Takhmard, Afghanistan
295th Armoured Battalion
Routine Patrol
July 23rd 2056, 1600hrs
The heat was scorching, it was always hot in this area of the world but today was one of the hottest days of the year. The patrol of soldiers had arrived the town of Takhmard around noon, the Al-Khanajir had been sighted in a nearby village so the 295s had been sent to patrol the town to see if there was any signs of an Al-Khanajir occupation.
Sergeant Jen Sanders was walking through the market along with the group of twenty other soldiers and accompanied by three Humvees armed with a mounted 50 calibre machine guns, Sanders kept a tight grip on his assault rifle he was getting many stares from the locals which unnerved him. Negativity towards them was always a common thing for the soldiers who had been dispatched to the Middle East, they were in a place where the people didn’t want them but with the growing threat of terrorism and attacks to the public in cities across the world fighting on their turf was an unfortunate necessity that many people disagree with. The patrol had the three vehicles spaced evenly with the soldiers staying close by in case they needed immediate cover, the soldiers moved calmly through the streets all of them kept their eyes mostly up to the roofs of the surrounding buildings but also to the people anyone of them could be a member of Al-Khanajir. One of Sanders lieutenants came up through the group and joined the sergeant up front she spoke quietly “Sir I don’t like how exposed we are” Sanders nodded “I agree Owens but we have no choice” Owens watched a group of men sat at a table in one of the bars they were whispering whilst watching the soldiers pass by “They could easily ambush us here” Sanders nodded again he understood what Owens was worried about but they had orders to follow “Again I agree with you but we need to patrol the town for any signs of Al-Khanajir…that’s even if they are here”. They continued through the town when Sanders noticed that people seemed to be on edge when suddenly an RPG streaked down from the roof of a building and struck underneath the forward Humvee and flipped it into the air the nearby soldiers were knocked to the ground by the force of the blast.
Sanders yelled to the others “TAKE COVER!” as gunfire from enemy insurgents began to hail down upon the American forces along with the town's civilians who ran in all directions to avoid being hit, Sanders ran and crouched by car on the side of the street and peeked around the side to see where the gunfire were coming from. Several buildings down on both sides had combatants firing from ground, windows and roofs, Sanders shouted to his soldiers were to engage and he raised his rifle and crouched low and fired at three targets who were using a shop for cover, the Humvee with the 50 cal. roared to life and spewed a volley of bursts from the muzzle focusing on sure fire targets in case civilians were close, bust and dry wall were scattered out as they were pelted with bullets the Al-Khanajir ducked out of the fire and began blind firing to keep clear from the mounted gun. Sanders ran from the cover of the car and across the street over to the market stall where four men were held down, Sanders jumped over the counter fell into a crouch and looked to his men “Find that RPG and take them the fuck out!” the men nodded and whilst two were trying to take out those in the buildings one was searching rooftops waiting for the RPG gunner to reveal themselves again for another shot. Sanders was along the left side of the machine gun and out of the line of fire he barked to the gunner “Harris keep up with suppressive fire whilst we move up down the street” the gunner yelled out “Yes Sir!” and continued the suppression, Sanders looked to the battalion and yelled out his orders “Alright the 50 cal. is going to give suppressive fire, we need to start moving up and get closer to take these guys out” he looked down the street and saw that the enemy fire was giving a slight lull Sanders saw this as an opportunity “MOVE UP NOW!” the soldiers began to move down the street to take up another position closer to the enemy. Sanders found Owens and Garret and crouched next to them “Owens take Garret down this alley and head up the road on the other side, I want you to set up a flank position further up this street and should give you a clear shot of the store and apartment building on the right side, whilst they’re focusing on us you can engage them by surprise” Owens replied “Yes Sir, come on Garret let’s go” they snuck off down the alley to take up the position further up the street.
The street was in chaos as gunfire was flying back and forth in all directions, Sanders fired at the enemies in the windows two of them were hit and fell back out of sight, he had to duck when another shot at him from a car across the street Sanders pulled the pin from a grenade he launched it in the air and managed to get it through the window of the car, the man panicked but before he could get out he was enveloped in a cloud of smoke and fire as the grenade detonated. Back down at the market stall the three that were waiting for the RPG were still waiting, until finally they caught sight of something one of them spoke “I’ve got movement on the roof on the left about 12 metres away” the one who was preparing to take the shot watched were the other had seen the possible target but suddenly the rocket launcher emerged and fired the RPG, the soldiers pulled the trigger and hit the target square in the chest but it was too late, the rocket hit the gun mounted Humvee right in the vehicles left side the explosion ripped clear through it killing everyone on board. Owens and Garret reached the flank position and they knelt down by a brick wall, Owens peaked around and just slightly away from the store but this was for their benefit since the insurgents were facing the other direction and couldn’t see them, Owens and Garret threw three grenades into the store which then erupted with a loud crack, screams and rush of smoke, the two of them smiled at each and began to engage the rest.
