Endangered Species

“Madigan Army Medical Center is eight stories tall with two hundred and twenty beds,” Bruce told me as we drove off on his Harley. He was in front this time. We were lucky; the sky was cloudy and threatening rain. Before leaving Headquarters, we’d put our hats and gloves on, plus dark sunglasses and bandanas. Even without our werewolf healing, we’d be fine for the short ride. “The hospital has a backup generator, but that got knocked out with the initial pulse. Even if they fix it, the pulse bricked all those sophisticated electronics inside. All that fancy LED lighting is dead, too.”

“You’re still using it?”

“We moved everything else out of the basement and put the patients there. There are no windows, and we have the concrete above for shielding.”

“Why didn’t I go there?”

“The place is wall to wall wounded, plus they thought you were potentially contagious. There was a nurse’s station at Headquarters, so they put you in an empty room and brought the doctor in.”

We pulled into the driveway, parking the motorcycle on the sidewalk near the entrance. Nobody was on the ground floor, and the stairway down to the basement was dark. Bruce kept a hand on my shoulder as I used my vision to guide us down.

The smell was horrific, even before we opened the door. Alcohol, blood, pus, vomit, shit? It was all there in spades. It reminded me of a field hospital from Doctor Zhivago, my Mom’s favorite movie.

The door at the bottom of the stairway opened, revealing a stretcher detail and a person holding a lantern. Between them was a body covered with a sheet. We stepped out of the way, removing our covers as they passed. “What do you do with them,” Bruce asked.

“We put them in a truck, and a detail burns them at night,” the weary medic replied.

The cavernous basement contained hundreds of patients. Beds filled every space, with only a narrow walkway separating them. Nurses and doctors worked by candlelight and oil lamps, doing what they could for the hundreds of patients. I could tell that wasn’t much; there were IV stands, but no IVs hung. They probably ran out, and no more were coming.

An entire section contained the blind, gauze bandages covering their eyes in the hope something would come back with time. Other beds held people in horrible pain; swollen limbs and faces, the smell of vomit, and blackened skin. “Radiation sickness,” Bruce said as he looked around.

An older woman approached warily. Her utilities were stained, but I spotted two silver bars on one collar and a caduceus on the other. She looked annoyed we’d show up and not do anything to help. “Captain Holloway, shift nurse. How can I help you, Major?”

“I need to speak to everyone who can listen and understand me,” I said before he could answer. “I can heal these people if they agree to let me.”

She looked at me, then at the Major. “I don’t have time for fucking jokes, Major. We’re losing a dozen people a shift.”

“It’s not a joke, ma’am. Tell your people to wake everyone up. If they can move, get them closer to the center of the room. They will want to hear what the Ensign is going to say.” She looked uncertain. “That’s an order straight from General Payne, Captain.”

“This had better be good.” She put two fingers in her mouth and let out a piercing whistle. The noises died down quickly. “LISTEN UP! I NEED PATIENTS TO GATHER AROUND THE NURSE’S STATION! IF YOU CAN’T GET OUT OF BED, THE NURSES WILL HELP YOU SIT UP SO YOU CAN SEE. STAY QUIET SO EVERYONE CAN HEAR.”

Everyone in the room started moving at once. I grabbed a clean sheet from the rack near the wall, bringing it with me to the middle of the room. The nurses had a dozen desks in a U-shape. I picked the easiest one to see and started moving stuff off to other desks. One of the medics took offense. “What are you doing!”

“Putting you out of business, I hope,” I said as I kept clearing papers off the desk. The Major stepped in, having folding chairs placed behind the wheelchairs that surrounded us. It took fifteen minutes before we had everyone settled. By that time, I had removed everything but my T-shirt and pants.

Most of the patients were male, and they didn’t mind my state of undress as I hopped onto the table. Lanterns moved to surround me. “LISTEN UP,” I said using my best command voice. “My name is Ensign Angela Summers, and I’m here to heal you.”

“I’m fucking BLIND,” a man in the front said. “Doc said it is permanent.”

“And your Doctor is correct if we are talking medical treatments. I’m not. I’m a werewolf. My bite can heal you, but it will make you like me.”

The reaction was anywhere from shock to laughter. Major Perriman climbed up next to me, holding the sheet around me while I disrobed under it. “This isn’t a strip club,” one of the nurses objected when my bra hit the desk.

“LISTEN UP,” the Major yelled. “Less than twelve hours ago, I took three rounds of five-five-six in the chest. My armor stopped two, but the third clipped my shoulder here.” He pulled his jacket and T-shirt aside. “The bullet smashed my clavicle and hit my subclavian artery. First aid couldn’t stop the bleeding, and I was hours from any medical facility. I asked the Ensign to bite me, to make me like her. She did. The bleeding stopped, and the skin and bone healed in less than three hours. It’s a little sore, but I survived what should have killed me in minutes. She’s not lying to you, and she’ll prove it.”

I was naked under the sheet now. “Watch me,” I told the room. Closing my eyes, I called my wolf forward. The shift occurred instantly, and the Major was left holding the sheet.

You could have heard a mouse fart in the back. I sat on the desk, raised my head, and howled.

As Sheriff Buford T. Justice would say, “Now THAT is an attention getter.” I walked around on top of the desks, giving everyone a good look, then jumped down to walk among them. The braver of them reached out to touch my fur as I passed.

