As Deacon ran through the club, he realized that this new reality of his was more amazing and dreamlike than he could have imagined. He was stronger than even his wildest dreams, and he could feel vast stores of power and energy rippling within his musculature, begging to be used. His new leg muscles were beyond powerful and could drive him to faster speeds than any human could imagine. His new muscles felt like driving a Corvette at low speeds, the engine whining for more.

The six-foot five creature of wild black fur and gleaming white teeth charged through the club, taking everyone by surprise. Everyone fled as they looked up to see this terrifying sight coming at them, some fled for exits, others just leaped aside to hide behind couches or other areas of the club. Either way they chose to move, the path was clear before him.

Deacon finally hit the main entrance and accidentally pushed the doors too hard. The glass in the doors shattered and one of them came loose from its hinges and fell to the side. From the outside it looked like an explosion had blown the doors open, and many people outside looked to see the imposing creature standing in the open doorway. He looked down the stairs and saw the same bouncers that had been there last night. An almost piglike squealing howl escaped from him as he charged the pair, who took one look at the shrieking monster that had emerged from the club and fled for their lives. Deacon chuckled but did not pursue, instead, he kept snarling and spitting straight down the street.

But this also caused a commotion. The backed-up traffic was stopped along the front of the club, and the stationary headlights could be seen up and down the road in both directions. As the creature ran out, the hundreds of people sitting in their cars also panicked, and some got out and fled down the street, leaving their cars as they did. As Deacon made it to the next intersection, he could see that he was drawing too much attention to himself and would have to think of something else quickly.

Car horns honked and blared, and as he continued through the intersection, a car rear-ended another. Being a cab driver, he had a good knowledge of the area and began drawing from the map he had of the city inside his head. There was a parking garage about two blocks away, and he pushed his new muscles faster to get there quickly. He found with great amusement that he could run as fast as a car, at least for small bursts. He leaped over the cars in traffic like track hurdles, also finding that his leg muscles could propel his body several times what he usually could. It produced an almost weightless feeling as he leaped.

Deacon used a series of these incredible leaps to cross traffic again and travel down the block. He used the top of an older model station wagon stuck in traffic and pushed off the roof, flinging himself halfway down the street but denting the roof in the process. When he reached the garage, a Chrysler Reliant was just exiting.

The car was speeding up to beat the pair of headlights that were coming up from down the road, but the driver was not expecting a large furry black gorilla to come charging around the corner at the same time. Neither one expected the other and neither one could fully react to avoid each other. Deacon dropped his shoulder low, expecting an impact and hoping the car was going slow enough that he might not be injured much by the inevitable impact.

But surprisingly, Deacon’s shoulder struck the fender of the car and heard the tires chirping against the pavement as his body smashed the fender in and shoved the entire car aside. He kept moving as the shocked driver hit the brakes and sat there for a long moment in stunned silence. The car that the driver was trying to get out in front of was limited by its headlights and did not see a glimpse of the speeding creature, the angry driver began laying on the horn to wake up the now stationary car in front of him. Soon there were horns blaring down the street.

Deacon charged into the garage and weaved in between the parked cars, he managed to avoid another car that was exiting the area by ducking quickly behind a van parked in one of the marked spaces. He then continued up and up, doing his best to avoid anyone else that he came across. His ears turned to hear sirens wailing down the street and knew instantly that those sounds were for him and the chaos he’d caused. He finally managed to reach the top floor and stopped for a moment to look up at the night sky stretching out over the tops of the skyscrapers above.

Deacon stepped to the ledge and looked out at the city below. He could now see the red and blue lights swirling about the city, making the entire section of several blocks look like a dance club with strobe lights. It must have been an all-hands-on deck situation, he thought as he looked out at the dozens of police cruisers converging on the scene while dozens more could be seen in the distance speeding closer. It was exhilarating to think that all this commotion was from him.

“I’m a fuckin’ one man riot!”

He let loose one more howl from the top of the parking garage that echoed throughout the city. Only it didn’t quite come out like the deep powerfully disturbing howl of a wolf he had imagined. Instead, it was more of a terrible squeal.

