Part 7 (1/2)
”You've gotta be kidding me,” he murmured, ”I'm not even supposed to be working tonight. I'm covering for someone.”
”Just be quiet,” Amara snapped in a whisper. ”Stay here. No matter what you hear, don't come out.”
The cas.h.i.+er nodded, and Amara finally opened the door slowly, carefully. The lights in the store were out except for one dangling, flickering light . The store was in ruins. Food was spilled over the floor, and the shelves were tipped. Off to the left, the small bottles of car oil were spilled splashed over on the floor. There was a hot dog and coffee station just beyond the spill, and Amara could hear the soft crunching and slurping sounds of something eating. She was sure the wolf was there, hopefully devouring hot dogs and not an unsuspecting customer or police officer.
She pulled her gun and slowly crept toward the sound. Amara quietly made the decision that as soon as the beast was in range, she would gun it down. A few quick shots to the head, and the entire mission would be over. She didn't let the thought that it might be quicker than her and that her few shots to the head could end with her head being ripped off enter her mind. There wasn't time for doubt or second thoughts. The monster was there in the store, and this had to end now.
Amara made her way to the other side of the store carefully, and as soon as she rounded one of the fallen displays she saw it, hunched over eating what was left of the hot dogs and pretzels. She took aim and one more step to be sure she had a clear shot when she stepped into the oil and slipped a little.
The squeak of her shoes against the floor made the great beast raise its giant head. The wolf was the size of a pony. It raised its lip to her, baring long, sharp teeth that didn't quite fit its mouth correctly. The fur along its spine rose and stood on end as it crept toward her.
Its body twisted and s.h.i.+fted for a moment. Amara thought it might be switching back to human form, but instead it grew the long limbs and sharp claws of a horror movie style werewolf. It was in attack mode, and Amara knew it.
*Back down,' its low, growling voice echoed in Amara's mind. Shapes.h.i.+fters rarely spoke in human tongue. Their snouts weren't made for the language, but they had adapted, over time, the ability to communicate psychically rather than attempt to mouth the human words.
Amara shook her head. There was no way she would just put her gun up and let the monster eat her or anyone else. She couldn't just let this thing go without a fight, especially if it was their killer.
”No way in h.e.l.l. Take human form, and then I'll consider putting my gun up.”
The wolf lunged at her. Amara side-stepped out of the way quickly and fired a shot. The monster moved so quickly that it slid on the floor a bit as it turned to tackle her again. She threw one of the fallen shelves between them as a barrier. The wolf crashed into the rack but recovered quickly and ran for her again.
Amara fired another shot at the werewolf but missed, and the wolf disappeared into the darkened store. Every now and then a flash would give her some hint of where it had disappeared to.
The door to the room labeled ”Employees Only” opened slowly, and Amara pointed her gun that way. She sighed as the boy poked his head out.
”Get back inside,” Amara hissed quietly at him.
”What is it?” he asked. His curiosity got the best of him. As he looked around the store, his eyes widened. ”I am so fired.”
Amara caught sight of the wolf again just a moment too late. It grabbed the boy by his head and ripped him from the secured room. The boy screamed in terror as he was thrown onto the floor, the werewolf hovering just over him, its teeth only inches from his face.
*Drop the gun,' it snapped at Amara threateningly, the words echoed in her mind, but the growl rising from the wolf's throat reached her ears.
”Here.” Amara raised her gun in the air, pointed toward the ceiling.
*Drop it,' it screamed in her head. Amara slowly lowered the gun to the floor and set it down.
”Now let the boy go,” Amara's voice dropped to a near whisper. If the wolf decided to take off the boy's head now, there was nothing she could do about it. If she hadn't put the gun down, the wolf would have done it anyway.
The werewolf sniffed the boy for a few more moments. He stared up into its green eyes in terror, his own eyes infinitely wide. He choked when the wolf panted in his face, the smell of its breath gagging him finally. Its claws were huge and threatening as it kept its firm, painful hold on the boy's throat and shoulder. The wolf had him pinned, and there was absolutely no way for him to escape now. It looked up to Amara again, then to the gun resting on the darkened floor.
*Kick the gun over here. I'm not getting shot after I let him up.'
