The Atlantian System: Creation

She screamed as one leathery hand, now tipped in three-inch claws, shot back at her, nearly making contact with her throat before she caught the arm. Her slight increase in strength wasn’t enough to push it away as the body twisted, and she could see his shoulder pull back to launch the other one.

Sparks covered her fingertips as her electricity tore into the monster, locking its body in place. Its jaw opened on reflex as a long, thin tongue writhed in its mouth as the car filled with the smell of burning hair.

Arks of electricity danced in her arms as the car lights flashed and the radio blared before a nasty pop near the engine could be heard from inside the cab.

Leta grunted as she pushed the monster back into the front seat, using all her strength to thrust it into the dashboard.

Dislodged, she turned to see Vigo had also been shocked, his body limp in his seat and eyes wide.

“Fuck, Vigo!” She reached over to him and pulled at the door handle, finding her electricity had deactivated the car locks. With a grunt, she pushed his body out of the car and fumbled at the floor for her phone, fully intending to dial 112 for the emergency line, but blinked when a notification flashed on her screen from an unknown number.

Hi, Leta. Run. Run now!

Leta crawled out of the car and looked back at the monster inside. It was limp over the front seats, its head falling into the floorboards of the passenger side, and its body twisted in a weird position over the center console.

Its massive lungs were pumping air as its chest moved up and down, but it wasn’t moving.

She wasn’t about to check on Vigo’s condition when there was a literal werewolf right next to her. Grabbing his arms, she dragged Vigo’s body away from the car a few feet until she could get in position to bend down and try and pull him up.

She surprised herself that, while she felt the dead weight of his body, it didn’t feel too cumbersome or awkward, like she could probably carry him around for a while before feeling too strained.

Leta threw one of his arms over her shoulder and felt a twinge of relief when she heard him moan.

“Oh, thank god! I didn’t kill you.” She grinned and turned to ensure the monster was still in the car as she pulled her phone out with her free hand and dialed.

“What’s your emergency?” A bored tone came over the line.

“Yes, hi! I was in a ride share. The guy was acting crazy and just attacked me. My friend is drunk, and I’m scared he’s going to come for me.” She shouted into the phone, having enough sense to realize the operator would hang up on her if she said a werewolf attacked her.

“Okay, miss. Do you know where you are?” The operator’s voice was more to the point as it sounded like they sat up straighter in the chair at her words.

“I’m… I’m not sure where I am. Southern Fira, I think? He was supposed to take us to Imerovigli, but he turned south.” She looked around, trying to find some recognizable landmark and cursing that there weren’t any real street signs on this island.

“I…I think I see a hotel. And some parked cars. It’s so dark.” “If you can, head towards the hotel. Are you injured?”

“I’m fine. My friend was drunk before we got into the car, and he’s passed out.”

“You’re doing great.” The operator reassured her, “How close are you to the hotel?” “Still a ways away. It’s white with blue trimming. But everything on this island is white with blue trimming.” She grunted, her adrenaline turning to sarcasm.

“Keep going, don’t stop.”

The sound of metal bending unnaturally had her head turning back to see one clawed hand pushing the car door open, baleful gold eyes turning a sinister glare her away as thin lips peeled back in a snarl over wolfish teeth.

“Oh god.” She breathed, “He’s coming. He’s found me.”

“Don’t panic.” The operator tried to calm her down. “Get to the hotel as fast as you can.”

“What do you fucking think I was doing?” She shouted back, hobbling as fast as she could but was already beginning to feel Vigo’s dead weight pulling her down.

Just ahead, she could see people standing near the hotel’s gate entrance, the soft melody of someone singing ringing inside. “Hey!” She cried out, feeling a sudden hope in her chest. “Help me!”

Another step, and that hope began to crumble. They weren’t moving, just standing there gazing at the road as if transfixed by something.

[Warning! A foreign entity uses corrupted software to manipulate the Host’s mental fortitude and reflexes.]

[The Host’s mental fortitude stat + ears of the judge + persuasion is higher than mental manipulation Trojan ware.]

[Mental manipulation by foreign entities has failed. Protection of the Host’s mind still holds.]

“Not again…” She moaned. She could hear the operator getting frantic as they hastily asked, “Miss? Miss! Are you alright? What’s going on? Where are you?”

From behind the small crowd of people at the gate walked a young woman with tawny hair and a face so beautiful it was heartbreaking.

