No Such Thing As Werewolves

by Chris Fox

  The room was silent save for the ticking of the wall clock. Elmira merely stared at Liz, expression unreadable.

  “This is all very difficult to accept, even with everything that has happened,” Adolpho said, completing the first sentence in English that they’d heard from him. He seemed skeptical but also wary of offending them.

  “Trust me, I know how crazy it sounds,” Trevor broke in. He was uniquely suited to understand their reaction, having come late to the whole ‘the world is going to end’ party. “It sounds like the plot of some low-budget movie, right? But it’s true. That’s why I called everyone together. The solar event Liz mentioned has begun. It’s called a coronal mass ejection, and it’s going to wipe out power to most of the planet when it hits. I received word that the first wave occurred yesterday, around 11 a.m. Pacific standard time. That’s the weaker wave, the baby one before the real threat arrives. We have somewhere between twenty-four and forty-eight hours before the end of the world as we know it. Maybe less.”

  “Let us assume you are correct,” Elmira said, eyes distrustful. She brushed a lock of midnight hair from her face. “What is it you wish of us? What can we do to stop this terrible calamity?’

  “You can help us wake the Mother,” Liz said. She made it sound so simple.

  “If this ancient enemy has yet to appear, why do you need our help?” Elmira asked, gaze weighing Liz. “Why not simply wake her yourself? You’ve demonstrated incredible strength and fantastic powers. Far more than any of us.”

  “There’s a catch,” Liz said with a heavy sigh. Trevor noticed her grip tighten on Blair’s hand. Did she even realize she was doing that? Her tone was resolved. “The pyramid is held by a private army. They have state-of-the-art military hardware, no shortage of soldiers, and a strong desire to keep us from waking the Mother.”

  “We’ll almost certainly take casualties getting in,” Trevor announced. It was only fair that they knew what they were getting involved in.

  “And this mother will help us fight this ancient enemy?” Elmira asked, looking pointedly first at Liz and Blair. She paid almost no attention to Trevor. Werewolf racism? He suppressed a smile.

  “She has all the answers. She created us and knows all about this ancient enemy,” Blair explained. He seemed more confident than when they’d met, though it had only been a few days. “You’ve seen that some werewolves are stronger than others. I believe that’s based on the strength of your virus, which is in turn related to how far from the source you are. If I’m right about that, the Mother will be much, much stronger than we can begin to imagine. She can teach us abilities we can’t possibly predict. We need her.”

  “If this Mother is our creator, then I would see her free,” Cyntia said, her leg pressed against his arm on the edge of the couch. Her sudden interest was more than a little odd, but it was difficult to question the attentions of a gorgeous woman.

  “It sounds like we have little choice. If we do not help, we’re defenseless when these zombies arrive,” Adolpho said, also directing his argument at Elmira.

  “Then it is settled,” Elmira said, rising gracefully from her recliner. “We will help you rescue this Mother, though our own lives may be forfeit. We will need to obtain vehicles and sufficient weaponry. How soon do you wish to leave?”

  “How far is it to the pyramid?” Trevor asked.

  “About four hours,” Liz said.

  “We leave now, then. Let us hope we are not too late,” Elmira said.

  Chapter 70- It’s Time

  Blair crept up the last few feet of the ridge, dropping prone and pulling himself through the dirt until he was next to Trevor. The Barrett sniper rifle had been set up on a bipod, thick scope angled at the camp that now sprawled around the pyramid. How had they built it so quickly?

  Blair willed a bit of energy to enhance his vision. The camp leapt into sharp focus, the gibbous moon illuminating the valley as brightly as the sun could. The soldiers had created semi-permanent structures, and at least several dozen troops moved between them. More probably slept inside. There were eight jeeps parked near the center of camp, guarded by a pair of soldiers wearing the power armor the soldiers in San Diego had worn. More would probably appear like wasps from a kicked nest if they were discovered.

  “Do you see those cables?” Trevor whispered. A row of thick black tubes snaked from the three-story building near the center of camp and into the pyramid. “That’s probably how they’re keeping the place lit and under surveillance. Cut that and the whole place goes dark, giving you the advantage once you’re inside. If you’re quick, you can probably reach this central chamber of yours before the people inside even know what’s going on.”

