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Superiority

Chapter 12

Louis stared at the canvas roof of his tent. It was unusually cold that night. Snow was gently drifting down, slowly collecting on the tent. Louis twitched his nose when a drop of water landed on it. The canvas didn't keep the snow out very well.

It was three o' clock in the morning. Louis hadn't been able to sleep all night. He continued to have nightmares. He had nightmares about his father's death, he had nightmares about his imprisonment, and he had nightmares remembering his capture.

It happened five years ago. He was an exceptional soldier in the army of the Rebellion. Him, and the rest of his group had been wandering the Wyoming wasteland for nearly three months. Louis had already personally killed twenty three wolves on this patrol alone, making him the most experienced in the group.

"What time is it?" Louis asked one of his subordinates.

"High noon, Sir," was his answer.

"Freddy, take point," commanded Louis to another soldier. The other soldier nodded in agreement before taking the lead.

Louis was an exceptionally skilled human. He had served in the U.S. navy before the war, as a SEAL. He easily held power, and respect over the rest of his group. He was over six feet tall, and had a scar across his face that stretched from his left ear, to just over his eye. He obtained that scar when he heroically threw a Lupine grenade back at his attacker, only to have it explode ten feet from his face. He was lucky to be alive.

"Check for activity," Louis commanded to the soldier who had just given him the time.

"Five heat signatures to the north-east," was his reply. "Confirmed Lupine."

"Let's take em' out," said Louis. "Everyone go quiet."

Everyone zipped up the front of their camouflage jackets, and ducked behind a row of bushes headed towards their objective. They slowly eased up behind the Lupine camp. They now began speaking in sign language, as to avoid the animals hearing them. Louis silently asked for their positions.

Another soldier nodded, and took out a small, extendable periscope, and stuck the top end just barely over the bushes. After staring into the eyepiece for a moment, he bent down, and drew their positions, and orientation in the dirt.

Louis then assigned targets for each of his men. They were outnumbered by one, so Louis selected two targets for himself. After the plan was made, the soldier peeked over the bush again, and confirmed they had remained in the same position.

Louis gave the signal, and they slowly separated, and encircled the Lupine camp. Louis was to start the assault. His firing on his first target would let the others know to continue. After waiting for the higher ranking Lupine soldier to stop moving side to side, he aimed down the sights of his rifle, and took the first shot. It wasn't that difficult after that. Louis' other target didn't even have time to react, as he skillfully adjusted his aim, and dispatched him as well.

"Any information on their mission, Freddy?" asked Louis.

"Just a simple patrol," was his answer.

Louis kicked the corpse of the wolf next to him, as hard as he could. He needed to stop a mission soon enough, he was tired of ending patrols. It wasn't making a difference. He needed to affect something.

"Dammit!" yelled Louis, kicking the corpse again.

"Alright, I called in the kills to base," said Freddy, before putting away his satellite phone, and signal detection jammer.

The group continued east, avoiding a radiation spike they detected around the location of an old detonation zone. Radiation was all too common in an area devastated by nuclear warfare.

After about nine more hours, they stopped to set up camp. They decided on a location set back into a shaded area inside a circle of dead trees. They set up a small canvas tent barely big enough to fit them, and started a small fire inside a heat concealing stove. Freddy had killed a small deer for them to eat, but upon closer inspection, they determined it had been mutated, and was unsafe to eat. It was field rations again that night.

"This is getting worse everyday." said Louis. "The bastards are infesting this area. I don't know how we haven't been detected."

"It's because we've been careful, Louis," replied Jeff, who was usually quiet. "We're the best suited for this, and that's why were in a heavily patrolled area. That's also why we're only running across patrols."

Louis just stared at the stove, wishing he could experience some of the heat it provided, but to release any heat would be to disclose their position to Lupine thermal satellites. It was cold that night.

Cold. Louis' mind snapped back to where he was. Here he was on a Lupine base, cleaning up after the filthy beasts he despised so much. He wanted to get up, and kill all of the wolves in the tent with him. But no, that would ruin everything he had worked for. His mind drifted back to his capture.

It was about one o' clock in the morning. Freddy's satellite phone was ringing.

"Hello?" said Freddy. "This better be important." There was an indistinct mumbling on the other side of the phone, before Freddy hung up.

