by N. P. Martin
Krakus smiled and raised his hands in a supplicating gesture. Said nothing.
Frank instructed the others to look around, make sure there were no surprises in the room, like more demons. When the others had moved to different parts of the room, Frank addressed the demon in front of him. “Back away from the feather,” he told Krakus.
Krakus narrowed his eyes for a second. “The feather? Is that why you’re really here?”
“I said back away or I’ll blow your head off like I did your friend.”
“You think I care about a losing a lousy meat suit. Go ahead, but first, you might want to tell your friends to watch out.”
Adrenaline shot through Frank as Krakus smiled. Suddenly it was clear why the demon seemed so unconcerned. Just as Frank was about to shout a warning to the others, a shot was fired, then more shots, followed by automatic fire. Then screeching noises that Frank recognized instantly.
Vampires.
And by the amount of gunfire and screeching echoing through the room, a lot of vampires.
What the fuck? Frank thought. This wasn’t right. Since when did vampires team up with demons? Almost never that he knew of.
He swung the shotgun towards Krakus again, but the demon wasn’t there anymore.
Neither was the feather.
“No!” Frank shouted, swinging the flashlight beam everywhere as he tried to locate the demon, who had obviously teleported elsewhere with the feather. “Motherfucker!”
We need that feather, Frank.
He tried to think, but as he did, he sensed movement near him and he swung the shotgun around to his left to see a vampire racing up the beam of his flashlight—naked, pale, translucent skin, hairless, with large red eyes and an open mouth full of needle sharp teeth, looking every inch the bloodthirsty monster that it was. Frank blasted the vampire in the chest, putting a large hole in it. The vampire flew back and stayed down when it hit the floor. It wasn’t destroyed—you had to cut their heads off to finish them—but it would stay down for a while at least.
The vampires were everywhere in the room, impossible to tell how many in the gloom, especially with all the human bodies on the floor as well. “Get out of here!” Frank balled as he started to move towards the doors, looking around to make sure the others were following suit.
He blasted his way towards the door, shooting at anything that moved by him. The others did the same, Eva and Tyreese using their blades on the vampires. At one point, Sam was jumped from behind, the vampire landing on his back. Only Sam dropping into a throw prevented the vampire from biting him. As the vampire hit the floor in front of Sam, Frank shot it in the head. Sam shot Frank a look of gratitude and kept moving.
Frank and his team continued to fend of the vampires—who never seemed to stop coming—until they all made it through the doors, Frank blasting one last vampire before Jack slammed the doors and secured them with a metal bar. Then they all ran from the factory to the cars outside and drove off as fast as they could before any more vampires came for them.
They all drove to the spot near the bridge where they had first met up earlier that night. Frank paced around by his car, agitated as he tried to keep his anger and frustration at losing the feather in check. Of course he couldn’t mention that to the others. The main mission was to wipe out the gang and gather intelligence. Finding the feather was a part of that, but it wasn’t a priority, except for him.
“Relax, Frank,” Jack said as he leaned against Eva’s Range Rover. “We’ll get the demon son of a bitch. We always do, don’t we?”
“Fucking A,” Sam said, wincing at a nasty gash on his shoulder.
“Yeah,” Frank said, nodding, reaching into the bag still around him and taking out the hip flask. After taking a swig, he passed it to Jack.
“Besides,” Eva said. “I think we have bigger priorities now. The city is falling into chaos. We need to find out who’s behind all this.” Eva gestured towards the city behind her. Everyone listened for a moment to the distant sounds of people running scared, of a city rapidly falling apart at the seams. In a far off part of the city, black smoke could be seen rising and a number of police and news helicopters patrolled the sky overhead. No doubt the humans were all wondering what was going on, probably thinking the apocalypse was happening. Frank couldn’t blame them for thinking that. It was the goddamn apocalypse.
