Cerberi

The deep bellow of the alarm drew me out of my sound slumber. I groaned, lifting my head from my pillow and shifting onto my back before I sat up. One glance toward my window told me dawn had yet to crack the sky open and bathe the Earth with light. Shoving myself to my feet, I quickly tugged off the long tunic I had been sleeping in, spinning toward my dresser. I hastily yanked on a pair of thickly woven gray pants and a lightweight, long-sleeved black shirt, some sense of groggy urgency pushing me.

My head jerked up when someone banged on the door to my tiny room, "Let's go, greenhorn!"

"It's Cassie," I muttered under my breath as I laced up a pair of brown leather boots. I'd been out of training for a whole two weeks and Danielle had been on my back for the entirety of that time. I ran my fingers through my flaxen hair to tame it down before I pulled it into a ponytail and bolted out of my bedroom. I jogged out of the small apartment and into the hallway, joining the group of other Cerberi who flooded the narrow space that funneled outside.

The severity of the situation finally pressed its full weight onto my shoulders and my heart picked up a rapid cadence. I hadn't been on the other side of the wall. I had yet to be selected to go out and fight. They usually based who went out on their specific set of strengths and the threat poised on the other side. It was nerve-racking. I wasn't sure if I was ready for whatever Hell lurked outside our city's barricade.

I fell in behind Anne, my other roommate. It was just her, Danielle, and I. There had been two other women who lived in our apartment, but they died a few days before I arrived. I heard it was a bloody fight, and that they fought well. Other than that, my roommates didn't talk about it.

I stared at her auburn ponytail, filing toward the wall flanked by the rest of the Cerberi, who were also in ranks. I heard our commanding officer shouting out names, and those who they belonged to stepped out of line and moved forward.

"Cassie Hansen!" If my heart wasn't already beating quickly, it was now. I broke from the line and headed forward, joining the others who had grouped around our superiors.

"Five wolves," a man was saying, his eyes dark and cold. They always had us work in groups of three, and I cast a quick glance around at the fourteen other fighters with me. They all had the same grim expression. I expected the worst.

"Cassie, James, and Heath," the man continued, glancing from me to two other men, "You two flank her." It was all he needed to say for them to both openly glare at me. They immediately knew this was my first time in an actual fight. I quickly followed them when they broke away from the group and headed off to the right.

I was 5'10", but they towered well over six feet, easily dwarfing me. One had brown hair and dark skin, and he dropped back to my side.

"James," he grunted, and I glanced up at him, realizing that he was introducing himself.

"Cassie," I returned blandly, looking ahead again.

"Just stay back and let us handle this," he muttered as we came to a stop before two men standing in front of a large rack of arms. One of them shoved something similar to an AK-47 into my hands and I gave him a quick nod. It was modernized and I knew the rounds it held were powerful; they were able to pierce a mutant's skin, then send out a shock similar to that of a taser. It would take more than one shot to bring the animal down, but it would eventually do the job.

"Or you could just let me do my job," I snapped, heading forward and attempting to hide my fear. I heard him let out a sharp sigh through his nose as I stepped up beside the other man, Heath, in front of the gate. He had light hair, just a few shades darker than my own, and his jaw was locked, making the muscles there jut out. He turned his tanned face toward me, narrowing his eyes. It was too dark to see what color they were.

"How about you just don't get in the way, greenie?" he growled, causing me to frown.

"What the hell is --"

I didn't get to finish my sentence as the rest of the Cerberi joined us and the gate was drawn upward noisily.

All of my training had not sufficiently prepared me for the sight I faced at that moment. Three years of practicing, of hand-to-hand combat, of questionable simulations, paled in comparison to the five beasts just two hundred yards away.

The group surged forward, I among them, with a vicious battle cry. I sucked in the cool night air, the ground soft beneath my boots from the recent torrents of rain we'd been receiving. I veered off to the left, following Heath and James closely. I could almost feel my blood pulsing hot and fast through my veins. We fanned out, Heath to my left and James to my right.

I suddenly stopped dead in my tracks, face-to-face with the gigantic animal we'd approached. Its black hair was coarse and I could see patches of thickly scarred skin where clumps of fur were missing. I stared into beady yellow eyes while glistening ropes of saliva dripped from a snarling muzzle. It was the same height as me but broad-bodied and muscular.

My haze was broken when I heard someone screaming my name, my arms instinctively raising my weapon. I fired at the animal, watching as it yelped and skittered back when the bullet lodged in its shoulder and the electrical shock pulsed a moment later. Sticky red blood oozed out around the wound and matted its fur. James fired a round into its ribs and Heath shot its back paw.

