DEUCALION AND THE WEREWOLVES OF OLDCREEK

BY JOHN PARRISH

The history lessons.

“Well during my recruit days in the council back in the 90s. I was part of a group called VB111 in the army. The government created it, especially for special humans who had altered DNA which gave them enhanced abilities that could be used on the battlefield.” 

“Strength, speed, agility name it they all had it. With rigorous training, the government tried to add tactical and weapons training to the training which looked crude to them. We were the idea of the ideal or perfect soldiers.”

“We were taught advanced courses on foreign languages like Russian, Spanish, Portuguese, French, and any other major language name it, we had an idea.”

Bobby adjusting in his chair continued “we were around fifty to sixty people said bobby looking at the ceiling.”

“We were yelled at, tortured,” said bobby

“Tortured!” Lucas looked at him surprised.

They said “it was advanced training to see our individual pain threshold Bobby looking at his beer in his hands. Well, I always knew it was bullshit because the doctors in charge didn’t even use our names, we were just called by our room numbers.”

“I was zero six B,” Bobby said drinking his beer.

“We went to a mountain in an undisclosed region where it was snowy, we were taught survivalist training. We stayed out in extra cold weather without transforming.”

“Swam through icy waters,” said Bobby

“I don’t see how that relates to Deucalion” replied Lucas as he moved towards the fireplace in the living room adjusting the burning logs with the iron prongs.

“Patience little brother I am coming to that as he adjusted his neck. Well, where was I?”

“You guys were in the snowy mountains” replied Lucas 

“Yeah, you see after six months of training, combative, driving, swimming, demolition, and a little of medical trauma experience where we were taught how to make a tourniquet and easy surgery like how to seal an artery.”

“Suddenly due to the reduced cuts in the military funding our training which was not included in the official military operations were stopped.”

“Though we continued training going for missions in various parts of the world. The last mission went for we were six in number we went to infiltrate, eliminate and extract a physicist.”

“We went in but it turned out our intelligence was wrong. The physicist wasn’t kidnapped he was working with them but by then it was already too late. We fought hard.”

“We couldn’t radio in for backup because there was no backup and we traveled light. We fought till our weapons ran out of ammo. We switched to the old conventional melee attack.”

“Deucalion who was my team member, a very fine officer skilled in assault and demolition seeing it was nighttime already what better way to eliminate them than transforming quickly turned.”

“Looking at him changing in the pale moon that was covered by a dark cloud which brought down heavy downpour. We knew it was about to get serious.”

“We all threw down our guns and transformed. This was the ultimate tactical warfare as he hunted down the insurgents. We chased after them bringing the remaining few stragglers down very easy because of our increased stamina.”

“We didn’t keep prisoners in our werewolf form we just eliminated them and kept going.”

“You see Deucalion was leading the chase against the physicist while we took care of the stragglers who also fought back too. While they were retreating into the woods they were also shooting back.”

“Two of my team members were shot, but we continued chasing them down. Deucalion chased the physicist up a cliff where he changed back to his human form in front of him.”

“The physicist now shocked more than he was afraid went towards Deucalion marveled and held him looking at him in awe.”

“Deucalion leaving his guard down injected something into his body before he could react. Deucalion writhed down in pain screaming while the rest of the team who were watching with me moved towards him to help him while I went after the physicist who jumped off the cliff landing on a boulder beneath it.”

 Lucas reached for another bottle of beer and looked at the time it was already 8:30 pm already they had been seating for a long.

Deucalion opening another beer continued his story. “Well, after chasing the physicist and I caught him he told me things you never expected to hear. Top secret information that was so shocking I almost cried.”

The physicist whose name I wouldn’t mention told me “How he was employed by “they” to carry out experimental weapon taste for the insurgent in the area only that he will botch the experiment leading them to chemical exposure then we were sent to eliminate.”

Bobby remembered the mission where they were told to raze a biochemical lab that was empty to the ground.

I remembered asking the commanding officer why “they couldn’t just send an Apache to blow it out of the sky.”

His commanding officer bluntly told him “no resources and ordered Bobby's team to go do their mission which they did, since then I always thought hard about the missions, they went for taking extra notes because I knew I will need them for something one day.”

