The building used to be a Checkers, according to the unlit and dilapidated sign out front. The windows, including the partially collapsed drive-thru, were boarded up against the offending sun.
This was your headquarters? Nathan asked in surprise as he gracefully leaped the tailgate of the truck.
Murphy shrugged. “It was readily available. At the time, the fridge still worked, and was fully stocked. Plus, that drive-up window was convenient for safely hearing confessions and exchanging supplies.”
Kylie climbed from the passenger side. She caught a scent in the air with her darkening feline nose, and allowed her keener sense of smell to catch the lingering aroma. “Death,” she sneered, almost a snarl. “It reeks of undead here.”
Veronica exited the bed on the other side, while Murphy shut off the engine and exited the driver’s side. The four stood before the building, ready for anything.
Kylie found that the more she inhaled the scent of undeath, the angrier she became. The Tigress within her grew stronger, slowly overpowering the Hellhound. As long as she avoided further exposure to undead infection, she’d be okay. She found it strange to realize that being a weretigress would be considered all right.
“Let’s go,” she growled, and led the charge inside. Murphy readied his holy water and stakes while the others flexed their claws. Kylie could feel her muscles growing larger and stronger beneath the full moon, felt her teeth and nails lengthen into deadly weapons as she snarled in strange contentment.
Nathan and Veronica tore the boards away from one of the windows, realizing stealth wasn’t going to happen in this worn-out structure, or with the super-powered senses of the undead within.
The quartet got their first look within the building, and found among the overturned tables and cold grills…
Fri Aug 16 09:01:55 2002