The Original's Return (Book 1)

by David Watkins

  “All legends have a basis in truth,” Carruthers said. Smith glared at him. “Permission to speak, sir,” he added belatedly.

  “Granted, but keep it pertinent.”

  “Fear might be a factor in his changing sir – he might not be able to control it. When I placed the bugs in the Stadler household, he saw me. I was chased by him as a wolf – he changed and I didn’t realise it.” Carruthers was going red, but continued. “I probably wouldn’t have believed it anyway. His next change was when we think he was assaulted on his way home from the pub.”

  Starky nodded. “I agree. Each of the changes, bar the one in the hospital, came following a period of intense anxiety or fear.”

  “Hospitals are not the most calming of places,” Smith said.

  “Sir, we can try to put Stadler under stress and see if he changes.”

  “Do it,” Smith said, and though his voice hadn’t changed, he was clearly giving an order. “Tomorrow.”

  “Yes, sir.”

  “Sir,” Knowles said. “The woman and her, uh, friends, all changed at will.”

  “Can Stadler do that?” Smith demanded.

  “Not that we’ve seen sir,” Knowles said.

  “Well why not?” He looked at Starky. “Get your team ready. I want that man tested for every possible thing you can. I want to know if he can force himself to change. If so, I want to know how. I want to know what is in him that makes him do that, and I want to know if he can control it. Gentlemen, and lady,” he added with a nod at Claire, “there is far too much about this that we don’t know. We must find out what we can.”

  Knowles knew what was coming next.

  “Then I want to know if we can use it.”

  They all looked at their folders, no-one quite sure how to answer that.

  “How is the analysis of the bones going?” Smith said next.

  “Slowly, sir. It takes time,” Starky said.

  “Hurry it up. Stadler was normal until he fell on them.”

  Knowles looked at the photo of Katie Stadler again, and thought about her standing in the doorway of that pub. Wind in her hair, with the glow of a new mum. Pregnancy was supposed to make women glow, but Knowles preferred the look of new mothers. Something about the pride and love just appealed to him. His mind wandered to miscarriages again and he forced himself to concentrate.

  “We have a specialist team from the Natural History Museum looking at them,” Starky said. “They have no clue what animal it could be and all have signed the OSA.”

  “Those bones are the key to what happened to Stadler,” Smith said. “If we can control him, then maybe we can make our soldiers better with whatever is in those bones.”

  Starky looked at his notes and the others stared at Smith.

  “Sir, you can’t-” Carruthers began.

  “You will not speak again, soldier,” Smith bellowed. “That man, a civilian, bested two of you easily and survived being shot – on two separate occasions. His friends caused the death of the experienced, and capable Scarlet and very nearly beat you three as well. He is fast and strong. Tell me,” he paused and smiled at Carruthers the way a father smiles at a child he’s just finished scolding, “you couldn’t have used that in Afghanistan.”

  Chapter 22

  1

  Jack woke at the sudden noise. He had dozed after the last meal. That made it four days according to his meal counting. Potatoes and a chicken pie. He had devoured it – boredom was making him very hungry. Sleeping a lot, eating a lot, nothing else to do. I would kill for a book to read, or a guitar. The thought instantly made him feel guilty. The tally of dead was high now. He had to control himself; learn what was happening to him. Help the soldiers. Maybe that would lead to redemption.

  A high pitched whine engulfed the room. He leapt off the bed and spun around on the spot, looking for the speakers. None were obvious. The sound increased in pitch and his ears started to hurt. He fell to the floor with his hands clasped over them and started to scream.

  2

  “Increase it again,” Smith said. Despite the obvious distress of Stadler, there was no emotion in his voice.

  Claire looked at the dial and turned it fractionally to the right. A dial on amplifier turned to 40 MHz. Whatever Stadler was hearing he didn’t like, and it was well outside the range of human hearing.

  She felt a knot of anxiety in her stomach. This didn’t feel right: it was more like torture. She nearly felt sorry for him, then remembered those that had died – some at his hands. In the room, Stadler fell to his knees, hands over his ears.

