by C. E. Martin
He willed himself forward, crossing the distance slowly. He knew full well many in the physical world, particularly supernatural beings, could see him here. Sudden movement would draw their attention. So he drifted slowly forward.
Someone was watching the bar through a second floor window of the warehouse. They moved suddenly, to a larger opening in the broken windows, as if for a better vantage.
Forest turned back to the Mengele and saw why. Brightly glowing vampires were running away from the bar. At least a dozen of them, spreading out like rats from a sinking ship.
Forest turned back to the warehouse. He had to find out who, or what, was watching. He steeled himself and plunged through a wall, the tin and steel structure offering no more resistance than the surface of a swimming pool.
***
Josie drew in a breath and concentrated as the first vampire fled the bar—literally running through a wall. Hitting a moving target was complicated, especially one moving toward her.
The vampire screamed, grabbing his head. He tripped and fell, tumbling forward as his brain froze. He quickly came up on one knee, struggling to rise to his feet.
Steam was rising from the vampire now as Josie continued to concentrate, freezing the molecules in place within his head. In a normal human, the cryokinetic flash freezing inside the brain would have produced instant death. But Eric Mosley had shown the hybrid vampires were far more resilient.
Josie shifted her gaze, switching to another target. Paul Briones had reached the first vampire. He, Colonel Phillips, Dean Johnson, Jimmy and Victor Hornbeck were outside the bar, the stone soldiers' knives at the ready when the vampires still standing had decided to run.
Briones reached the vampire just as he stood. The stone soldier's knife sliced through the neck of the creature, removing its head with ease. Briones kicked it away from the body for good measure, then took off at a sprint to intercept the next hybrid.
"We've got the back," Colonel Kenslir shouted as he and Laura Olson ran outside after four skinheads fleeing south. "Stevens, finish off the wounded!"
Inside the bar, Wayne Stevens heard the command over his tactical goggles' speakers and set to work, moving quickly for the first of several bodies so badly mutilated and damaged it would be minutes before they regenerated, if ever. Captain Smith and Jacobson sprinted out the side and front of the building, pursuing more of the hybrids.
"Command! We have a problem here!" Colonel Phillips yelled, extending both hands. He unleashed twin lightning bolts from his stone fingers, catching two fleeing vampires square in the side. Each was blown off their feet, as if struck by a heavy truck. He glanced over and saw that Jimmy Kane was in wolf form now, sprinting along on all fours in a weird, hunched-over loping run, pursing a vampire of his own.
***
The figure in the building hadn't noticed him yet. The man was intently staring out the window as the battle at the Mengele raged on. He glowed quite unlike anything Forest had ever seen—shimmering back and forth as though he were multiple people in one body.
He was dressed in Army-surplus pants, with tall combat boots and a white t-shirt. He had blonde and gray hair, swept to the side in an old fashioned manner. He almost seemed to match the worn out interior of the abandoned warehouse.
Forest skimmed along the roof of the big, empty building. Once, it must have been filled with ceiling-high shelving units for pallets of whatever had been stored there. Now it was a wide-open space, filled with broken glass, and filth. A walkway ringed the warehouse at what would be the second floor. The oddly-glowing man stood on this walkway, watching the battle unfolding outside.
The man frowned finally and pulled a small cellphone from his pocket and dialed a number on it. He waited impatiently, tapping his foot, clearly nervous as the phone made its connections.
Finally, the other end must have picked up. "Ausgang, jetzt!" he said into the phone. Forest recognized the sound of panic in the man's voice.
***
The vampire hybrids were fast, that Colonel Kenslir had to admit. But they weren't faster than a bullet. He stopped running and reached back, pulling a large automatic from under the back of his shirt.
The huge gun, a .50 caliber Desert Eagle, roared three times—three precise shots fired at three different fleeing hybrids. Each jerked as the large bullets tunneled into their legs, dropping them instantly.