"Who was that?" asked Jeff.

"Wrong number," Freddy mumbled, before going back to sleep.

They all went back to sleep for a few more hours.

Louis was woken up by the sound of the tent door opening. He shot straight up in bed, and pulled out his pistol.

"Who's there?" he asked.

"I'm going to the bathroom," replied Jeff.

"Oh, okay then," said Louis, who slowly fell back into his blankets.

He stared at the roof of the tent for a little while. He was thinking about the events of the day. Another Lupine patrol down, but he didn't feel satisfied at all. He almost felt like something was wrong.

He slowly played the attack through again, in his mind. The timing, the planning. The look on that beast's face when he turned around to see Louis' gun staring at him. Louis chuckled. It was a horrified expression that made him feel good about what he had done that day.

Then he remembered the anger he experienced when he found out it was only a patrol. He broke a toenail through his steel toed boot, kicking that wolf as hard as he did.

Then he played through Freddy calling the kills in, and him packing up afterwards.

Louis shot up in bed immediately. Freddy just got a call a minute ago. The phone wasn't under signal detection jamming at that time.

"Arm yourselves!" yelled Louis, but it was too late.

The tent came crashing down around them, as a group of the beasts surrounded them, there must have been twenty of them. They stood no chance, but Louis pulled out his pistol, and killed three before he was subdued.

The other two humans didn't even have time to react, before they too were put in handcuffs, and placed in the compartment of a collection helicopter waiting silently at the top of a hill a mile away.

"Only three of you?" asked one of their captors.

"Fuck you!" yelled Louis, before spitting in his face. At least Jeff was away going to the bathroom at the time. He, at least was safe.

The wolf just slapped him across the face with the stock of his rifle, before shoving him into the chopper.

It was a long flight to the Lupine outpost. In reality, it only took fifteen minutes, but to Louis, it seemed to take hours.

They were unloaded from the helicopter, and walked through a fence, towards a building. The building had a worn sign on the front that read "Human Refugee Testing, and Extermination Agency, official Testing Center."

Louis shuddered at the thought of how many innocent people had been murdered in this building. He resigned himself to his fate. He was a Rebellion member, meaning he had to score almost unheard of 'bonus points' on his test. He walked in there knowing he wasn't going to pass.

He was separated from his young subordinates, made to sit down in a chair alone, and was strapped down to it.

"Where are you operating out of?" asked an interrogator, who entered the room shortly after Louis sat down.

"Do you seriously think I'd tell you that?" asked Louis. "The human gives the beast commands, not the other way around, you filthy animal."

The wolf across from him gave him an angry stare. "Wrong answer," he said.

Louis experienced a painful shock from the chair he was sitting in. He tried his hardest not to scream, and let the interrogator know he was hurting him, but a loud gasp escaped his lips.

"I trust you will be more cooperative?" asked the wolf across from him, a smug look on his face.

"Fuck you," said Louis. "It hurt more when your mother slapped me across the face, after I fucked her."

That angered the wolf. He raised the power leading to the chair, and shocked him again, this time making Louis scream in pain.

"Is that better, human?" asked the wolf, clearly enjoying his pain.

"Much better," said Louis. "Don't even bother with the others, they aren't allowed to know where our headquarters is." which was true.

The wolf smiled. "They've already been disposed of," he said. "They didn't pass."

A knot formed in Louis' stomach. The young men he had been charged with the protection of, had died under his care.

"You bastard!" yelled Louis, before being shocked again, after trying to lunge forward.

"Considering your refusal to cooperate," started the wolf. "You will now be lead to the testing area."

The knot in Louis' stomach got tighter, but he wouldn't show fear. No, that would give the interrogator too much satisfaction.

He was lead down the hallway. There were drops of blood leading the way from the interrogation rooms, to the testing area. Apparently, not everyone was captured peacefully.

The testing area was a small room with twenty desks in it. Louis was made to sit down, before nineteen other humans were lead into the room.

A wolf entered from a door in the other side of the room.

"This test will determine whether, or not you are qualified to join our ranks," started the examiner. "You will be tested on your mental capabilities, and whether, or not you have the right 'mentality'. If you pass, you will undergo gene therapy, to be transformed into one of us. Consider yourselves lucky that we even give you this option."