While I wandered among them, the Major told them what werewolves could do besides turning into big-ass wolves. After ten minutes, I leaped onto the desk and let him cover me with a sheet. I shifted back, getting dressed under it as I described what the change meant. “I know it can cure milder radiation sickness. I don’t know if it can restore eyesight because the people who changed me didn’t take in blind women. I also don’t know how far gone you can be with radiation sickness because they didn’t take those women either. I’ve seen the Major heal before my eyes, so I’m hopeful I can help everyone.”

“What’s the catch,” the blind guy from before asked.

“The healing happens on day one. The next day, your fever spikes, and you become delirious. It’s like the worst flu ever. Then the first shift happens on the third day. It is a painful ordeal I wouldn’t wish on my worst enemy. You feel every bone in your body break and reform. Not everyone makes it, and only volunteers get my bite. After the first shift, you need to learn to use your new senses and strength and how to move and fight in both forms.”

“Fight?” One of the nurses looked unsure.

“I need fighters to go with me and liberate the Bangor Submarine Base from other werewolves,” I told them. “I’d like to have several hundred of you with me, and those people would get priority. If the General agrees, I’ll bite those who don’t want to fight.”

“We have one week to prepare for the assault,” Bruce said. “We’re going to take a short break here. If you aren’t interested, please return to your beds or move away from the central area. If you want to hear more, move up.”

We spent a few more hours discussing things in more detail and answering questions before the General summoned us back to his conference room. His staff was back in place, and he started the meeting as soon as we walked in. “How many of the wounded are going to volunteer?”

“Between a hundred and two hundred soldiers, plus another hundred non-combatants,” Major Perriman replied. “Some said they want to see me go through the change before they decide. If you allow that, they won’t shift in time to join the assault.”

“Some of the non-combatants may volunteer when they get their wolves. You could also ask healthy soldiers to volunteer. The advantages of being a wolf might get ten to twenty-five percent to agree,” I added. “They are better soldiers after the change, and they’ll want that.”

The General let out a breath. “We don’t have any better options,” he confessed. “How will this work if I give you permission to change them?”

“I’d move them all to a different building, make sure they agree, then bite them,” I said.

“Why is that,” a Colonel asked.

“They will need different care than the others, and during the change, you don’t want humans around to prevent accidental turns,” I replied. “Major Perriman and I will be there to supervise the changes. As their Alpha, I’m there when they shift to settle them down and bring them into my Pack. After that, we need to train together. Once we are ready, we move out.”

The officer turned on Bruce. “Major, are you going to be in command?”

“Major Perriman’s rank doesn’t mean shit in a Pack,” I replied. “The Pack structure is similar to a military unit, but leaders aren’t appointed. Leadership flows from the dominance of the new wolves. The Pack reports from the warriors up through the Beta-level wolves to me as the Alpha.”

The Colonel didn’t like that. “And who are YOU responsible to, Ensign Summers?”

I didn’t know how to answer that. The silence was telling. “I’d be interested in that answer as well,” the General said.

I composed myself and looked into his eyes. “I swore an oath to protect and defend this country,” I said. “I’d like to think I’ve done that. I endured much, even the death of my shipmate, to reach this base. I carried out my Captain’s orders to deliver his message.” Now for the fun part. “I didn’t seek to become a werewolf. The Pack I was with were American citizens. They were neighbors, business owners, students, police, and even soldiers. Their leaders killed hundreds of sailors and Marines and enslaved hundreds of women like me. The leader responsible for that is dead, and another tyrant has taken his place. Alpha Edward must pay for his crimes. We must secure the weapons. As an officer in the United States Navy, I will follow your orders to accomplish that.”

“But?”

“I’m an Alpha now, General. All of these people I turn into werewolves will be my responsibility. The wolves of the Renfro Pack are my responsibility. When Alpha Edward is dead, and I take over and stop the fighting, another thousand werewolves at the base become MY responsibility. Those people aren’t military, but those who are will have dual loyalties. They will be Pack wolves first and foremost until they die. God willing, I’ll be a good leader for them.”

“That doesn’t sound like you’re following lawful orders of those appointed above you,” the Colonel objected.

“I have to find a balance, Colonel. Your objective is to secure nuclear weapons and bring the base under military control. I have to do that, plus keep my people alive and safe. I need both, General. There’s no point in us taking the base if you’re going to kick my new Pack members out. I will secure the installation for you, but I need something in return. Bangor will be the home of my Pack. We will provide security and support, and I will report directly to a Base Commander you appoint. We will take in personnel who can support the submarines when they return.”

The General leaned back in his chair. “What if I order you to take the base, then leave with all your werewolves?”

I shrugged. “This wolf thing is new to me. I don’t think she would betray my Pack members like that.”

He looked to my right. “Major? What if I ordered you to kick them all out?”

“I have no idea, sir. I don’t have my wolf yet.”

The Colonel turned to his boss. “This is too dangerous, sir. You’re talking about creating a battalion of super-soldiers you can’t control. What if they fail? What if Ensign Summers here dies, and this Alpha Edward guy brings in two hundred combat-experienced warriors?”

“Then we nuke them to oblivion, Colonel. That’s the only other choice on the table.” He got input from his staff, but Command is a lonely place. He made his decision. “Major, Ensign, we’re going back to the hospital. I want to speak to the men first. After that, you have my permission to turn all those who volunteer to join the assault. Extend the offer to the troops if you don’t get your two hundred warriors. That is all.”

“Ten-HUT!” We all jumped to attention, everyone else remaining in place as the General waved for us to follow him.

Bruce started the fevers while the General was giving his speech.

I bit two-hundred-and-eighty-seven people before sundown.