by Art DeForest
His stomach clenched in dread as he saw that the stick was actually Sara’s staff. He knew that she would never willingly leave her most prized possession behind if she had any say in the matter. Bending down, Thomas picked up the staff and gave it a quick inspection while Kangee took wing and started circling overhead. The staff appeared as it always had to Thomas. Grayish wood wore shiny smooth by years and decades of use. It wasn’t until he drew forth the blade from inside it that he noticed anything alarming. Blood, there was blood smearing the length of the blade. Sara had been in a fight, and she hadn’t had time to clean her blade before re-sheathing it. The sense of dread he was feeling ratcheted up a notch as he considered that.
Looking around further, Thomas saw Sara’s tracks mixed with the tracks of three lycans or creations, maybe both. There wasn’t any blood on the ground, however, and there was no sign of Sara’s SUV. Finally, he looked up at the sky, his sharp eyes immediately finding Kangee as he flew west toward where the facility was before circling around to fly overhead. As Thomas kept watching, Kangee repeated the loop.
Message received, Thomas got back on his bike and reached for the helmet. Heading up the opposite side of the canyon, he continued on toward the compound. He parked the bike in a copse of trees about a mile from it and began disrobing. He was going in stealthy and prepared for a fight. Worry for Sara and the members of his pack gnawed at his insides, but his inner wolf was a cautious creature and wouldn’t run blindly into any situation. No, what he needed now, was information.
Standing nude under the hot desert sun, he started to transform. He was tempted to adopt his battle form, fearing what he may face at the facility, but for the purpose at hand, his wolf form was the better choice. It gave him stealth and speed as well as senses that were heightened far and above his human or even battle forms.
The speed of one’s change was an indicator of a lycans power. Thomas flowed into his wolf form in mere moments. That change showed other lycans that even at a young age, Thomas was someone to be reckoned with.
Shaking himself after the change, the thick gray fur, tinged with red in a saddle shape across his back fell into place forming a striking coat. Long black guard hair thatched his shoulders and back, giving him an almost sinister appearance, especially when he was angry and they flared out, making his already large size seem even more massive.
Nose to the ground, he started off toward the facility in the ground eating lope of a wolf on the hunt. As he drew closer, he started to feel a buzzing in his mind, almost like a radio with the volume turned too low, or perhaps too far away to hear clearly. He could hear something, but he couldn’t make out the words. Sitting down on his haunches, his long tongue lolled out of his muzzle, dissipating the heat as he focused on the sensation.
“Help…. taken over,” popped into his mind. He was certain it was Sara, but he couldn’t make out anything else. Standing up, he resumed his approach. All seemed quiet when he reached the perimeter fence that surrounded the fake pumping station. The garage door to the mechanics bay stood open, and Sara’s SUV sat in its shadowed interior. The pieces of what must have happened to Sara started to fall into place when he noticed that the vehicle was sitting on four flat tires. It was obvious that she’d been here and was forced to flee on foot. What, he wondered, was she fleeing from? Had the creations risen up in revolt? That didn’t make sense. While most of the occupants of the compound chafed at some of the restrictions placed on them, they still had more freedom than their previous masters had allowed. Add to that the fact that there was no physical sign of a breakout, no tracks or other signs and his mind led to a different scenario.
The Abandonados had sent in a force to take their facility back. Thomas needed to talk to Sara. Unfortunately, the voice in his head was no clearer. Orienting himself on a mental picture of the underground complex, he started trotting in the direction most likely toward where Sara was being held. He suspected she was either in the administrative wing or the medical wing. He didn’t believe she’d be held with the creations.
His paws followed a criss-cross pattern as he headed in the direction of his guess. He kept his nose to the ground hoping he didn’t smell any fresh sign of creations or strangers. He needed to stay hidden for now.
“Thomas, can you hear me!” Sara’s voice in his head suddenly became loud and clear. So much so, that the skittish wolf jumped and spun around with a yelp of surprise, instinctively looking for the speaker.
“I hear you.” He thought back. “Sara, what’s going on?”
“The Abandonados sent in their main enforcer to take over the facility.” She replied, swiftly.
“Just one?” He responded incredulously
”With this particular enforcer and some high-tech gadgets she brought along, yes.” Sara went on to explain the events that led up to her capture. Thomas was as stunned as he was saddened to know that all of his friends were under the control of a sadistic killer. An unwanted tear formed in his eye as he heard about Ivan’s useless death. “At least Mike and Tango are still alive.” He felt guilty at the thought, knowing how close Ivan and Sara had become.
“There is that.” Replied Sara with a mental sigh.
“Any ideas how we’re going to get you out of there without everyone losing their head?” He asked after a moment of silent grief.
“We need to figure out a way to take out both transmitters.” She replied after a moment. “I think our best bet will be when her reinforcements arrive to take me back to the airport.”
“They could be here at any moment!” Thomas replied emphatically. “We don’t have time to put that kind of operation together.”
“I know it’s a risk.” Replied Sara. “But we need to either take out both transmitters simultaneously or get them far enough apart that their ranges are separated. That way, only one transmitter need be dealt with by the people closest to it.”
