Haken: A Capacity for Violence Part 15

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 14, click on the Collections tab and select 'Werewolves' to find the previous chapter of this story.]

A heavy fist pounded against the lab door. "Open up! Anyone harboring one of the animals will die alongside it!"

"Hmm," Haken muttered as he began to shift forms. "Maybe I'm not so tamed after all." He looked from the door to Lim. "Why don't they just come in?"

The doctor pointed to a small plastic card affixed to her belt. "The doors all lock automatically around here. We originally used it to keep track of who goes where at all times, but the system is just as useful if someone goes where they're not supposed to."

"But will it hold?"

"Of course not, Haken," she said, voice dripping with exasperation. "They got this far. They have guns so I'm guessing they also have breaching rams and explosives. Only the cell doors were designed to withstand that kind of punishment, and even then I'm sure they could get in if they really wanted to."

He cracked his knuckles. "So what's the plan? If they're here to kill all the wolves, then we need to get to the others and make sure that they're safe." He tried not to think about Alice. Panic and rage wouldn't be his ally in such a volatile situation. He had to understand what he was up against if he wanted to defeat it.

"Other than the perimeter, the cells are the best guarded parts of the facility. Your fellow prisoners are in less danger than we are at the moment."

"Wouldn't these guys have needed to break through the perimeter to get this far?"

"Ostensibly. But as we learned through your little incident with Riley attacking you in your cell, we've had some issues with staffing, lately. They may have had a man on the inside who was keeping their head down. If someone opened up the gates for them, they could get in here without much of a fight. Betrayal and intelligence leaks cause just as many military defeats as force of arms. We can't discount the possibility of an inside job at this point."

"And you just let that happen?"

The doctor rolled her eyes. "I'm a scientist, not a staffing expert or strategist. I'm supposed to have people who handle these things for me so I can focus on my work!"

"Wonderful," Haken grunted as the thumping against the lab door grew more powerful. They must be using one of those hand-held rams she mentioned. "Any objections to me shifting?"

Lim shook her head. "By all means. I'm surprised it wasn't the first thing you did."

"Didn't want you to freak out," Haken said. "I know you have a gun strapped under that desk. Better get it just in case they want to clean house." He crouched down on all fours and willed himself through the change. Thick brown fur sprouted down his arms and legs as an unexpected wave of nausea rolled through his guts. A confused whimper passed his lips as his bones cracked and rearranged themselves within his body faster than he'd ever experienced before. He was in full wolf form within seconds, something he'd never thought possible. That would have been great if he wasn't sideways on the floor gasping for breath as the ceiling's fluorescent lights spun above him in a fuzzy, disorienting spectacle. He felt a slim hand grasp his paw and try to pull him up. Lim. She was putting a lot of trust in him if she'd touch him at this stage.

"I'm sorry, Haken, but you've got to get up! They're almost through the door!"

"What did you do to me?" he gasped.

"I already told you. I enhanced your transformation ability. I was hoping there wouldn't be any drawbacks, but you can't argue with the speed and efficiency!"

The haze was lifting from Haken's mind and he was able to right himself and stand on all fours. He gave his fur a shake. "We'll talk about this later."

The door burst off its hinges and crashed to the floor with a thunderous bang, revealing three men in dark green uniforms strapped to the nines with weaponry. They dropped the battering ram they'd been using to the floor and pulled their guns. Nothing seemed to be standard military issue. Mercenaries, then? Militia? Lim must have been right about the military defections.

"We've got one in here!" the lead man shouted back through the hallway. "Scientist, too!"

"Subdue the animal!" another yelled back. "Take the doc alive if you can!"

The militiaman took a step through the door, making way for a half-dozen others to swarm through behind him. Haken didn't wait for them to get into formation before launching his attack. He immediately felt the sting of several bullets burrowing their way into his skin as he ran, but he'd gotten accustomed to the pain. The lead human, on the other hand, had far more difficulty surviving the razor-sharp claws being driven through his skull and embedding themselves in his brain matter.

Haken heaved the dead man aside, throwing him bodily into the two gunmen to his right, knocking them flat on their backs before they had time to respond. The remaining survivors opened full-auto fire, scoring several lucky hits to his head and staggering him. The fur around his eyes was wet with blood, obscuring his vision as he lashed out at random, hoping to land a lucky strike. He managed to scrub the blood away with the back of his hand just in time to see one of the militiamen jerk back as a blossom of red exploded from the side of his head. Haken risked a quick glance deeper into the room and saw Dr. Lim pointing her gun. He'd expected to see her terrified and shaking, but her stance was solid, not so much as a tremble. 

The unexpected death of his companion caused the last militiaman on his feet to retreat; Haken could smell the panic radiating from him in waves as he turned his back and ran.

"Haken!" Dr. Lim's cry grabbed his attention, probably saving the fleeing man's life. "I need your help!" 

He muttered a curse. She'd been shot multiple times, at least once in the chest. The fact that she could still breathe well enough to call out for him was a good omen, but her survival was far from certain. He looked back at the door again, pleased to see that no reinforcements had arrived, yet. The shirt he'd discarded before Lim began her experiments would do well enough for makeshift bandages, so he quickly shredded it into strips and wound them around the doctor's chest tightly, stanching the blood flow. 

"I think you'll survive," he said. "But you may wish you hadn't for a few days while you recover."

"I'll have every one of them court martialed…" Lim sputtered. "I never thought the higher-ups would let it go this far! It's an outrage!" 

"Save it," Haken grunted. "We need to get you somewhere else or they'll just come back and finish off the job. You have any ideas?"

She thought for a moment. "It's like I said earlier. The cells are the only rooms that have any chance of repelling them."

"Unless we leave."

Lim shook her head and winced as she tried to stand. "Not possible. There's only one way out and they'll have it covered. That button I pressed sent out an alert over the line. We'll have reinforcements en route already. We just need to hold tight until then."

"All right," Haken grunted. "I'll have to carry you if we want to make good time, unless you really want to limp. Any objections?"

She pointed over at the cabinet beside her work station. "Grab the med kit in the top drawer, there. I'll need it once we're safe." 

He did as he was asked and then knelt down to pick the scientist up. She was surprisingly light and he was able to cradle her in one furry arm. It wasn't comfortable for either of them and he felt off-balance, but it would do until they were out of danger.

But first, he had to find Alice.