Kenslir sprinted forward, toward the nearest one as all three began to wail. Even a vampire didn't like to be burned, and the white phosphorous rounds Kenslir was using consumed flesh faster than it could be repaired.
Laura Olson was faster, reaching one of the fallen vampires first as he clawed at the smoking hole in his thigh. She scooped him up by the ankle of his good leg and swung him around in an arc, smashing the hybrid's head against the pavement. The ground buckled from the blow and the creature's head significantly deformed.
Olson pitched the stunned vampire up, spinning him as she did, so that his head was now upright. She slashed out with both hands, across the wounded hybrid's throat. Nails sliced flesh and bone and skinhead and body separated from each other.
The Colonel was at his man now. He stomped down with one boot, exploding the vampire's head. He followed this up with a snapped shot from the Desert Eagle. The last of the wailing vampires went silent as the magnum's round punched through his head, mixing together white phosphorous and brain.
"Hey! That was mine!" Laura said, pouting. At least, Kenslir thought she was pouting—it was hard to be sure as she was covered in blood and gore.
"Something's up," Major Campbell, back at the Command Center, announced over team's comm channel. "Forest may have located the target in a nearby structure! We're marking your HUDs!"
Colonel Kenslir turned, looking in the direction indicated. In this barren part of town, where there were more empty lots than dilapidated buildings, he had a clear view of the building, which was indicated by a flashing red diamond on the tactical glasses.
He shifted his gaze and fired another shot from his pistol, dropping another fleeing vampire that had just run into view. The monster tumbled and fell, then Jimmy Kane was on top of it, working it over with his own claws.
"Got it!" Dean Johnson yelled over the channel. His marker on the HUD indicated he was the closest to the warehouse, and he immediately set out for it.
Kenslir broke into a run, leaving a surprised Laura Olson behind. "Johnson! Wait for assist!"
"Where are we going?" Laura said, dropping into a run. Kenslir noticed she'd discarded her sandals and was running across the hot ground barefoot, her bloody dress clinging to her.
***
If Stone Soldiers and the hybrid überwolf glowed brightly, then what Forest saw now was like the sun. Its intensity was so great it actually made him want to look away, even though he had no eyes to be harmed, no physical body to feel pain.
It was a brilliant flash, like a bomb going off. When it blinked out, an intense white ball the size of a man's head was suspended in the air. But not for long—it almost instantly spread out, flattening and widening into a circle over six feet in diameter.
The überwolf on the upper level of the warehouse saw the glowing disk, hovering at the level of the second floor, some twenty feet away from him, and swore. "Gruss Gott!"
It was over empty air, well above the ground level.
The überwolf shimmered again, flickering rapidly like a candle about to go out for a moment. Then he grabbed the railing around the catwalk he was on and pulled.
Metal bent and shrieked as it was torn apart by the überwolf, still in the form of a human but now with inky-black eyes and elongated fangs. He was ripping and bending the metal out of his way so he could leap out, across the open air and through the portal. But he suddenly stopped what he was doing.
"Was?" he declared in German. He was now looking at Forest, his face puzzled.
The hybrid raced around the upper deck of the warehouse, covering the distance to Forest in a heartbeat. He
leapt at the end of his short sprint, shooting up at the Ghost Walker as he hung in the air, just below the roof.
But Forest was faster. Much faster. In this form, he was limited only by his willpower. He streaked across the warehouse, to a position opposite where he'd been. The hybrid collided painfully with the tin roof, then tumbled down to the floor on the first level.
"Hello, my friend," he said, landing perfectly.
Forest was unable to respond and remained where he was, watching the überwolf.
"What are you?" the überwolf asked. Then he turned, glancing to the side.
"Aufwiedersehen!" he said, turning and taking several steps.
The side of the warehouse exploded inward, metal siding bending and shrieking as one of the stone soldiers charged in. The überwolf ignored this and took several quick steps forward, leaping up—at the portal.
The German had calculated perfectly, and flattened his body, hands held out before him, as though diving. He passed through the bright disk, vanishing from sight.
