The pack

A red 2004 mustang turned out from the freeway to a dirt path leading into the woods, the stone gravel a rusty red, making it easy for the driver to know where he was going as the path swerved and weaved through the forests. The landscape was too uneven to make a straight line from the road to the hunter's cabin half a mile in. Driving down the dirt path road through the forests, the two detectives kept a sharp eye on their surroundings, road signs on the path told them to watch themselves during hunting seasons along with a speed limit to keep while driving. The occasional speed bump keeping them at a fair pace while they drove the narrow strip of gravel. Cutting through the high trees into a clearing, the car slowed to a stop just outside the blackened pile of charcoal and stone that used to be the hunter's cabin investigated weeks ago.

Stepping out of the red sports car, Greg took a small bottle out of his jacket pocket and sprayed his arms and back with the sour smelling repellent, handing it over to his partner.

“Want some? Mosquitoes can get bad this time of year.”

Waving her hand, Sara closed the passenger door behind her and took a step towards the burned down home. The truck belonging to the two dead hunters had been towed weeks ago, dragged out tire tracks still scarred the red gravel leading down the path and back out to the freeway. Stepping up to the cabin along with her, Greg kicked away a beam of wood. The thing was so far incinerated it fell apart into chips of charcoal after it rolled away from his feet. What remained of the cabin was a pile of blackened earth and wood, its foundation beams sticking out like fingers with the collapsed chimney as a bent thumb. A blackened pile of debris sat nearby, probably the ruined furniture dug out when looking for the bodies.

“When highway patrol called in a fire out here it was already too late to save anyone, looks like they had to dig pretty deep just to get at the bones.”

Unrecognizable even from where he stood, the floors of the cabin had been fully torn apart, sifted and shovelled out to gather the bodies and identify their remains, the skeletons were so charred only dental records could ever hope to identify them. What was left offered little to the coroner to get clear answers, prompting the investigation to conclude that it was a double suicide.

“Steven and Bob Wilders ages 24 and 27, they would come up to this cabin for deer season every year like clockwork. They have files back at the station but nothing pointing to anything major, just DWIs and public disturbance charges.”

Nudging his foot to upturn a charred plank Greg curled his lip as he turned to face his partner.

“With so much damage, it's hard to tell if they died from a weapon or just drunken stupidity, in the end the coroner ruled suicide.”

Wandering around the shed, Sara looked inside, the space left empty except for a few cobwebs and a busted weed whacker hanging off the wall. Turning to meet with her partner at the cabin's remains, her foot tapped into something, something small and metallic. Looking down she reached for the lump of metal and studied it in her hand, the thing tarnished from the woodland humidity and weather as she rolled it between her fingers.

“Hey partner, take a look at this.”

Seeing Sara call him over, Detective Samson walked over to see her picking up spent bullets off the ground, pooling them in the palms of her hands and sifting them with her finger.

“There's like six rounds worth here, how did forensics miss this?” Holding the pile of bullets, Sara spotted something else, confusing her more. “What are those? Casings?”

Picking up each little tube of metal out of the gravel by the car, she held both piles of metal in her hand, carefully picking one of each and bringing them together in her grip.

“They're the same make, 12mm.”

Walking back to the car, Greg pulled out a copy of the fire report of the cabin, leafing through its pages until he came to a manifest.

“Says here, the boys owned a pair of double-barrel 10-gauge shotguns and a 44 magnum. They were found in the cabin with them but after the fire, any ammunition would have gone off, so the guns were ruined and empty.” Looking back at his partner, the man rubbed his moustache in thought.

“So... The guy fires off a hand cannon just outside his truck, and hits... What?” Looking over the space between the bullets and spent shells Greg scratched his head at the evidence. “He had to have hit something otherwise there would be a gaping hole in that shed, so why are the bullets on the ground three feet from where he fired? Was he practising on a target like a frying pan?”

Examining the slugs in her hands Sara frowned.

“No, if he did these would be flat or chipped, these slugs are still round.” Piecing it all in his head Greg looked to the cabin and back where the truck had been. “So... These guys come here for some hunting, then one of them spots something that makes him shit his pants and fire off enough rounds to do Eastwood proud.” Walking down the path to the cabin, he continued. “Out of ammo, he runs to the cabin where his brother's at and during it all… I don’t know… A lamp gets knocked over, setting the place up like a barbeque pit?”

“I know where you're going with this partner... Maybe this IS connected.” Gathering up the shells and bullets Sara bagged them for evidence as they returned to the car. “But still... How tough is this thing that it can take a damn magnum? Because with all these rounds it should be dead six times over!”

