Those squirrels, that are dead pt3
Merrick leapt over a small ditch and as soon as his feet hit the ground he threw himself sideways, landing behind a large tree and flattening himself against it's trunk. He had been running for almost an hour, and when he wanted to not get caught he was quite good at it, but the two werewolves were relentless. He seemed to have lost one of them but the other was still hot on his heels. And right on cue the larger of the two werewolves leapt the ditch and landed mere metres away from where Merrick was crouched. The beast looked around but Merrick was well hidden and it was very dark, the moon offering no light at all. Merrick's eyes had taken on a cat like quality and were almost all pupil, he could see almost perfectly in the pitch darkness, the werewolf however could not. It had other sense however and was fully capable of using them. It sniffed the air and then growled loudly, it knew he was close, it just couldn't see him. Yet. Merrick, deciding he was fed up of hiding and seeing there was now only one, the other obviously having given up a while back, dove out from behind the tree. He grabbed the beast around it's immense neck and pushed it backwards, punching it repeatedly on the jaw. It was however having none of this and caught Merrick with a vicious upper cut that sent him back against the tree. He rolled away again, just in time as the tree trunk was torn apart by the werewolf's claws where Merrick's head was moments before. Merrick jumped to his feet from the roll and squared up to the beast and the circled each other, Merrick's eyes had taken on a deep red glow to them and shone like points of fire in the darkness. The beast lunged at him but Merrick had figured it out now, it was as strong as a rhinoceros, and about as graceful. He spun expertly out of it's way and it blundered into a tree, Merrick was on it in less that a moment, driving his elbow down on the back of it's neck. He felt the creature falter beneath him and brought his elbow down again and it fell to it's knees. Already the creature's muscles tensed as it started to recover and Merrick realised that without weapons there wasn't much he could do. He drove his elbow a third time down on it's neck then placed his foot on it's back and brought his other foot up to push it's head hard into the tree, he also used this momentum to launch himself away from the creature and back into the dense forest, he leapt back over the ditch and started running back towards the house as the creature started howling with rage behind him somewhere.
Ten minutes later Merrick was crouched down at the edge of the forest looking across the large garden at the house, giving the area a quick scan and feeling satisfied there was no one about he headed towards the house. The lack of any movement coming from the house unnerved him, the other's knew nothing of Tena's betrayal and he had wasted a lot of time trying to lose the two werewolves that had attacked him and anything could have happened.
He got to the back door and tried the handle. It was locked. He decided to try the front door and made his way cautiously around the house, suddenly very aware of how many blind corners the house had and how weapon-less he was. Upon reaching the front door he was met with a chilling sight. There was a bloodstain on the door itself and just above that there was a jagged, splintered hole. Merrick stepped over the threshold and saw an axe on the floor, he recognised it as one of the ones they had brought with them from Morgan's house. He picked it up and made his way to the kitchen. The door from the small hallway to the kitchen was splintered and hanging off it's hinges and the fridge was lying broken on the floor. Merrick's jaw tightened and he tested the axe in his hands; it was quite light, designed to be wielded in one hand. He made his way cautiously through the small kitchen and into the living room, which looked untouched. He next went into the dining room, which also looked untouched, the only thing that seemed different was that a few of the weapons were missing. Merrick walked around the table and headed for the door leading from the dining room to the stairs when a large black shape crashed through the window and flew straight into him.
xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
The last twenty or so minutes had been, without a doubt the worst twenty or so minutes of Tara's life. Morgan, Tara and Tai had run into the kitchen and pausing for only a second to grab a few weapons, more to make them feel safer than to put them to any use, they then ran straight upstairs. Almost as soon as they were upstairs they heard an almighty crash which could only have been the fridge being unceremoniously removed from it's blocking of the door. At the sound Tai stopped running and held his sword out.
"Go to the farthest room, try and get out of the window and get Merrick, I'll try and buy you some time."
"They'll kill you, you didn't last thirty seconds last time." Morgan took hold of Tai's arm
"I'll be fine, this time I know what I'm up against. Get Tara out of here." Tai gave Morgan a shove and she staggered back. "GO!"
Morgan's shoulders slumped in defeat and she grabbed Tara's arm and they ran down the corridor, leaving Tai standing at the top of the stairs. He squared his stance and stood ready as the dining room door burst open.
Morgan and Tara heard the door burst open but they couldn't see what was happening because they'd rounded a corner. Morgan took a step forward, intending to go to Tai's aid, but Tara grabbed her shoulder and dragged her into one of the bed rooms and slammed the door shut.
The werewolf that came up the stairs at Tai was the very same one who took him out earlier, but this time Tai was ready. Though all that meant was he lasted a few seconds longer. He swung his sword in a wide cutting blow, intending to decapitate his opponent, but the wolf stopped running and the attack fell short. With Tai off balance it charged anew, and caught him with a vicious blow to his gut which was the end of the fight. The werewolf picked up the barely conscious Tai and pinned him against the wall, bringing it's jaws right next to his face.
"Don't kill him," Tena strolled coolly up the stairs and at her command the werewolf dropped Tai and turned to face her. "Find the girls, I'm going to see what happened to Merrick."