  “I’ll remember that,” Blair said, filing it away for later. The frigid wind howled up the ridge and ruffled his hair. His teeth chattered audibly, but he resisted the urge to shift. That would take energy, and he wanted to husband his strength. “How many soldiers do you think are in those bunkers?”

  “It doesn’t matter,” Trevor said, raising his voice to compete with the wind. “If you’re discovered and those troops come into play, it’s over. They’ve got enough ordnance down there to wipe us all out. We’ll do some damage, but they’ll overwhelm us.”

  “Lovely. That means our only choice is waking the Mother and hoping she can help. Otherwise this is going to be a real short rescue,” Blair said, glancing back at the others. They waited a little way down the ridge, a tight knot of dark forms blending with the scattered rocks. The group was surrounded by over a dozen smaller shadows, the larger dogs who’d accompanied Adolpho.

  Liz was nowhere to be found, of course. She’d attempted to teach the other females her trick with the shadows, but they hadn’t taken as readily to it. Either they were still mastering the ability, or they were just not as comfortable using it as Liz was.

  “You’re not going to make it inside without being seen,” Trevor said, rifle scope slowly scanning the camp. “You can probably make it to the outer buildings, but the pyramid is well lit and out in the open. You might be able to blur inside, but there’s a good chance you’ll be seen. Maybe you can send the girls in? They can use that shadow trick.”

  “That doesn’t help,” Blair called back as he continued to scan the camp. “I have to be the one. Only I can wake the Mother, and I’m not even sure what I have to do to accomplish it. They’ve got to get me inside. I’ve got an idea about that, though.”

  “Idea?” Came Liz-wolf’s low, guttural voice. She couldn’t be more than a foot or two away, but Blair saw nothing. Smelled nothing. Damn, that was creepy.

  “You remember I told you that Ahiga did a mindshare with me at the end?” Blair asked, turning to face the patch of night her voice had originated from. “I saw his memories. One of them was crossing the border into San Diego. He was right there, and we never knew it. A guy in a ‘Niners shirt, right ahead of us in line. He changed his face, his scent, everything.”

  “That’s brilliant,” Trevor said, finally looking up from the scope. He had a dark-green hat on, with a clip that attached it to the collar of his jacket and kept it from blowing away. “You can pick off one of the soldiers and take his place.”

  “I can take care of that part,” Liz said, an ominous growl thrumming deep within her chest. “I’ll take Elmira with me. Cyntia and Adolpho can stay here with Trevor. If things go south, your attack should catch them off guard so we can get away. Blair, blur your way down to that patch of boulders there, behind that big mound of dirt. Once we have the uniform, we’ll bring it to you, and the three of us can head down to wake the Mother.”

  How comfortable she was giving orders amazed Blair. And how comfortable the group seemed taking them. No one questioned Liz, accepting her leadership as a matter of course. Was that some supernatural werewolf trick, or just good sense?

  “I’ll take a vantage on this ridge,” Trevor said, pointing at the base of the cliff below. “I’m going to send Adolpho and Cyntia down there to the base, i
n the shadows. You werewolf types can scale that cliff, so if you do make it out in a hurry, you can come back this way. I doubt Mohn will expect that. We’ll keep it clear until you can reach it.”

  “I’ll inform the others,” Liz rumbled, her form suddenly appearing as she loped down the ridge.

  “I’ll come to terms with the whole werewolf thing, but I will never get used to how she does that,” Trevor said, shaking his head.

  Blair shrugged out of his jacket and removed his shirt and pants. By the time he had his underwear off, he knew he must be turning blue.

  “I’m going to make for those rocks,” Blair said, voice deepening as he shifted. His senses sharpened still further. Most notably, he detected the scents of the soldiers below. They reeked of complacency, though a few bore the sharp tang of wariness. Those would be the ones who’d actually fought a werewolf and knew exactly what they were facing.

