13 Degrees of Separation

by Hechtl, Chris

  “I think maybe we should be glad you are here,” Bullet finally said. “Since you've been the only one to get close to this Jack,” he said.

  “Yeah well, thank me when he's a fur rug,” Nohar growled. The others nodded.

  ...*...*...*...*...

  Just as they arrived at the little bed and breakfast to drop their things off all hell broke loose. A bell started to ring, and Bullet lifted his muzzle as another neodog howled.

  “Trouble,” he said, listening. Phantom lifted his muzzle to hear as well, cocking his head this way and that. It sounded like a freight train, long mournful sounds with occasional yips and barks. Nohar didn't catch it all, but he got the gist, another killing.

  “Here,” he said, thrusting his gear onto the counter. "Hang onto this lady, we've got a hunt on our hands,” he growled.

  The woman took the bags and smiled. “You get em boys!” she called after them as the group moved off at a trot.

  “Multiple bodies, on the street above the wash,” Bullet said as they moved out, “north west of town.”

  As they approached the area they could smell fear in the air and cologne. “There!” Nohar said, pointing to an all too familiar top hat and blur of black and purple fur as it rounded a corner.

  “Go!” Magnum said as they moved faster.

  “I'll cut him off!” Phantom said, separating from Bullet and Nohar and Magnum. Magnum followed the wolf, but lost him as the wolf hopped over a 3 meter tall fence.

  “Shit,” Magnum snarled, trying to climb.

  “You up for this ole timer?” Bullet panted, glancing at Nohar.

  “Just stay outa my way flat foot,” Nohar snarled, ears going flat as he dropped to all fours for a full out run.

  “Yeah, thought so,” Bullet said, copying his move.

  They were held up by traffic, the lion was lost in the crowd. Nohar dropped to his belly, he spotted cat feet running down the street and popped up to point. Bullet nodded and they moved out.

  Magnum climbed the wall and headed out through the alley, ducking under wet clothes hanging from clothes lines. A woman yelled at him as he tossed her knickers over his shoulder. “Sorry!” he said, moving on quickly.

  He nearly bumped into the lion as he rounded a corner. The cat spun, then ducked in front of a wagon loaded with barrels.

  The oxen stampeded in terror at the sight and smell of the predator covered in blood. Magnum tried to get a shot off from down the street, leveling his gun. Jack looked back in time to see him.

  “Wah oh,” Jack said, holding the top hat he ducked and ran for cover. He chuffed in mad laughter as he rushed off. He jumped in front of other animals, “Bugga bugga!” Scaring animals and people. The stampede of animals and people ended up as chaos for pursuers. Eventually they gave it up as wasted effort, cursing that the bastard had slipped past them. People were armed, they heard what was going on and then grimly formed up into armed posses.

  Together the foursome returned to the scene of the crime. A deputy was on scene, green and looking away. Another neodog was there, this one a bloodhound with a badge. “You get him?” Silently Bullet shook his head no. They turned to look at the pitiful remains.

  A pair of women, shredded silk and lace, blood everywhere. A quick kill, both humans. One had her head ripped clean off, the other had been disemboweled. From the look of it, Nohar reconstructed the scene. Jack disabled one with a rake or two of his claws, and then before the other could flee he was onto her, pinning her to the ground in order to crush and rip her head off.

  Nohar and other Neo's were confused, there were just too many smells, people flocked to the scene and they could barely pick anything out. The shouted voices, screams of fear... it was overwhelming their senses. Phantom had his hand paws over his ears in distress. “This is why I hate the big city!” he snarled.

  “If you think this is a big city, you never want to go to Gotham or Landing,” Nohar replied with a sneeze. Someone had on powerful cologne, it was overpowering their senses. Their mouths were open, tongues out, eyes watering, it seemed like they were in a sea of stink.

  Nohar turned accusing eyes on Magnum. Magnum held up his hands. “When I realized he was using cologne I stopped,” he said. He pointed to an empty bottle between the bodies.

  “That's right you did,” Nohar mused, turning in place. He sniffed a nearby human who flinched and backed away. Then he turned on the crime scene. “Son of a bitch!” he snarled. The others looked to him. “The bastard soaked the area in cologne!” Nohar growled. They could track that, find out who bought cologne he thought absently. If they didn't catch up to him some other way, he thought grimly.