“I can’t be two places at once though.” Said Thomas in frustration. “Either I get the transmitter here or the one that goes with you.”
“Go back toward town until you have cell coverage get some of your people to set up a road block,” Sara said as a plan came together in her head. “Even if Jade’s people are on the way now, your people should be able to get in position before they come back out.”
Thomas thought about the plan for a moment. “Okay, that part can work. I don’t know how I’m going to get into the complex, much less find a hidden transmitter without getting caught, though.”
“I’ve thought about that.” Said Sara, thoughtfully. “I believe that in order to have coverage both inside and out, Jade had to have set up an above ground antenna. There’s also going to have to be a wired connection between the antenna and the transmitter.”
“Ah,” said Thomas, catching on. “So all I need to do is find the antenna and follow the wire back to the transmitter!” His excitement at the prospect diminished as he continued to think it through. “We’re still talking about a lot of land to try to cover in order to find that antenna.” He continued after a moment. “Talk about a needle in a haystack, sheesh!”
“I’m betting it’s centrally located geographically.” Replied Sara. “Keep an eye out for vents and heat signatures. That’s probably how she got herself and the wire down into the facility in the first place.”
“Well, that helps some, I guess.” He replied with an edge of sarcasm in his voice. “Now all I have to do is run my tail off and have an inordinate amount of luck. Then everything will be just peachy.”
“You’ve got it easy.” Snorted Sara. “I have to subdue and relieve the Abandonados most lethal assassin of her remote before she gets a chance to blow my head off.”
“No problem.” Responded Thomas. “I mean, you do have a plan, right? You can actually take her?”
“Leave that to me, Thomas.” She replied confidently. “One way or another only one of us will walk away from the confrontation.”
For some reason, Thomas wasn’t comforted by her f
inal thoug[3]ht[4].
6
Thomas’ muscles bunched and extended, propelling him at top speed back to his bike. His long body hugged the ground like a Ferrari as he navigated through the gnarled trunks of juniper trees and sagebrush. It wasn’t long before he’d reached the vehicle, flowing from wolf to man in a few short steps.
Pulling on his jeans he reached into his pocket for his phone. As he suspected, there was zero reception out here in the middle of nowhere. Jumping on the motorcycle, he headed out so fast that only his lycan enhanced reactions kept it on two wheels and moving forward. He stopped at all the higher ridge tops, checking for the reception, hoping he wouldn’t have to go all the way back to DeBeque to make a call.
He finally got a single bar of service up on the ridge above where he’d found Sara’s staff. Considering the deep chasm as he dialed out gave him an idea. A quick conversation with Brett, his pack third in command got his pack scrambling into action. Looking down into the canyon he knew just where they should set up their roadblock and ambush.
Hanging up, he drove back down into the deep canyon, looking around briefly and envisioning how the ambush might take place. As he did so, Kangee appeared out of the sky and landed in a nearby tree with a questioning caw.
Thomas moved up the side of the canyon a little way, trying to judge where a vehicle would come to a stop when it saw the roadblock. Making his best guess, he pulled Sara’s staff from where he’d strapped it to the bike. Staring pointedly at Kangee, He planted its tip in the rocky soil at the side of the road. Trying to convey its importance to the raven. Kangee watched Thomas’ actions for a moment longer then took flight. Heading back in the direction of the facility.
He was quickly back on the bike and headed the same direction. Parked once more in the secluded cluster of trees he’d used earlier. He reached into the saddlebags on his bike and pulled out a large roll of summer sausage and an energy drink. Peeling back the plastic package on the hunk of meat, he began eating it like a banana, chasing each bite with a gulp of the energy drink. Multiple changes took a lot of calories, and Thomas wasn’t sure how many more changes he would have to endure before this situation was resolved
Three pounds of summer sausage and a twenty-ounce energy drink later, Thomas was in his battle form and sneaking through the brush in the area he and Sara had talked about, looking for any sign of a ventilation shaft or an antenna. The sound of approaching vehicles grabbed his attention after a short time of zigzagging back and forth over the rough terrain. Creeping up to the top of a nearby rise, he was able to look down on the pumping station below.
Two black SUV’s were pulled into the compound and came to a stop in front of the fake mechanic’s shop where Sara’s vehicle sat on its four flat tires. Coming to rest in a cloud of dust, each SUV disgorged two vampires who quickly approached the shop. Two of them took up guard positions just outside the entrances to the building while the other two quickly made their way inside.
‘Whoever this, Jade, person is,’ thought Thomas. ‘She must have already had these guys waiting nearby to get here this fast.’
Thomas settled down to wait, wanting to see if he could catch a glimpse of Sara or any of his pack mates. After perhaps twenty minutes of waiting, Sara did indeed appear out of the shop. She was being led by a small Asian woman. Two of his pack, Andrew, and Hayes were behind and flanking Sara as she moved toward the waiting vehicles. Thomas’ eyes narrowed as the saw the glint of a metal collar on the battle formed necks of his to friends. A low growl issued involuntarily from his throat.
