Chapter 10: The Cabin in the Woods
The werewolves pulled back, forming a line between the women and the house. Theresa had a single silvered dagger. Amber was a partially transformed werewolf. And they now faced six werewolves, five in front and one behind.
“If they have any purification potions, they will be inside the house.” Theresa said.
Amber nodded and turned towards the house. As Amber tried to gauge their chances, one of the werewolves faltered and then fell to the ground in a heap. Amber realized the werewolf that had fallen had been the one Theresa stabbed in the throat. It must have bled out, Amber decided. So two against five. And then a second werewolf stumbled. It dropped to its knees clutching its belly where Theresa had punctured the beat with her boot spike. So two against four. She looked back at the werewolf who had brought her here. It clutched its neck where Amber had struck it. It didn’t look as though it could fight. So two against three.
Maybe they could do this.
“What’s our plan?” Amber asked.
Theresa looked at Amber. Her gaze drifted to Amber’s taloned hands. “We fight. I take the two on the right. You take the one on the left.”
Amber flexed her claws. She sniffed the air.
“I can smell your wounds.” Amber said. “I’ll take two. You take one.”
The largest werewolf laughed, “You’re one of us already. Eat the woman and join us.”
Amber snarled at the werewolf, and flinched at the guttural sound in her voice. She recovered from her surprise and said, “No. I think I’ll eat you.”
“Kill the hunter. We’ll see if the girl can keep her mind after the transformation.” The largest werewolf crouched and then lunged.
Theresa flung her dagger. The blade punched into the eye of the charging werewolf. Theresa burst into a sprint and charged the staggering werewolf. Theresa wrenched the dagger from the werewolf’s eye. And then she jammed the blade into the monster’s windpipe. The werewolf gurgled and staggered. Theresa withdrew the dagger and stabbed again into the monster’s throat.
The other two werewolves hesitated, staring at Theresa with hackles raised. Amber pushed into a run and threw herself at the nearest werewolf. The werewolf turned back to face Amber. But Amber was already slashing her claws across the werewolf’s face. The monster cried out, somewhere between a howl and a yelp. The other werewolf turned to face Amber and snarled. And Theresa hit the werewolf, slamming the dagger into the wolfman’s temple. Blood erupted from the monster’s mouth and it crumpled to the ground. The werewolf facing Amber clutched its wounded face and swung a wild backhand at Amber. The blow struck Amber and knocked her into Theresa. Her bodyguard stumbled as Amber crashed to the ground beside Theresa.
Theresa lunged at the werewolf, but the werewolf blocked Theresa’s dagger with its left arm. Theresa moved to pull the dagger out, but the monster twisted its arm away and Theresa lost her grip on the dagger. The werewolf lashed out with its claws. The claws tore gouges across Theresa’s forearms as she blocked the werewolf’s attack.
Amber scrambled to her feet. Theresa kicked out at Werewolf’s left knee. The monster staggered, but recovered. The werewolf pulled the dagger from its forearm and tossed the weapon to the side.
“You couldn’t beat us before. You're unarmed now.”
Theresa tensed and brought her arms back up into a defensive position. And Amber surged past her bodyguard, and rammed her claws into the monster’s throat.
“But you aren’t fighting her. You’re fighting us.” She heard the growl in her voice and ignored it. Instead she focused on the werewolf. She raked the claws of her free hand across the monster’s face again. This time an eyeball popped under her claws. The werewolf roared and slammed her to the ground. Saliva dripped on her face as the monster loomed over her.
The werewolf wrapped its jaws around her throat. She felt its fangs start to pierce her flesh. And then the creature’s jaws went slack and the werewolf collapsed upon her.
Amber scrambled out from under the body. Theresa stood, recovered knife now buried in the base of the werewolf’s skull. Her bodyguard legs wobbled. Her shoulders slumped. But Theresa refused to fall.
“Well done, Amber. Now we must find their store of potions.”
Amber supported Theresa as they walked to the cabin. The building was a one room hut, and at the back of the hut lay a lockbox. Amber tore the lock from the wooden frame with her new strength. Theresa opened the lid. Eleven potions sat in the box. Theresa knelt and sorted through them with practiced ease. Then she looked up at Amber. She tried to speak, and then coughed blood. She took a moment to recover and then spoke.
“There is a single purification potion, my lady. Here. It’s yours.”
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