The sun had set now, and Wayan could just see the full moon beginning to peak over the edge of the block.
"Cortes…"
"What is it, Wayan?" said Cortes, his temper still a little short. He had calmed somewhat from his recent outburst, however.
Many thoughts had been running through Wayan's mind. At first, he'd dismissed them instantly, as soon as they'd surfaced, because they were so ridiculous. But as he thought more about them, they'd begun to make sense.
"I have no idea what I did after I left the tavern yesterday."
Cortes stepped over a bit of brush, and then looked back at Wayan. "What do you mean…?"
"I can't remember anything since leaving the tavern. The next thing I remember after that is waking up in bed… without any clothes."
Cortes continued to stare at him, as much as he could without tripping over any grass or rocks. He realised this was bothering Wayan, and he seemed to think it important, but he still was not understanding why. "Why is this important, Wayan?"
"I… I think… I think I might not remember anything from last night because I turned into a werewolf."
This time, Cortes stopped. He stared hard at Wayan. Then he just shook his head. "No…"
"Why not?" said Wayan, beginning to get flustered. "Cheng couldn't remember exactly what happened. He completely tore up his clothes, and I'm missing a whole set!"
"It's not funny, Wayan!" Cortes shouted. He turned back around, and continued to stomp through the brush. He couldn't look at Wayan right now. This wasn't happening.
"I'm not joking!" growled Wayan. He had never yelled at his Captain before, but at that moment he was right on the borderline. "And if I'm right, I'm going to turn into one any second now! I'll kill you!"
Cortes whirled back around. "You are not a werewolf, Wayan! You can't be!"
"Why not!?" Wayan was sweating now. He was beginning to feel like he had last night.
"I know you, Wayan. And you would never do… that to Cheng! And, how would you become one? We haven't even been on Marquis that long, and up until we left the tavern you were in my sight the entire time!"
"I don't think it happened on Marquis…"
At that moment, moonlight broke over the edge of the bloc, lighting up rocks, bush and trees. As it hit Wayan, it felt like a dagger.
The man dropped to his knees and let out a cry.
"Wayan…" Cortes dropped down next to him, placing a hand on his shoulder.
"Get away!" Wayan growled, throwing Cortes off with a flick of his arm. He was already stronger than he should be.
Cortes sat back up in the dirt and brush, and looked again at Wayan.
The man's body had already started to change. Muscles were getting thicker, his clothes were tearing, and fur was beginning to sprout everywhere. Claws extended from his hands, breaking into the rock beneath them. Wayan looked up, his jaw thrust out in a growl that got deeper as his face extended right before Cortes' eyes. His eyes remained almost the same, a deep piercing green. Exactly like the eyes of the werewolf that had attacked Cheng.
"Damn it, Wayan!" Cortes shouted at the shaking, contorting creature before him. For a second he was torn between hatred and pity. Then fear kicked in. Wayan would kill him, or worse.
Cortes let out a cry of frustration, then got up and just ran.
Wayan lurched forward, the only thing now on his mind the prey he had just spotted. He collapsed back to his knees, his bones still not fully healed from the distortions they had undergone for the transformation. His prey would get a head start.
----
"Stop dragging your feet, Mahad," said Dahlia. She turned around, folding her arms and stopping so Mahad could catch up.
"Sorry…" Mahad muttered, looking at the ground as he tried not to trip over anything.
"We've got to keep together. And alert. We don't want that werewolf to catch us alone…"
"I know alright!" Mahad snapped back. He drew in a breath, and calmed down a little. "Sorry…"
Dahlia gave him a quizzical look, and then kept going.
"I left Cheng alone…" said Mahad, and then trailed off.
Dahlia looked over her shoulder at him.
"He…" Mahad started, realising her attention was on him. "He wanted to go back to the Saint Nazaire. He was scared and I ignored him, and we got lost. Then I left him alone…" he trailed off, and looked at Dahlia somewhat meekly.
Dahlia paused. She was aware that they had a job to do. But Mahad just looked so downcast…
"You didn't know what was going to happen, Mahad," she said.
