I am the Night - the last She-Wolf

Chapter 9 - Submission

“This can’t be happening!” The thought repeats itself over and over in my head.

The growl from the wolf sounds agonized. Desperate even. It’s the sound of certain death. It’s not a warning. It doesn’t tell us to keep our distance. It’s daring us to step into the arena and face our fate.

“Don’t,” I say holding Cillian back. He turns to briefly look at me, letting the wolf out of his sight for just a second. The beast takes that moment and pounces on us.

Just in time, Cillian pushes me out of the way, while the massive wolf crashes into our cage. Struggling a little to get out again. It’s snapping and biting at the metal. Growling in a blind rage.

When it finally makes it out, it’s baring its teeth at us. It slowly starts circling.

Cillian keeps me behind him, while he mimics the beast's steps. Always keeping the same distance between us and the angry wolf. This won’t save us though. It’s just prolonging the process.

I scream when the wolf attacks. He jumps at Cillian since he’s the bigger threat. Cillian anticipated the move and rolls out of the way, landing a punch into the beast's stomach. It growls and snarls angrily. The wolf has its back turned to me and something odd catches my attention.

A small red light blinks right there behind his ear, making its thick, brown fur glow with every beat.

“Cillian, there’s something behind his ear,” I call out. The wolf's head snaps in my direction. I’ve got his attention now. It slowly sets one large paw in front of the other. Coming closer.

“No!” Cillian yells and crashes into the wolf, knocking it off balance. They both tumble over the ground, making me scream out. The wolf is going to kill him and there is nothing I can do about it.

I wish I could just snap my fingers and morph into a wolf. Equally strong. Equally dangerous. I wish I could. But even when I close my eyes and keep chanting to myself that I need to change. Nothing happens.

“Please!” I cry out as Cillian grunts in pain. His body is thrown over the place. He lands on the ground beside me. Blood trickles from a gap over his left brow.

I crawl over to him as he tries to get up. “I’m so sorry,” I breathe, “I can’t change.”

“Get... out of the way,” Cillian croaks out, but I refuse to move out of the way. If someone has to die it’s going to be me. And I am standing between him and the wolf right now.

“Try to get the thing off him,” I whisper as I turn to face the snarling creature. I know this is far from what happened with the wolf in the woods, but maybe, just maybe there is a way to reason with this one as well.

A strange feeling settles in the pit of my stomach. A tingle, that turns into intuition. Something that doesn’t quite belong here. But it’s telling me to lay low.

Slowly. Carefully. I bow my head. I submit to the wolf. “I’m sorry for what they did to you,” I say softly while my heart beats wildly.

A howl. And while the beast lifts its head towards the ceiling, Cillian pounces on it and ribs the device that was attached to the wolf's head right off.

The howl turns into a pained snarl as it snaps blindly into every direction. Blood is oozing from the spot where the device was attached to the beast. It’s still in his hand. Buzzing frantically. An annoying tone that hurts my sensitive ears.

I run over to him and take it out of his bloody hand to smash it under my foot. I don’t know why, but the sound is bothering me and the wolf.

Silence. Cillian looks at me, then the beast. It has settled down. It seems to be drowsy. It shakes its large head, spraying blood everywhere. Then it turns to look at me. Straight into the eye. His eyes glaze over for a moment. As if it has lost focus.

It huffs and shakes its whole body, while Cillian carefully takes my hand and pulls me closer to him.

Time seems to have slowed down. Until the sirens sound again, making both me and the wolf wince. It turns to the door, crouching down. Ready to defend itself.

Four guards storm in, and every one of them has a stick-like thing in their hands. I’ve seen it before. When they shocked me with it to electrocute the wolf right out of me.

“Taser,” Cillian says to me.

“We need the girl alive!” a voice comes over the speaker. White-coat. He sounds almost calm, but I don’t think he should.

The wolf takes out the first guard. Another one is fighting with Cillian while I’m just standing there, backing away from the two others.

The wolf pounces on one of the men approaching me, spraying me with his blood. The wolf seems to enjoy ripping the guards apart and the last one standing seems to realize that too.

“Run!” Cillian tells me and grabs my hand, dragging me towards the open door.

“Wait,” I turn back to the wolf. His darkened eyes meet mine and I think he nods at me, before taking out the last guard and jumping ahead of us. Cillian picks up one of the weapons on the ground and keeps my hand tightly in his.