Sanders was moving along the side of the street to avoid being hit when suddenly the enemy gunfire stopped, the American soldiers stopped and looked at each other curiously they weren’t expecting Al-Khanajir to give up so easily at this moment the squads medics rushed about to tend to the dead and wounded. Sanders stepped out into the middle of the road and looked around “They can’t be gone”, there was a sound of footsteps and Owens and Garret saw a man come out a building and walked towards the soldiers Owens took her radio “Sergeant we’ve a possible hostile heading in your direction”, Sanders turned around in the direction of the mystery man who was dressed in a shirt, coat and tatty brown pants, Sanders raised his rifle and shouted “Stay where you are!” the man stopped as Sanders shouted out again “Identify yourself, are you Al-Khanajir?!” Owens looked down the sight of her rifle “Sir I have no visual on a weapon, repeat I can’t confirm a weapon” the unknown man quickly pulled out a grenade and yelled out a phrase that made Sander spine go cold with fear “'ana wahid min almajmuea!” he pulled the pin and Sander yelled to his team “SHIT HE’S A HOWLER!!!” the grenade detonated and the insurgent vanished in the explosion but there was a flash of fur that launched from the smoke. The creature landed on the ground crouched on all fours, it was covered in dark grey fur with long pointed ears and a long muzzle full of sharp teeth and fangs, Sanders had heard of howlers in many briefings but this was the first he had seen one. The Howler let out a snarl and a howl then it rushed into a sprint towards them, Sanders panicked “TAKE IT DOWN! TAKE IT DOWN!” the soldiers engaged and opened fire on the wolf like beast bullets tore into its flesh but the Howler was still standing, it leapt at a group of four soldiers and in a flurry of sharp claws and a splatter of blood the unfortunate men were shredded to pieces. Sanders started to fall back then spun back and fired at the Howler hitting it in the back and neck, it turned slowly to face him blood dripping from the fur around its mouth and stood upright on its hind legs the Sergeant was in disbelief that this thing had taken so many shots “How are you still alive?” the Howler swiped at him but Sanders help up the rifle which took the most of the impact and send him flying across the air and hard against the ground. The other soldiers moved to keep their distance but tried to kill the monster but to no avail and kept its sights on their Sergeant, Sanders started to crawl backwards as the howler got closer he took the knife from his flak jacket ready to go down fighting.
From behind Sanders another rifle cracked out several shots but this time the Howler recoiled backwards shrieking in pain, Sanders looked over his shoulder to see four soldiers are clad in black storming towards the animal the leader Darrell spoke calmly “Kottman tend to the wounded, Lewis and Gomez spread out and make sure the area is clear” everyone responded to the order and spilt up as Darrell continued firing shot after shot in one hitting the beast in the chest. After several shots eventually the Howler squealed one last time then slumped down dead, Darrell shouted to his team members “Howler is down, is area clear!” Lewis and Gomez confirmed that the area was clear. Darrell lowered his weapon and turned to Sanders and held out a helping hand “You alright Sergeant?” Sanders was stunned but he reached out and was helped up onto his feet he finally responded “Yeah, yeah I’m ok” he walked over and looked at the Howler lying sprawled across the floor even dead it still gave him a sense of dread. Darrell came up behind him “First time dealing with a Howler?” Sanders nodded he then faced the man in black curious about how they knew how to kill it “Who are you guys? I’ve never seen your outfits before” Darrell held out a hand to shake it “Darrell Williams team leader of the LRTs” Sanders recognised the initials it stood for Lycan Response Team he shook the man’s hand “Never met a Dirt Dog before, it’s an honour” the LRTs were a group of soldiers specialised in dealing with Howlers, the dealing with lycanthropes is how they famously became known as Dirt Dogs.
It had been six years ago when some crazed person in a lab in the middle of nowhere somehow discovered Lycanthropy and even did the more crazy idea of creating a serum and then shortly gangsters and terrorist group like Al-Khanajir learned how to ‘weaponize’ the serum and create an army of them. Howlers first appeared in the Great Massacre of Fhal-Kadir when the Al-Khanajir unleashed a pack of the animals into the centre of town in the middle of the night and everyone was dead by the time the sun came up, they began to be used on the battlefield when soldiers and convoys would come under attack from them. After two years there was an incident in Paris where Howlers were used as an attack on the public, the UN decided to classify Howlers as a weapon of mass destruction and the order was given to develop a specialised task force to be expertise in combating Howlers and the Dirt Dogs were created.
