The beast came flying forward. Nick moved to the side. The wounds made the creature move clumsily. It stumbled, almost falling to the ground. Nick took advantage and took another stab. The tip of the spear hit the right leg of the beast. It howled but Nick kept up the attack. He withdrew the spear, circled behind the beast and struck again. This time the tip pierced through the upper back of the giant wolf. It screamed it agony but Nick ignored it and went to for another stab. The creature turned quickly, swiping at the spear, knocking it to the side. Nick backed away and he could feel the energy seeping away. He felt so weak that he almost fell right there. The beast got back up but fell again. Nick kept moving back, almost tripping multiple times. The beast tried to get back to its feet but just fell forward again. Nick kept stumbling backwards until he leaned against the mailbox in the yard. He held it tightly to keep himself up. The beast crawled closer, crying and growling every inch as it got closer.
Nick felt a hand rest on his shoulder. “I got it,” Peter said smiling. He walked forward and pointed a huge black gun at the beast's head. Without flinching, he pulled the trigger; the bullet drove straight through the large head. It didn’t howl. No more growling escaped from the jagged teeth. It just laid as motionless and silent as Fred was. Peter trotted back to Nick, grabbing his right hand. He felt the energy slip away too but he kept his composure up.
“Where did you come from?” Nick was so tired. He could barely stay on his feet.
“Carl called. He told me something was wrong and to meet him at this spot. I was closer than he was so I made my way here before him. He said to be careful, something was interfering with the mission. I think he meant this thing.” He nodded towards the Unknown lying on the grass, dead.
“What the hell? Why did they send Fred to do this by himself? This thing nearly killed both of us. I'm pretty sure Fred is...” he let his voice trail off. He pushed himself from the mailbox, almost falling face first, and slowly trudged towards Fred. Peter ran up to Nick and put his arm around him, helping him walk.
“I don't think they did. This creature isn't supposed to be hunted by us. It's far too strong. Actually, from reading the book these things aren't even supposed to be hunted alone. They are fierce predators waiting to hunt multiple preys. How you survived this long is beyond me.” Peter let Nick go as they both stood over Fred.
“It wouldn't shut up. Gave you time to get here and save us.” Nick looked at his friend and bent down. He saw the wound, blood still coming out. Dark red and purple bite marks. “Strange,” Nick thought. He then looked up at Peter. “How far is Carl?”
“He said he was only twenty minutes away about fifteen minutes ago. He should be here any minute.”
“Ah, good. ‘Cause I don't think I can stay... awake.” Nick let his eyes shut. He let go of all the tightness in his body and fell forward. He couldn't hold on any longer. He let himself drift away.
Chapter Nine – The Station
Nick felt his body shake. He slowly opened his eyes to feel a slight breeze of air pass over him. His mouth felt dry, as if he’d been sleeping with his mouth open all night. As he slowly regained his senses he could hear chatter to his left. He saw Peter standing above him. “You okay?” Peter asked. Nick winced as he tried to stand. He still didn't fully recover all his stamina from the fight.
He sat up slowly, feeling like he was hit by a bus. He wasn't in any condition to move quickly so he took his time. He took a look to his other side and saw Carl and two other people standing there. He couldn't hear from this distance but Carl looked annoyed. The other two shook their heads. One was of Asian descent. The other was African American. “Yeah, I'm okay,” Nick muttered. “What's up with those guys? Where's Fred?”
“They took him back to a place they call “The Station” but I'm not sure what that is.” Peter watched as Nick slowly rose. He went to help his friend but Nick put his hand up. He wanted to do it on his own. To show he still had some strength and dignity left.
“Well, let's go find out what exactly that is then,” Nick said as he made his way towards the group. Peter followed close behind. The injuries Nick suffered weren't horrible but he felt his body aching beyond anything he had experienced in the past. It was like he was lifting weights for the last five hours or went on a million mile march. His legs felt like noodles, his arms were weak, and his head was pounding. Yet he kept moving forward, needing to know what had happened to Fred.
