01/16/99 Blood & Fur By Christian O'kane ------------- February 8, 1942, Bataan peninsula, Philippines It was raining again when they finally arrived at the division hospital. The hospital itself consisted of a collection of tents and half finished bunkers dug into the hillside. A naval officer told him to wait by the remains of a burnt out truck. William paced nervously back and forth, periodically scanning the sky for any sign of aircraft. If one appeared he wouldn't have to guess if it was American or Japanese. William hadn't seen a friendly airplane in over a month. The war with Japan was only two months old and things were going terribly wrong for the U.S. The pacific fleet had been sunk at Pearl Harbor. Soon afterward the Japs had invaded the Philippines. The retreat to the Bataan peninsula had been a nightmare. thousands killed, troops fleeing in panic, cities taken, looted and burned to the ground. The idea had been for the American and Filipino armies to retreat to Bataan and hold up until the navy could come to the rescue. It was like the cavalry in all the western movies coming to save the wagon train. The problem was the cavalry had been wiped out in their barracks before they could fire a shot. That left William and one hundred thousand other soldiers trapped without hope of rescue. Finally after what seemed like an eternity an army captain approached him. The name tag of his uniform read "Rogers." "You're the soldier that was hit by that strange cloud," It was more a statement than a question. "Yes Sir," He answered. "Alright, come with me," Rogers ordered and he complied. "Care to explain what happened?" the captain asked. "I'm not really sure. Two days ago I was an ammunition handler on battery Geary over on Corregidor when they gave me a rifle and told me I was going to fight. The next thing I know I'm sitting in a fox hole," William explained as they walked. "Last night around midnight the Japs started to hit us with artillery fire. Sargent Holmes said that meant they would be attacking us soon. I remember that the barrage just cut off suddenly and everything was quiet. Then I heard a single shell come screaming in, but it didn't go off with a boom like the others. All I heard was a loud thump, like something heavy hitting the ground. Someone screamed 'Gas' and I looked up just in time to see this red cloud roll over me. I passed out and when I woke up I was in the aid station." The officer nodded. "Any strange symptoms? Headaches, nauseous, or coughing?" The soldier shook his head. "Nothing like that. Just one weird thing. My hair has changed color." William took off his helmet, revealing a head of black hair. "What color was it before?" he was asked. "Light brown, sir," he answered. "Nothing else?" the officer asked. "Well, there is a slight tingling sensation all over my body, but that's all." "Anyone else effected by the gas?" the captain queried. "No," William said, shaking his head. "Being the new boy, I was a little slow getting my mask on. Everyone else got there's on it time." The two stopped suddenly in front of a tent. "Sir, tell me straight out. Have I been gassed? I thought that gas was instantly fatal," William asked. "It is fatal. That's what has me confused. You've obviously been hit by some sort of chemical weapon, but you aren't showing the right symptoms," the officer explained. "What does that mean? They used something new on me?" the soldier asked. "Could be. More likely it was a smoke shell and you're just having a reaction to the chemicals in it." "I hope so," William replied. --------------------------------------------------------------------- William curled up in the corner of the tent, and pulled the blanket tightly around himself. He would have preferred a cot, but all the beds were filled. So he settled for a blanket and the corner of a tent filled with wounded. Two hours of being poked, prodded and examined had turned up nothing. The doctors wanted to do a better examination but the steady stream of wounded meant otherwise. As he tried to sleep the steady thump of artillery sounded in the background. Most of it was regular artillery, but he recognized the deep boom of one of Corregidor's twelve-inch mortars. Their sound was unmistakable. He wondered if his own battery was shooting but he couldn't tell. He wished he was back on the island of Corregidor in Battery Geary. Nice, safe, concrete emplaced battery Geary. William tried not to think about the fact that tomorrow he would be heading back to the front. He wasn't supposed to be playing infantryman. If they hadn't been running short of soldiers he'd still be back on The Rock. Despite his exhaustion sleep was slow in coming but he finally drifted off to sleep. He woke up to screaming and gunfire. There was machine gun fire, explosions, and the crump of mortar rounds exploding. "The Japs are attacking!" Someone screamed. William felt a cold shiver run down his spine. Here he was in a tent full of wounded men, without a rifle or pistol. He'd been ordered to leave them back at the front. There simply weren't enough rifles to go around. Suddenly the tent flap opened and a soldier rushed in. William barely