Were- Read online

  Something stabbed into Daniel’s thigh. Instinct took over. He closed his eyes, gritted his teeth, and willed his Rat to come forth.

  Oh, Gods! It hurt. His joints twisted. His whiskers drooped as they slid outward. His feet and hands cramped as they curled. And his arm…he couldn’t find his left arm!

  Joe held it against his body. One of the other Wolves guided his right paw to hold it in place.

  And then it was done. He lay on his back and panted. Even the ignominy of exposing his belly didn’t give him the energy to move.

  Joe looked at his watch, lips moving as he counted at the seconds.

  “Can you walk?” he asked.

  Daniel shook his head. Even with help, he didn’t think he could roll over.

  “We’ve got to go before the gas takes us out.” He grabbed the oxygen away from Daniel, took a long inhale and passed the device to his companions.

  “How much time does he need before he can change back?” asked one of the pacing Wolves as he handed the mask back to Joe. His flashlight bobbed and highlighted circles of space all around him.

  “I’d like to give him another five minutes to make sure that arm stays in place. Help me turn him over.”

  With much grunting and growling from the Wolves, and whimpering from Daniel, they managed to rock his body until his own momentum carried him over. Brick, rocks, and other rubble pressed into his belly. If he could feel that more intensely than the itching ache in his shoulder as the bones knit—or the horrific open wound in his chest as it closed, leaving the glass beads inside him—then he must be healing.

  Not fast enough. The gas was making him sleepy.

  “Don’t you dare pass out again!” Joe shouted, demanding Daniel’s attention. Then Joe shoved the mask over as much of his snout as he could. The flow of untainted air filled him and gave him the courage to push downward with three limbs and get his belly off the ground. One more sniff and he found he could limp along.

  It was a long walk. He had to concentrate hard on putting one paw forward at a time, followed by another. The weakness of the half-knitted left foreleg hampered his balance.

  He hardly noticed the gas smell. He hoped it had faded some as they left the higher concentrations beneath Old Town and approached downtown.

  Three quarters of the way back to the elevator, they ran out of oxygen.

  Daniel nudged Joe with his tail. Then he tried to stand on his hind legs. The best form of communication he had.

  “Okay. Here’s my epi-pen. You’ve got to change quickly so we can get back to safety.”

  “Gas company’s on its way,” the rearmost Wolf said, pocketing his cell phone. “We’ve got seven minutes max to clear out, leaving no traces.”

  Joe stabbed Daniel with yet another dose of the blessed epinephrine. The rush of blood through his body and the hyper-alert spinning of his mind followed.

  He willed the change, letting it flow over him, not fighting the discomfort, just letting it happen.

  It was over in only a little more than the thirty seconds it took with the aid of the full moon’s gravity.

  Light spilled out from the elevator, the door propped open by yet another Wolf. They’d come further than he thought. It was going to get very crowded in that elevator with five Wolves and an oversized Rat.

  At least someone had respected him enough to fold his clothing neatly. He donned his pants one handed, even managed the zipper by himself. But the shirt…He paused, panting with weakness, sweat slicking his body, one arm in a shirt sleeve and the other still dangling uselessly. Joe took over, rearranging him as he pulled the left sleeve over the damaged arm first, then helped him twist to clothe the more mobile right arm.

  At last they were ready to present themselves to the regular world, disheveled and beaten down, but not defeated.

  “The bitch?” Daniel asked when they’d cleared the basement level.

  “I have deployed the troops to hunt her down. Thanks to you, they have her scent. We have a picture from the elevator camera. She won’t get far.”

  “Damage?”

  “Weakened foundations of the WerCourt Headquarters. Minor, thanks to you. But they’ll have to vacate until it’s all shored up and retrofitted.”

  “Explanations?”

  “Gas leak caused a minor explosion. The gas company has everything under control, including finding the leak and patching it.”

  “Needs an upgrade of those ancient pipes.”

  “The story of our lives. Almost all of the infrastructure needs upgrades.”

  Daniel wheezed acceptance. He really needed to get back to his numbers. Numbers were enough excitement for him.

  “You really are a hero, Daniel. Worthy of your kind. Thank you.”

  Daniel nodded and began totting up the accounts payable in his head.

  Author’s Note: Want to know more about the real hero rats? http://www.greatbigstory.com/stories/the-bomb-sniffing-rats-saving-limbs-in for how man’s best friends save lives in Mozambique.

