Lycanthrope: Cover of Night

In the middle of the ghost town known as Mydohl’s town, the two werewolf women emerged from a leak with a case of precious metals and jewels.

“I swear Roxanne, we keep stocking up like this and we can retire well in the human world,” Bethany chirped, cheerfully.

“Hell, breaking into Allosfaire, we can just bribe humans to not give a damn,” Roxanne grinned.

Bethany paused. “That’s not a bad idea, Rox.”

“What do you mean?”

“Bribe humans with the other realm market. There’s so many economic opportunities.”

“It’s something we have considered,” Roxanne shrugged. “The matter is just finding which humans could be trusted.”

“There are people like Zaac, and others, I’m sure,” Bethany replied, optimistically.

“It’s a start,” Roxanne smiled. “Speaking of which, we better check in with the Pack and help them review inventory.”

“Sure thing,” said Bethany. She turned back to the leak and held her compass out. “The deed is done and the way may shut.”

The whirling energy stirred like a small storm before shrinking away into a clear abandoned street.

“Shall we?” she asked, tucking the little compass back into her blouse.

The two walked on holding their precious bounty, until Roxanne stopped short of one of the buildings.

“Aww crap, I left one of the payloads inside,” Roxanne grumbled.

“Want me to help you carry it?”

“Nah, you go on ahead and grab your supper,” she replied, setting her sack down. “This won’t take long.”

“I just remembered, we’re having barbequed porswine tonight,” Bethany called. “I’ll make sure Hans and Zaac don’t snarf it all down and save you some!”

Roxanne waved in agreement as she disappeared into the building and ascended the stairs.

“Dammit Roxanne, why’d you have to make the trip now?” she berated herself and then remembered. “Because Lucille would grill me if I put it off until tomorrow.”

She bent over to pick the package up and stopped short when she heard something shuffle behind her.

Roxanne whipped around.

“A rat?” she thought wishfully. She advanced forward in the dark and heard a sharper sound, like that of a predator pouncing.

“Hey! Who’s there!” Roxanne shouted and then felt something heavy strike her temple. . .***

The call awoke Roxanne from her state of unconsciousness.

“Roxanne?”

She wearily opened her eyes and tried to concentrate through the simmering pain. It was like waking up with a hangover.

“Roxanne!?” the voice called again, more frantic.

“I’m here, Axel, what’s wrong?” she answered as she struggled to remember where she was.

“Where have you been? There’s been a breach. The trackers somehow found out that we were stationed here. Listen, you need to…,”

“Whoa, what, trackers, as in humans?” she interrupted. “How many are there?” Axel let out a raspy breath as if he had been panting.

“I’m not sure, but more than enough to cause damage. Listen Rox, they’ve completely surrounded the site. We’ve all rendezvoused at the meeting house to push the bastards outward.”

Roxanne clambered to her feet and held her sore head.

“Is it just trackers, or are there others working with them?”

“Something is definitely using them. Either way, your priority is to keep your compass safe.”

Roxanne secured the chain around her neck. “Got it. I’ll be there as soon as I can,”

“Okay, and don’t die on me if you can help it.”

Roxanne laughed before finally letting him go. “Likewise.”

She looked around the room while trying to remember where she was.

“What the hell happened?” she thought.

She reached up and felt a small bump begin to rise and then remembered what Axel said. “No time to worry about that now.”

She crouched against the wall and quickly made her way down the hall before ducking under a window sill.

Cautiously, she raised her knife over the sill to give her a proper view. It reflected what looked like a wide range of dark figures traveling in rows down the ghost town’s street.

A small group of well-armed trackers were stationed at an entrance of each building they passed. Roxanne saw with her sharp eyesight that all of their gazes were held by one human that stood in the middle of the intersection.

He was a burly man in his mid-forties with hair so light that his head looked like a skull in the moonlight. She couldn’t see his face as it was covered with a gas mask.

The brute raised his hand while the others kept a tight grip on their weapons. With one swift motion, the leader signaled his troops to burst into the shambled buildings.

Roxanne knew she had to move fast. The scent of the few trackers was making its way up the stairs. She ran into one office and wedged a chair under the doorknob before crawling out through a window that faced a desolate street. As soon as she pulled herself to the next window above her, the tracker rattled the fixed doorknob.

“Someone definitely went through there,” she heard someone growl.

“Get out of the way, I’ll take care of this,” came a young woman’s voice.

There was a sound of glass shattering and shifting of the doorknob before Roxanne could smell the presence in the room below the window sill she was crouched on.

“Check the room, it couldn’t have gotten far,” the woman ordered. Roxanne tried to force the window up, but it wouldn’t budge.

“I’ll have to make it up to the roof somehow.”

She scanned her surroundings and saw the windows that ran along the east wing would make the stepping stones she needed to get to the roof.

The tracker’s flashlight beam grazed out the window below her. She tensed up, knowing what would come next.

The tracker stuck his head out the window and looked up towards Roxanne’s location. He gasped and aimed his gun. Roxanne didn’t hesitate for a second.

Before he had a chance of opening fire, she jumped down. With one foot she brought it down on his hand that held the gun and the other she used to kick his head, knocking him out and back into the room.

The remaining tracker fired her gun at Roxanne, but she quickly jumped back up to the window above her. Roxanne listened, and heard her rush out of the room and head for the stairs.

“Shit, she’s going to try take me from the roof!”

Roxanne jumped from one window to the next one on each floor, until she was as high as the path would allow her.

“Crap, the roof of the building peaks out too far. I have to find a way to climb over the edge.”

On the far end of the building’s outer wall there was a smaller building that lay opposite. She carefully hugged the wall as she made her way toward the gap between the roofs. Roxanne leapt forward and grasped the opposite building’s rain gutter. The sharp metal cut into her palms, but adrenaline numbed the pain.

With a bit of wolf strength, she kicked off the side of the wall and swiveled her body to grab the desired building just in time. She pulled herself up on the roof and was met in the crossfire of the female tracker.

“Ugh, LEAVE ME ALONE ALREADY!” she growled, pulling her bow from her thigh holster and firing at her persecutor.

