by Jen Haeger
Evelyn slapped the knife down on the table. “I’m ready.”
*
Once more in the car, they drove north, heading for I-75, which would lead them towards either of the two chosen battlegrounds. The others seemed content to settle back into an unhappy silence while David drove, but Evelyn decided that it was time for the silence to end. She turned in the passenger’s seat until she could see Clem and Kim.
“I think that we have a good shot at this.”
Kim eyed her, but no one replied right away, so Evelyn continued speaking.
“The distraction plan is a good one and if the other packs follow suit, I think that the Vulke will be caught off guard. We’re using strategy and the only strategy that they have is overwhelming numbers. Also, there’s no guarantee that even without distraction, their strays would stay focused on us and not turn on the Vulke. I don’t think that they thought this through very well and I’m pretty sure that we rushed them into a full battle before they were ready.”
Evelyn’s words sounded true enough to her own ears. She only wished that she truly felt as confident as her words claimed.
Clem cleared his throat. “Ya know, I think you’re right. I bet they were ‘fraid of us trackin’ down their stray holding tanks or figurin’ out how they’re makin’ the strays and shuttin’ down the en-tire thing. And they didn’t even get all of their strays now, did they?” Clem winked at Kim.
Kim smiled and took up the pep talk. “No they didn’t. We heard reports from all over of strays that the Vulke weren’t able to catch, and Evelyn’s right; they don’t know how the strays will react in combat. I think that it’ll be easy to distract them. We just have to stay focused, and not panic, just like you taught me, right David?”
David stayed silent for a long moment and Evelyn turned to stare at him, but his face was unreadable. Finally, he spoke in a voice tight, cold, and filled with quiet fury.
“It’s time to finish this.”
40
The buzz and shrill tone of Evelyn’s cell phone ringing made her twitch and drew somber looks from Kim and Clem. Evelyn tried not to let their grim faces affect her as she answered.
“Hello?”
Roberto’s voice was strained. “The Vulke have confirmed the battle site. Upper Peninsula. I will text you the directions. Be there an hour before sunset.”
He hung up before Evelyn had a chance to ask him anything, like if the helicopter and the deer drop were still a go. A pessimistic part of her began to spew seeds of sickening doubt, but Evelyn roughly squashed her worry and was careful to keep her voice steady as she told the rest of the car Roberto’s message. The mood in the car palpably darkened, and silence reigned for the next few hours.
Evelyn stared out the window, trying to really see the scenery. A quote from Romeo and Juliet playing through her mind: Eyes, look your last. Arms, take your last embrace. It was a grim phrase, but she couldn’t seem to get it out of her head. It wasn’t as though she hadn’t thought that she was about to die before. In fact, she still had the letters that she had written to her friends and family before David’s challenge against Christoff, but this was different. Here there were no easy outs, no contingency plans strapped to her arm. She felt naked somehow, exposed. She didn’t have the blazing solace of David’s love or even the comfort of Clem’s lively charm to see her through this time. Evelyn would have to find her own strength now. She logically knew that there were others, so many others, fighting with her, but she still felt utterly alone.
Thoughts spiraling into despair, Evelyn closed her eyes and willed herself to just be still. The situation was set. Nothing was going to stop the events from unravelling today and it was too late to go crawl into a hole somewhere and cover her head until it was all over. It was high time that she accepted this and moved on. Tonight she would have to come to terms with what she had become and finally embrace the beast inside of her. She’d steal its strength, cunning, viciousness, and yes, its rage. Evelyn was suddenly relieved that she was going into this fight as a werewolf instead of a human. Fighting, dealing death: she imagined that this was why the Wolfkin were created. As a human, a doctor, a veterinarian, she was the exact opposite. Everything about her human-self involved protecting, healing, and caring.
Evelyn knew that dispensing with all her humanity tonight would be a mistake, but she would also have to give into the wolf like never before. Surprised by the tiny thrill of excitement that ran through her at the prospect of letting go of her Wolfkin self, she unexpectedly wished that she’d examined herself in a mirror or bothered to take in her reflection when she was in her werewolf form. Curiosity pawed at her brain. What do I look like in wolf form? Do I look fierce and imposing? or merely twisted and grotesque? Maybe even comical? Her thoughts drifted to werewolf depictions in media that she had seen over the years. She didn’t feel awkward admitting that some were quite appealing.