“So, after the whole mission I, Deucalion, and two other members of the team returned to base camp with the physicist”. “Bobby noticed Deucalion was acting all strange Bobby noticing it pulled him aside and asked him what lead to his change in behavior.”

Deucalion looked at Bobby and told him “Nothing is the problem it’s just stress.”

I was not convinced and went to the physicist in his cell to interrogate but going there he overheard the physicist discussing with his commanding officer and a private individual who he didn’t know.

Anxiously Bobby went closer and focused his hearing on their confession where he heard that they supplied the physicist with the chemicals used in the lab and their plan to carry out the attack just to botch in an attempt for more funding.

Bobby hearing more than enough simply went out, then later he confronted the physicist who told him “It was an experimental drug mixed with MDMA (methylenedioxymethamphetamine).” 

The physicist explained to Bobby “the after-effects of the drugs but it wasn’t all because they were still in the experimental stages of the drugs and they haven’t gone to human trials so he can’t tell but he would like to find out and it was sanctioned by the top so no need of reporting.”

Bobby looking for Deucalion went around the base till he heard shrieks coming from a container. Quickly I ran there to check the cause of the whole stuff there I saw “Deucalion transforming but all plugged into some kind of a machine with sensors on his whole body.”

“I then sneaked in to the container and went further only to see it was a huge underground lab testing area almost six stories or so. I went down the first flight of stairs pain strikingly not to make noise because I didn’t have clearance to be there.” 

“I saw different body tubes with people in them connected to a hydro tank filled with a green liquid which bubbles erupted from. I went deep down and saw different things other than humans in the room. I mean aliens and other bat shit crazy stuff like us.”

I went down to the basement I heard voices going on at the top of their voice shouting “how the last mission went wrong there were many casualties in the team 8 mission all of them were killed and they had to hire clean-up services.”

Then I got found out. I heard a voice saying “who are you?” as I turned to face the person, he quickly looked at my chest not seeing a tag resting on it shouted, “you don’t have clearance to be here.”

I quickly but gently moved towards him, thinking I wanted to surrender was surprised as I round housed his head into the wall and took the service key which could unlock all sectors of the building.

When going back to the surface by then someone must have found the unconscious soldier down there the alarm was blaring on and on.

Quickly I increased my pace but not much not to look suspicious as I walked away before they activated the building lockdown procedure. I went to where Deucalion was while dodging the security cameras using my service face cap.

I kept my head down and walked briskly. Deucalion seeing me tried waving to me but he was tied up and submerged inside something.

I tried opening the lid with a metal I got around the laboratory it didn’t budge. I looked around looking for a button saying openly. after minutes of searching, I didn’t see I saw an orange button which had a glass cover over it but I didn’t understand what it was for as I reached for it

Suddenly I heard footsteps coming down the hallway I counted two three four five and more. I looked quickly for a place I could hide I saw a closet which looked dusty so I went there.

The footsteps turned out to be a scientist escorted by several guards who quickly help him to open the machine while the scientist inputted the password and slotted in his override key.

I looked at the guards from where I hid, they were all armed with m16 a4s each and they were about nine in number. I knew those guys weren’t joking because in the sense of emergency it was shoot first and ask questions later.

Deucalion was then carried out by two soldiers while the others stood guard. Suddenly I sneezed, I looked in horror thinking praying nobody heard it underneath the blaring alarm then a guard walked towards the sound. I quickly held my breath while I folded my fingers forming a fist.

The soldier walked towards my position. With every step he got closer I was more anxious “should I charge out while I still had space or should I wait till he gets closer? will he flank me?” I said to myself. now he was a few meters from me like maybe four or five before he could move a chair that blocked his path. I was peeping through a crack in the wooden closet.

He slung his gun and moved it towards his back while he bent down to pick up the chair. “Now it’s my chance,” I said to myself as I wanted to rush him but he got up quickly. From the cracks through the closet, I saw the gun safety was off and it was set in semi-automatic. “Few lucky shots and I will be road kill.”

“Hey you! what are you doing there we don’t have much time soldier!” shouted the scientist as he was about to open the closet door. I watched them escort Deucalion outside. 

Two minutes passed and I followed suit. I walked towards the stair rails keeping my heads down as I passed multiple guards who were rushing past me to start sweeping the entire building looking for the trespasser when the alarm stopped. 

