R.E.D. Tiger Ch. 04

Once again the group raced to the noise only to find the walkie talkie sitting in the middle of the stage. Seeing the Alpha pick it up and turn it on I quickly erected a small air bubble around me, this would stop the sound of my voice from giving up my location.

"Testing 1,2,.. testing 1,2," I said into the device.

"Who the hell is this?" I heard a voice rage from the other side.

"You know who this is. I'm the man who you tried to kill a couple days ago for no reason." I said back.

"Alan Thorton is that you? The military would be surprised to find you shooting civilians, so tell me what is this all about?" The Alpha said trying to scare me and hint that he knew who I was as well as my background.

"Civilians? Where? All I see are you furry little bastards. As far as what this is about well that's a two sided question. One you tried to kill me and two... well I guess that one is kinda a secret." I told the assembled group.

"OK sounds like we're at a crossroads, we tried to kill you, you killed a couple of our people. Where do we go from here?"

"Killing your people was just a means to an end. I want to challenge you for the position as Alpha of the pack." Even from where I was I could hear the loud gasps of confusion and shock. I also saw the Alpha cover up the speaker and speak a couple of words to the people behind him who then proceeded to back away.

"And how was killing my people going to achieve that?"

"Well if I just walked into the camp and demanded you fight me, more than likely you would've turned me down . You lycans don't really have these leadership duels unless it's the best thing for the pack, so I figured I kill a couple of you guys and maybe you accept my challenge."

"And if I refuse?" the man asked. Sighing I sat down my walkie talkie and picked up my rifle, Looking through the scope I found one of the people who I saw earlier with the Alpha. Aiming at his chest I pulled the trigger. With the air bubble up the gun didn't even make any sound until the man was already shot.

"You refuse and I keep killing you companions. Honestly this is the best situation for the both of us. It resolves this quickly and with the least amount of bloodshed. It's way better than you accepting after I kill twenty more people, only to have the same results we'd have had if you accepted right off the bat."

I could see the Alpha was thinking about it. While the Alpha is the supreme leader of the pack it is still his main duty to protect the well fare of all his pack members. I'm pretty sure he was confident that he could find me and kill me but by then how many more lycans would I have shot. This way he was able to eliminate the threat with only a small amount of casualties.

"Fine," the Alpha growled, "have it your way. Come on out from wherever you're hiding and we'll settle this the old fashioned way." I dismantled and put away the sniper rifle before I hopped from the building, being careful to actually climb down so as not to give away anything. I walked toward the pack of lycans who were trying their best to be intimidating. I'm pretty sure some were also holding themselves back from attacking me as well, I did just kill about six of their pack mates. As I made my way closer and closer to the group they started to part, leaving only a narrow walkway that led straight to the Alpha.

When I reached the Alpha I could see him sizing me up. Clearly unimpressed he pointed to the stage.

"We'll be fighting up there. No one else will interfere. If you win you'll become the Alpha of the pack, if I win well you'll be dead so I guess it doesn't matter." The Alpha said. Wow these guys didn't play around. They were straight to business.

"Well okay, you're the boss." I said, "Well at least for now." I added as an afterthought which earned me a growl. Stepping on to the stage I looked around at the gathered masses of lycans around me. The pack was a good size, I counted about thirty of them in all.

The Alpha did his hulk thing and jumped onto the stage and then we were joined by another lycan. A tall slender guy in a business suit. He was the only one in the whole den dressed in something besides a t-shirt and shorts.

"This is Swai-lo, he is the adviser for the clan as well as our liaison with the lycan high council. He has to start and sanction the duel or else it won't be valid." The Alpha explained in a gruff tone. I guess he and this adviser didn't get along well. The man turned to me before extending his hand for a shake.

"Mr. Thorton, as adviser and liaison it is my duty to make sure you understand the rules of this duel as well as the odds you face. First I must clarify that you understand that tonight is a full moon so your opponent has access to more strength and speed than normal. Second the current Alpha gets the right to set the restrictions and limitations of your upcoming fight. Lastly while this is not technically a fight to the death the winner holds the right to decide whether to spare your life or not. Do you agree to the mentioned rules." Swai-lo asked me to which I agreed.

