The alarm rang loudly into the room, making it hard for Alley-Fang and Sarah to hear one another.
-Alarms like that are rarely good news, what's going on? Aaron asked.
Sarah didn't bother to answer; she typed something on the computer which opened a communication link. She probably hadn't noticed or couldn't care less, but Alley-Fang could hear everything they said.
-This is Sarah Hapkin coming in from holding cell two, what's going on?
-Miss Hapkin, evacuate the holding cell block, GLS-2-23 has risen and is heading your way, said the voice in the communication link.
-That's impossible; GLS-2-23 died 12 hours ago!
-Well he stood from the operation table, murdered the scientists and caught the guards unaware, they are under the maddening effect of GLS sighting (must be how they refer to delirium, Alley-Fang though).
Sarah took her notepad and headed for the exit, but came back half way.
-Sir, what about GLS-1H-24?
-Who cares! Just leave it there and run!
-But sir…
-Say, is GLS-1H-24 some sort of code name of mine? Alley-Fang wanted to take part of this conversation.
-Doctor Hapkin! Why is the patient connected to this communication?
-I contacted you in a hurry and…
-NEVERMIND THAT, TAKE THE DRUG AND RUN, HE'S COMING!
Sarah took a pill from her pocket, swallowed it and opened the door. She got out leaving Alley-Fang alone. Could this day get any worse?
-Hey Sarah's boss, are you still there?
-What, she didn't disconnect you?
-She's busy saving her own skin from an angry werewolf, not that I blame her. Could we talk about me getting out of this cell, I mean, this position is getting a little uncomfortable.
-You are to be held in quarantine until we find a cure to your illness (that could take a while, Alley-Fang though).
Sarah chose this moment to re-enter the room.
-You do realise this is a dead end?
-Who are you talking to?
-He's talking to me sir; the fugitive is already in the hallway, so I came back in here.
-Hapkin, you idiot, there is no way out of this room!
-Aaron's gun, which I have here, is loaded with silver bullets, that's my best chance.
-Who the hell is Aaron?
-GLS-1H-24's name. (Cool, she remembered, Alley-Fang's though)
While saying that, she reached to a plastic bag in which Alley-Fang recognised his clothes and his fetish gun.
She took the weapon and aimed it at the door. Eventually, heavy steps began pounding being the large steel door. Out of nervousness, Sarah tried to shoot. Try as she may however, the spirit in this gun obeyed to Alley-Fang and him only, a loud "click" was all that got out of the gun.
It seemed to be enough to alert the hulking creature on the other side that someone was in there. A shrieking sound of nail against a black board came along with claw marks on the door.
Sarah turned to the tank: "Why is it not working?"
-It only works for me (a black crinos paw punched trough the door) let me out of the tank he ordered.
She hesitated…
-Hapkin, the last thing we need is another GLS running free, keep GLS-1H-24 imprisoned, the guy in the communication link said.
-Sarah, listen, if that guy is a Gaïan, he can be reasoned with, if he's a black spiral dancer, I can take him on…
Her finger was inches away from a button on the console.
-Hapkin, don't do this…
The werewolf on the other side of the door was doing a good job tearing through it.
-Sarah, hurry!
The terrified scientist pressed the button and ran to a corner of the room. The top of the tank lifted up, taking the manacled werewolf along with it. It craned him next to the water filled prison and released the manacled; Aaron tore the mask from his face and removed the plastic coating.
On the bright side, he had been consciously freed, what little watery drops had gotten out of the aquarium hardly burned him and his gun was within arm reach.
On the wrong side, an hulking crinos with white skin, black hair, horns, glowing red eyes and ridiculously long canines had just tore his way in the room…
Alley-Fang, unlike his Ahroun packmates, was not born a warrior; he was a new moon, a trickster.
But every werewolf was a warrior, Gaïa's warriors, and as such, he would not back down, he was cornered and he had an innocent girl to protect.
So what if that thing seems bigger, stronger and all around more powerful then he was, Alley-Fang's pack was bound together by the war totem Weasel and as such, he would show no fear and fight to the death.
With these thoughts in mind, he tapped into his primal rage to quickly assume his war form and leapt toward the monster.
The black werewolf seemed surprised to see one of his own and was too startled to dodge Alley-Fangs full body tackle. The two opponents rolled in the corridor out of the room.
That wild rolling ended with the monstrous creature standing above Alley-Fang, pinning him down. He opened his gapping maw and readied to burry his enormous fangs in his opponent's throat.
Seconds before the canines made contact with his neck (which would have probably decapitated him outright), Alley-Fangs reverted to his much smaller breed form, and rolled out of the way. The other werewolf, caught in his momentum, sank his teeth deep in the floor.
