Werewolf: the Apocalypse~ The Vietnam Chronicles

Prologue

Vietnam: 30K from the Cambodian border

100k north of An Loc

Dawn had risen several hours ago, and the new day promised to be a scorcher. The jungle was silent, with only the occasional bird screeching at intruders to break the hush. Most creatures avoided this part of the jungle; most, but not all. A large rat darted through the underbrush in search of food, trying to avoid the notice of the many snakes who inhabited the area. The rat poked his nose out of the thick undergrowth, smelling the air; the scent of humans still lingered in the area, not even ten minutes old. He grimaced and sneezed; the smell of humans only meant death. Suddenly the rat froze; something was coming! Squeezing himself into the gnarled roots of a large tree, the rat waited.

He didn't have to wait long. Four men in loose, black clothing slipped from the jungle onto the trail, arguing rapidly in Vietnamese. All four looked extremely frightened, and the rat slipped closer to hear what they were saying.

"I don't care if they are close," one man said to the other three. "This is bloody ground. We should not be here." Another man shook his head rapidly. "It does not matter. They will follow us here, and we will slip away. The dark ones will devour them." The first man looked unconvinced, and the second man continued. "Trust me! They are filthy Americans. They will not find us-" His words were cut off by an M-16 round piercing his throat. The first man watched his companion slither to the ground in disbelief, just as a burning pain pierced his side. He had been shot! As he crumpled to the ground, his companions dropped to their knees. " We surrender!" they cried in English. Seven men stepped out of the jungle in full fatigues, rifles at the ready. A man wearing a dark suit, only slightly muddy, followed them. None were wearing any identifying patches, not even dog tags. The man in the suit walked around behind where the two men were kneeling. "You surrender?" He asked them in Vietnamese. He smiled. "I'm afraid that?s not an option." Drawing a revolver from under his jacket, he quickly shot both men in the back of the head. As the men slid forward, dead, the second man, who had been shamming the whole time, jumped to his feet and ran out of the clearing towards the mouth of a large trail.

"Stop him!" the man in the suit screamed, "He's seen too much!" All seven men opened fire on the Vietcong, who managed to make it to the trailhead just as he crumpled to the ground, dead. A couple of the men began to search the dead men for papers, weapons, anything of use. A cry of joy went up as one of the dead men was discovered to have a gold tooth. A soldier began to kick the head of the man, and teeth flew out across the jungle floor. Several others began to search the ground, looking for a hint of gold.

The man in the suit walked up to one of the soldiers, who was not participating in the looting. "Is there a problem, Sgt. Smith?" the man asked, smiling broadly. "Do you not take pride in a job well done?"

The man called Smith grimaced. "It's a job, though not necessarily one I'd call a good well done." The man in the suit laughed.

"Officially, Smith, this job never happened. You do understand that, right?" Smith nodded, and the man in the suit continued. "As of now, our job is done, though one thing does still bother me. That trail is not on any of our maps, yet it seems to head straight into Cambodia. Still, the VC did not take the trail..."

Sgt. Smith nodded. "I noticed that, too. They seemed very anxious to get here, though."

The man in the suit nodded. "I need you and your men to investigate the trail. Find out where it leads, and why they were so anxious to get here." When Smith didn't respond right away, the man continued. "You and your men are the best of the best. That's why the Company chose you for this mission in the first place. And I promise, after this mission is over, you and your men will be... well taken care of." Smith looked at the man for a moment, as if seeing him for the first time. He was about to speak, when a shout rang out from one of his men.

"Sarge, you gotta' see this!"

Walking down to the trailhead, Smith looked at the man who yelled. "Rooster, God damn it, do you want to alert the whole jungle we're here?" The young man called Rooster looked abashed, but only for a moment.

"Sorry, sir, but you have to see this!" He indicated several objects hanging from the trees and impaled on sharpened bamboo around the trailhead. On closer investigation they turned out to be skulls. Monkey, panther, what appeared to be a large dog, or though unlikely, a wolf... and human.

Smith turned to his men. "Fall in, maggots!" he yelled, trying to mask his own fear. Something about this was... wrong. He turned to the man in the suit. "You coming?" he asked, half-hoping the creepy bastard would say no. This time he got his wish.

The man in the suit shook his head. "You men roll out. I have to call this in to HQ." Smith shrugged, secretly relived, and led his men around the bend in the trail, wary of an ambush. After a moment, they disappeared around the trail bend. All was silent for several minutes. Suddenly a scream ripped through the jungle, and gunfire could be heard in all directions. The gunfire and the screaming ended as quickly as it began. Then there was only silence.

The man in the suit grunted as he began to shift forms. Within seconds a thirteen-foot tall creature stood in the clearing, covered head to toe in greasy, black fur. He looked wolf-like, though his tail was a stub, and his lower jaw jutted out, long fangs protruding over his upper lip. Gnarled throughout his fur were several glyphs, carved into his flesh and glowing a faint sickly green. A large ax, made from bone, hung from a leather thong on his waist. The creature begins to laugh, a humorless sound. **Blood has been spilt. The fallen God shall soon awaken. None shall pass. So sayeth Amon Dreamraper. **

The rat felt the hot liquid running down its hind leg as his bladder gave way. As a wave of foul-smelling air assailed the rat's nose, the paralysis was finally broken. He turned and ran deep into the jungle, as fast as he could, the creature's laughter ringing in his ears.

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