  Bullet and Phantom each took a whiff and nodded. Each of the bodies and the area had been liberally dosed in cologne to throw off the scent. Nohar knelt, and turned in place, trying to figure out where the scent was coming from and going, but it was maddening, he couldn't lock in on it.

  Phantom however locked into the incoming smell. He dropped to all fours and sniffed, then slid under a railing and down out of sight. The others went to the railing to see him in a wash headed for a tunnel.

  “That's not the way he went!” Bullet called. “He went that way!” he said, pointing to the mess up the street. They'd given up trying to follow that trail after the stampede had gotten under control.

  “Yeah, but he came this way, and maybe...” Phantom said, lifting his muzzle to sniff the rim of the concrete.

  “Shit, I hate it when he gets like this,” Bullet said, climbing over the rail. “Come on, he's got something,” he said. “Well?” he asked stopping. “You two coming?” he demanded.

  “We're coming,” Nohar replied, climbing over the rail.

  They were in a flood wash, but the kills were recent, savage on the street. Apparently Jack had either done it on a whim, or had tried to drag the bodies back to the tunnel but witnesses had forced him to change plans. Phantom pointed down. Bullet nodded. Bloody footprints led deeper into the wash but then stopped at a fork. They lost the prints in the dark and water and muck.

  “Do you think he'd come back?” Bullet said softly to the others.

  “He did in Ring City. He likes to watch. And if he's got a den in here...” Magnum said looking around.

  “Shit. I was afraid you'd say that,” he growled, now looking around himself.

  “He likes to double back. I think he might of, but we won't know for sure unless we catch him,” Nohar murmured. “I think he was planning on dragging the kills in here but when the witnesses responded he bolted to draw them away from this wash.”

  “It's the best cover in the area. Everywhere else people are on the lookout for him,” Phantom replied. “Can we get going?” he asked plaintively.

  “Split up,” Bullet said. “We've got the left fork,” he said, heading to the left with Phantom. “Make some noise if you find him. You don't come back here in twenty or we'll come looking,” he growled.

  “Gotcha,” Magnum replied with a wave. “So, this'll be fun,” he said, eying the dark cave like tunnel warily.

  “You don't have to come you know,” Nohar growled.

  “And let you have all the fun? Not likely,” Magnum joked, following behind Nohar. “Nice kitty, here kitty kitty...” Magnum said, pulling his pistol out.

  “Oh shut up,” Nohar snorted.

  ...*...*...*...*...

  Phantom and Bullet took one end, Magnum and Nohar the other. Immediately Nohar picked up the scent of a neolion. This was before the cologne, so he finally had a good whiff, but it didn't tell him much. Still, he followed it like a bloodhound. Nohar was so focused on the scent of neolion and blood he tuned out the area. Nohar shushed Magnum repeatedly as the human got more and more nervous.

  “Nohar!” Magnum said.

  “What?” the tiger demanded, rounding on the human finally. Urgently Magnum pointed to something with his free hand. Nohar turned, he saw the top hat on a rock nearby. He swore just as a sudden burst of movement on his left made him turn.<
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  Nohar yowled as he felt claws dig into his left torso under his armpit. He twisted away, but knew by the scent of his own blood that he was injured. In the confusion Magnum was swatted contemptuously aside, they were separated, the human rolling and rolling away into the darkness and then into the stream. Nohar wasn't sure if he was dead or knocked unconscious. If someone didn't find him soon he'd drown.

  Matilda was yanked from his holster. The gun went off, deafening them in the confines of the wash. The neolion dropped it in shock. When Nohar lunged for it he kicked it into a sewer side pipe out of reach.

  “Why?” Nohar snarled, trying to buy for time. He fervently wished Magnum would go for help if he was still alive. His little pee shooter wouldn't bother this lion at all. He was a good 500 kilo's easy. “Why kill your own kind?” He snarled, sizing up his opponent. He was a full lion, in his prime. Tawny gold coat splattered with mud, muck and blood, some of it tiger blood. His white underside was splattered as well. He had a black mane with purple highlights. Golden mad eyes stared at Nohar.

  From the look of the soft scars on his chest and face he was a fighter, a real brute. Someone who wasn't worth toying with in a hand to hand situation... which this was turning out to be, great.

