Werewolf Chronicles Chapter 10

Werewolf Chronicles

Chapter 10

         “Fuck,” James swore.  He was sitting against the clinic’s outer wall near the entrance, staring up at the sky above him.  Coughing hard, blood sprayed up out of his muzzle and fell back down onto his fur, racking his chest with sharp spikes of pain.  Blood was leaking out of his body from where numerous silver rods had drilled through his muscles and stuck him into the pavement and wall.  James could feel the warm blood soaking out of his body and mixing with the cold snow, already starting to freeze onto the pavement in a pink mess.
         The only part of his body that he could move was his head, everything else was either pinned against the ground or he couldn’t feel anymore.  At his feet was a group of hunter vehicles; most of them were either engulfed in flames or otherwise severely damaged.  The shattered remains of the clinic had fallen on the ground around them and flames were melting the remaining windows.  At the end of the street was the compound’s gate, its massive doors had been tossed inward; more smoke and flames could be seen easily over the walls.  He groaned, this time it was more of a whine and he coughed another mouthful of blood over his face.
         “I bet that burns, huh?” Lisa asked, leaning over and looking down at him.
- - - -
         Three Days Earlier

         “So what is it?” James asked.  Rachel, Vivian, Elisa and himself were in the compound’s small parking lot, all staring at Lisa’s modified truck and Jake.
         The young werewolf ducked under the truck, poking around with his hand and pulling out a small box.  Wires were running out of the box in a mess, along with a small antenna.  “I found this last night,” Jake reported.
         “Well, what the hell is it?” James asked shortly.
         Elisa smacked the back of his head.  “Give him a break babe.”
         “Sorry man,” James grunted in response.  “So . . . what is it?”
         Jake smiled excitedly.  “It’s a bomb detonator.”
         “A what?” Elisa asked, not wanting to believe what the young man had just said.
         “It’s a detonator, the entire truck is wired with enough C-4 to level this entire parking lot,” he reported happily.
         “Oh shit . . .” Elisa mumbled, turning away from the hunter’s truck.  “It’s Lisa’s attack plan, and we brought it inside.”
         James leaned close to her, speaking into her ear.  “What do you mean?”
         “Her plan was to get explosives inside the compound and detonate them, make a distraction, you know?”
         “How long do you think we have?”
         “I don’t know.”
         James swore.  “I need to know Elisa.  Damn it!”
         “I don’t fucking know!” she yelled back.  “She didn’t exactly share her plans with me James.”
         “How the fuck do I know!?” James yelled at her.  “It’s not like I was fucking there!”
         “If you hadn’t just given up on me, maybe I wouldn’t have been stuck there as long,” tears were running down her face now as she yelled.
         “Fuck, how was I supposed to know?  I watched you get blown up damn it!”
         “You want me to do something about it?  Fine, I will,” she yelled, turning around and storming away.
         “God damn it,” he swore, slamming his fist into a nearby car window, starting after his wife.
         Vivian put one hand on his shoulder, stopping him.  “Leave her alone, don’t keep fighting with her.  You need to calm down.”
         “Why?” James snapped, turning towards her.  “There’s a damn bomb sitting over there, and apparently it means Lisa is going to attack!”
         “How is getting angry going to help?”
         James only grunted at her, sighing and leaning back on the vehicle.
         “Calm down and give her some time, starting a fight with your wife won’t help any.”
         “Yeah . . .”
- - - -
         “I’ll show him,” Elisa mumbled, stuffing weapons into a large duffel bag.  She slipped a sawed off shotgun into a holster across her back, and a pair of Glock 18 machine pistols into the small of her back.  Zipping the bag shut, she tossed a jacket over her weapons and hefted the bag onto her shoulder and stormed out of the lodge.
         Katalyn was entering the lodge’s lobby, turning to talk to the woman.  “Having marital problems?”
         “Shut the fuck up,” Elisa snapped back, continuing forward.
         The woman smirked at her.  “Oh, that’s so sad, maybe it if gets worse I’ll have a chance at him.”
         “Arrgh,” she screamed, drawing the shotgun and aiming it at Katalyn.
         Katalyn laughed mockingly at the other woman.  “You won’t.”
         “Yeah?”  The shotgun kicked loudly in her hands, the pellets driving into Katalyn’s shoulder in a bright spray of blood.  The impact knocked her backwards, over one of the lobby’s chairs and landing in a crumpled heap.
         Growling, Katalyn stood slowly, the change ripping violently through her body; she was snarling by the time she straightened her back, staring at Elisa.  “You think that just because James is the alpha male, that makes you the top female?”
         “I always have been,” she said, charging the shotgun.  “Want to try me?”
         “I would love to,” Katalyn growled, “but I can wait for my chance, I’m patient.”  She smiled at Elisa.  “Unlike yourself.”
         “Bitch,” she swore, firing.
         Katalyn dove to the side, the shot digging into one of the couches as she rolled into a fighting stance.  Elisa swung her weapon towards the werewolf, charging another shell into the chamber as Katalyn launched herself forward.  The wolfess caught the barrel, pushing it towards the ceiling as Elisa fired again, the pellets tearing into the fan above them, and ripping the blades away.  Katalyn grabbed the shotgun as Elisa tried to chamber another shell, pulling them both down onto the floor; the werewolf pressed her heels against the woman’s chest and wrested the weapon away.  The shotgun clattered across the lobby floor, as Katalyn shot to her feet, growling at Elisa.
         “Now what are you going to do?” Katalyn taunted at the other woman.
         “Kill you,” Elisa spat, slowly standing.
         She snarled at the other woman.  “I doubt that.”
         The werewolf took two large steps up one of the lobby’s chairs, launching herself forward, claws first.  Elisa dropped onto the ground, as Katalyn flew over her; she drew her machine pistols, following the werewolf as they both landed on the ground.  Knowing the shot was wide, she squeezed the triggers anyway; the pistols barked rapidly, bullets screaming across the lobby.  The rounds slammed into the floor and wall after Katalyn, several driving into her thigh and side.  Whimpering, Katalyn rolled behind the stairwell as more rounds drove into the wood behind her.
         “I can do this all day,” Katalyn taunted, wiping blood out of her white fur, “you don’t have silver.”
         “Come out here and say that bitch,” Elisa shouted back as she retrieved her fallen shotgun.
         “No, I think I’ll let Lisa deal with trash like you when she gets here.”
         “What?”  Icy cold fear raced down her spine as she ran after Katalyn, firing into the staircase as the werewolf’s hiding place came into view, but she was already gone.  “Fuck.”
