Hidden in the darkness under the shadow of the replicated town’s buildings, Cyrus re-assumed his stealthy movements. He systematically and silently zigzagged through the alleyways, carefully peering around every corner as he went. He could almost believe the infected, or whatever they were, had vanished from the facility altogether as quiet as the place had become. With his heart rate slowly slackening, Cyrus was exhausted from the stress of the chase and decided to sit down against the wall of the nearest house to catch his breath.
“If they ever were human, they certainly aren’t now,” he mumbled in the dark. Regardless of his adversary’s species, he needed to find shelter and at least some morsel of safe food before the morning. “It’s going to be a long month.”
Cyrus rose to his feet and slinked off into the surrounding darkness, the blue-white crescent moon hanging above amidst the magnificent lights of the towers.
Chapter XIV
Jaws of Justice
Asher and Aaron took the lead, a silent Milo following behind them as they strolled through the base’s barren hallways. The three of them made their way toward the classrooms.
“What do you think Tarango’s going to talk about this time, Ash?” asked Aaron, a mischievous grin on his face.
Asher frowned at Aaron. “Geez… I sure hope it’s not room clearing tactics this time.” Asher shook his head. He had grown bored with the routine in the past few weeks, tired of all the arms training, workouts, and incredibly redundant tactical classes. “I didn’t get enough of that in the Army.”
“Haha,” Aaron chuckled. “Yeah, never get enough of it.”
“Yeah, Milo, what…” Asher felt Milo’s hand on his shoulder. They all stopped outside their classroom, having almost missed their destination.
Asher looked up to see Commander Greaves sitting on the instructor’s desk, gazing back at them through his sunglasses, waving them through the open door.
“Hello, sir,” said Aaron, strolling into the classroom in front of Asher. “This is Lieutenant Tarango’s class. What are you doing here?”
“Just take a seat, Private,” Greaves commanded, his voice casual. “There will be no class today. I have to show yuh something. Taking you on a field trip down to the basement.”
“Yes, sir,” said Aaron as he took a seat near the center of the room.
Asher took the desk beside him, scanning the plain room and finding it empty except for the four of them.
“Whatever you planned for us, sir, I’m sure it will be much more interesting than what Tarango has been giving us lately,” said Milo. He stepped around Asher and Aaron to take a seat near the front of the room.
“It really would be nice if the rest of you had Harkman’s attitude,” Greaves noted. “Sure beats all the sass from you and Blackthorn.”
“Whatever you say, sir,” said Aaron. Greaves’s ridicule had no effect on him.
Asher grinned but said nothing, not wanting to push the commander out of his good humor, degrading comments aside.
“So exactly what’s in the basement, sir?” Aaron asked, genuinely curious, though his scheming smile had returned.
“Oh, not a whole lot.” Greaves shrugged. “Just a new weapon we plan on trying out here real soon.”
“Got something cool for us to look at down there, sir?” Aaron pried. “Mind telling us what it is?”
“You can ask all you want, but that’s all you’ll get out of me until we get down to the basement.”
With that, Aaron ceased his questioning while the rest of their platoon slowly filtered into the room. Asher might have spoken to some of the privates now entering, but as their training was very involved and four-man-centric, he saw little of anyone except the company officers and the other members of his assault group. He had always thought of himself as a friendly person, and the lack of social interaction was strange to him.
Asher looked up to see Sergeant Ito smile at him from where she stood at the front of the room with some other officers. He had missed her entrance.
“Hey, guys. Guess I’ll be joining you today.”
Asher turned to find Driscoll taking the seat beside him.
We can never shake this guy, he thought to himself.
“Oh, hey, Corporal, sir.” Asher rolled his eyes but kept his head down so Driscoll couldn’t see.
“Greaves has something special to show us,” said Driscoll enthusiastically. “A new weapon, he said. That’s exciting. We haven’t gotten any of those for a while.”
