Blood and Beasts

Chapter 12

Mitchel Crawford had been an army brat his whole life, like his dad before him. Of course Mitchel had made it back alive. He'd ended his career with five years in the Special Forces before a bullet had gone through his lower back. It had been less than an inch from his spine, almost leaving him crippled. He had been very lucky, but even still it tore through his stomach and his guts badly, and effectively ended his time over seas.

Mitchel had been paid well over his military career, but the costs of life added up. When his mom had been dying of cancer that had hit them all the hardest. But there were always more expenses with the kids (he had three), and money to the ex was a constant strain. When the right offer was made to Mitchel to do a bit of off-the-books work for substantial pay, it didn't take much convincing beyond that. He understood right from the beginning what the Imperial Cult was. He understood the job they were offering would involve killing, and kidnapping, and sometimes those people would be innocent. But the treatments they offered saved his mom's life. And the money was sending his kids to the best private schools. He understood that the Imperial Cult was working towards a cleansing, that times of death and war were ahead. He understood war, he understood the necessity of it, to break down the chaos and create order in the aftermath. He knew the work they were doing was dark, but if it secured a world on the other side where him and his loved ones could lives like kings on earth; a new Eden, damn right he was going to take it.

They'd been on the trail of this werewolf for a few days now. It was far from the first they'd captured for the Imperial Cult. There were now cages full at the Sanctum because of their work. Most were pathetic, mangy things, which Abraham had deemed unworthy. Mitchel didn't exactly know what a worthy werewolf would be, but he figured he'd know it when they saw it.

He thought the one they were after now had potential. It had done a better job of eluding them than all the others, and based on the tracks and markings they'd found (plus the shit), it was a big one. But it had gotten sloppy today. They were following a thin trail of blood through the trees. They had picked up on it at the body of a large male deer, ripped to pieces, heart gone. There had been some blood on the antlers, and then the drops of blood leading away from the body. It seemed the werewolf had been injured in the tussle with the deer, probably no more than a scratch, but enough to lead them back to its den perhaps.

They moved cautiously and silently through the trees, the other four with him were all military trained as well. Mitchel halted them as some twigs snapped up ahead. More snaps. Something was walking up there. Mitchel signalled for them to fan out. He took the left with Chase close behind. Trenton and Foster did the same on the right. Norris stayed the course along the middle.

Mitchel saw the fur through the trees and knew it wasn't the wolf, just another deer. Still they moved forward, keeping their guards up; the wolf could still be close by. A few steps more and Mitchel had a better view of the deer. It was limping. Blood was running down its hind leg from a claw mark on its rump. Mitchel understood what was happening even before he heard Norris stumble: the wolf had set a trap for them.

He looked around when he heard the thump, and saw Norris stumble forward onto his knees. Then he fell face first into the forest soil, the back of his neck split open, spine and all.

The next attack happened fast, just as Norris settled in the dirt. Mitchel saw a dark flash to his left and saw the blur of the beast as it pounced into Trenton. There was a quick scream from Trenton mixed in with the crunching impact, and then his body was being dragged into the trees with the wolf.

"Fire!" Mitchel called, though the other two were already in motion to shoot. The tranq darts from their rifles stuck into the trees as the wolf ran behind them. It had been visible for only a moment before it took cover in the thick trees once more.