* * * *

Nate heard the echo of the ethereal squeal-howl carrying across the buildings and down the streets. He could not imagine what someone on the streets just hearing that noise carried on the night wind and not knowing what it was would think. People were running and panicking, there was a real monster loose on the streets tonight. He saw down the street that the news crews were also showing up, even before the police could properly redirect traffic. Overhead, the sound of several rotor blades from news and police helicopters traveled past them, shining spotlights onto the streets below.

“It’s like a war zone.” Zoe exclaimed excitedly while looking up at the helicopters. There were no fewer than four visible in the sky from his vantage point.

The group had taken several cars down into the northern Loop and had now split up to get back to them. Ian, Brian DiMarco and Jermaul had taken another route to get back to Ian’s car, which left Zoe, Mario and Carlos with Nate. They jogged down the street until they reached the small commuter lot where Deacon had left his Cadillac.

“Do you guys know where this place is?” Zoe asked, when the group slowed down to catch their breath.

“Not too far. The guy said it was an abandoned building in Southshore. We can find it if we can get to it.” Nate replied.

“Now how do we catch up to Deke?” Carlos was the first one to bring up the question, but it was truly a good question.

“Yeah really. Does he have the keys?” Mario questioned next.

“Uh…” Nate patted his pockets and replayed the events leading up to them parking and walking the several blocks down to the club. “…yeah, he’s got ‘em.”

“That’s great, is he gonna be able to get to us?” Mario asked.

“I’m more worried about what’s going to happen to him. Is he going to stay like that forever?” Zoe posited. “It had to have been the bite. He said he was bitten by a Tasmanian Devil. That’s gotta be whatever he changed into now! He’s a were-Tasmanian Devil!”

“Well, I don’t have a better explanation.” Nate returned with a shrug. “What’s a Tasmanian Devil? Isn’t that a cartoon character?”

Mario laughed. “Bugs Bunny! Ol’ boy is a Bugs Bunny character.”

“You didn’t get a chance to see him, did you?” Nate asked the girl walking next to him.

Zoe shook her head. She had been waiting in the bar and he had run by too quick for her to get a glimpse, but she had heard him. And the images that her imagination was conjuring were frightening.

Suddenly a pair of high-beam headlights flooded the parking lot with searing light. The group shielded their eyes from the assault on their senses. Nate could see there were two vehicles shining light on them, and both vehicles, one a car and one a jeep, were emptying a crowd of people directly in front of them.

“Are you Nate?” Came a voice from within this gathering.

“Uh…yeah. Who are you?” Nate answered.

“Where’s Deacon Crawford?”

The choice of using both the first and last names instantly sent the hairs on the back of Nate’s head up. This was probably not a friend that was asking about Deacon, it may have been a cop or some other authority figure, but certainly not a friend. And besides that, the voice sounded too young to be an authority figure.

Unauthorized usage: this tale is on Amazon without the author's consent. Report any sightings.

“He’s in your ass dude. Might wanna bend over and check.” Nate replied defiantly and followed with his high-pitched stoner laugh.

“Nah, he’s in your mother’s ass. All the way in there.” Carlos chimed in while clenching his right fist, jerked his forearm up while slapping the right bicep with his left palm. Mario repeated the crude gesture. Carlos and his brother were always the coolest guys in the room, like a pair of 50s greasers. They looked like young, hardened delinquents and were nearly as fearless as Deacon.

A group of youths had exited the vehicles and were now approaching. The lights shining from behind them made them all look like shadows to the group, but Nate could make out a few details as they neared. They were all well dressed in preppy or athletic clothing. Jocks. He knew one thing with certainty, his group had no friendship with any rich-boy jocks.

One of them carried a baseball bat resting on his shoulder as he approached, another had a dangerous looking golf club. The three Southsiders had been in enough scraps in their lifetimes to know that these people coming at them had no good intentions. At this point, it was clear they were about to be attacked, and Nate nodded at Carlos, knowing that outnumbered as they were, it would be better to be the first to attack, rather than wait to be attacked. Mario, who was the smallest of the friends, reached inside his leather jacket and wrapped his fingers into a pair of freshly blooded, well-worn brass knuckles.