  “Good luck, Blair. If we don’t survive, I just wanted to say you’ve become a real friend, man,” Trevor said, clasping Blair’s forearm. “Even if you do look like Chewbacca and shed all over my Rover.”

  Blair gave a low chuckle that was, thankfully, masked by the wind. Then he released his friend’s hand, crouching atop the ridge-line. “You’re a hell of a guy, Trevor. And you know what? Garland isn’t the only one who thinks your sister’s hot.” Then he blurred, hopping from boulder to boulder as he picked a path down the mountainside. The feat would have paralyzed him with fear a couple months ago, but now he found it exhilarating. He knew his limits now, and this trek was trivial.

  He landed in a small puff of dirt, turning to gaze back up the mountainside several hundred meters above. Trevor was shaking his head but looked like he was laughing. Blair grinned like an idiot. Maybe it was the adrenaline or just the fact that he was finally doing something, but he’d never felt more alive, more confident.

  He peered over the lip of the dirt mound he’d sheltered behind. The camp was quiet save for a few soldiers moving between structures. They moved with purpose, heads bent to whatever tasks they’d been assigned. That boded well. They weren’t paying much attention. Blair shifted his gaze to the pyramid, scanning the narrow entrance. A pair of guards waited outside, bored but alert.

  “Hot sister, huh?” Liz rumbled, materializing from the shadows next to him. She was close enough to have taken his throat had she wanted to. That made her wolfish grin all the more unsettling.

  “You heard that?” Blair said, trying not to appear disturbed by her sudden appearance.

  “No, Trevor totally ratted you out,” Liz said, giving a decidedly ominous giggle. Elmira appeared next to her, ending the moment. Liz turned to her. “Follow me. We’ll head to the western edge of camp and pick off a soldier, ideally someone who looks like they have some rank. I’ll carry the body back. You cover me.”

  Elmira’s fur blended into the night even without the shadows. Only her amber eyes gave her away. “Let us move swiftly. I do not like being so close to this many enemies. If we are discovered, it will go badly for us.”

  The pair disappeared, leaving Blair with nothing but time. He glanced back up the ridge. Locating the barrel of Trevor’s rifle took several moments, and Blair only achieved that because he had heightened senses and knew where to look. It was the only sign of Trevor’s location, which would prove very valuable if things went awry. He dropped his gaze to the base of the cliff, scanning for Adolpho and Cyntia.

  Adolpho crouched behind a boulder, shielding him from nearby buildings. Blair wished he’d had time to teach Adolpho a few more things, especially the ability to blur. Maybe if he survived the coming battle. From the sound of it, he’d be needed for the imminent apocalypse. His pack was still trapped up on the ridge. They could circle down eventually, but that would take a while.

  Cyntia appeared to have mastered the shadows, because there was no sign of her. He felt better having her guard Adolpho and Trevor. Females were truly frightening, weak blood or no. If the three of them could avoid detection, they’d make a hell of a distraction if, and when, Blair was trying to exit the pyramid with the Mother.

  He turned his attention to the closest building, a flash of movement having pulled his gaze. A single black-clad soldier had stepped into the shadows, unzipped his fly, and begun to relieve himself against a rock. It was a monumentally poor decision. Fanged death materialized from the shadows, clamping a furry hand around his mouth to smother his scream. In one sharp jerk, his neck snapped. Then both werewolf and soldier disappeared into the shadows. Liz could extend her cloak to others? That was new.

  Blair held his breath, praying no one would notice the soldier’s disappearance. Long moments later Liz and Elmira appeared at the base of the mound. He scrambled down to crouch next to them, waiting as Liz stripped the man’s clothing.

  “I’m not sure how well it will fit. He’s taller than you,” she said in a low voice as she unbuckled his belt and yanked his pants free.

  “I can reshape my body to be the right height,” Blair said, certain he could do it even as he uttered the words. The beast spoke to him less of late, but he also had more thoughts that were not his own.

  We have truly merged, Ka-Dun. I will always be separate but less so, the longer we are together.

