by Stead, Nick
“We need all the allies we can get,” I answered.
“Okay, but might I also remind you he’s shown himself to be our enemy in the past?”
I ignored that second question and looked again at Will. “You don’t have to do this. We’ll find a way for all three of us to get out of here, then we can go our separate ways.”
He shook his head. “If the time has come to pay for my sins then so be it.”
“You heard the man,” Gwyn said. When I didn’t respond he added “Come on, fluffy! Here boy, come on!”
I turned back to the knocker and fixed him with my blazing amber eyes. “Don’t make me regret saving you.”
“Hey, you can feel any way you want about saving me, just so long as we’re both alive for you to feel it. Which we won’t be if we stay here any longer so come on, chummer. It’s time to make ourselves scarce.”
“All right,” I growled, starting to run again.
About halfway along the passage, we heard gunshots, followed by the screams of the fallen. In my mind, Will was making his final stand, and even though I’d not trusted him or started to feel any bond of friendship whatsoever, I guess deep down I had come to respect him. Perhaps it was that respect which caused me to question his decision to stay, and it was also that respect which made me want to dish out more vengeance. But not that night. That night had always been about rescuing Gwyn, and if the two of us made it out alive I would call it a win.
At the end of the passage there was another trapdoor. We emerged to find ourselves in some kind of warehouse, guarded by more humans and lit well enough to keep Gwyn in his flesh and blood body – the other premises Will had mentioned, I assumed.
The trapdoor seemed to be at the back of the building. A long pallet rack stocked with goods stood in front of us, and there was a wall behind, with a fire exit set in it just a few inches away. The three humans I sensed seemed to be patrolling the premises, and we were lucky to have come up at a point where they were not in a position to see us. They had to be Slayers as well. It would have been too risky for them to use the place for emergency evacuation if anyone outside of their faction was running it, and I could smell more gunpowder, indicating the building’s security carried more firearms. That might not be out of the ordinary in other parts of the world, but this was Britain in 2005. Guns weren’t even standard equipment for regular police officers, let alone civilian companies and the like.
One thing these Slayers did have, which was much more in keeping with the kind of security you’d expect from civilian businesses, was guard dogs. The barking started the instant we poked our heads through the trapdoor, the animals going berserk at my unnatural scent. Gwyn smelled no different to any other human intruder but there was no hiding my lupine side from them. The Slayers probably knew an undead had just found his way into the building, even if they didn’t know which race exactly. And my disguise wasn’t going to fool anyone as long as the dogs were with them. Stealth no longer seemed to be an option.
There were three different canine scents, a dog for each human. They were on leads as far as I could tell. If they hadn’t been, they would surely be running in for the kill, and there was the sound of the metal clips attaching lead to collar rubbing together as the animals pulled against the material holding them back.
“Back down,” Gwyn whispered.
“What?”
“Back into the passage a moment – I have an idea.”
So we retreated into the underground tunnel. I could still hear bursts of gunfire from the other end of the passage, but it was only a matter of time before Will was killed or captured and more Slayers pursued us. Whatever Gwyn had in mind, he was going to have to act fast.
“We need to trade places,” he said.
“What?” I asked again.
“Let me go in disguised as a Slayer.” His face was uncharacteristically serious, lacking the usual spark of mischief in those blue eyes. “I can get close to the dogs and even the odds a little before you come charging in.”
“Do you think we really have the time needed to keep up this ruse?” I said, though I started undressing and tossing him the pieces of clothing and armour. First to go was the helmet. It was a relief to be rid of the damn thing after it had kept slipping down my head, and I soon forgot my doubts as my need to be rid of the cumbersome gear grew more insistent.
“Maybe not but it’s worth a shot. If you have to come in sooner then do it.”
“What about my scent on the armour, won’t that be enough to set the dogs off?”
