Turned out it was going to take three sedans to get everyone there. Ledbetter and his guards were going to take one, Major Mitchell was going to take another with some of her CID associates in another that was going to be driven by Bomber, and I'd be going with the Blackbriar Bitch and a few others.

They all looked irritated that they had to wait for Aine to bring me my field jacket, hat, and gloves. When she 'helped' me get the back of my field jacket right she clipped my Gerber to my belt underneath my jacket and BDU top. She gave me a wan smile as she stood next to me.

"I will go with you if you wish me to, Aodan," she said softly.

I shook my head. "No, Aine. Get some rest," I told her before leaning down to kiss her forehead.

She nodded, moving away to lean against Dobbs, who put one arm around her and pull her close like she was protecting the diminutive redhead.

"I'll take care of her, Ant," Dobbs said. She looked at Aine. "Let's get you a candybar. Bet a Bit-o-Honey would go down nice, wouldn't it?" Aine nodded shyly and Dobbs smiled. "Let's go get you one."

"Are we ready yet?" Major Mitchell asked. I noticed a slight sneer to her voice and for a split second the raw red rage surged up, threatening to melt away the Plexiglass.

The lizard slapped a button and it all went away.

"I'm ready," I said.

"You sure you can be out in the cold?" William asked, looking worried.

"I'm fine, Will," I said. He looked doubtful but didn't say anything else.

The wind was like a frozen razor when we stepped out of the airlock and into the dim twilight. It wasn't even 1700 yet and the sun was already below the mountains, casting everything, even at the altitude we were at, in deep shadow. I could taste the dryness of the air and knew it was a cold front freezing all the moisture in the air to whatever surface was exposed.

The Blackbriar Bitch led me to her sedan, holding open the door for me so I could sit in the front seat. The three that got in the back seat were from the Alphabet agencies and I resisted the lizard's urge to toss a grenade into the back seat and have done with it.

The Blackbriar Bitch gave me a sly wink like she knew what I was thinking before she shut the door and moved around the front of the vehicle.

"Why aren't we going up to the Motor Pool? That's where the initial engagement took place," one of the men, a redhead with freckles and a nose that had been busted and gone unset, asked with a slight tinge of arrogance in his tone.

"Because I wish to see the Chow Hall," The Blackbriar Bitch said softly, starting the car. "There might be information we can glean from that location that we won't find in any other location. According to the reports I read the members of Echo-Five-Actual engaged what looked like the remnants of their command section there."

Everyone looked at me and I just shrugged, turning back to look out the window as the Blackbriar Bitch started the car.

"Might not be much left," I mumbled as she threw the car into drive and started puttering down the road.

"Why not?" Someone in the back seat asked.

he has a name

so do other people's pet rocks

"Used my 203 on the roof. Snowed a lot since. We used grenades at one point," I said.

rolling around the floor, stabbing as fast as I could with the knife

"We'll see if anything is of use," another guy said. I could hear it in his voice that he didn't give a shit about anything I had to say. He'd already dropped me in the "Dumbass Army Guy" box and that was that.

"You came up from the War Fighter Tunnels, correct?" Blackbriar Bitch asked.

"Yeah," I said. The air was crystal clear as she idled toward the chow hall.

"So you guys tossed a few grenades and called it good?" The one on the driver's side asked from the back seat.

"You could say that," I said, looking at the side window so I could open the tiny wing window, digging at my smokes with my other hand. My breath plumed out as I got the window open.

It was hard to breathe, the air too thin.

"Now, now, Corporal, don't be modest," the Blackbriar Bitch chuckled. She looked up at the rearview mirror while I lit my cigarette. "The Corporal and his men engaged the Soviet troops at close quarters with bayonets, knives, and pistols to win the day."

"Cost us," I muttered, lighting my cigarette.

She nodded. "Nobody was killed, but you took heavy wounded."

"Yeah," I said, putting away my smokes and Zippo.

We were coming up on the Chow Hall, the building's eves visible but the walls covered by the snow. I squinted, trying to see if there was any way through the snow to it.

The lizard hissed, something about it bothering him.

"We'll have to climb up on the snow, see if there's a way inside," the Blackbriar Bitch said, slowing down at the far end. I knew the loading dock would be under the snow. We could probably get in there, since I'd blown the doors off their hinges.

Still...

She threw the sedan in park and shut off the engine. I got out, slamming the door before the others had even stared opening the door. The dimness felt odd, the snow reflecting the meager light so it felt like it was coming from everywhere and nowhere.

Off in the distance a wolf howled.

The lizard flipped a few switches and my awareness spread out. I did a quick four point check; left, right, up, and behind. It didn't seem to satisfy the lizard, who wanted an additional slow scan of the roof.

I could see the frame from where I'd blown the roof open with a 40mm HEDP round.

He hissed.

"Welp, lets see if we can get in there," The Blackbriar Bitch said, walking toward the back. The snowplow had dumped the snow just right that we could scale it easily and be near the loading dock. I followed her, limping slightly, the cold setting into my muscles. It made the tingling burning in my chest kick up as well as the knot of ice in my shoulder ache.

Something...