I was drawn away again, the sharp sounds of gunfire ringing in my ears as I glanced around at the other fights. One wolf was advancing quickly on a man, seemingly unfazed by the bullets. Another kept shaking its pelt and was slowly retreating. A woman was--

I felt a sharp sting of pain that was dulled by adrenaline as the wolf swiped viciously at me, raking its claws down the length of my arm and shredding through my sleeve. I flinched, lifting my gun and stumbling backward, raising it to fire again despite the throbbing pain in my limb. The creature seemed to be shaking off the bullets shot at it by my partners like they were nothing more than pesky flies. Its eyes were focused entirely on me.

I pitched back and landed flat, the air stored in my lungs hissing out between my teeth. I fumbled for my weapon, managing to shoot the beast in the chest as it closed in on me.

Darting out in front of me, Heath shoulder-checked the wolf in the ribs to distract it before ramming the tip of his gun into the thick flesh of its neck and pulling the trigger. The wolf let out a loud yelp, furiously shaking its head and sending red droplets flying. The blonde man quickly turned to me and snatched my hand, yanking me to my feet. I stiffly raised my gun, but lifted my head slightly as the creature let out a mournful howl before it fell onto its belly. With a final threatening growl, the animal's head lolled forward and the life left its eyes, its vacant stare focused on me.

I stared back, my lungs burning with the frigid air I was inhaling. Breaking the eerie staring contest, I glanced around to see two wolves sprinting back the way they had come and two other wolves lying motionless on the ground. We'd actually done it. I felt a pang of guilt in my stomach for the creatures, but Heath suddenly blocked my view, filling the entire space of my vision and breaking into my thoughts.

He shoved the flank of his gun into my chest, forcing me to walk backward. "Never look away and never back down," he snarled, furrowing his sweaty brow at me. I clenched my jaw but nodded. He kept pushing me back. "You almost got yourself killed."

"Yet, here I am, still alive and kicking," I shot back.

"Thanks to me, green--"

"Hey, that's enough," James said lowly, grasping Heath's shoulder and pulling him away. His eyes flickered to my arm and he motioned for me to head back within the safety of the wall. I shifted the weight of my gun to my other hand, giving Heath a haughty glare before I retreated toward the city.

I risked a quick look at my arm, wincing at the condition of it. From the base of my shoulder to just below my elbow was a tattered mess of skin and blood. Tiny rivulets of red dripped from the torn material of my shirt, onto the back of my hand, and down the length of my fingers. I headed in through the gate quickly, and when the rest of the Cerberi joined me, it clattered down with a dull thud.

An uproarious cheer surrounded us as we moved back toward our apartments. I glanced up at the three buildings to see everyone else waiting for us. I moved through the throng of people, headed toward my building, and eventually made it to my apartment. Heading inside, I went to our small bathroom, holding my hand over the sink and watching as my blood spattered the porcelain.

With a groan, I closed the door and pulled off my destroyed shirt, gritting my teeth as it tugged at my wound. I grabbed a washcloth and gently removed the blood, working quickly so that more didn't have time to replace it. I dreaded what was about to come as I fished out a bottle of hydrogen peroxide and poured it over the wound, biting down on my tongue. I watched as it foamed and bubbled in the small trenches in my arm before I bent awkwardly to rinse it out. The gash was starting to clot as I placed several cotton pads across it and finished it off by wrapping a layer of gauze around it. It would probably require stitches.

I stared at my reflection in the mirror, frowning at the disarray my blonde hair was in. Several unruly wisps were floating around my face. There were dark crescents beneath my green eyes. My skin was paler than normal and blood speckled my face. I was in good shape but looked a mess. I washed off my face before pulling out my hair tie and running a brush through my hair. It was difficult to tie it back up again, but I eventually managed to. After pulling on a new shirt, I headed back outside where the celebrating had died down and light finally shown across the horizon.

People were falling in line again, and I followed suit. It felt like it was going to be a longer day than usual.

We were split into groups and assigned to one of the various watchtowers that surrounded the city. I was with another greenhorn, Anne, a man I had never spoken to, and Heath.

Great.

As we reached the tower, the sky opened up and unleashed a cold rain onto our shoulders. I climbed to the peak of the structure with everyone else. Heath and I locked gazes as we reached the top; he looked annoyed.

His eyes were dark blue.