Louis shot the examiner an angry look, before staring around the room. Most of the humans in the room with him were younger, their lives probably destroyed by this. He hoped they would pass. At least they didn't have his 'terrorist' handicap. The youngest in the room was a ten year old girl.

Louis heard a noise, bringing his attention back to the tent he was in. One of the wolves turned over in his cot. "All formerly human," thought Louis. Thinking about it made him sick. It was close to four in the morning now. The others would be waking up soon. Louis put his head back on his pillow, and began to think again.

The examiner passed out tests on sheets of white paper. The paper had a slight contrast to the dull gray walls of the testing room, making them appear brighter. Louis looked down at the paper in front of him, and was given a pen.

There were two hundred questions on the test, each giving one quarter of a point, leading to a possible fifty points. Louis needed forty-five to pass. Being a terrorist gave him a penalty of ten points. This was not going to be easy.

"Take as long as you need," said the examiner, before sitting down at a desk in the back of the room.

After about an hour, Louis set his pen down on the desk in front of him, he was the first to finish the test.

The examiner, noticing his completion, got up, and grabbed his test.

"I'll just run this through the machine, then Mister Moreau," he said.

Louis waited in agony for the results of his test. The paper slowly fed through the machine, seemingly intending to prolong his torture.

"We'll just wait for the others then," said the examiner coldly.

Louis was angry now. How dare they make him wait for the others to finish! This was killing him.

Ten minutes later, the other humans handed in their tests, the last one being an elderly man.

"If you would all please form two groups," said the examiner, forming the two groups. Seventeen in one group, three in Louis' group.

"Oh, no," thought Louis. The old man was in his group. Considering they were the smaller group he assumed they would all be led to their executions now. He wouldn't make it easy for them. At least the little girl was in the surviving group.

They were led through one of three doors in the back of the room. Their escort turned around. Louis braced himself for the news of his imminent execution.

"Congratulations," he started. "You have all passed."

Louis' jaw dropped. How had he managed to score so well on the test?

"You two may go freely," the escort said to the old man, and the other human. "You however, Mister Moreau, must come with me."

Louis' smile turned to a worried look, as he was led through yet another door.

"Mister Moreau," started his escort. "You have done the nearly impossible, and scored fourteen bonus points. Making you eligible to become a proud member of our species. However, you being a terrorist, in acting against our national interests, have been sentenced to life imprisonment in a Lupine terrorist detention facility. You will be mining for the rest of your life."

Louis tried to punch the escort in the face, but a soldier's taser stopped him short. He was quickly handcuffed, and placed inside a transport vehicle.

He was driven to an airstrip not far from where the collection helicopter had landed, and was forced inside a secure, armored jet, next to other prisoners. Louis looked around, and determined that the interrogator had been telling the truth, the rest of his group had been executed. He would make them pay for this.

Louis' eyes opened again. The other wolves in his tent were waking up. Louis' mind slowly returned to his situation. He had successfully infiltrated the enemy's ranks, but no opportunity had presented itself. He was beginning to doubt whether, or not he was ever going to be able to do any damage to the Lupine military.

Louis got out of bed, and dressed himself. He stretched his arms, and went outside before the others had even gotten up.

The only light on base was from the fires burning for warmth, and the searchlights scanning for any Canadian presence.

Louis walked lazily to the Mess Hall. He didn't even care about being seen alone. He usually waited for the others, to remain inconspicuous, but that didn't matter to him anymore, he was tired of fighting them.

Louis ate his breakfast quietly, in a corner of the room far away from everyone else. He was tired of looking at wolves. He wished he had more time to stay in Toronto. He wanted to be around humans again.

After eating, Louis' command officer stopped by the Mess Hall to inform him he had the day off. A rare occasion on a military base that was just under siege two days prior.

Exhausted from not having any sleep, Louis painfully stood up from the table, and walked across the base to the Rec Room. He just wanted to relax, and sit through the day.

There weren't many wolves in the Rec Room. Most were talking at the table, and there were two playing pool, with several crowding the table, watching. Thankfully, the recliner in front of the television was free.

"I guess some news won't hurt," thought Louis, as he sat down, and turned the television on.

Louis' mind began to wander again. He found himself reflecting on the past.

