Dragonshift

by Linton Bowers

  We stopped to get our bearings. I raised my head and sniffed. “Do you smell that?”

  “I don’t smell anything. I’m not a wolf, but I should still smell something.”

  I willed my skills window to open and verified that Wolf Sense was still on. “I have the senses of a wolf right now, but I don’t smell anything. This is weird. Somehow they are suppressing our sense of smell.”

  “That might explain that.” Roo pointed back in the direction we had come from.

  I turned and saw what she meant. Across the street, a Lycan on all fours wearing a large mask walked by with a leash held by a trailing woman. The beast stopped and lifted its head then looked in our direction.

  “I found em!” The handler shouted.

  “Run!” I yelled.

  Roo ran heading for the elevator. I followed moving as fast as I could while carrying my Tua. The kangaroo looked back and seeing she was getting farther away with every step slowed.

  When I reached Roo she shifted tearing free of her clothes and becoming the much bigger Werekangaroo. She held out her arms and gestured to Dragon. Now instead of running, she was doing short hops to maintain pace with me. I figured out pretty quick that she wanted me to pass her Dragon, but I was not happy about the idea of letting my Dragon go again.

  “I can carry her much faster,” Roo said. “We’re going to the same place, but if we don’t hurry, we will be run down and captured, or worse.”

  She was right. While her loyalties were in question, Roo had done nothing but help so far. Us getting away from the creatures giving chase was in both of our best interests. I passed Dragon over and watched in fascination as Roo stuffed my Tua into her pouch. Once Dragon was settled Roo nodded to me and put on the speed. She hopped covering dozens of feet at a time. In order to keep up, I had to sprint.

  We made it to the elevator with no problems. Even at our quick rate of speed the Lycans were gaining on us. Passing the first building on the elevator made me realize there were other possibilities.

  “Over there!” I shouted to Roo as I pointed to the building we entered before the elevator descended. “We can’t outrun them. Go inside, I have a plan!”

  Roo nodded then changed course. One leap later she was at the door and entering the building. I followed taking the lead once we were inside then stopping in the center of the floor.

  “Roo, I am counting on you to keep my Tua safe. Stay behind me and let me deal with the immediate threat. If any get by, then you take them down. Understood?”

  “I got it, Terry. What are you going to do?”

  “I’m going to do what I do best, fuck shit up.”

  “Really?” Roo asked with more than a hint of sarcasm. “That’s what you do best? Since when?”

  “Since about a couple seconds ago. Thanks for ruining a good line, by the way.”

  “Debatable.”

  The door burst open and the first Lycan entered. It was the masked one on all fours that spotted us. It’s leash dangled, and the handler was nowhere to be seen. The creature charged, and I met it halfway. Needing to make the move work as it had failed so miserably before, I hit the monster shoulder first. In the lab, the tube had been an immovable force. But here, I was the immovable force. The Lycan was blasted back by the impact and hit the far wall with a crunch of bone. It didn’t get back up.

  A couple more Lycans of various configurations entered the warehouse and ran at me growling and howling. I stood still waiting. I would continue to be the immovable force, because Dragon needed me to be. I couldn’t communicate with her and feared to draw from her, but I was not alone. More important, Dragon needed me to stand my ground.

  The first Lycan of the pair reached me. I thrust my arm forward landing a palm strike on its snout. It’s head stopped when it met my hand but its legs kept going flying up until the Lycan was parallel to the ground. It fell and didn’t move.

  The next one came a little slower. I spun hitting it in the face with a roundhouse kick, thanks Van Dam, and knocked it flat. More entered, and I stepped back to my spot then engaged three more. All three fell. They continued for two more waves of three. All six fell.

  The warehouse was empty of conscious Lycans and hope swelled in me. I knew the numbers laid out around me were tiny compared to the forces they could bring to bear, but if no more were coming, this battle was won. Time to get back to the war.

  I turned to say just that to Roo when a pounding caused me to spin back. Something hit the door frame as I spun back resulting in the second pounding sound. Then a third hit and a large chunk of the wall fell in making the entrance much bigger.