“Stay outta this.” Nate spoke over his shoulder to Zoe, who was not used to all this violence she had been pulled into the last few days and was staring fearfully at the aggressors approaching them. “Find Deke.”

She did not want to leave the trio in danger. There were at least ten guys standing in front of them. But she did agree that there would not be much she could do to help the three of them against full grown men, many of which were bigger than Carlos and Nate. Reluctantly, she turned and fled the commuter lot. As soon as she did, the three Southsiders attacked the crowd of jocks and the fight began.

* * * *

A noise drew Deacon’s attention, and he spun to face it. Behind him he saw several more of the vaguely FBI dressed men. Only this time, they had something unexpected with them. There were three huge wolves walking in the center of the group. Deacon did a double take when he saw how huge they were, his eyes had initially understated their size. Their shoulders were nearly level with the men’s chests, making them just a little smaller than an average horse. That, combined with the uncannily intelligent look in their eyes as they watched him made them look anything but natural.

“The cab driver.” One of the men remarked. “We weren’t sure you would manifest, but here you are. How wonderful!”

“Here I am.” Deacon agreed in that booming animal voice. “And before you get too close, think about what I did to your friends before the teeth and claws and ask yourselves if you really want to piss me off right now.”

“Our intention is not to harm you in any way. I assure you our intentions are far more beneficial than that. We only wish to bring you into the fold now that you’ve manifested.”

“I got somethin’ for you to fold.” Deacon growled before adding. “…And you can manifest these nuts. Why did you guys attack me earlier?”

“That was not our intention. Those men were tasked with bringing you back, nothing more. Their orders were not to harm you. I take responsibility for their failure.”

“And who are you?”

“William Crosby, Head of Security Teams Special Deployment for Marshall Industries.”

“What is Marshall Industries?”

“We are a worldwide research company. We specialize in cutting edge and experimental research developments. We’ve been working with some newly discovered viruses, and we now have ample evidence…” The trenchcoated man waved a hand at the monstrous creature in front of him. “…that you have inadvertently contracted this virus.”

“You mean you dickheads were creating some kind of werewolf virus?” Deacon’s huge ratlike head turned suspiciously towards the giant wolves. “That creature that bit me. It was infected.”

“It was a mutation, something unforeseen. And as you can see, it has the ability to cause tremendous growth mutations. You are the first to manifest in such a hybrid way. Previously it was thought the virus only occurred in some North American and mostly Canadian wolf populations, but we found some other species in Australia. The virus mutates wildly when introduced to humans.”

“The Tasmanian Devil!” Deacon frowned, trying to follow the connections in his brain. “That means I’m a were-Tasmanian devil?”

“It also means since you have been infected that you have to come with us. It is a dangerous communicable disease that we are studying, and you are at extreme risk. We can help you though, all you have to do is come with us.”

Deacon’s yellow eyes narrowed. “And what if I tell you to fuck yourself?”

The men exchanged a few words meant to be between only them, but Deacon found that along with his newfound speed and strength, he could also clearly hear their words from this distance. They were remarking on his ability to control himself and speak full sentences while under “the change”. That made him assume that there were others, and that they couldn’t control it.

“We don’t have to consider that because there’s really no good reason to not come with us.” William Crosby answered back in his direction. “Without our treatment you could go downhill quickly. Without our help, you will begin to show rabies-like symptoms, and eventually the effects will become irreversible. You will become more animal than man. In fact, it is truly fascinating that you seem to be able to control it now. We’ve never seen that before. But with our help, we can manage the disease. We have medications that can help you manage it, control it.”

“Control me?” Deacon was suspicious. “I’ll get back to you on that, right now I made a promise to a friend and I gotta go.”

Deacon took a step and the three giant wolves let loose a warning growl, the other men with the speaker now had their hands inside their coats. Deacon had never responded well to threats, but he recognized them well.

“I’m afraid I must insist. You must understand, at this point it’s a national security issue. You are carrying a highly contagious disease, and we have to quarantine you.”

