11

You shake your head and smile at Dena, thanking her for her help, ignoring Lapu's taunts as you get to your feet. Slowly putting pressure on your knee to make sure that it healed properly, you drop to all fours and run to the other side of the road, looking back at Lapu as you leave him behind.

You know the best ways to get to each of your companions. It's really quite elementary after so many years growing up beside them, learning from their behaviors and habits. Lapu isn't half as strong as he thinks he is, and he has a desperate fear of being left alone, last in the pack.

"Okay, fine," the boy shouts out as you disappear in the direction of the bridge to the humans' territory. "You can come!" he says, panting as he tries to catch up. "Wait for me!"

Approach the Bridge

The Q Bridge is difficult to approach from concealment; the ruined buildings of the former city stop a good half mile before the pavement even begins to rise.

Having considered this, Tiva came up with a plan to access the bridge from the south side, hiding among the charred scrap metal husks of the old oil containers that litter the coastline near the base of the bridge.

When you reach the underside of the span, you take ropes from Tiva's backpack, each fastened to a grappling hook. Tiva worked in secret on the hooks for the past few weeks, smuggling them out of the machine shop where she works after closing hours. The ropes will allow you to bypass the checkpoint on this end of the bridge, although you'll still have to be lucky to avoid any patrolling guards.

"Here goes nothing," Tiva says with a grin as she tosses her hook upward. It latches against the underside of the bridge.

"Lucky toss," Lapu says as he attempts to replicate Tiva's throw, failing miserably time and again as the hook falls back to the ground with a dull thud. The boy looks over at you and Dena, but neither of you are doing much better. "Can't we all just take the same rope up?" he mutters despondently.

"I swear," Tiva says, "you guys couldn't do anything without my help!" One by one she tosses the hooks up into the tangle of steel beams underneath the bridge, cords of muscle straining on her arms.

Unlike many other wolves your age, she bulked up during her long teenage years spent working the forge. "We need to stay together," she says. "We can't have half of us sitting around for ten minutes at the top of the bridge waiting to get caught while the rest of you take your time climbing!"

"Hey, Elizar Evenwood," Tiva calls over to you. "Let's make this fun—I'm in the mood for a game! If I can get to the top of the rope first, you'll cover my shift at the machine shop tomorrow."

You raise an eyebrow. "And if I win?"

"Hmm," she mutters. "How about I owe you a favor? You can cash it in any time. Nothing huge, mind you, but I'll owe you one."

You shrug your shoulders. It sounds fair enough to you. You've never really minded the machine shop anyway. You look upward at the ropes as they gently swing in the breeze. It's a long climb, and it's been a while since you've practiced. Still though, you shouldn't have a problem getting to the top. The question is, can you beat Tiva?

You start off strong, grunting as you haul yourself hand over hand up the swaying rope, but it isn't long before Tiva pulls ahead of you and stays ahead.

You pull yourself up over the lip of the overpass mere seconds after her, but the winner is clear. Tiva grins at you, a playful sense of self-satisfaction radiating off her in waves. She nudges you as you both crane your necks over to mark the progress of the others.

"So. Tomorrow at 6:00 p.m. sharp! Hope you get some good sleep tonight, cause you're gonna need it. Razor's been falling behind on the military's orders lately, and she's not kidding around. She's been pushing us hard. It's about time I finally got a break!"

Next

Four young werewolves enter human territory for the first time, slinking forward nervously until they're under the cover of a nearby side street. Afternoon is waning, and the stink of human is thick in the air.

At this point the group splits, each investigating an area that strikes their individual fancy. Later, you'll meet farther into the zone at the large building to the east. Until then, you each have an hour to do as you please.

Using a map the four of you sketched out from memories of overheard adult conversations, you made your plans weeks ago. Your skin crawls with excitement to finally see places you've heard whispers of since you were a pup.

The human military have built this small section of the refuge up over the years—bleak unornamented buildings in row after row used for everything from food storage to scientific research, if the rumors hold true. The base's uniformity is not all-encompassing, however. Some buildings from before the Purge still stand tall in stark contrast to the new expansion of efficient yet ultimately soulless architecture, and you find yourself inexplicably pleased that the humans allowed the old growth to remain—beacons of life breaking up the monotony of military precision.

Which section of the complex did you plan on visiting?

You set off toward the medical building, reviewing layout plans for the military complex in your head as you creep through shadowed alleyways between buildings and, when necessary, rush through the open streets.

There is a surprising lack of activity for a base of this size, and you wonder just how many soldiers really run this place on a day-to-day basis. Maybe the humans have gotten bored taking care of the werewolves and simply left a skeleton crew here to make sure that the bare minimum is done? Whatever the reason, it's working to your advantage.

Soon the stark white edifice of the medical building looms large in front of you, and you duck into an open vehicle bay door. Pausing before the entryway, you take a moment to clear your mind and listen.

Yes, there's some human activity here after all; at least three people are clustered in a large reception room down the hall to your left. You sneak slowly in the opposite direction, searching for a door leading to the stairs.

You overheard Lonan, one of your teachers who lives near the Snarl, talking about the experimental drug. He mentioned that the procedure takes place on the third floor behind a large metal door. You're looking for a syringe of dark blue liquid that needs to be injected directly into the vein. Supposedly, the drug boosts an adult's regenerative abilities significantly.

Werewolf healing ability has always fascinated you, and for years you've desired a means to regenerate from bodily harm even more quickly than your supernatural gifts allow. There are numerous reasons, both practical and impractical, to covet such an ability, but your primary motivation is…