“It shouldn’t be too strong a smell with all the blood and gore plastered over the top – you know from personal experience how overpowering those scents can be. I reckon I can calm them long enough to cause some confusion and kill one or two, then if you suddenly appear they’re more likely to panic.”
“I don’t know, we just rescued you from these people and now you want to go wandering back up to them and just hope they don’t realise you’re the escaped prisoner? It seems riskier than just charging in together,” I said, already letting my lupine side rise up in a furry wave. Human hair changed to the coarser fur of my wolf’s pelt, and new hairs grew to form a thicker covering spreading across every last inch of my skin.
“No offence, bro, but at the moment you’re more likely to be a liability against dogs and guns. I can see how awkward you are in that get up and we both know you prefer to be more wolfish in a fight. This way we’ll both be more effective.”
“Point taken,” I growled.
Gwyn had started dressing before I’d finished stripping, donning some of the pieces I tossed aside. Usually my teeth and nails would be among the first noticeable changes to my appearance, but I had to keep my nails shorter while I fumbled with the belt around my waist. My head was fully lupine by the time my upper torso was bare and I smiled to myself, thinking I must look like the kind of action figures I would have collected in my human life.
I had to stop the transformation again until I’d removed the boots and trousers I’d been wearing, but once I was free of all semblance of humanity I let my body settle back into my hybrid form. There weren’t many changes left to take place. Mostly it was the growth of my tail, which I wanted more for personal preference than anything else, and the structure of my feet. A wolf-man once more, I stopped the transformation and took a moment to stretch, enjoying the feeling of power rippling through my altered muscles. They looked far more impressive in my semi-lupine state compared to the scrawny teenage boy I used to be.
Gwyn pulled on the last piece of armour and made some final adjustments to the various straps and buckles, then he went up into the warehouse again. I hung back, listening intently. One ear remained cocked towards the sounds of battle coming from behind, alert for any warnings Will had fallen and more enemies were advancing from that direction, and one ear was pricked for any sounds from the warehouse above.
I couldn’t hear much of what was going on with the trapdoor closed, but the moment I opened it the guard dogs would pick up my scent and work themselves into another frenzy. So I forced myself to wait below, the seconds stretching into long minutes as my heart started pumping out the adrenaline needed for the fight ahead.
It was muffled, but I could just about make out the dogs barking as Gwyn made his approach. Then all seemed to go quiet and after a minute or so the tension became too much. I had to know what was happening, had to be ready to run to my friend’s aid if the Slayers realised he wasn’t one of them. So I lifted the trapdoor ever so slightly, allowing more sound to filter in.
“I’m telling you, it’s a massacre down there,” Gwyn was saying. “I’m not surprised these mutts went mad – they could probably smell it on my way through here. I barely made it out alive. Most of our people are dead already and those who aren’t soon will be. Even our all-powerful necromancer looked to be in trouble when I last saw her. Maybe one or two others escaped and are on their way up here even as we speak, but the base is lost and there’s not
hing more we can do about it, not without reinforcements. It’s time to run, while there’s still chance.”
The dogs must have caught my scent again because they started barking louder and more urgently now I had a stronger wolf smell, and it sounded like they were straining against their leads, desperate to attack the threat to their human masters. Most animals ran before me, but there were always a handful of dogs dumb enough to challenge me over territory or in defence of the humans they saw as pack. I wasn’t concerned. Mortal creatures were no match for my supernatural might and even three on one could only end in their deaths.
“Sounds like we’re already too late to run,” said a woman.
“The dogs can buy us time,” Gwyn answered. “Let them loose and let’s get out of here, before it’s too late.”
“Do it,” another woman replied. “They won’t slow whatever’s coming down for long, but it might just be long enough to get the car started and get out of here. There’s no sense making a stand if the undead have already won. We’ll just be throwing our own lives away.”
“And you’re sure it’s just vampires?” a third voice asked. This one was a man.
“Yup, vampires are loose in the base but no sign of fluffy and I didn’t see any ghouls or wraiths either,” Gwyn said. “They might have had an Elder with them though. The entire group seemed pretty damn powerful from where I was standing.”