As the boys approached Carl looked towards them. “Glad to see you're standing again,” Carl said smiling. Nick nodded. “This is Jin and Tyson.” He pointed towards the two men next to him.
Jin extended his hand. “Hi, nice to meet you both.” The boys took their turns to shake his hand then Tyson’s. “I'm sorry about your friend.”
“Is he okay?” Nick felt his face flush white. He feared the worst about Fred when he thought back to seeing him lying on the ground before he went unconscious.
“Two people took him back to the Station. His wound is severe but they have hope. They were able to stop the bleeding using a seal. Still, he bled a lot before they got to him,” Carl informed Nick. He looked angry while saying it, like he was blaming himself. The guilt was all over his face.
“I want to see him,” Nick said. His voice cracked from his dry mouth. Jin passed him a water bottle. Nick took a sip, letting the cool liquid slide down his throat. He coughed but it felt great to not feel the rough, hard, dry feeling. He took more deep gulps. “We can go.” Carl turned around to look at the scene. “Let's head to the house. We still don't exist in this realm just yet. I know you're feeling some extra pressure but we don't wanna be seen. Especially you Nick, with all the blood smeared on your shirt.” Carl began walking down the block, Jin and Tyson at his side.
As they walked, Nick kept pace with Peter. Both walked a few feet behind the adults. Nick felt his legs give out every so often, but he kept moving. After he checked to make sure his friend was okay he'd finally let his body rest. Nick wanted to focus on seeing Fred but something in the back of his head kept pounding at him. He had no choice but to open his mouth. “Peter,” he started. Peter looked over at him. “Listen, thank you for before.”
“No need to thank me again. I was just helping out,” Peter said. “Just glad I got there in time.”
Nick looked at his new friend. He wasn't sure how to word what was on his mind. He needed to get it out in the open though. “I do thank you. Without you, I'd probably be dead right now. Just... something I need to ask you.”
“What's that?”
“When you came up to me, you said you had this, walked up to that creature, and shot it. Like, right in the face. Without even flinching, really. Like you've done it all before. I thought you just started this.”
Peter looked at Nick confused. “Well, I never have but I saw you were hurt. So I did my job.”
“But you killed it without even stopping for a moment. Like it came really natural for you. Have you've shot anything before?”
“No.”
“So, how did you do that with such ease?”
“It was a monster.”
“Yeah, but he was lying on the ground. He wasn't going to be able to do much. He was dying. You had no problem going up to his face and blasting it. I mean, I thank you for that. I'm just a little worried it was too easy for you,” Nick rushed. He wanted to make it clear he wasn't judging his friend harshly but he needed to know the truth. Peter looked as though he was annoyed. Nick looked closer though, maybe it wasn't Peter getting annoyed. It was more than that; Peter was perfectly calm.
“It,” Peter stated.
“It?”
“It's an ‘IT’, not a ‘he’. It was a monster. It tried to kill you. It almost killed Fred. I did my job. Why didn't you do yours? Maybe Fred wouldn't be in critical condition if you did your job.” Peter was now in a defensive position. Nick looked at Peter, almost not sure how to continue. Peter made sure to keep looking back at Nick, waiting for his answer, pressuring him. After
a moment Nick looked down.
“I know it was a monster. I don't mean to judge you. It just scared me that you were able to kill it so easily and I didn’t.”
“It was just that. A monster. Not a he or she. A hideous monster.”
“I know but I'm starting to wonder if that would have even mattered.” Nick looked back at Peter. Now Peter's eyes were darting from side to side, anger flared in his face. Nick went too far, Peter was angry.
“I don't want to talk about this anymore.” Peter began walking quicker, leaving Nick behind. Nick felt the guilt building up inside. He hadn’t meant to offend Peter but he also needed to know what was going through his new partner's head. He had to fight alongside Peter one day, but how can you fight alongside someone you can't fully trust?
