...................................
DATE: 17 NOVEMBER 2009 - 1622
PROJECT: Z1-433 - PATIENT REPORT
X-REF: WHITE WATERFALLS, BETA STORM
LOC: SILVER-MEADOWS
PATIENT 000 STATUS:
VISIBLY HEALTHY
TEMPERATURE NOMINAL
PATIENT 001 STATUS:
DECEASED
PATIENT 002 STATUS:
DECEASED
PATIENT 003 STATUS:
SEVERE HEMORRHAGING
HIGH FEVER
PATIENT 004 STATUS:
SUNKEN APPEARANCE
IRRITABLE
LOW-GRADE FEVER
...................................
June 15th, 2010
The long ago "borrowed" SUV glides slowly past the rows of werewolves. They line the sides of the road, at attention as if they should have rifles on their shoulders.
"Do we have the nuke?" Kelly asks from shotgun. Mark leans over the back seat.
"Doesn't look like it."
"Damn... Well, I have this." Kelly holds up a small medallion in the shape of an ourobouros.
Al glances over from the driver's seat. "Maybe it's keeping the werewolves at bay?"
"Maybe", she replies as she scratches a fleck of red-brown from its edge.
As they approach the base of the mountain, the headlights fall on a set of open blast doors. Al leans over the steering wheel to scan the area. "Does anyone have any maps of this place?"
Mark looks up from his explosive-laden shoulder bag. "I've got some here... it shows a drain pipe on the far side of the facility."
"Yeah, that's where we were before. Where were you when we needed you?"
"Sorry."
-----
Alvin brings the truck to a stop inside the blast doors. Patchy flourescent lighting shines on a number of doors, including a couple loading dock doors and a two-lane wide overhead door, and another contingent of werewolves.
Kelly grasps the medallion tightly in one hand and readies her pistol in the other. "I'm going out there."
"Alright, let us know if that thing works," Sam replies. Ignoring his remark, Kelly stands, weapon ready, waiting for the wolves to move. As Kelly remains intact, the others ready their gear. Alvin discovers a pair of syringes in a small black case on the center console. As the rest of the group waits for the horror to begin, Kelly checks the door next to the overhead and discovers it unlocked, providing access to the room beyond and controls for the overhead.
Mark holds out the black case as Kelly returns to the truck. "I found these. There's no markings, except for these labels that both say 'MS-KA-AY-SS'."
"Hmmm... that's our initials. Maybe that's some sort of serum for us."
"But there are two syringes and only four of us," Sam adds.
"Collins could have explained it," Alvin laments.
The large door lets out its characteristic clatter as at ascends, allowing the truck to go further into the facility.
------
The roadway ends soon after at a curb with a set of double doors beyond it. The rest of the room contains a number of wooden crates and a distinct lack of werewolves. They spend a couple minutes prying open a crate hoping to find something useful, only to discover a pile of used office furniture. Sam toys with the idea of using it to wheel an explosive charge down a hallway, but they decide to leave it behind as they press further, in search of their fate.
-------
Beyond the double doors, a hallway leads to a checkpoint room roughly 5 x 7 meters. The wall to their left is dominated by a large glass window to a guard station while a young boy, brown hair, about 14 years old, stands in front of another set of double doors.
"Hello!... I'm so glad you could make it!" he shouts. Sam and Alvin respond by raising their guns.
"Who are you?" Alvin demands.
"My name is Jeremy. Jeremy Cartwright."
"What are you doing here?"
"Well, I made the werewolves."
"You _made_ them?"
"Yeah. You see, a while ago, my mom and dad got really sick. They said it was some kind of hemorrhagic fever or something, like Ebola, or what was that movie... Outbreak? Anyway, they quarantined us and eventually sent us here."
"How did you make the werewolves?"
"Well, it turns out that whatever virus my parents got was coming from me, and I can control it to make people do what I want. I think it just killed my parents because I didn't know what I could do... Once I was in here, I couldn't infect people because they were in suits and stuff."
"Infect people?" Mark asked with reluctant curiosity.
"Yeah, like if you sneeze on your hand, then shake hands. So I just had to wait until people who had already been infected could spread it."
"But why didn't you stop the werewolves, if you made them?"
"I'm the one who made them attack. Some people just couldn't be infected."
"So you just killed them?"
"Well... yeah."
"And you let us in here so you can kill us."
"Yup, I've even got a surprise for you."
As soon as Jeremy says surprise, Sam's trigger finger tightens up, unloading a clip of 9 mm rounds into Jeremy. The spray of lead hits him square in the chest, ripping his body. As he slumps to the floor, he briefly produces a laughing gurgle before bleeding out. Sam wastes no time and grabs a charge from Mark, sets the timer and drops it on the corpse. The party rushes out the doors and re-closes them in time to hear the shock wave rattle them a good deal and leave behind some ringing in their ears. Upon re-entry, they find that the corpse of Jeremy has been reduced to a stain on the ground and a fine coating of red bits upon the walls and ceiling.
"Well that wasn't so bad," Alvin says.
