Were Inc Uncaged

by Marcus Breathnach

  “dam it, miss, can you hear me, I going to get you out of here, ok”

  he assured her lifting his rifle firing at the bolts in the walls, they were no match for the 5.56mm rounds from his weapon

  “ok, let’s get you back above ground”

  he said helping her to walk with his arm around her waist and her arm thrown over his shoulder. When they faced the tunnel there salvation, it was been obscured by the very beast that must have cast the shadow the Captain saw earlier. It was a large black and red creature that seemed to be created from tarmacadam, large portions of its body were moving like living oil

  “right, the past lives on”

  Captain Quis Podex sighed out loud.

  Back above ground Corporal Knightley was having trouble communicating with both Sargent Devonne and Captain Quis Podex, she would have to wait for her Captain to emerge from the hole while avoiding the menacing group that were quickly approaching the cottage. She hastily and carefully rolled a suppressor onto the barrel of her rifle switching the rifle to a semi-automatic function then hunkered herself down in the doorway of the backroom. The men entered the cottage pausing in the hallway and sniffing the air

  “female”

  one man announced in a guttural voice

  “release the beast”

  declared another man with a wicked smirk, the man hauling the bag stood forward untying the top sack

  “feed my pet”

  he instructed letting a snarling impish demonic thrall, a deranged human man out of the sack to hunt the female they smelled.

  “Help me”

  Captain Quis Podex ordered trying to get himself out of the hole and help the woman that was with him also, Corporal Knightley rushed to their aid

  “sir we have hostiles in the building”

  she explained helping the woman out of the hole

  “on your six”

  the Captain ordered as the woman climbed out of the hole.

  Corporal Knightley didn’t have time to act, the woman she helped from the hole reached for the Corporal’s sidearm (a 45cal Mk23 socom pistol) and shot the deranged man directly between the eyes

  “wow”

  Corporal Knightley exclaimed as she quickly helped Captain Quis Podex out of the hole

  “Get them”

  a man shouted followed by gunshots!

  “Go”

  the Captain shouted throwing their attention to the back door of the cottage.

  “Sargent, get your ass over here”

  he bellowed over the communication link as they raced towards the stone bridge that lead into a rather small village, it looked like it had been built by hand more than a hundred years ago.

  They raced into the first building they came across, a tavern, a gloomy building with rustic red bricks that seemed even more feeble in the pouring rain, the sign that hung outside proudly had the taverns name on it ‘Ill Omen' it was boldly presented with a sickly ogre coughing. Once inside Corporal Knightley slammed the door shut while Sargent Devonne ducked down at one of the windows looking out to see if they had been pursued.

  “Help me here”

  the new woman called out

  “what happened?”

  asked Corporal Knightley turning away from the door to see Captain Quis Podex badly injured, even his armour was damaged with strange markings

  “over here”

  she replied rushing to clear off a large table where the new woman with help from Sargent Devonne lay the Captain down.

  Corporal Knightley once again reached for her field medical kit this time resting it on the table next to her Captain unrolling it then examining his wounds; the team might never have known they were not alone if the barman hadn’t of cleared his throat

  “coug’uh”

  the three ladies turned around slowly seeing a barman and two customers sitting on their high stools staring at them, the barman simple asked

  “will yee’s have a drink will yee’s?”

  but he didn’t get an answer.

  The more rounded man of the two customers shuffled his way off his stool, his belly wobbling as he walked towards them, with his hands in his pockets he stood over the Captain examining his injuries

  “Ah sure, he’s a gonner”

  sighed the man with a nod of his head,

  the three ladies looked at him horrified

  “Odin preserve us, sure yee’s won't be helping anyone with equipment like that”

  he snickered pointing to Corporal Knightley’s medical equipment then to Captain Quis Podex before stuffing his hand back into his pocket

  “I tell yee’s, what yee need is good ould Irish craftsmanship, that’s what yee’s need”

  he mocked with excitement

  “hand me me tool bag there, from behind the bar like a good woman”

  he requested in a rather unorthodox way to Sargent Devonne, who was nearest to the bar.

  She reached over the counter and picked up a small bag with a series of numbers branded into its leather ‘15619924’. She reached out and dropped it into the man’s outreached hand. Corporal Knightley looked at the man with disdain even hatred

  “Oh Hell No”

  she snarled

  “he needs a doctor not some, a have a go hero drunk and there’s not a dam thing wrong with my equipment”

  Marie stared at the man waiting for his response,

  the man giggled to himself than looked her up and down

  “No argument there”

  he winked

  “listen to me, if you want himself to wake up in the morning, leave it to me”

  replied the man

  “I’m the local gp here”

  he smiled going back to his drink to take a mouthful, the team looked to Corporal Knightley, who thought for several seconds, she didn’t have what she needed to patch him up properly, if this man was indeed the local general practitioner he would be able to help more than she could, she agreed to allow him to help her, that way if anything went wrong she could act quickly and correct anything he may have done wrong.

