The Original's Return (Book 2): The Original's Retribution

by David Watkins

  “Oh no,” said Stadler’s wife.

  And then, behind her, she heard a wolf howl.

  19

  “You wanna bet?” Knowles shouted. He was huddled behind the car, shaking. After all this, I really am going to die in fucking Devon. He could hear the man laughing. Knowles looked under the car and scanned the street.

  Jack was lying closest to him, about halfway between Knowles and the pub. Bryant was next, then Hibbard, whose weapon was on the ground next to him. The grenade launcher attachment glinted in the sun.

  I need that weapon.

  To his left, three wolves were still advancing, although far more slowly and cautiously. He could shoot them, maybe, but then the leader would be on him. Was he fast enough to get all four?

  Maybe. He didn’t want to risk his life on a maybe.

  There was also the sniper to think about, but for that he needed Hibbard’s weapon.

  Next he risked a glance through the glass of the car. The leader was standing about five metres away and he was holding a shotgun. Knowles ducked back down as the glass exploded, showering him.

  “Not so tough now, eh?” the man said. “Come on, Knowles, stand up and take it like a man!”

  A scream pierced the air and Knowles risked another look. Bryant was standing behind the man, holding the other’s head firmly in his hands. With a roar, he lifted, his fingers changing into razor sharp claws and digging into the man’s neck. Blood flowed slowly at first and then a sudden jet of blood spurted out, covering Bryant. The man screamed again until the claws cut through the windpipe and then Bryant was holding the severed head. He started to laugh, a deep guttural sound. He threw the head in a large arc and it thudded to the ground behind Knowles.

  He tried – tried really hard - not to look at it.

  Knowles stood up, weapon ready.

  Bryant stared at him, glowering through the blood that stained his face making him look like a cartoon devil. He howled again, and staggered, before fixing Knowles with a stare he would never forget.

  “Run, Knowles, I've lost.”

  With that, Bryant turned into a wolf and sprinted towards the wolves that had taken out Raymond.

  Knowles ran round the car, heart pounding. He wasn't sure what was happening, but he knew an opportunity when he saw one. He slung his weapon over his shoulder and picked up Hibbard’s from the floor.

  Jack groaned.

  Knowles glanced down the street and immediately wished he hadn't. Bryant was tearing apart the wolves, literally limb from limb. Knowles slung Hibbard’s weapon over his shoulder too, then scooped to pick Jack up in a fireman’s lift. He grunted under the weight of the guns and Jack and staggered to the pub, barging past the ruined door. As soon as he was inside, he threw Jack to the floor and grabbed one of the weapons, swinging it around the inside of the pub, ready to fire.

  He had seen people run into the pub. They had hostages in here, surely? He was, therefore, really surprised to find it empty.

  20

  “You wanna bet?” The soldier yelled. Jenny stopped still, shocked at the accuracy of his shot. Michael snatched the shotgun from her, simply pulling it from her hands. Jenny offered no resistance but took a step backwards. Michael said nothing, so she turned and walked quickly back into the pub.

  “Joe,” she started, but the words died on her lips. The pub was empty. She looked around quickly, checking behind the bar and the room on the right-hand side of the pub. All empty.

  A bang from outside told her that Michael had fired the shotgun. If the soldier was dead he would come back into the pub. She had to get away. Michael was crazy, but not in the overused sense of the word. He was just not wired right. Whatever happened with Jack and Bryant, she no longer wanted any part of it. Michael had changed things, as he always did, and not for the better. Bryant and Jack would kill one another today and then who would control Michael?

  She opened the back door and stepped into the street. There she saw them. They were standing on the street corner, peering around it. The narrow street opened there, giving Scott a clear view from the church tower. Joe was at the front of the group, clearly leading them.

  Jenny saw four men in sports clothes strolling down the road without a care in the world. One of them was bouncing car keys in his hand. Leverage. We need all of them to make sure we get away.

  She turned into a wolf and growled.

