Chapter 160: A sacrifice
Gary had never imagined himself willingly chomping down on a person’s body. They might be dead, but it still felt wrong. The fact that he could still feel residual body heat, didn’t help in any way, yet right now his life was literally on the line, as well as that of others.
If he didn’t defeat those beasts that were chasing after, then who would? Perhaps White Rose or some other Altered might be able to do something about them, but how long would it take for them to arrive and deal with the twins? How many more lives would be lost because of their rampage?
Most importantly to Gary, if he died here, then who would look after his family? The answer to that question was no one.
Ever since he had become a Werewolf, it was like his body knew what needed to be done. He himself had never seen it, but his teeth would elongate to canine ones, making it easier to bite into flesh, and the thought of what he was actually doing went to the back of his mind. As such, it was easy, and fast, for him to wolf down his food quickly, allowing him to restore a good chunk of his Energy.
[50/120 Energy]
[First time bonus not in effect]
[You have not consumed enough of the human to obtain a stat point]
[As a Werewolf you’re supposed to be a Predator, not a Scavenger!]
[If you wish to grow stronger, hunt down your own targets and feast on them!]
‘Thanks for nothing, system! If you have the time for a stupid lecture, might at least throw me a bone and help out! At least, human flesh seems to do the trick…but it’s not like I can sit here for long.’ Gary thought, as he turned around and saw that the beast was now out in the open again.
——
On the other side, a little before Gary had ‘enjoyed’ his impromptu snack, Kai and the others were busy trying to shake off their beast that had decided to follow them from above. It was smart enough to realise that it was a lot easier to move from atop the containers, and it looked like it was about to pounce on them any second now.
“What are we going to do?” Innu shouted, from the back of the group. Given his position, he was the most likely target. Up ahead, Kai stopped running straight and took a turn hoping to confuse the beast in some way, but he quickly discovered it was a mistake. A grey colour gang member was blocking their path, the teenager was shaking, too afraid to move with the beasts in the warehouse.
“Knock him out, we have to keep moving!” Austin shouted.
Kai understood that to be the right choice, even though it would likely doom the poor guy. However, they had to keep moving, so he prepared to kick the other in the head. The blonde teenager didn’t get that chance, though. The beast landed directly on the grey colour member.
The Howlers looked at the back of the beast’s bald head, as his victim let out a blood-chilling scream, while the claws stabbed through him repeatedly. There was no chance of saving him, and no damage seemed to be able to kill the beast, which was why they decided to turn back and they continued to run forward the direction they were originally heading in.
Alas, it looked like they had run into just another problem. Since they had left the area with the containers, they were now in an open s.p.a.ce once again.
“If you have a plan, now would be a b.l.o.o.d.y good time to share it with us!” Innu screamed.
Looking around, Kai could see that the other beast was out in the open as well, but it was more towards the front of the warehouse and Gary was standing there. He still hadn’t defeated the other beast.
‘I’m not even sure if he can defeat these monsters… Gary couldn’t have been a Werewolf for long and how strong even is a Werewolf?.’ Kai thought. ‘But I promised I would keep them apart.’
Since that was the case, Kai shared the only type of plan he could come up with in this situation. There was one container at the very back of the warehouse, the container where Marie had been kept. The doors were swung wide open and now Kai was the only one that could be seen standing in front.
After waiting a few seconds, they expected to see the beast leap off from one of the containers and land in the open s.p.a.ce in front of them all. Kai’s hand was shaking, his legs were as well, but he still took a fighting stance and waited for the beast. It was incredibly fast, especially when running forward in one direction, yet the teenager was counting on that fact.
Soon the beast with the human-like frame ran forward on its two legs, then to pick up speed it started to use its hands as well as it charged.
‘Not now… just a bit closer…’
The beast continued to run forward, and then it leapt once more with its hands stretched out, aimed at Kai who moved his body to the side at the last second, like a bull handler holding a red piece of cloth.
One of the claws still managed to scratch Kai’s chest, but he had avoided the brunt of the attack. As the beast continued to go forward, pushed by its own momentum, it soon found itself flying into one of the containers.
‘You might be stronger and faster, but it looks like you lost all of your brain cells in your transformation!’ Kai thought as he shouted. “Now!”
The wide open doors were being closed from both sides. Austin and Marie on one side, while Innu was on the other. They slammed the door shut quickly, and then put whatever they could through the small lock on the outside, trapping the beast within.
It was then everyone took a step back as they could hear the container being banged into, and dents appearing from the inside.
“What are we going to do now?” Austin asked. “We know that the container isn’t going to keep them in there. They can tear through the metal with their claws.”
As if to stress his point, the beast started to stab the metal container, breaking parts of it here and there. This was it, this was as far as Kai’s plan had taken him. He didn’t know what else to do, perhaps the best option from here would be to run.
“Open the container!” A voice shouted towards them. When they turned around they could see Gary, with blood over his mouth running towards them, and shortly behind him was the other beast.
“What? Are you crazy? What do you plan to do?” Innu shouted back.
“JUST DO IT IF YOU WANT TO LIVE!!!” Gary practically growled back. “THAT’S AN ORDER!!!”
The first person who decided to listen was Kai, as he removed the things that they had put through the lock to keep the door shut. Then Austin quickly came to help and at the right time, and swung one half of the door open.
Gary came running into the container, and the beast followed right after.
“Close it!” The green haired teenager yelled from inside. ”CLOSE IT!” He stressed and for a second, as Kai and Austin were doing as they were told, the blonde teenager was sure that he could see his eyes turn slightly.
They locked the door, trapping Gary in there, and all they could hear were the sounds and cries of the beasts inside. Marie, dropped to her knees and so did Innu.
“Why the F*CK did you guys do that? You just trapped him in there with them. How could you let him sacrifice himself? You’re literally responsible for his death!” Innu grabbed Kai by the collar, but he didn’t have the energy to explain anything.
Instead of fleeing, the group stayed at the container, but then they noticed something. The sounds… they had stopped, and then a voice was heard.
“You can open the door now.” It was Gary’s exhausted voice.
Immediately, Kai and Austin opened the door, and they could see a b.l.o.o.d.y Gary walk out from the container, his clothes mostly ripped off, covered in black blood.