They arrived back at the house. Carl let the two other men go into the house first before heading in with the boys. He looked back at his students; half of his unit. “I'm going to find out what went wrong. None of you were supposed to be on a mission this soon. We didn't go over the safety procedures. Most of you never even used your Rod in battle. Most of you don't even know my number to call me in emergencies. Our “Callers” never even sensed this beast. Something went very wrong and I promise I'll find out what it was,” Carl said determinedly. The boys looked at their mentor, not sure how to react. Carl was an honest man. He wanted to hide nothing from any of his students. This was important, a life-or-death situation. This wasn't a game, people got hurt. “I'm sorry.”
“I wanna know what happened,” Nick began. He looked at Peter who looked away. “However, it's more important to find out how Fred is right now. Let's go.” Nick began limping towards the old house. Carl looked at Peter who nodded. They followed Nick into the house.
“This is going to be strange, but do not fear, you'll be okay,” Carl said. He walked to the closet and fully opened it. Inside were four tubes. They were made of glass and swirled around an elevator-type machine. “We take this down to the Station.”
“Down?” Nick felt his stomach knot. Unlike most people he wasn't afraid of heights. He just wasn't a fan of being underground though.
“Yes. Don't worry it'll take only a few minutes. Once you reach the bottom level you'll be at the Station, the area where our local Exterminators meet up as well. It's also where the bulk of our operation is. We keep it out of the public's view just so we can operate peacefully while protecting the population. So just jump in and hold on.” Carl touched the glass; it lit up blue and opened up. He entered the tube and turned around. “See you two down there.” The glass closed and the tube shot down quickly.
“Yeah, that seems safe,” Nick said jokingly. Peter didn't laugh or look at him. Just stepped forward and touched the glass. It opened up quickly. “Listen Peter, I'm sorry.” Peter ignored him. He went inside the tube, the glass shut, and down he went.
“Damn it. Why do I always open my mouth too soon,” Nick muttered as he went up to the glass. He tapped it. The glass opened, inviting Nick to step inside. “Oh, this is some scary stuff. This can't be safe.” He slowly stepped inside. Once fully inside the glass shut and the elevator began to light up some. “Uhhh, go down?” It didn't move. “Move please?” It still stood still. “What the heck? They didn't say anything and you just shot them all the way do-” He began right before the tube shot down. It went at a speed Nick wasn't ready for and he could feel himself tipping over. Smacking his head hard against the glass he held on tightly for dear life. The pressure of the speed was hard to adjust to but after a moment Nick was able to stabilize himself on the ground. He slowly rose and felt the pressure starting to lessen up. “It's slowing,” he said under his breath as the elevator began to move at a far slower speed. After a moment it made a ping sound and the glass doors opened. He quickly scrambled out and fell to his knees again.
“Are you all right?” Carl stood a few feet away.
“I never...ever...want...to...do...that...again,” Nick said, running out of breath. He wasn't tired but still scared out of his mind. He much rather fight another wolf-type hybrid monster than go back in the tube.
Carl laughed, so big that even Peter backed up. “I needed that. Thanks.” Carl walked up to Nick and held his hand out. “Up you go.” He pulled Nick to his feet. “Let's go check on Fred,” he said smiling. Nick nodded and then began walking down the hallway, with Peter following.
Everything was white. The ceiling, the walls, even the floor was white. All giving off a marble look, with reflections coming off the walls. Nick could see himself in the wall and waved. Peter did the same, trying to understand how a whole station can be put underground. As they walked through the hallway they began to wonder if there were any rooms. There were signs on the wall every couple of steps but no door. The end of the hallway had two huge doors, but they were ways off. “Hey, do you guys actually have rooms here?” Nick placed his hand on the wall while walking. He could feel the cold from the wall tingle up his fingertips.
“We've passed a bunch of them. You just aren't use to rooms like this. Here's the medic room.” Carl stopped. Nick and Peter stopped alongside him watching their mentor stand there, looking at the empty white wall. Carl placed his hand on the wall and let it rest below the sign that spelled out “Medic's Station: Intense Care”. After a few moments the wall came to life and slid open. Carl stepped inside and the boys followed. As they walked in they could see over twenty beds in a long hall. Again, almost everything in the room was white.
