Chapter 05 - It's Only Murder if Someone Knows

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The figure furthest from them reared up wrathfully, face contorting with a low growl of surprise. A fully grown female, the enforcer was a head taller than Jett, her limbs long, sinewy and packed with hard muscle. Lush fur the colour of night covered her and a set of sleeveless body armour clung to her powerful frame from throat to ankle. A massive swooping plume of ink-black headfur cascaded back between her ears and down behind her head. Jett saw the shine of blood on her teeth, and on one paw a bladed gauntlet glinted in the light.

In front of her, slumped in a chair in a lake of crimson, was the felkin. His throat was a ruin, his face frozen in a rictus of pure terror, but Jett could see dozens of superficial wounds littering the felkin from head to toe. There was no question he'd suffered before he died. They had quite literally walked in on a torture chamber.

For a moment no-one moved, foxkin frozen in fear, wolfkin caught by surprise. But it didn't last. Like statues springing to life everyone exploded into motion, the wolfkin surging forward; Jett and Tyr scrambling away in a panic. At a bark from the female, the two male wolfkin bounded over the threshold teeth bared and claws outstretched.

Jett tried to leap clear, but the closer of the two got a hold of her backpack, wrenching her backwards with shocking force. She stumbled, a yelp of panic slipping from her lips. Instinct took over as she struggled wildly twisting her body and snapping at her attacker with bared teeth. Another paw clamped down on the back of her neck, claws digging into her skin and she screeched, kicking back hard at the wolfkin's groin. He grunted as the blow hit home, but it would take more than that to dislodge him.

Then Tyr slammed the heavy head of his wrench into the enforcer's jaw. The brawny foxkin stepped into the swing with both hands, his muscular frame driving the tool in a ferocious arc until metal struck bone with a sickening clunk. A cloud of blood and broken teeth exploded from the impact. Jett felt the grip around the scruff of her neck go slack, the enforcer falling back with a gurgling howl of agony.

Panting she scrambled clear as the second male stepped forward with an enraged snarl, powerful limbs coiled to spring.

"Jett, go!" Tyr bellowed as he stepped between them, keeping the wolfkin back with another violent swipe of his wrench.

She took a couple of steps, indecision ripping at her. Running away and letting him face the three wolfkin alone was as good as a death sentence. Jett halted, torn between her natural urge to run as fast as she could away from these predators and the impossibility of abandoning Tyr. She looked around, searching desperately for another option.

Her eyes lit up when she spotted a fat blue cross embedded in the wall a few meters behind them – tucked into an alcove. Emergency fire suppression.

Jett leapt towards it, wrapped one paw around the cross and twisted it violently to the right. A low alarm blared through the corridors and a sudden mist of water blasted out of ceiling-mounted nozzles, instantly drenching them all and filling the passage with a fog.

"C'mon!" She grabbed Tyr by his jacket and yanked him away from the wolves, forcing him into a run as they pelted off down the passage. The confusion she'd caused kept the wolfkin rooted to the spot for a precious instant before they gave chase.

Water cascaded down over them making the carpet slippery under paw. Doors opened on either side as baffled patrons tried to figure out what was going on. The smarter ones ducked back inside at the sight of the chase; the less fortunate got in the way. Tyr flattened a beaverkin who lurched into his path, halfway through an indignant tirade.

Jett glanced back, only to see the wolfkin trample the unfortunate individual as they charged onwards.

Then something hit her in the side.

A huge weight, moving fast enough to knock the wind from her. It took a moment for her to realise an enforcer had tackled her, bursting out of a narrow adjoining hallway. They both went crashing to the ground, sending a spray of water in all directions. She roiled like a hooked fish, her body contorting and writhing with the strength of blind terror.

Then she was rising again. A tight grip fastened itself onto the scruff of her neck and heaved. Her footpaws left the ground, kicking at nothing.

She fought wildly, raking at his eyes with her claws. The grip on her neck slackened and she tore herself loose, lowering her head and sinking her teeth into the wrist of the enforcer as he tried to bring his gauntlet around. The wolfkin let out a grunt of pain, trying to shake her off, before twisting to slam her into the wall. Jett let out a coughing gasp, losing her grip and falling to the ground at the enforcer's footpaws. She rolled through the water, splashing and spluttering to try and get clear, but a grip clamped down on her ankle.

Jett squealed as claws bit through her fur. She kicked out; struck the enforcer in the thigh, but he was too large and solid to be moved. He raised his gauntlet.

Tyr cannoned into him, wrench held crossways, and he rammed the metal hard into the wolfkin's throat. The enforcer toppled back, spluttering and pawing at his windpipe, colliding with his comrade just behind. Tyr's momentum carried him forward with them, wrench rising and falling in huge, powerful swings. She heard the crack of something breaking; a howl of pain rose from the melee. He flailed himself loose, struggling upright, panting for breath and holding his wrench in both paws, now several meters further down the corridor.

The wolfkin leader exploded from the spray in front of him, her snout twisting in a snarl as she glared. A low growl shook in the back of her throat as she ignored her subordinates, the metal claws of her gauntlet clashing together with murderous intent. Jett's eyes widened.

"Tyr, c'mon!" she yelled shrilly, despair swelling in her chest, but she knew it was too late. If he turned around now the enforcer would gut him from behind before he could take another step. He had no choice but to stand and fight.

He never stood a chance.

