked from Serena’s wounded hand to the source of the knife, Quong.

  Marla seized the opportunity and scrambled toward the weapons again. Reaching the pile, she pulled both of Alex’s guns and opened fire. Any creature that got too close to her was mowed down in the deadly spray of silver. Marla searched the immediate area for Serena; she caught a glimpse of her as she ran toward the creature holding Silverman.

  Getting a moment of reprieve, as the creatures regrouped, Marla reached down and picked up Quong’s sword. She saw him in the midst of four creatures, beating them back with his hands and feet. She called to him. “Quong! Catch!” Then threw the blade with all her strength.

  The sword sailed in a high arc above the room. Quong positioned himself to catch the flying saber. A creature closed in as the sword arrived; Quong caught it, unsheathed it, and cut the beast down in one fluid movement. Then he began hacking a path through the sea of demons.

  Just as Marla finished throwing the sword, one of the monsters came at her from behind; she swung around and emptied her guns into it. She cast the empty guns aside, ducked under another beast’s attack and rolled to where the shotgun lay. Grabbing the cannon, she quickly pumped two shots into it.

  In the pit, Alex and Morgan no longer fought like humans, their humanity driven from them by the bloodlust. Clawing and biting like the animals they resembled.

  The Morgan-beast leapt up high and bounded off the wall, landing on the Alex-creature’s back, digging in with its claws and locking its jaws around the its neck. The bear tried desperately to throw the beast off, shaking its immense body with all its might, but couldn’t break free of the iron grip. The lion tightened the pressure on the bear’s neck and both creatures crashed to the ground.

  Quong drove his sword through a beast and turned to another one when he was suddenly hit from behind. He pitched forward, losing his sword. The creature leapt atop him and grasped his head on both sides and snapped his neck.

  From across the room, Marla had seen what happened and screamed, “Nooooo!” She sighted in on the creature and fired, expending the remaining rounds in the shotgun. The creature was blown clear of her friend and fell over. Marla rushed over to Quong’s motionless form and checked his pulse. Nothing.

  Marla surveyed the carnage. Nothing moved. She glanced into the pit and saw a misshapen lion atop what looked like a bear. The bear lost its footing and crashed to the ground. “Alex?” she said. She remembered Serena saying that Alex was the first lycanthrope in two thousand years, and Alex saying the first success was, “A bear! Oh my God, Alex.” She picked up another pistol and fired at the hideous lion-creature.

  The Morgan-creature heard the shots from above, then felt a burning sensation in its right flank, looking skyward it saw the woman, Marla. Meat, it thought. It released the bear and leapt at the edge of the pit, with both of its flanks wounded, it barely managed to get above the rim. Digging in with it claws, it scratched its way over the side and moved in on the retreating woman.

  From the moment she fired the shots she knew it was a mistake. The creature did let go of Alex, but then it came after her. Marla backed away from the brute as it clambered over the side of the pit. She brought the pistol up to fir
e, but saw that she was out of ammo. It closed on her, growling the whole time. When it looked as if it was about to leap, Marla closed her eyes and began to pray. She cowered against the wall awaiting death. Then she heard a shot ring out. She opened her eyes and saw the creature lying on the floor, Alex behind it holding a gun. He looked at her a moment, then said, “Where’s Serena?” Marla pointed to where she had last seen the woman. “Come on,” Alex said, turning toward the door.

  On his way out, Alex caught sight of Quong’s body; he went over and knelt beside his dead companion. “I’m sorry, my friend,” he said, touching Quong’s head, then dashed for the door.

  After regaining her senses, Marla grabbed some fresh clips and followed Alex.

  Serena and her two creatures fled down the tunnel, one carrying the unconscious professor. As they rounded a corner Serena stopped and ordered the unencumbered beast to stay behind, then continued with the other one.