Revving the engine of the mustang, Greg turned the wheel and drove out of the area, following the path back out “I don't know partner, I just don't know. Let's check the ranch next, see if there are any more leads.”

***

The Gullywood ranch was just outside the freeway, a massive lot of fields that covered a square mile and overlooked the road leading to and from the town. The old couple had owned the ranch for well over thirty years, bordered off by tall, barbed wire fencing held up by wooden poles five feet tall. With about a dozen horses either sleeping in the stables or grazing in the field, the ranch was quite active. Driving up the lane to turn to the ranch, the car slowly made up the hill to the large house, the barn and shed looming from behind as the neighing of horses called out from time to time. Parking just outside the front door, both detectives stepped out to walk over to the screen door at the front porch, and knock.

Nearly a minute later the screen door opened with a creek, with Mr. Gully stepping forward to answer as the sound of a beer bottle rolled on the floor behind him.

“Mr. Gully? We're detectives Samson and Clemmings, we were hoping you would tell us about what happened at your ranch a few weeks ago.”

After brandishing their badges to the old man, he gave a slow nod before gesturing for them to come in. Following the rancher as he made his way past the living room, he sat down at a recliner aimed in front of an old rabbit eared television, moaning as he got himself comfortable.

“Yeah... Made a call in the morning after when I found what happened to my tractor.” Scratching an itch out of his beard, the man continued. “Cops didn't do anything about it then, why are you so curious now?”

“Mr. Gully, we believe what happened here on your ranch is relevant with a case we're both investigating, can you show us your tractor?”

Groaning as he picked himself up off the chair, he ushered the two detectives to follow him out back, practically bumping into the screen door to get out. The three made the short walk to the shed, while the horses were out in the field grazing off the long grass. Some looking straight at the newcomers before braying and waving their heads, resuming their lunch on stalks of grass. With a low wooden creak, the double gated doors of the shed were opened.

“Here's my tractor... Dunno what could bust up my wheel, but he had to have been pretty strong.”

Stepping around the John Deere tractor, Greg looked over the left wheel. The mud guard was indeed missing, its bolts torn clean out of the hull leaving the ribbed tire bare and exposed.

“Where's the guard for the wheel? Do you still have it?”

Nodding to the woman Mr. Gully stepped over to the back and opened a trunk by the far corner, pulling out a crumpled sheet of metal in his hands.

“Here you go, was hoping to get it fixed but I think I need it replaced instead.”

Needing both hands to take the thing out of the man's grip, Sara laid the metallic part down onto the straw matted floor. The mud guard was essentially ruined, crumpled up like tin foil with gaping holes where its bolts would have connected with the tractor behind her. Turning the object around on the ground she cocked her head at an angle and leaned down to look closer, noticing strange indent in the metal. Lowering her hand, she spread her fingers over the grooves and gasped as they lined up almost perfectly with her own hand.

“Partner? I think we found our monster.”

Looking down at where Sara held her hand over the mud guard, Greg's eyes widened as he too came to the same conclusion. Crouching down on his knees next to Sara, he lowered his own hand to the grooved outline of a massive handprint in the metal, the tips where the fingers would end gouged out into holes, prints so big that even HIS hand wasn't big enough to reach the tips.

“T-thank you Mr. Gully for your time, we'll inform you if we come up with the culprit for this.”

Nearly racing back to the car together, detectives Samson and Clemmings panted as Sara pulled out a map from the dashboard. Unfolding the old sheet of paper over her lap she drew out an area with her finger just outside the property of the ranch.

“That thing WAS here; it's been making a bee line out from the laboratory where it killed those people to here!”

Nodding frantically Greg tried to search for his phone, pressing the extension number for the sheriff back at the station.

“And did you see those claw marks? Fuck! Damn thing could swipe my head off my shoulders, no wonder animal control's been having a shit fit.”

Finally making a connection, Samson began going over details to the station while Sara plotted an area over the map.

“If this thing is still in those woods, then it's probably huddled in this area here, let the sheriff know we need the rescue chopper to get a good view from this area.”

Pressing her finger over the marked plot of land on the map, Sara and her partner now had a plan of where to go.

***

From high above the forest looked like a blanket of green hues and splotches, vast and expansive it covered as far as the eye could see. The trees were tall and old, their branches stretching meters from the trunk, with a canopy so thick it was nearly impossible to see the grounds bellow. The occasional opening marred the smooth blanket of leaf cover from up high, a field or two several miles wide gave local deer and elk space to graze while a lake carved through the tree line like a scar flowing down for miles before breaking into small rivers.