Jett watched helplessly as the exchange unfolded with eye-blurring speed. The wolfkin lunged forward; Tyr swung for her head. With effortless ease the enforcer dipped gracefully below his swing. She glided to his right as the force of the swing turned him away and, in an almost careless motion, she dragged the keen blades of her gauntlet across his stomach.

A horrified scream tore from Jett's throat as she watched the spray of crimson open from her mate's gut. Tyr coughed in shock, blood bubbling between his teeth. In spite of the wound he tried to twist his body back, reversing the swing of his wrench, but the wolfkin was waiting.

As he turned to face her she twisted back around and thrust out the gauntlet, blades clutched together like a spearpoint. With contemptuous ease she drove the blades straight into Tyr's throat as he spun around.

Shock rooted her to the spot for an instant as she stared.

No, no, no, no, no.

Tyr's eyes went wide, the wrench clattering to the floor from nerveless paws. Blood poured liberally from his throat and down his chest. With a snort of disgust the wolfkin enforcer tugged her gauntlet free and let his body slump to the floor in a pool of red. His mouth moved soundlessly for a moment, shocked stare refocusing on her for a brief instant. Then, with a gurgling rattle of breath he went limp, his eyes glazing over.

Bile rose in Jett's throat, tears blurring her vision. She took a faltering step back, shaking her head. This couldn't be happening. It just couldn't. Yesterday she'd been planning a future for them, a future away from seedy back rooms and criminal games. She would have given him the world. She stared at his ruined body, a thousand memories avalanching down on her in an overwhelming cascade. Things she would never feel; things they would never do.

A choking, wordless sound caught in her throat as the wolfkin turned slowly to face her, blood dripping from her gauntlet. Water spattered from the ceiling as the system began to exhaust its supply.

"I suppose you're our felkin friend's tech-breaker," the enforcer drawled, Tyr's body utterly forgotten as she stepped towards Jett. "At least you've saved us the trouble of tracking you down. I'm sorry, little fox, but you should have stayed out of this."

She didn't sound sorry.

And through all the shock, horror and pain that was clawing at her, one thought dragged itself from the depths of Jett's mind.

You can't die here.

Her eyes flickered to Tyr's body and back to the wolfkin, tears of helpless grief and rage spilling down her cheeks. She took another step back. Then another. The enforcer bared her teeth as she realised her prey was about to flee, and lunged, gauntlet outstretched for the kill.

Jett turned and ran.

Her footpaws hammered the sodden floor, spurred on by the speed of pure terror, heavy steps of her pursuer ringing in her ears. She forced herself not to look back, driving her limbs faster than ever before. Behind her the enforcer snarled a guttural series of words in a dialect she didn't recognise.

She could feel the wolfkin closing in on her, the tight spaces working to the enforcer's advantage as her sheer strength gave her more speed than Jett could hope to match in a straight line. Mind racing, she shrugged one shoulder of her backpack off as she turned a corner, hearing the thump and scrape of claws on the ground just meters behind her.

As she turned out of sight, she took that brief moment to whip the backpack from her shoulders and twist around, flinging it with all her might into the path of the onrushing enforcer.

There were enough bits and pieces piled into the bag to give it a decent amount of heft, and as the enforcer sprinted around the corner it hit her square in the thigh. Any normal citykin would probably have been tripped snout over tail by the heavy impact, but a combination of her body armour and her sheer power meant that the wolfkin merely stumbled, spitting a curse of surprise and throwing out her free paw to stop herself falling over.

It wasn't much, but it was enough.

The minor diversion allowed Jett to put a few precious meters of space between herself and the enforcer, and she redoubled her efforts, racing towards the reception area. If she could get there, she could get the receptionist to call the local guard pack – the wolfkin couldn't just keep killing everyone that saw them ... could they?

Her heart slammed into the base of her stomach, however, when another enforcer emerged from a connecting hallway up ahead, right in her path if she wanted to get to the reception area. A female, smaller than the leader and with steel-grey fur, the wolfkin barred the way, taking aim with an armbow.

Jett ducked and rolled as the enforcer fired, the bolt thudding harmlessly into the wall behind her. Springing upright with a curse, she twisted down a passage to her left, frantically looking for a sign that could direct her to some kind of safety. She needed to get out of here – running around playing predator and prey with the enforcers she was as good as dead.

As she sprinted down the corridor she spotted a blaze of lettering pointing the way to the one of the warrenary's emergency fire exits. She had no notion of exactly how far away the exit was, but it would have to do. She followed the sign, jinking right, then left, acutely aware of the pounding of footpaws in her wake. She'd gained distance, but the wolfkin were still close on her heels.

Another set of footfalls sounded up ahead.

Jett swallowed hard, her chest heaving for breath. Lowering her head, she pelted down the passage and took the next right, following the signs. At the far end of the next corridor she saw it – an unobtrusive metal door emblazoned with a red and white emblem of an open door, secured by an alarmed locking bar.

Get out, get out, get out, Jett repeated to herself, over and over again. She could still hear the steps ahead of her – someone was racing to cut her off, guessing her path of escape. A sob of desperation slipped from her throat as she drew closer and closer.

Then from an adjoining passage another wolfkin came leaping, one arm outstretched, trying to snag her as she went racing by. With a screech of effort, Jett jumped, jumped higher than she'd ever done before, fear propelling her up and over the diving wolfkin. She cleared him in a single massive bound.

Hitting the carpeted floor with a grunt, Jett rolled to her feet and surged upright, slamming a shoulder into the locking bar. The door banged open and she burst from the warrenary, out into the streets of Wildhearth.


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