At the top I could see a hole in the snow leading down.

"Anyone got a flashlight?" The Blackbriar Bitch asked.

...something...

"Nope," one of the guys said.

The Blackbriar Bitch moved back over as we heard two cars shut off. "Hey, bring a flashlight up. There's a way to get into the Chow Hall over here," she called out. She turned and walked back to me. "Let's take a look, shall we?"

...something...

...something is off...

"Sure," I said, slapping my gloves together. The lizard was requesting more data and I did another set of four point checks.

The wind was blowing a light dusting of snow down from further up the mountain, skating it across the snow under our feet. It had the odd popcorn feeling that dry snow got. The wind smelled of ice and darkness, was moving at about fifteen miles per hour and was moving east to southwest. Light was fading fast, already into that weird twilight that often covered Alfenwehr for hours at a time. Air quality was for shit and my chest already burned and tingled.

"Ready, Corporal?" she asked.

I nodded, moving forward. The lizard hissed again. Something about it was putting him completely on edge. Together we moved up to the hole and looked down. The others caught up and someone handed the Blackbriar Bitch a flashlight. She turned it on, banged it against her glove, then smiled when it lit up.

Without a word the Blackbriar Bitch jumped down into the hole, catching herself with one hand and disappearing toward the Chow Hall.

"Be careful, the gap's low," she said.

I went after her, the lizard muttering to itself like a tea kettle boiling over.

"I don't like this," William muttered from behind me.

"Get in the hole," someone snapped.

"Speak to me like that again and I'll pull your head off," William growled.

I ducked under the ice chunk and rounded a short corner, ending up on the loading dock. The Blackbriar Bitch was flashing the light around, trying to get a good look. Everything was frozen over, a sheet of ice blocking the backs of the two 5-ton trucks that had been backed up against the loading dock.

"This is like something out of horror movie," she said softly. She waved the flashlight. "Let's go, Corporal. I want a look at this place."

I nodded, moving up next to her as we went through the double doors and into the back pantry.

...running the ovens to heat the baking area to try to keep everyone warm...

The doors to the chow hall line were still intact as we passed the stairs that led down to the War Fighter Ready Area. The freezers had failed with the power off and the stench of rotting meat and worse filled the frozen air. I pushed the smell away and ignored it even as the lizard tried to get me to take a few deep sampling breaths, maybe even check the air with my tongue.

"You came up those stairs, didn't you?" She asked. She flashed her light around. "Five point five six NATO shell casings on the floor. You guys came up fighting?"

I nodded as we approached the door.

The lizard was practically screaming.

Picking up on something I was missing.

She pushed open the door and finally what was making the lizard shriek all clicked in.

The smell of rotting blood. The sticky sweet stench of rotting human flesh. The icicles on the walls and ceiling.

The stench of canine.

All of it rolled over us as she pushed the doors open, stepping into the area behind the serving line. I darted through, snatching the flashlight from her hand and switching it off.

"Back. Back now," I snarled, shoving her behind me.

"Corporal?" Her voice was suddenly tight, the friendliness gone and her authority rolling out.

I could hear yipping in the darkness. Her light has startled the pups and now they were calling for momma.

"Get back, get back," I said, pushing her backwards. She hit someone else, who protested.

Low growls came from the darkness.

"Hey, quit it, damn it," someone yelled.

The growls picked up as the pups frightened yipping picked up.

They were calling for momma.

And momma was gonna be big.

The doors parted then shut, cutting off the stench and the noise.

"Get back, get back," I snapped, raising my voice slightly.

"Wolves," William rumbled. "Everyone out. Who's got drag?" William asked.

"On it," I snapped, reaching out onto the counter. There was a meat cleaver there, stuck in frozen blood, that came free with a sharp yank. "Gettum out."

"Don't be stupid," was the only warning my brother gave me.

"I'm with you," The Blackbriar Bitch said, stepping forward with her pistol out.

"They'll come in at the sides, low and fast, they'll go for your legs. The bigger ones might come straight at you, try to knock you down, rip out your throat," I warned her. "You're smaller, they'll go for you first."

"Roger," she said softly. She glanced at me. "A cleaver, really?"

"Shh," I said. A nose poked through the door.

It snuffled at the air and the lizard told me that it had our scent, knew how many of us were in the hallway, knew who was weak and who was strong.

The burning, tingling filled my chest.

The lizard slowly pressed down the button and the urge to flee went away.

It stalked through the door, its wide shoulders pushing the swinging doors apart. It stood up to my sternum, the ruff around its neck thick and heavy, its coloring dark with streaks of white down across the back. It had heavy jaws, with fangs dropping down from the top jaw and heavy tusks sticking out at the lower jaws. Ropey spittle drooled from its massive jaws and it growled at us and advanced a step.

"Jesus," the Blackbriar Bitch breathed.

The wolf tensed as two more pushed through. Both massive. Both males.

"Contact! We got contact!" my brother shouted.

That was the signal they were waiting for.

The three wolves burst into motion.

The Blackbriar Bitch fired.

Pistol fire cut loose behind me.

Flashes strobed in the hallway.

The lizard slapped the button.

NOW!