  21

  “Oh no,” Katie said. She recognised the tennis players. One of them was Chris, a friend of Jack’s. They had wet the baby’s head together in what seemed a long time ago now. Two of the others were familiar faces from around the village, and she should have known their names, but it didn't seem relevant now. She had no idea who the one with the keys was.

  A wolf growled behind her. She spun around but knew it was hopeless. They were not armed, had no weapons.

  “Run!” she screamed.

  “Katie?” Chris called. The men were looking confused. Alfie, one of them was called Alfie. Can’t they see the wolves?

  “Jenny,” Joe said to the wolf, “these people need our help.” He glanced at the road behind him, risking a look down the alley to the church.

  Jenny changed back to a human and the men started shouting. Great, now they notice her as she’s a beautiful naked woman.

  “Joe-”

  “No, Jenny, please help them.”

  “What are you doing?”

  “Buying you some time.”

  Joe took a step into the street, into the sunlight, and a single shot rang out. His head jerked to the side, part of his skull and brains flying out and hitting the ground before he did.

  “Run!” Katie screamed again.

  22

  Knowles swept through the pub, slow and steady, weapon in front of him. As he passed a window, he saw some people outside and he recognised one of them. Katie Stadler. She was with several other people and they were moving away from the pub. Oh no, not now. There’s a sniper out there. He ran back to the still prone Jack and heaved him back onto his shoulders. Knowles staggered through the pub, Jack a dead weight on his back. He reached the back door and entered the street. He knew Bryant was to his left, devouring the remains of the other wolves but he had seen Katie so he turned right.

  A man lay on the ground in front of Katie, clearly a victim of the sniper. Three other people stood next to her, two with ashen faces and the third clearly drunk. Another man and a naked woman stood apart from them. The woman was crying.

  He dropped Jack to the ground again and lifted his weapon.

  “Don't move!” he yelled, aiming his weapon at the naked woman. “Katie Stadler, have you been bitten?”

  “You,” was all she said.

  “Yeah, me. I'm Knowles. I have your husband.”

  “I know who you are. Put the gun down Knowles,” Katie pushed past Jenny, holding something tightly. It took him a moment to realised she was holding a baby. Josh.

  On the other side of the street, he could see four men watching them with mouths open.

  “Who are they?”

  “One of them is a friend of Jack’s. You're about to have some explaining to do.”

  She brushed past Knowles and knelt next to Jack. His breathing was still ragged and shallow, but he was, for the moment, alive.

  Knowles turned to the naked woman. “Who are you?” He did not lower his weapon.

  “My name is Jenny. I-”

  “Actually, I don’t give a fuck,” Knowles said. “You’re one of them.”

  “So’s he.” Jenny pointed at the dead body in the sunlight behind her. “And he just died to save this lot. But you have cocked that up. He bought us time and you’ve wasted it.”

  Knowles ignored her and turned back to Katie.

  “Katie, is there another way out of here?”

  She shook her head. “Jack, can you hear me?”

  “Katie, focus. We have another Original in the square. Any second now he is going to come and kill us all. Is there another w
ay out of here that doesn't involve crossing that square?”

  She shook her head again, tears welling. “Jack, Josh needs you. He’s hurt, look, I dropped him and now he’s cut his face.” She pulled the blanket down, revealing Josh who was crying softly. He had a graze on his forehead that didn't look like much to Knowles.

  Maybe that’s why the kids don't want to see me.

  “We could go through one of the houses,” she said to Knowles, without taking her gaze from Jack.

  “Actually, I have a better idea,” Knowles said. “When I say, run over there and get those idiots to take you away. Call the police, call the army, call everyone and anyone you can think of. Do you understand?”

  She nodded. “What are you going to do?”

  “Well, you're not going to like that part.”

  23

  Knowles handed Katie his spare weapon. “Point, squeeze the trigger. Not much more to it.”

  “Shouldn't I have a gun?” said the man. He was very pale, with sunken eyes. He was wearing black trousers and a green t-shirt emblazoned with a logo for The Kings Arms.