  Chapter 30

  A behemoth of a Lycan entered. I thought I knew the creature as it had Rhino horns sticking up out of its snout. It had to be the one that wrecked me earlier.

  I closed my eyes and took a deep breath. The beast took a thunderous step, then another it wasn’t in a hurry. Good. Clearing my mind I tried to think of a way to beat it quickly. It was no doubt much stronger than me and probably as tough as a tank.

  Deep down in my gut, I knew I could beat it. Probably with ease, but I wasn’t sure If I could do what was needed. The five percent I tapped from the pack still cursed through me making me more than I could be alone. But in order to win, I needed more.

  Opening my eyes, I looked back at Roo. The kangaroo was backing up with wide fearful eyes. Dragon was curled up in her pouch with her head sticking up. She looked so peaceful as she was unconscious. I wanted to bring her that same peace somehow. If we died or were captured that wouldn’t happen. I was decided. I would do what I had to for my Tua.

  Turning back with my resolve strong I opened up as the rhino beast bore down on me. This time, I would be smart about it. I would not pull enough to cripple or even hinder. The amount coming from my wolves increased from five percent to fifty percent. With the Connection skill, the amount they felt leaving was 25 percent. It might slow and weaken them, but not enough to matter. Or so I hoped.

  Fifty percent from the whole pack was a drastic difference from five. Incredible power surged through me. My muscles swelled, and I swore I grew two inches taller.

  The beast dropped its head and charged the last couple of feet. It was an impressive monster. In just a couple steps it gained unbelievable speed. It wasn’t enough. As it moved, time seemed to slow. I could see the individual muscles in its legs tensing and relaxing as it moved. The sight telegraphed its moves, and I knew I could step aside and not worry about being hit, but I wasn’t alone. I was the immovable force.

  My hands came up moving faster than the rhino, but still seemingly slow. I caught the horns in my grip and pushed back. My heels came up as I leaned forward. I was determined to not move an inch to truly be the immovable force. The rhino’s body bunched up behind its head stopped of forward motion as if hitting a wall. I pushed back.

  The rhino’s feet slid on the concrete floor moving the direction I pushed. It took a step. The beast was pushed back more. It reached up with its massive claw-tipped hands and grabbed my arms. It pulled my hands outward, but it wasn’t successful in getting its horn free. I took another step, and the beast slid back. It roared in rage.

  I was done playing with my new friend. I twisted its head and sent it flying to the ground. The room shook and a loud boom echoed through the room. A circle of dust flew out like a tidal wave to crash against the far walls. I stepped forward and dropped to a knee bringing my fist down on its head as I did. Another boom and dust cloud resulted. The rhino still breathed, but it wasn’t getting up. As I stood it shrank down taking the shape of a gangly teen girl.

  The girl was a reminder that there was more at stake than just my Tua and me. A lot of people needed us to succeed and stop the real monsters here. Arnold, and whoever else was involved. I turned back to Roo and froze. She still had the same look of fear, but now it was directed at me.

  “You okay, Roo?” I asked.

  “How did you…”

  “There is a simple ex
planation, Roo. I can fill you in while we move. Is that all right?” I stepped forward with my hands up hoping to convey that I meant her no harm.

  Roo nodded and looked down at Dragon. “Yeah,” she said as she looked back up. “Let’s go. We need to catch up to the others.”

  “No,” A soft female voice said.

  I spun and my heart skipped a beat. The female handler stood just inside the warehouse looking around.

  “Sorry, but I can’t let you go anywhere.” She looked up meeting my eyes. “Arnold said you were strong but damn. I didn’t expect this from you. I guess we really don’t know as much about you Tuatha as we thought. We’ll have to ask him about this.”

  “Him?” I asked. I feared that I knew who she was talking about and suddenly I felt like my back was itching and a knife was going to strike it at any second.

  “Not important. All you have to do is go to sleep. Let’s work on that. Activate mode one.”