- - - -
         Elisa walked slowly through the parking lot, rubbing the bruises across her stomach as she scanned the parked vehicles.  She needed a something to drive if she was going to find Lisa, and she didn’t want to ask Rachel of Vivian.  She had thought about telling someone about Katalyn’s comment, but she wasn’t sure anyone except James would believe her.  I’m not telling him.
         Jake was still beneath the hunters’ vehicle, working on it as he chatted to Rachel, who was leaning against the truck’s bed.  Elisa started to duck behind a van, but Rachel had already seen her and was walking across the parking lot.  Swearing, Elisa started towards the other woman; she really didn’t want anyone to question her, but she knew that if she ignored Rachel, she might become suspicious.  They met a few feet away from the truck, still close enough to hear Jake’s muttered curses.
         “I hope James wasn’t too rough with you,” Rachel commented.
         “He pissed me the fuck off!” Elisa snapped.
         “Where are you going?”
         She looked down at her feet, not wanting to answer the woman’s question.
         “Better I don’t know I guess, but you’re safe here.  If you leave, you’ll just be in more danger again.”
         “I don’t really want any advice, I’m going to find Lisa.”
         “She’s not an easy one, it would be . . .”
         The explosion filled their entire world, flames and sound buffeting their bodies as it expanded outward.  The flames engulfed Rachel’s body, throwing her into Elisa and tossing both of them into the side of a van, denting the metal around their bodies.  Elisa’s entire world seemed to be filled with blinding sound and painful fire as the pair slid down the side of the vehicle and crumpled to the ground.  Mangled and torn pieces of the truck rained down on them, bouncing off the windshields and rolling across the ground.  Elisa groaned as another explosion ripped through the parking lot, sending more pieces of debris slamming into them.
         She fell onto her side, groaning as pain rocketed through her brain and pounded against her eyes.  Her vision began to fade as she fought to keep consciousness, but she knew it wouldn’t last long.  Rachel groaned, collapsing onto her and rolling onto the ground, her blank eyes staring into Elisa’s.  “Shit . . .”
- - - -
         James pushed into the clinic, moving at a near run through the lobby and down the hallway.  At the end of the hallway, just outside the small operating room was Elisa, sitting in one of the cheap, plastic benches.  Her clothing was in rags, ripped partly by the explosion and again by the medics as they had rushed to examine her.  Tight bandages had been wrapped around her ribs, while more were across the side of her face and arm.
         He dropped into the chair beside her, wrapping one arm over her shoulders.  “Are you okay?”
         “Little sore, but they gave me some vicodin,” she smirked at her husband.  “I feel pretty good right now.”
         “Good,” he muttered, rubbing her shoulder and pulling her close to him.
         “What happened?”
         James stared down at his feet for a long time, trying to get the words to come out.  “Jake was, uh, working on that damn truck, and he set off the explosives.  Almost half the lot went up with it, it’s still burning right now; most of the pack is trying to put it out.”
         “He’s dead, right?” Elisa asked, glancing at the operating room door.
         “Yeah, and Rachel isn’t doing much better.”
         “James, we need to make that bitch pay for this.  Pay for what she did to us, to all those other werewolves out there she’s been killing.  She needs to fucking die.”
         He grunted in agreement.  “Do you have a plan?”
         “Why don’t we trap her or something?  I know she wants you and Maxwell pretty damn bad.”
         “Yeah . . .”
         “Let her get into town or something and ambush her, right?  I saw all those guns that Maxwell was loading back in Louisiana, they have to have something here.”
         James leaned over, kissing her strongly on her cheek.  “I love you babe, get better and watch out for Rachel okay?  I need to go make a plan.”
         “James I’m not helpless, let me help damn it!” she snapped angrily, grabbing his arm.
         He chewed his lower lip, fighting not to snap back at his wife.  “Are you up for it?”
         “I want that bitch dead babe.”
         “Alright then.”
- - - -
         Elisa let out a low whistle as James and herself walked into the pack’s armory.  The room was at least twenty feet on each side, all of its walls lines with weapon racks or steel shelves, with more running down the center of the room.  There was barely enough space for them to walk between the shelves as James began scanning the weaponry inside.
         “Wow, there’s a lot of guns in here,” Elisa commented, following James through the tight space.
         “M2’s, M4’s, M16’s, 240 bravo’s, SAW’s, my god there’s a lot of shit here,” James muttered, scanning the shelving.  “Military stuff too . . .”
         Elisa grabbed his belt, turning him to face her and pushed him back against one of the racks.  She pressed her body up against his, kissing his neck.  “Turn you on lover?”
         James returned the kiss passionately, pulling her against his chest and wrapping his arms around her.  “Maybe a little, but didn’t think gun oil would do anything for you.”
         Maxwell cleared his throat loudly as he walked into the armory.  “Do you two need some time alone?  I thought you asked me here for a reason.”
         James released Elisa, absently straightening his shirt.  “You’re the one that collected all of this, right?”
         “Does this have to do with Jake’s death, or that fire that’s eating half my compound?” Maxwell asked, tightening his fists and walking towards the other man.
         “Yes, it does,” James had to fight to keep his temper in check, but he kept his eyes locked onto Maxwell’s.  “I think Lisa might attack soon.”
         “And you’re trusting her opinion?” he asked, nodding towards Elisa.  “Why should I trust a hunter?”
         “It wasn’t my choice asshole,” Elisa snapped, “You try surviving with those psychos she has.  You shouldn’t trust Lisa at all, she’s . . .”
         “I won’t talk,” Maxwell interrupted, “not with her here.  If you want my help, it’s you and me James.”
         He looked at his wife, “Please?”
         Elisa started to protest, but stopped.  “You owe me James.”
         “I do,” he mumbled.
         Without saying anything else, she turned and walked out of the armory.
         “Happy now ass?” James asked.
         “Understand something, you can’t trust her.  She was with those hunters for six months, she’s killed other lycanthropes and would have killed you if she had the chance.”
         “She did have the chance,” James snapped, “she stopped and helped me escape.”
         Maxwell mumbled angrily.  “You can’t . . .”
         Swearing, James darted forward, grabbing Maxwell’s shoulders and slamming him against the shelving.  “Look damn it,” he was holding the other man’s feet off the floor, “I don’t give a damn if you don’t trust Elisa, or me for that matter.  But here’s the situation.  Jake’s dead, Rachel is probably dead too and half the pack’s vehicles are destroyed, so we can’t get them out of here.  We’re stuck, period.  If my wife is wrong, nothing happens, we all live happily ever after, but if she’s right then Lisa’s coming here with one hell of a vengeance.  Got it?”