  “Why?” Knowles said. “Because you're a bloke?”

  The man did a good impression of a goldfish. Knowles unclipped his handgun and passed it to the man.

  “Listen,” Knowles said, “there are only two wolves left as far as I can tell. One of them is up in the tower and I will take care of him. The other is dangerous. Really dangerous. You need to run and keep running. If he finds you, he will kill you. Is that clear?”

  The barman nodded. “What are those things, sergeant?”

  “Exactly what they appear to be. Now, you ready? You only get one chance at this.” The man had gone up in Knowles' estimation by recognising his rank.

  Knowles unclipped his belt, letting the extra ammo packs slide to the floor. Next he lifted Jack, letting him rest against him and then he pushed as hard as he could.

  “Knowles!” Katie said.

  Jack stumbled back into the square. One of the tennis players darted forward to try and catch him.

  “No!” Knowles shouted. The tennis player stopped, as Jack fell to his knees. A shot rang out and Jack spun. Blood and tissue flew out of his shoulder, splashing onto the tarmac like rain.

  Katie screamed.

  The tennis player froze in place.

  Knowles stepped into the square and pulled the secondary trigger on the weapon. The grenade round flew into the air in a long arc. Knowles watched for as long as he dared, saw the round fall on the top left of the church tower. He ducked back behind the pub.

  “Move!” Knowles screamed at the tennis player. He popped the UGL open and slid out the casing of the spent grenade. He quickly inserted a new grenade.

  “What happened?” the barman asked.

  “Jack!” Katie screamed.

  “I missed,” Knowles said.

  The tennis player finally turned and started to run, but it was far too slow and far too late. Another shot rang out. The man collapsed, more blood covering the tarmac.

  Knowles stepped back out, and aimed slightly to the right of his last shot and he fired again. This time, the grenade landed squarely in the middle of the tower and Knowles set off, sprinting for the alley.

  Katie ran into the street and knelt down next to Jack. His shoulder showed no damage, apart from the fresh blood around where the bullet had torn his flesh apart.

  “Jack,” she said, now realising that this wasn't such a good idea. She rolled him over, watching his shoulder knit itself back together. Black fur rippled across his muscles and his face changed.

  “Run,” Jack said, “he’s coming.”

  24

  Knowles ran as fast as he could. His lungs were burning and legs protesting by the time he reached the church door. Small lumps of stone scattered the floor around the door. He leant against the door, gasping for breath.

  Opening the door, he slipped into the church as quietly as he could. The interior of the church was largely untouched. Row upon row of pews lined the way to a grand altar, above which was the usual stained glass image of Jesus.

  Knowles was not a religious man, but he knew many who were. Combat did that to you - either convinced you the world was a steaming pile of shit: it already was hell, or else it turned you to God. The quiet in the church was oppressive, a feeling Knowles had always had in any church regardless of circumstance. He had even felt it on his wedding day.

  A small wooden door opened to reveal stairs on his right, spiralling up to the top of the tower. Knowles started to climb, staring down the barrel the whole time.

  Halfway up, the stairs became covered in rubble. It got worse the closer he got to the top. Wooden splinters and larger pieces of wood now littered the floor and then he was at the top. Three bodies, two in uniform, one naked, lay under the rubble, all clearly dead. Knowles sank to the floor, exhaustion and relief flooding through him.

  Then he heard the screams coming from the square.

  25

  Katie looked up and around the square. A huge dark wolf was sprinting towards them. She saw flashes of red in its fur and its teeth stood bright against the black fur. The barman from the pub raised the gun that Knowles had given him and fired, screaming as he did so. The sound was deafening, but the effect on the wolf was immediate.

  The shots made it angry.

  It pounced and tore the man’s throat out with a single bite.

  Katie heard a roar behind her, and spun, shielding Josh with her free hand. Another wolf stood behind her, this one just as massive as the other. She felt her knees go weak, and a whimper escaped her throat.

  Jack.