Watching his opponent struggle to get his teeth out of the ground, Alley-Fang shifted back to war form and couldn't help but let out a howl of mockery on his foe's behalf. The black monster rose back to his feet and glared at the loud mouthed ragabash with hatred burning in his red eyes.
It was the monstrous werewolf's turn to charge, but Alley-Fang had seen him coming.
He leapt in the air, above his opponent's head and slashed him with his claw along the way; he landed gracefully on the other end of the corridor. There was an open door just behind him leading to a larger room, which was good because he would need space to outmanoeuvre his opponent.
To his relief, he saw Sarah coming out of the room behind the charging monster, with his clothes and gun. Once he had taken care of the mad werewolf, he would have to have a longer talk with her, from the "out of a silver water filled glass tank" perspective, she seemed like a really good person.
Back to present trouble, the room in which he had just lured his opponent was a total wreck, bodies, broken furniture, broken glass and other randomly scattered scientist tools. Apparently, the monster had come from this way…
"You're running from me Gaïan freak?"
Well what do you know, that monster speaks Garou. The two opponents circled around the room.
-More like choosing my battlefield, cramped space just aren't my thing.
The black werewolf picked up a scientist corpse and, to Alley-Fang's horror, sank his teeth into it to gorge himself from the blood.
-Yuck, tastes better when the donor his alive, the beast said.
-I tough you were an average black spiral dancer but I see it's much worse than that.
-You wish I was the average fallen Garou you miserable insect, but none of them can compare to what I am.
-Which brings up a good point, what in the world are you suppose to be?
-I'm precisely something that should not be; those like me are rightly called abomination, for we are the greatest embodiment of primal life made living dead!
-Werewolves made vampires, I though they were just spook stories told to cubs who dismiss leeches as lesser, inoffensive opponents.
-The odds are bad, but our kind can be ripped of their lives and made a horrible mockery of their former glory by the kindred, has I have.
-Dude, just how do you keep going like this, can't you just step in the sun or something?
-It's true that the transformation severed me from the spirit world and alienated me from the Garou nation, but there is solace for those like me, one tribe who will accept them, one entity that will still fuel them with spiritual energy…
-The wyrm…
-Indeed.
-So they captured you, brought you here thinking you were dead and you just waited for the right time to strike?
-I was low on blood, I needed has many of them nearby. I also needed to take them by surprise; my bond to Luna is still strong enough to make silver lethal.
-Let me guest, your not sated yet?
-No…
-And like most vampires, you draw great power and sustenance from werewolf blood?
-Exactly…
-Well, come over here and beat some blood out of me, if you can.
-You really think you can beat me; you should run you fool; you'd live longer that way. Not much longer, but longer still…
-I'll have you know I'm a follower of weasel, we don't back down. I also happen to be a bone gnawer, most wyrmspawn find killing the likes of me…difficult at best.
The abomination let out a guttural laugh.
-A son of rat really, geez! Please don't hurt me I'm scared! With that "come get some" attitude I actually though you were a fenris or a wendigo, but I see you must just be a loud mouthed new moon that just hides behind his packmates when he's done taunting.
-It's true my tribes are underdogs to say the least, but it makes it easier to surprise our foes with little tricks like…THIS!
Alley-Fang activated a gift though to him by a trash spirit on the abomination by pointing his finger at him. The monster stepped back, but seeing not obvious effect, started to walk toward Alley-Fang.
-What was that suppose to do, humiliate yourself to death so you don't suffer?
-nope, it's a little gift called "trash magnet".
-Thrash ma…
Too late, every misplaced and/or broken object flew toward the monster, table remains, corpses, glass shards and a couple of the silver scalpel Aaron had spotted when they were both circling the room.
The abomination let out a howl of agony has the silver instruments were attracted to him, blade first in chest.
Alley-Fang seized the moment to drive his claws though the monstrous creature's throat. The abomination was faster however and in its dying wail, it bitted Alley-Fang's arm as hard as he could. Aaron distinctly heard one of his bone snap under the jaw's pressure and felt a little of his blood absorbed before the abomination fell to the ground.
He fell to one knee, his arm had been mangled and, not that he was surprise, it wasn't regenerating. Worse yet, the abomination was still moving under the rubbles brought upon him by the trash magnet.
Sarah came up to him, hesitating to get anywhere close, much like a kinfolk unsure if the Crinos before him is in frenzy or not. (Strange, she's not affected by the delirium). He shifted back to his breed form to reassure her.
"Are you…"she began but Aaron cut her.