"And Al do you as current Alpha swear to turn over leadership of the pack to Mr. Thorton should he win?" To which the Alpha nodded nonchalantly, clearly unworried about losing.

"Enough talk, are you ready to do this?" the Alpha growled, wanting to get the fight started. He seemed agitated, for some reason he was in a rush. Shrugging it off I went over to the side of the stage that the adviser had designated as my "corner". From my corner I could see the Alpha hadn't moved at all. He was slightly hunched over and had a weird look on his face.

Suddenly the Alpha reared his head back and let out a huge howl, which the rest of the assembled group took up. When he was finished howling he looked right at me, his pupils were glowing a eerie shade of red and wisps of red smoke floated from them. Next he hunched over and his breathing intensified. I could see traces of black fur starting to sprout from various spots on his body. First covering his back and torso and then extending to his face and lower body. I heard a ripping sound and saw that his feet had torn out of his shoes and were now also covered in fur, the toenails elongating and turning into claws.

The Alpha once again looked up and now his teeth were also elongated, his canines hanging over his mouth. I could hear his bones creaking and cracking as they shifted, his skin undulating as the transformation happened. Then almost instantly the cracking intensified and the Alpha stood fully upright, now towering at at least nine or ten feet. I realized that the werewolf I fought in the alley was only halfway transformed and this is what a full lycan transformation was like.

Tearing my eyes from the Alpha I noticed that all the werewolves in the audience had also transformed, a sea of yellow eyes staring back at me. I was brought out of my observation by Swai-lo, the adviser sliding next to me.

"One hell of an intimidation technique eh?" I joked.

"This is no intimidation technique, Mr. Thorton It's the full moon, which means that all of us are forced to turn into our full lycan form." he reminded me. But the moon had been out for at least a couple of hours now, it was at least ten thirty if not later and they were just now transforming. When I asked Swai-lo about it he explained,

"Our ancestors didn't have a good a control on their wolf side as we do now. Centuries ago, early lycans transformed at the slightest hint of a full moon because the wolf side was repressed and is at it's strongest during that time. It used it extra strength to break free during those times and wrestle control from it's human counterpart. Nowadays we have harmony with our inner wolves. A natural born werewolf won't experience a forced transformation until the first full moon after their thirteenth birthday. The catch is it they won't transform until the exact time of their birth. My only guess is that Al was born around this time. The members in a clan always adopt, for lack of a better word, the time of their Alpha's transformation as their own. It's one off the benefits of being in a clan, otherwise you'd have to spend the entire night in your lycan state." he explained.

"So why aren't you transformed?" I asked him.

"I'm not a part of this pack. As liaison to the High Council I have to report on any and all things that need the council's attention. If I was part of the pack I'd be forced to listen to the Alpha and my reports could be swayed. As far as transformation goes, well luckily for me my Alpha doesn't transform for a couple of more hours." he answered with a smile. Resigning myself to the idea that it was a proven fact that you leaned something new everyday I focused back on the Alpha in front of me, who had been so kind as to wait until after the explanation to talk.

"Are you guys ready over there?" He asked in a voice that was a mix of his normal voice and a deeper, more feral one. Nodding that I was Swai-lo walked away and signaled to another werewolf standing just off stage. That werewolf then hit a button and the sound of a ringing bell was heard.

When the bell rung Al quickly leap at me. With his huge frame and speed it took nothing for him to close in with me. The large werewolf opened his palms to me as if he wanted to have a power struggle. Shrugging I indulged him and locked hands with him. Immediately he began pressing into me trying to push me back.

Al was strong, ridiculously strong actually. But still he wasn't strong enough. He was trying to use his superior height as leverage to push me back. Having enough of the game I used my lower center of gravity to duck under the Alpha and quickly wrapped my arms around his waist. I was instantly glad that his pants had stayed intact when he transformed, I'd have to ask how they did that. Calling up more of my strength I lifted Al until he was suspended over my head. The whole pack let out a collective gasp as they saw their leader being held helplessly over my head. With another heave I tossed the giant body back across the stage, where it landed with a large thud.

