FSE

Furry search engine

formerly SoFurry search engine

It was worse than Emery could have imagined. The dead far outnumbered the living who were sullen, but busy stacking the bodies of Lycans like cordwood and fellow human ceremoniously on cordwood. Some fires had already been lit, filling the air with the smell of burning meat and fur. Dark blooms of smoke, oily black, lifted into the air, staining the snow in the trees. Emery realized that it wasn't snowing stained flakes, it was just the ashes falling back down.

He walked, leaving Curtis and Hadrian at the vehicles. They would be safe. There were more than just humans about and patrolling. Looking around, there were other Lycans, stalking around the edges of the train station.

At least Reiss seemed to have made some sort of contact with the packs here, Emery thought. He wondered if it was worth it. Reiss' soldiers were among the best trained and most were gone now. This alliance had come at a heavy cost to the Templars.

"I couldn't quite believe it either." A familiar voice came to Emery's ears. It had once brought happiness to the Lycan. Now? Now it was something that dug up feelings of regret.

"Believe what?" Emery said without turning towards Under-Marshall Riven. He could hear her boots coming to a stop next to him. He could almost feel her body heat, hear her breathing and see her face, once smooth and smiling, now hard and undaunting. How could he have gone so wrong? Been so blinded by duty?

"I was left behind at the previous station along with a secondary force. When news that Reiss was under attack reached me, we got here as fast as we could." Her voice was colder than the air around her. "It was too late already. It was all over by the time we arrived."

"You like Reiss?" Emery regretted asking her the moment the words left his mouth.

There was a sudden and violent intake of air. "You think that's why I transferred to his command?" Riven walked in front of Emery. Even though she was much smaller, the shadow she cast more than made up for it. "I like him better? I do like him better. But that's not why I transferred. I'm not after him at all. I was getting away from you." She scoffed and brushed some hair out of her face with her hand. "You tried too hard to make up for your unforgivable act."

Emery remained silent, but maintained eye contact.

"Nothing can make me forgive you. You need to realize that." She turned around and watched the burning carcass piles. "The sooner you do that. The sooner we can both move on."

Emery watched as she walked away. He didn't know how to react. That was the longest conversation he ever had with her since the incident that drove them apart. Before, she had ignored him completely. Filling her days with duties and tasks that took her away from any opportunity to talk and now suddenly she had said what she had to say and left. He hadn't even had a chance to say his own part, but he knew that she didn't care about that. She was a woman with a force of will behind her.

"Sir?" Jerome appeared. Had he heard? Emery wasn't sure even with his enhanced senses. Many knew about the strained relation with Riven, but very few knew the details. Emery preferred to keep it that way.

"Yeah, what is it?"

"Turcopolier Reiss wants to speak to you." Jerome flipped through his note pad, shivering as he did so. His gloves made it too difficult for him to perform his tasks, so he had taken them off and stuffed them in his pockets. "He's just inside the station."

"Thanks. I'll get right to that." Emery' eyes never left Riven. "Go and get a hot drink or something. I can hear your teeth clattering."

Inside the station, Reiss was busy getting the place cleaned up and caring for the wounded. There was the risk of Lycantropy taking hold. It wouldn't affect a healthy person normally, but someone who had lost lots of blood and was going in shock?

Medics, some wounded themselves, ran from groaning Templar to Templar, administering aid as best as they could. Small amounts of silver was given to each man, but for the most part, aid was to stabilize and boost their immune system. Beyond that, there was nothing else that could be done.

A man began to scream out. His arm was a mess of torn ligaments and shattered bone from a bite. The skin around the wound was turning a sickly grey, like old and soggy turkey. His eyes were already beginning to turn a shade of yellow.

"I need five cc's of suspended silver," A medic called out as he ran over to the man, pushing aside a small mountain of bloody bandages. He opened his large bag and pulled out a syringe filled with a green liquid and pushed it into the man's neck.

"How long?" Reiss asked while kneeling down to grab a hold of the man's arm to keep it from flailing. Others did the same with the other appendages.

"Not long," The medic grimaced and pushed hard on the plunger. The green concoction that was a mix of antibiotics and anti-virals that had worked to some ext me to in the past, slowly disappeared into the thick and grinning neck vein. "This Lycanthropy seems to act faster and more aggressively that anything I've seen in the past. He has minutes."

Another medic, bearings a crimson cross on his shoulder, ran over with another capped syringe. This one was simply filled with saline with suspended particles of silver.

The first medic took the syringe and began to inject small amounts of the silver around the wound and then injected the rest into the same neck vein he had used before.

All the while, the screaming man's strength seemed to be increasing. Reiss was struggling to keep him from moving too much. As were the others.

The nails were extending ever more and the bones were already shifting.

Everyone knew that it was too late.

Reiss looked over to the medic and they met eyes.

