This week, it's an excerpt from the next Weirdo Company adventure I've been working on. In the first part of the novel, our heroes have been captured by the werewolf terrorist Rupert (who first appeared way back in "Ninja Werewolf Assassins!") while investigating a series of mysterious deaths across Asia. General Thibault has sent in Lt. Kent, recently imbued with superpowers thanks to a series of medical experiments, to rescue them. Kent has infiltrated Rupert's base and found the team in an underground prison, but now Rupert has found him.
“But now it’s time to see if you can play with the big dogs.”
Rupert launched himself forward, clothes tearing, wolf form expanding in mid-air. The room filled with a howl. Kent put his hands up and met Rupert’s claws. He clamped down hard on Rupert’s wrists and squeezed. At the same time, he fell back into a roll, planted his boot in Rupert’s chest and kicked.
Rupert slammed into the far wall, yelping in pain. He hit the floor on all fours and charged at Kent a second time. He came up on two legs and swung hard, claws slicing loudly through the air. Kent ducked under the swipe and landed a savage punch to Rupert’s gut.
The wolf flipped into the air and crashed through the transparent door to Davis’ cell. Davis jumped up on the cot as the wolf crunched against the toilet in a shower of tempered security glass. She leapt over it and out into the bay, past Kent, who stalked toward Rupert with purpose. Davis ran for the cell door controls.
Kent grabbed Rupert’s head by the hair and slammed his face down into the toilet, shattering it. Then he pivoted and threw Rupert back out into the bay. The wolf skidded across the concrete. He came to a stop and pounded his fist into the floor, enraged. It spun and charged at Kent once again, but this time ducked low at the last second and swept its leg out, knocking Kent off his feet.
The wolf caught Kent mid-fall, spun, and slammed Kent’s body against the wall.
“Hey!”
He turned just in time for Harper to slug him across the snout. Rupert growled and knocked Harper aside. He couldn’t recover quickly enough to avoid Davis swinging hard with a metal chair, right in the face. Rupert stumbled back, and Kent wrapped his arms around Rupert’s thick neck.
The wolf began to thrash, swinging Kent around on his back.
By now, Rupert’s men had heard the commotion. They poured into the cell bay, weapons ready. Spike had grabbed up an AK from one of the men who’d dragged Kent in and let rip. The spray of bullets tore up the floor and walls and men, spraying dust and blood into the air.
The mag clicked empty, and Flint, with perfect timing, took up the slack. He stitched a line of bullet holes up the side of the door frame, driving back a second wave of reinforcements. Harper rushed past them, yanking the pin on a grenade.
“Where’d you get tha--” Flint began.
“Fire in the fuckin’ hole!” Harper cried. He hurled the grenade through the door then kicked it shut and spun to the side.
Kent jumped into the air and kicked Rupert in the chest with both feet.
The grenade detonated, blowing the door inward.
It struck Rupert mid-air and knocked the wolf face-first into the concrete. Rupert didn’t move.
“Damn, dude,” Harper said, coughing and waving dust out of his face. The smoke in the room cleared gradually. He looked down at the unconscious werewolf. “That was baller.”
“So, are you gonna tell us how you’re suddenly Superman?” Davis asked.
“Um, I was also wondering that myself,” Harper said, raising his hand.
Kent said calmly, “We should get out of here. Mason is waiting outside for extraction.”
“Let’s bag this one,” Harper said, giving Rupert a light kick in the ribs. Kent nodded, bent down and hefted the wolf over his shoulder.
The team scavenged weapons and ammo from Rupert’s fallen guards, and headed out the door.
As they stepped over the burnt, shredded bodies, Davis said, “I guess we should be thankful they weren’t all wolves.”
“Or at least not yet,” Harper said. “Whoever or whatever is after him, he was really scared. He wasn’t raising an army, he was creating a protection detail.”
“Against what?”
They rounded the corner and stopped dead.
A figure stood at the other end of the corridor. It was tall, skinny, wearing a dark coat over simple clothing - dark pants, dark shirt. It had human ears and unkempt human hair. And it had the face of a horse sticking out the front of its head. It’s hands were around the neck of one of Rupert’s guards. The man made wet choking noises. The figure jabbed its right arm into the man’s head, piercing right through the skull. The man’s entire body began to shudder and quake, while the creature’s arm rooted around in its brain.
After a moment, it dropped the man’s dead husk of a body. It turned slowly toward them, and the entire team shuddered. The lights flickered above it.
“Okay,” Davis said, “what in the breakfast-roasted fuck is that?!”
“Not long for this Earth,” Harper said. He took two steps forward and raised his AK-47. He fired a quick three-round burst center mass. Horse-Face took a step back, rocked by the impacts, but steadied itself quickly.
Harper took another couple steps forward and emptied the entire clip into the beast.
It steadied itself again. It poked a finger through the bullet holes in its clothing.
It sniffed. Then, it glared back up at Harper.
“No bueno,” Harper said.
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