The woman dodged as her body armor deflected Roxanne’s arrows. She would have fired again, but her inner voice told her to use the time to get the hell out of there.

Several other trackers must have heard the commotion and ran up to the roof. Roxanne turned and sprinted. The trackers were hot on her trail until she leapt in the air and changed. Once she came back down on the tiled surface, her four legs outmatched the heavily armored humans.

“Catch me if you can!” she howled excitedly through her long muzzle.

Roxanne made a leap to the next building. The gap was a good twenty feet. Even if the trackers had been able to keep up, there was no way they would have been able to make the jump. She looked up ahead and saw several trackers appear farther down the building. She made a sharp turn as they shot at her and headed for the edge.

Only one tracker stood in her way. He aimed his rifle and pulled the trigger.

She darted to one side and ran back at him. He tried to swipe at her with the end of his rifle, but she had already avoided his blow and drove her claws into his chest. The blow forced him backward flat against the edge.

She pushed herself against his body and successfully propelled over the gap. The distance allowed her safety from the tracker’s range. Unfortunately, the construction’s ceiling caved in once her paws landed on its brittle surface.

She tumbled down the hole and smashed against the hard floor.

Her form shifted back to human as she tried to sit up. Roxanne cried out in pain as she felt her leg. The ceiling had splintered terribly and several planks of boards lay in mangled heaps. One of the nails had lodged in her leg.

With a firm yank she removed it from her flesh. She forced back tears and wrapped a torn piece of her jeans around her injured thigh. Blood seeped through as she tightened the knot, causing her to gasp loudly.

“Come on Roxanne, get up!”

She forced herself to her feet and limped on her good leg as she put the pieces together to recognize where she was.

“You have to get out of here before they find you.” Roxanne shut her eyes and searched for Axel.

After a few attempts he finally picked up on her wave lengths. “Axel, I’m inside Barlow’s Repair Shop, what’s the situation?”

“They haven’t found us yet, though we figured we shouldn’t wait for them to get too close. Did you get a count on them?” he asked.

“Yeah, I would say about twenty-five or twenty-six give or take one,” Roxanne replied. “They were spread out where Sanders Court and Whole Street meet. Though I imagine I caused enough commotion that they all pour in this shop.”

“That sounds like you,” Axel chuckled. “Oh well, it’s better if we can trap them in one area than for them to be spread out like ants,” he informed thoughtfully. “We’ll be over there as soon as we can.” Roxanne stopped short.

“No Axel, you stay and hold down the fort, don’t leave them on account of me.”

“Roxanne, you know better than to think I’m going to leave you to fend for yourself, besides. . .” Axel continued. “Our plan was to draw them away and corner them if possible. And since we are dealing with humans here, try to stick to your tranquilizers, but use your best judgement.”

Roxanne nodded her head, though no one would see. “Okay, please be careful, I don’t want to live in guilt because you got yourselves killed saving my sorry ass.”

“Roxy, your ass is anything but sorry,” a different voice purred.

Roxanne raised an eyebrow, “Thanks Hans.”

“Don’t worry babe, I’ll make sure this old man doesn’t go anywhere,” he assured.

Roxanne smiled, “All right, but I’m holding you to that,” she said, letting them go.

She heard footsteps and realized she couldn’t leave the room without being spotted. Amongst the mass of decaying furniture there was a wall vent that would be just big enough to conceal her. She gave its frame a hard tug and crawled inside.

There would have been no way she could have handled it if she had been claustrophobic. Roxanne compressed her form as much as her strength would allow it, while using even more strength to try not to imagine how many spiders inhabited the vent.

The trackers had infiltrated the shop and began scouting the room. Roxanne sniffed the air to get a count on them and almost gagged in the process.

“Dear god what is that smell?” she thought.

The fumes caused her nose and eyes to burn and had the odor of skunk spray and rubbing alcohol. She had to shimmy up to get a look outside the vent. There were four of them. The blond-haired leader and the woman that had attacked her earlier came into view, along with two other males that looked like they were in their thirties.

The shortest troop was only armed with a small handgun, and had a chipper expression as if this place were the most natural tourist sight in the world.

He took his time tracing the room and noticed the many cobwebs in the demolition-like building.

“Think this place was collecting dust before or after this town was condemned?” he asked.

“This town’s history is irrelevant,” the woman answered. “Focus on finding the wolf girl and the others.”

The man turned to her.

“Werewolves pay heed to their surroundings, Blaire. Perhaps you ought to do the same, considering you’re the one who lost her.”

She looked as if she was going to pull her gun on him. “Who the hell are you to question my tactics?” Blaire bellowed.

“Perhaps, I should be asking you the same thing,” he mused.

Blaire’s eyes shot him daggers. “Why of all the nerve.”

The leader put an end to the argument.

“Are you sure she went through here?” he demanded.

“Olaf, this is the only place she could have come through,” the woman answered.

The only concern Roxanne had now was to stay hidden, but the name Olaf stuck in her head like a splinter.

“Olaf? It couldn’t be.”

“Look, there are bloodstains on the stairs,” the third male called. The other three trackers shifted their gaze to the telltale marks.

“All right. Blaire and Tyler, you two see if she ran farther down the streets. We’ll take a look in the back alleyway,” Olaf declared.

Blaire and Tyler headed for the entrance.

“A separation is just as well,” Tyler informed Blaire. “It looked like you were going to strangle that guy if we had stayed.”

“Two more seconds and I would have,” she muttered. “Oh, keep in mind the buildings and rafters,” Blaire called back to Olaf.

“That bitch likes to climb.”

Olaf watched them leave while the younger troop leaned against the wall staring at him, a coy smile playing on his lips. Olaf turned to him.

“Did you get a whiff of anything?”

The troop laughed humorlessly. “Are you kidding? You sprayed so much of my wolf bane gas even my nose would be rendered useless,” the young man complained.

Olaf smiled for the first time. “Then you should take pride in the fact that it works. I’ve had these dogs cross me before and I don’t plan on a repeat.”

The troop’s eyes lit up.