  The man clapped his hands together rubbing them like he was trying to start a campfire then opened his bag and pulled out instrument after instrument laying them next to Captain Quis Podex, Corporal Knightley had never seen anything like them before, it was clear they were tools for medical practice but they were so far advanced she had only dreamed of such equipment. Corporal Knightley and the man tended to the Captain while Sargent Devonne sat down with a hefty thump onto a bar stool like she carried the weight of the world on her shoulders

  “you”

  the Sargent asked in a raised voice looking across to the pub to the newest member of their group

  “why are you here and what the hell were you doing down that hole, I ran your tags through the database, I know you’re Lieutenant Aisling Storm of bravo team”

  the Sargent was always keen eyed and quick witted

  “I ran your tags when I saw you at the cottage, come on let's have it, why doesn’t any of this seem to be phasing you at all?”

  the Sargent had giving Lieutenant Storm a lot to answer.

  Lieutenant Storm looked away from the window she gazed out of for a moment, peering at Sargent Devonne, the look in her eyes was distant like she was lost in thought, she was reliving the events that brought her to be shackled in that hole.

  “I uh”

  the Lieutenant stumbled over her words shakenly she sat into the chair near the blazing fire, with her blood stained; bruised skin she looked like she was fresh from the fight. She began to tell all to the Sargent everything that had happened to her and Bravo team since they arrived in Eiru.

  “I’ve been here for a month or more, I think, those vampires at the cottage were the least of my worries”

  she took a deep breath and took the brandy the barman had poured for her, sipping on it she carried on.

  As she spoke everyone listened intently

  “we were sent to restore
the power to an old facility not far from here, a medical facility, we were been led by Captain H. Connolly”

  her words seemed to form of their own accord while she relived the events in her mind.

  “We gained access to the facility through the main doors but later we mistakenly forced the facility into lock down, when were tried to restore power, we triggered the facilities defences”

  she became short of breath when her emotions overwhelmed her, she battled against the tears taking another sip from her brandy, the barman came out from behind the bar once more with a damp cloth lightly pressing it against her head and gently tried to wash away the dried blood stains. She continued

  “the team was separated when we got attacked by these, things, these red and black tar like, monsters, later, Corporal Bernadette Cooper and I found our Captain’s weapon covered in a black slick substance!”

  a sudden spark of hope entered her voice

  “we almost had the power back online, I mean we were so close, until we were attacked again by the same monster as before”

  The room was engrossed with her story it had fallen into complete silence

  “we just, ran, we tried to put as much distance between us and the monster, we aren't trained to fight anything like that, we're a security team not monster hunters”

  she snarled with a whimper finishing her brandy in one mouthful then handed the glass back to the barman and finished her tale

  “we found the body of Samantha Arigrave our medical officer, or what was left of her, she had the same black slick substance that we saw on the Captains weapon, it was clogged in her mouth, she had choked to death on it”

  she let out a mournful sigh

  “we kept running until we got out of the facility, we radioed for evacuation, but we got no response, we tried to get back to where he had docked but; I must have blacked out because when I woke up I was been sold to a coven later I was trying to out think Minotaur’s for food then I found myself in shackles down in that hole with people biting me people drinking my blood while I was forced to watch my friend been eating alive by that creature, if I struggled I was beaten until I complied”

  she suddenly broke down crying hysterically, Sargent Devonne looked at Aisling unsurely; Aisling was weak she was covered in blood and dirt her hair was matted and stuck to her head and sure enough just as she said there was quite a few classic vampire bite marks on her neck and forearms.

  “Now, there yea are”

  announced the man

  “he’s healing quicker then he’s meant to but that can only help, so he’ll be right as rain in no time so'en he will, here, Jackxie, throw me up another pint there like a good man”

  he ordered jumping back onto his stool.

  Corporal Knightley was amazed by his medical knowledge and how easy he made everything seem, it was like he had done it so often he could have done it with his eyes closed, she sat by her Captain's side while the barman watched impatiently as Sergeant Devonne passéd back and forth until the barman cracked and shouted out

  “Néit take us, woman would yea ever sit down, you're running around there like a blue arsed fly, making me head sha’pin”

  he bellowed, his Irish bróg somewhat confused the Sargent who plopped herself down at what remained of the fire trying to warm herself

  “right I'm off ta drain the ould spuds”

  mound the rounded man as he slid off his stool,

  “do you have anywhere I could splash some water on my face?”

  Lieutenant Storm asked the barman

  “yeah, it’s right through there”

  he answered pointing to a door with the word ‘Mńa’ on it.

  Lieutenant Storm sheepishly entered the restroom to wash her face, she stopped once she entered the room unsure what she was expecting, she looked around the room feeling very uneasy, it was brightly light and warm with white and deep blue marble walls and flooring, each of the sinks had a different shaped mirror hungover them. The one she looked into was in the classic shape of a werebear as we would know it.

