Void Beast Box Set

by Matthew Jones

  His plan was to leave the house by ten as he knew that the shift change in the compound was at eleven. He had found a particular spot in the fencing that proved to be a weak spot for security. He would easily be able to slip in without anyone noticing and make his way over to the building where he would enter through the air shaft. Once inside, his first stop would be Denise’s room where he should find her awaiting her usual 11:30 nightly visit to the labs. Every part of his being wanted to make sure to take out Yasenia and the doctor before leaving, but he knew his priority was to bring Denise to safety. He figured that he would have his chance to take on the pair.

  Once outside the compound, TJ planned on bringing Denise back to his father’s house where he would keep her safe until he could dispose of the Gutierrez family. Then, once he knew she wouldn’t be in danger, he would take her back to her family and hope that the damage the doctor did wasn’t too much for her to live a normal life. TJ chuckled at that last thought. Was there anything normal left in this life? It wasn’t like suburbia homes were overflowing with married couples and their children. Either way, that wasn’t for him to judge. It was just up to him to get her to safety.

  When he finally finished his food, he cleared the table and pulled on his boots. TJ took one last look at the map and headed out the door. The snow was falling again but it didn’t bother him in the least. The walk was easy. The silence of the snowy night echoed through his ears. Even the zombies had seemed to push back from the snow which made for a more comfortable walk without having to dodge the creatures at each crosswalk.

  TJ used a different route to get to the compound, arriving at the weak spot in the fence exactly when the shift change was happening. When he heard the buzzer go off to signal the change, he used his strength to bend open the metal bars of the fence. He turned around and bent them back, knowing that one of the first things the guards did was walk the fence line. His entrance into the building was pretty easy. He was able to sneak into the air shaft without detection.

  Once inside the giant metal tunnel, he pulled out a small map from his pocket and studied the duct work. He would have to go about three hundred feet straight in before climbing up to the third floor. TJ took off his shoes to enable him to feel the metal and judge the sounds better as he walked. He tiptoed through the ventilation shaft, stopping occasionally as voices trailed off in the hallway beside him. When he reached the upward shaft, he pulled out a rope and some tools that his father had invented to help him climb without the help of his wolf. He slowly worked his way up the tunnel, taking his time not to detach the suction cups that were holding him up as he proceeded to climb higher and higher.

  He was at the point where he could see the ledge above. He heard voices right outside his vent. He pressed his ear against the cold metal and listened carefully. His extensive hearing seemed to fail him through the walls, but he knew the voice on the other side. It was Yasenia. She stopped right outside the opening TJ was hanging in front of and turned away from the slats.

  “Father,” Yasenia pleaded. “I need a new suit. This one is great, but what happens if someone grabs one of these boxes? I’m dead.”

  “Talk to me later about this,” Dr. Gutierrez said, blowing her off. “I’m too busy for this nonsense.”

  Yasenia stood there for a few moments after her father stormed off. Her facial expression was of a mixture of hurt and fear. TJ realized that the suit wasn’t just some fancy outfit, it was keeping her alive! Whatever tests the doctor was doing on these girls, he had also done to Yasenia. She shook her head and walked off, allowing TJ to let out the air he was holding in his lungs. He looked up and continued to climb.

  When he reached the ledge, he left the apparatus attached, knowing he would need it, possibly quickly, to get him and Denise back down the air shaft. He pulled the map out one more time and counted his steps as he tiptoed above the rooms, making sure the opening to the shaft he chose was right above the door to Denise’s room. Slowly, he removed the screws from the vent and waited, listening for anyone in the hall. When he felt that the coast was clear, he carefully pulled back the metal door and peeked out. There was nobody in the corridor, but a camera was pointed in his direction. He knew that as soon as his feet hit the ground, he would have to move fast.

  TJ shoved the map in the inner pocket of his waistband and slowly lowered himself out of the hole in the wall. He landed lightly and paused, waiting for some kind of alarm to sound off. He was a bit suspicious when nothing happened. He continued forward, knowing Denise was right behind the door. He reached for the doorknob and slowly pushed the door open. The room was well-lit like it usually was from the street. The walls were gray and the cot in the corner was simple. There was nothing more than a blanket and pillow on top of it.

  He looked around the room quickly, realizing that there were no hiding spaces. Denise was not there. This was not what happened every night. Where could she be? TJ took a deep breath, trying to catch her scent. He froze when a different smell blew through the air. Yasenia was behind him. He turned quickly, crouching as his knees swiveled. Unfortunately, his actions were too little, too late. Yasenia stood with her arms crossed and a smirk on her face as three guards wrestled TJ’s arms behind him and held him in place. Slowly, she approached him and ran her hand over his cheek. For a moment, she looked at him with curiosity as she felt an intense heat radiating from his skin. It was as if she had never met another werewolf other than his father, of course.

  TJ kept a firm scowl as he stared back at her without fear. He glanced down at the boxes that lined her waist. There was a blue liquid bubbling inside each one, and they had a tube that seemed to be attached directly to her through the suit. Her eyes followed his and scowled. She grabbed him by the chin and lifted his face back up to hers.

