Rise of the Amarok

Chapter 1 — On the Move

Blood. There was blood everywhere. Dripping from the ceiling. Painting the walls. Covering the floor beneath her barefoot. Diana looks at the bodies. Displayed on the ground beneath her. Summons. Creatures from the Other. A place that only magic users could access freely if they were not from there. Monstrous beasts with limbs longer than her—skin tougher than steel.

Their bodies covered with matted flood fur. Jagged razor sharp teeth stuck out of their gaping hippo shaped maws.

The name of such creatures. Unknown to her. Still, she fought them. And one. She holds her arm. Her injuries causing her to want to collapse on the ground. A loud rumbling roars enters her ears.

More of them. She needs to move.

Diana runs. Her feet hobbling as she moves. Blade in her uninjured hand ready to strike any creature that came close to her. Her ears twitch as she hears the rumbling steps getting closer. The beasts were getting close. She had killed three. She did not know if she could kill anymore.

Distressed silver eyes widen. She may have to transform. She looks at the pendant around her neck. And thinks back to her first love. The vampire who gave her this protective amulet. That kept her Amarok form locked up tight. That kept her scent from being noticeable. That kept her able to hide without fear until today.

Until they tracked her here. To this city. She had been living outside of the paranormal world for years. As well as she could with the bleed between worlds. Humans were aware of their existence. Have been for at least a hundred years. Treaties were made. Were signed to keep to the supernatural from harming the natural.

Now—now the worlds intertwined. It was her fault. Her fault for staying in this city for more than year. She knew better. She knew it was best to keep running if she is survive. If she is to allow the Amaroks to return to power. And yet, here she felt safe. So safe, she forgot to hide what she was.

A wolf without a pack. A danger. The Hunters. They summoned these beasts without even knowing what she was. They wanted her gone. Outside of their human city. So much so they breached the walls between reality to summon those creatures.

Creatures that are tearing through the city to find her as warning sirens blare above her ears. She winces and trips. Stumbling over trash in an alley she ducked into. The beasts footsteps still coming closer with each step. She cannot transform. She must not transform.

Her eyes scan the walls around her. She could climb. She jumps up hands digging into the solid brick making indentures in it. She moves her damaged arm up to help pull her climb. It shakes. Blood pumping out of an open wound. Dagger like pain strikes her.

“Fuck!” The curse spills from her lips.

Diana pushes through the pain. Her short black hair falling into her eyes as she lolls her head forward. She presses her forehead against the wall she was climbing—gathering her strength. She moves. One arm. The next. Her feet clamoring beneath her.

Soon enough, she’s on the rooftop.

A cat cries out below. A thump sounds as the beast tears through the alley. She peers down to see it sniffing the ground. The sound loud. Obnoxious like a hog huffing after trying to ram a person down. It did not know she was up here yet.

And she certainly wasn’t going to allow it.

She needs to get home. To safety.

Diana takes off across the rooftops. Her muscles pumping now with certainty. She leaps across roof after roof. As she moves her injured arm slowly begins to mend. Her ears perk up constantly trying to hear if she’s being followed. She is not.

The Amarok makes it to her home. She does not go through the front door. She slides into the apartment via the glass balcony. Breaking the lock in the process. The alarm countdown starts on her apartment. In seconds she steps across the room to cut it off. She closes her the balcony door and relaxes on the ground.

She has to leave. This apartment was not safe. Her wolf ears pop up frantically. Her emotions riding to hide for her to hide her more obvious wolf traits. She rummages through her apartment quickly. She already had a go bag packed. But the other stuff. Her IDS. Her money. Her weapons. That she packs.

She tosses off the clothing she was wearing. The clothing smelling of those creatures. She sprays scent blockers over her naked muscular body before dressing in clean clothes. Wincing as she pulls on her shirt. Her arm still not fully healed.

With bags in tow—keys in hand she leaves the apartment.

She is down the hall when she hears the glass of her apartment shatter. She sprints down the staircase not bothering with the elevator. Escape is nigh.

The car park below the apartments is dim and barren. Each step towards her car feels like an eternity. Her feet were moving swiftly. Steps hurriedly unhurried. Her gaze down to duck cameras. She arrives at her car. A black muscle car. A remnant of times before a technological boom of the current time.

Not electric. Pure horsepower and gas.

She unlocks it. The keys jingling in her hand. Too loud for her currently sensitive hearing. Her ears still out. She winces a bit as she pulls the door open. She tosses her bags into the back seat as she slips into the car and starts it.