I was almost at the exit or entrance whatever you want to call it, the only issue was just two guards in front of me. I had to pass them without taking them out because it was a busy place crawling with other soldiers.

I passed the checkpoint and walked away quietly to my tent where I collected my stashed bag containing files and left. I noticed a black cruiser wagon across the general building and moved towards it. I quickly saw it was a convoy with two other land cruisers all without license plates and tinted glasses.

I walked towards the first land cruiser while wearing a safety jacket bearing the word maintenance to avoid detection and popped open the trunk where I cut the fuel hose from the tank to the engine, the same thing with the other car.

I sneaked into the back and covered myself with a tarpaulin while the convoy was been loaded up. The car I entered was the one used by a civilian I could perceive the cologne in the car leather.

Ten minutes later, while the car was out of the base say roughly eight or nine kilometers out the radio squawked …. 

“1…2…Zulu, I repeat 1...2 Zulu This is home base do you read me?”

“Home base this is 1...2 Zulu replied the driver I read you loud and clear” whilst he was driving 

“Zulu …. the intruder was a Bobby Thompson, he is a member of VB111 special group and he is Deucalion team leader, the man who referred to himself as Mr. X. Looked in awe as Bobby got him from the wagon and entered the passenger seat while holding his claws to his neck while knocking the driver unconscious.

The two cars trailing Mr. X's car stopped suddenly, they were leaking fuel the fuel in the gas tank had finished. The three cars stayed in the desert. 

 Mr. X now looking at me now asked “what do I want sergeant?”

“Well for one,” I said looking at him, he was a tiny young man in a big black tailored suit, and his glasses perched on his nose. I knew that I had to be very intimidating to scare his socks off.

I forcefully slapped him in the face and then hit his head on the window which caused it to crack a bit. Then I saw the guards from the convoy running towards the car, there were almost there, nervously I watched my surroundings figuring what I should do.

I forced down my claws into his neck just piercing a bit just enough to draw out a little blood that flowed down his neck staining his white sleeves, but what he didn’t know was I was using my fingers to check his pulse to know if he was scared.

I transformed in his front though not completely my jaw lines changed in his front bringing out my canines, and hairs grew out massively while my pupils changed color, he had seen us transformed but that was through cameras but this time it was up close and personal

Mr. X was scared shitless as I roared over his head and moved closer to him, I reached closely and told him not to come after me else I rip his head off from his friggin’ body and I could always find him and more importantly, I showed him the documents I took off.

Mr. X now powerless looking at me “muttered and cursed while biting his lips well it could be done” while he was adjusting his tie, I saw he had activated a silent alarm which blinked light faintly in his wristwatch.

“Clever bastard” I retorted as I knocked him unconscious and looked at the wristwatch to read the relay which was in morse code according to how the light was blinking.

Quickly I pushed the driver of the car and drove away, knowing they couldn’t follow me because their car was bad and they wouldn’t shoot because of their boss at the back as I drove to the helicopter where it was thirty clicks away.

I left the car there and boarded the helicopter. Luckily in all the combat training, we were taught how to fly a helicopter in case of emergency. I lit up the ejection pad wore my headgear and communicated with the home base.

After lifting I flew up in the sky and switched off my RADAR to avoid detection, then I flew to the nearest military base almost 100 kilometers where I dumped the chopper and drove off into the sunset.

“Wow but still doesn’t explain what happened to Deucalion” quizzed Lucas as he stretched his arms yawning at the same time.

“Well duke,….Deucalion was inside some kind of tank plugged into a machine that I didn’t even know what it did so removing him from it without the passcode and identification slip would trigger a c4 which was rigged too. I didn’t want to kill myself in the process I left him.” 

I abandoned him, over the years I searched secretly but carefully pulling a few strings to avoid detection while searching for Deucalion. Almost every file of him and our group was classified or sealed it couldn’t be accessed with time years went by I lost all motivation to find him or the rest. 

Years later I turned up the news and saw the death of a Deucalion, the badge number and titles I cried knowing I failed him. till last night I thought he was dead.

“What do you think he wants now?” asked Lucas 

“Well Deucalion was always crazy so I wouldn’t know his end game but Deucalion is someone I will go to war with every day,” said Bobby as he looked at the insignia which said carpe diem on the shelf in front of him.