Darrell whistled to his team members and they scrambled over to him he spoke calmly but with authority “Status” Gomez replied first “Area is clear but the rest of them can’t be far away” she looked to the body of the Howler and spoke again “There’s never just one so it’s a likely chance that we have a nest ” Darrell nodded in agreement “We’ll need to do a search to find it and destroy it, Kottman what about the injured?” the medic gave a slight sigh of disappointment “We’ve got eight KIAs, two unfortunately have lost limbs and another five with some cuts and scrapes, we need to call in an evac for them immediately” Darrell shot a quick look to Sanders and took his radio “HQ this is LRT Leader we need evac immediately we’ve got wound and survivors that need to get home” the radio buzzed and a voice spoke out “Copy that evac is on the way should be twenty minutes” Darrell put the radio away and turned to Sanders “Help is on the way Sergeant” Sanders shook his hand again “Thank you we would have been screwed without your help” Darrell gave an appreciative smile “You’re welcome”. The Dirt Dogs began to move out “Alright team let’s find that nest” as they walked away Sanders suddenly called out “Hey wait!” they stopped and turned to look at him “I want to come with you” Darrell looked at him curiously “Are you serious?” Sanders nodded “These things fucked up my squad, I want to see this through” Lewis looked at the man reluctantly “This isn’t a game for beginners, we are pros in things like this” Sanders stepped forward “I’m not asking I’m coming with you!” Lewis smiled and turned to Darrell “He’s got determination Sir, I’ll give him that”. Darrell approached Sanders “Look you and your team have already been through hell, go back to the base and get some rest and something to eat” Sanders interjected “Look I want to make sure nothing like this happens again” Darrell thought about it then gave a slight smirk and pulled out a spare rifle magazine “Then you are going to need this” Sanders took the magazine and looked at the bullets curiously “Silver?” Gomez spoke out “Regular rounds don’t work on Howlers, silver seems to do the trick though” Sanders gave a nod he didn’t understand but this was not his area of expertise. The Sergeant walked over to Owens “While I’m gone you’re in charge” she agreed hesitantly “Yes sir” he replied “Get the rest of them home safely Owens I’m counting on you” she nodded again as Sanders continued “See you back at the base”, Sanders loaded removed his rifle magazine and cocked the rifle to eject the loaded round he then loaded the magazine of specialised rounds. He joined up with the new team and as they were about to leave Lewis yelled to Darrell “Yo Boss you’ve forgotten something” he took the axe from his back and tossed it over to Darrell who grabbed it with both hands, Sanders was wondering what Darrell was doing “What’s with the axe?” Darrell spoke “Silver bullets are enough to do the trick to kill a Howler but sometimes they can survive so beheading them is sure fire to put them down” Sanders was stunned at the thought of beheading the creature “Wait are you serious?!” Darrell stood over the body of the howler “Welcome to the Dirt Dogs” he heaved the axe up over his head and brought the blade down hard.
They had been searching through the town for over an hour and had found nothing, after clearing another housing block the team came out to the street and were on the Eastern edge of the town, Gomez was getting frustrated “There’s nothing here” Kottman spoke out “We still have plenty of places to search” Lewis had spotted a set of buildings that had a tower block, a smaller long building that looked like an auto repair shed and what seemed like a large warehouse. He noticed that there were many sets of thick black power cables running across the roof and into the sides of the walls, Lewis gestured to Darrell “Boss check this out” Darrell stood next to Lewis as he pointed to the buildings “Is it just me or is that a lot of power cables?” Darrell nodded “Yeah looks like something that maybe people don’t want us to find, well let’s check it out shall we?” the team swept quickly but quietly towards the structures they avoided being out in the open in case there was a lookout.
All five of them reached the entrance to the tower block, Darrell checked the door and it wasn’t locked he signalled to everyone “Door’s unlocked, Lewis take point Gomez watch the six, Sanders stick close to me everyone copy” everyone replied with a copy in unison Darrell spoke again “Ok, move in”, the team swooped inside and just like before they went through every floor and every room, the flats were all empty.
After the tower block, they made their way inside repair shop, the door opened but inside was not what they expected, a crude but fully functioning laboratory had been set up, Darrel moved over to one of the consoles and saw the data on the screen he picked up a test tube and glanced at the label and recognised the name “Wolf Venom, this is the place the nest must be close” Sanders stared at the tube and questioned Darrell “What is the nest?” Darrell passed him the tube to look at “A nest is where a group of Howlers is produced, the lab here is used to produce Wolf Venom or Sanguis Lupus Plaga which is administered to humans to turn them into Howlers” Sanders looked at the pale blue liquid he couldn’t believe that something like that could actually change a human into a monster. Lewis went to the back of the lab and saw the partition then led into the warehouse when he looked inside he found what they had been looking for “Boss over here” Darrell approached Lewis and looked inside the warehouse and saw Lewis had seen “Guys in here”, they entered the warehouse one by one and Sanders was horrified to see what was inside.