“Fuck fighting Elder vampires. Let the dogs loose and let’s go,” the second woman repeated.
The others didn’t need telling twice. I could hear the dogs bounding towards me while the humans ran in the opposite direction, presumably for the main door or another fire exit if the building had any others. It seemed like that was my cue. I climbed up and into the warehouse just as the dogs came skidding round the corner of the pallet rack towering above me, standing my ground as they lunged into a brutal attack.
They were big dogs. I didn’t recognise the breed but they might have been German shepherd crosses or something like that. Yet they were no wolves.
The first dog went for my arm. I struck him a devastating blow before his jaws ever had the chance to connect with my flesh, the strength of it knocking him unconscious and my claws gouging deep, bloody trenches where they raked across his head. He wouldn’t be getting back up anytime soon.
Pain shot through my calf as the second dog wrapped her muzzle around my leg, but I ignored her for the time being to deal with the third dog who leapt straight for my throat. Another swipe of my clawed hands sent him crashing down to join his pack mate, but the blow landed across his snout. He was only dazed and he sprang back up moments later.
Just as I was about to deal with the female dog still attacking my leg, a burst of gunshot rang out from somewhere outside and I heard two lots of screams.
“What the hell is your problem?” the male Slayer cried.
“Me? Nothing,” Gwyn answered. “You, on the other hand, have a bullet in you.”
“Drop it,” one of the women ordered. I imagined she had her own gun out and pointed right at him. “None of us are going any further until you tell us who you really are and why you just shot him.”
“It’s your funeral,” Gwyn said.
“We’ll take our chances.”
“You do that,” Gwyn replied, sounding completely unperturbed at the gun now trained on him. “But you should know: I’m not really the one you need to be worried about, especially now you’ve got my weapon.”
“Why, who else is with you? Are you helping the undead?”
“Helping? Not exactly. I might have stretched the truth a little when I said there was no sign of fluffy here.”
I grabbed the female dog’s jaws and wrenched them apart. There was a tearing sound and she gave the canine equivalent of a scream, her lower jaw hanging uselessly once I let go. I howled as she fled in terror and pain, then turned to face my final opponent.
“Make that a lot,” Gwyn added.
The dog I’d merely dazed was smart enough to go for my injured leg, but again I was ready for him. This time my clawed hand struck the side of his body with enough force that he crashed into the wall and collapsed into a crumpled heap, shaking and whimpering. Blood leaked from where my claws had already slashed his muzzle, plus four new gashes across his ribcage. He wouldn’t be getting up a second time, not without medical intervention.
I couldn’t tell how badly Gwyn had wounded his opponents without seeing them for myself. There was blood and their breaths were short and shallow, and somewhat shaky, and their hearts sang with pain, their pulses racing. They probably weren’t an immediate threat. The woman he hadn’t shot was another matter, my senses telling me she’d tensed, frozen like prey. But she still had her gun.
Another gunshot rang out, this one sounding more like the noise of a handgun. It certainly wasn’t the burst of the semi-automatics the Slayers in the base had carried, and I guessed these three were not as heavily equipped to avoid suspicion. Yet a single bullet could be just as deadly, and it rang out with such an awful finality that I felt a jolt in my gut, almost as though I’d been hit as well. And in that moment I feared the worst.
CHAPTER TWENTY–ONE
Fight and Flight
The female dog yelped and I breathed again. Gwyn hadn’t been shot after all. The Slayer must have seen movement and panicked, thinking it was the beast she’d heard making short work of their guard dogs now coming for them. She wasn’t wrong. The next movement she saw would be everything she feared and more.
I howled again, grinning my wolfish grin at the thought of her twisting and turning, eyes darting from one shadow to the next. Such theatrics weren’t necessary but again it brought me a grim pleasure. It was akin to the feeling a cat must have when playing with mice, or so I imagined, and perhaps one Gwyn was also revelling in.
