HEATSEEKER

The wolves, five in all, were the biggest any of them had ever seen, much larger than you might encounter at a zoo or in the pages of National Geographic. Two of the beasts were standing on their hind legs in a seemingly second-nature fashion. Their eyes, clouded white, had no pupils. Each of the five animals had thick matted coats, jet black in color, contributing to their concealment moments earlier. The hallway mist stayed close to the ground encircling the meaty legs of the animals, and all five sets of eyes stared blazingly at Farrow and his small band of escapees. The two separate parties, ten yards apart, stood motionless, but even at this distance, the fugitives could see mouthfuls of teeth that were both glistening and needle sharp. A low, throaty sound laced with rage slowly filled the hallway. Paula backed into Farrow; Scalia backed into Paula. The light between them and the wolves was flickering fast now, producing a strobe-like effect. One of the mammoth beasts took a shambling step forward, its eyes in a delirious, rolled-back manifestation, never pulling its stare away. “Farrow, what do we do?” said Paula and Scalia, cutting each other off, their troubled pleas entwining, looking to the bigger man for leadership. Farrow kept his voice low and even. Controlled. “Walk back slowly, altogether. No sudden moves, keep your eyes on them. Paula, stay between Robert and me." “Shit,” she whispered, “sounds like fun, maybe I’ll pay you.” Nobody laughed. The wolves started moving as one, forward and slowly, extra-large mouths salivating, eyes pouring white light. The smell of excrement infested the entire area. A third wolf went up on its hind legs. Standing upright, the creature was nearly seven feet tall at full complement; its stride was not at all unlike that of a man. “Robert, how far back is the staircase?” “Only about twenty feet behind us to the left, and then about thirteen or maybe fifteen stairs up to the surface.” “And how far to the chain?” “With a straight run, just about two or three minutes. Not even a quarter of a mile. Paula, your shoes are still at the bottom of the portal. I saw when you lost them earlier. I didn’t grab them because I wasn’t sure if…well, from the looks of those heels, you could probably run faster without them.” “Thanks. And from the looks of those things,” she said, pointing a finger at the five approaching wolves, “I think we will be running very soon. Besides, I like walking around hell barefoot,” she added sarcastically. “Listen, guys,” Farrow said, keeping his voice low, “we’re going to keep moving backwards, together.” He paused. “Once we hit the stairs, we turn and run.” As he spoke, the three of them moved in a single line in a slow reverse shuffle, Farrow in the back, then Paula, and Scalia up front closest to the wolves, their eyes never leaving the large black animals. “If any of those things make a sudden move, anything at all, Robert grab Paula’s hand and run like your ass is on fire. Get to the chain and I’ll be right behind you. Do you have the Hellstick ready?” Scalia held the weapon high for Farrow to see. It was still in the closed position. “Oh, trust me, it’s ready,” he said, not sounding as confident as he did earlier. The light bulb between the two conflicting parties continued to flicker. The wolf standing in what could be considered the center of the pack let out a roar, a deep, carnivorous sound, then dropped down to all fours, an obvious pouncing position. Both Paula and Robert looked back to Farrow. “Here we go, guys, looks like they’re getting ready to make a move, getting ready to do something. Robert, switch places with me.” The two men quickly changed positions. Now Farrow was in the front of the line and Scalia was in the rear, closest to the staircase that was growing nearer with each backward step. Paula turned slightly to the left and reached back with that hand in search of Robert’s, her slim fingers instantly tangling with his. “Don’t fire up the Hellstick unless they start coming…and don’t provoke them in any way,” Farrow said. The two wolves that had remained standing upright, now also dropped to what looked like an attack position, their legs slightly bent. All five animals were now coughing out vicious, gargling bursts full of menace and hate. “Get ready,” Farrow said. The light bulb flickering above the black wolves dimmed considerably before extinguishing itself completely, throwing the beasts into absolute darkness once again. Their large eyes burned ghostly through the black air like haunted lanterns. “Keep going,” Farrow said. “Keep going nice and slow. Robert, how much farther?” Without looking behind him, Scalia said, “We should be there anytime now, it can’t be much longer. I’m surprised…” The light bulb started to snap on and off again at quick intervals and the wolves came at them. All five, low to the ground, fast and directly.