Garrick sighed; even on his last shift, he couldn't escape being dragged into the fray by the rookie.
"Let's go. Follow the bloody footprints and see where they lead. Someone, help this unconscious man to the shade and get him some first aid. And somebody else go to the port precinct to call for backup."
The loitering merchants, initially there to gawk, sprang into action, lifting the unconscious man into a cooler spot. An elder checked his pulse; his heart was still beating. The bystanders burst into a lively debate on what to do next.
The trail of blood led deeper into the warehouse district. Garrick and his partner followed the prints, Elyon with his gun drawn, watching the surroundings warily.
The prints ended at a warehouse usually guarded by men in black security uniforms. But today, none were to be seen in this remote area, and there were no signs of other warehouse workers who might have witnessed a blood-soaked runaway. Garrick looked up, stopping the search, and drew his pistol from his waist.
"It looks like this is the place. How's your aim, Elyon?"
"Fair at best. Beyond ten steps, I might as well rely on luck. And at fifty paces, all I can do is pray."
Elyon wasn't being modest; his usual shooting practice barely qualified as average, and real combat experience amounted to the recent chaotic shootout in front of the bank.
"I'll take the lead then. You cover my flanks." Garrick pushed open the warehouse door to find shelves and crates filled with agricultural products, seemingly a regular produce warehouse. But the overpowering stench of blood suggested otherwise.
Sunlight filtered through the windows, allowing them to see into the back of the warehouse, where several figures in black security uniforms lay strewn about. Apart from their footsteps and breathing, the warehouse was eerily silent. Garrick began inspecting the bodies on the ground while Elyon raised his gun, his thumb resting on the hammer.
Garrick flipped over a body to find not much blood; the limbs were intact, and there were no tears in the clothing. However, a massive bite mark on the neck had clotted the blood, no longer oozing.
"Look at this massive bite, straight through the windpipe. No other damage. What does that suggest to you?"
"It doesn't seem like the work of a human. Otherwise, they would have likely used firearms or even explosives against so many armed guards. This wound makes me think of a large carnivorous animal..."
"Indeed, large carnivores do prefer to suffocate their prey by biting the throat. It's the quickest and most effective method of killing." Garrick moved on to another body, this one with an expression of ferocious agony. Next to it was a double-barreled shotgun and scattered shells. Not only was there a bite mark on the neck, but a horrific gash across the chest.
"This isn't simple. What kind of animal could kill a group of armed men so quickly?"
"Let's look further inside and then get back to secure the entrance."
They moved deeper into the warehouse and came upon a coffin glistening with a golden sheen on the floor. The lid lay nearby, and the coffin was adorned with a carved figure of a wolf-headed man. Scattered around were grayish-white bandages, and when they peeked inside the coffin, they found a charred mummy wrapped in similar bandages from the waist down, its upper body shredded and picked clean.
"What is this?" Elyon, reminded of ancient Egyptian mummies, asked.
"A specialty from the southern continent. The nobility there like to wrap themselves up like spindles. It's strange, though, why would a coffin from the southern continent be in a warehouse that's supposed to be storing agricultural goods? Was the owner smuggling antiques under the guise of farming products?" Garrick pondered while looking at the mummy.
"Who'd want something like this in their home?" Elyon remarked sarcastically.
From above the mummy, Garrick retrieved a strand of tawny hair and showed it to Elyon.
"This hair could belong to the creature responsible for this mess. It looks like it could be from a lion or a wolf."
"It's definitely a wolf, Mr. Garrick, and an extraordinarily large one at that," Elyon said, his voice trembling.
Garrick looked up, and from the shadows emerged a wolf as tall as a man, with a girth as large as a cow's belly, its eyes glowing blue. Its fur was a mix of tawny and black as it slowly approached them.
"Maintain eye contact and don't turn to run, or it will think you're weak. Also, don't shoot at it. We'll back out slowly."
Garrick stood up slowly, and they backed toward the warehouse door, facing the dire wolf.
There was a loud clang as Garrick accidentally kicked over a metal bucket, which rolled across the floor with a racket.
"Get ready to shoot."
As the words left Garrick's mouth, the dire wolf charged. Garrick managed to fire just as the beast pounced.
The impact sent Garrick and the wolf tumbling into a stack of sacks. Knowing the wolf's preferred attack method, Garrick covered his head and protected his neck with his arms. The wolf bit furiously at his forearm and clawed at the adjacent sacks, spilling grain all over the floor.
Seeing this, Elyon thumbed back the hammer of his revolver. With the man and beast entwined, careful aim was impossible. He fired a shot at the wolf's back.
The gunshot echoed through the confined space, and the bullet, propelled by the explosive force of the gunpowder, whizzed near the wolf's back and lodged into the wall.
The dire wolf, seemingly enraged by the noise, released Garrick and lunged towards Elyon. The scattered grain on the floor turned out to be a boon as the wolf slipped and crashed into the shelving beside Elyon.
Elyon fired another shot, this time hitting the wolf's foreleg, the bullet burrowing painfully in.
The wolf howled in agony. As Elyon readied another shot, the wolf stumbled past the shelves and into the shadows.
"Mr. Garrick, are you alright?" Elyon reached out to help him up.
Garrick, with his uniform torn and his arm bloody, grumbled in reply.
"I'm not dead yet. Good thing I won't have to wear this outfit tomorrow; otherwise, I'd be out a few shillings for repairs. How can that beast be so huge? It felt like being hit by a horse." He slowly got to his feet, his arm a mess of flesh and blood.
"Did you kill it?"
"I wounded it, but it got away."
"We'll have to check who owns this warehouse. Someone's going to pay dearly for all these lives."