  Alex burst through the door and broke into a run, his body hurt all over, but the adrenaline rushing through his veins lessened the pain to a tolerable level. As he turned the corner, a creature leapt out at him. Without breaking his stride he dodged to the side and gunned it down, continuing down the tunnel.

  Behind Alex, Marla heard the gunshots ahead of her and quickened her pace. As she came around the corner, she found the naked body of a woman, lying in a pool of blood. Marla kept running.

  Serena and the creature reached the top of stairs and headed straight at the door.

  Alex hit the bottom of the stairs and stumbled slightly; cursing himself, he got up and ran up the stairs.

  Serena and the creature burst through the door. Serena smiled, believing they had made good their escape, then lights began popping on from all directions. It was the police. A deep voice came over a loudspeaker. “Hold it right… What the fuck is that? Hey you, hold it right there.”

  The creature with Serena looked around in all directions, as if confused. Quick on her feet, Serena said, “Help, it’s a monster.”

  The creature dropped Silverman and attempted to say something, but it came out as growling.

  “Stop right where you are,” the policeman warned the creature.

  It made a gesture toward Serena and took a step forward. The police opened fire, it sounded like a war zone as every cop there emptied his weapon into the pitiful beast.

  Alex reached the doorway just as the police opened fire and quickly ducked back behind the wall.

  The creature fell to the ground riddled with bullets. A few officers went over to help Serena. As they helped her to her feet, Alex rushed from the doorway, “No, get away from her.” Too late, Serena ripped one of the cop’s throats out and grabbed the other one, sticking her claws into his neck. “Back off, I’ll kill him. I won’t think twice, tell them, Alex.”

  The police turned their weapons on Serena; Alex motioned for them to lower their guns. “I know you will, Serena. Don’t do this, I can help you.”

  “I don’t need your help,” she said, backing to one of the police cruisers.

  Meanwhile, Marla had made it to the doorway. She watched from the shadows, bringing her weapon up and placing the cross hairs in the center of Serena’s forehead.

  Serena opened the door of the police car. “I’ll be leaving…” She never finished her sentence as a single shot rang out. A dot of blood formed between her eyes, then began to flow freely. Serena let go of the cop she was holding and fell to the ground. Dead.

  Alex looked to the source of the shot and saw Marla step from the shadowy doorway.

  Greaves came stomping across the parking lot. “Thorpe, what the hell is going on here? And what the hell was that thing that came out of the building ahead of you?”

  Alex looked solemnly at Greaves, “Captain, I’ve had a very long day. Can we continue this discussion in the morning, I need to get some rest.”

  “Oh, I’m gonna see you get a rest, say twenty to life.”

  Alex and Greaves started to get into a shouting match, when Marla came up and grabbed Greaves’ arm. “Captain, I can vouch for Dr. Thorpe’s whereabouts all night.”

  “I don’t know how well your word will stand up anymore, Detective.”

  “What the hell does that mean?” Marla said. Then she and Greaves started shouting at one another.

  Alex couldn’t hear what Greaves and Marla were saying, a police helicopter had flown in and was landing. He glanced over to the spot where the creature had landed that the cops shot up, but the spot was vacant. Alex ran over to the bare patch of ground and kneeled, there was a lot of blood, but no body. A young patrolman walked by, Alex looked up at him, “Where did it go?”

  The cop stopped, “What?”

  “The creature, where did it go?” Alex repeated.

  The young man’s eyes went wide and he looked around frightfully. “I-I don’t know.”

  Marla came over to where Alex kneeled, and said, “It took some doing, but I got the captain to release you into my custody. We have a meeting with him in the morning. Alex?”

  “It got away,” he said, sadly.

  Marla looked at the imprint in the ground and realized what he was talking about. A worried look came over her, then she noticed Silverman lying near by, still unconscious. She looked back to Alex. “At least we have the Professor,” she said, grabbing Alex’s arm and helping him up. “Come on, let’s go.”

  Alex glanced at her arm and noticed blood flowing from a wound. He stopped and grabbed her arm. “What happened here?”