         Maxwell stared numbly at James for a long few seconds, then slowly nodded at the man.  “I understand.”
         “Good,” he said, letting the other man drop back onto his feet.
         “I think I had the wrong impression of you James.”
         “Huh?” he asked absently, checking each weapon in turn as he walked slowly away from the other man.
         “You were a new werewolf, someone I didn’t allow to be turned and you didn’t seem to care at all for the welfare of the pack, but I was wrong.  I thought that you only cared about your wife, that you would have brought more hunters after us.”
         James shrugged, “I did kind of lead Lisa here.”
         “No, she would have found me eventually, you just brought her here faster.”
         “Yeah,” he grunted in response, picking up one of the rifles.  “Why don’t any of these have trigger guards?”
         Maxwell smirked at the man.  “Ever try to fire a pistol with a big werewolf paw?”
         “Good point, what about these?” he asked, holding up a triangular shaped earphone.
         “Made for our wolf ears, I did plan this.  The pack was more important than anything to me.”
         James chewed his lower lip, looking at the man.  “Does that mean you’ll help me defend it?”
         “It’s still my pack James.”
         “Okay. . . do you have a defense plan?”
         “In my house.”
         “Fine, get it and meet me in the lodge,” James said, turning on his heel and marching out of the armory.
         Elisa grabbed his shoulder as he left the building, pulling him into the side alley and pushing him against the wall.  “I don’t like being treated like that James, you know that!  I’m not some dumb wife!”
         “I know, I know,” he said, holding his hands up defensively.  “But I needed him to work with us.”
         She sighed loudly, releasing him.  “It’s frustrating, everyone here treats me like shit ‘cause Lisa made me kill werewolves.  Its bullshit!”
         “They can all go fuck themselves,” James snapped, “C’mon babe, you’re stronger than that.”
         “Yeah,” she admitted, “I can be a real bitch.”
         “That’s what I love about you,” he kissed her quickly, wanting to spend more time there but knowing he couldn’t.  “Tell you what, Maxwell is coming to the lodge, why don’t you come too, help us plan?”
         Elisa pushed him playfully.  “Try to keep me away.”
- - - -
         “Underneath the lodge is a three foot sewer pipe, leading from the basement and coming out around three miles away,” Maxwell said.  A map of the compound was spread out on a large desk in the lobby.  Half drunk cups of coffee, scraps of notepaper and food were scattered around the edges.
         “Is it usable, can someone walk through it?” Elisa asked.
         Maxwell growled lowly at the woman, but stopped when an answering growl erupted form James’ throat.  “We planned to use it as an escape for the pack’s children, elderly and those with pups.”
         “Well, that’s still good then,” James said.  “What are these red X’s on the map?”
         “Explosives,” Maxwell answered, “Most of the compound is armed with explosives and detonators.”  He opened a small locked container; inside was a number pad, attached to an intricate circuit board and a long antenna.
         “Why!?” Elisa demanded, leaning across the table towards him, grabbing for the detonator.
         “To hide our secret,” he answered plainly, putting the device back in its holding place, “We barely survive now, if our existence was known, we would be extinct.”
         “Good enough,” James said, putting a restraining hand on Elisa’s shoulder.  “Anything else?”
         “It takes almost an hour and a half for the state patrols to get to the compound,” Maxwell grunted in reply, staring angrily at Elisa.
         That’s a long time.  “Any ideas?”
         “We find her, and kill them all.  Its cowardice to sit here and wait for her to attack!” the man nearly yelled.
         “Why don’t we trap her?” Elisa suggested.
         Maxwell shot to his feet, growling deeply at Elisa.  “No, that’s . . .”
         “Shut up you dumb mutt,” she yelled in reply, “you’re not in charge anymore.”
         He rushed towards Elisa, reaching out with his hand; James was faster, diving over the table and driving his shoulder into the other man.  The pair rolled across the floor, stopping against another table.  Maxwell started to stand up, but stopped, keeping his head down as James stood up, looking down at him.  “Done now?”
         “For now,” Maxwell conceded.
         James walked back over to the table.  “Do you have a plan babe?”
         She smiled at him, putting her hands on her hips.  “Of course.”
- - - -
         Elisa held her stomach in pain, brushing her teeth and trying to remove the taste of bile off of her tongue.  She was turning to leave as more nausea waved up from her stomach; she twisted around, barely in time for more of her breakfast to launch out of her mouth and splash into the toilet water with a plop.  “Ugh,” she groaned, washing her mouth out with more mouthwash.
         “You okay?” James asked, knocking on the bathroom door.
         “I’m fine,” Elisa answered, pushing the door open.
         James was already in his werewolf form, wearing one of the specialized ear microphones, combat pants and a pump shotgun along his back.  A loose mesh vest was over his bare chest, holding several extra shells and his radio.  “Sure you’re okay?”
         “Yeah, I’m just nervous or something,” she muttered.  “Did you go see Rachel?”
         “No better, no worse,” he replied.  “Her replacement doesn’t think she’ll even wakeup.”
         “He’s an idiot.”  She pulled on her own combat vest, seating her pair of machine pistols and replacing her shotgun.  A throat microphone was nestled uncomfortably on her throat and she was constantly adjusting her earpiece’s position.  “This isn’t comfortable.”
         “You’ll get used to it, besides, we need to know if Lisa shows up.”
         “James, she’s not going to . . .”
         His radio erupted in static as one of the pack’s guards began speaking rapidly.  “She’s here, there’s hunter trucks driving towards the compound.  We need to . . .”
         James keyed his radio.  “No one move, keep your positions, stick to the plan.”
         Elisa smiled at her husband.  “Guess I spoke too soon huh?”
         “Yeah.”
- - - -
         Lisa scanned the compound’s walls with her binoculars, careful to keep her body hidden beneath her camouflaged hiding place.  Michael was lying across the ground beside her, watching the guards with his weapon’s scope.  Digging through her pockets, she retrieved a small, makeshift electronic device, pointing it at the compound’s wall.  “Can you see the truck?”
         “Earlier, near the front gate,” Michael reported without taking his attention away from his scope.  “Do you think we can do this?”
         “The General sent us complete thermal imagery of the compound, we just have to be careful.”
         “Blow the gate, send the armored trucks in first?” Michael asked.
         “Are the reserves in place?” she asked, tucking the device back into her pocket.
         “Waiting to cut off their retreat,” he smiled.
         “Lead with the armor and follow with our gun trucks and assaulters, I want that compound to stay open.”
         Michael nodded, sending out rapid orders over his radio.