"Work faster!" yelled a guard at the mine Louis had worked at. "We're not seeing the production we want, and I'm holding your group responsible!"

He was a cruel guard. He never had anything to say to Louis' group that wasn't condescending. He was also prone to have an itchy taser finger.

"Do you expect us to care about your production?" asked Louis defiantly. He was always the one to take the heat for the others in the group. He was the largest, and often subjected himself to the harsh punishments of the guard.

That statement earned him a shock across the chest.

"How many times do I have to tell you, Rebellion scum?" he started. "You don't question it, when I tell you to do something!"

Louis kicked the guard in the shin. What did he care? He was already in prison for committing no crime.

"Dammit!" yelped the guard, shocking Louis again, after pulling himself together. "I expect to have better numbers when I return, or you'll all be shocked!"

Louis ignored the guard, and went back to working at his normal speed.

"Thanks," said Robert, the prisoner who was actually responsible for the low productivity. "I'm sorry I didn't work fast enough."

"You did nothing wrong, Robert," said Louis. "You're too small to be taking the amount of abuse he would throw at you, so I'm glad to take some of the load off."

"I don't know if I'd still be alive without you Louis," he replied, working faster now.

They worked with pickaxes. They weren't truly mining for a resource, but for punishment. It was horrible, grueling labor, and they did it for twelve hours a day, with four scheduled fifteen minute breaks. Louis hated the mine with every fiber of his being.

Two hours later, the guard returned. He checked their numbers, and confirmed they had increased productivity to an acceptable level.

"You're lucky," he started. "I should shock the shit out of all of you anyway, but I'm feeling merciful today."

Louis knew better than to make a remark about that. He dropped his pickaxe in the collection bin, and returned to the surface.

It was a long winding passageway to the surface. Louis could never stop himself from thinking about all of the blood, tears, and lives that went into digging this useless tunnel.

They walked through the large metal door, into the prison. They were greeted by the friendly feeling of cool air. They wouldn't have this luxury, if the guards didn't stay in the prison all day as well.

"Do you think we'll be here forever?" asked Robert.

"No, we won't," said Louis, sure of himself. "The superiority of humanity will destroy the evil that oppresses us. We will be free soon enough. That, I am sure of."

"I sure hope so," said Robert, as they walked into G-Block.

Louis snapped back to reality, and stared at the television in front of him.

"Now, onto the war, Mike," said the newscaster. "The siege of Fort Barrow has been halted, thanks to immediate intervention by our gracious Emperor."

Louis gripped the arms of the recliner tighter.

"After The Emperor ordered an air assault, the offending naval ships were utterly destroyed," she continued. "This comes just days after an attempted assault by the Canadian Armed Forces at four Alaskan-Yukon Frontier Defense bases."

Louis' claws were tearing through the fabric now.

"That's right, Shannon," said the male newscaster. "How can the enemy possibly hope to win this war, when their front line force was so easily destroyed?"

Louis was furious now. They were insulting his species, and it was unacceptable.

He was about to get up, and leave the room, when the newscaster began speaking again.

"Breaking news, Shannon," he said. "We've just received word that The Emperor himself will be visiting Alaskan-Yukon Frontier Defense Base Five, at four o' clock"

Louis stared at the television in disbelief. That was his base. He now had an opportunity he couldn't waste.

He slowly left his chair, and checked the time. Two thirty seven. He didn't have much time to prepare.

He walked with renewed vigor out of the Rec Room. He was interrupted by his commanding officer.

"Shelton," he started. "Consider yourself lucky, your Emperor is visiting today, and you have been selected to be in his walking line. He'll be appearing at four. You are expected to be ready in your dress uniform and at the stage by three thirty."

"Yes, Sir!" replied Louis, trying to hide his growing excitement.

He continued to his tent, and walked inside.

"Heard you got picked to be on The Emperor's walking line, Shelton," said one of the wolves in his tent.

"Yep," replied Louis. "I'm really honored."

He got dressed in his uniform quickly, strapped his dress sword to his waist, and reached inside his footlocker. He grabbed a pistol, hiding it from the rest of the wolves, and stuck it inside his shirt, before heading outside.

It was a long walk to the stage. Three twelve, it was getting close. He looked up to see a large black jet descend from the clouds.