Dammit. The siren.

Her mouth was partially open as a sound that could only be described as a cry echoing through a cathedral reverberated from her throat. She never stopped for a breath as her hard eyes stared at Leta. The notes raised one octave higher, and the people parted in unison like puppets on strings, making way for three apparitions that had the shape of hyenas made of black smoke and embers.

Red eyes watched her unblinking as they crept towards her, their pace unhurried and leaving footprints of ash in their wake.

A low growl behind her saw that the werewolf from earlier was closing in.

“Fuck. Okay.” She gulped, visions of being ripped limb from limb coming to her as she slowly lowered Vigo to the ground. If she were going to die tonight, she’d at least try to do some damage first.

Her heart was racing, but she could feel that willful anger bubbling up from her stomach, buoying her nerves. It was something she’d always had in dire situations - an odd rage that overcame her when someone tried to hurt her.

She felt it when she’d nearly been attacked on father’s dig in Serbia.

She felt it last night when the Nixie had come for her.

She felt it now as her eyes went from the back of shadow hyenas in front of her and the werewolf behind her.

That brewing fury seemed to spread in her gut as she held her arms out at her sides and let the electricity-free, small cracks of miniature lightning race over her arms and around her chest and back.

The shadow hyenas seemed to pause as one, eyes of fiery coal watching the sparks cautiously before spreading out. It was evident that they intended to encircle her with the werewolf, pinning her down with her companion.

The werewolf at her back growled low, then took off, massive pawed feet kicking up dirt as it charged her.

She pulled her arms forward to block its attack as a howl filled the air. Another snarl cut through the night, and a massive black-furred body tackled her assailant.

Two midnight colored bodies tumbled in the dirt before separating and she was able to catch a glimpse of who - or what- had attacked the monster.

It was a wolf. Not another werewolf but an actual, walked on four legs and had a tail wolf. It was massive, its ears probably coming up the Leta’s chest and covered in thick black fur with a few white hairs at its chest.

It looked to Leta and gave her what could only be a canine smile as its tail gave two wags before turning back and putting its body between her and the werewolf with a snarl.

The shadow hyenas chuffed and chuckled together in agitation.

Leta glanced back at the siren whose brows were furrowed in agitation that someone had come to her aid.

By then, the werewolf had gotten to its feet clawed at the dirt in challenge as roar that was more like a tiger than a wolf tore from its throat.

She didn’t pay attention as the black wolf answered the challenge as one of the three shadow hyenas ran forward at her distraction.

Leta nearly stumbled backwards when the creature’s back arched and it let out a painful cry as it went snout first into the ground, a large metal bolt sticking from its back.

Before she even had time to react another bolt struck one of the other hyenas between it’s throat and shoulder blade.

For the first time, the siren faltered for a moment as she watched the two shadow creatures suddenly drop.

The third one that had been trying to sneak up on her flank had noticed its comrades fall and jumped out of the way of another bolt, smoky muzzle looking around for their attacker.

In the darkness Leta couldn’t see who or what was firing the shots, but the whistling of air and the sudden thud of another bolt missing was hard to miss. She followed the gaze of the hyena to a two story bar several blocks away by the road, but even with her advanced vision she couldn’t spot the sniper.

The siren’s song went higher in pitch to the point it was close to shattering glass as her arms outstretched and her face contorted in agitation.

As one, the heads of the hotel crowd under her control turned towards Leta and broke into a run, vacant eyes locked on her like robots set to kill.

Leta took a step back as a mob started her way, only to fall to the floor like puppets without strings as another bolt ripped through the air and hit the siren in the hip, her voice shrieking then going quiet as she whimpered in pain.

The bolts were coming in quick succession as the shadow hyena dodged, taking steps further back towards the hotel to get out of range.

Tires squealed down the road main road and around the side street until an old white 90s pick up truck can screeching to a stop.

At the wheel was Koa Masters, who leaned out the window to aim a pistol with a silencer at the still battling werewolf and shouted “Get in!”

Leta wasted no time in pulling Vigo up, who seemed to be coming back to his senses. “What the fucks goin’ on here?” He slurred, confused eyes looking to her and then the truck.

“No time. Get in.” Leta pulled the tailgate down and hoisted him in. It would probably have been easier lifting a walrus into the truck bed with how unhelpful his dead weight was, but she eventually succeeded, crying out “Drive! Now!”