Inside the warehouse was four rows of ten cages spanning the length of the building and inside the cages had around twenty Howlers in each cage Kottman had seen nests before but this was the largest he had seen “Christ there must be nearly 300 Howlers in here”, Sanders wandered passed some of the cages he noticed that they all seemed to be out of it “What’s wrong with them?” Gomez came up alongside him “Once they are transformed they need to be contained for transport so they are usually drugged up until they are needed for whatever hell they will unleash” she indicated to the I.V. tubes that were hooked up into all the Howlers necks and went up into large vats that were attached to metal rails which were attached to the walls, inside the vats contained a cocktail of sedatives. Sanders wondered about the transformation process “So do the people when they transform how long does it take to turn back into a human?” Gomez looked to the mass of fur, teeth and claws “Once they turn the process is irreversible” Sanders turned to Gomez “Seriously they choose to be these monsters” Gomez continued “There are many in the Al-Khanajir that see it as an honour they call themselves the pack, on certain Howlers you can recognise Khanajir members because they have markings carved into their flesh”. Sanders remembered the man back in the street “That’s what the man said before turning, something about being part of the pack” Gomez nodded “They think that they still have some sort of cognitive function and have control but once turned they just follow the orders that they are given which is usually just slaughter everything” Sanders and Gomez continued their search.
Darrell and Lewis were stood at the entrance to where they had come in Darrell spoke first “A nest of this size these were going to be used as a mass attack” Lewis agreed “Sanders’ HQ Anderson air base is not far, it explains why they took up shop here it would be a perfect target to unleash a pack on them and massacre whilst they sleep” Darrell gave a sigh of relief “Looks like we averted a major tragedy, obviously the attack back in the centre of time gave them the chance to escape” Lewis added “Well nests and labs are easy to make and to produce Howlers they have the numbers to start again” Darrell was silent he just looked out to the Howlers he eventually spoke “If they start again then we will burn the next nest to the ground as well” Lewis smiled and the two fist bumped as Lewis said “Dirt Dogs till we die” Darrell gave proud smile.
After the area had been clear Darrell rounded up everyone for the next part of the plan “Ok Dogs listen up, Kottman I want you to take you kit and poison the I.V.s to kill the pack” he nodded and got to it heading up the metal stairs to reach were the vats were being kept, Darrell continued with the others “Now the rest of us place the charges in the labs and tower block all the data needs to be destroyed” Sanders interjected “What about the Howlers will the charges be enough?” Darrell shook his head “No, with the building being away from the main town I will call in an airstrike and they will use white phosphorous munitions” Sanders' eyes widened “White phosphorous?!” Lewis nodded and added “Extreme I know but it’s the only thing hot enough that will burn them away into dust without wasting bullets”. Sanders looked back to the caged animals using that type of munitions was intense and he couldn’t imagine the pain they would feel as he was lost in thought Darrell snapped him back to reality “You’re seeing them in only two ways either as an animal or as the people they used to be…you can’t Sanders despite what they are they are only one thing, a weapon and must be destroyed” Sanders glanced back looking a little guilty “But I can’t help it, I came on this mission with such hatred but seeing them like this locked up I can’t help but feel a little sympathy in that they are people trapped in those monsters” Darrell replied “Unfortunately that’s the world we’re in, war has casualties on all fronts Sanders, you were in that same position mere hours ago” Sanders nodded quietly as Darrell then spoke to the group “Alright get to it!”. Kottman was next to the vats he took out a specialised powder that had been made to poison Howlers, this was the more humane approached to taking them before the white phosphorus would burn them he tipped the last of the powder into the final vat “This will be quick” he climbed down from the hanging shelves of metal and landed firmly onto his feet, he put his pack onto his back and took hold of his rifle and jogged out of the warehouse into the lab he nodded to Darrell “The powder is dispersed it will take effect in a few moments” Darrell shot a thumbs up “Great work Kottman, how are the charges coming?!” Sanders clambered from under one of the tables in the lab “I’m all done here” Lewis and Gomez returned from the tower block “We’re done too” Darrell took the radio “HQ this is LRT leader, Howler nest confirmed requesting white phosphorous airstrike at our current location” the radio buzzed then a voice spoke “Copy that LRT leader airstrike confirmed ETA five minutes” Darrell replied “Roger that HQ look to the east, the building with the smoke” he looked to the team “Alright clear out now!”.
The air was cooler and the sun was getting low on the horizon as the team rushed out of the lab and back into the streets of the town as they got a good distance from the Howler nest and could hear the planes incoming Darrell yelled “Take cover” they banked into an alleyway and Darrell saw the planes coming in low as they passed over the nest there was a bright flash and a blinding white lights fell slowly towards the buildings leaving a white streak in the sky, when they landed the entire complex went up in flames fast, the second plane passed by and did the same scattering white phosphorous into the nest making the flames rise higher. Darrell and the others emerged from the alleyway and they slowly approached the blazing inferno and they all stood there watching it burn feeling the heat against their faces, Sanders looked to the Dirt Dogs all of them had the same stoic expressions, unflinching and unwavering lit by the dancing flames, they were truly worthy of the stories that had been told of them a great team of professionals, who risk their lives everyday…
Dirt Dogs till They Die.