"That has to be him," thought Louis, his anger returning. "I just have to stay calm long enough."

He continued walking to the stage. Most of The Emperor's line was already there. He took his place near the stage.

"You excited?" asked the wolf next to Louis.

"Yeah," replied Louis. "I hope I can get close to him."

Three thirty, it was getting so close.

An older looking wolf walked onto the stage.

"Now, I want you all on your best behavior," he said. "Stand still, look across the line, instead of at The Emperor, and be respectful."

"Sir, yes Sir!" replied all the wolves.

Louis stood, waiting for his glory, for thirty more minutes.

The stage was cleared. A camera was set up, pointing at the podium. The Imperial Anthem began to play. An armored transport, with Lupine flags on the hood, drove up to the start of the line. Louis had never been this excited in his life.

The music stopped. The older wolf returned to the stage.

"Hello, my fellow wolves," he started. "Only a few days ago, this humble base was attacked, along with several others. We are gathered at this place today, to honor the memory of the first wolves to die for the sake of our great nation. Without further ado, I give you, your Emperor!"

The anthem began playing again, the engine of the transport cut off. Louis stared out of the corner of his eye as hard as he could, trying to see The Emperor.

The Emperor exited the vehicle, followed by a younger wolf, and began walking the line.

"I'll wait till' he starts talking," thought Louis. That would take the attention off of him, so he would have a better chance.

The Emperor continued down the line, the younger wolf behind him. Louis could barely contain his hatred, but his facial expression wouldn't betray him.

The Emperor was near the end of the line, now. He walked straight past Louis. It took Louis every ounce of self control he had, to not attack right then.

The Emperor walked up the stairs to the stage, his follower standing behind him.

"Hello, proud members of the Lupine species," he started. "I know most of you here today, are still mourning the loss of your comrades, that so bravely died alongside you, for the sake of Lupinus. I am here today, to give them the respect they deserve, the respect that they have earned. They died for you, they died for their country. They died for the freedom of all wolves living in our great nation. I regret that death is a necessary sacrifice, to defend against the evil that would take your home. But I know all of you here today, would gladly sacrifice yourself, and I thank you for that. All of our great nation's people thank you for that. With that said, I have prepared a surprise for you today."

Louis stared at the stage, as a large display screen rose up from below, and The Emperor stepped to the side. Perfect, now the podium wasn't in his way.

"You all know of the necessary, yet utterly horrifying method I used to gain control from this very location's former government," he continued. "I intend today, to begin the assault anew, against another nation that would halt our expansion. A nation that would demand I return lowly humans to power."

There were too many eyes around him, Louis didn't know if he was ever going to get a chance.

"This is the heart of all evil that would halt our expansion, and threaten our security," The Emperor continued, as an image of Toronto appeared on the screen. "It is my intent today, to destroy it."

"No!" thought Louis. There were too many eyes watching him.

The Emperor pulled a radio out of his pocket, and brought it up to his face.

"Detonate," was all he said, before a flare of light appeared on the screen. The bomb had ascended to ideal detonation height, and detonated in an explosion that would haunt everyone present for the rest of their lives.

Thoughts were running through Louis' mind. His president was dead. The United States government was gone. Dammit, Jeff was dead too. Oh no, Little Mikey was enveloped in the flames as well. Louis could contain his anger no longer. He stepped out of line. Everything was going in slow-motion now.

He pulled his pistol out of his shirt. Everyone knew what his intentions were. No turning back now.

"For Humanity!" yelled Louis, as he fired six shots at The Emperor.

Time was going so slowly, he could almost see the bullets.

Three to stop The Emperor's wicked heart.

Two to spread the fog of lies, and cut his hateful tongue out of his mouth.

And one to pierce his clouded eye, and bury itself deep into his bigoted mind.

The Emperor slumped to the floor of the stage, killed instantly.

"No!" yelled Daniel, as he pulled out a pistol of his own, and without hesitation, emptied the gun into Louis' heart.

Louis fell to the ground as well, surrounded by wolves with mixed emotions, ranging from hatred, to thanks.

Louis looked to the sky, and with his dying breath said "My only regret, is that I did not make him suffer, as to experience the suffering he has caused so many."