My heart beats fast. Is this really happening? Are we lucky enough to escape? I know there are so many more obstacles ahead of us, but we have a wolf. What could possibly go wrong?

The lights in the hallways switch to a blinking red. Alarms go off everywhere, making the wolf whimper. It is ringing in my ears too, but we have to keep going. We have to push through this.

“To the left!” Cillian calls out to the wolf and it listens. We find ourselves on an empty staircase. It seems endless when I look up. Stairs wind up and up and up. I squeeze Cillian’s hand, afraid I won’t be able to make it.

“It going to be okay. Just keep moving. You can do this!” he tells me and I answer with an unsure nod.

We follow the wolf up the staircase until somewhere above us the sound of voices echoes. Footsteps and dark shadows creeping closer.

I don’t know much about fighting, but I know if you have the higher ground you’re always at an advantage. Since we are several floors below the guards, we are screwed.

“Wait,” Cillian calls out to the wolf, who is ready to fight its way out of here. I guess he’s happy to take out a few Hunters along the way. But it’s risky.

I know we can‘t stop him if he wants to fight, but I hope he listens to Cillian.

“We can’t take them! Follow me!” he pushes open a door to our right. The corridor looks empty.

Green carpet covers the floors, reminding me of a meadow in the woods. I take a deep breath, almost expecting it to smell of trees and soil. It doesn’t. It smells clean. A hint of perfume here and there.

A door to the left creeks open and a second later a scream echos. A woman, slammed the door shut again. The wolf growls at the door, but he stays close, sniffing the air.

Cillian pushes against the door the woman just shut. She’s screaming.

“Shut up!” he hisses, “I’m a Hunter! Let me in!” he says.

Her screams stop and Cillian is able to open the door. She regrets the decision to trust him immediately when she spots me and the giant wolf.

I used to be like her. Afraid of the things I didn’t know. The creatures I didn’t understand. All I knew was the fear they were supposed to put in me. Today, I’m more afraid of her kind than the wolf by my side.

I turn to look at the beast, breathing heavily. He’s still bleeding from the wound on his neck. Taking a closer look at him, there are patches of thick fur missing on his back. Scars.

When he notices me looking at him he huffs a low growl. It’s not a thread. It’s some sort of understanding. He’s been here longer than I have. He’s been through hell. Just like me.

“Where’s the control room,” Cillian asks the girl. She’s sobbing now, cowering on the floor. Begging not to hurt her.

“Control room!” Cillian hisses impatiently. I sigh and push him aside. I know I am sprayed with blood and bruised all over. I look like I stepped straight out of a horror movie.

“You don’t have to be afraid,” I say trying to keep my shaking voice calm. “We are not going to hurt you.”

“You... you are that girl,” she stammers.

“I am,” I say, pretty sure she has heard of me. Maybe she has seen me around here. I don’t know what her position is or her clearance level. All I know is that she’s not a Hunter. Maybe an assistant. Maybe she was just cleaning the floor. “We just want to know where the control room is,” I say carefully, “we leave you alone. I promise.”

“You are with a Lycan,” she shivers looking past me.

“He’s not going to hurt you,” I say, hoping I am right. The wolf behind me lies down as if he’s trying to make himself less scary to her. “Just, please,” I breathe.

“It... it’s down the hall,“ her hand shakes as she points in the direction we are supposed to go.

“Guards?” Cillian asks.

“I... I don’t know.”

“Thank you,” I say and turn back to Cillian, “let’s go!”

I stumble and he catches me. I can feel the strength leaving my body. I know I won’t make it out of here. But they can. “Just... leave me here,” I whisper to him.

“No!” he hesitates before he picks me up as if I weigh nothing. The wolf jumps up as well, trotting in the direction the woman pointed us in.

I shouldn’t, but my mind is slowly shutting down. My body is too tired to do anything anymore. I close my eyes and lean against Cillian’s chest. I can hear his heart beating fast. I can almost smell the adrenaline pumping through his body right now.

A moment later -or so it seems- Cillian sets me down again, “don’t move!” he orders.

Even if I could, I wouldn’t. I rest my head on my knees and listen to the growl of the wolf as gunshots are fired. After some commotion silence follows.

The red lights switch back to white. Flickering a little. The sirens go silent. A breath of relief leaves my lips. When I look up, Cillian is there to pick me up again.