295th Armoured Battalion
Routine Patrol
July 23rd 2056, 1600hrs
The heat was scorching, it was always hot in this area of the world but today was one of the hottest days of the year. The patrol of soldiers had arrived the town of Takhmard around noon, the Al-Khanajir had been sighted in a nearby village so the 295s had been sent to patrol the town to see if there was any signs of an Al-Khanajir occupation.
Sergeant Jen Sanders was walking through the market along with the group of twenty other soldiers and accompanied by three Humvees armed with a mounted 50 calibre machine guns, Sanders kept a tight grip on his assault rifle he was getting many stares from the locals which unnerved him. Negativity towards them was always a common thing for the soldiers who had been dispatched to the Middle East, they were in a place where the people didn’t want them but with the growing threat of terrorism and attacks to the public in cities across the world fighting on their turf was an unfortunate necessity that many people disagree with. The patrol had the three vehicles spaced evenly with the soldiers staying close by in case they needed immediate cover, the soldiers moved calmly through the streets all of them kept their eyes mostly up to the roofs of the surrounding buildings but also to the people anyone of them could be a member of Al-Khanajir. One of Sanders lieutenants came up through the group and joined the sergeant up front she spoke quietly “Sir I don’t like how exposed we are” Sanders nodded “I agree Owens but we have no choice” Owens watched a group of men sat at a table in one of the bars they were whispering whilst watching the soldiers pass by “They could easily ambush us here” Sanders nodded again he understood what Owens was worried about but they had orders to follow “Again I agree with you but we need to patrol the town for any signs of Al-Khanajir…that’s even if they are here”. They continued through the town when Sanders noticed that people seemed to be on edge when suddenly an RPG streaked down from the roof of a building and struck underneath the forward Humvee and flipped it into the air the nearby soldiers were knocked to the ground by the force of the blast.
Sanders yelled to the others “TAKE COVER!” as gunfire from enemy insurgents began to hail down upon the American forces along with the town's civilians who ran in all directions to avoid being hit, Sanders ran and crouched by car on the side of the street and peeked around the side to see where the gunfire were coming from. Several buildings down on both sides had combatants firing from ground, windows and roofs, Sanders shouted to his soldiers were to engage and he raised his rifle and crouched low and fired at three targets who were using a shop for cover, the Humvee with the 50 cal. roared to life and spewed a volley of bursts from the muzzle focusing on sure fire targets in case civilians were close, bust and dry wall were scattered out as they were pelted with bullets the Al-Khanajir ducked out of the fire and began blind firing to keep clear from the mounted gun. Sanders ran from the cover of the car and across the street over to the market stall where four men were held down, Sanders jumped over the counter fell into a crouch and looked to his men “Find that RPG and take them the fuck out!” the men nodded and whilst two were trying to take out those in the buildings one was searching rooftops waiting for the RPG gunner to reveal themselves again for another shot. Sanders was along the left side of the machine gun and out of the line of fire he barked to the gunner “Harris keep up with suppressive fire whilst we move up down the street” the gunner yelled out “Yes Sir!” and continued the suppression, Sanders looked to the battalion and yelled out his orders “Alright the 50 cal. is going to give suppressive fire, we need to start moving up and get closer to take these guys out” he looked down the street and saw that the enemy fire was giving a slight lull Sanders saw this as an opportunity “MOVE UP NOW!” the soldiers began to move down the street to take up another position closer to the enemy. Sanders found Owens and Garret and crouched next to them “Owens take Garret down this alley and head up the road on the other side, I want you to set up a flank position further up this street and should give you a clear shot of the store and apartment building on the right side, whilst they’re focusing on us you can engage them by surprise” Owens replied “Yes Sir, come on Garret let’s go” they snuck off down the alley to take up the position further up the street.
The street was in chaos as gunfire was flying back and forth in all directions, Sanders fired at the enemies in the windows two of them were hit and fell back out of sight, he had to duck when another shot at him from a car across the street Sanders pulled the pin from a grenade he launched it in the air and managed to get it through the window of the car, the man panicked but before he could get out he was enveloped in a cloud of smoke and fire as the grenade detonated. Back down at the market stall the three that were waiting for the RPG were still waiting, until finally they caught sight of something one of them spoke “I’ve got movement on the roof on the left about 12 metres away” the one who was preparing to take the shot watched were the other had seen the possible target but suddenly the rocket launcher emerged and fired the RPG, the soldiers pulled the trigger and hit the target square in the chest but it was too late, the rocket hit the gun mounted Humvee right in the vehicles left side the explosion ripped clear through it killing everyone on board. Owens and Garret reached the flank position and they knelt down by a brick wall, Owens peaked around and just slightly away from the store but this was for their benefit since the insurgents were facing the other direction and couldn’t see them, Owens and Garret threw three grenades into the store which then erupted with a loud crack, screams and rush of smoke, the two of them smiled at each and began to engage the rest.