"I know…" muttered Mahad. He started walking again and passed Dahlia by, looking up at the sky. "But I still shouldn't have been…" He trailed off, staring intently at the sky.
"What…?" said Dahlia, coming and standing beside him.
"I thought I saw something fly over head…"
"Like a ship?"
"No, it was too small. And it didn't have any lights…"
There was a gush of wind, and something came from behind, so close to them that they both dived to the ground for fear of being attacked.
"Did you see it!?" Mahad yelled, pointing in the direction the gust had gone.
"I don't…" Dahlia thought she thought she saw a shape, visible as it blocked the moonlight and stars. Then there was a flash of light from something like ship's thrusters, and she lost sight of it again.
Mahad stood up.
"Mahad! Be careful!"
"I'm just trying to see where it went…"
Moonlight gleamed off metal. It was in front of them. Dahlia wasn't sure how big it was, but then she realised it was coming closer, gliding low through the sky.
"Woah... woah!" said Mahad, realising at the same time as Dahlia that it was coming right at them. He grabbed the back of Dahlia's jacket and tried to pull her back, even as Dahlia scrambled to her feet and tried to get hold of her laser bow.
Mahad tripped over a rock, and dragged Dahlia back down to the ground with him. They tumbled in a pile together, and Dahlia dropped her laser bow.
There was a thud, and when they both looked up the shape was in front of them. It had a solid shape like a main body, and silhouettes of what looked like wings or fins extending away from it. Two lights flickered on in front of them, high up the main form.
"Where'd the bow go?" Dahlia whispered loudly, feeling around on the ground and shoving Mahad over a bit.
"It isn't doing anything…" said Mahad. He stared enthralled at the thing in front of them, trying to force his eyes to adjust more to the darkness. "I think it's a machine…"
The night air was cut by the sound of a mechanical clank, clank, clank. Like a metal chain turning over a pulley.
"It's got a mouth or something!" said Mahad. Now more frightened, he grabbed onto Dahlia's shoulder.
There was a sound like something relatively light whizzing through the air. Dahlia felt the wind of whatever it was rush past her.
Mahad screamed; his grip on Dahlia's shoulder suddenly became tighter.
Dahlia felt something warm and wet splatter the side of her face. "Mahad!"
The machine jerked suddenly, and its body lay down flat on the ground. It did look like it had a mouth, and the two lights were eyes, and the mouth was now lying flat on the ground, gaping open.
Then Mahad was jerked away from Dahlia. He dragged her with him a few feet, trying desperately to keep a grip on her clothes. He was trying to speak, but he was too scared or in too much pain to form a coherent word.
Dahlia grabbed his shirt, trying to get a better grip. The machine loomed closer. Then her boot hit the lower jaw and she pushed against it. Closer now she could hear the machine making the clank, clank, clank noise again.
She felt the tug on Mahad now.
"Argh… stop it!" Mahad managed to sob out.
"I'm not… going to let it get you…" Dahlia growled, pushing harder against the metal jaw and just managing to drag Mahad back a bit.
Mahad let out a cry and struggled against Dahlia's grip.
"Mahad!"
Mahad whimpered, and Dahlia cringed at the sound. It sounded like he was in agony.
A gear clicked over somewhere inside the machine, and the pull became stronger so suddenly that Mahad's shirt tore in Dahlia's grip, and he was pulled away from her.
"No!"
He disappeared inside the machine and the 'mouth' snapped shut. The clang rang out in the night, and had Dahlia been any closer it would likely have taken her arm off.
The machine whirred.
Dahlia growled, and grabbed the front of the machine's face. She was looking for a gap, anyway to open the mouth. Her fingers pried around the beast's jaw, but it completely ignored her.
Suddenly it jerked its body back upwards, and Dahlia was thrown back to the ground. There was a blast of burning gases as the thrusters ignited.
Dahlia noticed a faint yellow glow on the ground, and snatched up her laser bow.
The machine lifted off.
Dahlia stood up, and drew back the bow.
The machine was at least forty foot up in the air now. She looked through the laser bow's sight, and the image of the machine shook and blurred. She couldn't shoot it down without killing Mahad. If he wasn't dead already.