  Marla looked at the cut, and said, “I don’t know, but it’s just a scratch. It doesn’t even hurt.”

  Alex looked at Marla warily, as he followed her to a police car.

  Alex answered the door, on the other side stood Marla. “Are you ready?” she said, as he opened the door.

  “Almost,” he said, waving her inside.

  Alex turned and went over to a small bar next to the new sofa. “We’ve got time for a drink first,” he said, filling three glasses with ice. Marla followed him over to the bar and grabbed one of the glasses. “Just orange juice for me.”

  “Orange juice it is,” he said, filling her glass.

  “I’ll have a scotch, if you don’t mind.” A voice came from the bedroom door.

  “You got it, Tom.” Alex pulled a bottle of Dewars from the cabinet, filling the third glass, after he filled his own with orange juice.

  Thomas Silverman walked over to the bar and picked up his glass. “It’s been a long time since I’ve indulged, it certainly feels good,” he said, tipping the glass.

  “Well don’t get too used to it, we still have a lot of work to do,” Alex said.

  “Of course, but now and then,” the Professor replied.

  “Yeah, sure, Tom, now and then.”

  After the pack was routed that night, Silverman was taken into custody. Since the government believed he was dead, Alex thought the man would be more useful if he stayed that way. Silverman had been very thorough in hacking into the police computer and switching his finger print files with John Edwards’. They had no reason to hold ‘Mr. Edwards’. Alex claimed ‘Edwards’ had been abducted by the murderous ‘cult’ and was about to become a victim when he and Marla arrived to intervene.

  The official body count at the mill was thirty-four, including Quong’s, which Alex claimed and buried in a quiet ceremony two days later. Alex kept a personal list of the dead. He was able to account for all but one of the twelve original Dire wolves, the last being the one that escaped after Serena was killed. Apparently, the text was in its possession, for it was missing also.

  So Alex and ‘John’ entered a partnership, they would seek out and destroy the remaining subjects from the project. They had already gotten a report on a couple of murders in the Philadelphia area, which fit their profile. Alex had asked Marla to come with them, but she declined, saying her place was with the homicide unit.

  “To good friends, old and new,” Silverman said, raising his glass.

/>   “Here, here,” Alex said, raising his own.

  The friends finished their drinks and Alex and Silverman grabbed their bags. Alex took one last look around the newly renovated apartment, then sighed and closed the door.

  Epilogue I

  Marla exited the deli, Detective Kingsley, her new partner, followed. Their department Chevy was parked just outside the entrance of the small restaurant. Marla went around to the driver’s side and was about to get in, when a scream came from down the street.

  A woman yelled and wrestled with a purse snatcher half a block away. Marla threw the keys to Kingsley, and said, “Bring the car.”

  “Hey, we don’t have time for this, let the Vice squad handle it,” Kingsley said, catching the keys.

  Marla ignored him; she was a third of the way to the attempted robbery when the punk took off. Marla increased her speed slightly, as the hoodlum turned into a dead end alley. When she rounded the corner, the thug was turning back toward the street. Marla pulled her weapon. “Freeze!” she shouted.

  The purse snatcher stopped and held his hands up. “You got me,” he said. “But what good’s it going to do you, I’ll be out on the street in two hours.”

  “You’re right,” Marla said, putting her gun away. “It won’t do any good to take you in, but I’ve got an alternative.”

  “And what’s that?” the punk said, moving closer, now that her gun was holstered.

  “Kicking your ass,” Marla said, in a booming voice.

  The thug took a step back. “Hey, what the hell is this?”

  Marla eyes lit up, shining brightly in the dark alley. “This is where you turn over a new leaf,” she said, lunging forward and grabbing him by his collar.

  The punk began pleading for his life as Marla lifted him two feet above the ground. She roared in his face, blowing his hair back and he passed out. Marla threw him to the pavement and walked from the alley.