“OK, looks like most of you are here now,” said Greaves, rescuing Asher from Driscoll. “For those of you just arriving, I have taken the lieutenant’s class this afternoon. I have something to show you down in the basement.”
A flurry of hands shot into the air just before Greaves finished his last word.
“OK, just cool it a while,” said the commander, waving the hands down. “Does anyone have a question that isn’t about what I’m taking you to see?”
Lieutenant Tarango suddenly burst into the room in a huff.
“Well, hello, Lieutenant, nice of you to show up,” taunted Greaves. “Just because I’m in charge of your class this afternoon doesn’t give you an excuse to be late.”
“Sorry, sir,” said Tarango, his speech labored. “Just running a little late.” He remained at the back of the room.
“Let’s get going then,” said Greaves. He rose from his perch atop the desk and ambled toward the door. Once out in the hall, Greaves stood to the side of the doorway, waiting as the room’s occupants slowly filtered back into the hallway.
“Just walk down to the end of the hall over there,” he said. “I’ll take you around the corner and show you where the door is. The precise location of the basement is supposed to be classified, and I assume most of you have no idea where it is. Come on! Look alive, guys!” Greaves shouted. “You ought to be excited about what I’m going to show you! It’s going to make all of our lives easier!”
“And here is the door to the basement,” said Greaves sometime later when the group stopped in front of a heavily reinforced door.
Asher felt like they had walked forever, rounding corner after corner like rats in a maze. All of the base’s hallways looked virtually identical, and he wondered if the commander knew where he was leading them.
“Just give me a moment to find the key…” Greaves took the ring from his belt and sorted through the keys before finally settling on a single one. “Here we go,” he said, shoving the desired key into the lock, twisting it around before taking it out again.
The commander grunted as he turned the handle. He pushed the door open with a considerable amount of effort. Greaves turned around to hold it in place as he addressed the platoon.
“I need everyone to remain quiet while we’re down there,” he spoke nearly at a whisper. “They’re not supposed to be dangerous to us, but as far as I know, they haven’t been around large groups much. I just don’t want to spook ‘em.”
Greaves glared at the platoon expectantly, motioning them to pass through the doorway. He frowned when all of the soldiers remained stationary, none wanting to go first. “Well, don’t everybody run through the door all at once,” he said, slapping his palm over his bald head and sliding it down his neck.
Everyone in the platoon tried to look as inconspicuous as possible.
“Let’s not get excited. I don’t want a stampede.”
A loud howl from the basement disrupted the tranquility. It was the same howl Asher had heard every night for the past three weeks.
“I never thought I would see the day that I had to make a bunch of professional vampire hunters go down a dark stairway on their own base.” Greaves pretended the noise hadn’t happened.
“Sir, the fact that we are vampire hunters makes us leerier of dark passageways,” said Tarango from the other end of their procession. “Personally, I’ve forgotten the last time I went down a dark stairway and didn’t find something that wanted to kill me at the bottom.”
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nbsp; “Oh, there you are, Lieutenant Tarango.” A devious grin formed on Greaves’s face. “Why don’t you go down there first to make up for your tardiness?” He looked at the lieutenant expectantly.
Tarango didn’t share his level of enthusiasm.
“Come on, you already have the advantage of knowing what’s down there,” Greaves reassured him. “Show the troops that their ol’ lieutenant ain’t scared of nothin’.”
“Whatever you say, sir,” sighed Tarango before reluctantly pushing his way through the huddled platoon. “Didn’t care for them the last time I was down there,” he mumbled, passing by Asher. The lieutenant proceeded through the doorway into the darkness, grumbling as he went.
“Hey, grab those lights while you’re in there, Lieutenant!” Greaves yelled back at him.
The light on the other side of the doorway flipped on, revealing nothing but the same bare, concrete walls within.
“Just try to remain quiet,” Greaves reminded his troops, waving them onward through the door. “They’re not designed to be aggressive towards humans, but let’s not take any chances.”