“You think it was the bunch that made things hectic for you in your little cargo business?”

“I would place my money on it.”

“Be careful, you can’t have but so much due to all those bribes you had to make.”

“You should consider letting me market it, Sphixes,” Olaf retorted. “I could make you a lot of money using it.”

“My concerns are not of human desires, plus I would rather not over play the wolves’ bane card,” the troop said as his voice slowly drifted into a female tone.

Roxanne stared out through the vent in astonishment as the troop began to transform.

Yellow, matted fur began to spread across his body as the tactical bodysuit disappeared. The creature’s thorax shifted to female while her face grew cat like features, including red sickle shaped eyes and a mouth full of razor-sharp teeth. Two long bat-like ears curved out on her head like demon horns, and a long shaggy tail snaked around her waist like a muff. Her limbs grew so long that she towered over Olaf.

He took in the sight of his newly formed comrade with thoughtful eyes, but didn’t seem to be surprised at the familiar’s presence.

“Amazing. They never would have taken me for anything else,” Sphixes declared.

“No, but toward the end they were suspicious. You should watch your demeanor when you’re around my troops,” Olaf said gruffly.

“Hmm, I rarely interact with them at all, well unless I really can’t help it,” she replied while running her tongue along her teeth.

“Changing the topic slightly,” said Olaf. “Where are your bat shifter friends? I thought you said they were going to help us.”

“Olaf, the politically correct word for them is vampires,” Sphixes crooned. “How would you feel if I referred to your race as nothing more than overbreeding happy meals?”

“I could have sworn you already do, but I would feel the same way you talk about them any other day,” Olaf replied. “Besides, when did you ever care about vampires?”

“I never did, I’m just playing my hand,” Sphixes snorted. “And you will find your additional troops stationed at the communications building,”

Olaf raised an eyebrow. “Any reason why that particular location?”

She smiled. “They have their reasons.”

“And the rest of my men don’t know about them being here, right?” he asked. Sphixes stroked her long, fuzzy tail with her claws adoringly.

“Of course not. From my knowledge the other humans still think this is a self-righteous stand against dangerous werewolves,” she replied while putting an emphasis on dangerous. “But you get more out of this then you lead them to think, right?”

Olaf held her taunting gaze with a cold stare. “Get them rallied up and leave them to whatever they want to believe in. Besides they may not know my true objective, yet they’re still here for blood. Do I really need to justify that?”

Sphixes mouth spread in a Cheshire grin. “Strong-willed and manipulative, I like that. Anyway, enough of talk. It’s time I left this condemned town,” Sphixes said while heading for the door.

“So, you’re not going to stay and enjoy the show?” Olaf asked.

“Nah, all this dust and heat is bad for my fur, beside this is your job. I’ve already gotten you here, so don’t screw up,” Sphixes growled.

She wrapped her tail around her body, completely enveloping her. When she un-wrapped her tail again, she had disappeared.

“Way ahead of you, fresh step,” Olaf muttered before leaving the room.

As soon as the room was empty and the stench finally cleared, Roxanne pulled out of the vent. She squeaked as she did an odd dance frantically trying to rid any of the vent’s inhabitants from her clothes and long auburn hair.

“I hate spiders, I hate spiders!” she moaned, before shifting into wolf and running far from the filthy room.

She made it to the street and searched the air for her Pack members.

“Axel, where are you?”

There was a loud riot coming from a small restaurant to her left.

“Fifty bucks says, ‘in there’”, she thought.

Roxanne gazed in and sure enough her comrades had engaged several trackers.

She quietly sneaked in through the backdoor. Hans and Axel had pinned themselves behind the bar stand while the trackers returned fire behind the booths.

Her friends were easily outnumbered.

The one advantage they had was that the trackers didn’t know there was an extra opponent slowly making her way toward them. The trackers had their full attention on Hans and Axel, while Roxanne scooted behind the opposite tables that gave her the perfect shot at her enemies.

One tracker’s gun glitched. he leaned down to reload.

“I’m out, back me up for a sec,” he called to his comrades. He reached for the spare assault rifle ammo. The rounds rolled from the bag as he frantically tried to grab one that rolled under Roxanne’s awaiting boot.

“Here, this round’s on me,” she said and pulled the trigger to release the tranquilizer from her firearm. The others turned on her and fired.

One by one she took them down.

When the room was clear, Roxanne turned to Axel and Hans.

“Glad to see y’all are all right.”

Both men shared the same smile.

“It takes more than a few humans to knock me down,” Hans replied.

“True that, but we have more than trackers to deal with.”

The mood swiftly became serious as Roxanne continued.

“For starters, that guy Olaf we were after back in Anchorslotte? He slipped through the cop’s fingers and is now leading this regime.”

Both Axel and Hans’s jaws dropped. They both paced back in forth as they took in the unfortunate news.

“Damnit,” Axel growled.

“I knew we shouldn’t have let him walk,” Hans huffed.

“Spare me the “I told you so” speech,” Axel warned him.

“Why? Does the truth hurt more than your pride?”

“Don’t try to put the blame solely on me. You were there too!”

“Hey!” Roxanne yelled, cutting the two off. The two men paused and turned to face her.

“We don’t have time for this and I haven’t even told you the rest of the bad news!” Once Roxanne had the floor she continued her report.

“When I was hiding from the humans, I spotted Sermis conspiring with a familiar. I think it was the queen.”

Axel’s eyes flickered with shock, but he kept his calm demeanor.

“The queen is already preying on us? Do you know if the trackers are working for the familiars?”

“No, not all of them at least. I have a feeling their leader is trying to keep his alliance with them a secret. To top it off, vampires have also decided to pay us a visit.”

Hans turned and paced the room as he ran his hands through his thick blond hair. “What can he possibly gain from familiars?”

“Something he couldn’t get from his own race?” Axel suggested.

“Do you know where the vampires are?” Hans asked.

“For some reason they decided on the communication building.”

“We need to go now,” Axel said, as his voice deepened.

Roxanne and Hans matched his hurried pace as they followed him out the door.

“Where are we going?” she asked.

