“Boriss, ght, I’ll go left. As soon as it attacks one of us, the other should go for the tendons.”

  The Russian nods and slowly moves around the right side of the desk. I match his movement to the left.

  The Fenriromorph observes our as like a predator would prey.

  “It’s going to attack me. Be ready.”

  I hear Boriss grunt but refuse to take my eyes off the monster.

  Then I notice it, the slight bend of its legs.

  All at ohe Fenriromorph leaps toward me with a speed I’d not expected. I jump to the side and barely dodge a cw that scratches my right arm.

  The Fenriromorph’s momentum carries it headfirst into the crete wall. The monster screams in anger and agony from the impact. Before it push off the wall, Boriss is already on the move. With the full weight of his body, he drives his maul’s point into the Fenrirmorph’s head and sms it bato the stone wall. Mutant puppy brains sptter everywhere and blood runs down the wall onto the carpet.

  “Fuck, those things hop fast,” I curse as I get up. “Good strike. I’d have gone for a decapitation, but I guess fatalities are good too.”

  “rade, you are injured,” Boriss points at my arm.

  “Just a scratch,” I expin, “I’ll disi it when I get down. These things don't seem like they use poison to take things down. e o's go.”

  He nods and we head to the elevator, only, the elevator is no longer w.

  “Well, isn’t this ominous? Stairs,” I say.

  “Is okay,” Boriss pulls open the door to the stairwell, “Elevator is b anyway.”

  “Keep quiet,” I whisper.

  “Like mouse,” Borris says.

  I desd the stairs carefully, redug my o nearly nothing.

  And nothing is all I hear. I grima the silend gnce back. Borris follows me just as quietly, his careful movement giving the lie to his massive frame.

  He is very skilled.

  We tiil we arrive at the basemerance. I put my ear to the door ahe sound of soft breathing from two mouths.

  I raise two fingers and then point towards the door. Boriss nods. He shifts his posture and positions his on to attack. I take a silent breath then fling open the door and rush in. Two men holding spears yelp in surprise. They try to point their ons in my dire, but are too slow. I kie guard in the fad then disarm the other. Boriss rushes in after me. He grabs the guy I kicked by the ned then sms him into the wall.

  “What are you doing here?” I ask the prisoner, my rapier poking his throat.

  “S-surviving,” he stammers. “Cillian said it was safe here.”

  “Quasi, is that you?” I hear a certain Scott call from the workshop.

  Cillian rushes out of the room with my zip-rifle aimed in my dire. As soon as he sees my face, he grins and quickly lowers it.

  “You’re alive!” he excims, “Fuck, you were right. You fug knew!”

  Several more armed prisoners rush out of the workshop with ons ready.

  “Lower yuns,” Cillian quickly excims. “This is the guy. He’s the one who khis would happen.”

  “Predicted,” I remove my rapier from the man's throat. “Boriss, looks like we have allies.”

  “Ah, new rades. Good.” Boriss removes his hand from the prisoner's throat and allows him to slide down to the ground.

  “So,” I look at Cillian holding my rifle and his posse holding my shotguns, “Seems you helped yourself.”

  “Of course I did. I was a successful arms-dealer for nearly a decade.”

  I raise an eyebrow at the chubby Scott.

  “What? You think they just give anyone a gold rank? Of course I’m more capable than I look.”

  “Right,” I nod slowly. I g the other prisoners.

  “How many of you are there?”

  “Nine,” Cillian expins, “and one injured. Everyone here is a survivor of their floor.”

  “I see. The's get inside and you expin to me the situation. Boriss, close the door to the stairs and shove something big in the way.”

  Boriss gives me a salute.

  I follow Cillian into the workshop and am once again struck with the smell of blood. My head turns to a hunched figure nursing a mangled arm. o the figure is anuy applying a splint.

  “What happened?” I ask.

  “He was bitten by one of those things. Barely got away, that one.” Cillian expins.

  The man groans and shakes as the other prisoner works on his arm.

  “Its…its…its…” the injured prisoammers.

  “It's ing. It… it hunts me. It wants me.”

  I raise an eyebrow. “What hunts you? What wants you?”

  The prisoner raises his head and looks at me with slitted eyes.

  “Submission. It wants submis-ghe, gheahhhhh,” he screams.

  “Stop moving. I 't work on your arm if you keep mov-”

  “Get away from him. NOW!” I yell.

  The injured man starts shaking even more. The prisoner w on the arm quickly backs away.

  Then it begins. The injured man's hand knits itself back together and grows hair. The prisoner's body morphs and ges. It groidly with the fur spreading everywhere. Hrow from the man's skull. His face elongates and ges. Two eyes turn to four and then six. Muscles bulge and legs shift.

  In a matter of ten seds, a human has just bee a Fenriromorph.

  The Fenrirazes at me with slitted eyes. Pleading eyes of someone fighting desperately for trol.

  “As you wish.”

  I lunge forward and stab my rapier through one of its eyes, directly into its brain. The Fenriromorph falls to the floor, dead.

  Fuck. Demon werewolves. Why is it always demon werewolves? Why 't it just be a simple disease or something?

  I g the injury on my arm.

  I hope this, whatever this is, spreads only through saliva.

  “One sec,” I walk to the workshop bathroom. I open the cupbrab some alcohol, and then pour it over my scratch then dry it off with a towel.

  When I walk out, everyone is h over the Fenriromorphs corpse.

  “Put some gloves on and carry that thing into one of the closets. Cillian, e here. I want to talk to you privately.”

  He nods and we walk to a er.

  “Whateed? If I help, I will.” he g the injury on my arm.

  “Scratch from one of those thing’s cws. Not actually a bite.”

  “I-I see.” he grimaces warily.

  “But that's not important right now.” I wave him off, “I need all those ons you’ve armed everyoh.”

  “What? Why? We o protect ourselves while we wait for help.”

  I shake my head.

  “This city is no longer oh. If we wait, we die. We o get to the big elevator and leave as soon as possible.”

  “Not oh… but. How do you know?”

  “The gravity is slightly different. It feels a little weaker. My guess is we’re on a different p or a ge iiardless, we’re not anywhere we get external help.”

  He frowns, “Are you pnning on leaving alone?”

  “I’m leaving with Boriss and you- as long as you follow orders.”

  “Wouldn’t more people be better?”

  “No. Too many people will attract attention. I’m only you a spot because you actually hold a gun correctly.”

  “I… see.” He g the other prisoners as they work with Boriss to move the corpse. “Right, then. I’ll get it done.”

  “Good. After that, we o get a map. I o find out how to get to the maior. Any idea?”

  Cillian strokes his beard, “Herman Toftloy might have one. He’s the leader of the gold district up top.”

  I nod. “That's a good start. We’ll go up there together. Just make sure you get us those ons.”

  “I will.”