“Sir, are you going to tell us what these things are?” asked Asher, tired of the commander’s coaxing. “You keep telling us how they don’t attack humans, yet you insist on being cautious.”
“Shut up, Blackthorn!” Greaves’s good mood evaporated instantly. “It’s bad enough that Tarango’s being a wimp! I don’t need you asking stupid questions and scaring people!”
Asher’s cheeks flushed red, both from anger and embarrassment from Greaves’ singling him out. He had only said what everyone else was thinking.
“OK, then, everyone down into the basement, and that’s an order.” Greaves waved everyone through the door.
The hair on Asher’s neck stood on end as he and the rest of the group passed through the opening. The heavy metal door slammed shut behind them.
Greaves engaged the lock, sealing them into what felt like a tomb. “Just got to get the other light over here real quick.”
The commander passed by Tarango, the lieutenant standing against an unadorned wall.
“Try not to be alarmed when you see them,” Greaves continued, fumbling around as he found the switch. “They’re quite a sight, especially when you see them caged down here. OK, Here we go.”
Greaves disappeared around the corner, Milo right behind him and the rest following after. The concrete floor gave way to a metal mesh walkway overlooking the lower part of the basement. Greaves led them into what looked like a squared-off, empty cavern overlooking a ravine. Strings of lights hung from the uneven, rugged walls and illuminated the place.
“Holy!” Milo nearly yelled as he looked over the railing.
“Harkman!” shouted the commander, forgetting what he had said earlier. “I would expect it from Blackthorn or Pritchett, but not you!”
Asher gazed downward from where he stood on the walkway to find the source of Milo’s surprise.
He saw two dozen or so massive dogs at the bottom of the basement’s fifty-foot ravine, all of a breed he did not recognize. Each was taller than a Great Dane and possessed twice the muscle. Their dark, shaggy hair, piercing eyes, and colossal jaws gave them the look of lupine monsters. Each animal resided within a barred, concrete-floored cell, which Asher presumed was there to protect onlookers. It was easy to see why Milo was afraid of them. Luckily, most slept in beds in the corner of their cells, with a few standing up when they saw the platoon.
“Sorry, sir,” said Milo as he leaned over the railing.
The rest of the platoon filed in behind Milo, the soldiers gathering around him to look down into the ravine. Lieutenant Tarango remained at the opposite side of the bridge, never bothering to look at the dogs. He tried to put as much distance between himself and Greaves as possible.
“Don’t sweat it, Private,” said the commander, turning around to speak to him from where he stood farther down the bridge beside the stairs. “These animals are supposed to look terrifying. That’s one reason why we keep them down here in the first place.”
“Exactly what are they, sir?” asked Aaron as both he and Asher took their places beside Milo.
“What do you mean ‘what are they’?” Greaves frowned. “What kind of question is that?”
“Obviously, they’re dogs, sir,” Aaron recanted. “What breed are they exactly? I’ve never seen a dog like that in my life. I mean, my parents have a St. Bernard back home, and these things look like they could have him for breakfast.”
“They are hellhounds, or at least that’s what I’m gonna call them.” Greaves’ tone of voice revealed he was just giving Aaron a hard time. “They were created by a private company, one that usually designs pharmaceuticals, but they dipped their toe into bioengineering at the government’s encouragement. We contracted them to make us a vampire huntin’ dog. The eggheads over there said most of the hounds’ genetic makeup comes from some kind of extinct wolf mixed with the DNA of certain modern dog breeds, along with a little bear and hyena thrown in there for good measure.”
“Would the animal you’re talking about be the dire wolf, sir?” Milo asked, bursting with excitement.
“Dire wolf…” said Greaves, trying to remember. “Yeah, that would be the one. How do you know anything about animals, Private?”
“Before I joined the Legion, I studied biology in college, sir.”
“So we plan on using these in combat, sir?” asked Asher, nearly interrupting Milo. “Not just for finding vampires, but for running them down and killing them as well?”