“Sterling’s Telegraphing and Electronics,” Axel replied bluntly.

“What? We’re going to be like pigs on Christmas,” Hans stated. “If anything, we would need to stay the hell away.”

Axel shook his head. “The vampires chose that building because underneath lies an access to the town’s biggest sewer channel.”

“Wait a minute, what about the bunker beneath our station?” she asked, looking at Axel.

“It used to be a bank, so the bunker was where they stored their safes,” Axel replied.

“But it had an underground exit, like a secret passage way, right?”

“It has an underground exit,” Axel corrected. “And one of the passageways leads to the sewer.”

“Is there a reason why most of us didn’t hear about this little accessible detour?” Hans asked angrily.

Axel sighed, “We thought it would better if less people knew about it.”

“Well, seems they figured it out somehow,” Hans snorted.

Roxanne concentrated for one of the other Pack members’ wavelengths.

“Roxanne, is that you?” a woman’s voice asked.

“Yes Lucille. Listen, you have to tell the others to shut off the bunker’s entrance.”

“Why, what’s going on?”

“Vampires have gotten into the tunnels. They’re going to try to attack you from underneath. You have to shut it off now!” Roxanne called.

“Oh shit,” Lucille replied, leaving Roxanne puzzled.

“What’s happening? Are you ok?”

“No, the trackers have set fire to the buildings. We’re completely surrounded, I…I don’t know how much longer it will take them to get in!” she stammered.

Axel turned deathly pale and chimed in.

“Listen Lucille, change of plans, I want you and the others to head down the bunker through the tunnels,” he instructed firmly. “We can run right underneath the trackers.”

Lucille listened carefully. “Okay, what about the vampires? They will be waiting for us down there. Not to mention we have some wounded with us.”

“Roxanne, Hans, and I are headed down there now. We’ll try to see if we can cut them off.”

“Okay, please, please be careful,” she pleaded.

“Aren’t I always,” he chuckled. Roxanne and Hans exchanged looks.

Axel began changing into a wolf.

“Unless you two want to start digging through cement, I suggest we find a way down to the sewer,” he called.

The three sped down the streets, taking out trackers until they reached the building. They cocked their weapons as they entered the dark, forbidding settlement. The floor squeaked as they made their way down the hall.

“Hey look, an old typewriter,” Hans noted as they passed the antique.

“Great. We can save our progress,” Roxanne replied dryly.

Hans laughed. “So where is the sewer entrance?”

“The attic,” Axel stated sarcastically. He opened the door that led to the staircase.

Roxanne brandished her gun and searched behind the door. It seemed the stairs were clear. They quietly tiptoed down to the basement until they were standing right outside the sewer’s door. Axel and Roxanne held their breath as Hans turned the doorknob and….

“Oh, great, of all the luck it’s locked,” Hans growled.

Roxanne inspected the door. “I don’t suppose we could break it down?”

“Look at the slot, it needs a VIP card,” Axel answered gruffly.

In reply Roxanne leaned down to the floor and with an upward thrust, she kicked the knob from below. There was a loud crack and the door became unlatched. “And I’d say we’re pretty damn important.”

The air became cooler and the floor went from concrete to cobblestone as the hall channeled into the sewer. Small rats scurried amongst the debris while avoiding the travelers’ feet.

Their footsteps thudded softly against the stone. Roxanne paused for a moment and heard more footsteps echoing within the sewer besides her friends.

A faint snicker drifted down the tunnel from behind them. Roxanne’s heart pounded as she looked behind her uneasily. She knew the vampires were close.

Axel noticed her hesitation. “We have to keep moving. They could have already have found them by now,” he said.

“Not all of them,” she whispered.

Axel sniffed the air and realized what she meant.

Hans smelled them too. “Time to go.”

They ran as fast as they could. Roxanne glanced behind and saw vampires’ pale faces advancing through the darkness like a nightmare.

“Roxanne, watch out!” Axel shouted.

They were cut off by the blood sucking fiends that had been waiting for them up ahead. A vampire had hidden in one of the corridors and brought Roxanne to the ground before she could move. Axel and Hans tried to help but more vampires had intercepted the tunnel, quickly overtaking them in a vicious siege. Their claws unsheathed and their jaws stretched to make room for their massive canines, causing their cheeks to tear.

The vampires were obviously famished and eager for sustenance.

She struggled as she pushed her hand under his chin in an effort to keep his fangs from boring down on her. He hissed ferociously as specks of saliva splattered against her cheeks. His clawed hands dug into the soft tissue of her neck while one hand was pressed underneath her chin, forcing her to expose her throat.

Finally, she couldn’t hold back his weight anymore. Her hand slipped and his fangs clamped around her wrist. Agony throbbed through her arm as he lapped up her blood.

“Get off of me!” she screamed while forcing her knee into his groin with all her might. He grunted in pain as she knocked him off.

Without any hesitation, she rolled on top of him and brought her knife into his chest. Taking the few seconds she had to spare, she tended to her wounded wrist as she fought back tears.

Meanwhile, a vampire had forced Axel against the wall. After bandaging her arm, Roxanne took her blade and flung into the back of Axel’s captors. Her aim was successful, but she was caught off guard by a ghoul lurching at her from behind.

The female grabbed both of her arms and twisted them behind Roxanne’s back as her claws dug into the injured arm. Roxanne screamed in pain as another vampire saw the opportunity with the pinned Roxanne and attacked her from the front.

Seizing the few opportunities, she kicked both feet into the air and locked her legs around his neck, stopping him in his tracks. Roxanne then brought her head back and knocked it into the face of the female vampire, causing her to loosen her grip on Roxanne’s arms. While in midair she twisted her body to the side while keeping her legs locked around the vampire’s neck. The act ended with her landing on her side and the vampire was rendered a broken neck.

She crouched on the floor and ducked just as another ghoul raked its claws against her back right through her jacket. Agonizing pain swept through her body as she crumbled to the floor. With one hand he clutched her neck as he raised his talons above his head to bring in a downward strike.

Bullets ripped through his chest as he released his iron grip. Roxanne wearily glanced up and saw Hans aiming his gun where the vampire had fallen. He then, offered her his hand and helped her to her feet.