The wolf began stalking down the corridor, pausing at every door to sniff the air. Tena meanwhile went back down the stairs and into the dining room, and after a quick glance around she went out into the garden. As she walked into the garden a werewolf walked out of the trees and towards the house. On seeing Tena the werewolf reverted to her human form, which was a short girl with unruly orange hair. Tena saw the girl and quickened her pace.
"What happened? Where's Merrick?"
"I'm sorry. I don't know. I lost him, but I think Ferinus is still chasing him."
"You lost him?! I give you one job to do, just one!"
"Tenebrous I'm sorry." The girl cowered away from Tena's building rage, but she wasn't quick enough and Tena struck her on her cheek and the the girl stumbled with the force of the blow.
"Find him." Ordered Tena, the shadow of the wolf crossing her face, and the girl nodded and hurried off towards the trees. Tena sniffed with annoyance and walked around the house, her brows knotted in thought.
Upstairs, meanwhile, Morgan and Tara were huddled in the bedroom listening to the werewolf bursting open other doors searching for them. Tara, trembling, cast a spell at the door and slumped on the floor, drained.
"No," Morgan saw Tara slump and helped her to her feet "what did you do?"
"Shield charm." came the breathless response from the blonde "But it won't hold him for long, I don't have the power. . . "
There came a crash and the door shook on it's hinges but did not break, and as the door shook Tara shuddered in Morgan's arms, and would have fallen again if the other girl hadn't been holding her up. Morgan turned from the door, which was still under continuous assault from the determined werewolf, and looked Tara in the eyes for the first time all night.
"This is it, then?" She asked.
"Looks like it." Responded Tara, before being overcome by another violent shudder, this time almost blacking out, and the door splintered as the shield all but failed. She realised that they were about to die, and lifted her head so that her face was inches from Morgan's and the musician, sensing what was coming, opened her mouth to protest, but the words never made it out because Tara's mouth was there and they were kissing; kissing as though this was the last kiss they would ever have, nothing mattered, the crashing of the door fell into the background and Morgan deepened the kiss as Tara reached up and grabbed a handful of her hair. Then, with an unfathomable force of will, Morgan broke the kiss with a breathless and barely uttered 'no'. At the very same time the shield charm on the door broke, almost as though the kiss was what was keeping it up, and the door crashed open. The dark shape of the towering werewolf walked through the door, sensing it's prey had nowhere to go, no way to fight. But he was wrong. Just like they did earlier, Tara's eyes turned that deep purple, and Morgan was forced to take a step back as raw power fell off her in waves. The werewolf took a step forward but Tara screamed and there was a burst of light and the wolf was sent hurtling out of the room with a yelp like a dog that had just been struck, the door then re-formed itself and took up it's post guarding the entrance to the room once more. This all only lasted a couple of seconds, and once the door was back up and a shield around it so powerful it was visible to the naked eye, Tara collapsed in a heap on the floor.
Morgan knelt beside her, a look of worry on her face, and felt for a pulse. When she was satisfied that Tara was still alive, and they were safe for the moment, she let herself breath, and looked around the room they were in. It appeared to be a bedroom that doubled as a study, with a large bed on one wall, and a large desk on the other, with a large window between them. As she scanned the room something on the desk glinted in the moonlight and she walked towards it. What caught her eye turned out to be a very small stiletto that looked like it was being used as a letter opener. She picked it up and examined it closely, and her heart skipped a beat as she saw the small '925' mark on the handle. It was silver. She grinned. Now they had a weapon they could use. Suddenly a crash from below told her someone or something had just crashed through the dining room window and the sounds of a fierce scuffle drifted up to her.
xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
The dark shape that had crashed through the window into Merrick turned out to be the same massive werewolf that had pursued him so doggedly through the forest, and as in the forest the fierce fight that ensued turned into a stalemate, the werewolf being stronger than Merrick, but Merrick being faster, and more skilled. Merrick avoided most of it's attacks, but none of his counter attacks seemed to cause any real damage. He was getting frustrated. He didn't have time for this, he needed to find the others.
xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
Morgan jumped as the persistent wolf at their door resumed it's attacks, though to no avail, the shield that Tara had cast before passing out was holding well. Unfortunately this is not what Morgan wanted right now. She ran over to Tara, who was beginning to stir, and shook her. Tara stirred awake and instantly regretted it, she ached from head to foot, and rolled over to try and go back to the comforting darkness.
"No, come on. . . You can sleep later. . . Please. . . "
Tara heard the soft voice, laced with panic, and images of a blurry faced red-head floated in the fore-front of her hind-brain, but before she could get a grasp on it she was shaken awake and stared up at into Morgan's face.
"W-w-what-?"
"No time, I just need you to bring down that shield, and distract it when it gets in. I'm sorry that this has to be like this, but we don't have much time."