         Two bank trucks roared up the narrow compound’s only road, their bodies had been painted a deep black, with matching tint on all the windows.  Behind them were a mismatch of trucks, vans and cars; all of them either had large machine guns mounted in the bed, or were carrying hunters inside.  Rounds tore out of the compound, its guards firing rapidly at the approaching vehicles.  The bullets ricocheted off their armored windows and body, deforming and falling harmlessly to the ground.  Some of the shots were better aimed, slicing through the unarmored trucks behind and tearing into the hunters inside.
         Lisa triggered her detonator, the explosion ripping through the compound’s gate and forcing the heavy doors outward.  A moment later the armored trucks slammed into them, their powerful engines driving the heavy vehicles into the compound.  Rockets followed the trucks inside, the warheads detonating into the guard posts and turning them into clouds of wood splinters and flames.  The armored trucks threw parked vehicles out of the way, their heavy bumpers tossing them onto the sidewalks and into storefronts.  As the hunters’ trucks entered the compound, they began firing into the buildings.  None of them bothered to aim, instead sending heavy rounds into every building front they passed.
         Two, large white garbage trucks burst out of an alley on either side of the main road, their cabins crashing into one another.  The armored truck drivers slammed their brakes, the heavy tires skidding across the pavement as they crashed into the garbage truck barrier.  Several hunter trucks crashed into the armored vehicles before the group realized what had happened and were able to react.  The drivers swerved into the parked cars and other hunter trucks to avoid the sudden barricade in front of them.
         Lisa watched the trap form through her binoculars, hastily grabbing for her radio.  “Shit.”
- - - -
         “Now!” James yelled over one of the compound’s handheld radios, watching the hunters below.
         Werewolves appeared over the top of the damaged buildings, armed with an assortment of heavy machineguns and rocket launchers.  Projectiles rained down on the stopped line of vehicles, tearing into the thin metal cabs and punching through the safety glass.  Rockets slammed into the last few trucks, turning them into bright, burning balls of flames, their wreckage covering the roadway.  The people inside screamed as the ignited fuel coated their bodies and turned their clothing into molten remains, searing their skin.
         James growled as the hunters tried to fight back, several werewolves falling under the returning, silver bullet fire.  The hunters desperately tried to escape the trap, slamming their trucks against the parked cars, pushing their accelerators and trying to drive up onto the sidewalk, but the cars had been placed too close allow an easy escape.  The occupants tried to escape by pushing open their doors and sprinting towards the hope of cover inside the buildings.
         Grinning, James pulled a rewired radio out of his pocket, pressing the talk button.  Claymore mines hidden in the side walk detonated at once, thousands of steel ball bearings peppering the stopped trucks.  The bearings tore through the hunters, panging against the damaged vehicles, and shattering the windows.  The escaping hunters were turned into a red mush and thrown back against the vehicles as the explosions echoed across the compound.  Their companions still inside the vehicles screamed as the metal balls tore into their arms and faces; ripping large chunks out of their skin.
         “Looks like we got them,” Vivian said excitedly over the radio, looking at James across the body strewn road from her rooftop perch.
         Gunshots echoed from the far side of the compound and James swore loudly, keying his radio.  “Anybody, what’s going on?”
         “More hunters, near the lodge,” an unidentified werewolf yelled over the radio, gunshots audible in the background.
         “Oh, fuck me.”
- - - -
         “Secondary teams are moving towards the lodge,” Michael reported.
         “Anyone get out of that cluster fuck down there?” Lisa asked through gritted teeth, watching more gunfire rip down towards the burning vehicles.
         Michael scribbled on a notepad in front of him, “There’s some, but its complete chaos down there right now.  They could use some help.”
         “Okay, I’m sending the backup units to the clinic, let’s keep the pressure on them.  The General said the lodge is where they keep the children and expectant mothers.”
         “Our secondary teams should be there soon.”
         “Good, get the mortars and rockets ready, don’t give them any damn breathing room.”
- - - -
         James leapt across the alleyway, his jump taking him to the far end of the building and his momentum carrying him to a stop against the compound’s wall.  Maxwell was a heartbeat behind, landing next to James with a less graceful landing and smashing into the wall with enough force to crack the plaster.  “There’s more out there, I can still smell them,” James commented, peaking over the wall.  As if to add to his sentence, several rounds smacked against the compound’s wall, throwing bits of plaster into his fur.
         “Yes, but we can take them.  They’re only human,” the other werewolf growled.
         “Oh hell,” James muttered as several military hummers rolled up the compound’s road, followed by the ramshackle hunter trucks.  Without even trying, his brain began to replay the statistics of the vehicles, pulling the information out of his memory.  Each truck was armed with a fifty caliber machine gun, their gunners not exposing themselves to anymore of the compound’s gunfire.  As the trucks passed by their cover, four groups of hunters rushed out of the trees, carrying an odd assortment of tubing and stands.  These are trained soldiers, he thought, watching their movements and actions closely.
         Maxwell ducked behind the wall as the heavy machine gun bullets ripped into the walls.  “What are those hunters doing?”
         He peaked over his cover, swearing as the hunters dropped round objects into the tubes.  “Rockets and mortars.”  James keyed the radio, “Incoming!” and dove onto the ground.
         A high pitched whistle passed over their heads, followed a moment later by four matching explosions deeper into the compound.  Angry, confusing voices filled the radio channels, following the explosions; some demanding to know what had happened, others trying to get help for wounded members of the pack.  He keyed the radio several times, but he wasn’t able to push his way onto the crowded radio network.
         The hummers crashed through the still burning gate, tossing the warped metal aside as they bounced up onto the sidewalks.  Their heavy tires rolled over the remains of the hunters and werewolves, as they pushed towards the center of the compound.  Their heavy bumpers pushed still burning cars out of the way, and pummeled fleeing werewolves into the rough ground.  They whipped down an alley, avoiding the garbage trucks and continuing into the small town.
         More rockets whined overhead, slamming into buildings with a frightening echo; the buildings crumbled under the impact, brick and wood flying through the air.  “We need to take care of those rockets,” James said as more of the hunters’ trucks rolled up the road to protect their allies.
         “I want them,” Maxwell growled, “I can take those rockets.”
         James looked sternly at the other werewolf.  He’s going to die out there.  “You sure about that?”
         “Let me do this for my pack James, go help who you can.”
         James nodded.  “Alright, I’m going to see if I can slow those trucks down.”
         The other werewolf grabbed James’ shoulder, “Good luck.”
         “Yeah, you too.”