“I’m ok,” she replied. He stared down at her hand.

“Oh my god, Roxanne!” he cried.

“Don’t sweat it. He didn’t hit an artery. But fuck, why did it have to be my sensitive wrist!?”

Hans’ eyes didn’t calm.

“No Rox, this is different. Look at your wrist. I’m pretty sure that’s bone,” Axel stammered.

Roxanne hesitantly glanced down at her hand. Black ooze seeped around the bite mark as the skin on her wrist turned grayish green.

“Ok, I’m guessing that’s not supposed to look like that,” Roxanne said.

The other two grimaced.

“Look, I don’t have time to visit the ER. We need to find Lucille and the others,” she said, hurrying down the tunnel as they followed her.

To some luck, they found Lucille and Zaac cornered by the blood thirsty fiends, but this time the vampires were taken by surprise.

“Don’t mind us,” Axel whispered as he crept up on a vampire and slit his throat.

Dark blood poured from its pale neck as it gurgled in defiance. Its body shriveled and crumpled to the floor as the remaining fluids flowed freely. He swiped at his legs desperately, but he remained out of reach. Roxanne leaped forward, bringing her heel squarely on its shrunken chest. The creature’s body convulsed and then finally quit twitching.

Lucille and Zaac had been putting up a good fight. They had taken cover behind a pile of debris, while firing rounds overhead at the advancing vampires. The three immersed with Lucille and Zaac’s stand.

Lucille had been knocked to the ground, but returned the favor by kicking the vampire’s foot out from under him. Once he had been stunned, she finished him off with a clear shot of her automatic pistol. Hans had always been known on the streets as a rough fighter; breaking bones and snapping necks was like a second nature to him.

Axel neglected his arsenals and took them out in his wolf form, whether crushing them with his mighty claws or mauling them by their throats. Zaac avoided their blows with martial art moves while delivering his own with his prized tomahawk. Roxanne switched back and forth between her crossbow and swipes from her deadly knife. Armed with grace and agile fighting tactics, she brought the blood suckers to their demise.

“Boy, am I glad to see you made it,” Lucille sighed with relief once the calm of the storm hit.

“Same to you,” Axel answered, giving her a subtle but warm smile.

“Where are the others?” Hans asked, stepping forward.

Lucille and Zaac exchanged grave looks and didn’t say anything. “We were separated in the sewers,” she replied.

“The vampires followed us here. I’m not sure what happened to them,” said Zaac.

“We should make sure they’re safe,” Roxanne declared. “Show us which way they went.”

Lucille led them back into the main channel.

“First off what the hell is going on?” she asked. “How did these humans know where we were, and why are they tied up with vampires? It doesn’t make any sense.”

“A familiar is working with them, unbeknownst to the rest of the trackers,” Roxanne answered.

“Of course, now that the familiars know we’re pushing our way to more terrain they’ll use whatever they can to make an obstacle,” said Axel.

Hans chimed in. “Fangs take bribes like any other selfish being. Plus, one more supernatural race out of the way leaves more discretion for them to prey on humans.”

The tunnel forked into two paths.

Axel sighed. “Of course, it would come to this. Can anyone get a whiff or signal?”

Lucille searched the air and looked puzzled. “No, I’m not reaching them. Their scent isn’t anywhere either.”

Roxanne grimaced. “Splitting up and searching both channels is out of the question too.”

Han’s ears twitched. “What’s that sound?”

The others fell silent and listened. It sounded like the whole tunnel was rumbling. The others grabbed at the walls and felt the brick work shaking. All of a sudden, part of the ceiling came crashing down.

“Watch out!” Zaac yelled as he knocked into Roxanne, pushing her out of harm’s way. A giant slab of stone wedged to the left of them and separated Roxanne and Zaac from the others. Once they recovered from the collapse, she rushed to the rocky heap.

“Axel! Are y’all okay?!” She strained her ears and dug her nails into her palms worryingly.

After a few torturous seconds, their huffed breathing could be heard from the other side.

“We’re okay, I’m just. Ohh FUCK!” Axel started then turned into an agonized cry.

“What’s going on?!” Zaac demanded.

“It’s Axel’s leg. One of the rocks from the cavein landed on it.” came Hans’s voice.

Lucille rushed to Axel’s side and removed the heavy slate.

“I think his leg is broken. Do we have anything to make a splint with?” Hans called over his shoulder.

Roxanne grabbed an arrow from her quiver and shoved it through an opening.

“Use this.”

Hans retrieved the arrow and set the splint around his leg. Axel grasped Lucille’s hand as the knot tightened.

“God dammit. Whose idea was it to come through this falling down sewer?” he growled through pressure.

“I think it was you who did, sweetie,” Lucille teased as she kissed his forehead.

“Do me a favor and don’t ever take my advice again,” he moaned.

“It’s kept us out of harm’s way so far, Axel,” she reassured.

“Well, with the exception of you of course,” Hans joked as they lifted him up and supported him on both sides.

Roxanne nudged as close into one of the cracks as she could.

“The tunnels have to end sometime. You can get out through a man hole or something. We’ll head down the other tunnel and see if we can get out that way,”

“What about our missing people?” Lucille asked.

“Whoever comes across them first can help them, besides we should get out of here before this whole tunnel collapses,” Roxanne replied.

“We’ll help this big oaf out of here and make sure he doesn’t hurt himself anymore,” said Hans.

“Thank you, Hans. As if I didn’t feel like complete shit,” Axel said sarcastically, their voices drifting off.

The two wandered the left tunnel, side by side.

Roxanne brushed the slab with her hand and smelled the air.

“Are the trackers ripping through the town?” Zaac asked.

“Maybe. It’s more likely that the great underground streams are tearing through the foundations.”

“I take it that’s why this town was abandoned?”

“Yep, too expensive to constantly fix them, so the people took their residence and business elsewhere.”

“Do the deteriorating foundations make it easier for you to smell trackers?” Zaac asked.

“Only if they’re right above us and there is some sort of opening. It will be even harder with that skunk spray they used to cover their numbers.”