  “Tsk, tsk, TJ,” she said faking a pout. “You should know better than to think we are that stupid.”

  With those words, TJ began to struggle as Yasenia nodded to the guard. A searing pain spread across TJ’s head. Before he could react, he lay limp in the arms of the guards. They had known all along and now, they had him. There was nothing he could do.

  Chapter 5: Blue Orbs

  TJ let out a groan. He struggled to lift his head, his eyes still firmly shut. His head seemed to have its own heartbeat. He could smell the scent of bleach mixed with the ever familiar stench of silver. Slowly, TJ pried his eyes open and blinked several times as he tried to focus on the room around him. His wrists and ankles were burning. He followed the chains that were holding him in place up to the ceiling. Large silver cuffs were wrapped around his wrists and his skin burned and boiled where the metal touched him.

  The floors were tiled and sloped inward, meeting at a drain in the middle of the floor. There were several bright metal tables in the corners and different scientific equipment peppered throughout. On a tray in front of him was a scalpel and several different medical tools. TJ began to struggle, mustering his strength and pulling as hard as he could on the chains. With every pull, pain surged through his arms and legs. He hung there panting. When he had calmed down a bit, he heard a high-pitched laughter coming from right outside his vision. It was Yasenia. She approached him, clapping.

  “Aww,” she laughed, just inches from TJ’s face. “Is the puppy upset?”

  “I’ll kill you!” TJ growled, his wolf fighting to surface but the silver keeping it at bay.

  “No,” Yasenia said, running the dull end of the scalpel across TJ’s chest. “I think I might kill you. But first, I want to play a little.”

  “Yasenia!” the doctor yelled from across the room. “He’s not your toy.”

  Yasenia dropped the scalpel at the sound of her father’s voice and slinked backwards. TJ could tell she had an absolute fear of her father. He couldn’t blame her. TJ looked up and across the room to where Dr. Gutierrez was standing. He had a needle in his hand, and he had just finished strapping Denise to a table. He walked closer to TJ, looking closely at the syringe.

 
“I have to say,” the doctor said as he looked up at TJ. “You are pretty impressive. I’ve thought of keeping you and trying out some of my tests on you. But I think you will be better off to me dead than alive.”

  “Why are you doing this?!” TJ growled. “What have these girls done to you?”

  “No, no, little pup,” he said laughing. “You have it all wrong. You see, these girls were supposed to be the saviors of this world. The Z-Virus has just about wiped out the entire human race, including my beautiful wife. I know there has to be a cure, and I know the answer lies within those who are immune.”

  “So, you torture innocent girls…” TJ pleaded. “And then burn their bodies when you don’t get the results you desire?”

  “You are a naive man for having seen so much,” Dr. Gutierrez chastised. “Sometimes, sacrifices are needed to help the greater good. If a few girls had to die to save thousands, then so be it.”

  “Can you hear what you’re saying?” TJ quickly answered. “Look at what you have done to your own daughter!”

  “My daughter is more than happy to sacrifice herself for the greater good,” the doctor replied harshly. “That’s more than what I can say for your crippled father. He didn’t even put up a fight.”

  “Don’t you talk about my father!” TJ howled as he struggled once again to free himself from the chains. “You killed him because he found out your secret.”

  “That’s right,” the doctor said as he moved closer to TJ. “And I will do the same for you. But first…”

  TJ watched as Dr. Gutierrez stuck the syringe into a small vial and walked towards Denise. He began to pull harder on the chains. With every move, the silver burned deeper into his skin. Panic flew through him, and he growled loudly.

  “Leave her alone!!” TJ yelled.

  “Don’t you understand?” the doctor replied, moving the needle closer to Denise’s pinned down arm. “The experiment didn’t work. She is no good to me now. I can’t have her running around telling people about this. She did last longer than the others, though.”

  TJ looked down at the girl as the doctor moved in closer with the needle. Suddenly, her eyes flew open, and the gray that had been there before was replaced by two glowing blue orbs. The doctor looked up, shocked for a moment. She took advantage of that pause to make her move. Denise’s arms shot up, breaking the cuffs as if they were made of paper. Her hand swiftly moved up and grabbed the doctor by the throat while her other hand grabbed his wrist, forcing him to drop the syringe. She jumped to her feet in a squatting position and turned her head back and forth, staring at the doctor’s frightened face.

  “Let go of him!” Yasenia shouted as she stepped forward, not knowing whether to charge at her or show caution.

  Denise studied Yasenia for a moment before jumping high into the air and landing on the doctor’s shoulders. She grabbed his head on both sides and looked up at TJ as she twisted the doctor’s neck, breaking it quickly. The doctor’s eyes rolled backward. He fell to the floor as Denise leapt forward and landed in front of Yasenia. She looked at Yasenia, studying her body and the suit she was wearing. Yasenia moved back a few steps, crouching into a defensive pose. TJ could tell she wasn’t confident in what she was about to do but she felt like defending herself was her only choice. Her father was the only thing she had left.