  The woman grew to ten feet tall and fur sprouted from her pours. Her head took on the shape of a large cat and horns grew up from her skull. She let loose a feline roar and charged.

  Just before she reached me she vanished. Before I could move my head to look around claws racked down my back with enough force to send me flying. I hit face first and slid to a stop. Still charged from the pack I jumped right back up.

  The cat demon rushed again. As soon as she vanished I leaped forward and spun. She appeared and slashed hitting nothing. I skidded to a stop with my arms up in a fighting stance. It was one of the few things Bale taught me.

  “Fool me once, Shame on you. Fool me twice…” I let the old adage sit unfinished.

  The cat-demon mewled and charged. She swiped her claws so fast what I thought was just one hit left multiple crisscrossing patterns on my arms.

  I jumped back, and she leaped forward. Attempting to focus and put myself in the slow time state ended with me being shoulder checked and knocked on my ass.

  She pounced on me pinning me to the ground. “After your show of strength with the freak, I expected more of a fight,” she said.

  “Be careful what you ask for,” I replied.

  Reaching out, I upped my draw another ten percent to sixty.

  I took in a sharp breath. The rush of power was overwhelming. The slow time state kicked in right away. The cat pulled her clawed hand back for an overhead slash. As her paw descended, I caught it palm to palm. Intertwining our fingers I locked her hand up.

  The cat yanked back on her arm growling. She jumped up pulling me to my feet. My grip didn’t waiver. She pulled her free hand back for another attack. Her movement was so quick it looked fast in my slow time state.

  I flexed my wrist bending her hand back. There was a snap, and she dropped to her knees so hard the concrete cracked. The cat screamed and clawed frantically at my wrist with her free hand drawing blood.

  Quick as a cobra, my hand shot out grabbing her wrist. Pulling her arms wide I raised me knee and slammed her face into it. Releasing her wrist I grabbed the back of her head while keeping her other hand locked up. Lifting her high as I could with my hand I then slammed her down face first into the ground. I jumped and lifted her again. Upon landing I drove her head into the concrete sending a spray of concrete chips flying. The boom echoed through the room for several seconds after.

  Breathing heavy I stood still with her hand still locked in mine. The feeling of her shifting back was eerie. Not only did I feel her hand shrink, but her fur slid across my skin as it recedes into her flesh. It sent shivers of revulsion down my spin. I dropped her hand.

  “What are you?” Roo asked.

  “You know what I am. Nothing has changed.”

  “No, you moved so fast. And the way you overpowered them it was...incredible. your father can’t do those things.” She said with reverence.

  “I don’t know about what he can do. I only know that I have to do my best for those relying on me.” Which reminded me to pull back. I dropped my pull from the pack back down to five percent. “We should see how the others are doing.”

  “Has your wolf reached out?” Roo asked.

  “No, but we were only going to talk if we needed help. So we should be good.”

  “Okay, let’s go find out, I guess.”

  We headed for the door. Movement caught my eye, and I turned to see what it was. The werecat-demon had crawled to her leashed beast. She pulled a gun from its collar and aimed it. It was pointed at Roo.

  “No!” I shouted as I dove for the kangaroo hitting her with my shoulder. The gun fired. Roo fell. Something tore into my side when I hit the ground.

  A scream came from the cat-demon at the same time as Roo shouted something I couldn’t make out.

  I curled up around my hurt middle. The wound hurt more than it should and blood flowed from me like someone left the faucet on. I looked around for Roo but saw the cat-demon first. Even though I was racked with pain, I had to laugh. Riley was on the woman chewing on her head with half-lidded eyes.

  “Terry!” Roo said as she hopped into view and crouched next to me. “Are you all right?”

  “Not really. It hurts, a lot. Help me up?”

  “Yeah, I guess.” Roo still in her shifted form crouched and held out her hand. I took it and held tight as she stood dragging me halfway up. She reached over Dragon with her other hand and helped me the rest of the way up.