“Is that a new thing, the cover up scent?” he asked curiously.

“Oh no. Wolf bane gas has always been used to inoculate our senses,” she informed him. “While this doesn’t tell me their number, it still gives away their position. If I smell it then I know trackers are close.”

“Sounds like it’s counterproductive for them then,” Zaac noted.

“It’s worse for us. Our wolf abilities are depleted, and too much of it for long periods of time can have permanent damage,” she told him. “We’re always told to stay away from that stuff.”

Zaac shrugged. “Luckily it only grows in rare places.”

Roxanne and Zaac continued down the tunnel.

“I feel like I’m in Dante’s Inferno,” Zaac declared while linking arms with Roxanne for support.

“Is it the blood thirsty monsters, encountering death several times, or the fact that we are ever spiraling down this dark scary pit?” she asked.

“All of the above.”

“Still more fun than tap wiring, right?”

He turned and flashed a mischievous smile.

“A twisted sense of optimism is always appreciated.”

They walked a bit farther until they caught the smell of other werewolves.

“Come on! They’re close!” Zaac said grabbing Roxanne’s hand.

“No, get away from me!” a woman screamed, out of sight.

“Such a pretty neck you have,” another voice goaded. “And what’s this?”

“Don’t touch me!” she yelled, followed by her attacker’s grunt in pain.

“Bloody bitch! I’m going to enjoy watching you bleed to death.”

“Someone help me!” she screamed again before her cries were cut short.

The werewolf and her remnant companion share a glance of horror as they hurtled down the tunnel.

When they turned the corner, they both gasped at the sight. Stretched along the dirty ground were the remaining troops. Their limbs were thrown in unnatural angles and their throats glistened with blood.

One girl was still holding a blood-stained knife in her hand.

“Bethany!” Roxanne cried as she ran over, cradled the girl’s head, and sobbed helplessly.

The girl had obviously put up a fight before her life had been drained forever. Zaac fought back his tears as he gazed amongst his fallen comrades.

“We were too late,” Roxanne cried as she stared down at Bethany’s lifeless body.

Zaac swallowed the lump in his throat, and then placed a hand on Roxanne’s shoulder.

“No, there was nothing we could do. If y’all hadn’t come when you did, then Lucille and I would have been killed too.”

Roxanne turned her head away. She knew he was right and his words had comfort, though the loss still hurt. It wasn’t fair. Roxanne felt sickened over the thought of the way the vampires had gorged themselves like pigs.

She reached down and crossed Bethany’s arms over her chest and closed her eyelids. It wasn’t much, but at least she wouldn’t be frozen in the way she had died so horribly. Roxanne took Zaac ’s hand and allowed him to lift her to her feet.

“We won’t let them be forgotten,” Zaac informed her. “I imagine the vampires took their compasses?”

Roxanne growled. “No doubt, after they had a quick bite.”

Zaac growled. “Come on, I’ve seen enough.”

The two advanced down the tunnel. All around them water seemed to trickle through the cracks.

“Uh, what’s happening?” Zaac asked, looking worried.

Roxanne sniffled as she examined the water. “We must be nearing the dam. Which means we should be nearing an emergency exit.”

“I know they always place them around so they can do repair work.”

Just then there was a deafening roar, and the two whipped around to see a massive wave crashing down the tunnel behind them.

“Emergency sounds about right. Come on!” he yelled. The flood was coming closer and would soon surround them.

The two sprinted.

“Look there. It’s a ladder!” Roxanne pointed to the grips that hung from a small cylinder passage way in the ceiling.

Zaac reached it first and threw his hand back to catch Roxanne. Lungs bursting from her chest, she leapt forward and grabbed Zaac’s hand. She whipped her legs forward, her feet barely missing the powerful current by an inch.

The tunnel apparently ended about twenty feet in front of them and dropped into a huge chasm. The flood carried the remains of their comrades to their final destination beneath them. However, not all the bodies were without animation. A vampire that had been swept by the current burst beneath the murky water’s surface and grabbed hold of Roxanne’s dangling boot.

“AAAAHHH, get off!” she cried, trying to shake off the snarling creature. Zaac’s muscles strained as he tried to support Roxanne’s weight. She brought her foot down in hopes to break his hold, but he had grabbed both of her feet before she could.

“No escape!” the vampire hissed as he crawled up to her knees. With a free hand she grabbed her crossbow and aimed at its skull.

“UGGHH YOU CAN ROT DOWN HERE TOO!” Roxanne growled as she pulled the trigger.

The arrow struck it straight in the forehead and the vampire released his grip. The current accepted the fiend back into its clutches as the water carried everything down into the chasm with the bodies of their comrades.

Roxanne looked up at Zaac. He gave her a reassuring smile as he lifted her up. The two climbed the ladder and left the hellish sewers behind.

“Where are we?” Zaac asked once they found themselves above ground.

“We must be in the dam control room. Look at all those pumps,” she said pointing to the metal cylinders attached to the pipes that ran along the wall.

“You’re right, I’ll be damned,” Zaac replied. “No pun intended,” he added.

Roxanne scoffed. “I’m sure.”

Zaac stopped. “Damn, they just don’t quit,” he growled.

Roxanne didn’t need to ask him what he meant by that. Bullets volleyed through the air as Roxanne and Zaac ran for the exit.

The trackers had them cornered in the building. Roxanne and Zaac looked around to see a dozen humans cocking and aiming their guns.

“Drop your weapons,” the tracker named Tyler ordered.

Zaac looked at him uneasily. “Doesn’t exactly even the odds.”

“Cooperate, and we can avoid any unnecessary deaths at all.”

Roxanne narrowed her eyes.

“Tell that to my dead friends I had to leave in the sewer, meat brain.”

“Look at your options. You don’t have many,” Blaire barked.

Zaac wasn’t going to give in. “I’ll take out more with a double burst.”

“Not to mention it’s better than surrendering to some trigger-happy mob that blindly follows a murderer for a leader,” Roxanne added.

Tyler’s expression was both amused and disgusted.