  Claire continued to watch, eyes moving from the dial to the room as if she were watching a high quality tennis match. Stadler was now screaming with pain, his whole body convulsing. Fur was bursting out along his arms and his limbs seemed to be lengthening.

  “Sir!” she said, mouth opening. She’d read Knowles’ report; she hadn’t really believed it though, not really. Some kind of group delusion.

  Smith nodded. “This is what we were waiting for. Open the door.”

  Waiting outside, Knowles and others were waiting with weapons primed. The plan was to see if the wolf would take the opportunity to escape. Once outside, it would be shot or sedated. The evidence they had so far suggested that it wouldn’t matter which.

  Claire pressed a button and watched the door to Stadler’s cell swing open.

  3

  The wolf had taken hold. There was nothing he could do. It seemed to burst through him and into the room. It roared and started to jump around, getting caught in the blankets from the bed. Finally it broke free and shredded the blankets with its teeth. Next the toilet was knocked off its stand, the cistern breaking with a loud bang. Water poured out of the wreckage.

  The wolf lapped at the water for a moment then continued its rampage. The bed was upturned and the mattress got the same treatment as the blankets. Feathers from the quilt filled the air.

  It stopped suddenly. The noise had gone. It sniffed the air, turning slowly. A door was open to its left. Fresh air, pine mixed with fresh mown grass, engulfed it. A stronger scent came with it, more familiar and nearer. The wolf looked at the mirror and padded over to it. It sniffed again, its breathing leaving twin v’s of condensation, then walked away.

  It turned and charged at the mirror.

  4

  “Sir!” Claire shouted as the wolf leapt. They both jumped back against the wall as it hit the glass with a dull thud. The whole of the glass shook violently. The wolf padded away again, then ran at the mirror. It hit again, harder this time.

  “Magnificent,” Smith said in a whisper that failed to disguise the awe in his voice.

  “We should leave,” Claire said as the wolf charged for a third time.

  “Nonsense, that’s reinforced glass,” Smith said, just as a crack appeared down the centre of the glass. They both shrank back from the glass.

  “It knows we’re here,” Smith said, a look of fascination on his face.

  “I can see that sir, but it is going to break that glass and I don’t want to be in here when it does.”

  “Sound the alarm,” Smith said. The wolf hit the glass again and the crack spread with an audible screech, smaller spider web lines spreading in all directions. He watched as the wolf went to the other side of the room before starting its charge. He felt himself grinning as it leapt at the glass. “Do you know what this means?”

  “Sir, we need to go.” Claire hit the alarm and a klaxon sounded in the distance as if it were a million miles away. She squeezed past the Major and opened the door. A short corridor led to another thick door. Outside would be the courtyard and armed men. They would be running towards them now. Claire turned back to Smith.

  “It’s still able to think, to reason,” Smith said.

  The glass shattered and the wolf flew through, landing on Smith. He screamed and held his hands over his face. The wolf growled. Claire screamed and it looked up at her. She turned and ran. Adrenaline coursed through her, making her
run faster than she ever had before. The grey paint on the walls was a blur as she sprinted down the corridor. Sunlight flooded in where the outside door was propped open. The bright sunshine blinded her momentarily but she managed to kick the crude block of wood holding the door open. It crashed shut behind her, but she stumbled, landing hard in the courtyard. She tried to get up, but couldn’t, panic making her limbs operate independently of her thoughts. I’m like a horse on ice. She ended up on her back, shuffling backwards away from the door.

  The wolf slammed into the door, splintering it so that it hung off its hinges. It stopped, sniffing the air and then lowered its head. Yellow eyes watched her all the time, saliva dripping from its immense jaw.

  It bit her head off. Claire was still screaming as she crawled backwards. It bit her FUCKING head off! Out of the corner of her eyes, she saw men running towards her, all carrying guns. Even as she saw them, her heart sank. She knew and they knew.