-Burn it.
-What?
-The other werewolf, burn it of he's gonna stand back up in a matter of minutes.
Sarah went to a locker in the corner, got a gallon of chemicals, poured it over the abomination and searched her pockets. She got a lighter out and a pack of smokes fell to the ground. They were Circinus Brand, the world leader in the smoke industry and Alley-Fang had never seen one of these without the Wyrm's taint on it.
The lighter fell and lit whatever Sarah had poured over the monster. Both her and Alley-Fang stepped back has the abomination lit in a blazing bonfire before falling to dust in one final, hateful howl.
"What was that thing?"
-Have you started to believe in magic? Alley-Fang was proud to be able to keep is carefree tone even when he was crippled, scorched and naked next to a girl who believed him some sort of mutant freak.
-After what I just saw…I guest I can keep my mind open. She said that as she tried to wrap a bandage around Alley-Fang's arm.
-Glad to hear it, this might put our conversations through an all knew perspective.
-Our conversation, you don't intend to run away from here now that you're free and that I'm the only thing standing between you and your stuff? Indeed, Aaron's clothes and fetish were just next to her in the plastic bag.
-Well two things are gonna keep me here, your enjoyable company…
-Oh…she blushed.
-And those armed guards over there.
There were indeed about twenty armed men at the room entrance aiming their guns at the werewolf.
Sarah stood up: "STOP! That GLS is a test subject, don't shoot."
-I'm still a test subject?
-Be quiet… she whispered him.
-Are you certain doctor Hapkin? The soldiers asked.
-Yes, GLS-1H-24 is not a threat, he his wounded, get a medic down here and then escort him to holding area 4.
-Holding area?
-Sorry, she whispered, it's that or a volley of silver bullets…
The soldiers gathered around him, one of them made a safe bandage around his arm. Then all twenty of them escorted him to holding area 4. Alley-Fang cooperated; he wasn't willing to kill twenty morons just because they were following orders from someone who really meant him no harm. Well, the silver bullets did play in their favours too…
This cell was better than the last one; at least he had space to move! Five whole cube meters! Later on, the brought him his clothes and a plate of food. He got dressed and looked at the plate. Some sort of ill tasting grey paste. "My shoes would probably taste better if I used the cooking gift on them…"
Meanwhile, in another room, Sarah was talking to another scientist.
"You set one GLS free to defend you from another?"
-Yeah, it's not like I had a choice…
-What if GLS-1H-24 had decided to kill you before joining his friend in wrecking the complex?
-They were not friends, and Aaron wouldn't do that!
-Aaron? You're calling GLS by name now?
-Well it's shorter. Anyway, you can't have him killed, no other werewolf ever showed so much hope in term of communication, we could learn a lot from him.
-What do sick people know about their sickness? And when did you start calling them werewolves?
-Father pleases; you had me hired so I could try a psychological approach on the captured GLS and against all odds, it worked. I'm sure GLS-1H-24 will open up to me a lot more if you give me more time.
The aged man closed his eyes and though long on this before saying: "Fine, I'm putting you in charge of the GLS-1H-24 file; so long has you don't let him out of his cell without notifying me."
-Thanks dad!
-Sarah I told you, between these walls, its professor Hapkin.
-Well, thanks anyway. She got out of the room smiling.
Alley-Fang was safe, for now. She had in mind a thousand questions to ask him, about the other werewolf about the conversation he seemed to have in growling with him, about the flying objects, the fact that it had literally risen from the dead…
She wasn't sure she would like, or believe all his answers, but she had to ask. She never believed in magic, but after today's events, she needed explanation, any explanation to what she had seen, and science could not provide that.
She lit a cigarette on her way to Aaron's cell. She had to stop smoking, but right now, the stress was just overpowering her will.
Back in his cell, Alley-Fang was thinking of a way to escape. In other circumstances, he would have sough by all mean to speak with Sarah a little more, there was just something about her that appealed to him.
But he had a pack and a sept counting on him, he had to get out of this lab, one way or another.
That's chapter two, note that when I said "more fighting" I took in consideration that there was no fighting in the first one, sorry for violence addicted readers I might have deceived.
Thanks to my good friend FF demon-angel for overcoming her limited English proficiency in order to encourage me and for helping fleshing out Alley-Fang's personality by roughing him up as Sarika in our "werewolf, the apocalypse" game.
Thanks also to LadySmith for her helpful review, although I'm not exactly sure what you meant by tell over show…well, hope I corrected that, if not, feel free to rub my nose in it. Hope you enjoy this one as much as the first.
Stay tuned for chapter three folks!