  The Neolion wiped at his bloody jowls and mouth with the back of a hand paw and chuffed. “So? I did it,” he confessed. “Go ahead, take me to jail,” he mocked, holding his hand paws out. “If you can,” he growled, claws suddenly extended. Nohar blinked at him, rearing back out of reach.

  “Well, that was easy,” he said wryly, trying to keep his head. It was too easy to give in to the violence, to lose one's self. But he had to think smart, this lion was. He was strong, stronger than the tiger, and worse he'd gotten the drop on him.

  “Yeah, I started by killing the cubs to bring their mother's into heat, but then I found out I really enjoyed the killing. The blood, the thrill of the hunt,” his voice was savage, full of glee. His teeth glittered in the dim light.

  “First cubs, and then others, other harder prey. The cubs weren't much of a challenge,” he purred.

  “And that's when you started to feed off them?” Nohar asked, doing a quick assessment of his injuries. So far everything was minor. Scratches, cuts, the cuts to his ribs were deep, but he could feel the blood flow already slowing as his implants kicked in, flooding the area with enhanced blood clotting agents. He'd have to be careful or he'd have a stroke.

  “I deserved it! To the victor goes the spoils! Meat! Glorious meat! Not some rat or fish, but real meat,” the lion growled and then roared. “Meat suitable for a king!” he thundered.

  “Right,” Nohar said, recognizing the justification.

  “That I am, king of all Neos. It is ours by right!” the lion roared, baring his teeth.

  “Right, I just so happen to be bigger,” Nohar pointed out.

  “So you think you can take me?” the Neo asked, fluttering his eyes, and acting coy. “Aren't you a precious little thing,” he said mockingly. “I'd like to see you try it,” he growled, dropping into a crouch.

  “Why the cheetah?” Nohar asked. “Why? What the hell is your name anyway?”

  “What's in a name?” the lion asked, picking up a skull on a concrete shelf and looking into the eye sockets. Nohar was tempted to take advantage of the seeming distraction but caught the slight look the cat did out of the corner of his eye. He was expecting it, trying to draw him in.

  “After all, Neo cheetahs are the mortal enemies of lions, so they just had to go.”

  “Right, and I suppose the humans and others? Witnesses?”

  “Ah, you guessed it,” the Neo smiled. It was a feral smile, one that would haunt his nightmares Nohar realized. If he lived long enough to have them he thought. “Some died because they witnessed something, others...” he shrugged. “We are the king, we choose who lives and who dies in our kingdom.” The lion extended his claws on his left hand paw and flicked a speck of dirt and much out between his fingers.

  The lion didn't know it, but Nohar was bidding for time. It was a classic thing, getting the enemy to gloat, buying the hero time. He doubted it would work, but at least he was recording it all for posterity. He knew going tooth and claw with this beast was going to be tough. A lion had a mane to protect its vulnerable throat and neck. Attackers would get a mouthful of fur and little else if they went for the jugular or the spine. No, to kill this beast he'd have to think with his head, hard to do while staring down into those mad golden eyes.

  “No one knew, the humans didn't. They didn't care. Not until you got involved,” the lion spat, sounding both annoyed and amused.

  “That's right, I bet that stung,” Nohar said with a trace of a smile in his voice. He made a show of raising his ears to flick them briefly. That damn voice was distracting, sometimes light and lilting, then dropping into a mad snarl.

  “No, it just proved our point all along.”

  “And what point is that?” Nohar asked, curious. He was glad his implants were recording all this. He was curious about the royal we, definitely a nut job. Hopefully not rabies, he was behind in his booster shots. He just wished his damn wifi still worked. He would love to have called in the cavalry.

  “We are the kings!” the neolion said, sounding triumphant.

  “Kings? Kings of what? You are a pitiful sad excuse for a Neo! A psycho who should be put down!”

  “We are the top of the food chain!” the neolion roared, baring his teeth. “We are the best!”

  “You are a rabid animal who should have been put down a long time ago,” Nohar snarled, showing his own fangs, spitting and hissing. “An animal, not a tool user!”

  “The humans whimper and hide in fear! Join us!”

  “I'm not an animal!” Nohar screamed and yowled, ears flat back. “I am a sergeant in the 501st! We who stand between the dark and the light, we fight for what's right!” Nohar screamed, baring his claws and swiping. The fight went on once more.