The police helicopter kept to a high altitude at least a hundred feet above the trees, late in the afternoon the sun was already reaching the forest edge and setting, the sky filled with oranges and reds to replace the bright blue of the sky hours ago. Just below them Gullywood ranch passed by as they flew deeper into the woods to where Detective Clemmings pointed on the map. Wearing a police jacket to keep warm in the high altitude, Sara closed her eyes and held in her lunch as she looked down again and felt dizzy.

“Not used to flying detective?” Called out the pilot over the propeller blades as he levelled the chopper over the lush forest below. She didn't get the man's name but the pilot for the station's helicopter was the a-typical fly boy; mercury tinted sunglasses along with a flight jacket pinned with flight buttons on the collar, left unzipped he wore his police uniform underneath.

“Just... Try to keep this fucking thing from wobbling so much unless you want to clean potato soups off of your jacket.”

Chuckling at her attitude the pilot turned to look over his shoulder to the other man at the back. Greg offering him the map with an outlined area in red pen.

“We think that what we're looking for is in this neck of the woods, I want to do a fly by for at least a few hours until we spot something that matches the description we're looking for.”

Going over to the spot on the map, the pilot veered forward and made his route, the span of the area was large, almost twenty miles of trees and shrubs. With so much space to cover the helicopter was the only practical way to find this creature and not get hurt.

“So, what makes you think this thing or whatever is still squatting down there detectives?”

Resetting her glasses over her nose, Sara retook the map and traced the locations of the cabin and ranch over the freeway with her finger.

“We've found that the thing ran a straight line from the Gennex laboratories to the burnt cabin and then to the ranch we just passed, if it went any further it would have reached the town and so far, there hasn't been any sightings there.”

Managing to clear the dizziness now that they were flying steadier Sara piped in. “Animal control's also been busy on the forest borders close to this spot, local predators have been fleeing this area and stumbling into town or the freeway just to get away.”

“Oh yeah I read about that bear from a few weeks ago in the news, damn thing barrelled into traffic like it was running for its life, had to have been a thousand pounds too.”

Steadying his feet as he stood between the pilot and his partner Greg nodded. “The bear had scars on its shoulder and paw that was not consistent with any other animal on record in these parts, we think it bumped into our mystery creature.”

Raising an eyebrow at that, the pilot whistled and shook his head as he turned to make his first round over the plotted area for the search.

“You telling me this thing can fuck up a bear?! No wonder you picked me to help you.”

For over an hour, the chopper flew over the green blanket of leaves obscuring the forest floor, making another turn, they flew over the lake that branched out and fed into the creeks down south. Looking out her window and hating the view from so high, Sara squinted as she caught something over the edge of the body of water.

“Guys? Look at that, what is it? HOLY SHIT look at the size of that thing!”

Hovering over the lake, looking straight at the stony beach line the occupants of the chopper stared at what was drinking from the water. “How the fuck did that squeeze out of a lab?!”

Lapping up the water at the edge of the lake stood a creature well over ten feet tall and thirty feet long, its body covered in thick reddish-brown fur and sporting a rack of horns over a meter long sweeping behind its head. To the people staring from the helicopter, it looked like the screwed-up love child between a bear and some kind of dinosaur. Looking up from its drink, it stared at the flying machine with mild interest, cocking its head to the side as it stared right back at them.

“So... That's what scared all the animals away huh?” Asked the pilot, his voice dropping to a low whisper as the thing in front of him stared straight at them.

“That's the thing that killed four doctors, a security guard and a pair of hunters Mac, turn us around, I'm going to load the tranquilizer gun.”

Repositioning the vehicle to turn its flank over, the wide door slid open with detective Samson hooking his belt to the helicopter's safety clip and loaded a dart rifle. Aiming the gun right at the monster, it was unnerving to see it not run or fear the hovering vehicle floating fifty yards over the lake. Aiming the barrel over his shoulder, he closed one eye and fired, the dart flying out without a sound as it imbedded into the creature's shoulder. The beast turned its attention to the red feathery thing stuck in its body before looking back at Greg.

The roar was almost deafening!

Trying to reload another tranquilizer, Greg paused as he saw the thing stand on its hind legs, its stance like that of a person before it grabbed a nearby boulder and lifted it out of the ground... Throwing it straight at the chopper and right into him. Everything was a blur as the four-foot mass of stone collided with Detective Samson, blood splattered everywhere as Sara screamed. The helicopter lost control and began to spin. Over the blood covering her glasses, Sara could only see a blur of a landscape as the vehicle spun like a top in the air before an impact knocked the breath out of her lungs and sent her tumbling, the chopper having crashed on the beachhead and rolled into a tree. The propeller blades snapped off as they struck the trunk of the red wood they crashed into. A small fire starting in the back as the pilot unhooked his harness and pried Detective Clemmings out of her chair.