Appealing? God I’m sick. People were about to be slaughtered all over the world and she was thinking about her attractiveness as a murderous creature. She almost laughed aloud at the craziness of it, but then her blood froze in real horror. Maybe I am going crazy. Sure Languorem luporum normally took many years to manifest its devastating neurological symptoms, but she’d been working closely with a mutated strain. She thought that she’d been careful, but…what if? No. Evelyn said the word firmly in her mind. No, this wasn’t madness. This was a terrified mind’s desperate attempt to distract itself. Besides, she thought morosely, I may need to be a little insane to get through tonight.
*
David pulled off the road into a ramshackle gas station just outside Mackinac City, where they would cross the bridge into the vast expanse of Michigan’s Upper Peninsula. “God’s Country” as many would say. Evelyn had just been to Sault St. Marie to retrieve Clem a few days before, but it seemed impossibly long ago now.
Evelyn turned to David. “We should switch drivers.”
“I’m fine,” David complained.
“You should conserve your energy, for…tonight.”
David bristled and looked like he was going to argue, but then all the fight drained out of him and he merely nodded. Evelyn knew it was the truth, but she also felt a little guilty because driving was definitely something to distract her from her own thoughts. Clem and Kim went inside the small gas station convenience store to load up on Cokes, power bars, trail mix, beef jerky, Snickers Bars, and other high-energy snacks for a pseudo-lunch and dinner.
As they crossed the bridge, and Evelyn glimpsed the sun shimmering off the cool blue water far below, her mind raced back to the morning she had woken up in the autumn forest in the U.P. after David had kidnapped her to save her from the Vulke assassin. A tightness gathered in her chest and it became painful to breath. The memory wasn’t exactly a good one, she’d been terrified that David was some kind of psycho and that he was going to kill her, but the memory was extremely powerful, nevertheless. David had confessed everything to her that day and for good or for ill, they’d been nearly inseparable since. It all had a strange circularity to it. All of this had started here in the U.P. for Evelyn, and it seemed it was going to end here one way or the other. She wondered if they were going to be near the place where she and David had camped. In reality it didn’t matter in the least, but in Evelyn’s mind it was excruciatingly important.
*
For an hour after they crossed the bridge they stayed on US-2, but then David had to begin navigating off Roberto’s directions on Evelyn’s phone. The roads grew gradually less busy, less well-signed, and less paved until they were bouncing along on a dirt trail that had been marked with a bare wooden stake and a smudged number. Evelyn at first thought that they were going to be early, but the driving after they strayed from the highway was such slow-going that the sun was sinking in the blue sky by the time they reached the final turn off.
Evelyn felt numb. It wasn’t that she was emotionless, but more like she was experiencing so many emotions all at once that the
re was an overload in the system and she couldn’t feel any one particular emotion. The trail was treacherous enough that she had to concentrate to keep them from puncturing a tire or bottoming out the SUV, but she did steal a quick peek at David out of the corner of her eye. He was uncharacteristically stony-faced and stared straight ahead, his eyes blazing. Determination? Resolve? Evelyn was abruptly struck by how stupid she’d been. She’d been so focused on herself, on her own guilt about the war with the Vulke, and blaming herself for causing it, that she’d never truly stopped to consider David’s thoughts and feelings.
David, who still blamed himself for killing his friend Tommy when he changed into a werewolf for the first time, who literally led the Vulke straight to Evelyn’s door, whose blood infected Evelyn with Languorem luporum, was also taking on the burden of blame for everything that was happening now. Evelyn flashed back to all of the times that he told her that she wasn’t to blame for what was happening, and realized that the silent subtext was that she couldn’t be responsible because he was responsible. She wanted to reach out to him, to comfort him, to assuage his guilt, but it was way too late for that now, so she merely focused her eyes back on the trail ahead and vowed to talk to him after, though Evelyn didn’t let her mind linger on the meaning of “after”.