  She watched as the wolves circled each other with her in the middle. Josh was crying louder and louder. Every fibre of her body wanted to run, but she couldn’t. Even the gun in her hand was forgotten and she dropped it. Both wolves stopped moving at the sound. She no longer knew which was which.

  She could hear people screaming and someone shouting her name, but it was all so distant. Suddenly the wolves were human again, but still circling her. The other man was huge, muscles distinct on his arms and legs. His six pack was so defined he looked like Action Man.

  “Katie, take Josh and go,” Jack said. He stepped in front of her, steering her behind him. “Let her go,” he said.

  “I wanted you to help me,” Bryant said. He sounded like a petulant teenager. “Why didn’t you help me?”

  “I don’t understand what this is.” Jack gestured all around him. “How can I help you?”

  “Too late. It’s all too late. You are not leaving here today.”

  Jack nodded. “Probably not, but my son is.”

  Katie whimpered at the words and instantly hated herself.

  “I wouldn’t put money on that if I were you.”

  “What changed Bryant? You wanted help, but now you don’t?”

  The big man shrugged. “The Wolf won, Jack.”

  With that, he changed and leapt at Jack.

  26

  As soon as Knowles fired the grenade that destroyed the church tower, Jenny started running. She dragged the woman behind her, with the two men close behind. The drunk looked a lot more sober now.

  “Run!” she screamed at the tennis players. They turned and fled, a blood-spattered, naked woman enough to rouse them from their shock. They ran down the road, the woman sobbing before Jenny slowed.

  “What are you doing?” the drunk said.

  “Atoning,” Jenny said and she turned back to the square, leaving them behind.

  27

  Katie screamed as the Wolf leapt. Jack changed, and rolled, catching Bryant by surprise and ending up on top of him. He bit down and earned a yelp from Bryant.

  “Yes!” Katie yelled. Josh had stopped crying and was watching the Wolves fight with a strange expression on his face.

  Jack bit again, drawing blood again. A chunk of Bryant’s flesh came away with the bite. He howled again. The bite seemed to galvanise Bryant and he flexed his muscl
es. Jack slipped his grip and now Bryant was on top. He bit down again and again, blood spraying out of multiple wounds on Jack’s body.

  “No!” Katie screamed. This was her moment, her chance. She had a small window of opportunity to get away whilst-- What? Whilst that wolf eats Jack?

  Suddenly a smaller wolf ran into the square. It launched itself at Bryant, catching him with enough force and surprise to dislodge him. The small wolf turned into Jenny.

  “Stop, Bryant, stop.”

  The Wolf watched her for a moment, but only a moment, then it pounced and severed the woman’s neck with one snap of its massive jaws.

  “Jack!” Katie screamed. Jack had turned back into a human and was trying to sit up. He kept falling back to the ground, his body refusing to let him up. Jack was covered with blood, chunks of his flesh missing leaving angry red holes in his flesh. She could see white in the mess of torn flesh. Earlier, she had seen him heal, but that wasn’t happening now. He was breathing hard and blinking fast, a look of surprise etched onto his face. Then his features disappeared, face elongating until he was back as a Wolf. It, too, blinked slowly as it watched her. The blinking slowed until it finally closed its eyes.

  “No,” she whispered. I can’t lose you again.

  People were now coming out of their houses, shell-shocked expressions on their faces as they watched the wolves fight. Several of them were shouting to her. She felt a hand on her shoulder. She barely recognised the person talking to her; did not hear the words. The man was taking Josh from her and had a firm hold of her hand. He was pulling her towards a house- no, not a house. The butchers. She shook herself free and ran back to the gun on the floor.

  When she turned back to face the Wolves, Bryant was back on top, biting down again on Jack. She stepped forward and pressed the barrel to the Wolf’s neck. Before it had time to react, she pulled the trigger again and again until it clicked empty.

  28

  Knowles ran back up the alley, sweat pouring off him. The screams from the square had stopped now, but he could the sounds of animals fighting. Jack. He burst into the square, raising his weapon as he did so.