The heightened aggression observed in recently transformed Mana Abominations is likely a consequence of the physiological and psychological stress incurred during the transformation process. This, combined with a probable reduction in cognitive function due to the activation of multiple incomplete and likely inferior bloodlines, results in a regression to more primitive, instinct-driven behaviours. These behaviours primarily manifest as heightened aggression and extreme territoriality, consistent with stress-induced responses observed in other primitive species.

  — Extract from a lecture by Dr Elliot Barnes, Doctor of Applied Mana and System Theory, delivered in September 2042.

  Chapter Two

  Day of awakening - 21:52

  Locking the gate to the yard behind me, I set off at a slow job in the direction the scream had come from, not from any sense of heroism but out of a desire to prevent whatever was happening from escalating and someone calling the cops, last thing I needed was the police sniffing around and asking questions, questions such as who are you? why are you and your van parked up on this abandoned building site? Why are you out here at this time of night? Do you live near here? And while I’m not doing anything illegal, well to the extent that I would get arrested at any rate I would still rather not have to answer such questions. And so, with nothing but self-serving intentions I set off into the darkness, Luckily now that the light spots that I had caused myself from the lighter had faded away, my eyes were able to start slowly adapting the darkness and I was able to make out the

  “Help, Somebody, anybody help!”

  Oh, for fuck’s sake, woman. Keep it down—people are trying to sleep.

  I put on a burst of speed as I bore down on the corner of the street from where I could hear the feminine screams coming from, hoping to get there with enough time to calm down and de-escalate the situation.

  But rounding the corner I was brought to a halt by a tableau that was presented to me.

  A rather burly man was lying on his back scrambling backwards wearing nothing more than a dressing gown that was such a vivid shade of pink that I could even make it out even in this level of darkness, it was his panicked high pitch cries that I had mistaken for a woman. The man was holding his arms out and now appeared to be frantically trying to calm something down the twang of fear still audible in his voice.

  “Claire please! Calm down”

  A growl from the darkness started to fill in the blanks about what was going on.

  Great, someone’s dog has flipped out, probably due to the sudden power cut surprised it, triggering a panic attack and making it lash out.

  “Honey please, it me Mark, your husband. Don’t you recognise me?”

  Another growl echoed out of the darkness in response.

  …Okay, I’m out, I don’t know what’s going on here and I don’t want to know, what a man and his possible dog/wife do in the sanctuary of their own home is their business, I mean if a man can marry his car, why not his dog… I’m going to have to call the police aren’t I…

  Realisation that whatever was going on was most likely some sort of crime and I was going to have to get involved with the police,

  Maybe I can say that I was just taking a late-night stroll because the power was out and then giving them my old address, wait my phone batteries are dead how am I mean to call…

  My thoughts were interrupted, as out of the darkness what looked like a massive dog padded out into sight, as low constant growl rumbling near constantly before rearing back onto the back legs towering over the now whimpering man.

  “Please Claire, I lov-“

  The man’s last words were cut short as the massive dog thing shot down and clamped its jaws around the man’s neck, massive forepaws seemed to grip his shoulders before the head yanked upwards tearing out the man’s neck.

  I stood there stunned; my mind blank from shock as all I could do was stare at the scene before me. For what felt like eternity the creature and I just stood there, and the creature just stared off into the distant, taking deep panting breaths, arterial blood gushing out in a fountain from the body at its feet, the man dead within seconds but the heart still fighting on. And then as I watched on the creature seemed to freeze, the rest of its body dead still as its head slowly turned to face me, its bloodshot eyes constricting down into needle like points and my brain finally started working again.

  NOPE!

  I was already in a dead run back the way before my brain really had time to process the realities of what just happened, but one thing was for sure.

  That was a motherfucking Werewolf!!!

  Still accelerating as I reached the street corner, I threw out my hand grabbing against the wall, using it to help transfer my momentum so that I could round the corner as tightly as possible. This one action may have been the one decision that saved my life that day, as in the moment, just as I made it round the corner I felt the wind on the back of my head as though something just a hair’s breadth away brushed pass followed by a crash as something crashed into a car parked on the corner.

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  Oh shit!, fuck fuck shit!

  Not looking back, because only idiots look back, I just about made it about a hundred meters at a dead sprint, before at the sound of scrabbling claws tearing at the pavement behind me I dove between two parked cars just as the Werewolf like creature, slipped pass, running on all fours before failing to properly stop and turn, tripping it into a tangled roll.

  I didn’t stop to see why it seemed so uncoordinated with-it limbs and instead darted diagonally across the street and over another parked car to a padlocked gate which was my destination. With practiced quick hands, I slammed in the code into the gate lock and wrenching it open, I just barely slipped though before the creature crashed into the gate slamming closed while knocking me to ground.

  The gate I had just made it through with only moment to spare, was the side access gate to the fabrication yard that I worked at and was built into a foot deep wall made of the old Victorian red bricks and probably dated back to then, it was over two meters tall, topped with case iron spikes and ran a full ring around the property.

  Scrambling up, a vicious, triumphant grin spread across my face as I stared down the creature its clawed hands gripping the gate, trying to tear it loose, an aggressive snarl the only sound it was making. My grin turned into something feral and with adrenaline still coursing through me I snarled back at it.

