Haken: A Capacity for Violence Part 17

This story features forge master Haken and takes place between the events of 'Werewolves: Haven Rising' and 'Werewolves 3: Evolution's End.' 

[If you haven't read part 16, click on the Collections tab and select 'Werewolves' to find the previous chapter of this story.]

"I can smell her." Haken lifted his snout into the air and inhaled deeply, grateful that the stink of blood wasn't quite as severe on this end of the complex. "And Mia. They both have distinct scents. Two other wolves are with them as well. At least."

Lim was still curled up in his arm, watching the halls as he searched. She'd been silent, suffering through the pain of her wounds with quiet dignity. He could admire that. "And the attackers?" she asked.

"Hard to tell," he said. "They brought a lot of people in on this and I don't know any of their scents. "I can smell humans from that direction, but they could be dead or alive and I'd have no idea. Death-stink hasn't had time to really settle in, yet."

The doctor didn't say anything. She knew that she didn't need to–Haken would know to tread carefully regardless of weather she told him to or not. 

He slowed his pace and tread quietly through the hall. There was a distinct lack of human corpses in this wing and it was impossible to know if that was a result of the invaders getting the upper hand or simply due to them dying out along the way. The alert klaxon had been silenced several minutes ago, but the main lights were still down, leaving only the dim red emergency bulbs and the occasional flash of the bright white alarm lights. Even with his supernaturally enhanced sight, he was having a rough time keeping track of his surroundings. On the positive side, if it was this difficult for him then the attackers would be much worse off. 

Alice's scent was growing stronger with every step, and by the time he neared the next corner he was certain that he had almost reached her. He paused before advancing and pressed himself up against the wall, taking a deep breath before leaning his head out to take a look. A cell door was open on the other side of the hall and he could see Mia slumped up against the far wall inside. She hadn't noticed him yet. Alice and the others must be deeper into the cell, out of view. Several human bodies lay slumped on their sides not far from the entrance, uniforms slashed and covered in blood. He breathed a sigh of relief–they'd managed to defend themselves from what was left of the invading force. Now all he had to do was collect them and get the hell out of here. Lim wouldn't be happy about her werewolves breaking out, but as she said–she owed him her life. That had to be worth something.

"I've found them," he said to Lim as he rounded the corner. "They're huddled up in the next cell. We're all gonna get out of this together." He approached the cell as the doctor shifted uncomfortably in his arms.

"Don't go getting crazy ideas, Haken," she warned. "Do you remember what I said about the alarm? Reinforcements will be arriving shortly."

Haken grunted. "Doc, I respect you. I really do, which is strange for me to say out loud. But you know damn well I'm not hanging around here waiting for the military to show up." He stepped into the cell and breathed out a sign of relief when he saw Alice was among the prisoners still alive. She was leaning against the wall, staring down at the floor. Was she in shock?

"Damn it!" Lim shouted. "You're going to get yourself killed if you try to run and then all of this will have been for nothing! Don't you understand that I'm trying to save your species?"

Mia's head shot up when she heard the doctor's exclamation. She was only about ten feet away now, lined up with the rest on the cell wall. Rather than seeing the expected relief in her eyes, Haken saw nothing but stark, naked fear.

He looked through the rest of the cell, but much like his own, it was quite spartan with no room for any hidden threats to be lurking and ready to pounce. What was she so worried about?

"Get out of the cell!" Mia cried. "They knew you were coming!"

"What?" Haken exclaimed, whirling in place and dashing for the door so fast that he nearly dropped the doctor in his haste. "Where are they?"

The door was swinging shut!

Haken lunged forward and rammed the door with his shoulder, bashing it back open again before it could latch closed. He was immediately confronted by seven or eight men in bloody, mangled clothes, each pointing rifles in his direction. He cursed himself. They'd been playing dead! He'd grown so accustomed to the stench of slaughtered human over the last twenty minutes that he hadn't noticed any differences. After seeing so many defeated militiamen, what were a few more? He was a fool and his inattentiveness may have doomed them all. He almost charged without thinking, but then he remembered that he was carrying Dr. Lim. Putting her down would cost him time and he'd be slaughtered. He could use her as a human shield and charge…but he dismissed the thought less than a second after it came to him. He couldn't bring himself to do that so soon after saving her life.

One of the men standing at the center of the ring of armed militiamen stepped forward and addressed him. "Haken, I presume," he said. "We've been waiting for you." He had an air of authority about him and just a hint of a British accent–he'd probably been living state-side long enough to mask it almost entirely. 

Haken looked the man over carefully. Now that he was paying attention, he could tell that the uniform had been purposefully sliced and splashed with blood to lay the ambush. A rectangular patch was stitched in the upper right arm with the letters 'HSM.' Another patch over his breast pocket named him Benjamin. Haken exhaled and tensed his free arm. "Didn't realize I was that popular, Benjamin. I guess things change."

"You led the uprising in Haven," he replied. "Your reputation proceeds you. One might even say that you're a symbol for your little rebellion. Werewolf rights organizations have your image all over the internet."

Haken knelt down and put Lim on the floor before rising back up to his full height, towering over these small, petty men. "You gonna try killing me with those guns or do you plan to talk me to death? I'm getting bored."

"Ah," Benjamin said. "To the point, then. We'd prefer you surrender yourself without any further incidents. Things would be less messy that way."

"Why the hell would I do that?" The guy had about two seconds to make a point before Haken tore his throat out.

"Because the female werewolves in that cell are sitting around a remote controlled explosive device. And if you don't care about them, you might want to consider that you've got your back to the wall and you're surrounded by superior firepower. If you attack us, your chances of survival are nil."

Haken took a step forward, a growl rumbling at the back of his throat. He flexed his claws, clinking them together. "You're full of shit and you stink of fear. You're bluffing."

"Am I?"

"Yeah." Haken leaped for the man's throat, slicing through the air. He felt the stinging impact of several bullets peppering his tough hide, but for the moment all that existed was him and this preening peacock of a man. 

Benjamin jerked backward and Haken's claw caught in his left shoulder, shredding muscle before getting lodged in bone. In the second it took Haken to pull himself free and go for a second strike, the militiaman had already drawn a massive handgun and jammed it up under his muzzle. A bright flash and blinding pain shot through him, sending Haken stumbling to the floor. At the time he couldn't understand how a single shot could hurt him so badly–even if it was to the head–but he'd failed to register that the other humans had already shot him almost two dozen times.

"Fuck…fuck you," Haken spat a gob of thick red blood to the floor. "I'll…fucking kill you!" He lurched awkwardly toward the man and felt several new lances of stinging pain as Benjamin's men fired again. He fell to the floor, blood leaking from his muzzle. Forcing the pain from his mind, he pushed through, nearly regaining his feet before stumbling and collapsing to his knees. "Coward…" he growled through split lips and broken teeth, blood bubbling out as he tried to speak.

Benjamin looked down at him, seething pure hatred. His wounded arm hung limply at his side and his face was twitching with spasms of pain. "You'll regret that," he said. "Like I said, you're a symbol. A symbol to show all your kind what lies in store for them."

He lashed out with a sharp kick that slammed Haken's jaw to the ground with a crack. The steel-toed boots left him seeing stars. A second and third kick and darkness threatened to overtake him. 

"Take the animal to the cage with the others," Benjamin said. "And tell our people back home to take the alarm system off test." He leaned down and whispered into Haken's ear. "Nobody's coming to save you. You're ours."