The mutants bear the marks of all of their kind. Ruined, purplish, pustulent flesh, strips of it peeling away in places. Gray hair, yellow eyes, blackened teeth, with gaps in their gums where some have fallen out. Two of them are men. The other is a girl, maybe a couple of years older than me.
They seem as shocked by our appearance as we are by theirs. I don’t know what they were expecting to find–maybe they were searching for me–but I doubt they ever dreamed of stumbling upon their archenemy, Dr. Oystein.
The mutants gape at us, blinking dumbly. Then, before they can recover their senses, Owl Man says to Sakarias, “Attack.”
The sheepdog bounds forward with a howl of vicious pleasure, baring its fangs, claws extending from its paws. I’ve seen the dog in action before. It’s a dangerous opponent if you know what to anticipate, but even deadlier if it catches you unaware. The mutants weren’t expecting the fangs and claws. They’re not sure what to make of the animal barreling towards them. And those few seconds of confusion damn them to defeat before the battle has properly started.
Sakarias leaps at the nearest mutant–one of the men–and drives him to the ground. As he lands with a startled cry, the dog whips its right paw across his throat. The claws tear the mutant’s throat to ribbons and blood spurts into the air.
Sakarias doesn’t wait around to wallow in the gushing blood. Instead, as the second man scrabbles for a weapon, the dog hurls itself into the air again, and this time strikes with its fangs. It clamps them around the man’s face and crushes it, and the mutant’s screams as his cheeks implode are terrible and piercing.
The girl turns to flee, but Owl Man calls to her. “If you try to run, you’ll die.”
She looks back, eyes wide with fear. Sakarias finishes with the second man–the first is still thrashing, but will soon be as dead as the one who is now missing a face–and its back legs tense as it prepares to spring again.
“Hold, old friend,” Owl Man says, and the dog relaxes immediately, though it doesn’t retract its fangs or claws.
The girl blinks at the dog, then at Owl Man.
“I’ve seen you before,” Owl Man says, stepping up to the doorway and looking left and right outside. “It’s Claudia, isn’t it?”
The girl gulps and nods. “I’ve seen you too,” she says. “You were at the wedding.”
Owl Man sighs. “That was one of my happier recent days. What a shame the honeymoon had to end like this.” He steps back inside and beckons her forward. She blanches but obeys, veering round Sakarias, who is still on the pavement, studying her intently, waiting for the order to pounce.
“What are you doing here?” Owl Man asks the girl, now standing just inside the entrance, trembling uncontrollably.
“Searching for her,” Claudia says, nodding at me. “Teams of us have been looking all over London for that cow. She assaulted our leader. Tried to kill him. We want her back so she can answer for her crimes.”
I try to respond to that, but I can’t say anything. Owl Man hasn’t given me clearance to speak yet.
“We saw some Angels on the prowl in this area earlier,” Claudia continues. “We reported back. Mr. Dowling is busy in County Hall, hunting for you,” she says, pointing to Dr. Oystein. “He thinks you’re still in there. He’s been tearing the place apart, looking for secret hidey-holes.”
“He will have a long and fruitless search,” Dr. Oystein says with satisfaction.
“He killed all the Angels you left behind,” Claudia jeers.
The doc stiffens, then sighs. “That is no surprise to me. What did your master say when you reported seeing Angels in the East End?”
“Nothing,” she smirks. “He’s not one for words. But Kinslow told us to stick around and see what they were up to. When they pulled out, we called in again. He said to give the area a quick once-over, but didn’t seem to think too much of it. If he’d had any idea that you were here…” She points to Dr. Oystein again.
“So you’re on your own,” Owl Man notes.
“I am now,” Claudia says. With an effort, she stops herself from trembling. “So you might as well go ahead and kill me if you can, but don’t think I’ll make it easy for you. I don’t have fangs like your dog, but I pack a mean old bite all the same.”
“I’m sure you do,” Owl Man smiles. Then the smile fades and he thinks about it for a few seconds. “I’d rather not put you to the test, Claudia.”
“Zachary…” Dr. Oystein murmurs.
“No,” Owl Man replies. “There has been enough bloodshed. I know there must be more before this is through, but let’s not kill those we can afford to spare. You and I are monsters, but we have to draw the line somewhere. Let’s draw it here.”
Dr. Oystein looks troubled, but he nods reluctantly.
Owl Man turns to the girl again. “Leave your walkie-talkie,” he says. “Return to County Hall. Tell Mr. Dowling that you found me with Becky Smith and Dr. Oystein.”
“Don’t forget to mention me too,” Rage quips, but everyone ignores him.
“Tell him it’s over,” Owl Man continues. “The outcome has been decided, since we have Becky Smith and what she stole from him. Ask him to return to his base. I’ll come to meet with him later, to discuss the future and accept my execution at his hands if he wishes to punish me for siding with his most bitter enemy.”
“You think he’ll believe that?” Claudia snorts.
Owl Man shrugs. “I’ve already won, so why would I lie?”
Claudia chews at her lip uncertainly.
“The alternative is taking your chances with Sakarias,” Owl Man murmurs, and she trembles again when the dog growls at the mention of its name.
“Here,” she spits, throwing a walkie-talkie to the floor. “And I hope you all rot in Hell for what you’ve done.”
With that, she steps outside, gives Sakarias the evil eye, spares a sad glance for her fallen colleagues, then takes off into the night without looking back.