83

The town was Z city. As per usual and they were calmly sweeping while marking the places to scavenge. Jack was grateful that Ash was happy to help, his men walking with confidence on the familiar streets and Jack felt equally confident that within the hour they would be filling up the Transporter.

two teams, one walking each side of the street as they swept and Jack glanced over to see Dean dancing in the middle of the street, Billy further away on the opposite sidewalk calmly walking along. Sean behind them both with a strong eyeball on Dean.

Good. Priorities.

A voice cried out and Jack turned his head to see why then could only grunt with surprise as he was taken down, an entire fucking snarl of Zs had spewed from a building like school out for summer. Chaos as people yelled, shots were fired as precious bullets were expended and Jack's only fear was for his boys.

Billy was shouting, Dean behind him with a look of interest as they watched Jack's team struggle under the incoming stream of undead.

"Stay back" Jack yelled to Billy "Keep your team back, we need space to fight, you guys catch any escapees!"

"OK Dad!" Billy called back "But … sexist. Gloria here is a girl!"

This one was putrid, Jack's hands sinking in, his fingers going through the skin and he could feel bone under his fingertips, a nauseatingly rotten smell from the corpse as its teeth snapped at his face.

Then it seemed to freeze, it's eyes widening and he stared as the face started to split, this all in slow motion but happening within the space of two seconds, then it was yanked back, it's grip on Jack releasing as it became a rag doll, flung back onto the street and Red stood there shaking his axe.

Axe.

Jack lay there gaping as the huge axe made from some farm equipment or something was cleaned with a cloth from his back pocket like it was no big deal this… dinner plate sized cog sharpened into a weapon had just cleaved a skull.

Red looked at Jack as he swung the axe up onto his shoulder, then offered the other hand "Come on old man. Ups-a-daisy."

Jack was wrenched to his feet and he looked at Red again, seeing the same calm demeanour of a simple man, not someone who had just calmly sliced a head in two.

"That was my kill!" Jack said stupidly, unable to say think you like a normal person.

"Ce sera sera" Red shrugged like it was nothing, "You know … looked more to me like you were her date."

"Clearing south! Kris, coming?" Billy yelled as he slid down a side street and Red winked … he fucking winked …. Then went after Billy yelling after him that he needed back up.

"Are you OK?" Ash asked and Jack nodded as he motioned for them to continue, the image of that huge cog slicing though bone like that unnerving.

"He's good at what he does" Ash seemed to know the problem "Apparently before it all went tits up he worked somewhere in a secret facility or something. They routinely euthanatized things, he was one of their … what did he call it … enders... wait. Yeah. He was a Closer. A file would be handed down that the subject was no longer needed and he would go into the cell and …pop… bye bye. He didn't like it but was good at it. He says, the moment you feel right about it is the moment you should stop doing it. Being human is all about feeling wrong when you know it is."

Jack looked at Ash with interest, letting the conversation roll around in his mind. Cell. Not pen or cage. Cell. Just what were they experimenting on?

Dean came shooting out of the side street in Wolfling form, chasing a small Z that was surprisingly fast and as he reached it the Axe flew through the air to strike a second Z in the spine, right between the shoulder blades as it chased Dean.

Jack ran to put a bullet in its skull as it writhed on the ground, then look at Red as he strode towards them with glee "Did ya see that? Fucker got past me. I have to get the round in now!"

Dean turned to look at him, his muzzle covered with blood and viscera as he grinned back and Red pointed at him "You know … that is a neat trick."

"My son is not a trick and don't point at him or I will cut your finger off" Jack said, the adrenaline for that near miss making him jingle-jangle now.

"Easy on there old man" Red laughed happily "I just saw him change from a little boy into a …ahhhhh… wolfling. Now I get it. Good one. Shit, that is cool. I wonder where you came from."

Dean was now a little boy again, his clothing gone from the changing as he canted his head "From my Tad of course. Billy, I need the backpack!"

Red roared with glee again and said softly to himself "Lycanthrope? Something else. Moves in daylight with such ease. Interesting."

He walked off swinging his axe and Jack stood stock still with open confusion now.

Red knew about werewolves?

Were the hell had he been.