  “It not going to work you fucker! I made that gate, and it is made with 300 fucking millimetres hardened steel rods, you would need a plasma cutter to even attempt to cut it loss.”

  It had stopped shaking the bars now and just stared at me slightly, its bloodshot, pinprick eyes focused on me as I yelled at it,

  “So why don’t you go fuck off, you mother fucking piece of-“

  In one fluid motion, the creature bent its knees and the slowly launched itself up, easily clearing the spikes on top of the over two-meter-high wall and landing down almost softly behind me.

  “No!”

  I spun around facing the creature as it slowly turned to face me and doing the only thing I could do, trapped against the gate, as it went to leap at me. I grabbed the closest thing I could find which was a piece of rebar that we used for temporary fencing, and I swung it with every ounce of fear-induced adrenaline I bring to muster and caught it in the side of it head and it lunged for my neck. I realised the creature couldn’t have weighed much as with a high-pitched squeal of pain, I was able to knock it to the side and bolt pass it, vaulting over the different piles of I bolted deeper into the yard.

  A dumber person might have tried for a second swing to see if they could finish off the down creature, but this would of completely ignored the fact that I had just swung full force with a full length of rebar, to the side of the head, which would have killed an adult man, only knocked the creature to the side and I am 90% certain that was only because of the weight different between us. So yeah I ran.

  Dumb of not, one thing was for certain was I was now trapped in the yard with it and if I didn’t come up with something quick, it was going to catch me and that would be the end for me. All the tools and anything useful as a weapon were securely locked up and my work keys were sitting in my van, the only advantage that I could think of as I weaved and vaulted over piece of scrape, metal storage and random pieces of equipment, was the fact that the wolf creature didn’t seem very steady on its feet, almost as though it wasn’t used to its own body and was in reality the only reason why I was still alive. And while it would most likely quickly adapt to what ever the issue was, it was still an advantage and as I rounded the corner to a storage container and saw what lay beyond, I realised a plan in which I could make use of that advantage, A very suicidal plan, but also my only plan.

  Skidding to a halt, I turned my back to what I had just seen, backing up until I could feel it pressing against my back and raise the now slightly bent rebar above my head I yelled at the oncoming monster.

  “WELL, COME ON YOU PIECE OF SHIT! LET’S FUCKING DO THIS!”

  Whether it was from my shouting or just the fact it saw me their standing still directly in front of it, the monster let out a deep squeal and dropping down onto all fours, it dipped it head down and charged.

  The was no fear or panic as I stood my ground, there was just feeling of adrenaline, the pounding of my heart, the ever-present headache I had since this had all started and the certainty that I would either succeed or I would die. And as the monster closed into to about three meters from me, I throw the rebar forward aiming for it face and dived to the side, not looking to see if I hit or not.

  I landed on the ground and waited for the monster to jump on me, to feel it teeth grab onto my neck and ripe it out just like it had done to that man, I would bleed out almost instantly and I would feel very little pain and as the seconds dragged on into eternity I closed my eyes and waited patiently for my death.

  With the sound of something crashing into and impaling itself followed by a pained squeal, the world sped up and forced myself to my feet, staring at the thrashing creature where it had run head long into the forklift that I was standing in front of it, my plan had worked.

  I knew I stood no chance against it and running out of time I came up with the desperate plan of using its own strength against it, the teeth of the fork had been modified from the usual wide teeth used to move palettes around and instead had a row of most spike like teeth similar to a normal fork to make it easier to move different length of metal bar around. And by standing in front of them, I blocked them from it view, shouting full pulled it focus and by at the last moment throwing the rebar I hoped to cause it to flitch or look away, so that it wouldn’t track me as I dived out of the way, and it would just carry on, driving the spikes through its body.

  My victory was short lived though as even as got up, it had already started to push itself off the spikes.

  “Oh no, you fucking don’t!”

  As I charged forward, try to shove and kick it deeper into the spikes, but it out matched me in strength and with more pained grunts and squeal it was slowly pushing itself off the spikes.

  “No No No, this can’t be happening, I beat you!”

  Panic started to set in as I looked around for anything that my help and my eyes locked onto the strap used to secure stuff to the forklift, still attached to one side of the forklift where somebody and forgotten to put it away. Out of ideas and out of desperation I grabbed for it and slung it around the creature that had almost pushed itself free attaching it to the mounting point on the other side of the forklift. And locking eyes with the monster, I started to work the ratchet, tightening the strap.

  The monster fought as best it could, but the ratchet kept working away, bit by bit, slowly tightening and pulling the monster forward. After that, the outcome was inevitable. By the time the strap pulled as tight as it would go, all the fight had left the monster, pressed up against the forklift, it face forced to the side, all it could do was let out long, pitiful whines, the kind a dog that was in pain would make, the madness was gone from it eyes, only pain and confusion remained as I grabbed a heavy iron pipe and climbed up to stand above its head. I brought the pipe down—one, two, three—and with the fourth blow, the back of its head finally caved in and the monster or whatever it was went silent.