The medic sighed and reached into the bag. It wasn't another syringe. It was a gun. Loaded with a silver round that also had a fast acting chemical to break apart the silver and let it disperse into the blood stream to stop the Lycantropy from healing the wound.

It was an absolute last resort.

Normally if this were to happen, they would be detained and drugged. Once awake, the individual would have the option of continuing or not. However, Reiss had orders straight from the Grandmaster. This strain of Lycanthropy was too dangerous and volatile. All those infected and unable to be saved were to have their suffering ended.

The gunshot rang out. The man convulsed once and then laid still. Another Templar dead.

Reiss only stayed long enough for the medic to cover the man's head and let two Templars to lift the body up and bring it outside where he would be stacked onto the next pile that would be brought burned.

Reiss spotted Emery from across the room. It was impossible to miss the Lycan when he stood so much taller than everyone else.

Emery looked around the room, at all the bodies, the blood, the mess. "How are you going to cover all of this up?"

"Putin's New Iron Wall crumbled the moment the mad man died on his toilet from a supposed heart attack." Reiss wiped blood off his hands onto his pants. Despite his position is a very bloody job, he hated it. It dried and got stuck in the nooks of the skin. Too forever to get out and the smell of copper never left. "Nothing left in Russia's government other than the corrupt and spies. It won't be hard to play this off as an unfortunate accident."

"Still..." Emery's nose twitched. The smell was overpowering.

"Don't worry about that," Reiss assured Emery. "We have much more important things to worry about." He glanced over at the pile of burning Lycans outside.

Emery nodded. The government was the least of their issues. "I'm guessing the locals didn't appreciate them being here either, hence the few new noses running about outside?"

"If your talking about the locals from the mining village... well their the ones burning outside. Not a single soul left in that town and not many got out by train. If your talks bf about the werewolves that aren't walking around on tow legs, then we have a temporary understanding at the moment."

"The entire town?" Emery had seen that this station had served a rather sizable mining town of several hundred. Possibly upwards of a thousand.

"All gone and the tracks from the burning fuckers all come from one of their mining tunnels." Reiss led them back outside where he could grab a handful of snow. It came away rusty red. "I haven't sent anyone in and the local pack doesn't want to send anyone if we won't. That's why I called you."

"You want me to search the tunnels?" Emery crossed his arms. "There are plenty of others who could handle this."

"And some are on their way as we speak," Reiss cut him off. "But none of them are in your position. A lot of eyes are on you to see if you're competent. I want to give you the opportunity. A brother helping out another."

"Well," Emery couldn't help but feel a little flustered. "I appreciate the hand out."

"Don't mention it." Reiss kept a stern face. He was beating himself up on the inside for losing so many men. He was feeling empathy for Emery and knew that he himself would go under review as well once this was over. He needed the next few days to go smoothly. "Your also the first to arrive as well. It will be awhile before another Lycan arrives and with your train being the last one, I don't think we can wait."

"I understand."

"Good. You have your equipment with you?"

"Yes," Emery nodded.

"Also, did your mission in the United States go well?" Reiss knew it had. He could see the massive dog and his handler at the far edge of what should have been the parking lot.

"Yes. With some elbow grease." Emery noted how he had to blackmail them to come along.

"How's the dog's capabilities? Hadrian? Right?"

"Yeah, its Hadrian. Evergreen named them after Romans." Emery knew that there were several other so called super dogs out there in the states. All named after Romans as well. "His report shows outstanding police work, but that's it. He's police. Not a soldier. His handler, Curtis is as well and not nearly as impressive. I wouldn't consider either of them viable for any kind of field work."

Reiss listened and thought it over. He understood what Emery was saying. It wasn't going to end well for them if he tried to use them for anything dangerous. Still, the Church wanted viable field data on the effectiveness of the super dogs before implementing it for Templars.

"I want you to take the dog with you."

"What?"

"I want you to take him with you into the mines. I'm aware that he had enhanced senses that may even rival your own."

"Maybe." Emery bristled slightly. Lycans weren't known for being overly humble. They wanted to be the best. It was just natural. "However, if there are still hostile Lycans down in the mines, then he won't last. On top of that. I don't think it's possible to separate Hadrian from Curtis. They have a special relationship.

If Reiss caught onto the hint, then he didn't show it. "I can't spare many men, but you can assign some to protect Hadrian and since they can't be separated, then Curtis as well." He held up his had to stop any objections. "I don't expect them to fight. I just want an assessment of their capabilities. This is coming from the top. Not me. As soon as there is any ground, you send them back up. There will also be Lycans from the local pack as well. An extra layer of security. They won't take orders from you, but they aren't stupid or incapable. Do you understand Marshal?"

Emery didn't argue. There was no choice in the matter for either of them. The Church may elect their pope, but that was where the democracy ended. "Yes, sir."

"Good. Go ahead and break the news to them and do what you have to to ensure their cooperation. I'll get in contact with the Lycans. We'll head to the mine in an hour."