The thrusters cut out, and the machine was barely visible again. The last thing Dahlia heard was a soft sound like a sail unfurling, and then she completely lost sight of it.
The laser bow shook in her grip; the only thing in her view now was stars. "Fuck!" Dahlia screamed at the night air, and released the yellow energy arrow into the atmosphere, aiming at nothing.
----
Cortes had ducked behind a rocky outcropping that was slightly above the surrounding landscape, and afforded a moonlit view of most of the area around him. Cortes did not want Wayan sneaking up on him. At least from here, he might be able to see him before he got near. How did a werewolf hunt, would it see him up here?
Cortes scowled, angry at himself for thinking of 'it' again. Wayan was a werewolf; the werewolf that had attacked Cheng. Up until now, Cortes had wanted to kill the beast. He hadn't even thought that it was, or had, been a human being. Not until it was revealed to be someone he cared about. Now, he didn't know how to stop it. He couldn't, wouldn't try to kill it anymore. Somehow, that made it all the more harder. How could he save Wayan from himself? More importantly, how could he do so without getting killed in the process?
The movement of a shadow caught Cortes' eye. He flattened his body against the rock, and dragged himself carefully forward so he could just peer over the edge. Yup, there it was again. He had to keep focused on the moving shadow to follow it, but there definitely was something moving down there. About the size of a man, and as black as the shadows it was moving between. He watched Wayan move, until he was close enough that he could make out his actual shape.
He was sniffing the ground, moving the exact track Cortes had followed.
Cortes swore under his breath. He tried to control his breathing, watching Wayan carefully. Hopefully...
Wayan stopped on top of a large rock that was about a few feet high. He sniffed around, looking confused.
Cortes let out a breath. He'd made sure he got a pretty good leap off of that and onto another outcropping that wasn't exactly that easy. It looked like it had at the least bought him some time. He watched Wayan, and tried to think. There had to be some way to catch or disable him. But up here he had nothing save his rifle. What energy level would be strong enough to stun Wayan? He didn't want to hurt him, but a stun level for a human might be too weak. He might only have one shot, as soon as Wayan knew he was shooting he might put back up that shield thing.
All of a sudden, there was a short blast of noise that cut into the night air, making Cortes jump.
Down below, Wayan was suddenly alert, looking all around him and breathing in deep lungfuls of air.
Cortes looked down; the sound had come from his radio.
"...tes, we... help. ... taken by some ..."
Cortes recognised Dahlia's voice, mangled though it was by interference. He grabbed the radio in a rush, attempting to mute it. "Not now, Dahlia..."
He couldn't feel the right button in the dark. A quick glance down proved Wayan was close to pinpointing the sound. He squeezed the radio again, and then smashed it hard against the rock underneath him. The radio casing shattered, and the sound became more garbled, but it still did not silence it completely. Cortes hit it again, causing half the casing to break off. A circuit board cut into his hand, and another component flew out and bounced down the small cliff in front of him. The radio was silent, and Cortes let out a sigh.
He looked down again. Where was Wayan? He quickly pinpointed him. Now he was at the bottom of the cliff. He sniffed the bit of radio that had fallen down, and then looked straight up at Cortes.
Cortes drew in a breath, and shifted back.
Suddenly there was a rush of movement, and Wayan had leapt straight up the small cliff face. His front paws gripped the top of the ledge, claws digging into the rock. He howled, and then pulled himself up.
Cortes backed up across the ledge on his backside, grabbing up his rifle as he moved back. He came up, back flat against another bit of rock.
Wayan stood up and moved towards him. He thought he had his prey cornered.
Cortes gripped his rifle. "Wayan, can you understand me? Stay back... that's an order!"
Wayan paused for a brief moment, watching Cortes as if a little confused. Then he let out a huff of warm air, deciding he didn't need to listen to what this man told him.
Cortes brought his rifle forward and shot Wayan in the chest.
Wayan yelped and skidded back across the rock. He gripped his claws in, bared his teeth and growled. A paw lifted up into the air, blue energy gleaming around it as Wayan drew in moonlight.