Amara hesitated for a moment, but did as the creature demanded. Sometimes it was good to just give in to demands, other times, not so much. She prayed this was one of those times that it was a good idea to just go with the flow of things, and that at the end of the river, there wouldn't be a tremendous waterfall. She knew that if there was, it would be a waterfall of that boy's blood.
The gun slid across the messy tile floor sending a soft scratching noise through the air and skidding to a stop just a few inches from the wolf and its captive. The wolf reached out with one enormous paw-like hand and plucked the firearm off the floor gingerly between its ma.s.sive claws. It pushed the boy aside, and he scrambled for the utility closet again. His sneakers squeaked against the linoleum as he rushed for what must have seemed like a beautiful safe-haven, but he didn't shut the door entirely. He kept it cracked, to watch the battle unfold.
The wolf stood up on its hind legs, now larger than Amara in every way. It towered over her, looking down with intense green eyes. Finally it dropped the gun and sat awkwardly on the floor, its legs too long to sit like a dog but still not right for sitting like a human either.
*Alexander said you wouldn't be happy to see me. I didn't imagine you trying to kill me though.' To Amara's surprise, the wolf didn't sound threatening anymore. Just irritated.
Amara paused for a long moment in shock. This wasn't the killer werewolf? This wasn't the one they were tracking? She completely forgot Alexander agreed to send them help. Moreover, she hadn't expected said help to show up in the form of a giant wolf. She expected the werewolf to make its debut appearance in human form. That could have kept them out of this whole mess.
”You know, human form would have been just a little less alarming.” Amara glared at her.
*He forbid me from changing to human form. He does not want you to know who I am. He doesn't want you to be able to pick me out on the street.' The wolf slid the gun back to Amara with her nose, fairly sure she wouldn't to shoot her now.
”Go figure,” Amara murmured as she bent down to pick up her gun. She bent with her legs, cautious enough to keep her eyes on the wolf yet. ”If you're here to help why did you attack me-and the boy?”
*Well, I tried to catch you out back, but some kids were throwing rocks. I got scared.' Her ears pressed back, and she looked down almost shyly. She lifted just her eyes to Amara, and it reminded the hunter of a puppy. *When you came in here you already had your gun out. Alex said to be careful that I don't get killed. I didn't think he meant by you. So I used the boy to stall you into giving up your gun until we could talk.'
”Let me get this straight,” Amara interrupted her quickly. ”You were afraid of the kids throwing rocks?”
The wolf nodded a little and looked down at her paws again.
”Why?”
*Rocks hurt,' she whined.
”Oh G.o.d, help us.” Amara sighed deeply, putting her hand to her forehead. ”He sent us help in the form of a puppy.”
*I'm not a puppy,* she growled. *I've just had bad experiences with teenagers and rocks.'
”What's your name? Did he say I could have that?” Amara tried to change the subject before more disappointing details about this werewolf came out.
*Spirit.' The wolf's tail wagged a little as she gave the information. *My name is Spirit.'
”Well, Spirit, make yourself a little smaller so you'll fit in my car. I've got to call for backup about the store's condition.”
Amara pulled out her cell phone and dialed the Headquarters for their professional cover-up team when she realized the boy was still watching.
”Are you freaking serious?” the boy asked loudly. He sounded lost and confused. His tone raised just a few notes, ”Is that thing real?”
Amara glanced over to him and nodded in response. Someone on the other end of the phone finally picked up after a few rings.
”Is it dangerous?” the boy asked, despite having just been pinned to the ground. He was slowly making his way out the door.
”I'm calling for backup for a reason. Don't touch her unless you want to lose a limb.”
*I wouldn't really hurt him.' Spirit whimpered a little at Amara. She took that as an insult.
”You don't want to be dangerous, you don't want to be a puppy, what do you want?” she asked Spirit, who began s.h.i.+fting into a smaller version of herself.
Unlike Hollywood werewolves, the real thing wasn't completely controlled by the moon. Amara knew Spirit would be able to take on nearly any form of wolf. Of course, her most powerful, the one she was currently in, would be hard to achieve without the added power of the full moon. She didn't need that sort of strength to go from human to wolf and back or to change in size, but she would need it to s.h.i.+ft into the fierce, bi-pedal wolf she was at the moment.
Spirit's muscles and bones cracked and snapped back into place as her body sculpted back into the form of a wolf, a large wolf, but a wolf all the same. She wasn't quite as big as she had been, at least now she would fit into the back of Amara's car.