“Okay, I outright lied,” the knocker admitted. “Fluffy is here and I think you upset him.”
“Quiet!” she hissed.
“Jess, don’t be a fool!” the male Slayer said. “Run, while you still can.”
“I’m not leaving you,” she insisted.
“It’s too late for us,” the other woman answered. “Ben’s right. Get to the car and save yourself. Take this traitor with you. Maybe he knows something, if you can deliver him to another base for questioning.”
“Oh I know plenty,” Gwyn said. “I know none of you are leaving here alive. Want to start with that?”
“Quiet!” the woman repeated.
I took a deep breath while they talked, savouring the moment. I had every intention of living up to the stories they must tell about me, the stories that kept their hatred alive and that burning desire to rid the world of such monsters. Gwyn was right, none of the humans were escaping with their lives. They would make the perfect message for their comrades, a warning to leave us alone or meet the same grisly end I was going to give these three. I didn’t really expect the Slayers to heed it, but I’d enjoy creating it all the same.
I slunk along the opposite wall to the one my senses told me the Slayers were by. They’d almost reached the front of the warehouse before Gwyn had shot them, the two he’d hit slumped on the floor with their hands pressed to their wounds, trying to stem the flow of blood. The woman still standing, Jess as they’d called her, had positioned herself exactly as I’d imagined. She was no longer pointing her gun at Gwyn, instead aiming in the direction she must have believed me to be in.
They hadn’t seen me yet. I peered round a pallet rack and looked down the aisle to where they argued, taking stock of the situation before I charged in. The body of the dog lay a few aisles back, blood pooling from a hole in her head. Jess’s aim was good.
The other woman looked to have dropped her gun when she’d been hit, but Ben still had his in the hand not slick with his own blood. Ideally I’d have crept under cover until I was in range to launch a stealth attack, but with the lights on that wasn’t really possible. The trio were effectively spread across two aisles and were bo
und to see me coming along either of them, so I was going to have to charge in, and rely on speed to save me once more. There was a good chance of taking more wounds, but I’d faced worse odds. I wasn’t afraid of their guns.
“What was that?” the unnamed woman said, perhaps catching a glimpse of me as I withdrew my head behind the rack. I wanted to take a moment to heal the damage to my leg in preparation for this next fight, though I was hoping to keep the added advantage of the element of surprise until I was ready to make my move. It was only luck that had kept me from being sighted before then, while I’d been moving between the aisles. I supposed it didn’t make much difference whether they knew I was about to attack or not, but I’d have preferred not to give them the chance to line up a shot before I’d even begun running towards them. The aisle wasn’t that wide which was going to make it all the harder to dodge their bullets, and if I was forced to charge straight at them, they would be presented with a much easier target than one coming in from the side.
I felt their eyes turn in my direction, even though they couldn’t see me for as long as I remained behind the row of pallets. The fear poured from them in sweet waves, so strong I could almost taste it.
“What was what?” Jess asked.
“Jess, get the fuck out of here, NOW!” Ben said.
“Who’s afraid of the big bad wolf, the big bad wolf, the big bad wolf?” Gwyn started to sing.
“Shut up!” Jess screamed.
I got the impression her gun was pointing at Gwyn again. There was never going to be a better moment for attacking than while she was distracted. I was about to make my charge when another idea occurred to me. There was one direction they probably wouldn’t be watching, and with that in mind I grabbed hold of the metal frame in front of me and climbed up.
“I did warn you,” Gwyn was saying. His words were met with more angry screams.
I was able to creep across the top of the rack without knocking any pallets off, crawling towards the other end so quietly that my prey never heard me coming. Jess was aiming at Gwyn, and Ben had his gun pointed towards the space where my head had been just moments ago. Not one of them looked up, though Gwyn added two more words as if he knew I was about to pounce, two words with the same chilling effect as my howl.