“I won’t make it,” I whisper to him.

“Yes, you will! Stay awake. Just a little while longer.”

“Where will we go?” I ask.

There is nowhere to run. They will come after us. They will trace our tracks in the snow. It’s only a matter of time.

It was nice to let hope fool me for a moment, but come to think of it, I can’t see how we will end up on top of this situation. We will forever be fugitives. They want me. They want me bad enough to turn every stone until they get me back.

The wolf hisses at us. At me. “You should go,” I tell him, “you’re faster on your own.”

“We need him to get out of here,” Cillian sighs, “and since when are you one to give up. Not now, Mika. Not right now!”

The wolf loses his patience and snaps at me. “Hey!” Cillian warns, “if you hurt her I will kill you!”

The wolf growls at Cillian. I sigh and pull myself up. If they start fighting now, none of us will survive.

I guess I have to see how far we will make it. I just don’t want to get my hopes up. It won’t be so bad when I end up back in my cell if I don’t.

“Let’s go,” I say and start walking. My legs feel like they are made of rubber. Cillian takes my arm to prop it over his shoulder. Helping me walk without falling down.

He pushes a glass door open and we enter a lobby. It looks fancy. Modern. Glass everywhere. A tree towering in the middle.

I hear the wolf's claws click on the smooth floor. It’s slippery under my feet. Polished one too many times.

“Where is everyone?” I ask, my voice low as I don’t dare to speak up.

“Evacuated,” Cillian says, “guards are on their way. They will probably wait at the border for us.”

“How are we going to get out of here?” I ask him desperately.

“We will,” he states trying to sound confident, but I am sure he knows better. “Can you change back? A giant wolf might be a little noticeable. Unless you plan on making a run for it.”

The wolf hesitates. He’s considering it. But he must know that he won’t get very far on his own. He looks around the lobby, before he trots away, dragging a whimpering man out from his hideout behind a counter. It barks at him.

“Don’t eat me,” the man cries in panic. I’m sure he’s never been this close to one of the creatures he calls his enemy.

A loud snapping noise echos through the room. I gasp as I watch the wolf's fur retract. Turning into the skin. Bones bend, shrinking and stretching as the wolf turns into a man. A man who stands naked in the middle of the room.

Blood is streaming out a wound on his neck. There are scars all over his back. As if he was whipped till the flesh peeled off his bones. I shiver at the sight and squeeze my eyes shut.

“Clothes!” his voice is rough as if he hasn’t used it in years. The man on the floor slowly takes off his pants. And the wolf –the man, takes them. When he walks back to us I dare to look at him.

His face is covered in facial hair. He’s thin. He looks as if he’s in bad shape. How long did they keep him here? His eyes meet mine, daring me to say something.

“Lead the way, Hunterboy,” he turns to Cillian.

He nods and leads us away from the entrance. We make it to a large hallway filled with all kinds of machines. Cars, dirt bikes and even snowmobiles. I half expect him to get into a car, but he doesn’t. He heads for a white motorcycle.

“Can you ride?” he asks the wolf.

“I’ll manage,” he answers, his voice breaking at the end. He coughs a little but shakes it off quickly.

“Are you okay?” I ask and he looks at me in surprise. Surprise that turns into suspicion.

“What do you care?”

“You look like crap,” I whisper.

“Right back at you.”

“Keep close!” Cillian says to the wolf as he mounts the bike. He gestures for me to take a seat behind him, but before I can, the wolf grabs my arm, pulling me back.

“She rides with me!”

“Absolutely not!” Cillian is about to get off his bike again, but I raise my hand to stop him. I know the wolf doesn’t trust us and he needs reassurance that we’ll help him to get out of here.

“It’s okay,” I say, “just don’t kill me!” I say to the wolf. He nods sternly before he sits on another white bike. I struggle a little to get on it behind him, but I finally manage. Voices sound in the back, but the roar of the engines shut them out.

“You better hold on tight,” the wolf says and I carefully wrap my arms around his middle. He smells of dirt, blood, and sweat. I’m sure I don’t smell any better.

Right about now I would give anything for a hot bath. A shower even. A glass of water. Food. Proper food. Everything I used to take for granted.

“Go!” Cillian calls as the first bullet sores past us. They hit the gas and the machines fly off, while I hold on for dear life. My eyes shut. Wind in my hair and the bitter taste of freedom teasingly on my tongue.