Acteon Syndicate

Chapter 10: Mission One

Allis stepped out of the weak shower and stared at her clothes, the same clothes she'd been wearing for three days.
“Good morning.”
“Daniel? What are you doing in here?” She tightened her grip around her towel.
“Don't worry, I'm not here to spy. Though I must admit, I am a bit curious. Annalee left to train some in the tunnel. She asked me to give this to you.” He handed her a bag filled with clothes and several other necessities.
Allis refused to let go of her towel with either hand so Daniel tossed the bag on the bed. “See you in the field, Allis.”
When he was gone, she quickly changed into a pair of jeans and a simple shirt and threw on her gray sweatshirt. There was a knock and Allis threw open the door, expecting Daniel.
“Hey, your first real mission.” Rand said. “I thought I'd give you a few pointers.”
“Thanks.” Allis said and let him in.
“Blood howlers are fast, and they're slippery suckers. They bite and they scratch. The scratch is nothing to worry about, but if it bites you, it's laced with a toxin. Nothing too bad, but it hurts like hell for a few days. You'll need this.” He handed her a pistol.
“I have one.” She said. “Annalee gave one to me.”
“This one has a pointer, believe it or not, but they're attracted to the light.”
“Well, thank you, Rand.”
“Here's your earpiece so you can hear me, and remember your ring so I can hear you. I can project maps onto the lenses of Annalee's glasses, so follow her. And one more thing: be careful.”
“I promise. We’ll be back before you know it.”
“All ready?” Annalee poked her head through the door.
“Sure thing. Thanks again, Rand.”

“Now, the Blood Howlers are in a cafeteria on the third floor. School is out for the holiday weekend, but there is a janitor and a teacher left over.” Aristotle explained to the Acteon Syndicate. “Fastest way is to separate into two, Uli and Inise go right, Diomedes go left. Climb the stairs.”
“Copy that, Aristotle.” Uli said. “You heard him, Syndicate. Inise, follow me.”
Inise nodded and did as told. Diomedes moved side to side, watching for Blood Howlers as he climbed the stairs. When they reached the third floor on opposite ends of the cafeteria, two wolf-like creatures growled at the teacher and janitor as they cowered in a corner. The Blood Howlers were white with blood dripping from between their ears and running, as if their veins were on the outside of their bodies, to their four paws. Their fangs dripped with a green slime.
Diomedes aimed his gun as Uli did. The teacher suddenly ran towards Diomedes, blocking his shot as Uli fired. One Blood Howler fell as the other howled. The dead howler split into two living Blood Howlers.
“Move!” Uli yelled. Diomedes pushed the humans through a door and locked it. Inise used her gun to distract two of the howlers. She fired and hit one. With a howl, it separated into two more.
“Shit!” Uli yelled. “Now we've got four!”
“Uli, try to take two of them out with one shot. Diomedes, Inise, get the others.”
“Got it, Aristotle.” Diomedes said.
“Inise, distract them!” Uli ordered.
Inise used her gun once again to distract them. This time, only one took the bait. Another charged at Inise. The howler was so focused on Inise, it didn't notice as Uli and Diomedes killed the other three. Inise tried, and failed to shoot the creature, it wasn't until it latched it's jaws into her leg that she was able to kill it.
“Inise!” Diomedes caught her as she fell.
“Go, get her help, I can handle the memory erasure.” Uli instructed.
Diomedes carried Inise out of the school as her eyes closed. “Aristotle, I need help. Inise was bitten.”
“I'll prepare the heli to Ground Zero.” Aristotle replied. “Once you're on, listen to my instructions carefully.”

Annalee joined Daniel just before the helicopter took flight. Daniel was talking to Rand on a screen in the back.
“Now that she's stabilised, you'll need to inject the antidote. Annalee should have some in her bag.”
Annalee passed Daniel the syringe.
“When it's in her system, Allis will seize, she will be in a lot of pain. You can't stop until the syringe is empty. If she doesn't get the antidote, Allis will die.”
Daniel carefully pushed the needle into Allis’s skin. Annalee held her hand as Allis remained unconscious. The blue liquid slipped into her bloodstream. Daniel removed the needle and, almost immediately, Allis began to seize, shaking up and down. When she stopped, she woke up, screaming. “Ah, shit, it hurts. It hurts, Ann, Daniel.” She cried, “Make it stop, make it stop!”
“Lissi, it's okay, it's okay, Lissi.” Annalee hugged Allis close as she cried. “You're okay.”
“It hurts.” Allis winced and reached for her leg.
“Stop!” Rand yelled. “We're not done yet. You need to clean the wound. It'll hurt, but you have to let them do it, Allis. Otherwise, it could become infected.”
Annalee looked at Daniel, then at Allis, and reached for peroxide.