Tara nodded and looked at the shield that she couldn't remember casting, that she didn't even know she had the power to cast. . . She was never the powerful one, it was always. . . and the thought was gone again, and the shield broke, shattering, visibly, like glass. The door shattered again, this time it wasn't coming back and the werewolf ran into the room taking no chances this time. It went straight for Tara, and Morgan dove out of it's way. It pinned her against the wall and brought it's jaws down to her face. Morgan made her move. She leapt at it, the stiletto held above her head, pointing down from her closed fist, swinging it downwards and as she landed on the wolf, she buried the short dagger to the hilt in it's neck and it howled in pain and dropped to it's knees. The howl turned slowly into a human cry of pain and anguish and eventually what was left was a tall man with unruly, sand coloured hair, lying naked and face down at Tara's feet, blood flowing steadily from a smoking wound where his neck met his shoulder, the handle of a silver letter opener protruding from the wound.
Tara looked down at the body at her feet and let out a pitiful whimper, she sunk slowly to her knees, unable to take her eyes from the bleeding corpse that was a minute ago a towering werewolf that was intent on a murder most foul. Morgan was trying to tell her something, she knew that, she could hear her voice, but she couldn't make out any words.
Morgan looked down at Tara and, realising time was running out, decided the best course of action was to leave her for now and go see who was fighting downstairs. She pulled the stiletto out of the body with a sickening squelch and a small spurt of blood followed it out, adding to the spreading stain on the carpet. She ran out of the door, past Tai and down the stair to the door to the dining room.
Merrick was fighting his immovable opponent, he ducked under another poorly aimed blow an caught it in the back with a jumping spin kick, but the kick barely caused any damage and the wolf spun and tried to catch Merrick with a backhand, which dodged again. Suddenly the door opened and someone called his name and Merrick turned in time to see a knife flying towards him. He caught but the moment's lapse meant the werewolf grabbed him and pinned him against the wall, but Merrick managed to twist in it's arms and thrust the small knife straight into the front of it's neck, causing it to gargle horribly. It fell to it's knees and just like the other wolf, turned back into human form and slumped sideways. Dead.
Merrick knelt down and pulled out the stiletto and examining it, he then turned to Morgan.
"Silver. Where'd you find it?"
"On a desk upstairs." She panted.
Merrick opened his mouth to say something when the sound of smashing glass came from upstairs.
"Tara!" Shouted Morgan, and ran for the stairs, but Merrick grabbed her arm.
"Wait. We don't know what to expect up there. I'll go first."
And do he did, leading the way slowly up the stairs. They came to the top of the stairs and saw Tara coming out of the bedroom she was in, being held up by Tena and Merrick, in no more than a split second, had slipped the stiletto up his sleeve.
"Merrick. I must say, far more trouble than I expected you to be." She said coldly, her grip on Tara's throat tightening.
"Why did you bring us here Tenebrous?" He asked.
"What do you mean?"
"Tena, you went to Morgan and reported the attacks in the first place. I'd have never turned up here if you hadn't mentioned it."
"Ah. Well. I was hired. My skills are quite legendary you know."
Merrick frowned thoughtfully. He had many enemies. He'd have to look into it.
"What are you? I've never heard of werewolves that can transform at any time, not to mention ones that look like yours."
"So many questions. Well I suppose you are about to die. My kin and I are third generation werewolves. We were born with the wolf inside us. We have mastered our transformations, and had the strength of the wolf even when not transformed."
"Very interesting. . . " Merrick saw her tense and knew something was about to happen. What he didn't expect to happen however, was for her to drop Tara and lunge at him, he was ready for her this time; he knew just how fast she was. He twisted away from her attack and kicked her into the opposite wall, slipping the stiletto out at the same time and he threw it, straight into her chest. She screamed and fell to her knees, then forward on to her knees. Merrick walked up to her and tucked his foot under her, flipping her onto her back. She stared up at him, defiant, smoke coming from the wound in her chest. Merrick knelt next to her and she spoke, in a choked voice:
"So tell me, what's Merrick short for anyway?"
Merrick smiled, and bent down so his mouth was right next to her ear and whispered something and for the first time in her long life Tenebrous looked and felt afraid. Merrick pulled the knife from her chest and slammed it down in the middle of her forehead and she lay there, her blank eyes staring at the ceiling, the last and only look of fear or her life frozen on her face. Slowly Merrick got to his feet and turned to Morgan and Tara.
"Help Tai up. Burn the house. Let's get out of here."
xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
Cardiff Airport.
2 days later.
Still bearing the bruises of their encounter, the group trooped solemnly to their departure gate, Morgan and Tara hanging back slightly, Merrick and Tai ahead. Tai looked back at the girls but Merrick gave him a slight nudge and the two kept walking, leaving the girls behind. Tara turned to face Morgan.
"I'll miss you." She said.
For a moment Morgan looked like there was something stuck in her throat, a moment that felt like a lifetime to both women.
"I. . . I know." Was all Morgan managed. Tara looked like she was going to say something else but Morgan interrupted her "no. Just go. And don't look back." And she gave Tara a small push.
"Go."
Tara looked down and, realising she was beaten looked at Morgan one last time, then turned and walked away. Morgan stood there, watching her back, watching the blonde hair sway hypnotically from side to side as she walked. She knew she'd never see her again. She sighed. She left.