  They would not reach her in time.

  5

  Knowles was sprinting across the courtyard, Browning in his hand when he saw the doctor come flying out of the containment hut. First day without the cane. This is going to hurt like a bitch later. He watched as she fell to the floor. She was screaming – an out of control, almost primal sound. She was about 100 metres away from him. Be there in about 11 seconds, even with a crocked ankle. Too long. He raised the gun and looked through the sights, ready for what was coming through the door.

  The door splintered with a crash and the wolf was there standing in the courtyard. Even though he was expecting it, it still turned his blood to ice. Several of the soldiers running next to him slowed down and a few stopped dead. Under different circumstances, the line of slack jawed soldiers would be comical. But not today.

  It was almost two metres long and just under one and a half metres high. Its legs were short but powerful. Knowles could see muscles rippling even through the thick black fur that covered it. Long razor sharp teeth shone bright white in the sunlight and its jaw was huge. It walked slowly towards the fallen doctor, sniffing the air deeply.

  Knowles stopped and took aim. His heart was hammering in his chest as he looked down the sights. He took a deep breath.

  Don’t miss.

  6

  Claire stopped screaming as the wolf sniffed her. It worked its way up her body, sniffing in exactly the same way as an exuberant dog. It stopped by her head and gazed into her eyes. The yellow eyes were watching her with interest, and she fought down revulsion. She turned her head to the side as it bent its snout to her cheek. Saliva dripped onto her turned cheek and she stifled a scream again. Don’t be sick. Oh God, our father in heaven, please help me.

  The wolf looked up suddenly and started to growl. Claire followed it gaze. Knowles was standing about twenty metres away his gun pointing straight at the wolf. The growl increased in volume and the threat was clear: stay away.

  “Don’t shoot!”

  The voice came from the doorway. Smith was leaning against the door frame. His uniform was crumpled, shirt out and tie halfway down his chest. The medals were askew on his chest. His hair was unkempt, but he was unhurt.

  “Sir?” Knowles shouted.

  The wolf continued to growl.

  “I want to see what it does.”

  Knowles swore loudly, but didn’t drop his aim.

  Shoot it, Knowles, please shoot it. The wolf sniffed at Claire again then stepped away from her, facing the approaching group of soldiers. It kept its head low and its bushy tail was between its legs, but its teeth remained bared.

  “Move to me,” Smith said, “slowly, no sudden movements.”

  She gritted her teeth: I’m not stupid. It took an exorbitant act of will to get her muscles to obey her. Come on, no worse than that night with spotty Dave in college. She slid away from the wolf, moving on her bottom as quietly as she could. This is way worse. When there were a few metres between her and the wolf she got to her feet and ran to Smith.

  The wolf turned when it heard her run. It snarled at her and started to move.

  “Take it down, Sergeant,” Smith said as if he were ordering a pint in his local pub.

  7

  Knowles sat in the chair by the side of the bed and waited. Stadler was lying in the bed, although he had no choice in that matter: his ankles were shackled to the metal frame and straps lay across his chest and legs. He was covered in blankets, although they had only been put on him in the last five minutes. The cameras had recorded his healing until then.

  He had shot Stadler twice in the side. It had been enough to put the wolf down this time, though he didn’t know why. There had been gasps from the onlookers when the fur had slipped away to leave Stadler lying unconscious in the courtyard sun. A lot of people were now going to have to be briefed about what exactly they were guarding here. Smith had already transferred all staff who hadn’t seen anything away. It took a little under an hour, but they were all gone. We are seriously understaffed here now.

  They had moved Stadler to a single block adjacent to the original one. The set up was identical: a single room with a small access corridor and observation room. The observation room had been sealed shut once all surveillance equipment had been routed to transmit to the other block.

  Two hours had passed and they were fully expecting Stadler to be awake. Knowles was alone in the room, but he was armed with a single hypo filled with the strongest sedative they had on base. Watching Jack sleep, Knowles felt something close to pity. Stadler was out of his depth: that was becoming clearer and clearer to Knowles.