"Oh, no you don't!" Dean Johnson yelled, sprinting after him and leaping into the air.
The stone soldier was nowhere near as graceful as the German, but he made the leap, passing clumsily through the open portal, legs apart as though running. Just as he entered the opening, it abruptly winked out.
Colonel Kenslir leapt through the opening in the wall Johnson had made, pistol in hand and just in time to see a leg plummet to the ground, cut off just below the right knee.
CHAPTER TWENTY
Laura Olson felt much better now. She was whistling happily as she walked into the briefing room, drying her long, red hair. The vampire was wearing a large robe, with oversized bunny slippers, bringing all conversation to a halt when she entered.
She finished with her hair and draped the towel over one shoulder. "Howdy, y'all."
"Glad you could join us, Doctor Olson," Colonel Kenslir frowned. He was once more in multicam uniform, sitting at the head of the table, reading printouts and a tablet computer while the rest of the team looked on—those capable of it, exhausted.
"I just had to wash off all that icky neo-Nazi," Laura said, scooping a Danish off a plate beside the Colonel as she walked past. She smiled and nodded to everyone as she made her way to the opposite end of the long table and took a seat.
"What I'd miss?" Laura said, setting her Danish down. She began digging in the pockets of her robe, pulling out hair brush, compact, lipstick, eyeliner and nail polish. To either side of her, Victor and Colonel Phillips just shook their heads.
"This is why he got away," Javi Wallach said, arms crossed over her chest. She was furious, about to explode. "And you call this a military unit."
Chad Phillips tried to suppress a smile. The informality of the Detachment had indeed changed from years gone by, before he was a stone soldier.
"Oh, good grief," Laura said around a mouthful of Danish. "Would you get over yourself already? You'd have been torn to pieces if Mark had let you come along."
Javi glared at Laura, so angry she couldn't think of what to say.
Dr. King spoke up. "We believe that Commander Johnson may still be alive. The cleanliness of the edge of his limb suggests it was not cut, per se, but rather removed by the collapse of the portal."
"So he jumped through and it closed on him?" Laura said. She finished off the Danish and began to lick her fingers, one by one, winking at Colonel Kenslir as she did so.
"All the hybrid bodies have now been incinerated," Kenslir said. "We do not believe there are any others in the area."
"On to Antarctica," Captain Daniel Smith said. He slid a tablet across the table to Dr. Olson.
"A vacation!" she said, picking the tablet up and reading it. "How exciting!"
"We anticipate a location within the hour," Kenslir said. "I've assigned everyone to a team for deployment. Dr. Olson, you and Ms. Winters will accompany me and Mr. Kane on Sleipnir. We'll be leaving in just a few hours."
Javi blew out a breath of air and looked at the ceiling. "Why do they get to go?"
"Dr. Olson and Ms. Winters-" Kenslir began.
"Are freaks, I know," Wallach said. "I can handle it. I may not have any weird abilities, and I'm not made of stone, but I'm better trained than anyone at this table."
"You do realize we're going to Antarctica, right?" Chad Phillips said. "Coldest place on earth?"
"I'll wear a jacket," Javi said.
Laura Olson laughed as she brushed out her long hair.
"It's not that simple, Ms. Wallach," the Colonel cut in. "Aside from the coast, we're talking temperatures that can reach well below zero. People can die in those conditions."
"It's summer in Antarctica, right?" Javi countered. "When all the scientists fly in and out and can actually go outside? I'm sure I'll be fine."
"Well, I'm happy to stay here in Miami," Alvarro Sierra said. "I appreciate being included in this, but the south pole is a bit out of my jurisdiction."
Pam Keegan, seated beside him, nodded. "This is what this team was made for, Ms. Wallach. Harsh conditions no human could survive. We can watch the mission progression from here, just like this morning."
"No," Javi said. "I am not going to sit back and let you screw this up again. I am going along and I'm going to make sure these bastards are put down once and for all."