Sara's ears were ringing, everything around her was blurry and a muffled voice called to her while unknown hands hoisted her out of her chair and pried her out of the cockpit, the flames growing behind her and making her sweat as she coughed from the smoke. Blinking as the ringing faded, she looked up to see a massive shadow loom over her, the sounds of yelling and gunfire filling her ears just as another roar sent her to the ground clutching her head. A blood curdling scream soon followed along with the crunch of bones and tearing flesh; Sara could hear a heavy thud ten feet from her left... And another five feet to her right. Her concussion fading, Sara looked up just as a massive claw grabbed her from the back of her jacket and lifted her up.

Her vision clearing, Sara whimpered as she looked into the yellow slit eyes of the behemoth that took down her chopper and killed her partner and pilot, the growl it gave off reverberate through her chest as it turned to examine a large piece of the helicopter's propeller deep in its shoulder, sniffing the thing before pulling it out, it howled in pain as it tossed the bloody thing away. Sara cried out in horror as the gaping wound began to seal up, closing before her eyes just as the blood clotted instantly and turned into scab tissue. In seconds the puckering scar turned grey and chipped off, flaking off its flesh to reveal smooth skin growing new hair. The injury having fully healed as if it never happened. Returned its focus straight on her and pulling the small woman up higher to stare her face-to-face, Sara gasped in total disbelief. Of all the things Sara expected the creature to do to her, she was stunned to silence... When it spoke.

“I DON'T LIKE BEING SHOT AT!”

***

Still being held up like a disobedient child by her jacket, Sara didn't struggle as the thing carried her with it through the forest. Now that her head was clear, she was able to get a better look at the thing. Calling it massive was an understatement; walking on its hind legs, it stood an impressive twelve feet tall, its thick saurian-like tail flicking idly fifteen feet behind it as its clawed feet moved with the grace of a cat through the woods. By the curves of its hips and the six beach-ball sized breasts lining down its chest it was obviously female, with thick reddish-brown fur covering its entire muscular body and a mane of red hair flowing down its powerful shoulders. Its back had spikes that jutted out at least a foot out down its back to the base of its tail, along with gnarled horns three feet long above pointed ears over its head that swerved into curves like some kind of goat or gazelle.

“Let me go, do you have any idea what will happen if the others don't hear from me?!”

Stopping dead, the she-creature lifted Detective Clemmings up, growling as it pressed its muzzle against her hair and smelled her. Sara winced, turning away from the heat of its breath as the monster studied the woman in its grip.

“You don't smell like a hunter; you don't have any booze or deer piss on you.”

Raising its other claw up, it unzipped Sara's jacket and pulled it open, the creature's eyes narrowing on the badge that dropped onto the ground near its clawed feet.

“Police officer... From town.”

Sara was baffled, how could this thing be so intelligent?

“Yes, I'm a police officer, and YOU killed my partner!”

Just like that, another explosive roar boomed from the monster, making the woman's ears pop from the sound pressure it caused. Shuddering in fear as the creature roared down at her, Sara lost her resolve.

“Your PARTNER shot me, the last people who shot me regretted it...”

It all suddenly made sense for the woman, this thing DID kill the two at the cabin, but as they went deeper into the woods Sara began to wonder.

“Where are you taking me? Why didn't you kill me like you did Greg and the pilot?”

Getting no response, Sara began to sweat in fear for her life as night finally fell on the forest, the woods becoming darker and more difficult for the woman to see. An hour into the trek, Sara found herself being dropped unceremoniously onto the ground in front of a dug out cave hidden under a dead tree, the rock face bore claw marks from digging while the earth around her was soft and yielding, bones scattered everywhere while flies buzzed overhead. Before she could ask where they were, Sara huddled to the ground, clutching her ears as the beast behind her howled into the air, echoing over the rest of the woods. Clutching her heart to keep it in her chest, Sara opened her eyes to stare at the mouth of the cave, just as more than a dozen creatures flooded out to surround her and the she-beast behind her.

Crouching into a foetal position as the horde of monsters ran past her, she looked up to find them all swarming around her, the she-beast laughing as she nuzzled and held the smaller creatures like a mother to her children. Hearing heavy footsteps approaching, the detective turned to find three more massive creatures as big as the red one come into view. The moon high and bright enough to illuminate the pack of monsters to the terrified woman. A deep yet feminine voice called out, gaining Sara's attention as the little ones calmed down.

“So Rebecca who is this little morsel? She doesn't smell like a hunter.”

Looking up at the black furred one as it stood with its claws at its hips, Sara turned around as she noticed a blonde furred female sniff at her hair.