  Realizing it was now or never, Yasenia moved forward, striking her hands down with the intention of disabling Denise. As Yasenia moved, the suit changed and moved with her as if it were robotically controlled. It gave her increased speed and strength, but Denise’s pace was unparalleled. Denise moved quickly to the side and then behind Yasenia before she could get her bearing. Denise put one foot on Yasenia’s back and kicked hard, sending her to the floor. The security guards behind Denise opened fire. Fortunately, Denise moved at a speed faster than the eye could keep up with, dodging every bullet and then turning to the guards.

  For a moment, the men with the guns stood staring in disbelief before dropping their weapons and running towards the door. Denise let them flee before turning back towards Yasenia who was struggling to get back to her feet. Once squared against each other, Yasenia made the first move again, lunging forward towards Denise’s torso. Denise slid on her back through Yasenia’s legs, reaching out and breaking several of the boxes off Yasenia’s belt.

  A gasp escaped Yasenia. She turned around, grasping at the empty slots at her waist. Her lungs began to struggle. She choked and stuttered, falling to her knees. Denise looked at her as if she felt pity for the girl. This was difficult for TJ to feel since Yasenia had killed his father. Denise walked over, grabbed one of the guns from the floor, and ran her hand down Yasenia’s cheek as if to comfort her. Then, without breaking eye contact, she fired three shots into Yasenia’s stomach and cradled her head for a moment.

  As soon as Yasenia died, an alarm began to sound. Denise looked up in alarm. She ran over and grabbed the cuffs on TJ’s ankles and wrists and tore them off as if they were made of nothing. She stood looking at him for a while, still not uttering a word. Then, she sprinted out the door. TJ fell to his knees and sat there for a moment, tending to his ankle and wrist wounds. He then walked towards the window as shots rang out. He watched as Denise fought through a sea of guards before sprinting out of the gate. She ran barefoot through the snow-covered streets, the intermittent moonlight lighting her path.

  TJ watched as she got further away before stopping in the middle of the road and looking back towards the compound. Her vision must have matched that of TJ’s wolf because when she turned around, TJ could feel the heat from her gaze meet his. He waved slightly and watched as she turned and disappeared into the city.

  TJ may not have been the hero that he thought he could be, but one thing his father had always taught him was to do whatever he could to right the wrongdoings of others.

  Slowly, he made his way out of the compound, limping through the streets. He looked out at the city, knowing there was still more work to be done. At least now, he was aware that the last girl was safe. He pulled his shirt off, exposing the burns to his skin and morphed into his wolf. As his body changed from man to beast, the injuries he sustained quickly healed. He stopped for a while, his wolf eyes looking back at the compound.

  In honor of Denise, his father, and for every girl that had lost their battle to the Gutierrez family, TJ leaned his head back and howled at the sliver of the moon showing through the clouds.

  Chapter 6: Trials and Tribulations

  After returning from the compound TJ crashed, sleeping off the turn of events from the night before and the emotional pressure he had felt since his father died. When he woke several days later he was famished so he pulled himself into the kitchen and began fixing food. Sitting at the dining room table by himself, TJ listened to the constant hum of the air-conditioning feeling more alone than he ever had before. He had thought that the death of Dr. Gutierrez would soothe his soul but it only seemed to bring more pain. His father had been his guide, his mentor, and most importantly his friend, leading him through his life and helping him to understand the way of the wolf. Now he sat with even more powers but no one there to explain what any of this really meant.

  TJ looked down at his plate having finished most of food but still feeling hungry. Not hungry for nourishment but hungry for understanding, hungry for realization, and hungry for a fight. He slammed his fork down on the table and ran his hands through his hair, looking up as the moon casted shadows across the floor. Whatever answers he was looking for he wasn’t going to find sitting there in an empty house, wishing his father hadn’t died. The doctor might be dead but there are more creatures out there waiting for their next human meal, and TJ was raised to protect them. However, before he could even think of getting near another human he needed to get his powers under control. He could barely even change into his wolf without fearing he would hurt someone.

  TJ pushed his chair back so hard it fell over, hitting the ground and echoing through the mansion. He stompe
d through the house gruffly, reaching the front door and continuing out into the grass. He tossed off his boots and pulled his shirt over his head, feeling his energy rising as he called on his wolf. Slowly his muscles rippled and twisted around his irresolute bones as his deep inner wolf exploded outward, growling and howling from the only human emotion it clung to, anger. Feeling the need for the wind in his face TJ’s wolf took off through the grass, scraping his claws through the dirt and running long looping circles around the mansion.

  For close to an hour TJ ran, not thinking, not feeling, just running. He could feel his beastly heart beating wildly in his chest and as he reached the front yard he skidded to a stop, leaning over in the grass and panting heavily. Drool dripped from his jowls as he scraped down at the ground, unable to control his own emotions. Finally, he slowed, falling over on his side and laying there, panting, while he stared up at the moon. If he was going to understand these powers without hurting anyone he would need to practice them in the safety of his own mansion. TJ, still laying in the grass, allowed himself to turn back into his human. He pulled himself upright and walked to the garage, grabbing his shirt and pants and pulling them on. For hours he hammered and drilled, building an obstacle course of sorts for his back yard. He couldn’t go into the city but he could bring part of the city to him.