“How's he doing?” Carl asked.
A woman who was filling out his paper work looked up. “We've sealed the wound for the most part. He lost a lot of blood but the healers were able to fix most of the damage. We've given him a blood transfusion as well. So for now, he's in stable condition. Whatever attacked him did a real number on him though.”
“Thanks, Cindy,” he smiled and she nodded. As she left the room the door closed behind her. Carl looked at his student, his soldier, wounded on the table. He grasped the edge of the bed. He wanted to shout, wanted to scream, wanted to punch something. He let his anger flare, his eyes shut tight, trying to picture the beast digging it's teeth into Fred. The way this poor boy must have been scared beyond belief. Scared and crying, wondering why no one was coming to his aid.
“Hey Fred,” Nick said walking up to his friend on the bed. Carl opened his eyes and watched Nick looking down at his friend. “I'm sorry for leaving you out there by yourself. You must have been so scared.” He placed his hand on his friend's chest. “I won't ever leave you alone to fight these things. You counted on me and I let you down. It'll never happen again. You see we're a crew. A unit. We fight together from now on. Me, you,” he began as he looked back at Peter. “Peter here, and even that idiot Marshall.” Peter laughed, Carl let a chuckle out. “So please forgive me. I promise it won't happen again man.”
Fred opened his eyes and smiled. “I'm not dead, ya know. No need to be so dramatic,” he said, smiling. Nick jumped back. Carl let go of the bed, smiling. “I was scared as heck though. Carl, what in the world was that thing?”
Carl looked at his unit looking back at him. “Well, it was a hybrid of a human and wolf. I guess you can call it a werewolf from other fantasy material. I just labeled it as a wolf hybrid.” Fred was about to speak but Carl continued. “No, you cannot transform into one from being bit. That's just nonsense. These things are born that way. Though these creatures are still very rare. Their species are so small now days that they never really dare attack or head into our realm. They usually keep to themselves and stay in their world. Not to mention-” he began. He wasn't sure how much he should reveal but the kids watched him, eagerly awaiting more information. “Our “Callers” never even felt its presence. Which is odd, ‘cause they should have when he came breaking through our realm.”
“What are Callers?”
Peter answered for Carl. “They are the beings that sense Unknowns passing over to the other realms. They can sense when something is making their way into ou
r realm. They are almost always right which makes this an odd case.” Carl looked at Peter, surprised.
“How much did you read in that guide?”
“Around half-way through now. I like to be prepared.”
“Yeah, no kidding. Well, Peter explained it very well. Callers are meant to pick up on these things passing into our world, or our realm. Which is why I don't understand how they didn't pick up on this one.”
“Unless it was already here,” Fred said weakly from the bed. They all looked at him. “Hey, give the broken guy some credit. I'm hurt, not dead.”
“We'll have to investigate some more but for now let's let Fred get some rest,” Carl said. He looked at his student. “I'm sorry. I will find out what happened.”
“I know you will,” Fred replied, nodding.
“Get better soon man. Call me when you're out of this place,” Nick said smiling and walked out the room with Carl.
“Feel better. Let me know if you need anything. I put my phone number into your cell phone along with Nick's and Carl's as well. I also took down Marshall's and spread it around between us. Just in case we need backup we'll be there next time.” Fred nodded. Peter pattered his friend’s unharmed shoulder and smiled. “We'll find out what happened and fix it. Count on us.”
Peter walked out of the room and the door slid closed. “He looks like he'll be okay. That's a relief,” Nick said, feeling completely drained. “I think it's time I head home. My dad's going to kill me.”
“Yeah, it’s one thirty... and we both have school tomorrow. We probably should get home. Hopefully my dad is too drunk to even remember I was out all night,” Peter said with a dry laugh. He began walking towards the tubes.
“Goodnight Carl!” Nick waved goodbye and went to catch up with Peter.
Exterminators Infected (The Exterminators Book 1) Page 7