- - - -
         Elisa rolled across the alleyway, her body grinding to a stop as her shoulder slammed against a dumpster.  Bullets followed her trail, throwing up clouds of asphalt and digging into the dumpster with dull pings.  Three hunters, each armed with assault rifles, were following her carefully down the alley, scanning the walls and peaking behind the bags of trash.  They moved as one unit, each waiting for the others to cover them before moving.  She leaned out from behind her cover, sending a string of bullets down the narrow passage.  The rounds caught one of the hunters in the leg, knocking him onto the ground in an angry shout of pain.
         She ducked back behind the dumpster as the hunters sent a wave of bullets at her, bouncing loudly off the thin metal.  Elisa fired more bullets at them, the slide locking back on her spent magazine.  Swearing, she dropped the empty magazine, and shoved her last fresh magazine inside with a dull click.  It had been a running battle ever since the hunter convoy had been ripped apart, the hunters being scattered throughout the compound’s buildings.  So far they had been able to keep the hunters out of the clinic and away from the lodge, but she knew it was only time before something happened.
         Just a little closer, she thought, leaning her arm around the dumpster and firing un-aimed shots at the group.
         There was a high pitched roar from the rooftop beside the alley, as Vivian dropped onto the hunter group.  Her heels drove into the injured man’s shoulders, driving his face into the pavement and turning it into a bloody mess.  The other two hunters twisted their rifles towards her, but she dropped onto the ground, their rounds tearing into one another.  She drove her claws up through their chins, blood spraying across the snow as she threw them onto the ground.  The remaining hunter rolled over with a painful groan, desperately trying to grab his fallen weapon.
         “No,” she growled, driving her heel into his face and grinding it against the ground in a bloody mess.  “Elisa, are you okay?” Vivian shouted, walking cautiously down the alley.
         “I’m okay,” Elisa responded, standing slowly and following Vivian back out to the street.  “Have you seen anymore hunters?”
         “There’s fucking gunfire all over the town, we . . .” Vivian was interrupted as a pair of military hummers sped out of another alley, driving towards them at a breakneck pace.
         “Shit,” the two women swore, diving onto the ground as the heavy machine guns’ massive bullets ripped through the parked vehicles.  They rolled away, diving behind another car as the rounds slamming mercilessly into the concrete around them and raising small plumes of snow into the air.
         “We can’t fight them!” Vivian screamed, grabbing Elisa and diving behind a dumpster as a pickup erupted into bright flames behind them.
         “Like hell we can’t!” Elisa yelled back as the rounds punched fist sized holes into the buildings around them.
         There was a nearly deafening roar from the road, followed by screeching metal and screams of pain.  The bent and deformed machine guns flew through the air, embedding themselves in the storefront inches above where Elisa and Vivian had taken cover.  Elisa leaned around her cover, watching as James ripped the soldiers out of the hummer and tossed them like ragdolls across the road; grabbing their arms and swinging them against the parked cars.  James roared loudly, crushing the last soldier’s skull beneath his heel, turning to face Elisa and Vivian.
         “They’re dead!” he yelled out, wiping his bloody claws across their lifeless bodies.
         “Wow,” Elisa muttered as she saw the deep claw imprints in each of the hummer’s hoods.  “Are you okay?”
         “You’re bleeding James,” Vivian said, pressing a paw against a ragged wound in his side.
         “I’m fine,” James grunted, “Are you . . .”
         He was interrupted as their radios blurted to life.  “We need backup at the lodge, there’s more hunters coming out of the northern woods.”  Gunfire echoed across the compound and over the radios.  “There’s hummers at the clinic, they’re trying . . .”
         “Help’s on the way,” James shouted over the radio, turning towards the two women.  “Get to the lodge, grab any survivors you find and get those children out the escape tunnels.  I’m gonna head to the clinic, see what the hell is going on there.”
         Vivian nodded, relieving the dead soldiers of their weapons, checking them quickly.  Elisa hugged James, kissing him quickly on the snout.  “Be safe, I expect to see you later.”
         “Yeah, go kick their asses,” he grunted, leaping onto the nearby roof and sprinting towards the clinic.
         “This is bad,” Vivian commented as the two women trotted towards the lodge.
- - - -
         Maxwell’s roar echoed across the grassy hill as bullets tore into his shoulder and side, throwing up small plumes of red mist.  He backhanded a pair of hunters, their necks snapping loudly as they were tossed into their companions, the entire group tangling on the ground.  More bullets drove into the ground around him; he grabbed the edge of a burning truck, straining with effort as he tossed it away.  The truck flipped end over end into the defending hunters, crushing several of them before it rocked to a stop against another burning truck.
         He leapt over the burning vehicles, his claws crashing down on another rocket team, ripping into them with merciless rage.  The team dove for cover as he crushed the tubes, flinging them into the fleeing hunters’ legs and knocking them down.  Without hesitation, he jumped forward, crushing their chests into the ground and reaching down for their heads.  Bullets tore into his back and legs, pushing him forward and his claws missed their targets, sinking into the ground.  More rounds tore into his side as he dove behind an upturned vehicle, crushing the pair of hunters cowering behind it.
         “Maxwell!”
         The werewolf looked up at the voice; Lisa was standing half concealed beside the truck, and holding a double barreled shotgun.  He growled angrily at the woman.  “Lisa.”
         He pounced forward as Lisa fired; a silver tipped stake shot out of the barrel, driving into his shoulder and tossing him back.  She fired again as he hit the ground, the spike driving through his chest and into the ground.  Pain burned up his body as she walked slowly towards him, ejecting the spent casings and reloading the weapon.  “Down boy.”
         Maxwell growled angrily, pushing against the ground and trying to stand; the spike ripped against his skin, spilling blood across the grass.  “Fuck you!”
         The next spike drove into his stomach, securing him against the ground.  Looking down at him, she aimed the weapon at his face.  “I expected more.”  The spike drove into his face with a sickening crunch, throwing up a spray of blood and bone chips.  She turned towards the slowly recovering hunters.  “Get in that damn compound and find James, I want him!”
- - - -
         Elisa and Vivian sprinted across the road, bullets peppering the ground around their feet as they dove behind a parked van.  The lodge was only a block away, but between themselves and the entrance were three hunter trucks.  Each had a machine gun mounted in the bed, one pointed at the two women, the other two peppering the front of the lodge.  Elisa peaked around their cover, sending a shotgun spray into a charging hunter.
         “Any ideas?” Vivian asked, studying the attacking trucks.
         Elisa shrugged.  “We kill them all.”
         “I meant a way to do that.  I’m not as strong as James.”
         “Well, maybe all we have to do is get around them.”