Another bend in the beaten track and cars appeared. Most were SUV’s, jeeps, and vans though a few were smaller cars that had surprisingly managed the trip. Evelyn spotted a few people making their way between the cars and through the trees towards the end of the dirt road. Searching for a place to park, Evelyn thought about all the cars here. Will there be anyone left to drive them home tomorrow? Images flashed through her mind of the cars, rusted and cobwebbed, abandoned here in the woods. Their Ford Explorer was there, leaves covering the opaque windshield, tires flat. Evelyn blinked and the image faded. This was it. They had arrived, and Evelyn felt…nothing. It was as if someone had ripped away all of her emotions and she shivered at the hollowness inside her.
41
Evelyn eased the SUV over to the edge of the trees and parked behind a midnight blue van. She killed the engine and had no idea what to do next. Should I grab a bottled water or a Coke? Wolf down one last power bar (pun intended)? How does one prepare for battle?
“Let’s go.”
David’s voice was nearly a growl, and it made Evelyn more keenly aware of the impending dusk. She knew what squad she was in and her mission in the battle, but that didn’t prepare her for what was coming and she hoped that the wolf would know what to do.
They exited the car and Evelyn made to lock it and place the key in her pocket before she realized what a stupid idea that was and set the keys on the driver’s seat. As they followed the other Wolfkin into the woods, Evelyn desperately wanted to say something to diffuse the tension, but words all felt stuck in her throat. The cracking of twigs and rustle of dry leaves under their feet were the only sounds that Evelyn could hear for a while as they trudged further from the trail, but then she began to hear voices filtering through the trees. The voices gave her a crazy comfort in the pregnant silence of the forest and she yearned to reach them more quickly.
Soon enough they came upon the other friendly Wolfkin gathered in a small clearing. Evelyn picked out Roberto in the middle of the crowd, organizing the teams and giving last minute instructions to the team leaders. Some people were engaged in subdued conversation, some were stretching or vigorously exercising, and still others were holding hands together in prayer. Clem broke away and joined one of the prayer groups, and Kim wandered towards three Wolfkin doing pushups. Evelyn glanced around in a daze and wondered where she should be. She followed David automatically as he stalked towards Roberto without hesitation. Roberto didn’t seem to notice them until David spoke.
“I’m here. Where’s the flare gun?”
Roberto turned his attention to David. “Zachary is going to give the signal.”
David’s jaw tightened and his eyes flashed. “It was my idea.”
Roberto had already turned to another team leader and had to excuse himself to turn back to David. He placed a hand on David’s shoulder. “And we thank you for that. Please meet up with your team now. Time grows short.”
Roberto flicked Evelyn a quick imploring glance and she wound her arm around David’s to lead him away. “Come on. They’re waiting for us.”
Evelyn had no idea if that was true, but she knew that arguing with Roberto right now was not a good idea. She had never seen David so upset over something so mundane. Maybe David wanted to make certain that the signal went off at the proper time, and was afraid of the guilt that he would feel if something went wrong, but it was just a flare. At first David held his ground, but with Evelyn’s gentle pressure on his arm, eventually he relented. As they drew away, David veered towards a growing group of people and extricated his arm from hers. Evelyn swallowed back the hurt that this gesture caused her. She wanted David to engulf her in his strong arms, kiss her on the forehead, and tell her that everything was going to be okay. Instead, he strode ahead of her, leaving Evelyn trailing behind him as he called out to the group ahead.
“Delta team, to me!”
Six or seven Wolfkin joined the group already assembled making twenty altogether, with Kim and Clem being the final ones to join. Evelyn only recognized one other member of the group. Dr. Jonson looked less like an absent-minded professor and more like an overzealous Boy Scout troupe leader in his military fatigues, but he nodded in Evelyn’s direction when he saw her. When the assemblage was gathered in front of David, he began to speak.
“Delta Team, we are to help flank the initial rush of strays and direct them to the deer drop site. You already know your positions as sentry and non-sentry, but now I’m going to assign you into pairs. It will be impossible to stay focused on your task if you are worried about everyone else on our side or in this group, therefore, you will worry solely about your partner and trust that everyone else has someone tasked with keeping them safe.”