"Yeah, he didn't even have time for his surprise," Mark notices. On cue, the double doors on the far wall begin to open, each pulled by a werewolf. The doors part to reveal a near-cavernous room that has been cleared of equipment and is now home to a monstrous throne. The throne appears to be made from stone or metal, carved or wrought into fins and spires.
"I've got an idea," Alvin says as he turns to Kelly. "Give me the medallion." Kelly hands Alvin the circular snake charm and he strides into the room and up to the throne. Standing before the throne, he holds the medallion above his head and intones "Behold, I am your king." Nothing happens. "Hmmm... "
Sam enters the room and begins to walk the perimeter, checking for werewolves hiding in the shadows. Mark walks in a few meters to get a look at the throne. Kelly considers poking a werewolf with a short stick.
"This is a bit disappointing," Alvin says, dropping himself onto the throne.
After watching one of the doorwolves drool for a moment, Kelly pulls out her pistol and points it straight at its head. Jeremy's voice, seemingly from nowhere, prods "Please, do go on."
"What?"
"There would be fewer distractions."
After a moment's hesitation, the werewolves begin to move. Seeing its arm raise, Kelly reflexively fires a shot into its neck at point-blank range. It collapses with a yelp. The other wolf is performing the same motion and reaches up, grabs its own throat, and rips out its trachea. Kelly looks on in horror while the shot werewolf attempt to preform the same motion with a shattered collar bone. The standing wolf bleeds out and collapses in a heap and the previously downed wolf eventually becomes motionless.
"Okay... so this isn't over, I take it," Alvin ventures.
"Certainly not. This is just beginning."
Alvin feels the throne shift beneath him and launches himself away as the back of the throne folds over and comes crashing down onto its seat. With bizzare fluidity, the throne changes shape, revealing itself to be made entirely of flesh. It stretches forward and limbs ending in fearsome claws reach forth. "I've been practicing this," Jeremy says as skin stretches taut over a reptilian head over a meter across, its mouth a sharp-toothed grimace. As the rest of his body takes form, Jeremy lunges at Alvin who barely jumps out of the way. Kelly levels her rifle to begin a salvo of shots at the beast's head. Jeremy plants a massive foot into Mark, tearing his flesh and sending him backwards a couple meters. Alvin leaps, throwing his arms over beast's back and manages to hold onto as the multi-ton monstrosity writhes. Mark recovers and preps a double charge of plastic explosive. He runs up next to Jeremy, starts the 5 second fuse, drops it under the monsters belly, then darts away towards the edge of the room. Before the bundle of death settles into place, one of Jeremy's feet punts it in the exact direction Mark is headed. Mark reaches the near wall to find his own explosives waiting at his feet. The charge goes off, obliterating Mark's legs and part of his torso.
(Johnny rolled a 20 on the Demolitions roll, then another 20 for severity, then maximum mortal damage, then barely a hint of armor. This was his first action of the combat.)
Sam recovers briefly from seeing Mark ripped to shreds and runs towards whats left of him, unloading a clip from his SMG at Jeremy as he crosses the room. The bullets cause an array of chips and cracks to appear across Jeremy's armored head.
Alvin pulls himself up onto Jeremy's back and begins unloading one of his Barretta's into Jeremy's rhinoceros-like hide. Shots from Kelly's rifle add to the deafening staccato filling the room. Sam pulls a remote charge out of Mark's bag of explosives and, holding the charge in his left hand and the remote in his right, runs towards Jeremy's head with his left arm outstretched.
Little mroe than angered by the barrage of bullets, Jeremey swivels his head to see Sam approaching. With a snap of his jaws, he takes Sam's arm up to the elbow into his maw. With a flick of his thumb, Sam hits the detonator. The blast rips though the beast's softer interior, nearly destroying his jaw entirely. Sam stumbles away clutching the stump that remains of his left arm and realizing that he's going to have a heck of a time reloading his SMG.
Jeremy roars in pain, trying to snap at Alvin with his broken jaw before dropping down and rolling towards Sam. Alvin jumps clear and Sam dives out of the way. Mark, ignoring the horror of having one's body stop at the bottom of the ribcage, uses his last ounces of strength to pull the last charge from his bag, set the fuse, and slide it under Jeremy.
The charge detonates, ripping into Jeremy's belly, killing him. The shockwave knocks Alvin, Sam, and Kelly down. Between the concussive force and loss of blood, Sam loses consciousness. Kelly tourniquets Sam's arm while Alvin desperately tries to help Mark, injecting him with the unknown serum to no effect. Mark's breathing becomes momentarily calm as he slips away.
After making sure Sam is still with them, Kelly walks over to the giant reptile, pries open one of its eyes and unloads the remainder of her rifle clip into the monster's skull. Eventually, the beasts flesh becomes mottled with bruises and begins to disintegrate into a pool of soup, revealing Jeremy's original human body, dazed and barely conscious. As he starts to pick himself up, the wolves begin throwing themselves at the locked doors of the throne room. Sam draws his knife with his remaining hand and removes Jeremy's head, and, as quickly as they began their assault, the wolves become quiet.
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