         Two rockets streaked out of the lodge’s second floor, slamming into the lead two trucks; they were instantly turned into tall, matching orange balls of flame.  Pieces of burnt and twisted metal flew towards them, panging off parked vehicles and clattering across the roadway.  Without thinking, Elisa dropped her shotgun, jumping out from behind her cover and drawing the pair of machine pistols.  She fired the pistols as she ran, the nine millimeter rounds bouncing off the remaining truck and digging into its gunner’s exposed arms.
Vivian was a step behind Elisa, leaping over the rushing woman and diving through the truck’s windshield head first.  Her claws ripped into the driver’s face, eliciting a harsh scream as he gurgled on his own blood.  She rolled onto the hood as another hunter fired his shotgun at her; the pellets tore into the hood, the whimpering driver, and several dug into her upper arm.  Ignoring the searing pair, she kicked out, her heel catching his chin and knocking him onto the ground.  Elisa continued to run as the gunner’s bullets skipped off the road around her feet, her own rounds knocking the gunner back and onto the ground, screaming.
         “That was easy,” Vivian smirked, wiping her bloody claws on the truck’s seat.
         Elisa slowly reloaded her pistols.  “Let’s get the hell inside.”
         The two women ran slowly up to the lodge, greeted by the lodge’s remaining guards.  Only two of the original guards remained, and most of the pregnant woman had taken the fallen weapons to defend the building.  Bodies of both humans and werewolves were strewn around the lobby, their blood pooling into the thickly carpeted floor.  There were hushed screams from the back of the room, and she could see a very pregnant woman peaking through the doorway.
         “We’re escaping through the tunnel,” Elisa said to the remaining two guards.  A single round cracked through the front door, driving through the nearest guard’s head and flopping him onto the carpet.
         Vivian grabbed the last guard, pulling him to the floor as more bullets ripped through the glass doors.  “We’ve got to go, now!”
         With the help of several of the mothers, Elisa pushed one of the tables against the entryway.  “Get them into the tunnel, I’ll follow.”
- - - -
         James landed on the sidewalk with a resounding thud, growling as he stared at the hunters across the street from him.  Two of the military hummers were parked on the sidewalk in front of the clinic, their occupants firing rapidly into the glass fronts.  As he watched, the werewolf defenders inside were cut nearly in half by the trucks’ machine guns, throwing their body parts across the waiting room and covering it in gore.  His roar was so loud that it felt as if his chest was going to rip open, anger clouding his vision as he dug his claws into the nearest parked vehicle he could find.  Grunting with effort, he flung the pickup truck through the air.
         The thrown vehicle crashed into the left hummer, crushing its gunner and rolling on top of the hunters using it for cover.  The hunters turned towards the new threat, as a minivan crashed into them and tumbled into the clinic’s waiting area.  The remaining gunner spun his machine gun around, trying to aim it at the ravaging werewolf, but he wasn’t fast enough.  The werewolf sprinted across the roadway, bullets tracing his path as he launched himself through the air.  The gunner screamed as James landed on the hood, tearing the mounted weapon from the truck and tossed it over his shoulder with an angry grunt.
         “No,” James growled, grabbing the gunner’s head and squeezing until he heard the man’s skull crack, then pop under his grip; he tossed the lifeless body over his shoulder with a grunt.  He dropped down off the truck, walking slowly into the destroyed waiting room.  A burst of gunfire bounced off the hummer behind him, and he held up a hand.  “Stop god damn it, it’s me!”
         A scared looking doctor appeared from behind the counter, clutching an assault rifle.  “Sorry, I thought . . .” a silver spike flew through the air, driving through the doctor’s throat and stopping his voice in a bloody gurgle.  He took several unsteady steps back before falling against the wall and sliding down to the floor.
         “Fuck!”  James twisted around, dodging another silver spike and ducking behind one of the clinic’s remaining walls.  He peeked around his cover, seeing another group of hunters moving towards the damaged remains of the clinic.  Lisa was near the front of the group, holding a massive shotgun and firing a large silver spike at him.  The projectile drove through the front of the building, shattering the drywall as it slammed into the wall beside him.  Growling, he exploded out of his cover, running towards the attacking group.
         Lisa rolled across the roadway as James crushed the hunters beneath his heels, his claws ripping the face off of two others.  Gunshots boomed around him, bullets and shot tearing into his sides and back as he continued to rip through the hunters; his entire world turning into a raging inferno of booming gunshots and spewing blood.  Blood sprayed across his face and chest as his claws lashed out, tearing weapons; ripping their hands and arms away in his powerful grip.  Growling, he kicked the last remaining hunter squarely in the chest, tossing the man into a parked truck with a sickening crunch.
         “Fucking monster!” Lisa screamed, firing her shotgun; the projectile skipped off the pavement, barely missing James’ foot.  The werewolf stopped, growling at the hunter, giving her the opportunity to fire again.
         The spike drove into his thigh, knocking him down to his knee; he landed hard, growling in pain and anger.  She reloaded the weapon with practiced motions, aiming and firing again; the next spike drilled through his arm, and he fell onto his side.  Roaring, he pushed off the ground and charged forward, but Lisa had already reloaded her shotgun and fired both barrels into him.  The spikes drove into his stomach, tossing him back and pinning him to the ground.  She walked forward slowly, reloading the weapon and firing two more times; locking his right arm and leg into the pavement.
         “Fuck,” James swore.  He coughed hard, blood spraying out of his muzzle and across his chest.  Warm blood was leaking down his back and onto the sidewalk where he could feel it forming into a warm pool on the cold pavement.
         “I bet that burns, huh?” Lisa asked, leaning over him.
         More blood gurgled up his throat, leaking out of his mouth.  “Go . . . to . . . hell.”
         She pressed the shotgun against his head.  “You first.”
- - - -
         Elisa pulled the heavy basement door shut, dropping a thick steel bar across it.  She was bleeding from a bullet wound in her right shoulder, and only had one of her machine pistols left, clutching it tiredly in her left hand.  It had been a nightmare in the lobby; it had started as defending the children’s retreat, to just barely managing to survive.  There must have been almost thirty of the hunters attacking the lodge, bullets were flying everywhere.  Don’t think about it, she thought, pushing forward.  She could hear more hunters storming into the lobby, shooting the bodies that were on the floors.
         Guess they’re not taking any chances, she thought, pulling the sewer grate open.  Elisa started to duck inside, but stopped, glancing around the body strewn basement.  It took her a long moment before she found what she needed, bending over and grabbing a pair of grenades off a fallen guard.  James and Lisa had both shown her how to use the weapons, but she still felt afraid holding the explosives.  Gently closing the sewer grate on grenades, she slowly removed the pins from each weapon, relying on the grate’s pressure to keep the grenade spoons down and safe.