“What are we supposed to do, man?” Tyreese asked, his dark skin slick with sweat and blood. “This shit is big. Five of us can’t go up against what’s going on out there, least not on our own.”
“I’m sure every other Watcher in the city is thinking the same thing,” Eva said. “We just have to help people as best we can. I also think our best chance at finding out who is behind all this is to talk to Leland Cunningham.”
“Cunningham,” Frank snorted. “He’s the one behind all this. He’s the only one capable of organizing something so large scale.”
“Maybe,” Eva said. “But he isn’t acting alone. Which is why we need to speak with him, find out exactly what’s going on and who he is working with.” Her eyes fell on Jack. “Jack, you see the man all the time. What do you think?”
Jack took another swig from the hipflask before handing it back to Frank. He seemed to consider everything that was said for a moment. “I know Leland Cunningham better than any of you,” he said. “I know how he got his seat on the Council. I know there is nothing he isn’t capable of if he thinks it would serve him somehow. But bringing the city to its knees like this? I’m not so sure. Even for Leland, that would go beyond.”
“Sorry, Jack,” Frank said. “But you’re letting your loyalty to the Council cloud your judgment. There’s no doubt he gave Krakus that feather. And where are all the teams from the Facility? They should be out on the streets, trying to control what’s happening here.”
Jack sighed, like he knew Frank was right. “There’s been no orders to go above ground, none that I heard anyway. Leland’s saying it’s because the angels told him to hold back, that they would sort it out.”
“I don’t see no fucking winged beauties flying around here, do you?” Sam asked.
“Right,” Frank said. “That’s bullshit, Jack, and you know it. Since when did angels do anything other than advise anyway?”
Jack didn’t have an answer to that. He shook his head.
“Regardless,” Eva said. “We still need to talk to Leland.”
“No way I’m getting in there,” Frank said. “Leland had me escorted out of the Facility this morning, made it clear I wasn’t to come back.”
“Getting in is no problem for me,” Jack said. “I can get you all in.”
Behind them, an explosion sounded a few blocks away. The sound of screaming carried through the night air.
“I don’t think we can waste any more time,” Frank said. “Let’s get going.”
CHAPTER 18
As he drove towards the Masonic Temple, following behind Jack’s red Corvette, Frank couldn’t believe how bad the city had gotten in the last few hours. Everywhere he looked, people were running around in a panic, whole families packing stuff into their cars so they could vacate the city, other people out looting the businesses, breaking windows, stealing the stuff inside, sometimes burning down the store after they were done. The city police department would have been stretched to breaking point. Frank seen less of a police presence than he would have liked. It was like the police had left the city to the bad element. He even saw demons and other supernaturals walking around, openly displaying their true selves, terrorizing the humans. Killing them too, if the vampire Frank saw dragging some poor victim up a wall to be drained was anything to go by.
“Holy shit,” Frank said, shaking his head in disbelief. Things were much worse than he thought. If it carried on at the rate it was going, the city would fall in no time, of that he was certain.
Most of the roads were blocked by burning cars and huge crowds of people just standing around in the midst of the chaos, many of th
em adding to that chaos by turning on the weak, breaking into other people’s homes, assaulting others on the street. Frank had to follow behind Jack as Jack tried to find alternative routes to the Masonic Temple. At the rate they were going, it would have been quicker to walk.
Despite the urgency of the situation happening around him, Frank couldn’t get his mind of the feather and how he almost had it in his grasp. If Lucas had told him where to find the demon who took Rachel’s soul, Frank would have gone hunting it, never mind everything else that was going on. The city could fall if it wanted. He didn’t even care that much. Okay, he cared for the people in it, felt responsible for keeping them safe against the evil that was now coming at them from within. But he cared about getting Rachel back more. That was just a fact.
He called Lucas as he drove slowly behind Jack’s car, swerving around debris and people on the road. “I lost Krakus,” he told Lucas. “And the feather.”
