Chapter 104 - Breakout

  The werewolves hit the guards’ line like a furry battering ram. Redhead went low, ducking under the first spear thrust and slamming into the legs of two guards. They went down hard, weapons clattering across the floor. She-wolf leaped high, clearing the defensive line entirely and landing behind them. Toothless, still nursing his injuries but healing fast, circled around to the left.

  The guard leader thrust his spear at Redhead, but the werewolf twisted away with inhuman agility. The spear point scraped across the creature's ribs, drawing blood but nothing more. Redhead snarled and batted the weapon aside with one massive paw, then lunged for the guard's throat, mouth open wide like he wanted to bite the guy’s face off.

  I was there before the jaws could close.

  My fist caught Redhead square in the chin, snapping his head to the side and sending him tumbling away. The beleaguered guard stumbled backward, eyes wide with shock. He probably hadn't even seen me move.

  "I told you to get out!" I shouted at him, but there was no time for more conversation.

  She-wolf had grabbed one of the fallen guards by the arm and was dragging him toward the door. The man was screaming, trying to pull away, but he wasn’t nearly strong enough. I sprinted across the room, closing the distance in two heartbeats, and kicked She-wolf in the ribs.

  The impact lifted her off the ground and sent her crashing into an empty hospital bed. The bed frame buckled under her weight. The guard scrambled away, clutching his arm where the werewolf's claws had torn through his armor. He was lucky it hadn’t been teeth.

  Behind me, I heard the clash of weapons and more snarling. I spun to see Toothless engaging three guards at once, his claws flashing as he parried spear thrusts with shocking precision. One guard got too close. Toothless grabbed his spear, yanked it away, and threw it across the room.

  I rushed in, grabbed Toothless by the scruff of his neck, and hurled him away from the guards. He hit the far wall with a meaty thud, slid down, and lay there for a moment, dazed.

  "Watch the doors!" I shouted at the guards. "Don't let them—"

  Redhead bowled into me from the side, his full weight slamming me against a support pillar. The impact would have shattered bones in a normal person. Even for me, the blow knocked the wind out of my lungs. I grabbed Redhead's throat with one hand and pushed him back, but he had me at a disadvantage, for once. We struggled for a moment, his claws raking across my chest. My Natural Armor held, but I felt the pressure of each strike.

  Then She-wolf was there, slamming into my legs from behind. The combined weight of two werewolves drove me to one knee. Redhead's jaws snapped at me, inches from my face, his breath hot and rank.

  I planted my free hand on the floor and pushed up with everything I had. Both werewolves went flying. Redhead crashed into a medicine cabinet, glass and supplies exploding everywhere. I threw She-wolf so hard she hit the ceiling before falling back to the floor with a heavy thump.

  The guards were trying their best, but they were outmatched. One had taken a nasty slash across his shoulder. Another was pinned against the wall by Toothless, who had recovered and was now trying to bite through the man's helmet. A third guard thrust his spear at She-wolf, but she dodged easily and snapped the weapon's shaft with her jaws.

  This was complete chaos.

  I raced toward the guard pinned by Toothless and grabbed the werewolf's tail, yanking him backward. He yelped, an almost comical sound from such a fearsome creature. He released the guard, who slumped to the floor, gasping.

  "Fall back to the hallway!" I ordered the guards. "Regroup outside!"

  But I'd been so focused on saving the guards that I hadn't noticed the werewolves' actual strategy. They weren't trying to fight. They were trying to escape.

  While I'd been dealing with Toothless, Redhead and She-wolf had both bolted for the door. They moved with terrifying speed, shoving past the remaining guards like they weren't even there. I saw them disappear into the hallway, heard the screams of people outside as the werewolves raced past them.

  "Damn it!" I released Toothless and started after the other two, but Toothless grabbed my ankle with both paws and bit down hard on my calf.

  His teeth didn't penetrate my Natural Armor, but the pressure was enormous. It felt like my leg was caught in a bear trap. I kicked backward with my free leg, catching Toothless in the snout. His grip loosened, and I kicked again, harder. This time he let go completely.

  But those precious seconds had cost me. By the time I reached the hallway, Redhead and She-wolf were gone. I chased them down the hall to the building’s entryway, where the massive glass doors were smashed through. Racing outside after the creatures did me no good. They’d already vanished into the darkness.

  I turned back to the infirmary, frustration boiling in my gut. Two extremely dangerous, infectious monsters that could create more of their kind with a single bite were now loose.

  Love this novel? Read it on Royal Road to ensure the author gets credit.

  Toothless was still in the infirmary, growling warily. The guards had reformed their line, but they looked shaken. Blood dripped from multiple wounds. One man was sitting against the wall, clutching a gash on his thigh.

  “Pull back,” I said, pointing at Toothless. "I'm going to end this."

  I walked straight at the werewolf. He snarled and crouched, preparing to spring. I let him. As he leaped toward me, jaws wide despite his shattered teeth, I stepped to the side and brought my fist down on the back of his skull with carefully measured force.

  Toothless dropped like a stone, his body going limp mid-leap. He crashed to the floor and lay still, his chest rising and falling with shallow breaths. I didn’t know how long he’d be out, with his Regeneration, but for the moment at least, he wasn’t a threat.

  I stood over him for a moment, breathing hard. Around me, the infirmary was a disaster. Broken beds, shattered equipment, and bloodstains were everywhere. The guards helped each other up, checking wounds. Several of the patients who hadn't been restrained were huddled in their beds, terrified.