  About the Authors

  Award-winning author DANIELLE ACKLEY-MCPHAIL has worked both sides of the publishing industry for longer than she cares to admit. In 2014 she joined forces with Mike McPhail and Greg Schauer to form eSpec Books (www.especbooks.com). Her published works include six novels, Yesterday’s Dreams, Tomorrow’s Memories, Today’s Promise, The Halfling’s Court, The Redcaps’ Queen, and Baba Ali and the Clockwork Djinn, written with Day Al-Mohamed. She is also the senior editor of the Bad-Ass Faeries anthology series. She can be found on Facebook (Danielle Ackley-McPhail) and Twitter (DMcPhail, eSpecBooks). To learn more about her work, visit www.sidhenadaire.com, www.especbooks.com or www.badassfaeries.com.

  PHYLLIS AMES loves tramping through the forests of the Pacific Northwest with camera and binoculars. Her most treasured moments are catching sight, and photos of elusive black-tailed deer, bear cubs, coyotes, and yes, a blurry image of a cougar leaping from the roof of an abandoned cabin into a tall Douglas fir (much too blurry and indistinct to post). She is more afraid of things that go bump in the night than the shadowy depths of forest trails.

  MIKE BARRETTA is a retired U.S. Naval Aviator who currently works for a defense contractor as a pilot. He holds a Master’s degree in Strategic Planning and International Negotiation from the Naval Post-Graduate School and a Master’s in English from the University of West Florida. His wife, Mary, to whom he has been married to for 26 years, is living proof that he is not such a bad guy once you get to know him. His stories have appeared in Baen’s Universe, Redstone, New Scientist, Orson Scott Card’s Intergalactic Medicine Show and various anthologies.

  ANNELIESE BELMOND writes Sci-Fi and Fantasy novellas and short stories while she avoids polishing her novels. She is the author of the Star Mage Novella Series. When she’s not writing, she’s binge-watching TV and thinking about plot. She is a graduate of the Alpha SF/F/H Workshop for Young Writers. You can say hi to her through her website: http://www.anneliesebelmond.com/

  Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/writeranneliesebelmond/

  SARAH BRAND is a graduate student at the London School of Economics and an alumna of the Alpha Workshop for Young Writers. Her fiction has also appeared in the anthology Athena’s Daughters vol. 2. She can be found at sarahbrand.com or on Twitter as @sarahbbrand.

  PATRICIA BRAY is the author of a dozen novels, including Devlin’s Luck, which won the Compton Crook Award for the best first novel in the field of science fiction or fantasy. A multi-genre author whose career spans both epic fantasy and Regency romance, her books have been translated into Russian, German, Portuguese and Hebrew. She’s also crossed over to the dark side as the co-editor of After Hours: Tales from the Ur-Bar (DAW, March 2011) and The Modern Fae’s Guide to Surviving Humanity (DAW, March 2012), Clockwork Universe: Steampunk vs. Aliens (ZNB, June 2014) and Temporally Out of Order (ZNB, August 2015). Patricia lives in a New England college town, where she combines her writing with a full-time career in I/T. To offset the hours spent at a
keyboard, she bikes, hikes, cross-country skis, snowshoes and has recently taken up the noble sport of curling. To find out more, visit her website at www.patriciabray.com.

  DAVID B. COE is the award-winning author of nineteen fantasy novels. His newest series, “The Case Files of Justis Fearsson” (Spell Blind, His Father’s Eyes, and Shadow’s Blade) is a contemporary urban fantasy with a “Were” twist. As D.B. Jackson, he writes the “Thieftaker Chronicles,” a historical urban fantasy that includes Thieftaker, Thieves’ Quarry, A Plunder of Souls, and Dead Man’s Reach. He lives on the Cumberland Plateau with his wife and daughters. When he’s not writing he likes to hike, play guitar, and stalk the perfect image with his camera.

  http://www.DavidBCoe.com

  http://www.davidbcoe.com/blog/

  http://www.dbjackson-author.com

  http://www.facebook.com/david.b.coe

  http://twitter.com/DavidBCoe

  FAITH HUNTER, fantasy writer, was born in Louisiana and raised all over the south. She writes two contemporary Urban Fantasy series: the “Skinwalker” series, featuring Jane Yellowrock, a Cherokee skinwalker who hunts rogue vampires, and the “Soulwood” series, featuring earth magic user Nell Ingram. Her “Rogue Mage” novels are a dark, urban, post-apocalyptic, fantasy series featuring Thorn St. Croix, a stone mage. The role playing game based on the series, is ROGUE MAGE, RPG.