  There wasn’t a sound that could be heard until she turned the handle on the taps, the sound of running water filled the room, the rushing water was almost musical to her; the feel of it on her face when she cupped it in her hands and splashed it onto herself and it was heavenly. It felt like she was washing her troubles away but she knew she wouldn’t be that lucky, she would have to see this nightmare through until she woke up or died from the horrific monsters that surrounded her. She turned off the taps and took a few deep breaths thinking of how she could get home how she could recover from what befell her since she arrived in Eiru, the amount of therapy she would need and just what else would she have to face before she could get out of Eiru, she looked at the markings on her neck and the blood stains on her face and chest, she was delighted to be alive but she wondered where she had found the strength to survive this long? Bolstering her courage she re-joined the group with a false sense of courage.

  Soon after she re-joined the team at the bar they all heard a great commotion outside the tavern, the atmosphere within the tavern quickly turned sour, it was clear trouble was about to escalate and the team couldn’t afford to get involved in local punch up. The team tried to wake Captain Quis Podex but to no avail, he was too heavily sedated, the barman franticly raced passed them all been followed by the men who sat at the bar and the door was abruptly slammed shut behind them

  “Sergeant, this is your circus, what are your orders ma’am?”

  asked the Lieutenant

  “we can’t do much with the captain in his current state, Corporal, secure a room upstairs, Lieutenant you and I will carry the Captain”

  ordered Sargent Devonne,

  she was suited to the commanding role even though she always felt otherwise.

  Corporal Knightley made her way up the stairs with her assault rifle at the ready as she searched the stairwell and the hallway with caution, she didn’t expect to find any trouble but, it was better to be safe than put the team’s safety at risk

  “clear, move up”

  she called out to the others while she opened the door to room nine.

  It was the perfect room with a perfect unblocked view of the town centre, Lieutenant Storm and Sargent Devonne quickly followed her lead into room nine laying the Captain on the only bed in the room. Corporal Knightley watched from the room window as a large group of rather pale well-dressed people approached the bridge the team themselves had crossed not that long ago, stopping at the apex of the bridge. The group clearly wanted to cross the bridge but it seemed like they were being held at bay by some kind of unseen force! One of the group stood forward, away from all the others and declared his name loud and proud and with purpose

  “I am Vladimir and something across this bridge has been stolen from me, I’ve tracked its scent to this town, return it and that will be the end of it”

  he declared taking another step further across the bridge, when a bright flash came from the skies narrowing and forming a blinding silhouette of a man and with a deafening crack, the light was broken, and a warrior of great presence stood on the bridge blocking passage across. He wore a full suite of golden armour that was Celtic in design; he held a claymore sword (long and heavy two-handed sword) in his left hand resting it on his left shoulder

  “I have been sent from my post at the request the goddess Eiru to remind you of the treaty you are about to break and of the inevitable outcome you will bring upon yourself and others”

  the warrior announced.

  He was indeed imposing as he stood at over seven-foot-tall wielding his weapon like it was a mere toy, Vladimir shyly stood back from the warrior and into his large group declaring

  “the gods have no place here, the peace has already been broken, humans have been on our land and stolen from us, return what I have rightfully captured or have your allfather show his cowardly face to me”

  Vladimir spoke with poison on his tongue,


  facing such a large group alone the warrior should have been frightened, however, he just belly laughed at Vladimir

  “you should be so lucky to gain an audience with the lord of Asgard, leave now while it is your choice to do so”

  the warrior spoke with a smirk

  “I’ll not leave without that which is mine”

  declared Vladimir,

  the imposing warrior didn’t reply he just lowered his sword aiming the tip towards the ground then tapped it onto the bridge creating a blast of energy strong enough to send Vladimir and his comrades into the air and flung them deep into the marsh lands.

  “I know I’m not the only one who saw that?”

  Corporal Knightley announced,

  sadly, she was the only one to see what had just occurred, as her teammates were tending to their Captain and trying to map an efficient route to the facility from their current location.

  It would be no easy task to reach the facility with Captain Quis Podex in his current state and now, after been witness to what she had just seen Corporal Knightley would be weary of this strange land and relish the thought of escaping it as soon as she possibly could.

  Chapter 2 It’s all Gone Wrong

  O bnoxiously the room was filled with the sound of bickering as the team tried to decide which route to take, their Captain was motionless on the bed and Corporal Knightley was puzzled looking to them all in turn then back to the window muttering to herself

  “Never mind, I’ll just stand here and go crazy I guess”

  she shrugged to herself with a cocked smile of uncertainty and a hefty sigh.

  It was sometime before Captain Quis Podex awoke, he sat upright on the bed unzipping his armour, reaching underneath for his bandages ripping them off, he didn’t hesitate or seem to be in pain anymore, his bandages lay on the floor without a trace of blood stains on any of the bandages?

  “how long have I been out?”

  he asked with a blank expression

  “three hours twenty-two minutes, sir”

  replied Corporal Knightley

  “Captain I’ve found a clear route into the facility, I’m posting it to your visualizer now”

  Sargent Devonne explained