         Digging a battered flashlight out of her vest, she started to run through the damp tunnel after the children.  She couldn’t remember how long Maxwell had said the tunnel was, but it seemed to take forever before she could see any light at the far end. Her breath was short in her chest as pain started to arc through her side and amplify the bullet wound.  A deafening boom echoed from behind her, and she dropped onto the ground, clutching her ears in pair as the entire tunnel vibrated around her.  “Fuck,” she muttered, picking up her pace towards the light.  Elisa sighed in relief as she spotted the end of the sewer tunnel, grabbing the rough concrete edge and pulling herself out into fresher air.  She was standing on a narrow, rocky ledge, at the end of a thick tree line.
         Two white furred claws blurred across her vision; one tore her weapon away, the other wrapped around her throat and yanked her forward.  A knee drove up into her gut and she was thrown onto the ground.  She landed with a hard thud, rolling across the ground and smacking her head against a protruding rock; the pistol flew out of her hand, clattering across grass.  Stars flashed across her vision, groaning as she concentrated to crawled onto her hands and knees.  A foot snaked out, striking her side and rolling her onto her back.
         A white furred paw pressed down on her chest, the barrel of a pump shotgun aimed down at her face.  “No rules here Elisa,” Katalyn smirked down at the woman.
         “What the fuck is going on?” Elisa yelled, “Get off of me!”
         “It’s a shame I didn’t get here in time to stop you.”
         “What?” she muttered, craning her head took look around.    Vivian was on her back nearby, dark red blood pooling around her fallen body, but her chest was rising slowly, if unevenly.  All of the children had been herded against the side of a hill, while the mothers had been pushed against a fallen tree.
         “I didn’t get here in time to stop you from killing all of these people,” she smiled, “defenseless women and children . . .”
         “Traitor!” one of the pregnant women screamed, darting at Katalyn.
         The wolfess spun, firing the shotgun one handed; the shot tore into the women’s chest, and she flopped to the ground like a rag doll.  Katalyn shrugged, “They were all going to die anyway.”
         “You crazy bitch, why are you doing this!?” Elisa yelled.
         “I’m making this pack mine, like it should be.  I’ll save all these people, and as a bonus I can get rid of you.”
         “You fucking bitch . . .”
         “And if he lives, I might even get a chance at James again.”
         Elisa swore, batting the shotgun away with one hand and kicking her legs into the back of Katalyn’s knees.  The werewolf dropped onto the ground as Elisa rolled away, pushing up with her legs and diving towards the fallen weapon.  The shotgun blast echoed in her ears, as the shot tore through her back in a spray of blood and blinding pain.  She dropped back onto the ground, rolling to a stop and grabbing her shoulder.  “Fuck . . .”
         “This will be fun,” Katalyn said, kicking Elisa again then turning back to the terrified mothers.
         Elisa could feel the world slowing down around her, burning pain starting in her feet and working up her body.  It felt like her entire body was on fire, everything hurt more than she could ever have imagined.  She screamed in pain, grabbing at her skin and trying to rid herself of the pain; scratching and digging at the pain that she couldn’t reach.  Her arms and legs pushed outwards, viscous looking claws sprouting from her limbs and ripping her clothing.  There was a loud crack as a snout formed out of her face, the bones and muscles ripping and tearing to form her new appearance in a flash of blinding pain.  Fur appeared across her body and large muscles started to fill out her limbs.  Dark red fur covered her back, while a cream colored fur was on her chest and stomach; a long mane of thick hair ran down her back and dangled messily behind her.
         She roared in anger and pain, standing up and growling angrily at the other werewolf.  Katalyn turned towards the new threat, aiming her shotgun, but wasn’t fast enough to dodge Elisa’s attack.  Elisa dove forward, digging one claws into Katalyn’s stomach and crushing the shotgun with the other, then flinging the wolfess through the air.  Katalyn slammed against the tunnel entrance, flopping onto the ground and rolling to her side.
         Katalyn stood up slowly, her eyes locked on Elisa’s; she wiped the blood from her stomach, smearing into her white fur.  “Now, this will be fun.”
         Elisa’s mind was filled with a blinding rage, she couldn’t think straight, the only thing she could focus on was killing Katalyn and protecting the children.  Katalyn sprinted forward, slashing across Elisa’s face and chest and leaving small rivulets of dark red.  Elisa growled, grabbing the smaller werewolf’s arm, lifting her up and slamming her back into the ground.  Katalyn grabbed Elisa’s arm, twisting it around and pulling it out of the socket with a sickening pop.  Elisa growled in pain, backhanding Katalyn and striking out with her foot.
         Katalyn dodged the attack, spinning around and driving her heel into Elisa’s jaw.  Elisa’s head snapped around, and stars burst through her eyes.  She staggered backwards, grabbing the sides of her head in pain.  Katalyn leapt onto Elisa’s back, driving her claws into Elisa’s shoulders and pulling the wounds open with an angry shout.  Elisa’s jaws snapped shut on Katalyn’s wrist; her jaw ripped apart the muscles and tendons, dropping the claw onto the ground with a flick of her head.
         Katalyn screamed in pain, dropping to the ground and backing away from the raging werewolf.  Elisa drove her still working claw through Katalyn’s back; when she pulled it out, thick blood was covering her claw and dripping onto the ground.  She grabbed the bleeding werewolf’s throat, picking her up so that the two women’s faces were barely an inch apart.  “You’re not touching my husband!”
         “Fuck you!” Katalyn growled in response.
         Elisa smiled, growling deeply and throwing Katalyn out into air over the cliff face.  She watched as the white figure tumbled down the cliff face, crashing into boulders and trees on its descent down.  Her vision began to spin, energy draining from her muscles as she collapsed onto the ground.  Elisa tried to stand back up, but it was if all her energy was gone and her body wouldn’t cooperate with her mind.
“Shit . . .”  Growling angrily she pushed herself up onto shaky legs and started walking slowly towards the cowering children and mothers.  Her vision was starting to gray around the edges, and she was having trouble keeping her eyes opened and focused.  Stumbling over an upturned root, her legs buckled and she fell forward.
         Two of the mothers caught the falling werewolf, her crash turning into a gentle thud onto the soft ground.  “Are you okay?”
         “Are . . . you  . . . safe?” Elisa forced out, struggling against the strange vocal cords and waning energy.
