“Test subject Number One is ready, sir.” The scientist spoke in Russian to Dr Makovsky. He held a tray of various syringes ranging in size in his gloved hands and stepped backwards as the doctor emerged.
“Thank you.” The doctor replied in English. He selected a syringe filled with water-like liquid and uncapped it, then approached the figure on the stretcher. The figure turned out to be a dark-haired teenage boy, utterly naked save for a collar with pulsating blue light around his neck. He was sweating profusely under the glare and heat of the overhead lamps. His hair was lank with sweat and his eyes were open and following the doctor’s movements.
“Am I in a hospital?” The boy asked. “Where’s my dad?”
“Hello, boy.” Dr Makovsky said.
“Where’s my dad?” The boy repeated.
Dr Makovsky smiled, a mere upturning of the corners of his lips. It did nothing to soften the hard edges of his face as he moved towards the boy with the syringe raised high. “I’ll advise you hold still. This might be painful.” He said.
The boy struggled under his manacles “Dad!” He yelled as the syringe came close to his skin. He freed one of his legs from the constraint and kicked out at Dr Makovsky, knocking the syringe from his hands. The doctor let out a small yelp of surprise, then swiftly smacked the bound boy across the face.
“Let’s try that again, shall we?” The doctor said, then nodded at the assistant standing in a corner. The assistant picked an empty syringe and filled it with the same clear liquid, then handed it to him.
“Now hold still, boy, or you’d get more than a slap on the cheek.” He said and approached the boy again.
The boy screamed and shook as the syringe pierced his upper arm. His whole body convulsed as the serum coursed through his veins. Doctor Makovsky sighed in satisfaction and wiped the sweat off his brow. He almost seemed to enjoy the screams of agony as he stared in indifference at the boy’s tremors. His body began to change; his screams turned into growls as his limbs elongated and his canines were replaced with razor-sharp fangs.
Several physical changes later, the boy had been replaced by a five-foot tall monster with glossy black fur. The collar around its neck changed its colours from blue to a deadly, venomous red as its pulses increased in rhythm. The werewolf snarled, then charged at the doctor. His assistant stumbled in fright and cowered in the corner, but Dr Makovsky merely looked at the beast “Stop!” He yelled.
The werewolf stopped abruptly and yowled, pawing at the ground. It seemed to shrink before Dr Makovsky’s gaze, despite the obvious difference in size between them. “Sit.” He commanded and the werewolf obeyed.
“There, there.” The doctor murmured, patting its sleek fur.
“How you do that? How you do that, doc?” The assistant asked in halting English.
The doctor smiled but dismissed the question. He continued to pat the werewolf, and after a few seconds, said “Why don’t you get the next test subject ready, Lucas? I will be right behind you.”
The assistant bowed, not taking his eyes off the beast, and exited the room. Dr Makovsky continued to stroke the werewolf while murmuring to it. “You’re better now, can’t you see?” He said “You’re stronger, faster, more powerful than any normal human could dream of. You will be my Alpha, the pack leader, and together we would create an army of werewolves that could defeat even the strongest of mortals. Together, knäblein, you and I.”
#
The woods and its inhabitants were deathly quiet as the group of policemen trudged in it with flashlights, pistols and clubs, led by Mike’s assistant Scott. The hulk of the Russian laboratory towered over them from a distance. A few times a frog would croak or an owl would hoot, and the men would try valiantly to hide their shudder.
“This is crap!” One of the men swore and lowered his flashlight. “We’ve been plodding through the woods for the past hour. If something truly was killing people in here, we’d have found it by now.”
Scott stopped and pointed his flashlight at the face of the sweaty man “If you’re too scared to do this Phil, maybe you should turn back and head home to the comfort of your bed.” He snapped.
Phil shrugged and continued walking “Just saying. If truly there was a “big bad monster” in the woods, we’d have found it or it would have found us. I don’t think there’s anything here except for critters and lumber!”
A few of the other men murmured their assent. Scott sighed in exasperation and turned to Phil again. “Well, if there was really nothing in these woods, I think it would be nice to at least confirm it. And what if it was the beast who’s killing these people that took Mike and his daughter too?”
“Then it would be wise to get the heck out of here before it comes for us too.” Another man spoke up and the rest mumbled in agreement.
“I wonder what Mike would say if he could see you all right now.” Scott shook his head “Well then. How many of you want to be crybabies and follow Phil home?”
The men murmured and shuffled their feet, not meeting Scott’s eyes. Only a few of them stood bravely “Go then!” He snapped. “You should be ashamed of yourselves. You all are not worthy to be called policemen.”
“Anything is better than dying! Good luck finding the Big Bad Wolf, Scott!” Phil mocked and laughed, leading majority of the men out of the woods.
Just before Scott and the rest of the men could turn to go, a deadly snarl started from the edge of the forest, mere yards away from where Phil and the rest of the men were walking through. They didn’t seem to hear the snarl of danger though; they continued to walk through the forest and make derisive comments about Scott.
And before Scott could yell a warning, an animal, tall, furry and four-footed, its sleek brown coat scattering bits of moonlight emerged, tearing towards Phil and his men with a speed faster than any Scott had ever seen. Its eyes were golden and slitted, and from its throat came the snarling like the crash and roll of an avalanche.
A wolf.
Soon their mocking voices turned to screams of terror as the beast flew at one man and then the other, tearing them apart like paper. Phil began to run, leaving the other men behind. The wolf, seeing his intentions, began to run after him.
“Shoot! Shoot at it!” Scott yelled at his own men and they cocked their guns and shot. The wolf seemed to weave the bullets as they flew past it and lodged in the trunks of nearby trees. In the blink of an eye, the werewolf caught up to Phil and swiped him away as easily as batting away a fly. Phil flew up in the air with a scream and hit a tree with a sickening crunch. He lay at the foot of the tree, barely moving as the wolf neared him, picked him up with its front paws and separated his torso from his legs with a nasty shredding sound.
Scott and the rest of the men stood rooted to the ground in fear as the werewolf finished with Phil and ambled towards them. One of the policemen cocked his gun and aimed, but Scott signaled to him to lower his weapon. He walked uncertainly towards the beast and stopped when it snarled. The wolf and the man slowly walked towards each other and stopped with a few feet between them. Scott squinted into the great big yellow eyes and after a few seconds of staring, his eyes widened in recognition.
“Mike?”