  www.faithhunter.net

  https://www.facebook.com/official.faith.hunter

  https://www.facebook.com/faith.hunter?fref=ts

  @hunterfaith

  http://www.yellowrocksecurities.com

  www.gwenhunter.net

  SUSAN JETT used to work for Sea Shepherd, but has always found the idea of swimming in anything deeper than a lap pool utterly terrifying. Now she lives about 20 miles from the ocean in an old farmhouse where she and her husband both write stories and try to civilize a small human. Find her online: Twitter @JettSusan and www.susanjett.com

  KATHARINE KERR lives in the San Francisco Bay Area with her husband, two cats, and a vagrant skunk. Although she spent her childhood in a Great Lakes industrial city, she became a confirmed Californian at age nine, when her family relocated here. She’s the author of the “Deverry” series of epic fantasies, the “Nola O’Grady” series of light-hearted urban fantasy, the “Runemaster” duo, and a few science fiction works, mostly notably Snare.

  ELIZABETH KITE lives on a mountain located between Las Vegas and the desert. When she’s not tanning by moonlight, you can find her next to a good cup of tea. Twice a year, she puts on a corset and pretends to be an escaped French nun while her husband plays a dashing bard. Her bookshelves are running out of space. Visit her on twitter at @Kitewrites.

  GINI KOCH writes the fast, fresh and funny “Alien/Katherine ‘Kitty’ Katt” series for DAW Books, the “Necropolis Enforcement Files,” and the “Martian Alliance Chronicles” series, as well as many other novels, novellas, and short stories. As G.J. Koch she writes the “Alexander Outland” series and she’s made the most of multiple personality disorder by writing under a variety of other pen names as well, including Anita Ensal, Jemma Chase, A.E. Stanton, and J.C. Koch. She has stories featured in a variety of excellent anthologies, available now and upcoming, writing as Gini Koch, Anita Ensal, and J.C. Koch. www.ginikoch.com

  ASHLEY MCCONNELL’s first novel was a finalist for the Bram Stoker Award. Since 1990, she has sold horror, fantasy, and numerous media tie-in novels, as well as a handful of short stories and assorted articles. (“A” and “the” featured prominently among them.) She is responsible for the erratic publication of the Bloodstained Bookshelf, a list of forthcoming traditionally-published mysteries at http://mirlacca.com/Bookshelf.html, and has a column in the Novelists, Inc. newsletter on Links You May Have Missed. She is currently owned by two horses and far too many cats.

  SEANAN MCGUIRE lives and works in the Pacific Northwest, where she attempts to keep her massive blue cats from eating people. She writes a lot of things, because otherwise she stops sleeping. Sleep is good. She is the author of quite a lot of books, and takes quite a lot of naps. Keep up with her on Twitter at @seananmcguire or at www.seananmcguire.com.

  ELIORA SMITH lives in Central New York with two cats and an ever-growing collection of dragons. In addition to writing fiction and poetry, Eliora makes jewelry. “Among the Grapevines, Growing” is their first published story, however some of their writing can be found at their sporadically updated WordPress blogs, Words of Realms and Scribbling on Seashells. They can be found on Twitter @Disabled_Dragon.

  APRIL STEENBURGH is an author and freelance eBook formatter living in the Finger Lakes Region of New York. She shares her home with a lively band of animals and a very understanding partner. When not writing, she can be found working as a librarian at a local community college and as president of the Southern Tier Animal Rescue Network. Online, you can find April at https://aprilsteenburgh.com/

  or https://www.facebook.com/fireun.

  JEAN MARIE WARD writes fiction, nonfiction and everything in between, including novels (2008 Indie Book double-finalist With Nine You Get Vanyr) and art books. Her stories appear in numerous anthologies, such as The Modern Fae’s Guide to Surviving Humanity, The Clockwork Universe: Steampunk vs. Aliens, and Tales from the Vatican Vaults. The former editor of Crescent Blues, she co-edited the six-volume, 40th anniversary World Fantasy Con anthology Unconventional Fantasy and is a frequent contributor to BuzzyMag.com. Her website is JeanMarieWard.com.

  About the Editors

  PATRICIA BRAY is the author of a dozen novels, including Devlin’s Luck, which won the Compton Crook Award for the best first novel in the field of science fiction or fantasy. A multi-genre author whose career spans both epic fantasy and Regency romance, her books have been translated into Russian, German, Portuguese and Hebrew. She’s also crossed over to the dark side as the co-editor of After Hours: Tales from the Ur-Bar (DAW, March 2011) and The Modern Fae’s Guide to Surviving Humanity (DAW, March 2012), Clockwork Universe: Steampunk vs. Aliens (ZNB, June 2014) and Temporally Out of Order (ZNB, August 2015). Patricia lives in a New England college town, where she combines her writing with a full-time career in I/T. To offset the hours spent at a keyboard, she bikes, hikes, cross-country skis, snowshoes and has recently taken up the noble sport of curling. To find out more, visit her website at www.patriciabray.com.

