Blood Moon by Graeme Reynolds

them in a fair fight. Not that fighting fair was ever high on her list of priorities.
    As they drew closer to the row of buildings, she began to make out the details. Heavy steel roller-doors opened up to reveal the cavernous interior. The rumble of an idling engine and the smell of diesel fumes reached her. The building was the base’s motor transport section, and somehow she doubted that they’d simply be loaded aboard a standard troop carrier once they reached the garage. An armoured prisoner transport vehicle would be more likely. Once they were secured inside of that, the chances of escape reduced to pretty much nothing. She glanced at Daniel and he gave a tiny, almost imperceptible nod. He understood what was about to happen, and knew that if they were going to act, they had to do it now. Marie tensed her muscles in preparation and visualised what she was going to do next. A feigned stumble, a roll beneath the firing arc of the weapons. Get in close and kill without hesitation or mercy. Her eyes flicked to Daniel one last time. The German’s nostrils flared and he slowly shook his head. His body language was clear. He’d caught a scent on the breeze. Something that had made him revise their attack strategy. Marie felt a momentary confusion as to what would make him change his mind. A second later, a long, mournful howl echoing out from the swirling fog answered her question. John.
    The soldier’s reaction was instantaneous. Cries of “Stand to,” rang out, and while two of them kept their weapons trained on their prisoners, the remainder of the squad brought their weapons up to their shoulders and scanned the darkness for the new threat. Colonel Richards held a 9mm Browning semi-automatic pistol in a two handed grip, a sheen of sweat visible across his forehead and a look of barely contained panic on his face. He momentarily caught Marie’s eyes, and she took great pleasure in slowly curling her lips into a smile.
    The Colonel grabbed her and pressed the barrel of his pistol against her temple. “How many more are out there? Tell me, or I’ll blow your brains all over the road.”
    Marie didn’t flinch and kept right on smiling. “Enough. More than enough. You and your men were dead the second you set foot outside of that building.”
    A dark shape darted between two trees. One of the soldiers screamed “Contact!” and opened up with his rifle, filling the empty air with 5.56mm rounds. Another one followed suit before their squad leader, an older man wearing sergeant’s stripes, yelled at them to hold their fire and check their targets.
    Another howl rang out, reverberating between the buildings. Even without enhanced senses, Marie could almost smell the terror emanating from the soldiers. Colonel Richards removed the pistol from her head and cast quick, nervous glances around him. Marie looked across to Daniel and Michael and saw clouds of steam begin to rise from them as they brought their wolves close to the surface of their minds. Daniel’s eyes had already become flat, phosphorescent discs, and she could smell an unmistakable animal musk emanating from the two men.
    The sergeant, to his credit, seemed to recognise the signs of rising panic in his men and took steps to take control of the situation. “Right, you lot. Form up and get ready to move. We are heading to the MT section as planned. Double time it. Weapons free, but for fucks sake, check your targets. Dobson, I’m talking to you. Now, move out.”
    The soldiers closed ranks and took on a defensive formation before moving as one towards the open roller doors. Marie, Daniel and Michael were ushered forward at gunpoint, their captors so far failing to recognise the signs of Daniel and Michael’s imminent transformations. They’d made it almost halfway across the open expanse of tarmac when a scream rang out from the darkness. A body flew through the air, covering almost fifteen feet before it was cut down by a volley of automatic weapons