I watched as Al made to get back up. He was moving slow but I doubt he was seriously injured, I'm sure it just takes a while to get a hug ten foot frame off the ground. After he righted himself, the Alpha stood looking at me. Half in shock and half pensively trying to figure out his next move. Having clearly lost in a test of strength I can only imagine that he decided to fall back on his trump.

Like I said werewolves are physically weaker than vampires, so being outclassed in strength wasn't something I would assume was new to Al. As a werewolf and especially an Alpha he probably had lifetimes of experience fighting stronger opponents. What he did have on his side was speed though.

I watched curiously as the Alpha slumped over, getting on all fours facing me. I never figured that werewolves actually fought in that stance. I couldn't see the benefit of it, he had just about lost his height advantage not to mention his hands were now holding him up instead of being free to swing at me. I quickly saw the reason though as Al took off running towards me in a full sprint.

It appeared that the plan was for him to come in low and fast and probably rip me to shreds before I even knew what was happening. If I could admit that Al was strong than fast wasn't even the right word to describe him. I still believed I was faster by a wide margin but, I had the added benefit of having magic to increase my speed. If I released more of my werewolf and vampire sides then I would be faster than him without magic but some cards need to be kept a secret until later.

Shaking my head to clear my thoughts I had just enough time to gain my focus before Al was swiping with his right hand at my mid section. Thinking quickly (and rashly) I jumped up and flipped over the werewolf. In the air I was a much easier target so Al quickly swung his other arm in an attempt to skewer me. As I saw the arm coming toward me I tried my best to contort my body. I would've used some magic to move in midair but that would be a more overt show of magic than I wanted. As the arm came closer I reached out and grabbed it and pulled it close to my body, narrowly avoiding clawing myself, and hung onto it for leverage.

Without his arm to help him the Alpha was struggling to remain balanced on three limbs so he made the decision to stand back up on two feet. I was still holding onto his arm and my head was much to close to my opponent's fanged mouth for my liking.

The Alpha swung around from side to side trying to dislodge me. Figuring it was only a matter of time before Al grew tired of that and decided to just use his other hand to pry me off I decided to take action. Rearing back I took a look at the large, fur covered arm from which I was hanging trying my best to discern where one of the pressure points would be located. Finding what I guessed was one I thrust two fingers into it as well as used ice magic to freeze his arm from the inside.

Magic and martial arts go well together if used correctly. The combination I just used for example was very potent. Since I attacked one of his pressure points The Alpha would feel extreme pain, as well as a loss of movement and blood circulation in that arm. By adding ice magic I was able to freeze the muscles as well as make ice crystals and shards form between his muscles and bones, every attempt to move his arm would cause the ice to move and cause even more pain. I could even control the ice shards remotely, using them to travel from his arm to his heart and kill him if I wanted to. As it was now Al had probably lost about eighty percent of his movement speed in that one arm as well as suffering from extreme pain, not to mention a slow chill seeping through his whole body.

After attacking Al's arm I vaulted myself off his arm and stepped back to add some distance between us. I could see Al looking at his arm inquisitively, trying to figure out the extent of damage I'd done. He slowly lowered himself to try and get back on all fours but howled in pain the second he tried to put any weight on his right arm. Quickly standing upright he tentatively tried to move his arm only to find out he couldn't . From where I was standing I could see the skin on his arm starting to become purple. If left alone for more than fifteen minutes Al would never be able to use that arm again.

Since I still wanted to keep Al around it was probably best that I defeat him quick so I could heal his arm. Sprinting up to him I shot a quick low kick to his inner thigh, the unexpected strike causing his weight to shift. Due to him being off balance Al's face was within my striking range. I did a quick step back to give me some room and released a high kick to the dazed werewolf's temple

Acting quickly I grabbed Al's good arm and wrenched it forward so I could get behind him. From there I swiveled around his back so that I could put him in a headlock and be outside of the range of his good arm. Now that the headlock was secure I began to add pressure and bring Al closer to the ground. I could see that the Al was starting to feel lightheaded, as he was barely struggling.