"Make sure you have a will filled out," Laura said, now putting eyeliner on.
"Ms. Wallach-" the Colonel started to say.
Dr. Guerrera looked up from her table. "Actually, Colonel, there may be a way." She swiped her hand across her tablet, sending a file to the Colonel.
He looked down at it and read it quickly, cocking an eyebrow.
"What?" Javi demanded.
"You're not going to like it," Kenslir said, almost smiling.
***
They were in another vault in the basement of Argon Tower, barely an hour from lift off. Javi felt a little self-conscious, but took her robe off.
"This will monitor your core temperature," Dr. King said, starting to attach sensors to her. The Mossad agent was now in shorts and an athletic bra, her hair back in a ponytail, still not believing she was even considering this.
Dr. King finished with the sensors attached to her stomach and chest, then began attaching more sensors to her, this time to her forehead.
"What are those for?" Javi asked.
"To see if you have any brain activity," Josie said. She was standing to the side of the door into the room, away from Dr. King and the table his equipment was set up on.
Javi glared at Josie but said nothing.
"Why do you hate us so much?' Josie asked. She was in multicam now herself, ready to head to the nearby Airbase and board a plane to the south pole.
"I believe," Dr. King said, interrupting before Javi could answer. "That after the War, when it was discovered the Germans had used paranaturals and supernaturals to track down, capture and experiment on the Hebrews, that they first began to show some distrust.
"Later, after Israel was formed, further intelligence was shared with the beginnings of what would become Mossad. Intelligence confirmed the experiments in the camps trying to create parahumans."
"So?" Josie demanded. "I'm no Nazi."
"Neither were they," Javi said. "But that didn't stop them from hunting down my people."
"Yes," Dr. King said, now slipping a Blood pressure cuff on Javi's arm. "Most of those working for the SS were gypsies. Paid in gold for their services."
"Gold taken from the prisoners in the camps," Javi added.
"So you're going to blame us all for what a few did?"
"Do," Javi said. "The Nazis weren't the only ones to turn to the supernatural."
"Right," Dr. King said stepping back and checking the connections to the equipment on the table. "Why, in 2008, the Colonel and Captain Smith encountered a Fire Elemental in Iraq, under the control of an insurgent."
He saw the look on Javi's face and realized she'd been talking about him an
d the Detachment. "Oh."
"And you think you can take on threats like these überwolves without a little help?"
"We are prepared for anything," Javi said.
"Still, you could fight fire with fire."
"How American," Javi responded. "We don't need to resort to trickery to triumph. Israel will endure because of the hard work of its people and the grace of God."
Josie was going to say that God made parahumans, but her own abilities weren't exactly something she'd been born with.
Further debate was stopped by the arrival of Dr. Guerrera.
"Ah, Maria!" Dr. King said. "You found it!"
Dr. Guerrera carried a small metal case with her, roughly the size of a briefcase. She placed it on a table and opened it.
"What is it?" Javi asked, worried what the answer might be. These Americans could turn men into golems. There was no telling what exactly they had in mind for her.
"This," Dr. Guerrera said, holding out a bracelet. It was fairly worn, a band of flat, reddish-brown leather, almost three inches wide. A number of symbols and letters from some long-dead language were stamped into the leather.
"What is that? Alligator?"
"Dragon," Dr. Guerrera said.
Javi's hand hesitated just short of taking the bracelet. "What does it do?"
Dr. Guerrera smiled and slipped the band on Javi's left wrist. "When worn, it keeps the user from ever getting cold."
Javi felt it—a hot flash that radiated out from the bracelet, all over her body. It was like stepping into a hot tub. In seconds, the sensation passed.
"Apparently," Dr. Guerrera said, "Not only is dragon skin fireproof, it also helps them generate the internal heat they need."
"Where'd you get it?" Josie asked, walking over and straining to see the bracelet.
Dr. Guerrera pulled a second bracelet from the case and held it out. When Josie reached for it, she jerked it back. "I don't think that's a good idea.