He waited long enough to make sure that Sara and her vampire guards were well on their way back to civilization before he resumed the search. It had taken all the self-control he could muster not to charge down and start tearing people apart. Only his trust in Sara’s abilities had prevented the bloodbath.
Thomas growled in frustration as he watched his two controlled pack mates walk back into the shop before finally turning his back on the compound and resuming the search. During the movement, a glint of metal caught his attention. Jerking back around, it took him a second to find the source of the brief flash of reflected light. Sitting, partially obscured, in the top of a clump of sagebrush was the T-shaped form of an antenna.
Walking over, the big lycan was amazed at his own good fortune. This had to be what he was looking for! There was no sign of rust or corrosion on the aerial and thin wiring led from it back down the hill. Grabbing the wire gently with one clawed hand, he began tracing it back to its source.
He’d only taken a few steps when the warning growl of a big cat issued from off to his left. Whipping around he saw Tango, in full battle form, charging at him in fury. The last thing he saw before the mutant mountain lion hit him in a flying tackle, was the shiny silver collar around his friend’s neck.
Thomas was no stranger to battle, and this wasn’t the first time Tango had come at him with murder in his eyes. He managed to angle his body and divert most of the cat’s energy to the side as both went down amidst the scrub brush and sandstone soil.
Tango couldn’t maintain his grip on the slippery lycan and rolled away from him as they landed. The claws on his right-hand paw cut bloody furrows across Thomas’ back, though, as his grip broke free.
Thomas roared in pain as he rolled back to his feet, but shrugged off the sensation as he squared his shoulders to face his friend and enemy. He had the advantage on the puma in both height and weight. Thickly muscled shoulders seemed to swell as he flexed his clawed hands, readying himself for the next attack.
What Tango lacked in size, however, he more than made up for in speed and pure ferocity. With a hissing battle cry, he charged straight at Thomas. His eyes held a somewhat glazed expression, but the snarl that exposed three-inch fangs left no doubt as to the creature’s intent.
Thomas’ eyes widened in surprise at Tango’s straight forward attack. Mountain lions were ambush predators, either pouncing on their prey from a convenient tree limb or taking them in a blinding rush from concealment. Once the ambush failed, however, the cat’s tactics typically changed to a darting attack, trying to take his opponent in the flanks and trying to avoid a head-on confrontation, especially when faced with a larger predator.
It flashed through Thomas’ mind that the control collar must be inhibiting Tango’s fighting abilities somewhat, forcing him into mindless attacks instead of careful tactics. He saw a glimmer of hope that he might be able to subdue the cat without either of them having to die.
Setting his stance as Tango’s charge brought him within striking distance, Thomas lashed out with a thunderous front kick to the solar plexus that stopped the big cat in his tracks. This was a human style attack, not an animal attack, and it caught Tango completely off guard.
Thomas wasn’t exactly a traditional lycan. He saw no reason to use old forms of battle if something modern would work better. If he could use tactics gleaned from the mixed martial arts that he loved to watch so much, to gain an advantage, then that was what he was going to do. It was one of the reasons he wasn’t well liked by some of the older, traditional packs, but it was also one of the reasons why he’d ascended to Alpha of his own pack while still in his mid-twenties.
He knew better that to give Tango any chance to recover from the blow. Charging the tawny-furred creation, he ducked under an off-balance defensive swing that caused the cat to spin in place when it missed, leaving his back exposed to Thomas.
The lycan took full advantage of the opening. Rising up behind his opponent, he wrapped his long right arm around the puma’s throat from behind. The right bicep flexed, drawing the choke hold tight, and Tango saw spots before his eyes as arm muscles that felt like fur covered steel cables cut off the blood to his brain.
Tango went into a frenzy, thrashing back and forth, trying to break free. Thomas’ body was thrown this way and that by the cat’s efforts. He staggered through the brush and trees, but he maintained his grip even though Tango’s claws raked deep, jagged cu
ts through the skin and muscle of his forearm.
In a last desperate attempt to break free, Tango planted his feet against the gray stump of and old tree and pushed off powerfully, sending Thomas tripping and falling to his back in a large bush. He held his grip however and cinched the choke hold even tighter.
Tango’s attempts to escape became slower and slower until his arms fell limply to his sides. Thomas waited a few seconds more before releasing the hold and moving the cat’s limp form off of himself. Knowing he didn’t have much time before Tango regained consciousness, he scrambled around, desperately looking for the antenna only to find its bent and twisted frame mixed in with the remains of the bush that Tango had pushed them into. Not taking any chances, he grabbed the remains and jerked them free of the wire that led back to the transmitter.
Hoping against hope that Tango was free of the collars influence, he turned to face the puma. He crouched in a defensive stance and waited as a weak, growling moan escaped the creation’s muzzle. Thomas continued to stare intently as his friend rolled to his hands and knees and shook his head groggily.
Tango seemed to remember what happened quickly and his broad, angular head snapped up to look around. His eyes narrowed as his gaze fell on Thomas. The lycan alpha tensed readying himself to resume the battle if necessary. Tango held his gaze for a moment. “Thomas,” rumbled and rasped out of his throat as he slumped into a sitting position.