Sanders was moving along the side of the street to avoid being hit when suddenly the enemy gunfire stopped, the American soldiers stopped and looked at each other curiously they weren’t expecting Al-Khanajir to give up so easily at this moment the squads medics rushed about to tend to the dead and wounded. Sanders stepped out into the middle of the road and looked around “They can’t be gone”, there was a sound of footsteps and Owens and Garret saw a man come out a building and walked towards the soldiers Owens took her radio “Sergeant we’ve a possible hostile heading in your direction”, Sanders turned around in the direction of the mystery man who was dressed in a shirt, coat and tatty brown pants, Sanders raised his rifle and shouted “Stay where you are!” the man stopped as Sanders shouted out again “Identify yourself, are you Al-Khanajir?!” Owens looked down the sight of her rifle “Sir I have no visual on a weapon, repeat I can’t confirm a weapon” the unknown man quickly pulled out a grenade and yelled out a phrase that made Sander spine go cold with fear “'ana wahid min almajmuea!” he pulled the pin and Sander yelled to his team “SHIT HE’S A HOWLER!!!” the grenade detonated and the insurgent vanished in the explosion but there was a flash of fur that launched from the smoke. The creature landed on the ground crouched on all fours, it was covered in dark grey fur with long pointed ears and a long muzzle full of sharp teeth and fangs, Sanders had heard of howlers in many briefings but this was the first he had seen one. The Howler let out a snarl and a howl then it rushed into a sprint towards them, Sanders panicked “TAKE IT DOWN! TAKE IT DOWN!” the soldiers engaged and opened fire on the wolf like beast bullets tore into its flesh but the Howler was still standing, it leapt at a group of four soldiers and in a flurry of sharp claws and a splatter of blood the unfortunate men were shredded to pieces. Sanders started to fall back then spun back and fired at the Howler hitting it in the back and neck, it turned slowly to face him blood dripping from the fur around its mouth and stood upright on its hind legs the Sergeant was in disbelief that this thing had taken so many shots “How are you still alive?” the Howler swiped at him but Sanders help up the rifle which took the most of the impact and send him flying across the air and hard against the ground. The other soldiers moved to keep their distance but tried to kill the monster but to no avail and kept its sights on their Sergeant, Sanders started to crawl backwards as the howler got closer he took the knife from his flak jacket ready to go down fighting.
From behind Sanders another rifle cracked out several shots but this time the Howler recoiled backwards shrieking in pain, Sanders looked over his shoulder to see four soldiers are clad in black storming towards the animal the leader Darrell spoke calmly “Kottman tend to the wounded, Lewis and Gomez spread out and make sure the area is clear” everyone responded to the order and spilt up as Darrell continued firing shot after shot in one hitting the beast in the chest. After several shots eventually the Howler squealed one last time then slumped down dead, Darrell shouted to his team members “Howler is down, is area clear!” Lewis and Gomez confirmed that the area was clear. Darrell lowered his weapon and turned to Sanders and held out a helping hand “You alright Sergeant?” Sanders was stunned but he reached out and was helped up onto his feet he finally responded “Yeah, yeah I’m ok” he walked over and looked at the Howler lying sprawled across the floor even dead it still gave him a sense of dread. Darrell came up behind him “First time dealing with a Howler?” Sanders nodded he then faced the man in black curious about how they knew how to kill it “Who are you guys? I’ve never seen your outfits before” Darrell held out a hand to shake it “Darrell Williams team leader of the LRTs” Sanders recognised the initials it stood for Lycan Response Team he shook the man’s hand “Never met a Dirt Dog before, it’s an honour” the LRTs were a group of soldiers specialised in dealing with Howlers, the dealing with lycanthropes is how they famously became known as Dirt Dogs.
It had been six years ago when some crazed person in a lab in the middle of nowhere somehow discovered Lycanthropy and even did the more crazy idea of creating a serum and then shortly gangsters and terrorist group like Al-Khanajir learned how to ‘weaponize’ the serum and create an army of them. Howlers first appeared in the Great Massacre of Fhal-Kadir when the Al-Khanajir unleashed a pack of the animals into the centre of town in the middle of the night and everyone was dead by the time the sun came up, they began to be used on the battlefield when soldiers and convoys would come under attack from them. After two years there was an incident in Paris where Howlers were used as an attack on the public, the UN decided to classify Howlers as a weapon of mass destruction and the order was given to develop a specialised task force to be expertise in combating Howlers and the Dirt Dogs were created.