David’s tone was different than any other time Evelyn had heard his voice. It didn’t even sound like the David she knew but had a strange quality similar to Roberto’s. Feeling compelled to listen, Evelyn didn’t think that she could have physically walked away or even covered her ears. It was a bizarre feeling that would have frightened her had she any fear left over to spend on it.
“Our job of leading the strays to the distraction is crucial to diminish the Vulke’s numbers. Only once we have succeeded should non-sentry Delta Team members consider joining the main fight against the Vulke. Use your best judgment. If the distraction is a failure, we will still try to draw the strays away from the main fight, and engage them if necessary. Should you become separated from your partner or our side of the battle or should our ranks become overwhelmed by the Vulke, you have all been given the address of a safe house outside Wetmore. Rally there, but stay no more than twenty-four hours. Roberto has left instructions there for regrouping and contacting the other friendly Wolfkin packs abroad.” David took a deep breath, letting it out slowly before continuing. “Prisoners are only to be taken by team leaders. Assume the Vulke will not be taking any. It is my honor to fight beside all of you. Though I am this team’s leader, I look to all of you to make decisions that will save innocent lives.”
Evelyn’s heart flutter-thumped in her chest as David finished his speech and began pairing up partners. Some part of her expected him to partner with her, but David paired himself with Clem and Evelyn with Kim. Evelyn tried to suppress her anger and disappointment with cool rationality. It would be wrong of David to place others with Clem or Kim knowing that their control was questionable, and it only made sense that he would pair himself with Clem in an effort to protect Evelyn, in case Clem completely lost control. In the back of her mind she realized that they’d never even watched the recording she’d made of him at the vet school to access his rage issues. It might’ve helped but it was too late now. She turned to Kim.
“Looks like I got
your back, girl.”
The corners of Kim’s mouth rose a nearly imperceptible amount. “And I’ve got yours.”
Evelyn placed her right hand on the other woman’s shoulder. “We got this.”
Then Roberto’s voice rang out over the clearing, silencing the assembled Wolfkin and drawing all eyes to him.
“It is time! Each team to their task. Good luck and Godspeed!” Roberto then beat a fisted right hand over his chest across his heart. “War for peace!”
The entire crowd, including Evelyn, echoed back the phrase in unison.
“War for peace!”
Then Evelyn felt the first tingles of the coming change and the heady, warm rush of adrenaline in her bloodstream. David raised his hand and motioned Delta Team forward. Kim pulled off her shirt and Evelyn balked, but then saw that most in the team were doing the same thing. No use for modesty now I guess. But still, she kept her shirt on for both the symbolic protection it provided and also for the satisfaction of letting her inner wolf tear it away during the change. Trying to catch David’s eye, his human eye, one last time, she failed, but then the entire mass of Wolfkin was running and Evelyn surged ahead, following David and her fellow Wolfkin into the darkening forest.
42
Running through the twilight forest with so many other Wolfkin, and with the change so close, Evelyn almost felt exhilaration. She let the fear slide away for one brief moment, knowing that it could be the last moment that she would experience something like joy before the battle began and people started dying. And then it was past. They’d reached their position and David was stopping Delta Team. For a brief instant he looked like he might say something to the group, to give them one last word of encouragement before the change robbed him of speech, but then Kim and another young werewolf began screaming and dropped to the ground. Evelyn looked up from Kim just in time to catch Clem’s eye. Fear and sadness stared back at her, and Clem gave Evelyn a brief nod before he turned away. Seconds later the change struck Evelyn like a freight train in a chemical wash of adrenaline and hormones. It had never felt like that before. The pain was almost obliterated by rage as flashes of memories sliced through Evelyn’s brain: running from David through the woods when he’d kidnapped her, the fight with the Vulke in Karen’s home, the fight with Darya who’d nearly killed Evelyn, and finally, Katie’s innocent face staring up at her. As her senses sharpened she could sense the Vulke somewhere out in the forest but getting closer, and the wolf urged her to plunge right at them with teeth bared and claws flashing, to make them pay for what they’d done, what they were trying to do.