  I pulled going from five to twenty-five percent. The bleeding slowed but didn’t stop. The pain was so intense I wanted to bend over and hold my middle tight. I had to get to my pack, so stopping to hurt was a no go.

  “Can you walk?” Roo asked.

  “I think so.”

  “I’ll help,” Riley said as she took up a position to my left and draped my arm over her shoulder.

  “Thanks for the save at the end there, Riley,” I said.

  The usually bubbly woman frowned. “I’m sorry I’m so slow. I should have been here to help.”

  “You showed up at the right time to save all of us. I don’t see how you could have timed it any better.”

  Riley smiled. “You're too good to me, Terry.”

  We left the warehouse and started out slow trek across the cavern. The pain remained the same and blood still seeped. It had to be the poison they used on Miranda and Izzy before. I would heal, but it would be a slow process. I suspected that pulling from the pack would help, but still keep me on the sidelines for a long time.

  “Terry,” Roo said getting my attention. “Why did you jump in front of that bullet? It is my job to protect you not the other way around.”

  “I don’t know, Roo. I saw the gun pointed at you and reacted. I didn’t want to see you get hurt, I suppose.”

  “Oh.” With Roo still being shifted to carry Dragon there was no way of telling from her expression what she was thinking. Since I was busy hurting I let it go. So did the kangaroo.

  Chapter 31

  We reached the first building with no incident. We stopped in the alley between that building and one next to it for a break. The walk didn’t do me any favors.

  “Can you tell where your wolf pack is?” Roo asked.

  “Yeah, they’re not far and that way,” I said while pointing deeper into the complex.

  The building seemed more numerous in this section and packed closer together. Hiding here would be easier if we stayed clear of those Lycans able to smell scents. I still wasn’t sure how they were able to mask out all scent.

  “Andrea, we are close and we have Dragon. How are things on your end?” I thought to my wolf Alpha.

  “Not good, Terry. We’re pinned down. We found the command center, and it’s well guarded.”

  “Lycan science projects?” I thought back.

  “I wish. They have a large number of troops. They’re in all black so I suspect the zombie troopers you faced before, but I can’t be sure. Whatever they are, they have a lot of big automatic weapons. We can’t move from where we are or we’re toast. We need your help, Terry.�
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  “Hang right, Andrea. We’re coming.”

  “We need to get over there, Roo.” I explained the situation as Andrea described.

  “What are we going to do?” Roo asked.

  “We’re going to save the fucking day,” I said. Then the cool one-liner was spoiled by me coughing so hard I almost fell over. Riley held me up and rubbed my back while I coughed.

  “I don’t see how we’re going to save the day,” Roo said. Her tone and express displayed the worry she felt.

  “Hey, Roo. I know things look bleak, but we can’t give up. The only way the bad guys win is if we give up and let them. I refuse to do that and I hope you will too. I need you and Riley to pull out the big V. I have people that depend on me and I can’t abandon them.” I placed my hand on her shoulder. “We can do this, Roo. Together. As long as you are with me, you are never alone.”

  “Ok, Terry. I’ll place my faith in you. How do you want to handle this?”

  “I’ve got an idea. I’ll tell you and Riley on the way. Let’s go.”

  We sat behind a four-foot tall concrete wall. Behind us was a loading dock and building. On the other side of the concrete was a large open park area. Beyond the park, Andrea and the pack crowded behind a huge and ornate water fountain. Three large military trucks were parked in front of the building Andrea and the pack were hiding from. On the bed of the trucks were large guns mounted on tripods. Every once in a while a gun would fire a couple of rounds at my pack causing them to hunker down more.

  “I see you, Andrea. Are there any more areas of concern besides the three trucks?” I thought to my wolf.

  “There are a bunch of men in tactical gear, but that we can deal with when the guns are disabled.”

  “Okay, I am working on the guns. We will have those down soon. Standby and be ready to move.” I sent back.

  “We will be ready.”

  “Riley, we are a go. Roo and I will wait for you here. Be careful.” I said.