"Will you just give up or do I have to break your neck first?" I asked him. My words caused him to stir and he made an attempt to move his arm to attack me, but he was still unable to move it.

"What the hell did you do to my arm?" He growled at me.

"I've hit your pressure points and if I don't undo it in about thirteen minutes then you'll never be able to use it again so once again, do you give up?" I repeated. Al stubbornly tried to resist and he spent the next two minutes trying to shake me off of him, but with the infection in his arm spreading coupled with the effects of my choke hold, he was barely able to put up any resistance.

After tiring himself out and getting nothing out of it but pain Al finally made the smart decision and submitted..

"Alright I give, you win." He said in a drowsy voice. I quickly let go off him and Al gasped deeply trying to regain his lost air supply. Al slowly rose up and turned to me. Seeing the fight was over Swai-lo quickly steeped in to conclude the match. I think the rest of the pack was still in to much shock to say anything, and a eerie silence fell over the area.

"Alright Al you've lost, you know what you must do." Swai-lo said.

"Yeah, yeah I know but before all of that can you fix my fuckin arm already." Al growled at me. Shrugging I walked over to him and grabbed his arm and released his pressure points while using fire magic to dispel the freezing. In a couple of minutes the heat would spread and Al would be back to normal.

Al shook his arm as the feeling started to return. Behind him Swai-lo cleared his throat, signaling for Al to get on with whatever he was supposed to do.

"I Ailouchockas (Al for short)," he began in a very formal tone, this seemed to be part of some sort of ritual," as alpha of this tribe, transfer my title to Alan Thorton." He finished and held out his hand. I looked over his shoulder to where Swai-lo was standing and he gave me a slight nod, indicating that I should take Al's hand.

Since Al had yet to return to his human form it was kind of weird to see the giant claw pointed towards me, I slowly reached out and clasped the offered paw. When my hand made contact with Al's I felt a surge go through my body. From Al's body a reddish haze emanated. Once the haze grew to a reasonable size it left from around his body and rushed towards me.

I gasped in surprise and the red haze went into my mouth. I could feel every part of my body on fire. It was like the haze was spreading into every fiber of my being. With one last painful gasp I blacked out.

____

My senses came back slowly. From what I could tell I was in some sort of room. Or maybe at the bottom of a pit. A strange fog was every where and an eerie grayish light surrounded me. I began to walk around looking for a way out or at least a clue to where I was.

After walking for a while I was standing in between two cages. They were huge, wrought iron things, one on each side of me and each with a person inside. Giving a cursory glance to each of the caged individuals I made a startling discovery. Inside of both cages were... me. Or at least versions of me.

In the cage on my right was a hulking version of me. He was was at least seven feet tall, and had my coal black hair only his was spiked. As I stared at him I saw the same pair of eyes I see every morning in the mirror staring back at me only these had a red tinge to them. There was a slight scar just under the right eye. This other me was wearing some sort of blue sleeveless fur vest with no shirt, and a pair of long jeans. This "me" was much more muscular than I was, huge by any definition of the word. After watching me for a bit he turned and walked away and went to sit at the back of the cage. He looked at me with a toothy grin and I realized that he had razor sharp teeth in his mouth. Slightly unnerved I turned to the other cage.

This me was completely different again. This one reminded me more of my old self. Long black hair, kind of skinny and small defined muscles. This me however was very pale, almost ghost-like really. There were no eyes to stare back at me with this one, just a pool of black. The iris, pupil, cornea, everything was black. Looking into those black pools cause me to shutter not so much from fear just from the creepiness of seeing them on my face. Seeing me shutter, the caged me slightly smirked revealing elongated canines on the top and bottom row of teeth. For clothing this me was donned in a long black fringed cape, with a flared collar. Underneath was a white Victorian era shirt and a pair of black slacks and black pointed boots. A very stereotypical vampire outfit.