“Is that what you tell yourself after your kind attacked innocent civilians from Anchorslotte half a year ago?”

Roxanne looked baffled.

“In case Olaf never bothered to clarify, those werewolves were rabid. They give us more trouble than they do for you.”

Tyler laughed.

“Rabid werewolves? That’s a thing now? How do they differ from your normal kind?”

“By the same characteristics I use to distinguish stable humans from mentally hilarious ones.”

Something caught Zaac’s eyes as he stared past Blaire and Tyler to the troops behind them. Something was off about them. Perhaps it was the strange vertical faint scars running down their pale cheeks or how they carefully avoided the open window the sunrise faced.

Roxanne seemed to catch what Zaac had also noticed as she gripped her bow a little tighter.

“While we’re on the subject, maybe you should see what else Olaf has aligned himself with,” she hinted.

Zaac changed his aim before pulling the trigger.

“It’s a little dark in here.”

He shot the shutters that covered the windows, letting the welcome morning light into the room.

The sunlight bore down mercilessly on two of Blaire’s troops, revealing their true form. They shrieked in agony as the scrambled out of the sunlight’s reach. The trackers aimed their guns on them as they backed away from the writhing monsters.

Blaire’s face was mixed with terror and astonishment.

“I don’t understand. Vampires?”

“Yeah, they don’t sparkle in the sunlight,” Zaac scoffed.

Blaire couldn’t seem to find her words.

Behind them came a sinister chuckle. They all turned to see Olaf accompanied by several vampires standing on the rafters out of the sunlight and cutting off the exit below them.

“Clever observation,” he noted dryly. “If only it were in the nick of time.’

Blaire stared daggers at the man she had faithfully followed.

“Olaf. Tell me you didn’t have anything to do with them?”

He looked away. “Wouldn’t do me any good covering up as I don’t expect you to follow me now.”

“You’re goddamn right, you bastard!” she shouted in fury.

“Pity, but I can’t afford any loose ends,” Olaf declared, as he began to walk down to the exit, followed by his fanged associates. “I trust you not to leave them alive.”

Roxanne ran to cut off the exit, but a vampire lit the wick of a Molotov cocktail and hurtled it to their level.

The glass shattered and the flame grew into a fiery wall in front of her, stopping her in her tracks and allowing Olaf to leave the mill without a second glance.

Roxanne protected her face as the flames licked at her sleeves. There would be no way they could go this way.

“Roxanne, up here!” Zaac called from the stairs leading to the second floor.

She grabbed the railing and ran hastily behind Zaac out of the spreading fire’s reach.

Two remaining vampires attacked them. Without hesitation, Zaac grabbed its arm and pulled the vampire to him. He twisted his upper body as he leaned forward and swung his foot over the vampire’s outstretched arm and kicked him squarely in the neck. Given that Zaac had trained under his grandfather, it was safe to say he could still hold out a fight.

The vampire that engaged Roxanne swung her claws at her throat. She dodged the blow by bending backward and ducking under her arm. She quickly recovered and turned again, only this time Roxanne grabbed her opponent’s wrist and twisted her arm behind her back. With a free hand she knocked her in the head and then grabbed both of the vampire’s feet as she lifted and pushed her over the staircase and into the inferno below.

Blaire and Tyler tried to keep up with them, though the fire had already made short work of the floor settlement. The hanging staircase shifted under Blaire’s weight. She lost her balance and tumbled backward. Her fall was only stopped because she clung to the bannister. Tyler tried to help, but one of the beams collapsed on top of him, pinning him down.

Roxanne and Zaac were out of harm’s way for the time being, when they heard Blaire’s panicked cries. They both exchanged hesitant looks. Zaac shook his head.

“We don’t have time for this. We’ll die if we stay here any longer!”

Roxanne wouldn’t hear of it.

“I prefer having more alliances,” she said turning back.

Zaac sighed and followed her. Roxanne carefully tiptoed down the staircase and pulled the fallen beam off the unconscious Tyler. Zaac made his way to Blaire and grabbed her hand just as she lost her grip. She looked at him with a question as he lifted her to her feet.

“Don’t make her regret this,” he warned.

Roxanne pulled Tyler beside her as they climbed up the staircase.

“Whoa, wh-whats going on?” Tyler stammered, just gaining consciousness.

“Just take it easy and keep moving. We’re getting you out of here,” Roxanne calmly informed him.

He allowed her to help him, but his eyes burned with anger.

“Olaf, when I find you, I’m going to flay you alive, you son of a bitch!” Tyler swore while Roxanne supported him under his arm.

“First our priority is to not get cooked alive,” Roxanne reminded him.

All four of them headed to the top of the stairs and into the next room. Zaac latched the door behind them to distance themselves from the flames and smoke. The humans and werewolves stared at one another in an awkward pause.

Blaire broke the silence.

“C’mon, let’s hear you say, “I told you so. How we dug our own graves and we deserve to lie in them.”

“Nah, I don’t wish ill on anyone,” Roxanne replied in a both sympathetic and amused manner, regarding the seriousness of their situation. “I don’t have to.”

“If there’s an oncoming bickering feud, count me out. I don’t think the enflamed building is going to let us hear the end of it,” Zaac growled.

“I second that,” Tyler quipped.

Roxanne decided not to push the issue. Instead she went to look for an exit.

The smoke slipped under the crack of the door and rose in a poisonous fog around them. Zaac felt the metal doorknob and quickly drew back his hand.

“We have to get out of here. The fire is right outside the door,” he said.

Roxanne took one step before she was completely taken over by agony. She let out groan as she crumpled to the floor and cradled her arm.

Zaac rushed over to her.

“What’s wrong?!”

“It’s my arm. It just feels like someone is driving a nail through it!” she cried.

He grabbed her left arm and ripped off the bandages. The bite mark on her wrist had turned bright red and her whole lower arm had swollen. He took a closer look and noticed that it looked as if there was a long narrow rod running on the inside of her arm beneath her skin.

“What is that?” she asked frantically.

“I’m not sure, but if we don’t want it to cause any more problems, we have to get you to a hospital,” Zaac replied shaking his head.