Darrell whistled to his team members and they scrambled over to him he spoke calmly but with authority “Status” Gomez replied first “Area is clear but the rest of them can’t be far away” she looked to the body of the Howler and spoke again “There’s never just one so it’s a likely chance that we have a nest ” Darrell nodded in agreement “We’ll need to do a search to find it and destroy it, Kottman what about the injured?” the medic gave a slight sigh of disappointment “We’ve got eight KIAs, two unfortunately have lost limbs and another five with some cuts and scrapes, we need to call in an evac for them immediately” Darrell shot a quick look to Sanders and took his radio “HQ this is LRT Leader we need evac immediately we’ve got wound and survivors that need to get home” the radio buzzed and a voice spoke out “Copy that evac is on the way should be twenty minutes” Darrell put the radio away and turned to Sanders “Help is on the way Sergeant” Sanders shook his hand again “Thank you we would have been screwed without your help” Darrell gave an appreciative smile “You’re welcome”. The Dirt Dogs began to move out “Alright team let’s find that nest” as they walked away Sanders suddenly called out “Hey wait!” they stopped and turned to look at him “I want to come with you” Darrell looked at him curiously “Are you serious?” Sanders nodded “These things fucked up my squad, I want to see this through” Lewis looked at the man reluctantly “This isn’t a game for beginners, we are pros in things like this” Sanders stepped forward “I’m not asking I’m coming with you!” Lewis smiled and turned to Darrell “He’s got determination Sir, I’ll give him that”. Darrell approached Sanders “Look you and your team have already been through hell, go back to the base and get some rest and something to eat” Sanders interjected “Look I want to make sure nothing like this happens again” Darrell thought about it then gave a slight smirk and pulled out a spare rifle magazine “Then you are going to need this” Sanders took the magazine and looked at the bullets curiously “Silver?” Gomez spoke out “Regular rounds don’t work on Howlers, silver seems to do the trick though” Sanders gave a nod he didn’t understand but this was not his area of expertise. The Sergeant walked over to Owens “While I’m gone you’re in charge” she agreed hesitantly “Yes sir” he replied “Get the rest of them home safely Owens I’m counting on you” she nodded again as Sanders continued “See you back at the base”, Sanders loaded removed his rifle magazine and cocked the rifle to eject the loaded round he then loaded the magazine of specialised rounds. He joined up with the new team and as they were about to leave Lewis yelled to Darrell “Yo Boss you’ve forgotten something” he took the axe from his back and tossed it over to Darrell who grabbed it with both hands, Sanders was wondering what Darrell was doing “What’s with the axe?” Darrell spoke “Silver bullets are enough to do the trick to kill a Howler but sometimes they can survive so beheading them is sure fire to put them down” Sanders was stunned at the thought of beheading the creature “Wait are you serious?!” Darrell stood over the body of the howler “Welcome to the Dirt Dogs” he heaved the axe up over his head and brought the blade down hard.
They had been searching through the town for over an hour and had found nothing, after clearing another housing block the team came out to the street and were on the Eastern edge of the town, Gomez was getting frustrated “There’s nothing here” Kottman spoke out “We still have plenty of places to search” Lewis had spotted a set of buildings that had a tower block, a smaller long building that looked like an auto repair shed and what seemed like a large warehouse. He noticed that there were many sets of thick black power cables running across the roof and into the sides of the walls, Lewis gestured to Darrell “Boss check this out” Darrell stood next to Lewis as he pointed to the buildings “Is it just me or is that a lot of power cables?” Darrell nodded “Yeah looks like something that maybe people don’t want us to find, well let’s check it out shall we?” the team swept quickly but quietly towards the structures they avoided being out in the open in case there was a lookout.
All five of them reached the entrance to the tower block, Darrell checked the door and it wasn’t locked he signalled to everyone “Door’s unlocked, Lewis take point Gomez watch the six, Sanders stick close to me everyone copy” everyone replied with a copy in unison Darrell spoke again “Ok, move in”, the team swooped inside and just like before they went through every floor and every room, the flats were all empty.
After the tower block, they made their way inside repair shop, the door opened but inside was not what they expected, a crude but fully functioning laboratory had been set up, Darrel moved over to one of the consoles and saw the data on the screen he picked up a test tube and glanced at the label and recognised the name “Wolf Venom, this is the place the nest must be close” Sanders stared at the tube and questioned Darrell “What is the nest?” Darrell passed him the tube to look at “A nest is where a group of Howlers is produced, the lab here is used to produce Wolf Venom or Sanguis Lupus Plaga which is administered to humans to turn them into Howlers” Sanders looked at the pale blue liquid he couldn’t believe that something like that could actually change a human into a monster. Lewis went to the back of the lab and saw the partition then led into the warehouse when he looked inside he found what they had been looking for “Boss over here” Darrell approached Lewis and looked inside the warehouse and saw Lewis had seen “Guys in here”, they entered the warehouse one by one and Sanders was horrified to see what was inside.