  JOSHUA PALMATIER is a fantasy author with a PhD in mathematics. He currently teaches at SUNY Oneonta in upstate New York, while writing in his “spare” time, editing anthologies with fellow zombie and co-editor Patricia Bray, and founding the anthology-producing small press Zombies Need Brains LLC. His most recent fantasy novel Threading the Needle (July 2016) continues a new fantasy series begun in Shattering the Ley, although you can also find his “Throne of Amenkor” series and the “Well of Sorrows” series on the shelves. He is currently hard at work writing Reaping the Aurora, the third novel in the “Ley” series, and designing the kickstarter for the next Zombies Need Brains anthology project. You can find out more at www.joshuapalmatier.com or at the small press’ site www.zombiesneedbrains.com. Or follow him on Twitter as @bentateauthor or @ZNBLLC.

  Acknowledgments

  This anthology would not have been possible without the tremendous support of those who pledged during the Kickstarter. Everyone who contributed not only helped create this anthology, they also helped solidify the foundation of the small press Zombies Need Brains LLC, which I hope will be bringing SF&F themed anthologies to the reading public for years to come…as well as perhaps some select novels by leading authors, eventually. I want to thank each and every one of them for helping to bring this small dream into reality. Thank you, my zombie horde.

  The Zombie Horde: Danielle Ackley-McPhail, Carol J. Guess, J.R. Murdock, Brian Quirt, Greg Resnik, Emy Peters, Julia Haynie, Heather Fagan, Kristy K, Evenstar Deane, Andrija Popovic, Cheryl Preyer, Susan B, Evaristo Ramos, Jr., JP Frantz, Michael Skolnik, Joelle M Reizes, Lorena Dinger, Kathleen T Hanrahan, De
rick Sweat, Sandra Ulbrich Almazan, Tony Finan, John P. Murphy, Sheryl R. Hayes, John McNabb, Fen Eatough, Megan Beauchemin, Karl Maurer, Al Batson, Lim Ivan, Teresa Carrigan, Sheryl Ehrlich, “Gorgeous” Gary Ehrlich, Diana Castillo, Keith E. Hartman, Duncan & Andrea Rittschof, Leah Webber, Claire Sims, Ruth Stuart, Sofie Bird, Halcyoncin, Jean Marie Ward, Jeff Gulosh, Henry Lopez, Kristine Smith, Sharon Stogner, John Sturkie, Tommy Lewis, Max Kaehn, Elaine Tindill-Rohr, Chris Loeffler, Kerry aka Trouble, John Sapienza, Kathleen Ferrando, Gary Phillips, Kathy Martin, Sally Novak Janin, Matt Keck, Lea Zane, Amanda Johnson, Holland Dougherty, Russell Ventimeglia, Roy Romasanta, Ed Ellis, Steve Lord, Terry Hazen, Nathan Hillstrom, David Hill, Fred Herman, Elizabeth McKinstry, Joanne B Burrows, Lisa Padol, Mia Kleve, Angie Hogencamp, Hisham El-Far, Eleanor Russell, Anthony R. Cardno, Sabrina Poulsen, Jenn & Drew Bernat, Patti Short, Christopher Mangum, Larisa LaBrant, Jenn Whitworth, Debbie Matsuura, Elizabeth Kite, Morgan S. Brilliant, Tina Noe-Good, Rosanne Girton, Juli, Wolf SilverOak, Marty Tool, Carey Williams, Jaime C., Chris Barili, Denise Murray, Matt B, Scott Raun, Dino Hicks, Darryl M. Wood, Douglas Mosman, Peter Donald, R. Hunter, Steve Weiner, Krystina Harrington, Chris Brant, Andrew Neil Gray, Stephen Ballentine, Nancy Pimentel, Corey Terhune, Josie, Peter Thew, Ian Harvey, James Conason, Linda Pierce, Jeremy M. Gottwig, Ben Stanley, JE Chase, Jay Zastrow, Galena Ostipow, Sue C., Barbara Silcox, Michael J. D’Auben, Stephanie Lucas, Brad Roberts, David K. Mason, Dina S. 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