by Sydnie MacElroy
[in the tunnels, 12:25AM]
>Jordan turned on his flashlight, drew his gun and followed >her in with Kleinberg at his side. Leo came up beside Jordan, >his eyes scanning the darkness ahead.
>Sandy trotted out ahead of them with her ears forward. >About 200 feet inside the pipe, she came to an intersection. >She paused and sniffed the air once again. The agents >stopped about 10 feet behind her and waited. After a about >a minute, Sandy turned left and resumed her previous pace.
>After they had made their way through the tunnels for about >10 minutes, they heard a growl from up ahead. The fur on >Sandy's back bristled, and she stopped.
After a few moments, Sandy turned to look at Kleinberg. He nodded and she took a few hesitant steps forward, her eyes focused intently on something in the darkness. Leo raised his rifle, aiming it in the general direction of the growl and everyone waited.
Sandy seemed almost to take a deep breath to brace herself, then she lowered her head and uttered a loud, menacing snarl. She moved forward cautiously, head down, eyes forward and still snarling at the beast ahead of them.
When the animal attacked, it was swift, but Leo was faster. He fired as at the gray shadow as it lunged at Sandy. It stopped in mid-flight and fell to the ground. Sandy whimpered and Klienberg emitted a sharp cry.
"One down," Jim muttered.
Kleinberg flashed him a distasteful look. Zenya moved a few steps closer to him, holding the shotgun she was carrying down against her leg so it wouldn't be so obvious. She put a hand on the scientist's arm. She had been afraid once the first shot was fired, that he would back out, and she meant to prevent that if possible.
"It's necessary," she said.
Kleinberg nodded. "I just wish it wasn't," he replied.
Sandy approached the fallen creature and circled it at a distance. Jordan started to step forward, but Sandy looked at him and growled almost casually.
"Let her do it this her way," Kleinberg said.
Jordan frowned slightly, but nodded. Sandy moved close to the creature, sniffed at it, then reached out one paw and nudged it. Content that it was dead, she looked back at Kleinberg, then turned and started forward once again.
They traveled another ten minutes or so through the tunnels. Twice, there were false alarms. Sandy would stop, sniff the air and lower her head in a challenging posture, only to turn a moment later and look at Kleinberg in confusion. After the second time, Kleinberg muttered, "Something's wrong," but then Sandy began to move again.
They reached the end of the tunnel, where it split off in two directions, forming a T. Sandy came to a halt at the intersection, looked both directions and sniffed the air. The fur on her back stood on end again, but this time, she began to back away.
"It's all right, Sandy," Kleinberg whispered. "Take it easy."
Sandy turned to look at him. She looked terrified. She came up to Kleinberg, sat down in front of him, and pawed his leg.
"What is it," Jordan asked.
"I don't.." Kleinberg began.
The answer to the question came in the form of growls coming from both directions in the tunnels ahead. Leo and Jordan raised their guns and Jim stepped forward, pushing Kleinberg out of the way to from the front line. As Kleinberg stepped back, he turned and froze. Vanessa followed his gaze, then tapped Zenya on the shoulder. She turned and saw four sets of eyes approaching in the darkness.
"They're behind us, too," she said, aiming the shotgun. Vanessa and Martin also had their weapons at the ready.
Kleinberg and Sandy stood between the two lines, Sandy whimpering and Kleinberg whispering to her in a low, soothing voice. Zenya wanted to tell both of them to shut the hell up, but didn't.
As if on some unheard command, all three groups of the creatures converged at once amid a cacophony of snarling and gnashing teeth.
Vanessa fired the first shot as one of the creatures came into range slightly ahead of it's pack. The animal went down, shot in the chest, but was back up again in an instant and showing no sign of being slowed down. Vanessa fired at it again and one of the beast's eyes disappeared. This time it did not get back up.
Meanwhile, the other three continued their approach. Gunfire echoed in the tunnel as Leo, Jordan and Jim engaged the other animals in battle. Zenya aimed the shotgun at one of the creatures and fired, but forgot to brace herself and was knocked backward by the recoil. The shot went wide and she stumbled over Sandy, who yelped in surprise. Zenya muttered a few choice curses, tossed the shotgun aside and pulled her sidearm. By then, Martin had fired two shots at the closest of the animals. It lunged to avoid the first, but the second caught it in the neck and the animal went limp, it's spine severed.
Five animals had rounded the corners of the intersecting tunnels. Leo and Jim had taken two of them out immediately. Two more had slipped by while their pack-mates had been in the process of being blown apart, and the fifth had taken the center and was bearing down on Jordan. Jordan fired three shots and hit it with two. The animal seemed to take this as a mere annoyance and lunged at him. Jordan fired another shot at it and Leo turned his rifle on it as well. Half of the beast's body disintegrated and what remained fell to the ground. By the time Jim had a shot at the animal on his side of the tunnel, it was practically on top of him. He fired, killing the animal, but not stopping its forward momentum. The creature landed on him, knocking him to the ground.
Sandy moved suddenly, pushing between Jordan and Leo and lunging for the throat of the lone remaining animal on that side of the tunnel.
"Sandy, no!" Kleinberg exclaimed and tried to run after her. He threw himself against Leo just as he was firing at the fighting dogs. Leo stayed on his feet, but the shot missed. Kleinberg grabbed for the rifle and Jordan tried to pull him off.
Jim landed on the ground next to Zenya, and she lost precious seconds turning her gun on the already dead creature Jim was struggling with. One of the remaining animals had gotten close enough to shoulder into Martin, knocking him down, and knocking the gun out of his hand. Vanessa was firing at the other one, but it was as difficult to kill as the rest had been. It had taken three shots and was still coming, but slowly, and the more imminent danger was closer at hand. The creature that had knocked Martin over was not lunging at Zenya. Zenya and Vanessa fired at it in the same instant, hitting it between the eyes and in the center of the back, respectively. It fell on Zenya, pinning her legs to the ground, but it wasn't quite dead. It snapped it's powerful jaws, ripping the fabric of Zenya's slacks, but missing her. Martin grabbed the shotgun she had discarded and slammed the butt of it against the animal's skull as Zenya jerked away from it.
With Kleinberg firmly attacked to the muzzle of his rifle, for a moment Leo could only watch Sandy battling the other animal. Jordan, having no luck budging Kleinberg, turned his attention elsewhere and aimed his gun at the battling dogs, but it was impossible to tell in the dim light which one he was aiming at. Leo let go of the rifle, and by doing so knocked Kleinberg off balance. He stumbled, but didn't fall. It was enough, though, to bring him out of the near trance he had been in.
"Call her off," Leo bellowed at him, pulling his sidearm at the same time and aiming it at the two animals.
Kleinberg gaped at him, only half understanding. Jordan echoed the command.
Kleinberg stepped forward. "Sandy, stop that," he ordered. "Come here! Now!"
Sandy reacted by picking up her ears and hesitating in her battle, if only for a moment. It was enough to enable Leo and Jordan to decipher which was which and they both fired at the other dog. Sandy let out a loud whimper and jumped away.
The last of the creatures, injured as it was, continued to advance unhindered while everyone was occupied. When it was within feet of the group, it tried to lunge and found that it no longer had the strength. It would not, however, go down without a fight. With a snarl, it put it's last effort into a short run. Zenya was the first to see it coming. She raised her gun and put the beast out of its misery.