had a chance to shout before the Japanese soldier brought up his rifle and shot him. He flew backwards and landed in a heap at the back of the tent. There was a scream and the American looked up to see the enemy bayonet one of the wounded. A blind rage engulfed William and a roar filled his ears. He felt his body twist and rearrange it self. William felt the hair on his body thicken into a fur coat. His whole body seemed to ripple and change. He held up his hands and found a black furred paw there. Each finger was tipped with a long, sharp claw. A part of his mind screamed that this was different, but the rest of him didn't care. He didn't have a rifle, so long claws would have to do. The Jap raised his rifle to kill another helpless soldier and William let out a loud snarl, revealing a set of large, white teeth. He closed the distance between him and the killer in a moment. He saw the look of terror of the Asian's face, just before he disemboweled him. ----------------------------------------------------------------------- Captain Rogers raised his pistol and shot the Japanese rifleman as he came through the tent flap. He picked up his helmet and lay flat on the floor. He heard a loud scream that ended in a hideous gurgling noise. "Oh God, they're killing the wounded," he screamed out loud. Without thinking the officer stood up and ran out of the tent. The scene that greeted him was one of pure chaos. The whole area was full of Americans, Filipinos, and Japanese who were shooting, stabbing and wrestling each other. He saw lieutenant Carter get shot and his head just seem to explode. The captain looked and saw three Japanese soldiers rush into the tent where the wounded were. Then suddenly one of the soldiers tumbled back out, at least part of him did. There was a scream that cut through the din and a second soldier came flying out of the tent. A few seconds later his head followed. The next person to leave the tent did so under his own power, but he wasn't oriental. By the light of a burning tent Rogers could see that it wasn't human either. The figure was tall, lanky and covered with long black fur. A long thin tail streamed out behind and the head was like some animals. It vaguely reminded him of the creature from a werewolf movie, but this was not a costume. As he watched the creature grabbed an onrushing enemy soldier and almost casually disemboweled him. In a moment the creature reached where a Filipino and a Jap were wrestling on the ground. It dropped onto all fours and sank it's teeth into the back of the Japs neck. With a quick twist of the head the Orientals neck snapped and he dropped lifeless to the ground. Snarling, the monster raced into the thick of the melee slashing and biting. Suddenly the fight was over. The only ones left standing were seven Americans, twelve Filipinos, and the creature. Slowly the soldiers moved closer to the creature. It was just standing there as if in a daze, staring at it's claws. Rogers could see that the black fur was splattered with blood. The muzzle was drenched with blood. An American private came up to the captain. "What is it? Should we kill it?" "No. What ever it is. It's on our side," the officer replied. "Sir," the private asked. "Isn't he wearing an army shirt?" The captain realized the soldier was right. He leaned closer and read the name tag. "Harper" it read. "William?" he asked hesitantly. The creature startled at the name and looked at him. It held out it's blood soaked hands and the captain could see that they were shaking badly. He also saw that it was crying. In spite of his surprise Captain Rogers was realized that this animal- like creature was in shock. Having just killed five Japanese soldiers with nothing but his claws and teeth, this wasn't surprising. He had to act quickly. Without hesitation Rogers grabbed hold of that blood appendage. "Come on let's get you cleaned up." -------------------------------------------------------------------- Captain Rogers came to attention and saluted colonel Underhill. The Colonel returned the salute. "Relax Brian. Where is it?" He said. "He's showering. For the third time," the captain replied. "Third time?" Underhill asked. "There's not a speck of blood left on his body but he complains of still smelling blood. He's still in shock. Considering that he ripped nine Japs limb from limp, I'm not surprised." "Can he talk?" The colonel asked. "Not easily. It's hard to understand what he's saying, but he can read and write. So we can communicate," Rogers said. "What is he?" The colonel asked. "I'm not really sure, but the best comparison I can make is he's the Filipino equivalent of a werewolf," was Rogers answer. Underhill shook his head. "Is he dangerous?" "To us, no. Whatever else he might be. It seems he's a patriot." Rogers said. "I've got orders about him. Tomorrow he goes to Corregidor. I also got some information," the Colonel said. Then he sighed. "He wasn't the only one. There are reports of at least forty others appearing last night." The captain shook his head. "Are they all ours or Japs?" "Ours," came the reply. "Good," The captain said. I'd hate to have to fight them as well as the Japs." End