“Quarantine my dick, jackoff.” Deacon was already moving.

The large black were-creature lunged at the men, knowing that his newfound speed was faster than their ordinary reflexes even though he hadn’t tested them fully. He managed to grab one of the men going for a weapon but was instantly tackled to the ground by one of the giant wolves. They rolled along the ground and Deacon lost his grip on the man, instead holding onto the large beast. Soon a second one slammed its body weight into him, preventing him from getting up.

Deacon was surprised, even with his incredible newfound strength, he found it difficult to overpower the canines. They too were possessed of the same raw, supernatural animal power in their rippling muscles. The more they shoved him, the angrier he grew. For a few minutes he kept trying to get to his feet, swiping and clawing to get free, but every time he tried, the wolves managed to knock him down again. Deacon managed to get his hands around one of the wolves and he heaved with all his rage, tossing the wolf over the edge of the parking garage.

He still had two more to deal with, along with several humans. Two of the humans were now aiming rifles at him, and he had to figure if they were even telling a shadow of the truth, they must be loaded with tranquilizers. He managed to keep the wolves in between him and the men with the rifles. He managed to kick one of the wolves next, and it went flipping further into the garage. The other one was instantly on him, despite his superior reflexes, grabbing his arm with its fierce jaws and shaking violently.

Then Deacon felt a sting in his leg. He looked down and saw a dart with a furry red pom-pom at the end sticking in his thigh. He knew he had to work fast now. He ran deeper into the garage and found a blue van parked next to an expensive red Jaguar. He began slamming the thrashing wolf against both vehicles as hard as he could until it finally let go. The creature was strong, at least as strong as him, but he had a slight advantage of upright locomotion. Deacon managed to grab it as it lunged at him again, and he swung it again into the van, and then body slammed it onto the hood of the sportscar.

Both cars now looked as if they’d been in car accidents and were dented and crumpled. The giant wolf must have weight six hundred pounds easily, but Deacon’s new form could handle the weight easily. As the wolf slid off the other side of the hood of the car, he bent low and stuck his hands underneath it. He wasn’t sure exactly how strong he was now in this new form, but decided it was worth a shot. He straightened his legs and stood up, flipping the car with more ease than he thought imaginable, and it flipped upside down, landing on the wolf and pinning it down.

Deacon figured that would temporarily at least slow this one, but as he swung around to face the humans, he saw the other two wolves were now charging him from both sides. It was a long drop to the street below and he didn’t have time to figure out how the wolf he’d thrown over the edge managed to climb back up because their speed was so incredible, he had only a moment before they’d slam into him. The two genetically enhanced wolves collided with the large black were-tasmanian devil in a blur of teeth and claws.

A struggle ensued, and Deacon knew it was now a life and death struggle. Both wolves were strong and frenzied, but he had the advantage of human thought. They might have been strong like him, but who would prove most ferocious? A frenzied series of strikes and blows were exchanged, Deacon decided he would not go down without a fight. The furious exchange of fur and claws ripped across the rooftop at a pace nearly too fast for the human eyes watching to follow. Then something in the distance drew Deacon’s attention. He had hardly realized up until that point that his senses were highly enhanced in this new form of his. But he realized it fully as the sound of a young woman calling his name came to his ears from somewhere in the distance. He knew the voice, it was Zoe’s.

It was becoming clear that he would not be able to fight against two of these dire wolves at the same time, let alone a third that was wriggling out from under the car soon to rejoin the fray. Deacon weighed his options as he wrestled against the two wolves and prepared for the third to slam into him at any moment. He decided on a course of action that he hoped would allow him to get away for now.

The black furred devil thrashed and rolled with the pair of wolves, finding himself just fast enough to stay ahead of his attackers. Though combined they were too much to handle, he realized his one advantage might be speed. Speed and intensity. They kept rolling and turning, all the while Deacon brought the fight closer and closer to the edge of the parking garage. When they neared the edge, Deacon held on tight to both wolves, and they all three went over the edge. The third one that had been charging slid to a stop and watched the others tumble dozens of stories to the ground below.