Blood and Beasts

Chapter 58

As they drew closer to the chanting masses, the werewolves running beside her picked up speed. The first to enter the chamber dove into the cultists with vicious glee. Cara followed close behind as her pack of wolves began tearing limbs, causing panic to erupt among the nearby Satan-worshipers.

Cara glanced around the daunting chamber, observing the state of their plan. There were far more than they had accounted for; they would have needed an army to take this whole place out. She saw that a valiant effort had been made, as one of the pillars was cracked to pieces near the base. But she saw grimly that the ancient pillar was reinforced at its core with a thick column of metal. It must have cost a fortune to make in such a way centuries ago, and Cara saw that caving the roof in was going to be impossible.

As she glanced around, intermingled with the black hooded cultists she saw other people walking through the crowd. She knew instantly from the feeling in her gut, learned over years, that these were spirits. Hundreds of them, all walking aimlessly, naked and terrified, throats slit. There were so many of them. Cara had never seen such a field of lost souls, and her heart ached at the sight. She imagined that this is what a war-zone would look like. But of course this was a war. One fought in secret, but a war nonetheless. Perhaps the most important one ever waged.

Following the trail set by the wolves, who were eager to kill as many as they could, Cara wove her way further into the room, urging the werewolves toward the centre. The cultists were pushing past one another, fighting to get out of the wolves' path, as they saw their Brothers screaming in terror before their throats were ripped out. Some tried to fight against the wolves, wielding daggers. One of the wolves fell, as a dagger sliced deep, but another tore off the arm that did the deed.

Cara looked ahead to the middle of the room, seeing the cultists gathered there, and the pool of blood. Her mind shot to that night, the kiddie pool filled with blood. It terrified her.  And yet, it called her.  She could smell it, the scent of every soul that she could see wandering aimless through the room. She longed for it...

Stop!

Cara tried to pull her mind back into clarity. These unnatural urges were threatening to overwhelm her, but she had to focus. She had to act. 

Up ahead she saw Daniel, a powerful werewolf, bound and helpless. There were guards near the centre, groups of them now making their way through the crowd toward the chaos. Towards her.

She split from the werewolves, running off to the side with the fleeing cultists. They had done their part well. Following the tide of these frightened people, she pushed her way closer to the pool. Glancing through the now thinner crowd, she saw the man she knew as Abraham at the very heart, peeling the flesh off the leg of some poor person, who lay motionless in a bloody heap on the ground. Abraham tossed the piece into the blood, which Cara saw was spinning rapidly now. Around the pool was the greatest grouping of lost spirits. They sat by the bloody pool's edge, arms wrapped around their knees, sobbing. Some screamed out, watching the blood pour from their slit throats, their cries of agony almost drowning out the chanting. Cara had to look past these souls, had to stay focused if she hoped to save anyone.

If the entire place couldn't be brought down, then her best hope was to cut the head off the snake. She thought there was a chance if Abraham was dead, then that would end the ritual. How she wished Daniel were free, but for the first time she wanted the wolf to be free as well. That beast would have rained terror down upon them.

And Cara thought she might have a way to accomplish both.

She pulled the explosives out of her pocket, moving inward to the centre. The guards forming a protective ring were sharp though, and as she moved closer, eyes locked onto her. They began to shoot toward her, no care for the members of their cult that stood in the way. She drew her gun and shot back, hitting one guard in the chest. Others were closing in and she wasn't close enough yet. She fired again, another guard went down. But there was another that broke through the crowd, pistol raised to her head, she wasn't fast enough. It was over.

With a satisfying crunch, the guard was barrelled to the side as one of the larger werewolves came leaping through the swarm of bodies. The wolf tore at the man's throat as he gargled his last scream. The rest of the guards focused their shots on the wolf. Shots rang out in rapid succession and the creature fell in a bloody heap, but Cara had a clear line of sight.

She clicked the timer on the explosives and pushed her way forward, breaking through the ring of guards. She threw the bomb with all her might toward Daniel and Abraham, who was now approaching him, knife drawn.

The guards tackled her to the ground, her gun was knocked free, and she saw only a handful of feet away to her right, Bethany and Andie watching, hearts in their throats. Cara looked up and waited for the explosion.