Inside the warehouse was four rows of ten cages spanning the length of the building and inside the cages had around twenty Howlers in each cage Kottman had seen nests before but this was the largest he had seen “Christ there must be nearly 300 Howlers in here”, Sanders wandered passed some of the cages he noticed that they all seemed to be out of it “What’s wrong with them?” Gomez came up alongside him “Once they are transformed they need to be contained for transport so they are usually drugged up until they are needed for whatever hell they will unleash” she indicated to the I.V. tubes that were hooked up into all the Howlers necks and went up into large vats that were attached to metal rails which were attached to the walls, inside the vats contained a cocktail of sedatives. Sanders wondered about the transformation process “So do the people when they transform how long does it take to turn back into a human?” Gomez looked to the mass of fur, teeth and claws “Once they turn the process is irreversible” Sanders turned to Gomez “Seriously they choose to be these monsters” Gomez continued “There are many in the Al-Khanajir that see it as an honour they call themselves the pack, on certain Howlers you can recognise Khanajir members because they have markings carved into their flesh”. Sanders remembered the man back in the street “That’s what the man said before turning, something about being part of the pack” Gomez nodded “They think that they still have some sort of cognitive function and have control but once turned they just follow the orders that they are given which is usually just slaughter everything” Sanders and Gomez continued their search.
Darrell and Lewis were stood at the entrance to where they had come in Darrell spoke first “A nest of this size these were going to be used as a mass attack” Lewis agreed “Sanders’ HQ Anderson air base is not far, it explains why they took up shop here it would be a perfect target to unleash a pack on them and massacre whilst they sleep” Darrell gave a sigh of relief “Looks like we averted a major tragedy, obviously the attack back in the centre of time gave them the chance to escape” Lewis added “Well nests and labs are easy to make and to produce Howlers they have the numbers to start again” Darrell was silent he just looked out to the Howlers he eventually spoke “If they start again then we will burn the next nest to the ground as well” Lewis smiled and the two fist bumped as Lewis said “Dirt Dogs till we die” Darrell gave proud smile.
After the area had been clear Darrell rounded up everyone for the next part of the plan “Ok Dogs listen up, Kottman I want you to take you kit and poison the I.V.s to kill the pack” he nodded and got to it heading up the metal stairs to reach were the vats were being kept, Darrell continued with the others “Now the rest of us place the charges in the labs and tower block all the data needs to be destroyed” Sanders interjected “What about the Howlers will the charges be enough?” Darrell shook his head “No, with the building being away from the main town I will call in an airstrike and they will use white phosphorous munitions” Sanders' eyes widened “White phosphorous?!” Lewis nodded and added “Extreme I know but it’s the only thing hot enough that will burn them away into dust without wasting bullets”. Sanders looked back to the caged animals using that type of munitions was intense and he couldn’t imagine the pain they would feel as he was lost in thought Darrell snapped him back to reality “You’re seeing them in only two ways either as an animal or as the people they used to be…you can’t Sanders despite what they are they are only one thing, a weapon and must be destroyed” Sanders glanced back looking a little guilty “But I can’t help it, I came on this mission with such hatred but seeing them like this locked up I can’t help but feel a little sympathy in that they are people trapped in those monsters” Darrell replied “Unfortunately that’s the world we’re in, war has casualties on all fronts Sanders, you were in that same position mere hours ago” Sanders nodded quietly as Darrell then spoke to the group “Alright get to it!”. Kottman was next to the vats he took out a specialised powder that had been made to poison Howlers, this was the more humane approached to taking them before the white phosphorus would burn them he tipped the last of the powder into the final vat “This will be quick” he climbed down from the hanging shelves of metal and landed firmly onto his feet, he put his pack onto his back and took hold of his rifle and jogged out of the warehouse into the lab he nodded to Darrell “The powder is dispersed it will take effect in a few moments” Darrell shot a thumbs up “Great work Kottman, how are the charges coming?!” Sanders clambered from under one of the tables in the lab “I’m all done here” Lewis and Gomez returned from the tower block “We’re done too” Darrell took the radio “HQ this is LRT leader, Howler nest confirmed requesting white phosphorous airstrike at our current location” the radio buzzed then a voice spoke “Copy that LRT leader airstrike confirmed ETA five minutes” Darrell replied “Roger that HQ look to the east, the building with the smoke” he looked to the team “Alright clear out now!”.
The air was cooler and the sun was getting low on the horizon as the team rushed out of the lab and back into the streets of the town as they got a good distance from the Howler nest and could hear the planes incoming Darrell yelled “Take cover” they banked into an alleyway and Darrell saw the planes coming in low as they passed over the nest there was a bright flash and a blinding white lights fell slowly towards the buildings leaving a white streak in the sky, when they landed the entire complex went up in flames fast, the second plane passed by and did the same scattering white phosphorous into the nest making the flames rise higher. Darrell and the others emerged from the alleyway and they slowly approached the blazing inferno and they all stood there watching it burn feeling the heat against their faces, Sanders looked to the Dirt Dogs all of them had the same stoic expressions, unflinching and unwavering lit by the dancing flames, they were truly worthy of the stories that had been told of them a great team of professionals, who risk their lives everyday…
Dirt Dogs till They Die.
END
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