"Brilliant," Granny whispered as she watched the Wolves with an odd and unsettling expression.
"What's wrong, Granny?" I asked. Why in the hell was she staring like that?
"Hank, tell then I'm coming over," Granny said, ignoring me as she began to walk around the pool. "I need to see something."
"No," I shouted at her. "You can see fine right here."
"Tell her to stay put," Hank demanded as he growled furiously. "What in the hell is she doing?"
"Granny, stop. Now," I yelled. "You're going to get killed."
"I have to see," she said desperately as she increased her pace.
"Oh my God," I gasped as I went to follow her.
"No," Dwayne bellowed as he levitated and began to glow. "Cover her with the gun. I'm going over. She's lost her ever lovin' mind and I am going to whale on her ass after this is over."
"Stay here, Essie," Hank barked. "Dwayne is right. Get ready to shoot. I'm going around the other side."
I'd never been so frustrated, scared and pissed off in my life. If Granny didn't die by stupidity in the next five minutes I was going to kill her dead myself. She was putting us all in grave danger by going in alone. Nine to four were horrific odds. Granny had been a WTF agent; she should know better than making the first move. It was a weak position and we couldn't afford it.
"Essie, stop thinking and aim," Hank snapped in my head. "I have no clue what Granny is doing, but it's done. Focus and forget she's your granny. Use your training and go for the kill."
He was right. I pushed my personal feelings and anger back, narrowed my gaze and kept my gun aimed about a foot in front of Granny as she moved. I prayed I could hit whatever came at her. Please don't let them all come at her at once.
"Bobby Sue," Dwayne yelled over the growling and gnashing of teeth as Granny approached the Wolves. "You stop right now."
He was clearly using some kind of Vampyre voodoo on her as her gait slowed. She moved as if she was underwater but she didn't stop. Her determination sickened me and I watched in horror, ready to shoot anything that jumped her.
The snapping of jaws increased. It sounded like a disjointed melody punctuated by hisses and yips of rage. My instinct to shift was almost debilitating but I stayed in human form. I refused to let my inner turmoil and fear for my clearly insane grandmother unhinge my focus. My training was top notch and I was about to put it to a test like I never had.
Granny was headed toward two silver Wolves at the back of the Pack. Hank was coming up with speed around the other side of the pool and Dwayne hovered over Granny as she blindly ran. The clusterhump was seconds away and I quickly pulled another gun from my belt. I was ambidextrous as far as shooting went, but I could only aim one gun at a time. Shit shit shit.
It happened like a slow motion B movie with a plot that gave you nightmares for the rest of your life. The two wolves she was headed for backed away hissing and snarling as the rest of the Pack went for my Granny. I aimed and fired repeatedly, missing most of my targets because they were too close to her. Hank attacked the two biggest wolves on the outer edge and was in a fight for his life. I continued to shoot and mortally wounded three.
Dwayne was a tornado of fire as he ripped through several who were trying somewhat successfully to tear him apart. However, Granny wasn't defending herself. She was intent on the two who refused to fight. What in the hell was she doing?
The bullets were useless. I tossed the guns and shifted. I backed up about ten feet from the pool and took a running leap over it into the fray. My back paws caught the edge and I went tumbling into the bloodbath. Power surged through me as I ripped and tore at anything that came near. I lost sight of Granny and prayed like hell she would have the wherewithal to shift and fight.
A vicious burn shot up my back left leg as a large brown Wolf clamped his massive jaws down on me. Something unfamiliar roared through my blood and came out of my mouth—a sound so chilling it made me ill. I embraced it, flipped backwards and tore the Wolf attached to my leg to shreds. The blood ran hot down my throat as I clamped down on his neck and ruptured every major artery. His gurgled snarl as he bled out was beautiful and horrifying. The thing living inside of me wasn't satisfied though. It wanted more. It wanted to kill more. The thing was me, I realized with shock… and I needed to kill more.
It was so fast and so violent I was unsure where to focus next. Fur and bodies were flying. My coat was matted with blood and a deep laceration over my left eye made seeing difficult. I went by scent and continued to maim, mutilate, and kill. Part of my soul had taken a leave and I felt like an atrocity on autopilot.
Not knowing if we were winning or losing, I kept going. As I plowed through the rabid Wolves I searched desperately for Granny and Hank. Dwayne was still flying above even though it was clear he'd lost a few parts.
"Speak to me," I demanded of Hank and Granny. "Where are you? Are you okay?"
"Never better," Hank grunted. "Five down. Four left. By the tennis courts. Go, go, go."
He didn't have to ask twice. I leapt over the dead and bounded to the tennis courts. What I saw was stupefying and I didn't know what to do. I skidded to a halt and tried to make sense of the scene in front of me.
Two jet black Wolves had Granny pinned to the ground. I howled with agony when I saw how damaged she was. She was unconscious and I was unsure if she was still alive. There was so much blood. Why hadn't she shifted?