Tiva pulls at your arm, trying to grab your attention away from the gauntlet. "We should get going, we don't want to get caught in here or be late meeting up with the others at the warehouse."
A voice cries out from the front entrance before you can leave. "It was in here! I heard fighting!" The front door slams open and several soldiers clad in riot gear swarm the hangar.
"Quick!" hisses Tiva, pulling you to the side door and slamming through it. A cry is raised behind you.
"There they are!"
The two of you zigzag through streets and alleyways, using your lupine speed to keep several steps ahead of the humans. Eventually, when you believe you are far enough ahead, you pull open a basement door and retreat from the alley into a dusty storeroom. Once the commotion has died down you emerge, frightened, but little worse for wear.
Next
Looking up at the sun, you realize with a start that you're almost late for your rendezvous with your friends at the massive warehouse to the east. Any other areas you hoped to explore will have to wait for subsequent adventures.
The warehouse is situated on the far eastern end of the complex, and while it doesn't eclipse many other buildings in terms of height, it positively dwarfs them in girth. From north to south, the giant building covers the better part of a half mile, its spartan exterior winking dully in the light of the slowly setting sun.
You find your companions right where they're supposed to be, patiently waiting for you to arrive by the southeast corner, hidden among a cluster of rusted barrels whose contents have long since been drained away by the humans' machinery.
Tiva fidgets anxiously while Dena's head swivels left and right as though she expects the group to be discovered at any moment.
"So, one last bit of exploration before we throw in the towel?" Lapu says, nodding toward a small door on the eastern side of the warehouse. "It's way too late to chicken out, guys."
Not that you would; the warehouse is the subject of many and varied tales among the werewolf youth, all of which are exciting and mysterious. Claims of vast wealth, macabre horrors, and experimental weapons are just the tip of the popular speculation iceberg.
The worst part is that the adults have been here and refuse to tell you what's inside. What better reason could there be for a group of wolves on the verge of adulthood to sneak in and have a look? It's time to discuss your plan to get in and explore without getting caught.
A pragmatic approach is always the best idea when dealing with a situation you can't possibly control. The best plan is to move with caution but adapt on the fly. You caution the others to keep quiet and low to the ground before heading into the warehouse.
The four of you emerge into a large room, partitioned off from the rest of the building by corrugated metal walls. The room is filled with piles of scrap metal in varying states of disrepair, most of it covered with rust. Not a promising start.
Crouched behind one of the piles, you discover a narrow hallway leading down along the length of the warehouse. Waving the others forward, you travel through the side passage for several minutes before you hear something that sounds disturbingly like a moan of pain.
Tiva elbows you. "Why'd you stop?"
"Listen," you say, and she cocks an ear, grimacing at what she overhears.
"I don't like the sound of it," she says, "but we can't stop now. I need to know what's going on in here."
Dena whimpers from the back as you start moving again. This time, you're more cautious, your movements deliberate while keeping to the pads of your feet.
Eventually the corridor's wall disappears, replaced by a large rectangular opening at chest level, which might once have been a window before the walls of the warehouse were expanded. Crawling underneath the gap, the four of you hear a cacophony of strange and terrible sounds that will haunt your dreams for years to come. If you live that long, that is.
You have to know, and it appears that you're not alone. As one, the four of you slowly raise your eyes to the window.
Next