  Two massive Neo cats, each over 500 kilos of muscle, sinew, and bone battled it out for supremacy, for life. Nohar had more than just his own life on the line however, he knew if he failed others would die after him until someone else could put a stop to this monster. They roared, two feline titans battling for the death.

  Nohar felt the claws biting into his fur and flesh but fought on desperately. He was slow, the other was younger and in his prime. He twisted, using jujitsu as much as primitive fighting instincts to stay in the fight. But when he flipped the bastard onto his side the big cat lunged out with both hand paws and grabbed his leg and dragged it in and bit and twisted.

  Nohar howled as he felt his fibula and tibia snap. The cat crunched again, mangling his limb. Nohar's hands were free though, he didn't go for the throat, it was protected by that thick mane. Instead he clawed at the exposed soft underbelly. He got a couple good licks in as he fell onto the killer.

  Realizing his error the lion let go of the leg and used his hind legs to kick the tiger in a somersault over his head. Nohar tucked and rolled, but knew he was in deep shit. His vision swam. He lashed out, trying to stay off the bad leg and keep the lion at a distance. He was playing for time now he realized.

  “It's over. We finally know who is better, the lion truly is king!” the lion snarled, gloating.

  “That's right, go ahead and gloat you bastard,” Nohar snarled. “A real man, preying on women and children...”

  “We prey on the weak!” the lion chuffed, pacing back and forth, blood dripping from his stomach. He wasn't even bothering to rise to his hind feet, he was in full primitive lion form, on all fours like Nohar. Nohar however had seen something the lion hadn't. An edge of a battered human face and familiar shirt around the corner. He snorted, shifting his position slightly.

  “I think you are dead, we're both dead, you just don't know it,” Nohar replied.

  “What this? A scratch,” the lion laughed again.

  “No,” Nohar replied as the human rounded the corner and fired. Th
e other cat twisted but the first rounds hit him in the exposed spine. His spinal column was severed and his hind quarters dropped like a puppet. He snarled, twisting and raking the air with his claws at the new attacker. Magnum emptied his little revolver into the lion's chest and mouth. Finally with a groan the killer flopped backward and coughed.

  “You've killed me,” he murmured, taking a shuddering breath. “Long, live, the king,” he said taking a shuddering breath with each word and then letting all the air out and lying still.

  “I got him!” Magnum said, putting a finger into his ear to ring it out. Nohar grunted. All that work and the human does the deed. That was a bit humiliating to some, to him he was just glad the monster was dead. If the sound of the gun going off like that didn't alert the damn dogs he'd buy them hearing aids when he got out of here. If he got out of here, he thought. His consciousness swam. All the trauma was adding up, his implants couldn't keep him awake forever. He was having all he could do to stay alert, but knew it wasn't for much longer. He noted Magnum hadn't followed procedure. He coughed and tried to talk.

  “Don't talk,” Magnum said, looking at the leg. “Shit man, I'm sorry,” he said.

  “Reload,” Nohar said weakly, trying to roll onto his side. He groaned. He couldn't get up, he knew if he did he'd lose it.

  “What?” Magnum asked as Nohar spotted golden eyes behind the human.

  “Reload!” Nohar snarled. He knew better than to stand there with an empty gun. What fool did that? “Reload, Reload!” He wasn't at all sure the lion was dead, he could be playing possum. Then he snarled as he saw movement above and behind the human. He should have known, he thought, a lava feeling of guilt and betrayal cutting through him.

  “Why?” Magnum asked kicking the body.

  “Behind you!” Nohar snarled, trying to raise his good hand to point just as the human felt the subsonic vibrations of a snarl.

  Magnum's eyes went wide. “Oh shi...” Magnum said, twisting and trying to reload. Unfortunately he ran out of time. A twin of the first neolion was already in motion. He snarled and ambushed Magnum from behind, breaking his back and killing the human PI as he crushed his skull and tore his head off with one mighty rip. He looked up, savage golden eyes staring into the mauled tigers for a long taboo minute. Nohar snarled feebly back. “Well, come on then,” he growled, knowing his leg was bad. Still his claws came out and he barred his teeth in challenge. “Come on then!” he snarled.