  Stadler opened his eyes and screamed. He tried to sit up but couldn’t move. The shackles on his arms and legs ensured that.

  “Try to relax,” Knowles said as calmly as he could.

  Stadler’s eyes were wide with fright and he stared at Knowles.

  “You.”

  Knowles nodded, “Me.”

  “Please, help me.”

  “That’s the idea, Jack.”

  “How do you know my name?” Jack tried to look around the room again, but his head was held in place by another strap across his forehead.

  “Don’t try to move Jack. You are strapped down for my safety. There are people watching who will electrocute you if you make a wrong move. Clear?”

  “I’m scared.”

  “I think I’m the one who should be scared, Jack.”

  Stadler slid his eyes over to look at Knowles. He saw the smile, but didn’t return it.

  “I didn’t kill the soldier.”

  “No, Jack, you didn’t. That’s good.”

  “Who are you?”

  “I am Sergeant Peter Knowles. You are in an army base in Kent. Nobody knows you are here.”

  Jack look stunned for a moment. “An army base? Why?”

  “We need to know all about you and what you can do.”

  “What I can do?” Jack said. “You mean the wolf?”

  Knowles nodded. “My superiors think you could be very useful to us.”

  “How?”

  “Think, Jack,” Knowles smiled. “You’re a smart man – degree, teacher, blah, blah, blah – you think about how you could be useful to us.”

  Jack nodded. “I’ve killed people.” His voice broke and his eyes filled with tears.

  “We have evidence that you killed two people – a doctor and a Jane Doe.”

  Jack’s face drained of all colour. “Four people. It’s-” he gulped, “-I’ve- killed four people.”

  “What do you remember?”

  Silence descended on the room. Jack looked at the ceiling again, tears rolling down his cheeks. His breathing started to get more ragged, speeding up and increasing in volume.

  Knowles stood up quickly, hand on his gun. The door was two metres away, but at that moment it might as well have been two hundred.

  “Sit down, Mr Knowles,” Jack said through quick breaths. “Nothing is going to happen.”

  Knowles kept his hand on his pistol grip, but sat down anyway
. “Did you just control it?”

  Jack laughed. “I don’t know.”

  “What do you remember?” Knowles asked again.

  “I was in the hospital, then on the beach. I think it might have been Croyde.”

  “Croyde?”

  “It’s a beach, Mr Knowles,” Jack said. “It’s about ten miles out of Barnstaple.”

  “Anything in between?”

  “Well, there’s Braunton and-”

  “No, no.” Knowles smiled. “Do you remember anything in between?”

  “Sorry,” Jack said. He paused for a moment. “I remember running.”

  -on all fours, wind whistling in his ears as he ran. The smell of the woods assaulting him from all sides: deer in the distance; scent of dogs and other animals; the smell of the sap from the trees and the cooking from the houses surrounding the woods. The iron taste of the blood in his mouth-

  “I think I might be sick.” He started to retch. Knowles quickly untied him and helped him sit up. He thrust a small bin under Jack’s chin. The other man retched several times, but nothing came out.

  “You ok?”

  Jack nodded. “Thanks,” he sniffed, “that’s about the nicest thing anyone has done for me for days.”

  Knowles looked at the floor for a moment, embarrassed by the pathetic gratefulness in Jack’s voice. “Can you tell me about it? What were you thinking about?”

  “Running.”

  “Anything else?”

  Jack nodded again. “Can you help me?” he asked, tears rolling down his cheeks once more.

  “We’re going to try,” Knowles said. “As you said, you didn’t kill the Major.”

  “He was a Major?” Jack asked. “My wife is here. Where is she? Can I see her?”

  “Your wife?” What the hell?

  “Yes. Where is she?” Jack started to look wildly around the room. “Please, I need to see my wife and child. I want to see Josh.”

  “They are not here,” Knowles said.

  “Please, Mr Knowles – Peter -” Jack pleaded.