Cortes eye's widened. He threw himself to the side just as the paw came crashing down upon the rock he'd been leaning against. The impact released a blast of energy, and this tossed Cortes a few feet away. When he looked behind him, he could see that it had left a crater in the rock far greater than Wayan's strength along should have been capable of. Even Wayan seemed surprised by the blast it had created.
Cortes took that chance to get up and run. He pulled himself up and leapt down the path he'd followed to get up to the rocky outcropping in the first place. It wasn't that high, but falling down could still seriously injure him. He'd just made it to the bottom when Wayan smashed into the dust ahead of him. He'd leapt down from some distance up the rock, and had cut off Cortes' route of escape.
"Wayan..." Cortes warned, gripping the gun again.
Wayan knew what the gun had done before. He approached warily, his teeth bared, and arms faintly glowing beneath the fur.
Cortes backed up, looking for another way of escape. His hand came up against rock, and he glanced quickly behind him. There were two rocks leaned against each other, creating a sort of small crevice. He backed up slowly, slipping between them.
Wayan growled, and leapt at him. He crashed against the two rocks, causing them to grind against each other. Cortes had already slipped between them. Wayan growled again and pushed a paw into the crevice, trying to swipe at Cortes.
Cortes backed up, narrowly avoiding the claws. He slid all the way through, coming out the other side.
Wayan clawed at the rocks again, causing them to sink further into each other.
Cortes took his rifle, and thumbed the power setting up a notch. He shot at Wayan again. This time the blast was stronger, turning where it hit the rocks to powder, and causing Wayan to yelp louder and pull his paw out of the crevice.
Wayan climbed on top of the two crumbling rocks. He looked angrier now. But at the same time more wary, charged but now almost too scared to attack Cortes.
Cortes took a careful step forward.
Wayan growled a warning, and stepped back one pace.
"Wayan... I don't want to hurt you..."
Wayan snarled, and hurled a blast of power at Cortes. Cortes had to leap out of the way again as it ploughed into the earth, throwing up dirt. When the dust cleared, Wayan had vanished from atop the rocks.
Cortes looked around, almost expecting to be thrown to the ground as Wayan came at him from an unknown direction. He swung around in a full circle, his rifle charged and ready. But there was no movement. Had he scared Wayan away?
There was the slightest noise behind him, and Cortes whirled around, all but ready to pull the trigger to protect himself.
"Sir!"
"Dahlia!" Cortes balked, and then swung the rifle away from her chest. "Don't sneak up on me like that!"
"Sorry, sir... but it's Mahad..."
"Shh..." said Cortes, not really wanting to cut her off. But he had to make sure it was safe. He stepped up to her and put a hand on her shoulder, his other arm swinging the charged rifle about. Dahlia knew to be quiet as Cortes listened carefully. Satisfied everything was clear he sighed and lowered the gun. "Okay. Where's Mahad."
"Something took him."
"A werewolf?"
Dahlia shook her head. "No. It was some sort of flying machine. I... I don't know if it killed him or not... but it picked him up in its mouth and flew off!"
Cortes stared at her. "A what?"
"I don't know! It was a machine. It looked almost like some sort of dragon."
Cortes let out a breath and shook his head. "A dragon. A bloody dragon!"
"Cortes, Mahad's gone. I don't know where it took him."
Cortes ran a hand over his gun, thinking. Everything was falling apart in his hands.
"Sir..." said Dahlia eventually, uncomfortable with his quiet. "Where's Wayan?"
Cortes looked back up. "Wayan is the werewolf, Dahlia. At the Sphere base he cut his hand. I think he picked up the virus there. He's what started this. He turned Cheng into a werewolf."
Out in the night, something howled.
"That's him..." said Dahlia.
Cortes nodded. "And now we've got to find some way to get him safe without him hurting anybody... else."
"Okay," said Dahlia. "But what about Mahad?"
Cortes paused. "Now we find Wayan. Ask me about Mahad later."
And with that he set off in the direction the howl had come from.
Dahlia followed him.