“Sorry to hear that, Frank,” Lucas said. “I was hoping we would both get what we want tonight.”
“You’ll get what you want, Lucas, don’t worry. I’ll find Krakus. In the meantime, just tell me where to find that other demon. I’ll get you the feather, you have my word.”
“Come on now, Frank. You know how this sort of thing works. That information is my insurance that I get what I need.”
Frank’s jaw clenched. “How do I know you’re not lying, huh?”
“I don’t lie, Frank,” Lucas said. “You’ll learn that about me. I find the truth to be more effective than any lie.”
“Alright. I’ll get you the damn feather. Just make sure you know where that demon is when I do.”
“Of course.”
Before he hung up, Frank asked Lucas if he knew anything else about what was going on in the city.
“I might have something,” Lucas said. “I’ll call you back when I’m sure.”
Lucas hung up before Frank could press him further. After slamming the steering wheel a few times, Frank forced himself to get a grip, focus on the mission ahead, which was getting into the Watcher Facility and shaking Leland Cunningham until he spewed answers.
After that, Frank was going to kill him.
CHAPTER 19
About two blocks from the Masonic Temple, Frank slammed on the brakes after Jack did the same just a few yards in front. The reason Jack braked so suddenly was plain to see. A massive black haired werewolf was standing on all fours atop the hood of Jack’s Corvette, and it was snarling through the windscreen at him.
Frank grabbed the shotgun from the front seat and went to get out of the car to help Jack in case the werewolf did more than snarl through the windshield. But just as he put his hand on the door handle, something slammed hard into the door, breaking the side window, causing Frank to flinch back in shock.
The loud guttural growl from outside the car told Frank he had his own werewolf problem now. He aimed the shotgun out the window at the beast standing staring in at him, its yellow eyes full of pure aggression. Before he could pull the trigger however, he heard shots and the werewolf looking in at him yelped and fell to the side. Frank looked out the back window to see Tyreese standing by the side of Eva’s Range Rover as he aimed a gun at the werewolf. It was doubtful that Tyreese was shooting silver bullets, so the werewolf wouldn’t stay down for long.
Frank quickly slid across the seat and got out of the car to see the werewolf laying on the road, bleeding from the bullet holes Tyreese put into it. The beast snarled at Frank as it started to get back to its feet. Before it could, however, Frank shot it in the head with the shotgun. Despite not having much of a head left, the werewolf would regenerate, but not any time soon.
And just as well. Coming bounding across the street were five other werewolves, all splitting off to target each of the three vehicles. Frank threw his shotgun up and fired at the one directly in front of him. He missed with the first shot, but caught the great beast with the second shot in the leg, taking the limb right off, the wolf tumbling to a halt on the asphalt surface. Another blast from the shotgun splayed the wolf out over the road.
Jack was out of his car at this point, 9mm in hand, having already shot through the windshield at the werewolf that stood on the hood of the car a moment ago. Frank ran towards Jack just as Jack got railroaded by another werewolf, the beast sending the older man crashing to the sidewalk, his gun skidding away from him after he hit the ground.
Frank raised the shotgun and fired at the werewolf that hit Jack, just as the beast pounced on the man, its jaws snapping inches from Jack’s face as he did his best to hold the wolf away from him. Jack was one of the strongest men Frank had ever met, but even he struggled to hold back a three hundred pound killing machine with huge teeth and an attitude to match. If Frank hadn’t fired a shot into the werewolf’s side, sending the beast tumbling across the sidewalk, Jack would have had his face eaten off in the most unpleasant manner possible. As the werewolf got blasted off him, Jack sprang to his feet and looked at Frank.
Jack’s eyes widened for a second, then Frank felt a great weight on his back and he was slammed into the ground like he had just been run over by a rhino. Only it wasn’t a rhino, but a werewolf and it was sinking its teeth into Frank’s shoulder. He could not only feel, but hear the beast tear his flesh, felt the blood spray onto his face.