  “Was anyone bitten?” I called out. That seemed like the most important information to have.

  Before anyone could answer, the door burst open again. This time it wasn't guards. It was a woman in her fifties with steel-gray hair pulled back in a tight bun, wearing practical clothes and a stormy expression. Behind her came a squad of more heavily armed guards, these ones looking considerably more professional than the first group.

  “Mrs. Reynolds, good to see you,” I said. “Sorry about the mess.”

  Reynolds and I had met shortly after the Event occurred. She’d been the President of Harvard, before things went to hell. Now she was the woman who'd organized this community and kept it running despite impossible odds.

  Reynolds took one look at the carnage and her eyes narrowed. "Mr. Castle. Ms. Cross. Dr. McKinney. I think we should speak in my office."

  She passed orders to the guards to lock down Toothless in a more secure cell and beef up the security on the remaining wounded. Which made sense, if they were all liable to turn into monsters at any moment. I couldn’t help feeling bad for them, though. They’d all seen the fate waiting for them, and they each had a terrified look that struck right to the bone.

  Fred was left in charge of their care while the rest of us took a short walk. Reynolds' office was in Massachusetts Hall, a huge space with windows overlooking Harvard Yard. Guards had been posted outside the door. More guards were stationed at intervals throughout the building. The werewolf attacks had put everyone on high alert.

  Reynolds moved behind her desk and sat down as soon as we entered the room. Maggie and Tara stood off to one side, both looking exhausted and worried. Maggie had sent Emmy off under the care of a friend.

  “I get the impression time is of the essence, so why don’t you give me the quick version, eh?” Reynolds asked.

  “You’re not wrong. I’ll make it as brief as I can,” I replied. I updated her on everything important. I told her about the dungeon, the white healing crystals, how I'd brought one to help the wounded. How Maggie had used it to heal the injured, only to discover that healing the physical wounds did nothing to stop the transformation. How three of the bitten had changed before our eyes.

  "And two of them escaped," Reynolds said when I'd finished. Her tone was flat, but I could hear the worry underneath.

  "Yes. They were fast and smart. They coordinated their escape while I was trying to protect your guards." I met her gaze steadily. "I'm sorry. I should have been able to stop them."

  Reynolds leaned back in her chair, exhaling slowly. "Fair enough. We certainly appreciate the help. Without you, things would have been much worse. The question now is: what do we do about the others?"

  "The other wounded, you mean?" Maggie spoke up, her voice quiet but firm. "The ones who haven't transformed yet?"

  "Precisely. We have a lot more patients with bite wounds. If what you're saying is true, they're all going to transform, eventually. We can't keep them in that infirmary. The handcuffs clearly aren't strong enough."

  "We need to move them to a more secure location," Tara suggested. "Maybe one of the basement storage rooms? Reinforced door, stone walls..."

  "That might buy us some time, but it's not a solution," Reynolds said. "Even if we can contain them during the transformation, what then? We can't keep a pack of werewolves locked up indefinitely. And that's assuming no more of our people get bitten, which we definitely can’t guarantee. As infectious as they are, there will be more of them every day. We need to find a way to nip this in the bud.”

  I'd been thinking about this, of course. "There might be a way to cure them."

  All eyes turned to me.

  "One of the spells we got from the dungeon run was called Cleanse," I explained. "It removes negative status effects, like poison, disease, and similar things. We haven't tested it on this, but there's a chance it could work on the werewolf curse.”

  "A chance," Reynolds repeated. "How good a chance?"

  "I honestly don't know. But it's the best option we have. My guess is there’s a better shot before they transform, but it might work even on the werewolves.”

  Maggie stepped forward. "He's right. If there's any possibility of curing these people, we have to try. Otherwise..." She trailed off, but we all knew what she meant. Otherwise, we'd have to treat them like monsters.

  Reynolds was quiet for a long moment, her fingers drumming on the desk. Finally, she nodded. "All right. Mr. Castle, I’m game to give this a shot. Not like we have a ton of other options. Go and see if this person with Cleanse will help us. Get back as quick as you can. In the meantime, we'll move the remaining patients to a secure location and post heavy guards."

  "What about the one we captured?" I asked.

  “He’s already being transported to the sub-basement of the library. We've reinforced one of the old storage rooms. It’s got stone walls, steel door, and no windows. It should hold him.” Reynolds fixed me with a hard stare. “At least for a while. I hope your friend with the Cleanse spell can help him too."

  "So do I," I said.

  Reynolds nodded curtly. "Then get going. And Cameron?" She used my first name, which caught my attention. "Thank you. For trying to help. For bringing that healing crystal. We’d be in a lot more trouble without you.”

  "I just wish it had worked out better," I said.

  "Don't we all."

  I turned to leave, then paused at the door. "Maggie, you and Emmy should stay somewhere safe tonight. Somewhere with lots of guards."

  Maggie's face was pale, but she nodded. "We will. Please, hurry back."

  "As fast as I can," I promised.

  Then I was out the door, down the stairs, and launching myself into the night sky. The cool air rushed past me as I flew, the lights of Harvard falling away below. I pushed myself faster, racing back toward Alex's base. Marion had Cleanse. If anyone could cure these people, it was her. I just hoped we had enough time before more of them transformed.

  And I hoped we could find those two escaped werewolves before they hurt anyone else.