         “We’re safe, are you okay?” the mother asked.
         “I’m really . . . tired.”
         “That’s normal for your first change, just relax and rest, we’ll be fine.”
- - - -
         James looked tiredly up at the shotgun, then at Lisa, growling weakly and closing his eyes.  “Fuck . . .”
         The shotgun blast nearly deafened him, followed by a second blast; searing pain shot down the side of his head, and he could feel more blood running out of his body.  A heavy weight landed on his chest and he opened his eyes slowly.  Lisa was staring back at him, her eyes looking blankly into his.
         “You . . . okay . . ?” Rachel muttered, dropping the shotgun from her weak hands and limping slowly out of the clinic.
         “Been . . . better,” he smiled back.
         She stopped beside him, dropping to her knees and falling onto her face.  “Good.”
         “Shit,” James muttered, “this is gonna hurt.”  Gritting his teeth, he pulled his arm up; the spike ripped out of the ground with searing pain.  “Damn it!” he yelled, pulling another spike out of his arm and dropping it onto the ground.  James ripped the two spikes out of his stomach, tossing them away and grabbing the remaining spikes before he could think about it and ripping them out.  “Shit shit, fuck!”  James rolled onto his hands and knees, coughing out another mouthful of blood as he dragged himself over to Rachel.
         “You look like shit,” Rachel said weakly, looking up at him.
         He laughed weakly, wiping the blood from his chin.  “Yeah, but let’s . . . get out of . . . here, ‘kay?”
         “Yeah . . .” she said, closing her eyes.
         James bent slowly over, grunting in pains as he cradled the nearly unconscious woman in his arms and lifted her up.  Rachel curled up against his chest as he began to limp down the scarred street.  He could hear the warble of sirens in the distance, growing closer as the patrol vehicles screeched up the compound’s narrow road.  Grunting against the pain, he began to trot down the street; more blood began to run down his legs and back, but the wounds were already starting to heal back up now that the silver had been removed.  Reaching the compound’s outer wall, he ducked through a hole; the gap still had scorch marks from the explosives that had been used, but he ignored them.
         The sirens were loud in his ears as by the time he was deep into the forest surrounding the damaged compound.  He leapt over a fallen tree, his feet slipping on the ground and his body sliding down into a small culvert.  Rachel slipped from his grip as he slammed to a stop, rolling onto his stomach and receiving a mouthful of dirt.  Coughing, he rolled to a seated position and retrieved the fallen woman.
         “Guess we’re far enough away,” he mumbled to the unconscious woman, digging the makeshift remote out of his tattered pants.  James ran his finger over the remote, flipping off the safety and drumming over the number pad.  “Damn, I hope there’s no one left in there,” he took a deep breath, “Fuck it,” and pressed the detonator.
         Explosions echoed through the forest, as flames rose up from the compound.  Buildings were torn apart and vehicles were tossed into the air as fireballs ripped through the small town, tossing debris and shrapnel into the unaware hunters.  They ran for cover, diving into the buildings moments before the hidden explosives detonated, turning the sanctuary into a mason coffin.  The surviving hunters tried to escape, running towards the compound’s exit, but there were several waiting patrol cars outside.
         James smiled as he listened to the angry shouts and exchange of gunfire from the road, picking up Rachel and walking deeper into the forest.  One of the pack’s rendezvous points was only a few miles away, but he was sure it would take him a long time to get to the rest of his pack.  The pain in his legs and side were already starting to lessen, but it was still hard for him to move faster than a slow run.  He looked down at Rachel as he moved, scanning the woman; she looked better than he thought she would, but most of her upper body, arms and legs were still covered in sterile, white gauze.
         “Fuck,” he swore, “this is going to be a long walk.”
- - - -
         Elisa moaned in her sleep, rolling over on the small cot and shuffling beneath the rough woolen blanket.  She was in an old, tall, wide canvas tent, along with several other members of the pack.  Most of them were injured in some way, but for the most part their bodies had healed themselves already.  Rachel was on a cot at the far side of the tent, leaning against a stack of pillows as Vivian gently brushed her hair.  A thick layer of fresh bandages were wrapped around her where Katalyn’s shot had torn a large chunk out of her side.
         “I’m fine, leave me the fuck alone,” James swore, pushing one of the pack’s remaining medics out of the way.  He had changed into a fresh set of clothes, but dark spots were still visible on his arms, legs and stomach where Lisa had shot him and a thick bandage was wrapped over his left ear.
         “You shouldn’t still be bleeding!” the young man pleaded.
         James pushed him roughly out of the tent.  “They’re healing, and I want to see my wife.  It can wait.”
         “Fine, fine,” he mumbled, walking away.
         He walked across the tent, settling himself carefully on the edge of Elisa’s cot and slowly began to stroke the top of her head.  She muttered in her sleep, batting his hand away, then rolling over and grabbing the sheets and covering back up.  Smiling, James leaned down, kissing her cheek gently.  “Wake up babe.”
         “Ugh,” she groaned.
         “It’s me.”
         Elisa’s eyes snapped opened slowly, scanning over James’ face; she wrapped her arms around his chest, pulling him down and kissing his cheek.  “Took you long enough.”
         “Sorry, I was kinda busy,” he muttered, kissing her again and pulling away slowly.
         “More important than me?” she asked, sitting up, hastily grabbing the sheet as it started to slide off her naked body.  “Where are my clothes?”
         “You don’t remember anything?”
         “No, but I do know you should come over here and comfort me,” Elisa smiled, patting the cot beside her.
         Smirking, James slide across the cot and wrapped his arm around her, pulling his wife close, and hugging her tightly.  “Is this better?”
         Elisa tossed the sheet over James’ lap, rubbing his thigh slowly.  “You know, I’m naked under here?”
         He smiled embarrassedly, turning away.
         Vivian cleared her throat loudly, smiling at them.  “You know, you’re not alone in here?”
         “Dang,” Elisa laughed.  “So, are you going to tell me what happened?”
         “I’d feel better if you at least remembered something.”
         “Well, I had this strange dream.  I was this big, red furred werewolf and I was beating the crap out of Katalyn.  I liked it, but I don’t remember how it ended.”
         James smirked at her.  “It wasn’t a dream, you kind of, threw Katalyn off a cliff.”
         “Good,” she said, crossing her arms, “that bitch deserved it, no one tries to steal my husband.”
         “Shoulda know better,” he smiled in return.
         “Hell yeah, you’re mine.  Now go away,” she smiled, laying back down, “I’m tired.”
         James kissed her forehead.  “Okay, I’ll see you later babe.”
         “You’d better.”