Hot blood.
The werewolf’s teeth went right to the bone and carried on, Frank knowing the jaws wouldn’t stop closing until his shoulder and arm were bitten clean off. Yards away, he could see Eva fighting one of the werewolves and for a second he was transfixed by the way she moved, by the way she expertly avoided the lunging blows of the lycanthrope, slashing the beast with her swords every time she avoided it. He couldn’t see Sam or Tyreese, nor the other werewolf.
There was movement to Frank’s blindside as he lay pinned to the ground, then he felt the great weight on his back get quickly removed, like the off switch on a crusher being hit. When he realized he could move again, he tried to get up by leaning on the arm attached to the shoulder the werewolf had just taken a chunk out of. He screamed at the pain and collapsed onto the ground again.
Come on, Frank. You’ve had worse bites than this. Get the hell up!
He had indeed had worse bites. A werewolf almost killed him on one of his first hunts. Bit him multiple times, tore him half to shreds. He remembered that his father, also a Watcher, came to see him the next day as he struggled to heal from his injuries. His father had just looked at him in that blank, emotionless way he always did. “Lesson learned, I hope,” his father had said. Frank muttered back yeah, as he could barely speak. The lesson was don’t ever let the same thing happen again.
Frank leaned on his good side and winced to his feet. Looked for Jack.
Jack was in the middle of the road, squaring off against the werewolf that had bitten Frank, a knife in his hand, one side of his face stained with blood where he had obviously been clocked by a massive paw with razor talons. Frank held the shotgun with one hand, planted the stock into his good shoulder. Started firing as he walked towards the werewolf, the rapid fire making up for his lack of accuracy. Enough shots hit to leave the werewolf lying on the road in a pool of its own blood.
“I had that,” Jack said to Frank, out of breath but seemingly unfazed by just facing off against a large werewolf intent on tearing him asunder.
“Whatever, old man,” Frank said. “You got the thing of me. We’re even.” He looked towards Eva, who was standing over a dead werewolf near her Range Rover. He was glad to see Sam and Tyreese walking over to join her, seemingly uninjured.
“Well, this is turning into one memorable mothefucking night,” Sam said. “What you got planned next, Frank? A motherfucking zombie run?”
“I didn’t see the mutts coming,” Frank said when he went over. “Seems like someone set the dogs on us.”
“The same motherfucker who sliced those vampires on us most likely,” Sam said. “Regular fucking Dr. Doolittle, this guy
is. Since when did demons use vampires and werewolves to do their bidding?”
“Since they started plotting to bring down the city,” Frank said.
“And us too by the looks of things,” Tyreese said.
“Don’t discount Leland either,” said Jack as he stood beside Frank.
Frank nodded. “I’m not. I’m thinking this was more him than demons. After this morning, he knows I’m on to him, just like I was before when he was running for election.”
“Well,” Jack said. “It’s not like no one knows what happens when someone gets in Leland’s way.”
“Yeah,” Frank said. “They die.”
“Frank,” said Eva. “You’ve been bitten by one of those things. Let me look at it before you bleed to death.”
“I’m fine,” Frank said. “It’ll close over soon enough. I’m more concerned that mutt ruined a perfectly good jacket.” His shoulder felt like it was on fire and he couldn’t help but wince at the pain.
“Yes, well,” Eva said. “As horrific an experience as clothes shopping is for you, the experience of having your body infected by the filthy microbes that live in that wolf’s mouth will be much worse, I assure you. You need a shot to combat the infection.”
If a werewolf bit a human and that human lived, most of the time they will become a werewolf as well, the weaker humans aside, who just die from the stressful changes induced in their bodies. Nephilim on the other hand, cannot turn into werewolves. Instead, their bodies can become riddled with infection from the bite and they can die unless the infection is treated soon after. So they get the shot, a concoction of Wolfsbane and some other key ingredients that kill the infection stone dead.