The engine roars to life. Relief filling her knowing that they did not track her here. That her car was still a safe haven. This mobile home that has been with her since the destruction of the last Amarok stronghold. Her home.

She drives out the car park. Her car peeling away. As she drives she sees the lumbering beast bursting through the staircase leading to the parking garage. She had escaped and it would not catch up to her now.

Now—Now Diana must find a new home. A place to hunker down and survive. The human world as dangerous as the supernatural world. Her identity in this one burned. It was time to tap into her supernatural one.

The one that would put her on the radar as long as she does not show the differences between herself and other werewolves. Her survival paramount. She must not allow herself to get caught.

As she looked at the city she was going through she feels sadness fill her.

The sirens blaring in the city. Warning the populace of an unknown supernatural presence. Not classified in their systems. Not taken any of the inhibitors that allowed them to live in human populated areas. She hid so well until she had one moment of weakness. One second that decided her life there.

As she swerves the car turning past the police barricades they are creating to keep her inside the city lines she remembers that moment she let her cover be blown.

The sun was high in the sky. Midday. Whatever else time of day could it have been for it to be noticeable that she was not human. She saw them then. A woman and her son walking out into the street. The mother looking around carefully before stepping out. The son breaking free of her hand running deep into traffic.

Her feet had move faster than her brain could have caught up. She was in front of the boy. Blocking the car that was swerving trying to avoid him. The collision. Her body to car would have sent a human flying. No she stopped it. Her wolf strength incredibly powerful due to the moon cycle being near its peak.

Her ears popped out revealing her heritage. The woman looked at her with gratitude and then saw the lack of inhibitor collar on her. A necessity in the city of Curbstrain. A city born of people who did not want the supernatural in them. Who wanted to hold onto the bastion of humanity. Who wanted normalcy.

No self-respecting supernatural would have stepped foot within these walls. Heritage being far more important than anything else within their world. They would not have dumbed down their capabilities to suit the normal. Making it the perfect place for Diana to hide.

Until now.

“Fuck!” Police sirens start behind her.

She swerves down a narrow alleyway big enough to fit her car coming out of the memory. She looks in her rear-view to see that they were still close on her tail. That police vehicle could not fit. It was an armored one. A Supernatural Hunter Investigation Team car. S.H.I.T. Squad was her preference to call them.

A nickname she childishly created once she started living in the city a few years ago—learning of their unfortunate naming scheme.

The S.H.I.T mobile was unable to follow her. Which was perfect as she was going to an area that she mapped out years ago for her escape route. A portion of the wall around the city that on a timer would open and close to release the areas waste out to the pipe that ran through the landfill.

Diana taps her breaks noting that she was the only one on the road now. Thumping of helicopters overhead enters her ears. A spotlight shines on her car. She rolls her eyes.

These fuckers take this shit way too seriously! She thinks to herself as she speeds the car up.

As she drives she sees another one of those monstrosities—running across the rooftops beside her. It leaps off. She maneuvers the car away from the landing zone. It stumbles a bit before running at top speed. She checks her speedometer. She has hit ninety and it was gaining on her.

She increases her speed as she turns down a dirt path that more dirt than path. Her tires perfectly suited for this terrain does not slow her down. A straight shot towards the pipes. Gun fire reigns down on her car. The armored plating and bulletproof nature keeps her well protected as she finally turns into the pipe that was opening.

Sludge of the trash began to fill it. She sees it behind her. Chasing her out. She rides through the pipe as quickly as possible. However, it was a slower move due to the debris inside that was allowing the trash to catch up to her.

She could see the end of the tunnel though. So all she could do is drive.

Just as the trash began to inhibit her car from behind. Sliding onto it. Thumping it and weighing down the trunk she flies out the end of the pipe. Catching a good amount of air. She prays to Ithaca hoping the vehicle on landing can withstand it.

The car lands on the slope of a pile of trash. Clattering of metal enters her ears. Sounds of the crunching of trash fills the air. She was out. She looks back towards the walled city to see the helicopter still flying high above her.

They wouldn’t give chase outside the city? Right?

Wrong. Their helicopter dips down. And she speeds up her drive intent on escaping fully. She has to hit forest nearby to get away.

“Turn yourself in this is your last warning!”

A robotic monotone voice booms loudly into the atmosphere. She scoffs.

“That’s not happening.”

“Failure to comply is not optional!”

Her ears twitch as she hears the clicking of the guns off. Her wolf ears pin itself to her head. The forest was close. If she could just reach it. She hears the high powered machinery goes off. Energy blasts fire at her from above damaging her vehicle and sending her careening into the forest below. Eyes wide she tries to keep control of the car as it slams into a tree.