“Absolutely,” Kilgore confirmed, the captain seemingly materializing beside Greaves. “We’ve had a lot of difficulty with escaping assailants in the past. These guys were created to put an end to all that.”
“Sir, what exactly makes them any different than a normal dog?” asked Driscoll skeptically. He was some distance behind Asher and nearly had to yell. “Well, I mean other than their size and their relation to those other animals.”
“I was getting to that, Corporal,” Greaves continued for Kilgore. “These hellhounds are physically superior to any naturally bred canine. They are made to be bigger, faster, stronger, and more ruthless. They’re great trackers, and once they catch a vamp’s scent, they will hunt it down and kill it all by ‘em selves.”
“Sounds pretty impressive, sir.” Driscoll remained unconvinced, however, and was eager to trip up the commander. “Aren’t there some disadvantages to working with these dogs? Seeing as they were artificially created, I would think there would be a few.”
“Hmm…” Greaves cupped his hand around his chin, “No, not really anything that I can think of, other than they eat a whole lot. Kind of work up an appetite when you’re running down vamps all day. You know,” Greaves started up again before Driscoll could stop him, “I didn’t intend to just stand up here answering questions all day. Come on, let’s get on down there for a closer look.”
The commander started down the stairs with a spring in his step, his heavy boots striking the metal mesh. Asher left his place at the railing, following Milo and Aaron. The other soldiers behind him did likewise.
“And you’re sure these things will never turn on us, sir?” Driscoll asked Greaves while pushing past some of the others to catch up to him.
“I’m certain these hounds would never harm any of us,” said Greaves as he stepped onto another flight of stairs. “Poor temperament towards man is not something we want. We made sure these hounds were designed with an undyin’ loyalty to the Legion’s soldiers and other humans as well. They only get mean when vamps are around. There’s one disadvantage for you, Corporal: You never want to get between them and the vamps. Get all bloodthirsty and crazy when they’re around. That would probably be the only situation when they might harm you, unintentionally of course.”
“Have these hellhounds been successfully field-tested, sir?” asked Ito, nearly shouting as she cut through Greaves’ tangent. She had just taken the first set of stairs.
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“If you mean ‘have we exposed them to vampire blood and tissue to see if they could identify it,’ the answer is yes,” Greaves told Ito, though he knew he couldn’t give her the answer she wanted. “If you also mean did we gauge their reactions during this exposure, then yes, they have been field-tested.”
“You know that’s not what I meant, Commander Greaves.” Ito rolled her eyes. “Have they been put in a real-world situation where they have been successfully used to destroy assailants?”
“No, they have not, Sergeant.” Greaves shook his head. “We plan on taking them out on an ops here real soon, and if they can handle that, we’ll know they’re worth keeping around. I’m certain it will all work out, though.”
“And who exactly will be working with these animals?” Ito continued. Nearly a whole stairway separated her from Greaves, the commander having stepped onto the ground below. “I highly doubt any of us are qualified.”
“Witchburn has created a special force to work with the hounds!” Greaves shouted back up at Ito. “Would have had their handlers meet us down here, but they’re off to lunch or something! I was only going to show them to you anyway!”
The majority of the platoon had now joined Greaves at the bottom of the stairs. The soldiers remained close to the commander. Seeing they did indeed have visitors, most of the hounds rose from their beds, regarding them with interest though they held themselves in reserve.
Asher frowned, finding their behavior strange.
None of the hellhounds jumped at their cell bars as many dogs might and instead sat staring at the soldiers through their fierce yellow eyes. Asher remained instinctively cautious due to their terrifying appearance and sheer size. They were just too big, too hairy, and possessed bone-crushing jaws.
“That’s enough questioning for the moment.” Greaves stood just to the side of the cells, his back turned to the hounds. “No reason to act afraid and make them all nervous. I figured you would want to pet one of ‘em, Harkman.”
Fall Prey: The Hunt Page 22