  Blair began pulling on the uniform, shifting back to human form as he did. The pants were definitely too long and the shirt too narrow for his newly muscled shoulders. He concentrated, drawing on the beast’s knowledge as he willed his body to change. His legs grew longer, and his shoulders narrowed, enough that the uniform fit tolerably well. Then he studied the dead soldier’s face, willing his cheeks and nose to match. The process was painful, but they snapped into the desired position.

  “How do I look?” he asked, turning to face the hulking werewolves.

  “That’s amazing,” Elmira said. It was the first time Blair had seen a shocked expression on a werewolf’s face.

  “If that doesn’t fool them, I don’t know what will,” Liz said. She turned to face the pyramid. “Just walk slowly to the entrance. We’ll be right next to you the entire time.”

  Chapter 71- Infiltrated

  Jordan ducked out of Ops and into the brisk night air. It was a welcome relief after he’d spent hours poring over reports in the stuffy confines of the hastily erected building. Mohn had given him everything he’d asked for, a full company of soldiers, all the proper ordnance, and ten suits of the new X-12 power armor. It was enough firepower to topple a government, but would it be enough to keep this place safe from a sea of rampaging werewolves? Maybe in the short term. About half of the material was already on-site, and the rest would arrive over the next few days.

  “Commander,” Yuri’s synthesized voice called from his X-12. He stood some thirty feet away, breaking from his patrol to trot over to Jordan. He’d really taken to the armor and wore it almost everywhere. “Have you heard Mohn scuttlebutt? Is mothballing every site except this one.”

  Jordan was surprised word had already made it to the line troops, but then, rumors always moved faster than command anticipated they would. He fell into step with the Russian. “You didn’t hear it from me, but we’ve lost the war. Mohn is pulling back to Syracuse, setting up their own little kingdom.”

  “What about us?” Yuri asked, unreadable beneath his faceplate.

  “We’re the last line of defense. If the werewolves wake the woman inside Command believes she’ll unleash devastation that will make what we’re currently facing look like a bad Monday at the office,” Jordan confided. They wound around a hastily constructed Quonset hut housing one of the new divisions.

  “Smells like stalling tactic, Commander,” Yuri said, giving Jordan a sidelong look. “What’s real play?”

  “They’re going to nuke the pyramid. The package arrives in two days. All we have to do is hold off until…” He trailed off, staring at the pyramid.

  “Sir?” Yuri asked, turning to see what Jordan was staring at.

  “I gave strict instructions that
no one was to be given access to the pyramid,” he said, pointing at a soldier being challenged by the guards. “Who the fuck is that, and why are they trying to gain access?”

  “Will check,” Yuri said, taking a step closer to the pyramid. “Gate Guard One, is Yuri. Request confirmation. Who is visitor?”

  There was no immediate answer. The figure was admitted to the pyramid, disappearing into the tunnel as both guards returned to a state of relaxed vigilance.

  “Don’t like this. Why no answering?” Yuri asked.

  “Because that wasn’t a soldier they just admitted. I want you to assemble every X-12 as quietly as possible,” Jordan ordered, cursing himself for only stationing two guards at the entrance. He didn’t know what trick Smith had just pulled, but he knew without a doubt it was Smith. He must have fooled the man’s eyes, somehow. “We’ll rendezvous at the tunnel entrance in five minutes. Go.”

  Yuri was already moving, sprinting toward the barracks. Jordan trotted toward the new armory, where the suits were housed. He’d be needed in this fight. “Ops, this is Jordan. Notify the guards inside the central chamber that they’re about to have company.”

  “Roger that, sir,” an unfamiliar voice answered. They’d shuffled quite a few personnel, and he’d had no time to learn their names.

  Jordan strode through the black plastic door, making for the stall containing his power armor. The little setup really was ingenious. Each piece of armor was attached to robotic arms along the inner walls of the stall. There was just enough room for a person to squeeze inside. He did so, stabbing a red button near eye level. It flared to life, and the stall began to whir.

  The robotic arms aligned each piece of armor, snapping them together first around his legs and then his chest. He extended his arms, allowing the stall to do its work. The helmet came last, settling over his head and snapping into place with a sharp hiss as it sealed the environment within.