“Tina's right, this one smells like coconut and lavender.”

Cringing as she felt it lick her back, Sara scooted herself away as it stood to loom over her. Bumping into something solid she looked up and blushed hotly as she stared up at the muscular thighs and groin of a very large and very 'male' monster looking right back at her. Its horns arched forward like a bull as it fell to all fours to get a better look at the terrified human. His voice so deep, it shook Sara to the core as he spoke.

“I see why you left her alive, she's too small to eat, nothing but skin and bones.”

“This one is a police officer from the nearby town, she and two others in a helicopter shot at me when I was drinking by the lake.”

A shared chuckled from the other three made Sara shiver as she watched the four talk.

“That wasn't smart little human, when an Amalgam like us goes into a blood rage you're as good as dead.”

Listening in, Sara finally found the strength to stand, looking up at the four twelve-foot-tall Amalgams looking down at her in bemusement she stabbed her finger out accusingly.

“You... You weren't killed by some creature at Gennex, you four ARE the creatures, and you’re the scientists who were working on that regeneration thing back at that fucking lab.”

Hearing the red one chuckle, the detective turned to her captor.

“Yes, little human, when we first turned and started living in these woods, we wondered why we didn't change back.”

Stepping forward to explain, Tina smiled as she leaned forward, her heavy breasts wobbling from the motion.

“We surmised that the flash heat from the explosion damaged the retrovirus and genetic material before it entered our bloodstream, key pieces of the Phage, specifically the genes responsible for its self-destruction became compromised.”

Hearing the facts Sara swallowing, her throat dry as she finally put all the missing pieces together. “If that's true... Then this can be fixed right? You can end all this.”

“END ALL THIS?!” Roared Michelle standing over the terrified detective, covering her ears at the powerful she-creature's voice. “WHY SHOULD WE END THIS? I'VE NEVER FELT MORE POWERFUL IN MY LIFE, JUST LOOK AT ME!”

Raising her arms over her head and flexing, Sara gasped at the solid corded muscles the blonde possessed, Michelle's tail then struck the ground hard enough to cause the earth to shake.

“As a human I was a pathetic little mouse, a terrified little girl in a lab coat too shy to speak her mind or live her life.” Relaxing her muscles, Michelle began to pose and bend, showing off her flaring hips and breasts as she tossed her mane of blonde hair with her claws. “I will NEVER return to that frail husk, that woman is dead now!”

Looking to the others, Sara went pale as they nodded and smiled at their pack-mate's declaration, low growls filling the area as the woman fell to her knees in shock.

“You’re insane... All of you.”

Laughing behind the back of her claw, Rebecca knelt to hug her children.

“Insane? No little human, we are Amalgams, and soon the rest of the country will know that too.” Looking up in confusion Sara stared at the red furred monstrosity as it nuzzled its children. “You see our cubs have finally grown in their teeth and I want their first hunt to be easy prey, that's why I brought you here.”

Eyes widening in horror, Sara looked to the sixteen human sized amalgams staring back at her in a circle in front of their parents, licking their fanged lips as Rebecca howled out, pointing a clawed finger at the prone human woman. In seconds the pack had descended on the detective, her screams drowned out by snarling maws and crunching teeth as they tore her apart.

“Mmmmm... They grow up so fast.” Purred Tina as she traced a clawed finger around the stiffening nipple of her uppermost breast, watching as her cubs took their first bites of live prey. Closing her slit eyes, she sighed just as a pair of craws came up from behind her and started groping her plump tits, a muzzle licking her ear as she leaned against the alpha male behind her.

“You're in heat again Tina, I can smell it off you...”

Turning her head to kiss Cal from behind, she lifted her tail to give his bobbing erection room to enter her.

“Do it love, give me another litter to add to our pack.”

Growling, he thrust into her, going into a rut and shoving her against a fallen tree, mounting her as Rebecca and Michelle moved up to join them, nipping at his neck and chin as their claws roamed over his powerful body. He could smell it off them, his mates had all gone into heat and were waiting for him to claim them too. All at once he could see it happening before him. His pack would grow, his sons and daughters would mature and find mates among their siblings, forming packs of their own. Spreading over the lands, they would dominate this continent as their hunting grounds, eating whatever they could sink their teeth into. The humans would give them trouble at first but in time they too would become prey to his kind, they would be shoved aside for the new dominant predators in the food chain. Unable to hold back anymore, Cal reared up and howled as his orgasm flooded Tina's insides, his three mates adding to the howl as their cubs picked their teeth clean with the splintered bones of their meal.

The End? Or the beginning of the end?