“We’re not going to find one here, plus this building is going to be ash in a few moments,” Tyler said.

“Good point, let’s move,” Roxanne answered as she rushed towards one of the doors. “Help me with this, maybe it leads to the next floor,” she growled while trying to force the knob to turn. Zaac rushed over and they both kicked the door off its hinges. The flames had reached the next floor and began clawing itself into the room.

“Not this way,” Zaac declared.

Roxanne headed to the boarded-up windows. “Let’s hope this leads somewhere better.”

She forced her dagger between the beam and the window pane and began to pull. When there was enough space, she used her fingers to pry off the boards the rest of the way. She replaced her dagger in its sheath and kicked the shutters open. Beneath the window was a narrow fire escape.

“This way!” she called, as the others followed after her.

Trackers fired at them from below as they made their way through the fire escape.

“Holy shit, they’re going to kill us,” Tyler cried.

“It’s okay. Just jump up and tell them we’re cool now,” Roxanne called back.

“Don’t shoot back, they’re our own people,” Blaire called ignoring Roxanne’s jibe. “If we stay low, we should be in the clear once we’re on the other side.”

Roxanne and Zaac shuffled behind them. The shooting died down so Roxanne checked the coast.

She was stopped short when she noticed Olaf making his way out from below.

Zaac turned to her uncertainly. “Roxanne, we should keep moving.”

“You get the two trackers out of here and see if you can rendezvous with Axel and the others.”

“What are you going to do?”

“Take care of an old, rabid dog.”

Roxanne waited until he was directly below her. With the element of surprise, she leapt on him from above, changing into her wolf form and bringing Olaf to the ground.

With her teeth clamped around his shoulder, she gave her jaws a good snap. He shrieked as he plunged a knife into her side. The sharp metal pain dug beneath her flesh, but she didn’t let go. If she was going to drag him back to the pack for interrogation, he must be in no state to fight back.

Her claws dug mercilessly into the soft parts of his throat and back. Finally, Olaf heaved himself into the side of a beaten-up metal dumpster to knock her off.

She let go on her own accord and landed on top of the dumpster, and flipped away from him in time. When she turned from him, she saw he had disappeared. However, the stinging wolfbane filled her muzzle.

Waves of smoke wafted through the remnants of the building. The only way for Roxanne to keep a finger on Olaf was to avoid the clouds. He was quick for his size and it took the werewolf all her stealth skills to sift through the thick odor that clouded her senses.

Roxanne managed to vent out the building by shooting the shutters so the nose blinding gas sifted to the outside.

Finally, she came face to face with her opponent.

“Split up the Pack and pick off the stray,” he smiled coldly.

She replied with a dry chuckle. “I’d take my own solitary over your position any day.”

“Shall we test that little theory?” he laughed, before tossing one of the grenades in her direction.

The gas erupted as Roxanne was forced to crawl on the ground until she found an exit that led to the alley. She shielded the top of her head with her jacket. Tears ran down her cheeks as her nose and eyes burned.

With her senses either in pain or immobile, Olaf took the advantage. She swung her crossbow towards him but he gripped her throat before she could release.

The bow slid from her hand as he used his to brutally back hand her across the face. Her head snapped back and his grip turned to her neck as he began choking her. She tried kicking him in the crotch but he forced his body weight against her, denying any momentum for her legs.

The werewolf struggled wildly as Olaf’s grip dug deeper into her neck. Lack of oxygen started to darken Roxanne’s vision and her heart pounded rapidly.

In a desperate attempt, she grabbed his little finger and yanked it back in one swift motion. There was a crack and Olaf pulled away groaning.

Roxanne fell to the ground as her body convulsed and her lungs gasped for air. Amongst the writhing pain in his hand, Olaf was raging mad. A low growl came from him as he turned back to face the injured werewolf. His eyes blazed with fury as he unsheathed his knife.

She was too weak to transform and to slow to grab her weapons. The only strength she had was used to try crawling away while reaching for her own knife. She was not quick enough, as Olaf grabbed her legs and pulled himself on top of her. Roxanne struggled beneath him as he cupped her roughly under the chin so she could see the merciless look in his eyes as he brought the knife into her abdomen.

Unimaginable pain followed as she fought to shield herself from another blow. He retrieved the knife from her lower torso and brought it back down below the first wound.

This time Roxanne did not scream.

The blood rose in the back of her throat causing her to gurgle sickly. She clung to his arms as he pulled the knife out and allowed the blood to stream freely. Olaf lowered his face until his nose was only an inch above hers.

“While you’re still alive, remember that you have brought this upon yourself,” he said softly. “You and the rest of your kind.”

Roxanne spat a wad of bloody saliva into Olaf’s face before losing conscience. Feeling satisfied Olaf wiped the stain from his cheek and began to rise.

But something wasn’t right. . .

A sharp pain dug into his arms, stopping him short. Roxanne was still clinging to him. As he fought harder, he became nauseated.

It was if he were being drained of all energy or blood…

Olaf began to lose his strength as he tried to pry her hands away from his arm. Roxanne wasn’t even conscious.

Her eyelids fluttered and her veins pushed up beneath her skin as they filled with his blood. With a rush of desperation, Olaf yanked himself away from the reanimated lycanthrope. In a strange calm composure, she turned over on her knees and cradled her left arm.

Beneath the cascade of hair in front of her darkened eyes was an expression coming back to light. Her breathing was heavy, but her body was recovering as the wounds in her stomach began to close. Olaf glued stare moved down to her left hand.

A small spur stuck out on the inside of her left wrist.

He stared with a mixture of horror and astonishment.

“What in hell’s domain are you?”

Her blue eyes turned golden and feral as her teeth grew in a threatening snarl. It was Olaf’s warning.

He took it.

Roxanne watched him run as warm blood left her feeling nourished and brought color back into her already pale skin.

Once the wounds had completely healed, she let out soft sigh as the pain slowly faded and the spur retreated into her arm.

Not even leaving a scar.

The last thing she remembered before collapsing from exhaustion, was the image of what was left of her Pack running toward her.